NST versus Malaysians

I came across the this article
3540 Jalan Sudin: Please, Sir, Not the NST which echoes my personal feelings.

Over the weekend I took some time to reflect on the ongoing law suit against Jeff and Rocky. It has led to a groundswell of protest amongst bloggers and blog readers. Many (most) condemn the action by NST and the individuals as an attempt to silence independent commentators and persistent antagonists of the Kali-led NST by drawing these two individuals into a costly legal battle.

As an individual, if I felt I had been maligned in untrue writings by another person, I would demand a retraction and an unreserved apology. If this is not forthcoming, I want to have the right to seek remedy through legal channel. In this case, I am not aware of prior attempts by these individuals to seek retraction of offending articles. Why Not? They instead chose to jump straight to the legal process. Why?

Reading between the lines and re-reading recent comments and warnings by the government, I suspect, there is a wider agenda at play. Our local blogsphere has slowly but surely developed into a credible alternative media. They offer independent analysis and commentary on current events and government policies.

Official government PR machinery (of which NST is one) is finding it more and more difficult to spin its news for our "want to perform, but cannot" government of the day. Every attempt is quickly dissected and unspun by probing bloggers. Jeff Ooi and Rocky do this consistently on their blogs. As a result, the segment of English speaking and reading Malaysian that forms the core audience of NST are no longer reachable.

Kalimullah was appointed to head the NST by Pak-lah to serve one purpose - not unlike head-honchos before him - to protect our PM's political image and spin his political agenda. However I think he is probably the most ineffective appointee in history. The more he tries prop-up the failing PM, the harder he fails, no thanks to bloggers like Jeff and Rocky.

Whoever is behind this idea to sue bloggers has got it all wrong. Unlike commercial entity that are motivated by profits, independent bloggers and its community of readers are motivated by something purer than just money. This is something I believe men who are motivated by money alone can never understand. The longer this fight drags on, the stronger the support base will grow. NST's reputation will be destroyed along with the reputation of the government it seeks to promote.

For those of you who are shareholders of NST, do ensure your shareholder funds are not used to pay for the legal costs of the individuals involved in this case, especially since one of them is not even an employee of the paper anymore.