Freedom of Speech, Are We Ready Yet ?

Recently, there is a case where a blogger actually insulted the late Sultan of Johor in his blog. By doing so, it had causes displease among the public and strict action are demanded to be taken on him. Although a formal apology is made, it was unacceptable to the public opinion. Relevant authority had conducted an investigation on this issue to investigate if any form of defaming or violation of the regulations is found. Even so, the blogger have actually mistreated the purpose of blogging and uses the multimedia for the wrong act (Shadiqe 2010).

In blogging community, blogs do not exist as a place where bloggers can say whatever they want or basically anything. If a blogger decided to post on issue that are sensitive towards the public, the person have to take up the responsibility towards the cost that there will be people that disagree to it or even in the eyes of the law. 

According to VanFossen (2007), bloggers can post and share their opinion or view towards an issue if and only if the country law, internet provider, web host, publics and etc that actually have power over the blogosphere surrounding us approve it.

According to TheStarOnline (2008), In Malaysia, freedom of speech is always a critical issue, even thought the society wants to be in a country where by what they wrote or said is allowed, it could be seen that we are not ready for it yet. Although we are given the freedom to speech in some extend, vital aspects that should not be neglected when expressing it to the public are things such as the morality, value, approach and sensitive issue that could affect the harmony of the country. When expressing an opinion, make sure that it was implied using a proper manners and with respect to the readers without being found offensive.  

Bloggers will have to learn to use the freedom of speech in a proper manner and not corrupt it using the multimedia. After all, rules and regulations exist to act as a guide for the blogger in the blogosphere but not for the sake of controlling.

References:

Lyra, C 2008, Are Malaysians Ready for Freedom Of Speech, TheStarOnline, viewed 13 November 2010, <http://blog.thestar.com.my/permalink.asp?id=18812>.

Shadiqe, J 2010, Blogger held over insulting posting, NewStraitsTimes, viewed 13 November 2010,

<http://yquake.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/12eiss/Article/index_html>.

VanFossen, L 2007, 'Blogging Freedom of Speech: Can You Really Say Whatever You Want?',
blogherald, viewed 13 November 2010, <http://www.blogherald.com/2007/03/27/blogging-freedom-of-speech-can-you-really-say-whatever-you-want/>.