Author Archive for habri

敬邀公众出席“跑跑世界，看看民主”讲座与新书发表会

策略资讯研究中心、雪隆理华同学会在2009年9月9日（星期三）举办“跑跑世界，看看民主”讲座会，为《冻土忧思——游履阿拉斯加》举行发表会，同时也播放该书作者旅游阿拉斯加拍摄的风景录影片，与读者分享跨国旅行经验，同时畅谈国外民主状况，以检讨三零八大选以来之政治发展。欢迎各界出席。

本次活动邀请雪隆理华同学会主席廖国华担任推介人，同时也邀请时事评论人唐南发、隆雪华堂民权委员会副主席黄进发、以及文化与古迹保存研究者张集强与读者交流，讨论国外的民主发展与社会现状，看看民主如何影响人民的生活与文化发展，以种种生活化的例子说明民主的实际面貌。以下是活动详情：

冻土忧思——游履阿拉斯加

书名：冻土忧思——游履阿拉斯加
作者：何乃龄
出版：策略资讯研究中心
年份：2009
ISBN：9789833782796
页数：244 （精致滑面纸，全彩）
售价：RM 38.00

目录和序
内容选读

A torrid 100 days : Review by ANDREW SIA

Oon Yeoh maintains that his book is a fair and neutral look at our Prime Minister’s first days in office. – BRIAN MOH / The Star

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/8/9/lifebookshelf/4476457&sec=lifebookshelf

Sunday August 9, 2009. The Star

A blogger follows the PM’s first few months in office, while keeping an eye on where he’s headed.

THE first thing a reader is wont to ask, “Why does Oon Yeoh’s Najib’s First 100 Days, have No Honeymoon as its sub-heading?”

Yeoh, the editor of new (online) media at a business weekly, says: “No Honeymoon is a factual statement. It’s simply been a battle for the Prime Minister since Day One.

“There were various allegations against him, and the economic slowdown. Things weren’t going very well for BN (the Barisan Nasional) and it seemed like everything was against him.”

Oon Yeoh maintains that his book is a fair and neutral look at our Prime Minister’s first days in office. – BRIAN MOH / The Star

As an “objective” observer, Yeoh had initially thought that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak “would fare poorly”.

“But in February, he made me sit up with the speed, even ruthlessness, of the Perak takeover. This was in contrast to his reputation as a cautious fence-sitter. It was like he was telling Pakatan (Rakyat), ‘Don’t mess with me’.”

Najib came into office with a 41% (public) approval rating

“But he did quite well during his first 100 days and his ratings went up to 65%. This is no mean feat,” adds Yeoh, who has been writing mainly on IT, then politics, for 12 years.

He maintains that the book is a fair and neutral look at Najib’s 100 days, down to its cover picture

“Those who dislike him think the photo shows Najib picking a fight, (like) wanting to bash Pakatan. But those who like him feel it shows gritty determination. It’s like the Mona Lisa, which looks different to different people.”

The first part of the book contains Yeoh’s summary of and commentary on events, while the second has articles from 14 contributors.

He tried to pick a spectrum from different genders, races, age groups and political persuasions. The last ranges from blogger Rocky’s Bru (a Najib supporter) to former Star associate editor Kee Thuan Chye (who is not).

“Others were more middle-of- the-road. I chose people who had something to say; I didn’t want ranting demagogues or elected politicians. If readers look at my track record, and that of the contributors, they will see we have been critical but fair.”

What motivates Yeoh?

“Years ago I read a survey about elderly people who were asked what they could have done differently,” he recalls.

What struck me was that, first, they wished they had taken more risks. They also wished they had been more thoughtful in their actions. Finally, they wished they had a legacy to leave behind, something greater than themselves.

“For me as a writer, my small contribution is in my articles, podcasts, articles and books.”

Yeoh’s interest in politics was stoked by his late father, Yeoh Chiang Kee, a university lecturer in linguistics.

“My dad never joined any party but was always interested in politics as an observer. In the late 1990s, during the Anwar Ibrahim saga, he taught himself how to access the Internet just so he could read political news.”

Yeoh’s political awakening happened at the University of Texas in Austin, the United States, where he did his Economics degree in the early 1990s. “American college students are very politically aware and I had lots of conversations and debates with them about Republicans, Democrats and so on.”

He started his journalism career in 1997 with the Nikkei wire news service, and covered politics and economics.

Najib’s First 100 days is divided into eight chapters, and Yeoh posts comments in each one.

> Leadership: “Despite the economic and political turmoil, Najib has shown decisiveness,” he says.

> Managing BN: The author points out that Sabah has four important ministerial posts while Sarawak has two; when it comes to MPs, Sabah has 24 and Sarawak, 31.

“Perhaps this was because Sarawak politicians did not make as much noise as their Sabah counterparts about potentially leaving the BN,” he notes.

> Dealing with Pakatan Rakyat: In this chapter, Yeoh writes that Najib showed his political shrewdness in June when he seized the chance to rattle Pakatan Rakyat by welcoming Malay unity talks with PAS. However, the removal of the Perak State Assembly Speaker by force on May 7 was criticised by Suhakam and raised concerns about the impartiality of the civil service, the police and the judiciary.

> Economic Reforms: These are debatable, but measures like removing the 30% Bumiputra requirement for public listings have symbolic significance and “have taken guts”, Yeoh says.

> Race Relations: Najib has been saying the right things (such as 1Malaysia and merit-based scholarships), besides going on “surprise” walkabouts and attending harvest festivals in Sabah and Sarawak. However, having taken over from someone who did not fulfil his promises, he has “a difficult task of convincing people that he’s for real …”

> Foreign affairs: He has done a good job at mending fences with Singapore and made a symbolic trip to China.

> Civil Liberties: Yeoh notes that people taking part in peaceful protests, like wearing black T-shirts, have been arrested, especially in Perak. Even lawyers who went to assist those arrested were detained.

> Media Strategy: While Najib has his own “new media” presence via a blog, Flickr, YouTube and Twitter, he follows his two predecessors’ “old playbook” of controlling the mainstream media.

For instance, Yeoh writes, TV3, Ntv7, 8TV and TV9 were asked not to broadcasts certain issues related to Perak.

In summary, he says: “Najib has broken out of the box in the first six areas, but not where civil liberties and the media are concerned. He has played his cards correctly in all areas except Perak, which I believe will return to trouble him.”

Political observers commented that many urban voters of all races voted against BN in March 2008 partly due to exposure to “more” information online. Yeoh believes politics will be challenged even further by technology in the next general elections

> ‘Najib’s First 100 Days: No Honeymoon’ will be launched on Wednesday by Tunku Abdul Aziz, a former president of Transparency International Malaysia, at 8pm at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (No. 1, Jalan Maharajalela, Kuala Lumpur). For details, call 016-465 5107 or 016-379 7231 .

INVITATION: 15 August 2009: BOOK LAUNCH: Making and Unmaking the Asylum: Leprosy and Modernity in Singapore and Malaysia & Launch by YB Elizabeth Wong Keat Ping, Selangor state Exco Member

Dear friends,

INVITATION

SIRD , Save Valley of Hope Solidarity Group and the Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Youth Section (KLSCAH-YOUTH) jointly invite you to the launching of Making and Unmaking the Asylum: Leprosy and Modernity in Singapore and Malaysia, a book by Loh Kah Seng.

The book will be launched by YB Elizabeth Wong Keat Ping, Selangor state Exco member for Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment.

Date : 15th August 2009 (Saturday)

Time : 2.00 pm – 4.40 pm

Venue : The KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
No. 1, Jalan Maharajalela, 50150 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This very special event also brings together representatives of the former residents of Valley of Hope in Sungai Buloh—the world’s second largest leprosy settlement that was partially demolished in 2008 despite calls to preserve it as a heritage site—to share their life testimonies and thoughts resulting from state and public stigma against leprosy. The audience will include social activists and friends/families members who shared solidarity with the Valley of Hope.

Making and Unmaking the Asylum recounts the entangled histories of leprosy in colonial and postcolonial Malaya/Malaysia and Singapore—decades of heavy-handed biomedical policies and laws enacted in the name of modernity, science and development, interwoven with the personal accounts of those who were sent to the asylums. The leprosarium was a living hell for many. It is also no coincidence, Loh argues, that the majority of patients were poor and working-class.

Yet this book also richly demonstrates how patients resisted being victims—creating new families, forging friendships, working, joining unions, and actively engaging in their communal religious and cultural lives.

Having struggled to remake the asylums into homes, ex-sufferers in both countries have been evicted or moved again, their personal and collective histories erased, and their real homes exchanged for hospital wards.

About the Author
Loh Kah Seng is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies, Singapore. His doctoral thesis at the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University examined the role of the 1961 Kampong Bukit Ho Swee fire in the making of modern Singapore. He has published on little-studied subjects in the urban social history of Singapore and Malaysia.

For further details please contact Ms Lee Siew Hwa at 03-7957 8342/8343 or 016-465 5107; or Mr Chong Ton Sin at 016-379 7231.

All are welcome. Please feel free to circulate this invitation.

2.00 pm
Guests arrive

2.10 pm
Guests are seated

2.10-2.40 pm
Video screening: Valley of Hope

2.40 – 3.00 pm
Introduction to Making and Unmaking the Asylum & a tale of solidarity by a representative of the Save Valley of Hope Solidarity Group, Teoh Chee Keong

3.00 -.3.15 pm
Book launch by YB Elizabeth Wong, Selangor state Exco member for Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment

3.15 - 3.50 pm
Discussion session with author, ,Loh Kah Seng and representative, ex-resident of Valley of Hope, Lee Chor Seng

3.0-4..20 pm
Discussion and Q&A

4..20 pm
Tea, chit-chat and book signing

4..40 pm
Ends

12 August 2009:BOOK LAUNCHING & DISCUSSION:Najib’s First 100 Days – No Honeymoon,by Oon Yeoh

Dear friends:
Gerak Budaya invites you to a book launch, Najib’s First 100 Days – NoHoneymoon, by Oon Yeoh

This book will be launched by Tunku Abdul Aziz, a senator and formerpresident of the Malaysian chapter of Transparency International.

Date : August 12, 2009 (Wednesday)
Time : 8.00 pm – 10.00 pm
Venue : Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
No. 1, Jalan Maharajalela, 50150 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Programme
7.30 pm : Arrival of guests
8.00 pm : Welcome speech by MC
8.05 pm : Book launch by Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz
8.15 pm : Panel discussion by guest writers, Wong Chin Huat, V. Gayathry, Tricia Yeoh,Ibrahim Suffian, Bridget Welsh, Rocky’s Bru and Jeff Ooi. Moderated by Oon Yeoh.
9.30 pm : Q&A session
10.00 pm : Close

About the book
The completion of the first 100 days in office of any leader is an important milestone and an opportunity for political analysts and commentators to evaluate the leader’s achievements as well as to project ahead.

Join author Oon Yeoh and his guest writers as they assess Najib Razak’s performance as prime minister during his first 100 days. Expect plenty of fireworks in this no-holds-barred discussion by panelists from all across the political spectrum.

About the Author
Oon Yeoh is editor for New Media at The Edge Malaysia. He edited Tipping Points, the first book released about the March 8, 2008 political tsunami. He was previously deputy news editor at The Sun and former associate editor at The Edge Singapore.

For further details please contact Lee Siew Hwa at 03-79578342/8343 or 016-4655107
or Chong Ton Sin at 016-379 7231.
All are welcome
Chong Ton Sin
Managing Director, GB Gerakbudaya

Gerakbudaya’s Open House – 8 August 2009– Celebrating Independence

Indonesian & Left books for ‘resistance” and Informal Discourse:

Date : 8 August 2009, Saturday
Location : Gerakbudaya, 11 Lorong 11/4E 46200 Petaling Jaya Selangor
—————————————————————————————————————————————

Program:
Book sale
Time: 9 am till 11 pm

For the first series, we have selected books that specially imported from Indonesian’s renowned book publishers such as Yayasan obor, Komunitas Bambu, Balai Kajian and Pengembangan Budaya Melayu, Resist Book along with several goods which going to be sold with special prices, as well as books with leftist flavour.

Apart from that, special discounts will be given for books available only on the event’s day. To continue Gerakbudaya’s tradition of giving away books, certain titles will be distributed to attendees.

‘Informal Discourse”
“Without leftist, wouldn’t be Malaya’s Independenc”
Time : 8pm – 11pm

It is a common practice for governments in power to rewrite history based on their version and minimize or deny entirely the contributions of other party. Malaysia, not exempted from such practice, has done it in the official history books with such careful plans by deleting information related to left wing, especially the communist.

In conjunction with our country’s independence month, you are cordially invited to attend our discussion on left wing’s contributions towards Independence with two panelists specifically invited for this event:

Hishamuddin Rais - NGI and author of “Pilihan Raya atau Pilihan Jalan Raya”, “Keganasan, Penipuan & Internet” and former students activist in the 70s

Lee Ban Chen - Malaysiakini’s columnist and former union congress and labour party activist in the 60s

Please come, show us your support and nasi lemak will be served as our token of appreciation.

Thank you.

About Gerakbudaya’s Open House

It is a special day where we give away discounts for books that we publish and distribute. We plan to hold this day three (3) days yearly and ends with the highlighted Yearly End Sale.

Special themes will be chosen based on book’s subjects for each open house that we hold, for example political books, Indonesian books, Islamic books and so on.

Chitchat in accordance of certain issues that become parts of Gerakbudaya will also be held.

For enquiries, please email to sird@streamyx.com or contact Zulhabri at 019-389 3804

GB Gerkabudaya
www.gerakbudaya.com

Rumah Terbuka Gerakbudaya- 8 Ogos 2009– Merayakan Kemerdekaan

Host: Gerakbudaya
Date: Saturday, August 8, 2009
Time: 9:00am – 11:00 pm
Location: Gerakbudaya Street: 11, Lorong 11/4E 46200 City/Town: Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Phone: 0193893804 / 03- 795 78342

——————————————————————–
‘Buku Indo & Kiri untuk ‘perjuangan’ & sembang santai’
Aturcara program :

9 pagi - 11 malam : Jualan buku
8 malam - 11 malam : Sembang santai ‘Tiada Kiri, jJngan Harap Malaya Merdeka’
Untuk siri yang pertama, kami memilih buku-buku yang kami import khas dari penerbit-penerbit buku tersohor Indonesia di dalam bidangnya seperti Yayasan Obor, Komunitas Bambu, Balai Kajian dan Pengembangan Budaya Melayu, Resist Book dan beberapa yang lain sebagai barang dagangan yang akan dijual dengan harga istimewa, juga buku-buku bernuansa kiri.

Selain daripada itu, kami juga akan memberikan diskaun istimewa untuk buku-buku baru yang tidak akan diperoleh pada waktu-waktu biasa melainkan pada hari acara ini berlangsung.

Meneruskan tradisi, judul-judul buku tertentu akan diberi secara percuma untuk tetamu yang hadir.

Acara Sembang Santai:
Tajuk: Tiada kiri, jangan harap Malaya Merdeka’
Masa : 8 malam – 11 malam

Sudah menjadi kelaziman sang pemerintah berkuasa di mana-mana untuk menulis sejarah mengikut versi mereka dan meminimalkan atau menidakkan sama sekali sumbangan pihak yang lain. Malaysia juga tidak terkecuali dengan buku teks rasmi sekolah yang secara terancang menghitamkan segala yang berkaitan dengan gerakan kiri, apatah lagi komunis.

Bersempena dengan bulan kemerdekaan negara, kami dengan rasa hormatnya menjemput anda semua untuk hadir berdikusi tentang sumbangan gerakan kiri di dalam proses mendapat kemerdekaan negara bersama dua panelis yang kita jemput khas iaitu;

1) Saudara Hishamuddin Rais – NGI &, pengarang buku “Pilihan Raya atau Pilihan Jalan Raya”, “Keganasan, Penipuan & Internet” & bekas aktivis mahasiswa tahun 70 an

2) Saudara Lee Ban Chen – kolumnis di Malaysiakini & bekas aktivis kesatuan sekerja & parti buruh tahun 60 an

Sila hadir beramai-ramai, hidangan nasi lemak yang enak juga akan disediakan khas untuk tetamu yang datang. Terima kasih.

Tentang Rumah Terbuka Gerakbudaya
Rumah Terbuka Gerakbudaya merupakan satu hari di mana kami akan mengadakan jualan istimewa dengan pemberian diskaun pada harga buku-buku yang kami terbit dan edarkan. Kami merancang untuk mengadakan siri rumah terbuka tiga (3) kali setahun dan diakhiri dengan acara yang bersifat tahunan iaitu Jualan Akhir Tahun.

Kami akan memilih tema-tema khas mengikut subjek buku yang kami tawarkan untuk setiap rumah terbuka yang dianjurkan, seperti contoh buku politik, buku Indonesia, buku Islam dan sebagainya.

Selain daripada itu, kami juga akan menganjurkan sembang santai untuk berwacana hal-hal tertentu yang menjadi bahagian dari Gerakbudaya.

Segala pertanyaan sila emel ke sird@streamyx.com atau hubungi Zulhabri di 019-389 3804 atau 03- 795 78342

GB Gerkabudaya

Press coverage of “Our Thoughts Are Free” book launch - Malay Mail

TWENTY-TWO years ago today, the government of Singapore began what it called Operation Spectrum. The name was apt as the security operation targeted a spectrum of social and cultural activists.

It effectively “nipped in the bud” the desire for substantive democracy in the city-State. Neutralised, that is, until the trauma of the State repression was again outweighed by an emergent desire on the part of ordinary citizens to claim common ownership of the nation-building project.

It was May 21, 1987 and I had turned the corner on being a minor, only months before. I was 21 years old and for all legal purposes, an adult. Looking back at those events, I am now forced to see it through the prism of the events of 9/11 and the enhancement of national security laws and institutions previously thought to be anathema to democratic societies.

The authoritarian States of Southeast Asia have rarely apologised for trampling on civil liberties or for turning the rule of law on its head. In the aftermath of 9/11, the positions taken by these States were given a “moral” boost when advanced democracies actively and openly curtailed the liberties of their own citizenry on the basis of “national security”.

The US’ wars of vengeance required not only new security apparatuses but also the kind of political and moral justification that authoritarian regimes from the “Free World” side of the Cold War had become expert in articulating. In the hands of sophisticated advocates for the national security State, the arguments are complex. There is no dismissing them out of hand.

But perhaps history allows us a vantage point to begin an exploration of the real dangers in the political logic governments and nations founded this premise. After 22 years, sufficient popular and scholarly analysis strengthens the opinion that the so-called communist conspiracy was nothing more than a political fiction. Whitely Road Detention Centre is Singapore’s Guantanamo Bay, as Kamunting is ours.

This is where the alleged Jemaah Islamiyah operative Mas Selamat spent a couple of years cooling his heals. Twenty-two years ago the lives of a good number of people became entangled in it. They were taken from the homes, their families and their lives for what the government and an uncritical media called a “Marxist Conspiracy”.

The use of the Internal Security Act, detention without trail, and televised confessions substituted due process and the Rule of Law as the mechanism to prove their guilt. A two-part television programme “Tracing the Conspiracy” was shown to those who tuned in.

I was nauseous watching it. Less than a month after the May arrests, a former student leader in exile in the UK who was named in the conspiracy issued a defence, claiming that “the government fabricated the communist conspiracy for partisan ends”.

This is Tan Wah Piow’s “Let the people judge: Confessions of the most wanted person in Singapore”. A year after the first arrests, only the alleged mastermind remained in detention. Then, astonishingly, nine ex-detainees issued a joint statement.

They denied the government accusations against them of being Marxist conspirators; they alleged ill-treatment while under detention; and that their TV confessions had been coerced. They were, consequently, re-arrested. Unfortunately for those in power, disquiet about these arrests persisted through the years, and like little weeds in the cracks of the pavement they are irrepressible.

Last weekend in Kuala Lumpur, former political prisoners from successive generations of dissidents gathered, to share their thoughts – and poems – on a matter of grave concern on both sides of the Causeway: The use of the ISA and its effect on the maturing of our democratic nations. It must be repealed.

● Sharaad Kuttan was born in JB, educated there and in Singapore. And has lived in the Klang Valley for the last 14 years. He would like Malaysia to boast about its human rights record for a change.

M/C Reviews: Blogging and Democratization in Malaysia

Media Studies: Blogging and Democratization in Malaysia

Blogging and Democratization in Malaysia: A New Civil Society in the Making is the first book to discuss blogging in Malaysia in detail. It draws upon a survey completed in late 2006, interviews and observations, and it is a unique record of the early moments of social-political blogging in Malaysia.  There is also a timely postscript to the book that discusses the overall impact of blogging on the ‘political tsunami’ of the Malaysian general elections in 2008.

The first chapter provides a brief history of blogs, and some of the earlier research by writers including Blood and Herring; it then discusses their potential as a “democratic medium” (4), particularly as an alternative media, and argues that bloggers and journalists have complementary roles—as opposed to being locked in a “duel to the death” (7).

The second chapter focuses on the relationship between the media and Malaysian  “pseudo-democracy” (9),  highlighting the relevance of the “developmentalist” (12) discourse that posits a pay-off between stability and economic progress on the one hand, and democratic and human rights on the other. Legislative restrictions on the media are explained, as well as how the ruling parties exercise control through the direct or indirect ownership of the major media outlets. Developing out of the Reformasi upheavals of 1998, when websites and email were deployed in opposition to the government, and because it does not print on paper, a highly successful online news website Malasysiakini has been able to bypass some of these restrictions; thus the Internet is described as the “final frontier for freedom of speech” (18).

Chapter three examines the slim pickings of previous research on the Malaysian blogosphere, and notes the apparent prominence of political blogs in Malaysia compared to other Asian countries. Quoting from newspapers, the authors detail “the increasingly fraught relationship between control-minded ministers and bloggers” (20). In 2007, legal action  by a major English-language broadsheet and related individuals against two prominent social-political bloggers sparked the formation of the National Alliance of Bloggers (All-Blogs). This is a very interesting episode of which Tan had direct experience, and is recounted in some detail. The debates amongst bloggers that these moves engendered are recounted, as well as details of other cooperative endeavours such blogger meetings, blog awards, or charity events. Also noted are the increased means for bloggers to make money through blogs.

Noting that the Malaysian blogosphere “is by no means a homogenous community” (34), chapter four starts to detail the results of the online survey to which 1,537 blog readers, including 852 bloggers, responded. The picture that emerges is of mostly young and ethnically Chinese respondents; educated, middle or upper-class occupations; and avid blog readers who prefer blogs to newspapers, and prefer personal diary-type blogs to SoPo blogs. Political commitment is assessed: 89 per cent were not affiliated to any political organisation (40), but nearly all intended to vote. Those interested in SoPo content were mostly older and male. The bloggers reflect similar demographics, but a lesser proportion of them prefer to read social-political blogs, and only 6 per cent have social-political blogs. ‘Personal experiences’ was the overwhelmingly popular choice of self-description for blogs and most update three or more times a week, in English.

With an important reminder that blogs are not a panacea for systemic deficiencies in democratic institutions, chapter five opens by stating that “Blogging as an instrument for democratization is only as effective as the civil society behind it.” (49). Interviews show that the social-political bloggers explicitly see themselves as role models with an educative role, enabling the presentation of more critical viewpoints and providing a space in the blog comments for open political debate. The significance of blogs as an alternative channel of information is demonstrated: the head of an opposition party, who would normally struggle to have his voice hear through the mainstream media, garnered a daily audience of 4,000-7,000 readers; bloggers are used as a back channel by unnamed influential figures in industry and politics to leak stories; and there are also some documented examples of blogs having initiated public debate and remedial measures by the government. That this bothers people in power is suggested by evidence of intimidation of bloggers from police as well as unidentifiable sources. The ubiquitous call for “responsible blogging”—aptly described as “an ambiguous code of ethics which many have talked about but none have actually defined” (55)—is discussed, and the authors identify two fundamental aspects: checking facts and revealing identity. Results show that more than half of the bloggers do not check facts, and about half use pseudonyms. In spite of this, bloggers tend to trust blogs more than the mainstream press, but the foreign press is the most trusted.

The sixth chapter gives examples of the government clamping down on bloggers in the period before the 2008 elections, and recounts examples of bloggers rapidly mobilising support, and organising ad-hoc gatherings in response to police action. The importance of the comments in blogs was highlighted when a blogger was arrested because of a comment left in his blog; in a countermove, a police report was filed against the Prime Minister because of objectionable content in comments on his website. Additionally, rumours were rife of ‘cyber-troopers’ who were believed to be paid by the ruling party to leave comments and/or to act as agents provocateurs.

In effect, there are two conclusions to this book—the first, offered in the conventional manner; and the Postscript, which is able to deal with the actual context of the 2008 general election. In the conclusion, the three goals of the work are outlined as: firstly, “to understand the composition of the Malaysian blogosphere and its readers” (78); secondly, to see whether blogs are being “used as a platform for enabling civil liberties” (ibid); and thirdly, to assess blogs’ actual influence on the political/public agenda. The main argument is that blogs offer a clear opportunity for greater freedom of information, and potentially democratisation. There is a clear and vocal minority of bloggers who make moves in that direction; these are mostly journalists, politicians or civil society activists. However, overall political indifference remains prevalent amongst bloggers: “an ethnicized or racialized view of society remains overwhelming [and]… the possibility of developing a more inclusive – and thus more democratic – terrain of political struggle is deeply compromised” (79). The relevance of the digital divide, the negative impact of government anti-blogging propaganda—which may also paradoxically increase the profile of certain bloggers—and popular inertia towards political participation are highlighted as relevant factors. “What needs to happen is the translation of the interactive energy captured by the Internet into the making of a vibrant civil society and, crucially, viable and effective opposition parties.” (81). It may be that, with blogging, the genie of free information has been let out of the bottle, but it remains to be seen whether it can have a decisive effect.

The Postscript makes an important point that not only blogs, but also SMS, email, YouTube and even Facebook were important in breaking the monopoly of the media by the government. Even though the digital divide was present, there was also the ‘ripple effect’ whereby revelations and discussions on the Internet spread to non-Internet users by the distribution of printouts and CDs. Again, the complementary but non-decisive contribution of blogs is noted: six bloggers overall were elected to public positions, but they benefited from party organisation and media exposure in various forms; blogs helped to mobilise and publicise ceramah—public gatherings—but these articulated issues that were already of concern to voters (corruption, inflation, etc.), rather than necessarily setting the agenda. Here more attention is paid to particular affordances of the blog as a medium. The bloggers as “proactive agents” (93) are able to challenge the dominant discourse and articulate broader issues to interested citizens. By sharing personal experiences and thoughts, the regular readers can begin to identify more with the blogger and even engage in a conversation with the blogger and other readers via the comments. This enables “personalized and interactive synergy … between certain social-political bloggers and their readers.” (p.92) which assists their emergence as “thought leaders” (93).

Blogging and Democratization in Malaysia: A New Civil Society in the Making is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in blogging in general, as well as its political aspects. It has a wealth of primary data, drawn from a large survey and in-depth interviews, some of which are reproduced in full as appendices. It is also unique in Malaysia and possibly worldwide, in terms of the detail provided and fortuitous events that occurred during its conception and fed into the research. It could however benefit from more comparative discussion, for example drawing upon the works done in relation to liberal and conservative bloggers in the USA. It could also have engaged more with debates on the meaning of ‘democracy’ as such. Especially with hindsight, it is clear that the social-political bloggers had different concepts of acceptable democratic practices—after the upset of the 2008 elections, some bloggers were vocal in arguing for a greater use of detention without trial, and there has also been a pro-government/anti-government alignment of blogs.

Readers looking for a discussion of the blog-as-medium, and related issues of sociotechnical systems, or technology as agent/actant, will not find much here in terms of theoretical debate. Neither does it problematise the terms ‘blogosphere’, ‘community’, or ‘civil society’. However the authors do well to emphasise the socially embedded nature of social-political blogging in Malaysia, and avoid jumping on the ‘netopian’ bandwagon or falling into the real/virtual dichotomy that has plagued much research on Internet phenomena.
Blogging and Democratization in Malaysia: A New Civil Society in the Making
(2009)

by J. Tan & I. Zawawi
SIRD (Gerukbudaya)
ISBN: 9789833782536
153pp MYR25.00

Gerakbudaya @ Read Malaysia’ 09 - Last two days!

Dear Authors/Colleagues/Friends/Customers,

Come and chat with some of Malaysia’s most famous authors at our meet and greet session!

You also got the chance to meet up with renowned authors from Malaysia at our  meet and greet session with authors!

Meet us at booth no. E16, MIECC Mines Resort City

Date: 29 May to 7 June 2009

11.00AM to 10.00PM