FOLLOWING the electoral winds of change in March, a great wave of cynicism is sweeping the land.

Whatever the government says is treated as a pack of lies by the blogging community which has arrogated to itself the role of the nation's conscience and arbiter of truth.

This may seem absurd, and it is, when we know from painful personal experience that most of them who are trotting out opinions and comments on the website are least qualified to claim the moral high ground where truth, and the whole truth, is concerned.

Mark you, I have the greatest respect for responsible bloggers, and they can be counted on the fingers of one hand. And it is not my intention to tar all with the same brush.

Unfortunately, the World Wide Web seems to have attracted, and has apparently become a ghetto of sorts for, a growing population of the socially maladjusted who make a virtue of distorting the truth, scattering insinuations and innuendos like confetti on those who come within range.
The imputation of improper motives to those they perceive to be fair game has been developed into an art form.

The damage to the reputation of their victims is never given a second thought, and why should anyone object when we live in a democracy and they are well within their rights to hide behind the cyber curtain and level wild allegations against those whom they dislike for reasons best known to themselves?

Blogging, as far as they are concerned, is not about fair comment; it is a licence to spread despair and disquiet, and to exploit the uncertain political times the country is going through.

It is also about gaining notoriety; the blog is the only avenue they believe that is open to them to add a little spice and excitement to their otherwise sterile intellectual existence.

As for the language used, it would be an act of great kindness to keep your maiden aunt from straying into your computer room every time you give in to your baser instincts, driven by an uncontrollable curiosity, to take a peep at the latest scurrilous and diabolical offerings on the devil's menu of the day.

Unfortunately, they have become a staple for Malaysians who have grown disenchanted and largely disappointed with the haphazard and clumsy management of official information.

Until now, and it is early days yet at that, we have been ill-served by a succession of information ministers whose special forte was regulation and control and what emanated from the ministry was nothing if not an insult to human intelligence.

Is it any wonder then that the blogs, good, bad and indifferent, are apparently displacing the mainstream media, perceived at best to be mere propaganda tools?

However, it is not such a clear-cut choice because, as far as I am concerned, it is a case of out of the frying pan into the fire.

For all their claim of editorial rectitude, they are totally intolerant, and unreasonably so, of views that they believe are at odds with their own.

You invariably run into a barrage of invective, impregnated with oodles of that good old Anglo-Saxon four letter word that provides a lifeline to those whose linguistic maturity has not kept pace with their physical development.

Largely because of ineptitude, the government is playing into their hands, by default. A good example of this is the current spate of allegations against a key figure in government.

He, instead of denying them promptly by giving as much information as possible to debunk them, and proceeding to sue the offending blogs for defamation, has allowed the matter to hang in the air.

The upshot is a heaven-sent opportunity served on a silver salver for a massive round of rumour-mongering and damning speculation of guilt.

It should have been made clear at the outset that as soon as the case in question had been disposed of in the high court, legal proceedings would be instituted.

This is the only way to clear the air and restore public confidence in the aggrieved, much maligned individual concerned, as otherwise it would lend credence to the vicious rumours doing the rounds up and down the country.

Bloggers must be reminded that they cannot operate outside of the law, and that they are accountable for all of their actions, comments and utterances which find their way into the public domain. Two can play the game, and this is something they often forget.

That the government must develop a credible strategy to confront their lies has taken on renewed urgency because if left to their own devices, the stability of this country will be put at very considerable risk.

Lies repeated often enough will develop a life of their own, and before we know it, they will acquire an aura of authority that will be impossible to counter effectively.

The time for the government to act is now or it will forever govern in the dark shadows of unending lies by parties that care little or nothing for the peace, sustainability and stability of our country.

I am a firm believer in press freedom, but with an important qualification. There cannot be freedom without responsibility. In the same vein, there cannot be rights without duties, and there cannot be accountability without transparency.

I am afraid, judged by these basic criteria, many of the blogs in Malaysia fail the test miserably. That said, we all welcome views that differ from ours and are expressed in language that is temperate -- although many are under the impression that a person whose language is refined and restrained has no place in their scheme of things.


* The writer is a former special adviser to the United Nations secretary-general on ethics. He can be contacted at tunkua@gmail.com