Kuala Lumpur - Bloggers in Malaysia describe Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek`s willingness to meet them as a recognition of the role played by the cyber community in shaping public opinion in the country.
Yasser Arafat Ishak, or better known as Jiwarasa among the cyber community, said Ahmad Shabery`s willingness to listen to the views of this community augured well for the country`s development.
He said the willingness also enabled the government to understand the role of the community in analysing current issues that were of interest to the multiracial society in the country.
He was speaking to Bernama after a discussion session “Writers and Blogs: The Current Trend”, organised by the Malay Documentation Centre, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) at the DBP here yesterday.
Yasser and Nisah Haron, also a blogger, were two members of the panel for the discussion session chaired by a lecturer from the Faculty of Education Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Shamsudin Othman.
On Friday, Ahmad Shabery had said the ministry took the role played by the alternative media seriously.
Statistics from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) showed that 13.5 million people or 47.8% of the Malaysian population of 28.29 million used the internet last year.
It is estimated that there are now more than 70 million web blogs throughout the world with blogs in Japanese language recording the highest number representing 37%, blogs in English (33%), Chinese (8%), Italian (3%), Persian (1%) with the remainder using other languages.
Source: thestar.com.my (25 Maret 2008)
