Susan Loone has an idea.She has suggested that The Alliance of Bloggers, more popularly known as All-Blogs should get their asses down to Ijok and get their proverbial feet wet.
I agree with her.
The rest of the country, especially the rural areas have no idea that a decent form of democracy is actually beginning to develop. And the only way they can be exposed to it is by meeting us bloggers and talking with us.
Honestly, if we are going to promote blogging and freedom of speech, we simply cannot expect All-Blogs to shy away from political campaigns.
Politics affect ALL of us. We CANNOT expect to remain impartial. It would make no sense.
Not all bloggers share our opinion though. A Voice and Biggum Dogmannsteinberg are of the firm belief that bloggers should refrain from and stay off politics.
A Voice: NO ONE SHOULD turn it into a platform for any private or personal cause.
Fair enough. But to say so implies that bloggers going down to Ijok automatically represent the Opposition. It is not about the Opposition, but about FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.
Biggum Dogmannsteinberg: She seems to be politically inclined towards against BN (its her right, so be it!) and she is also trying to incite and influence other bloggers to follow her thoughts of anti BN modus operandi.
Towards or against?? Make up your mind, mate.
Seriously, I like Susan and all, but claiming that she can incite and influence a slew of bloggers simply by voicing her suggestions is frankly overrating her role and that of other bloggers.
Our role is not to influence but to open minds to possibilities other than the conventional way of doing things.
5 comments:
dear crankshaft,
you always say things so much better than i - thanks a lot that you see things clearly. we cant refrain from politics - which does not necessarily mean party politics. and the sooner we engage with politicians and challenge them, the better. coz, they are the ones who seem to be most threatened and afraid of bloggers anyway.
They are afraid because no one has ever challenged them before.
Yo Cranky,
You made a point, there are no grey areas in politics, hell, the creation of All-Blogs alliance is a direct result of political intervention to prosecute bloggers.
For bloggers(and I meant ANY) to get their hands dirty at Ijok to me is a great initiative no matter what parties they are. It's great to finally be rid of our depency on MSM(Main Stream Media) to tell us what we should hear or respond to.
I support bloggers who wants to go and bloggers who choose to stay out of it. Let's start thinking All-Blogs alliance as 'us', then we will start thinking ourselves as 'All-Blogs' too. ;)
Exactly, mob. Exactly. :)
Dear Susan, your love for your brothers is exemplary. You care to make a difference not just by words . For that you have my utmost respect
I was devastated during the recent Great Floods of Johor when I saw too many people were talking too much about how they intend to help the poor victims after the first wave. People were starving and had practically nothing left. They were left to fend for themselves while the authorities, NGOs and religious groups talked.
Thank God that the Singapore Red Cross sent a 9-man team to Johor Bahru on Sunday, 24 December 2006 to deliver emergency supplies worth SGD 9,800 (22,600 ringgit) to flood victims in Johor. Items distributed include 1,200 kg of rice, 720 kg of sugar, 1,500 packets of instant noodles, 1,000 cans of canned food and basic toiletries. They moved swiftly to initiate emergency relief in what had to be worst floods in Malaysian history. As if taking a cue from them, the aid started to trickle and then really pour in.
When the 2nd wave hit, again the Red Cross of Singapore moved swiftly. The SRC team was later joined by a USD 20,000 Hovercraft, on loan from Malaysian-based watercraft manufacturer TFM Advanced Materials. This wholly Malaysian-built craft comes at the compliments of parent company, Techno Fibre Pte Ltd, based in Singapore. The hovercraft, capable of transporting half a ton of items, will assist in transporting emergency relief and food items from Johor Bahru to Muar, to help in its relief distribution to villages such as Geresik and Lenga, areas now inaccessible by land because of flood waters.
Part of the SRC team was Ms Clarissa Wang, Chairperson of Detachment 1, Adult Volunteer Division. A veteran volunteer of seven years, she has also in the past, helped out in the coordination of tsunami operations. Although Clarissa has a medical condition that requires her to go for kidney dialysis three times a week, the petite 24 year old who joined both mission trips to Malaysia stated simply, "I want to help in whatever way I can". In preparation for the trip, she pushed forward her dialysis by a day so that she could join the mission. She added "the trip is near and I can come, so why not, since I can be of service... it is good to reach out and give a hand to those affected."
I pray that you and your blog fellowship will remain united in your quest for social justice. Not just for your own satisfaction but in service to your brothers, no matter what creed or religion. May God protect you from harm and bless you in all that you do.
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