50
Vee Vian Thien
Malaysia ’ s IT-development projects and demographically has the highest percentage
of top earners.
40 A 2008 study by Brian Ulicny reports that the active Malaysian sociopolitical blogosphere probably consists, at most, of 500 to 1,000 bloggers, “ with a
small, very active core of about 75 to 100 bloggers. ”
41 Based on the size of the political
blogosphere and the geographical clustering of bloggers, the core community seems
relatively easy to mobilize on short notice, especially if it is based on relationships
that predate the blogosphere.
The Strength and Importance of Real-World Networks in Malaysia
There is a high degree of coincidence between the blogging community and civilsociety activists in Malaysia, attributable in part to the initial lack of Internet censorship in the country. Political bloggers ’ demographics corroborate this overlap even
further. A 2010 study by Brian Ulicny, Christopher J. Matheus, and Mieczyslaw M.
Kokar observes that although 26.7 percent of their sample of random Malaysian bloggers are students, they make up a mere 5.9 percent of sociopolitical bloggers.
42 Also,
the age range is correspondingly higher for this subset of Malaysian political bloggers,
at an average age of 31.9 as opposed to the average of 20.5 for the sample of random
Malaysian bloggers.
43
A considerable number of top Malaysian sociopolitical bloggers are public fi gures
in their capacity as civil-society activists, politicians, or prominent journalists. In a
sample of 46 of the top sociopolitical blogs, drawn from a combination of the 2006
and 2010 studies, 34 bloggers reveal their identities. Of these, at least 20 fall within
one of the three categories mentioned earlier. In addition, civil society strongly supports bloggers. The National Press Club hosted both 2007 and 2010 meetings establishing NAB and BfM, respectively. Also, the four Bloggers Universe Malaysia events
to date have been jointly coordinated by NAB and the Center for Policy Initiatives, a
nonprofi t reformist think tank populated by bloggers.
Several propositions can be extrapolated from these observations and data. The
higher median age of most sociopolitical bloggers provides a partial explanation for
sustained participation within the blogosphere — Malaysian political bloggers are
unlikely to be transitory college students. The signifi cant number of these bloggers
who were public fi gures prior to blogging accounts for the blogosphere ’ s visibility,
with its speakers drawing on their existing offl ine audiences. The remarkably rapid
and impassioned responses by the blogosphere to regulatory proposals are unsurprising when juxtaposed against the Internet ’ s intimate and multifaceted relationship
with civil society. A comparison with Singapore illustrates the fi nal point. By contrast
to the thriving and active Malaysian sociopolitical blogosphere, its Singaporean counterpart is less visible and vocal despite Singapore ’ s vastly superior Internet penetration
rate. This contrast is especially stark when one compares Internet political activism
during the countries ’ respective general elections, Singapore in 2006 and Malaysia in
Vee Vian Thien
Malaysia ’ s IT-development projects and demographically has the highest percentage
of top earners.
40 A 2008 study by Brian Ulicny reports that the active Malaysian sociopolitical blogosphere probably consists, at most, of 500 to 1,000 bloggers, “ with a
small, very active core of about 75 to 100 bloggers. ”
41 Based on the size of the political
blogosphere and the geographical clustering of bloggers, the core community seems
relatively easy to mobilize on short notice, especially if it is based on relationships
that predate the blogosphere.
The Strength and Importance of Real-World Networks in Malaysia
There is a high degree of coincidence between the blogging community and civilsociety activists in Malaysia, attributable in part to the initial lack of Internet censorship in the country. Political bloggers ’ demographics corroborate this overlap even
further. A 2010 study by Brian Ulicny, Christopher J. Matheus, and Mieczyslaw M.
Kokar observes that although 26.7 percent of their sample of random Malaysian bloggers are students, they make up a mere 5.9 percent of sociopolitical bloggers.
42 Also,
the age range is correspondingly higher for this subset of Malaysian political bloggers,
at an average age of 31.9 as opposed to the average of 20.5 for the sample of random
Malaysian bloggers.
43
A considerable number of top Malaysian sociopolitical bloggers are public fi gures
in their capacity as civil-society activists, politicians, or prominent journalists. In a
sample of 46 of the top sociopolitical blogs, drawn from a combination of the 2006
and 2010 studies, 34 bloggers reveal their identities. Of these, at least 20 fall within
one of the three categories mentioned earlier. In addition, civil society strongly supports bloggers. The National Press Club hosted both 2007 and 2010 meetings establishing NAB and BfM, respectively. Also, the four Bloggers Universe Malaysia events
to date have been jointly coordinated by NAB and the Center for Policy Initiatives, a
nonprofi t reformist think tank populated by bloggers.
Several propositions can be extrapolated from these observations and data. The
higher median age of most sociopolitical bloggers provides a partial explanation for
sustained participation within the blogosphere — Malaysian political bloggers are
unlikely to be transitory college students. The signifi cant number of these bloggers
who were public fi gures prior to blogging accounts for the blogosphere ’ s visibility,
with its speakers drawing on their existing offl ine audiences. The remarkably rapid
and impassioned responses by the blogosphere to regulatory proposals are unsurprising when juxtaposed against the Internet ’ s intimate and multifaceted relationship
with civil society. A comparison with Singapore illustrates the fi nal point. By contrast
to the thriving and active Malaysian sociopolitical blogosphere, its Singaporean counterpart is less visible and vocal despite Singapore ’ s vastly superior Internet penetration
rate. This contrast is especially stark when one compares Internet political activism
during the countries ’ respective general elections, Singapore in 2006 and Malaysia in