MALAYSIA: Anwar factor draws bloggers to Selangor by-election

MALAYSIA: Anwar factor draws bloggers to Selangor by-election
Bloggers on both sides of the political fence express their views

Straits Times
Saturday, April 21, 2007

By Reme Ahmad

Kuala Lumpur --- The intense fight to win a key by-election in Selangor has
reverberated in cyberspace, with many websites and blogs jumping in to cheer
their side, or offer views.

Observers expect the by-election in the Ijok state constituency to attract the
biggest number of commentaries in the coming days as it involves the party of
opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, and it is the second by-election held in Malaysia
in a month.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), whose adviser is Datuk Seri Anwar, is contesting
the seat against a candidate from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

While a smattering of bloggers campaigned for their side during the Batu Talam
by-election in Pahang in January, and the Machap by-election in Malacca last
week, more are lining up to comment in both Bahasa and English languages on the
Ijok fight.

"For Ijok, bloggers on both sides of the political fence are making themselves
visible early. One can't help but wonder how it will be during the general
election.

"Will blogs help decide the outcome?" asked widely-read blogger Ahirudin Attan.

The Ijok by-election is being held following the death of Barisan assemblyman
Datuk K. Sivalingam, 59, on April 4.

The Ijok seat is one of three that make up the Kuala Selangor Parliamentary
constituency.

The man picked by the 12,000-plus voters on April 28 will take his place in the
Selangor state assembly, and not the federal Parliament.

Respected online newspaper malaysiakini.com this week began listing "Blogs on
Ijok" and the list has kept growing.

Mr Premesh Chandran, chief executive of malaysiakini.com, said "this offers our
readers a look at the discussions on the blogs" over the by-election.

He added that the PKR factor has attracted a higher volume of opinions and
views.

Popular news portal malaysia-today.net has also started to list some of the
sharper bloggers' commentaries on Ijok.

This is the first time that PKR is contesting in a by-election since the 2004
general elections.

A crucial question is whether Datuk Seri Anwar still has enough political magic
to pull off a win that would shake BN, which beat PKR there in the 2004
elections.

With the mainstream media restricted to mainly reporting positive comments by
government politicians about the issues, the opposition has to rely more on
cyberspace.

A group of PKR supporters, for instance, has launched its own by-election
blogsite at http://ijok2007.word-press.com.

The rising profile of political blogs comes just weeks after senior government
officials said bloggers told half-truths and lies. One even said the government
is considering asking all bloggers to register their names.

But the blogs may not reach much of their target audience, as the voters of the
semi-urban constituency of Ijok are mostly palm oil farmers, civil servants and
factory workers.

The main town in the constituency, Batang Berjuntai, has only one Internet cafe,
residents say.

Still, being a semi-urban constituency about an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur,
the Ijok voters are thought by observers to be more attuned to national issues
than the basic development concerns of rural voters.

Date Posted: 4/21/2007
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-southeastasia.asp?parentid=68314
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