Unspun

Yonder sits the Fifth Estate


The shock from the earthquake that was the Malaysian General Elections has yet to settle but we are already seeing the aftershocks.The first of probably many to come is the Opposition DAP’s decision to get its State Assemblymen to stay away from the swearing in of the Perak Chief Minister – because the Sultan had favored a PAS candidate rather than the DAP candidate.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

With the credibility of the executive, judiciary, parliament and mainstream media in doubt and with the present national government in disarray and the Opposition moving into their newfound positions of power- and bickering about it – the question arises as to which institution it is who would keep everyone real and honest on behalf of the rakyat.

It seems that the Malaysian bloggers are the only ones who are in a position of playing the role of people’s custodians.

But even in the blogosphere there have been changes. Some of the bloggers like Jeff Ooi have gone into politics and must now toe the party line (see link here about Jeff’s entry into politics and the possible challenges – like DAP bickering- he may have to face). And some of the politicians like the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang have taken to blogging and has been ranked as one of the top 50 bloggers in Malaysia.

So how well are the bloggers doing voicing what they feel the people’s interests are? Unspun thought it s an interesting picture that emerges when you take the latest 8 postings (because my Clipmarks can take only that many characters) from all Malaysian blogs and the Top 50 blogs.

Does it tell a story?

clipped from malaysiakita-bakaq.blogspot.com

1. Latest English and Bilingual Blogs Update

2. From Top 50 Blogs and RPK
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3 responses to “Yonder sits the Fifth Estate”

  1. Yonder sits the Fifth Estate

    […] La Chola wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt The shock from the earthquake that was the Malaysian General Elections has yet to settle but we are already seeing the aftershocks. The first of probably many to come is the Opposition DAP’s decision to get its State Assemblymen to stay away from the swearing in of the Perak Chief Minister – because the Sultan had favored a PAS candidate rather than the DAP candidate. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? With the credibility of the executive, judiciary, parliament and mainstream media in doubt an […]

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  2. Matsalo Avatar
    Matsalo

    Sir – I think all this is going to take a while to sink in. Until the dust settles…

    TO me, UMNO is totally irrelevant in this day and age, and so is MIC and MCA. It’s like flogging a dead horse.

    For a fledging democracy like Malaysia who yearns to be on the world’s stage – some sort of new political order is necessary and it should neither be race nor religious based. PKR is a step in the right direction but except for Anwar, the appeal is limited and DAP is also perceived as chauvinistic. Based on the outcome, it’s possible to have the Liberals / Conservatives a la UK or GOPs and Democrats like in the US. Wishful thinking, maybe?

    The question is, who are the visionaries who will take our system to the next level? Personally I like both PKR and MDP (Wee) but it’s too small to be anything but mainstream at the moment.

    If only people like Zaid, Wee, Guan Eng, Husam Musa can sit down together and crack their heads then maybe a real change can happen.

    The opposition better not let it get into their heads too much because their win isn’t because they’re popular – but people are just fed-up with BN. People just threw their votes to the other side, as in “let’s teach these guys a lesson” because they just couldn’t deal with the “devil they know any more”…

    But one person I do not want to see in political arena in the future is you-know-who. There is something sinister and vile about him that I find repulsive. Plus, he’s hardly what I call a Malaysian, and as a Negeri boy, he embarrasses me.

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  3. unspun Avatar
    unspun

    @Matsalo: Good point. Opposition should be mindful that they got in not because they are so hot but because BN sucked big time. Now that they are in they have a chance to make good or stay out by the next election.

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