Banned in Malaysia
A response to Sheih of Kickdefella
(aka comment #1118 on this thread)
Our dear friend Sheih,
You say, “Yes, I put you guys under the spam category. My action is not disregard of your freedom of speech but because I found you disregard of others freedom of speech.”
You’re further reiterating what we’ve said all along, about most people not understanding what freedom of speech is. Do point out to us how any one of our comments has prevented others from either disagreeing or dissenting with us ? We’ve not prevented anyone from speaking nor have we asked anyone to stop speaking. We respond to comments with arguments of our own and engage in debate. How have we disregarded the freedom of speech of others ?
However, other commentors in your blog have taken to not responding to us but instead resorting to name-calling and insults. I suppose that is covered under your brand of free speech.
You also say, “You have used this blog to spread contagious unfriendly virus“. Pray do tell and point out where and how we spread this contagious unfriendly virus ? SiPM would have thought that someone as tech-savvy as you could tell what a virus really is.
Finally, you’re being incorrect when you define us as spam. Spam’s definitions can be found here and here. Unfortunately though, none of our comments falls under this definition, so categorizing us this way is both incorrect and of course, unethical when you consider that this entire campaign of yours is to promote freedom of speech.
We at Siber Party of Malaysia (M) are not against free speech. We are for ensuring that the rights of all citizens are protected and are met. This includes both the rights to free speech as well as the rights of ordinary citizens to seek legal redress if they feel they have been defamed. The problem with free speech is that many people do not really understand what it is, but will proclaim that their rights have been trampled upon when it is challenged.
We, however, support his right to ban us. We would like to point out that this is exactly what the injunction against Jeff Ooi and Ahiruddin Attan is about. The plaintiffs have categorized their postings as defamatory which the courts will decide on, just as Kickdefella has categorized our comments as spam. At the very least, Jeff and Ahirudin will get their day in court. SiPM won’t.
This episode on Kickdefella, who incidentally is co-manager of Bloggers United, illustrates that even defenders of free speech will not tolerate speech which is dissenting of the freedom fighters. Mydeen wonders what Jose Mourinho is going to be saying about this. Maybe he might like a friendly match with Bloggers United, or maybe Bloggers United wants a friendly match with MyTeam.
This is also about spin, the spin which is in full effect. The spin says that freedom of speech is being threatened. The spin says that bloggers are being persecuted. The spin is gaining momentum. We don’t like spin. We, as Malaysians, have been subjected to spin for so long.
Maybe they do not know how to do it another way, when Malaysians resort to spin in defence of their rights. Maybe we are spinning ourselves into a web which may entrap us. A web which once entrapped eight legs so much that Uncle Ben had to say, “With great power comes great responsibility“.
Our video of the day is, of course, a no brainer. Take it away, 2 Live Crew !
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