Bloggers sued in Malaysia, Probably the first bloggers to be sued in the world. Options

[forrestcat]

2 prominent bloggers,Jeff Ooi and Rocky Bru have been sued by the government controlled New Straits Times,an ailing Malaysians newspaper who has seen steep drop in the number of readers.The 100 year old newspaper's circulation is extremely poor compared to newer newspapers such as The Star,The Sun and Chinese newspapers.

This matter is attracting heads as these 2 bloggers are probably the first bloggers in the world to be sued or convicted besides China.

The following are articles on the matter.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/18/...oggers-Sued.php

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/839...2DD89A1A988.htm

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArtic...;archived=False

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I am not really a big fan of these 2 bloggers as they have their own agendas but they provide me with valuable different perspectives about Malaysian politics.I would be extremely sadden if these 2 bloggers are put out of business.My only support to them is to continue to visit their blogs(I only visit Jeff Ooi's,rarely Rocky Bru) and continue not buying the New Straits Times(stopped buying any newspapers coz can't afford them anyway ).

[tangawizi]

So long as the blogs are no inciting religious or racist bigotry, why should political comments on blogs be subject to draconian defamation laws? Most of these comments are directed at big multinationals or bigwigs -- why does the government want to take out even this little voice of the people on the web?

Not everybody in the kampungs read blogsites... why are the big wigs and corporations so insecure I wonder?

[Centurion]

So long as the blogs are no inciting religious or racist bigotry, why should political comments on blogs be subject to draconian defamation laws? Most of these comments are directed at big multinationals or bigwigs -- why does the government want to take out even this little voice of the people on the web?

Not everybody in the kampungs read blogsites... why are the big wigs and corporations so insecure I wonder?

Two things:

1) How do you determine what is or is not inciting or inflammatory? If someone should say in a blog, "One of the reasons Abdullah Badawi is incompetent as a Prime Minister is that he has failed to stop the abuse of powers by the radical religious conservatives." - is that a statement of fact or is that disturbing the peace? Is that rational criticism or is that a personal affront? I'm quite certain that your answer will be different from that of anyone in UMNO (with the exception of TDM).

How do you criticize people in a culture where even the slightest criticism is viewed as rude or outright disloyalty to (parents, elders, nation, government, etc)?

2) I suspect that the government is interested in the success of this lawsuit to determine if such an avenue of prosecution is viable to them in the future. Badawi is unashamedly on the side of the litigants (notice how conservatives spit at the word "freedom" as if it is a foreign concept, a foreign import?)

[tangawizi]

Two things:

1) How do you determine what is or is not inciting or inflammatory? If someone should say in a blog, "One of the reasons Abdullah Badawi is incompetent as a Prime Minister is that he has failed to stop the abuse of powers by the radical religious conservatives." - is that a statement of fact or is that disturbing the peace? Is that rational criticism or is that a personal affront? I'm quite certain that your answer will be different from that of anyone in UMNO (with the exception of TDM).

How do you criticize people in a culture where even the slightest criticism is viewed as rude or outright disloyalty to (parents, elders, nation, government, etc)?

2) I suspect that the government is interested in the success of this lawsuit to determine if such an avenue of prosecution is viable to them in the future. Badawi is unashamedly on the side of the litigants (notice how conservatives spit at the word "freedom" as if it is a foreign concept, a foreign import?)

TEchnicalities of defamation laws aside, one thing about Malaysian society which is also true in SG is how the 'surat layang' is a big thing... just one little whisper of a rumour and the whole thing blows out of proportion. That's why they wanna n!p the layangs in the butt, i suppose...