Now with the uproar of bloggers getting invitations by the media to speak their minds off on just about any topic in Malaysia, one begins to wonder if the whole potrayal of informative media is slowly changing (or should I say, evolving) to something of a more independent view. True enough, bloggers are the “real” watchers from afar, for they don’t need to be diplomatic in fear of prosecution (by their affliates), nor do they feel the need to add sugar and spice to the story (especially if there are any “special treatment*” involved here). *read: sucking up
I’ve never really noticed how on earth a single voice permeating from the internet can have a great impact, until I realized there’s more to it than just a blogger’s view on a matter. See, some bloggers are like “ministers“, whereupon their words are read by hundreds and hundreds of blog surfers, without the need to “buy” their readership. These “ministers” (I’ll refer to them as ministers from now on, since I find it funny) may or may not realise that their words have deep impact on their readers, because, not unlike a cannonball effect, whatever they say may spark comments, be it negative or positive, from their hundreds of viewerships.
I have more to say about this, but let us get to the point of me writing this post. As you can see, I’m more of a picture blogger, wanting to show my extensive collection of photos so that my friends can enjoy the sights that I see whenever I am in an interesting place. However, as part of my UKEC (that’s the United Kingdom Executive Council for Malaysian Students in UK and EIRE) duty I wanted to know how people are reacting to our now downed website (as of now, the domain has not been extended yet by the guy who owns it) and while doing so, I found out a few interesting articles, namely this one, by Howsy, an Ipoh lang based in UK.
After what Jeff Ooi and Lim Kit Siang commented about the UKEC it was no surprise to me that all responses to our plea will just be negative replies. It is really sad to say that UKEC has had such a bad historical past that try as we may, our current committee may just be a victim of some misproper handling of the organisation from time beyond. And yet, we still fought hard, and did things the way we wanted UKEC to be. Now, I would have gladly surmised that there was nothing we could do to improve our situation, get my ass out of it and settle for something else (as of now I’ve already been offered a few jobs to care for other organization’s websites) but somehow I feel there’s something that can be done about it.
If you’ve read everything so far, your head should be crying in an obvious matter-of-factly tone “You’re gonna use bloggers to help you!” and yes, I am afraid you are right. Since we have many Malaysian bloggers in the UK, as well as Malaysian bloggers in Malaysia who are fairly concerned about news pertaining to the land of English, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t enlist their help! After all, it isn’t just the bloggers that we’re dealing with, it’s the throng of readership that they will carry along with them. Such are the powers of huge bloggers like the all-powerful Jeff Ooi and others like Vincent from PJ and Aisehman from http://www.aisehman.org/ just to name a few. More socio-political bloggers can be found through Howsy’s blog-roll which you can find on the sidebar.
Heck, I’m not even side-lining other influential bloggers like Michael Ooi or Dr Liew from MicheaOoi.Net and DrLiew.Net respectively (notice the similarities? Maybe I should get a ChristopherTock.net domain… then again, maybe not =P). I cannot imagine the wave of movement if any one of them looses the lion from its cage. We even have our very own local news bloggers like Wan Aimran or Nik Azmi who’s hearts are close to home, though they are both studying here in Imperial College London. As the names aforementioned are just the tip of the iceberg, we know there’s so much more (ministers) out there that if we collectively gather them as one, I don’t see how that won’t be a better representation of Malaysian students in UK and EIRE… what more with hundreds of other voices (whom, I must add, are not necessarily followers) they carry along with them.
Hence I will now be actively pursuing this particular method, and maybe, just maybe, UKEC can truly become independent and once more be a respected organization bent on looking after the welfare of Malaysians, independent of their races or social status. I shall end this post without any pictures, a silent tribute to a side of myself that I do not usually potray to the world of my readers =)
Thank you.
No harm meant mate, I know you are part of the UKEC committee, but I seriously feel that UKEC is not really doing alot.
It’s not really the fault of anyone, it’s just that we seem to be having too many clubs or societies in the UK for Malaysians. It seem a little redundant and at times even racially segregating.
Secondly, UKEC committee is made up of students from quite a few universities, and I do understand the hassle to get together to talk things over when our priority is no where near running a perfect society.
Don’t be too bothered about the negative feedbacks, just take them as a motivation to do better.
Cheerios!
Hey Mr Bherng,
Thanks for visiting =)
I am not like many others who would normally retort by “try being in my shoes and see if you could do better”, because I know better than to do that. Instead I will keep to my promises and, assuming I am still in my position for the next academic year, I will push for what I think is right for the organisation.
Many thanks for your feedback, and I hope, if need be, that you will be able to help us in our cause. Please come back 🙂