THEY say the Internet tide is unstoppable and that its advent in recent decades has touched and changed everything in its path, one of which is public discussions.
In our euphoria celebrating freedom it accorded, we have crossed the point of no return in as far as public discussions are concerned. Indeed, the Internet has blurred the lines of what constitutes public discussion, as society can now appear to be discussing issues in public yet without actually being seen in person. To a great extent, we are now able to freely engage in public discussions while remaining anonymous.
But, as we herald the new age and the accompanying new freedom, society must also be prepared to accept new conditions within the new landscape. Rightly or wrongly, there is much more freedom on the Internet and the top-down and one-way communication has become obsolete. At the same time, the traditional media comprising newspapers, radio and television have, for quite some time, lost their monopoly in the shaping of public opinion. The Internet today is perhaps the best place to gauge public sentiment.
Just two decades ago, our society would never have imagined the country’s prime minister being subjected to the kind of comments he gets on his Twitter account today. Some of the comments are outright rude even by 1990s standards. I am not sure whether they are still looked upon as such now. What I am sure though is that had some of the comments been made to our head of government in the 1990s, many of the commenters would have ended up in jail.
That no one yet has been sent to jail for posting such remarks on Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s very public Twitter account is perhaps an indication that the prime minister himself has accepted the new public discourse landscape in the new age. After all, even American presidents have for a long time been a favourite punching bag in television talk shows.
And so, Najib’s Twitter account remains open and there is no indication that the prime minister is planning to shut it down, even as his administration now grapples with challenges that has befallen state strategic development company 1Malaysia Development Bhd, a subject matter hotly and freely debated all over domestic Internet sites, including on his own Twitter account. There have been calls, including from readers of this newspaper, for the prime minister to shut down his Twitter account as some could not stomach reading comments made towards Najib. Some said Malaysians are not used to openly criticising their leaders. But, if we look at it from another perspective, Najib’s decision to keep his Twitter account open is actually an opportunity. Instead of using his social media network only to slander and hurl abuses, the public may use his Twitter account to instead engage constructively with the prime minister on issues affecting them. They can, for instance, do that now, as Najib, who is also finance minister, prepares the 2016 Budget.
Indeed, the prime minister should continue to engage the public in whatever means available, including the Internet. In fact, his ministers should, too, lest they fall behind amid the rapidly changing society and a landscape that has changed drastically even in a short span of just two decades.
It wasn’t unexpected, however. Remember the protest singer, Bob Dylan’s masterpiece The Times They Are A-Changing, lyrics of which so profoundly describe the need to embrace change in a restless society even as far back as in 1964 when the song was written.
“Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call /Don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the wall/For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled/There’s a battle outside and its raging/It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls/For the times they are a-changing”.
Do not be afraid of the malicious criticisms and potential abuses widespread in public discussions on the Internet as most times they are only driven by emotions. Studies have shown that when communication is anonymous and instant, as that provided by the Internet, people tend to respond relatively thoughtlessly and say whatever comes to their minds.
While some level of incivility is to be expected, society will eventually find its own bearing of what is, and what is not right, even in cyberspace. In time, as people realise that with freedom comes responsibility, and that the Internet is a medium that promises more opportunity than being solely an avenue to hurl abuses, there will be more constructive opinions than destructive ones.