WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 2007

Today, Norila Daud, President, Union of Journalist, made my day. It is more special coming from her as President of NUJ. She asked the government to acknowledge the existence of internet citizens or blogging as a new media for disseminating information. Bernama reported her as saying: "The usage of the internet and the concept of the uncensored "borderless world" have made information more easily accessible to anyone. As such, abuses committed by public officials can be immediately exposed on the internet." She continued: "This is in line with the Governments mission in ensuring greater accountability and transparency, as well as improve the delivery system". Appropriately succinct, this declaration on this auspicious day, is loud and clear.

Blogging is the latest phenomena. We need to treasure this new - found avenue to communicate with each other from every corner of the earth. We need to preserve the sanctity of what freedom of the press entails. We cannot use it to satisfy our personal, sometimes selfish, agenda. We need to be guarded at all times, because the whole world reads our enunciated thoughts. This is a sacred responsibility. Telling the truth. "I will defend to the death, his right to say what he wants to say." This has become a much-bandied-about cliche that has lost its true meaning over the years, because it is used to cover a multitude of sins. Are we saying that we will defend a person who maligns sans facts and figures. Let's not stretch freedom of speech beyond what it is meant to be. Stretch a rubber-band too much it loses its elasticity and its intended use. I will tell a person to shut up if he has nothing positive to contribute.

When we blog, it must be done respecting the reader and our audience. When we abdicate this responsibility, we lose our self-respect. And there is nothing much to respect of a person who crosses this line. And if somebody tells me that I have no self-respect, that would be the biggest truth that I have to live with or change to redeem my self-respect.

Blogging is a tool. How we use it depends on what we want to achieve. I can use it to disseminate information or I can use it to slander another person. If you want to say that that guy is a full-blooded s.o.b. , dont do it on your blog or somebody else's blog. Email your private thoughts to him. There are many unwritten rules on propriety that we have to observe as mature, thinking bloggers. People judge us for what we are by what we say, how we say it, where we say it. Let us not use blogs to exhibit our deep-seated hatred or aversion for any person, place or thing. Let us not use blogs to spew invectives and expletives. Let us not use blogs to spread dissension amongst bloggers. It is the responsibility of all blog owners to censure or censor postings that have the stench of racism, discrimination, or sedition. On this World Press Freedom day, let us bloggers resolve to blog as professionals and not as purveyors of untruths.