Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Zam the dinosaur
Malaysia's Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin is increasingly showing himself to be irrelevant. His self-proclaimed credentials as a journalist committed to his craft, has been debunked a long time ago. Even the mainstream newspapers are fast losing patience with this dinosaur. It is a wonder that he is still in the limelight, hogging precious newspaper space, to spew his dribble against anyone who dares to have an alternative point from the offical government line.
Just weeks after raising the alarm that bloggers are doing immeasurable damage to the nation's unity, Zainuddin now says that political bloggers only make up 20,000 of the 11 million Internet users in the country, and hence only a few people read blogs. Then why is he worried? Why the contradictory stance? Why is UMNO anxious about sites like Malaysiakini, Malaysia-Today, Screenshots? Malaysia-Today claims it gets daily hits of more than 2 million. I am sure that type of figure drowns out any imaginary numbers his TV stations can muster.
China, the rising world power, has been unable to effectively filter the Internet. Zam, as he is more inclined to be called, thinks he can - by shouting threats at an increasingly sophisticated urban populace. He has warned them that their writing is a threat to "national unity". If thinking aloud and producing analysis is a threat to the nation, then one must wonder if he is really talking about bloggers being a threat to UMNO. His McCarthystic behaviour in demonising ordinary citizens who happen to have a point of view about Malaysia is truly disturbing.
Where are we as a nation want to go? Does the government want this country to develop wings and fly or do they want the people to be forever docile, secure in the bosom of UMNO? Even if that means that this country becomes an insecure nation afraid of its own shadows, riven by racial suspicion for eternity?
What I have read about Zam demonstrated an anachronistic world view which swims in Zam's brain. The sad thing is that he is proud of his world view. I suppose when one is in the throes of power, and wishes to please his master, that's what people do. In any case, such behaviour has proven to be well-rewarding for many Ministers in our nation's esteemed cabinet. But I do hope that the Prime Minister loses patience with this Information Minister and drops him in the next Cabinet reshuffle. ¶ 11:06 AM
Just weeks after raising the alarm that bloggers are doing immeasurable damage to the nation's unity, Zainuddin now says that political bloggers only make up 20,000 of the 11 million Internet users in the country, and hence only a few people read blogs. Then why is he worried? Why the contradictory stance? Why is UMNO anxious about sites like Malaysiakini, Malaysia-Today, Screenshots? Malaysia-Today claims it gets daily hits of more than 2 million. I am sure that type of figure drowns out any imaginary numbers his TV stations can muster.
China, the rising world power, has been unable to effectively filter the Internet. Zam, as he is more inclined to be called, thinks he can - by shouting threats at an increasingly sophisticated urban populace. He has warned them that their writing is a threat to "national unity". If thinking aloud and producing analysis is a threat to the nation, then one must wonder if he is really talking about bloggers being a threat to UMNO. His McCarthystic behaviour in demonising ordinary citizens who happen to have a point of view about Malaysia is truly disturbing.
Where are we as a nation want to go? Does the government want this country to develop wings and fly or do they want the people to be forever docile, secure in the bosom of UMNO? Even if that means that this country becomes an insecure nation afraid of its own shadows, riven by racial suspicion for eternity?
What I have read about Zam demonstrated an anachronistic world view which swims in Zam's brain. The sad thing is that he is proud of his world view. I suppose when one is in the throes of power, and wishes to please his master, that's what people do. In any case, such behaviour has proven to be well-rewarding for many Ministers in our nation's esteemed cabinet. But I do hope that the Prime Minister loses patience with this Information Minister and drops him in the next Cabinet reshuffle. ¶ 11:06 AM
