It must be a sign of the times to have a politician set up shop in cyberspace. There’s a lot to be said about the significance of such an event though others might shrug shoulders at this new development. The most significant aspect about Mr Lim Kit Siang’s move into the “blog o sphere” (how I hate this term) is in the consequences, I think.


“Conversations”: preaching to the choir?

Not only will readers now be weaned on alternative news provided by Aliran, Jeff Ooi, Malaysiakini or Malaysia Today, but we have a bonafide politician engaged in conversation with disparate, anonymous entities on cyberspace. What this means, theoretically speaking, is that ideas and issues discussed by said politician can be tested with contrarian views and arguments, no doubt a learning experience for all parties, readers and interlocutors alike.

I wonder why opposition politicians have not done this earlier.

If young minds are the future of this country, the easiest way of reaching them would be through a medium infested with 20- and 30-somethings. This is precisely something we need. Forgive my ignorance, but it was until recently that I discovered blogs run by personalities such as Raja Petra and others, and while it doesn’t have the familiar flavour of a forum, comments and responses have the potential for the same cut-and-thrust of debate but in a different format.

It’s great!

It’s just the sort of space we need for a debate about things that truly matter to us. Unfortunately, a pretty big question is if Mr Lim’s incursion into the “blog o sphere” will go unnoticed by the general public. The unfortunate thing about political discourse is that it exists in a very rarified atmosphere; not only is apathy a problem, but understanding the significance of events under discussion is just as important.

As an example, the expulsion and subsequent humiliation of Anwar Ibrahim is an event that tends to get lost in the details of the scandal, where perhaps one could read the signs of differences of opinion amongst the political elite under Mahathir’s rule.

Consequences

I wondered about this some time back, here.

I don’t know if the general public is aware, let alone the denizens of Malaysia’s cyberspace, just how much under threat some of our fellow bloggers are. Repression is a tool, and the most effective method of repression is by appeal to a system that guarantees legitimacy if applied. J. B. Jeyaretnam has faced this, and the others suffer under the same threat.

It’s nothing new.

I truly do wonder, however, how Mr Lim’s entrance into this blog universe will affect other dissenting Malaysian voices. Let’s be under no illusions; we’re all small fry in the larger scheme of things, except the ones who have faced the ire of the incumbent; to merit the “distinction” of being arrested for sedition or investigated by the Police can only mean that they make Big Brother extremely nervous.

Now, let’s just throw a rhetorical bone, here: does anyone think Mr Lim won’t raise UMNO hackles? And in the “blog o sphere” no less! The playground of young, impressionable minds! Sure, the reality may not be an apocalyptic end resulting in strenuous pogroms against dissenting denizens.

But with a fiery personality like Mr Lim’s on board for the long haul, and for asking the right questions and drawing the uncomfortable conclusions, you can be dead sure someone will be monitoring who reads his posts… and what messages readers take away from them.

Tyrants have always known the power of the pen over the sword — or keris.

So, who’s scared now?

And should I be? Or am I just being paranoid? Perhaps the audience for political ‘diatribe’ is small, insignificant and largely ignored by the larger Malaysian reality. Perhaps cynicism has taken sufficient root in enough of the majority to engender indifference. Perhaps Lim Kit Siang’s becoming one of us means nothing…

Then again, maybe it does.