Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Rais Yatim Stuck in Colonial Times

During the launch of the multi-billion ringgit High Speed Broadband project yesterday, the Minister of Information, Communication and Culture, Datuk Seri Rais Yatim had stated that
“We are being colonised. The outside world presents content to us. We should create our own identity with local content. We don’t want to be followers when building society.”
The Minister could not have been more wrong in his statement. Over the past 50 years, after Malaysia's independence from our colonial British masters, Malaysia has been progressively “colonised” by UMNO and Barisan Nasional with its frequent and persistent use of colonial controls against dissent and communication, such as the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Printing, Publications and Presses Act (PPPA), the Universities and Universities Colleges Act (UUCA), the Official Secrets Act (OSA), the sedition Act and more. These are the exact tools of our British colonial masters, which have beenr retained and abused by UMNO and BN for their own political ends, with complete disregard for the interest of Malaysians at large.

On the other hand, Malaysians should be grateful to the Internet for it brought about a new era of seamless communications and openness which in essence, have de-colonise Malaysians from the iron grip of UMNO and BN. Malaysians must fully embrace the Internet for it has allowed us to “free our minds” from the repressive controls inherited from our British colonial masters.

The choice of Datuk Seri Rais Yatim as the Minister to take over the portfolio of both Information and Communications by the new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak must have been specifically intended to curtail the new freedom found by Malaysian which is channel through the Internet. He has remained one of the many dinosaurs left over from the Mahathir's administration who has failed to understand and grasp the nature of the Internet.

In this new Internet era, the more the Government seeks to curtail and inhibit discussion and communication via the worldwide web, the bigger the backlash it will have against the Government itself. Datuk Seri Rais Yatim is only further catalysing the demise of UMNO and Barisan Nasional by seeking to impose its archaic controls mechanisms in this new globalised era.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I get your drift but clearly you have left the dotcom business and also don't get it.

The Internet is democratic and destroy intermediaries and unmeritocracy i.e. the value chain goes back to content strength although not completely.

If our local content is not up to snuff, then it does not matter and we will get colonised but its based on merit but in some ways its liberating.

Check out Zee Avi, a malaysian internet story we can learn much from:

http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=tl&q=zee+avi&meta=&aq=f&oq=

KoSong Cafe said...

His recent statements on Negara Ku, and Swine Flu, for examples seem petty and nothing much in substance. Shouldn't he be into something more important to the nation?

Anonymous said...

I will be direct and forthright.....that info minister is just an @#%hole !!!

amoker said...

Indeed, Rais is the dinosour of internet. he seemed to be clueless, a shame that old age is now a handicap & his experience unused. He can retire gently and let the world move on. hehe

Desmond said...

Yeah, I do agree with you, YB. Internet has provided us a wide range of information that could not be accessed by traditional way of communication (i.e. newspaper, radio and tv).

Anonymous said...

Yawn...come on YB, give me a new line lah. I expected more from you. What type of argument is this? I am sorry, but you need more "oomph".

YAWN

DAP, please deal with this !!!!! said...

KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 — Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang today rejected the government’s plan to drop the 30 per cent Bumiputera equity requirement for Malaysian firms seeking public listing.

http://www.malaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/31057-hadi-awang-against-removal-of-30pc-bumiputera-equity-requirement-says-malays-still-weak


DAP's silence will be on its own peril.

Calvin said...

come to think of it, we are actually being colonized by our own mentality and not UMNO/BN.

Our own racist mentality is stopping us from liberating ourselves.

I've seen some DAP supporters that believes Mandarin is the supreme language, while UMNO supporters that has no problem with corruption, same goes with PAS/PKR and all the other parties.

the first step is to do what is good for our children, not for our pocket.

Anonymous said...

We are so obssesed with "race" to the extend that we ignore completely what is right or wrong, to do or not to do. e.g teaching of science and maths in English, letting go of NEP etc....
We are holding back progress.

We don't have a Information Minister, we have a Misinformed Minister.
Mr Tony, please let YB RY know the word "globalisation"

Anonymous said...

Our Rais Yatim's comment on YOutube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPdOu8rO3kA