Unspun

You wonder what the thought processes of the man is as a minister of the realm with this latest missive in Bernama below. This is Malaysia’s Information Minister trying to classify bloggers as professionals or non-professionals.

Of interest is the statement “certain people in the country had misused blog sites for their own interest and that of their groups…” Well, guess what. That’s what blogs are supposed to be about. Something personal, to that person or their groups.

And what thought processes governed the Minister’s mind when he was a journalist.  If he had the same thought processes was he then ever a good journalist – critical, skeptical yet open to new ideas and to the possibility that his original premises may be wrong? If he had the mindset of a good journalist then it would be interesting to know what happened to cause the closing of the Malaysian mind. Or is it all a cynical ploy to hold on to power?

It never fails to amaze Unspun how lost Malaysians in power are when it comes to blogs and the new technologies that strip governments of their power to control information. The world is flat and transparent because of the new technologies and as such victory over the hearts and minds of the people will lie with those who can start the best conversations. Deal with that and you deal with the “problem” of bloggers. In Malaysia or anywhere else.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 (Bernama) — Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said today Malaysia has to classify web bloggers as professionals and non-professionals as a mechanism to prevent misuse of blog sites.

He said he believed that professional bloggers were those who were more responsible in ensuring that their web content was based on the truth and not rumours.

“This classification will also facilitate the action to be taken against those found to have violated the country’s laws,” he told a press conference at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), here.

Zainuddin said certain people in the country had misused blog sites for their own interest and that of their groups, including by touching on matters enshrined in the Federal Constitution such as those of a religious nature and others that sparked uneasiness among the multiracial population.

“We have to control this. It is feared that these (blog sites) will be misused by those who have an agenda to spread slander. By right, there should be a mechanism to control this phenomenon, including by classifying web bloggers as professionals and non-professionals,” he said.