E Contrario

In June, I received an invitation from UiTM to attend a seminar titled “Media and Technology – Bloggers Issues and Challenges in the 21st Century”. It was to be held on 24 July 2007 at Concorde Hotel, Shah Alam.

I was surprised and delighted that blogging is now a subject of academic discussion. Out of curiosity, I decided to accept the invitation.

The seminar was timely. Perhaps beyond the organizer’s expectation, all of a sudden bloggers have become the focus of intensive attack from ruling political parties. On 23 July, a day before the seminar, Umno Information Chief Muhammad Muhammad Taib lodged police report against Raja Petra.

Mat Taib complained that the content of website Malaysia Today was blasphemous towards the King and Islam. Unfortunately, that was a wrong move. Raja Petra hit back with a harsh reply exposing Mat Taib’s own scandal. I am pretty sure Mat Taib was rather humiliated.

At the seminar I noticed that the organizer was the Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies, part of the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies.

We are indeed in a warfare. As we were having our discussion in the nice hotel, outside war had been declared on bloggers.

There was talk of a contingent of professionally paid cyber-troopers had been assigned to combat the bloggers. I find this amusing. The war was led by the self-appointed generals and captains who are of Umno. Now , they are firing their cannons without knowing where is the target. This is evident for the commanders of the (info) war knew no distinction of a blogger or a webmaster.

As for me, I just sat back and enjoyed the talk of Kadir Jasin, Steven Gan, Zaharin Yassin (Sang Kelembai) and various academics. When I thought of this war, I felt sorry for the leaders of our current regime. Their war against the bloggers is very much like the Neanderthals using stone age weapon trying to defy their extinction.

Prof Zaharom Nain, Assoc. Professor of Communication Studies, USM

Assoc Prof Mustafa Anuar, Communication Studies USM