56
Vee Vian Thien
Because the blogosphere is a decentralized peer-production system, individual
detentions and defamation suits did not cripple the system as a whole, nor could the
government assert comprehensive control by usurping centralized corporate ownership. In addition, more people are speaking to each other through the medium of the
Malaysian blogosphere across racial and linguistic divides that exist offl ine. Existing
real-world relationships, networks, and civil-society activism provide a strong starting
point of publicity for the political blogosphere that has been enhanced and sustained
by norms. With the relative geographical proximity of Malaysian sociopolitical bloggers, these factors cumulatively enable rapid, powerful responses both online and
offl ine to linear regulatory attempts.
A Shift Away from Linear Regulation: Third-Generation Controls
It would be a misstatement to describe BN as still being the underdog in the digital
race for votes.
61 After its 2008 debacle of losing the Internet war, the incumbent BN
that still controls the Malaysian federal government has demonstrated a willingness
to compete for cyberspace. Recent governmental actions indicate an inception of
third-generation controls that are competitive, participatory, and nonlinear. Instead
of traditional, unidirectional imposition of state power on the regulatory target, these
measures focus on counterinformation strategies where the state is an active player
competing for online reader attention. Such measures can broadly be divided between
general and election-specifi c measures.
Most BN politicians launched their own Facebook pages, blogs, and Twitter
accounts after 2008. Joining a global trend of e-transparency, the Malaysian government launched MyProcurement.com in April 2010. MyProcurement.com is an online
portal displaying all nonclassifi ed governmental tenders and successful bids. This is
a peculiarly bold and risky move because these contracts form a recurrent theme in
Malaysian corruption scandals. MyProcurement.com has received mixed reviews and
has led to further uncovering of corruption by PR politicians. Another notable example
of online engagement occurred in August 2010. Thousands of Malaysians responded
to the prime minister ’ s invitation on his blog 1Malaysia for suggestions and comments on the 2011 national budget that was due to be tabled before Parliament.
There has also been a signifi cant increase in anonymous disruptive attacks on both
PR and independent blogs. “ Cybertroopers ” is now a common Malaysian catchphrase.
It was coined around 2007 and refers to pro-BN Internet activists who actively monitor
the Malaysian political blogosphere for antigovernmental postings. Cybertroopers are
often accused of being responsible for online attacks on PR politicians. For example,
on August 31, 2010, a doctored photograph depicting a Chinese PR minister slaughtering a cow during the Ramadan month of fasting was circulated online. It was thought
to be the work of a BN cybertrooper and was quickly identifi ed as a doctored image.
Vee Vian Thien
Because the blogosphere is a decentralized peer-production system, individual
detentions and defamation suits did not cripple the system as a whole, nor could the
government assert comprehensive control by usurping centralized corporate ownership. In addition, more people are speaking to each other through the medium of the
Malaysian blogosphere across racial and linguistic divides that exist offl ine. Existing
real-world relationships, networks, and civil-society activism provide a strong starting
point of publicity for the political blogosphere that has been enhanced and sustained
by norms. With the relative geographical proximity of Malaysian sociopolitical bloggers, these factors cumulatively enable rapid, powerful responses both online and
offl ine to linear regulatory attempts.
A Shift Away from Linear Regulation: Third-Generation Controls
It would be a misstatement to describe BN as still being the underdog in the digital
race for votes.
61 After its 2008 debacle of losing the Internet war, the incumbent BN
that still controls the Malaysian federal government has demonstrated a willingness
to compete for cyberspace. Recent governmental actions indicate an inception of
third-generation controls that are competitive, participatory, and nonlinear. Instead
of traditional, unidirectional imposition of state power on the regulatory target, these
measures focus on counterinformation strategies where the state is an active player
competing for online reader attention. Such measures can broadly be divided between
general and election-specifi c measures.
Most BN politicians launched their own Facebook pages, blogs, and Twitter
accounts after 2008. Joining a global trend of e-transparency, the Malaysian government launched MyProcurement.com in April 2010. MyProcurement.com is an online
portal displaying all nonclassifi ed governmental tenders and successful bids. This is
a peculiarly bold and risky move because these contracts form a recurrent theme in
Malaysian corruption scandals. MyProcurement.com has received mixed reviews and
has led to further uncovering of corruption by PR politicians. Another notable example
of online engagement occurred in August 2010. Thousands of Malaysians responded
to the prime minister ’ s invitation on his blog 1Malaysia for suggestions and comments on the 2011 national budget that was due to be tabled before Parliament.
There has also been a signifi cant increase in anonymous disruptive attacks on both
PR and independent blogs. “ Cybertroopers ” is now a common Malaysian catchphrase.
It was coined around 2007 and refers to pro-BN Internet activists who actively monitor
the Malaysian political blogosphere for antigovernmental postings. Cybertroopers are
often accused of being responsible for online attacks on PR politicians. For example,
on August 31, 2010, a doctored photograph depicting a Chinese PR minister slaughtering a cow during the Ramadan month of fasting was circulated online. It was thought
to be the work of a BN cybertrooper and was quickly identifi ed as a doctored image.