*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
{ Sila lawat Laman Hizbi-Net - http://www.hizbi.net }
{ Hantarkan mesej anda ke: [EMAIL PROTECTED] }
{ Iklan barangan? Hantarkan ke [EMAIL PROTECTED] }
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
PAS : KE ARAH PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM YANG ADIL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.atimes.com/se-asia/BE05Ae01.html
Thwarted in print, Malaysia's Harakah turns to Web
By Anil Netto
PENANG, Malaysia - First came the websites critical of
the government, and then the country's first online
newspaper that is decidedly not too fond of Kuala
Lumpur. Now Malaysia's opposition is poised to launch
newscasts on the Web, which has so far gone untouched
by state censors.
Indeed, the Islamic Party (PAS), a member of the
four-party opposition Barisan Alternatif (Alternative
Front), has been conducting daily test transmissions
for more than two weeks now in preparation for the
launch of its ''Web TV'' on May 13. The tests featured
mainly opposition events, the kind of news that would
have little chance of airing on mainstream television.
''It's an attempt to find ways and means of using
information and communications technology to reach out
to people and to provide a platform for them to
express their views,'' says media analyst Dr Mustafa
Anuar of the PAS project, which will be appearing on
the website of its paper Harakah
(http://www.harakahdaily.com).
To be sure, PAS and other opposition groups had been
fast running out of media options, which until
recently had been limited to print.
Since its share of support from ethnic Malays plunged
to just half, as revealed in last November's
elections, the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition has
hit out at independent and opposition print media that
it believes contributed to the decrease in its
political fortunes. Early this year, for instance,
authorities confiscated copies of the bilingual paper
Harakah, which were being sold openly at news stands.
A government ruling forbids party newsletters - which
is what Harakah is, according to its publishing permit
- from being sold to non-party members. But Harakah
was still outselling other Malay-language newspapers,
prompting authorities to slash the allowed frequency
of publication of the paper from twice a week to twice
a month.
Two other publications have suffered worse fates.
Detik, a critical political Malay-language magazine,
is now banned. And when the publishing permit of the
weekly tabloid Eksklusif expired on April 15, the Home
Affairs Ministry refused to renew it, said its
publisher in a statement. Eksklusif was known for its
critical political commentaries and essays.
The political opposition Barisan Alternatif has tried
to lash back by launching a three-month boycott of
three selected mainstream media outfits on February 1.
Although it has been hard to determine if the effort
had any effect, oppositionists say any dent in the
outfits' circulation or viewership should be
considered a success.
Fortunately for the opposition and independent media,
there is still the Internet - and a promise by Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad not to touch it. The premier
had made the pledge four years ago, in an effort to
draw foreign investors to his Multimedia Super
Corridor project, a fiber optic-wired, hi-tech zone
south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
Whether the government will eventually try to control
or censor Internet content, despite Mahathir's
declaration, remains to be seen. For now, though,
opposition politicians, activists and
independent-minded journalists have taken to the
Internet like iron filings to a magnet and are holding
Mahathir to his promise.
Mustafa says the PAS Web TV project is an indication
that the party ''is trying to exploit the full
potential of ICT. And this is where the test comes -
whether Mahathir will come down hard on the use of
cyberspace to propagate opposition views.''
So far, the only hiccups encountered by the project
have been limited to ''net congestion'', or congested
phone lines. According to PAS, it will provide a daily
15-minute news telecast over the Internet and two or
three shorter ''breaking news'' clips throughout the
day. The party has also reportedly hired six new
staffers to get the Web TV project going and spent
some 35,000 ringgit (more than $9,000) for new
equipment. ''It depends on our ability,'' Harakah
editor Zulkifli Sulung says of the venture's
potential. ''If there is no further action from the
government, we can get in touch with our readers more
effectively this way.''
Video newsclips, of course, are already standard
feature on many websites, especially those belonging
to TV stations. Even the Malaysian private ntv7 has
gotten into the act with its own Web video clips.
But opposition and independent websites have proved to
be particularly popular in Malaysia, and a Web TV in
one of the most visited sites could only attract more
interest. Apart from the Harakah site, the other big
draws are Laman Reformasi and malaysiakini, Malaysia's
first Net newspaper. All three get thousands of hits
per day.
Indications are such that popularity has not
translated much into advertising revenues. Most
advertisers still shun opposition websites for fear of
any kind of repercussions.
Meanwhile, the approval of the application for a
publishing permit by a supposedly independent new
publication - Bebas, or Freedom - has been raising
eyebrows.
Comments Mustafa: ''I am a bit suspicious. It's a bit
out of character on the part of the government to
issue a permit for a tabloid called Freedom. More so
at a time when things are getting less liberal.''
(Inter Press Service)
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
( Melanggan ? To : [EMAIL PROTECTED] pada body : SUBSCRIBE HIZB)
( Berhenti ? To : [EMAIL PROTECTED] pada body: UNSUBSCRIBE HIZB)
( Segala pendapat yang dikemukakan tidak menggambarkan )
( pandangan rasmi & bukan tanggungjawab HIZBI-Net )
( Bermasalah? Sila hubungi [EMAIL PROTECTED] )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pengirim: "=?iso-8859-1?q?PAS=20Tg.=20Aru?=" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
