Quite sometime ago, I wrote my last post on September 18th 2008 entitled Kickdefella Arrested for Sedition. I have been unusually busy of late attending to various matters pertaining to work and family, resulting in my lengthy absence from blogging. It caught me by surprise when I received an unexpected comment on that very article by a friend and former senior of mine from the Royal Military College by the name of Syahrizal S with regards to my resentment towards the BN government. In fact, he linked his comment on my post to a post of his own in his blog called the Drill & Grill. You can read the post on his blog here.
In his comment, Syahrizal maintained that race-based politics is also rampant in Pakatan Rakyat as opposed to Barisan Nasional. Furthermore, he implied that BN is not a “racist” party if their continued success in the history of Malaysian GEs is anything to go by. By his logic, if BN was a “racist” party and Malaysians have always voted for BN to be in power, that makes all Malaysians racists. Read his comment and my subsequent reply to his comment here.
I am not offended by his comment by any means. In fact, as I mentioned in my reply to his comment, I am honoured that he had made the time to comment on my supposedly “biased” article. In fact, it is exactly this kind of open discussion and objective and constructive criticism that we bloggers wish to indulge in at any given time. Ironically, this is also something that the current BN goverment does not condone wholeheartedly. They’re policies are far too evident with their constant chastising of bloggers who re perceived as “anti-BN”.
To Syahrizal and all other bloggers and visitors to my blog, I wish to say I may be wrong and that I will stand to be corrected. That is the whole point, we must not fail to see. Everyone should be open to comments and brickbats just the same. Most bloggers reserve the right to moderate the comments shown on their blogs. However, some bloggers fail to approve negative comments on their blogs and this should certainly not be the case. Take for instance, Tun Dr Mahathir’s blog. You will never find a comment made against his views. This is the case with many bloggers, sad to say. Forgive me for singling out Dr M but his blog comes to mind at this point of time.
For me, it is very simple. Live and let live. Blog and let blog. Just as is the case in most developed democracies, freedom of speech should be enshrined in our constitution. Malaysia should look towards the West and adopt this attitude. The attitude of the ruling government must change, for a better Malaysia. As for all the bloggers, we are set in our collective attitude. With the right amount of pressure and patience, we will realise this Malaysian dream. A Malaysia for all. A Malaysia for Bangsa Malaysia.
Jaredsdad's Weblog 
Comments & replies…
Posted in Politics with tags bloggers, BN, comment, freedom of speech, Malaysia, PR, reply on October 6, 2008 by jaredsdadQuite sometime ago, I wrote my last post on September 18th 2008 entitled Kickdefella Arrested for Sedition. I have been unusually busy of late attending to various matters pertaining to work and family, resulting in my lengthy absence from blogging. It caught me by surprise when I received an unexpected comment on that very article by a friend and former senior of mine from the Royal Military College by the name of Syahrizal S with regards to my resentment towards the BN government. In fact, he linked his comment on my post to a post of his own in his blog called the Drill & Grill. You can read the post on his blog here.
In his comment, Syahrizal maintained that race-based politics is also rampant in Pakatan Rakyat as opposed to Barisan Nasional. Furthermore, he implied that BN is not a “racist” party if their continued success in the history of Malaysian GEs is anything to go by. By his logic, if BN was a “racist” party and Malaysians have always voted for BN to be in power, that makes all Malaysians racists. Read his comment and my subsequent reply to his comment here.
I am not offended by his comment by any means. In fact, as I mentioned in my reply to his comment, I am honoured that he had made the time to comment on my supposedly “biased” article. In fact, it is exactly this kind of open discussion and objective and constructive criticism that we bloggers wish to indulge in at any given time. Ironically, this is also something that the current BN goverment does not condone wholeheartedly. They’re policies are far too evident with their constant chastising of bloggers who re perceived as “anti-BN”.
To Syahrizal and all other bloggers and visitors to my blog, I wish to say I may be wrong and that I will stand to be corrected. That is the whole point, we must not fail to see. Everyone should be open to comments and brickbats just the same. Most bloggers reserve the right to moderate the comments shown on their blogs. However, some bloggers fail to approve negative comments on their blogs and this should certainly not be the case. Take for instance, Tun Dr Mahathir’s blog. You will never find a comment made against his views. This is the case with many bloggers, sad to say. Forgive me for singling out Dr M but his blog comes to mind at this point of time.
For me, it is very simple. Live and let live. Blog and let blog. Just as is the case in most developed democracies, freedom of speech should be enshrined in our constitution. Malaysia should look towards the West and adopt this attitude. The attitude of the ruling government must change, for a better Malaysia. As for all the bloggers, we are set in our collective attitude. With the right amount of pressure and patience, we will realise this Malaysian dream. A Malaysia for all. A Malaysia for Bangsa Malaysia.
2 Comments »