Najib wants Malaysians to just read government-sanctioned news The government has once again come out and urged the public to refer to the mainstream media for information and perspectives instead of Internet news blogs as such sites, in the words of the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, are “uncontrolled”. He argues that a controlled media environment is more beneficial for Malaysians. “There is no control when it comes to the Internet as it is a different world altogether. What is important is control of the print media, especially the mainstream newspapers,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama. I wonder what the mainstream editors were thinking when they ran through his comments prior to printing. But then, I am sure they were not, as they are expected to operate within this controlled framework determined by the government, and ensure Najib’s comments, (which under close examination, carried little or no value) are given prominence in the next edition. Thinking is essentially frowned upon as duty to the newspapers’ political masters is paramount. Loyalty has its rewards in the form of promotions, status and titles, and can help stave off the dreaded “cold storage” treatment, a condition of extreme deep freeze that one has virtually no chance of resuscitating one’s career. Parroting the official line is highly recommended.

So the government is now openly admitting that it will continue to control the mainstream media. If the government is wondering why more and more people are resorting to cyberspace for expert analysis, that is because the mainstream media continues to be selective in its coverage of topics close to the people’s heart, namely corruption, political abuse of power i.e the control that Najib was talking about. The public can finally find succor in cyberspace where they can share their sentiments and feelings about many subject matters. Ironically, this is one aspect of civil society that Malaysia has been promoting for a long time. People like Najib of all people, should be happy that society are becoming more discerning and sophisticated, seeing that a thinking population is an asset to the country.

Najib’s dismissal of blogs is not the first time a high ranking government official has attacked news blogs. The Prime Minister and his son-in-law have also engaged in such action. The timing of Najib’s statements may have something to do with the flurry of comment and biting analysis in cyberspace following the disastrous UMNO general assembly. The government is feeling the heat and they are powerless to clamp down on cyberspace dissent. So even the so-called highly-educated Khairy Jamaludin sees it fit to take a swipe or two at alternative media sites, in order to shore up his appeal to his mainly Malay support base. Will blogs continue to grow in strength? You bet. The government will be hard pressed to monitor the upcoming explosion in political content in cyberspace come the next elections. Perhaps Najib’s statement is a sign that the people in power are a little nervous about this prospect. Hence, the need to keep people dependent on controlled media channels.  ¶ 5:16 PM