Summary of Address by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee to BUM Forum, 1st May 2008

In his speech Dr. Lim paid tribute to the community of political bloggers who have provided important information, analysis and feedback on key issues and developments taking place in the country. He noted that the great majority of analysts – local and foreign – are agreed that bloggers have helped to influence and shape public opinion in several ways, notably by whistle blowing on abuse of power, corruption, and other acts of bad governance as well as by standing up for the freedom of expression and information. The impact of bloggers on the outcome of the recent elections showed that many members of the public view the commentaries provided by bloggers as more reliable, honest and truthful than what has been provided by the government-controlled mainstream mass media.

Dr. Lim predicted that the popularity and political influence of bloggers would continue to grow in Malaysia especially if the restrictions on the mainstream media continued to be in place. To ensure a higher degree of impact, he called upon bloggers to work harder to bridge the fragmentation of the Malaysian blogsphere. The division of bloggers by race and language especially needed more serious attention to help correct.

Finally, he called on the authorities not to treat bloggers as enemies but instead to encourage their contribution to the national dialogue on development and nation building. Further attempts by the authorities and its allies to victimize outspoken and popular anti-establishment bloggers would result in a greater loss of public confidence in the government’s efforts to reestablish its credibility.

Centre for Policy Initiatives
Kuala Lumpur, 1st May 2008