Aljazeera has made clear inroads into the traditional Internet domination of the global media giants following its breath-taking coverage and live video streaming of the Arab revolution, which has captured the imagination of the world. This Alexa graph shows just how much ground it has gained.
Who is responsible for Taib Mahmud’s worst nightmare? Clare Rewcastle Brown, sister-in-law of Gordon Brown, and Peter John Jaban aka ‘Papa Orang Utan’, the grandson of a Dayak headhunter, are the driving force behind the mysterious Radio Free Sarawak. Clare, a former BBC investigative journalist, is also the author of the Sarawak Report website.
A Japanese multinational company is demanding RM10 million by today and a public apology from lawyer-activist-blogger Charles Hector after he highlighted problems faced by Myanmar migrants working at the firm’s plant in Malaysia. Asahi Kosei (M) Sdn Bhd claims the workers are not employed by the firm and are instead supplied by an unnamed third party and that Hector had thus defamed Asahi Kosei through his blog postings by suggesting that the firm was responsible for the alleged poor treatment of the workers. Before he was slapped with the RM10 million demand, Hector had sent two e-mails on 8 and 9 February 2011 to the company expressing concern about the workers’ problems – but did not receive any reply, clarification or denial. Hector had also released a joint statement, endorsed by 82 civil society groups and published on his blog, to express concern about the workers’ plight.
After what’s been happening in Egypt, I thought I would draft a memo to dictators and authoritarian leaders around the world to give them some free and unsolicited advice. Dear Mr Dictator/Authoritarian Leader Recent events in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and elsewhere must be giving you sleepless nights or making you feel terribly uneasy. May I offer a few tips so that you don’t see similar eruptions in your own countries: Do not suppress dissent Allow your people sufficient avenues and outlets to express their frustrations, anger, complaints and criticism. You don’t want their anger and frustration to be pent up. Think of these avenues as built-in safety valves. In this respect, free media and a functioning Parliament have a big role to play. Don’t forget to free up the state-run media as well. Get rid of all repressive laws, especially detention without trial, and bring back democracy quickly before it’s [Read more]
It’s amazing what a series of upcoming elections can do. Already the government, perhaps with one eye on the Tenang by-election, has back-tracked. Now, the Royal Commission of Inquiry will look into the cause of Teoh Beng Hock’s death. Now Hishammuddin also says the government is not yet ready to amend the Printing Presses and Publications Act to suppress Internet freedom. That’s a day after Home Ministry secretary-general Mahmood Adam reportedly said the government plans to table amendments to the PPPA to include online news sites when Parliament convenes in March.