MALAYSIAKINI REVIEW
Whatever happened to Singaporekini?
Beh Lih Yi
Jan 27, 06 12:47pm
Singapore has a high number of cyber-savvy citizens and high Internet penetration rate plus advanced technologies compared to Malaysia but why has it not given birth to a Singaporekini?
Dr Cherian George, a scholar from the island republic, has a ready explanation.
Internet activism cant take place in a vacuum. In order to succeed, it must be planted in the rich soil of the real world, not in cyberspace.
Online activism is more pronounced in Malaysia because offline activism is more advanced in Malaysia, he pointed out.
For example, he said, Singapore does not have the equivalent of Malaysian rights group Aliran or an opposition party which is "well organised and as powerful as PAS".
He attributed this as the main reason why Malaysia is "home to active online dissent" while Singapore has no equivalent of a malaysiakini since the emergence of the Internet.
Another possible reason is the (different) appetite for alternative media which could be due to the fact that Singapore didnt go through an experience like the reformasi protests in Malaysia, he said.
The height of the reformasi movement in 1998 in the wake of the sacking of then deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim led to a huge increase in the desire for independent media, he noted.
Similar laws
George, who teaches at Singapores Nanyang Technological University and is a former Straits Times journalist, was in Kuala Lumpur last week to attend the Asian New Media Forum organised by malaysiakini and the Southeast Asian Centre for e-Media (Seacem).
His new book Contentious Journalism and the Internet: Towards Democratic Discourse in Malaysia and Singapore was launched during the forum, which was attended by 50 online media activists.
The book, which is based on Georges doctoral dissertation, examines how the Internet has been used to democratise public discourse in the two neighbouring countries.
George cited four alternative media in both countries as his case studies. They are Malaysias malaysiakini and PAS party organ harakahdaily as well as Singapores Think Centre and Sintercom websites.
He said he chose to do a comparative study between the Malaysian and Singaporean alternative media because both nations shared similar media laws - while strict restrictions are imposed on traditional media, online media can operate freely without licences.
In many other societies, the Internet is used as a kind of hiding place - it is used by activists or radical journalists as a place to stay out of the reach of the authority.
But in Malaysia and Singapore, things are quite different because prominent and influential participants do it quite openly, he said, adding this has diversified the voices being heard.
On the future of alternative media in Malaysia, George said: It remains to be seen whether Malaysians still see a need for malaysiakini if and when the mainstream media opens up.
Georges book features one chapter specifically on malaysiakini in which fast rising Umno Youth politician Khairy Jamaluddin was interviewed on his views on the media organisation.
The interview was done in 2002 when Khairy was special assistant to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (at that time deputy premier).
Khairy was quoted as saying that he would usually tell Abdullahs press secretary to grant access to malaysiakini reporters covering official functions.
(Malaysiakini reporters have been denied accreditation press tags issued by the Information Ministry as the government argues that the online daily does not have a media licence due to its nature of being an Internet-based daily).
However, while malaysiakinis existence is tolerated, Khairy said: It doesnt mean we like them or have to make life easy for them.
Khairy continues: We read malaysiakini, but decided that we couldnt do anything about it. Now, youre seeing a process of natural selection. Malaysiakini has been dying.
Its moved to a subscription model and its fighting for its survival. Im glad we didnt do anything to close down the site. The market may do it for us, Khairy said.
- Cherian George's Contentious Journalism and the Internet is available in major bookstores in Malaysia and Singapore.
Beh Lih Yi
Jan 27, 06 12:47pm
Singapore has a high number of cyber-savvy citizens and high Internet penetration rate plus advanced technologies compared to Malaysia but why has it not given birth to a Singaporekini?
Dr Cherian George, a scholar from the island republic, has a ready explanation.
Internet activism cant take place in a vacuum. In order to succeed, it must be planted in the rich soil of the real world, not in cyberspace.
Online activism is more pronounced in Malaysia because offline activism is more advanced in Malaysia, he pointed out.
For example, he said, Singapore does not have the equivalent of Malaysian rights group Aliran or an opposition party which is "well organised and as powerful as PAS".
He attributed this as the main reason why Malaysia is "home to active online dissent" while Singapore has no equivalent of a malaysiakini since the emergence of the Internet.
Another possible reason is the (different) appetite for alternative media which could be due to the fact that Singapore didnt go through an experience like the reformasi protests in Malaysia, he said.
The height of the reformasi movement in 1998 in the wake of the sacking of then deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim led to a huge increase in the desire for independent media, he noted.
Similar laws
George, who teaches at Singapores Nanyang Technological University and is a former Straits Times journalist, was in Kuala Lumpur last week to attend the Asian New Media Forum organised by malaysiakini and the Southeast Asian Centre for e-Media (Seacem).
His new book Contentious Journalism and the Internet: Towards Democratic Discourse in Malaysia and Singapore was launched during the forum, which was attended by 50 online media activists.
The book, which is based on Georges doctoral dissertation, examines how the Internet has been used to democratise public discourse in the two neighbouring countries.
George cited four alternative media in both countries as his case studies. They are Malaysias malaysiakini and PAS party organ harakahdaily as well as Singapores Think Centre and Sintercom websites.
He said he chose to do a comparative study between the Malaysian and Singaporean alternative media because both nations shared similar media laws - while strict restrictions are imposed on traditional media, online media can operate freely without licences.
In many other societies, the Internet is used as a kind of hiding place - it is used by activists or radical journalists as a place to stay out of the reach of the authority.
But in Malaysia and Singapore, things are quite different because prominent and influential participants do it quite openly, he said, adding this has diversified the voices being heard.
On the future of alternative media in Malaysia, George said: It remains to be seen whether Malaysians still see a need for malaysiakini if and when the mainstream media opens up.
Georges book features one chapter specifically on malaysiakini in which fast rising Umno Youth politician Khairy Jamaluddin was interviewed on his views on the media organisation.
The interview was done in 2002 when Khairy was special assistant to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (at that time deputy premier).
Khairy was quoted as saying that he would usually tell Abdullahs press secretary to grant access to malaysiakini reporters covering official functions.
(Malaysiakini reporters have been denied accreditation press tags issued by the Information Ministry as the government argues that the online daily does not have a media licence due to its nature of being an Internet-based daily).
However, while malaysiakinis existence is tolerated, Khairy said: It doesnt mean we like them or have to make life easy for them.
Khairy continues: We read malaysiakini, but decided that we couldnt do anything about it. Now, youre seeing a process of natural selection. Malaysiakini has been dying.
Its moved to a subscription model and its fighting for its survival. Im glad we didnt do anything to close down the site. The market may do it for us, Khairy said.
- Cherian George's Contentious Journalism and the Internet is available in major bookstores in Malaysia and Singapore.
posted by Cherian at 6:26 AM
1 Comments:
pls check out the already existing singaporekini website before further comments
singaporekini.blogspot.com
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