"Researchers at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia found that the freedom existed in cyber space was used extensively by bloggers to channel political information not normally found in the mainstream media."
In Malaysia, any opinion on the political issue might just get you into trouble since you might be seen as interrupting the harmonious environment of a multicultural country. Malaysian's politics had always been link to the ethnicity issue where each ethnic want to protect their culture. Hence, the public group discussion on politic had always been forbidden. Besides, after 55 years of independence and being under the rule of one party, opponent parties are evolving and trying to take over. Dissatisfaction among the people can be seen from the existence of group such as "BERSIH" and "HINDRAF".
The creation of blog provides a stage for the mass to express their opinion and suggestion freely. Blogger can create a blog using untrue information and write whatever they wish to. "Anonymity gives you the freedom to speak freely.... People say things in anonymous blogs they would never dare say in the
offline world", (Ringmar, 2007, pg. 28). Although some of your family members or friends might know who you are, as long as you do not expose too many private information, you will stay anonymous among the online community. In Malaysia, with the restriction for public discussion on sensitive issues such as religion, cultural, and national language, blog comes in handy when people wishes to express their opinion about these topics.
It is certainly possible for a government or a particular sneaky employer to crack a nom de blog … sign up for blogging accounts and email services that are free … The IP address of the computer you’re using when blogging can also be traced. This is a reason to always blog from public computers in libraries or internet cafes. (Ringmar, 2007, pg. 29)
If someone worried about being sued or punished for posting certain facts or true information, they can just hide by practicing the above methods.
However, the ultimate freedom might also be used for spreading rumors and fake information. Hence, it is up to the readers to evaluate whether they should believe the information they see online in blogs.
Ringmar, E. (2007). A blogger’s manifesto: free speech and censorship in a digital world.
New York: Anthem Press.
