DanielYKL

“In a country where internet use is increasingly popular, independent websites like Malaysia Today and Malaysiakini are publicizing institutional corruption and other issues, particularly in the judiciary, which is facing its biggest scandal since the country came into existence.

“This election has the power of the Internet that is greatly influencing voters’ opinion. Blogs and popular websites are quick and effective disseminators of information, where readers form opinions based on the information received,” Tricia Yeoh, a senior analyst for Malaysia’s Center for Public Policy Studies, told Asia Sentinel.”  ( Imran Imtiaz Shah Yacob - Asia Sentinel)

And they say that the internet will not affect the outcome of the 12th Malaysia Election 2008! They say that the blogging community is just a minority, exclusive to the more educated and urbanites. How wrong they are. I am a product of the internet or bloggers community.  I started blogging about a year ago, and prior to that I have no idea about the political scene in Malaysia. I only get to read and hear what the government-controlled media wants me to read or hear. And it always the “good news.”  But the Malaysia’s blogging community offer alternative views in a country where the government keeps a tight control on mainstream media

By having access to the “alternate” or “independent source” of news from various independent and individual blogs, I now have a better understanding and views about the political situation here. I can now weigh and balance what is the truth and what is not. Many of the views and news has helped me to make an opinion about who I should vote for this coming election. And for your information, I have never voted before and because of what I understand from the blogs, I’ve decided to register as a voter and vote for the first time. And let me assure you that I’m not the only one. I know of friends who are just like me. Now they have registered themselves as voters and they want their voice be heard through the votes. We want to make a difference! We want to convert our opinions into votes. We want justice to prevail. Again I have to stress that many of my friends, who are computer savvy, are going out full force to vote. Some of them have even cancelled their holiday trips to stay back and vote. So do you think our votes will not affect the outcome? It definitely will. So don’t underestimate the power of the internet and the influence it can create. It is said that only a fifth of Malaysians have access to the internet, well, I’m one of them and I’m going out to vote. All it needs is just one vote to make or break. And that one vote could be mine!  Now you can guess where my vote will go to…

This entry was posted on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 2:47 pm and is filed under MALAYSIA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.