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source:http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=39172
Malaysian government sets up Internet spin team
To counter all those Internet lies
By Nick Farrell: Wednesday 25 April 2007, 16:33
MALAYSIA'S INFORMATION ministry is so miffed that people are going on the web and telling porkies about its glorious government that it has hired a team of spinners just to deal with it.
The crack team of spinners will cast an eagle eye on whatever is being said about Malaysia online. If it sees something that the government will not like it will swoop. Deputy Information Minister Chia Kwang Chye said the team will be in and out with a press release in seconds in a bid to tackle what he said was "abuse" of the Internet and online technology.
Chia told the Bernama news agency the spinners will be purely working to disseminate information, explain correct information and counter the misinformation on government policies.
There is currently a bit of a barny going on online, between the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Malaysian bloggers and other Internet users. He says they are spreading slander and gossip, they say he is... not a very good PM. Miffing a Malaysian PM is apparently enough for the entire government to talk about punishment and tighter controls on Internet use in response.
Already two bloggers are also being sued for defamation by the government-linked New Straits Times Press group in an action identified as a government crack-down on freedom of expression.
Fortunately, the new unit will not have the power to arrest bloggers the PR people don't like. There is nothing more evil than a PR who has the power to lock up a reporter who fails to print their press release. Well, other than a reporter who never questions what a company says.
other source:http://www.smh.com.au/news/Technology/Malaysian-govt-to-counter-Internet-lies/2007/04/25/1177459777303.html
Another brilliant jiak pah boh su zo idea from Zamzam a.k.a Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin and ministry of Bu Su Zo lackey Chia Kwang Chye.
This reminded me of a similar incident that happened in Singapore around February
The Straits Times, Feb 3, 2007:
PAP moves to counter criticism of party, Govt in cyberspace
By Li Xueying
THE People's Action Party (PAP) is mounting a quiet counter-insurgency against its online critics.Source: Straights TimeIt has members going into Internet forums and blogs to rebut anti-establishment views and putting up postings anonymously.
Sources told The Straits Times the initiative is driven by two sub-committees of the PAP's 'new media' committee chaired by Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen.
One sub-committee, co-headed by Minister of State (Education) Lui Tuck Yew and Hong Kah GRC MP Zaqy Mohamad, strategises the campaign.
The other is led by Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Baey Yam Keng and Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Josephine Teo. Called the 'new media capabilities group', it executes the strategies.
Both were set up after last year's General Election. Aside from politicians, some 20 IT-savvy party activists are also involved.
When contacted, Mr Baey declined to give details of the group's activities, but he outlined the broad principles of the initiative.
It was necessary for the PAP to have a voice in cyberspace as there were few in the online community who were pro-establishment, he said.
As such, the committees aim to 'observe how new media is developing and see how we can use the new media as part of the overall media landscape', he added.
'How do we facilitate views that are pro-party and propagate them through the Internet?'
The approach reflects comments by Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui at the PAP's party conference in December. He called on younger activists to put up views 'to moderate the vitriol and balance the skewed comments' on the Internet.
But this can only work if activists are not 'too obvious' about it, Mr Baey said yesterday. Otherwise it comes across as 'propaganda'.
'The identity is not important. It is the message that is important,' he added.
One activist who is involved said that when posting comments on online forums and the feedback boxes of blogs, he does not identify himself as a PAP member.
He tracks popular blogs and forums to 'see if there is anything we can clarify' on hot-button topics such as the impending hike in the Goods and Services Tax.
But he added: 'We don't rebut everything. Sometimes, what is said is fair enough, and we send the feedback on to the committee.'
This latest initiative comes on top of a blog site with posts by 12 MPs born after Singapore's Independence in 1965.
It recognises that more younger Singaporeans are relying on the new media as a main source of information.
An Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) study conducted last year found that younger and better-educated Singaporeans relied on information from the Internet when shaping their voting choices at the last GE.
Among the opposition parties, members and supporters of the Workers' Party, in particular, post regularly on forums online.
But IPS senior research fellow Tan Tarn How wonders about the effectiveness of the PAP's campaign.
He said Internet users who post on forums such as Sammyboy tend not to be interested in 'intellectual debate' and so will not be persuaded by PAP activists anyway.
As for more serious-minded bloggers, he said the views that the activists may put out are already available in the mainstream media.
I see a trend here. The Establishments are sending out their spies to check up on forums and blogs to counter criticism of the government. Now why didn't THEY think of this in the 80' ?
Of course back then the internet wasn't established yet and blogs were but a thing of the future. But people still used to gossip and slander in local kopitiams while playing Chinese Chess in the jalan kaki 5.
If they had used a similar strategy back then, old Ah-Peks who were spying for the government would have went to the pasar..sat down and played Chinese Chess with the neighbourhood ah-peks to get the low down on the real feelings of the constituents while mailing their (remember back then there were no handphones) feedbacks to their masters.
But this begs the question: Who funds these spinners?
I know it won't be them. They are too selfish to take money out from their own pockets..so most probably it would come from taxes...what?..no you say?..they work for free?? no malaysian would work for free..that's a fact.
Look at the Mat Rempits..they proposed to pay them RM50 for each snatch-thief they catch..but the ironic thing is they ARE the snatch thieves.
Sorry..back to my point
The style varies distinctively between Malaysia and Singapore:
Malaysia
- the team will be in and out with a press release in seconds in a bid to tackle what he said was "abuse" of the Internet and online technology
- It has members going into Internet forums and blogs to rebut anti-establishment views and putting up postings anonymously.
Malaysians are more headstrong when it comes to this issue. Some "official" would most probably wave his keris,say unemployed women are to blame for this and communist are behind this.
Ah ha..there's simple logic behind these disappointed feelings that the people are currently feeling that high end officials can't seem to figure out.
Don't disappointment stem from failure?
so :
Premise A
- The people are not happy
- The people complain and criticize
I'm just a kid and I can see that =.="
Fools who waste taxpayers money in parliament debating about pointless stuff like women's attire and AF bringing no moral value to the nation brings indiscriminate waste of resource.
