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Blogging in Malaysia

By facilitating the open sharing of ideas, information and perspectives, Hogging has the potential to serve as a democratising force in countries with little freedom of expression, including Malaysia. Democratic expectations of Malaysia's blogosphere must be tempered, however, with a realistic understanding of its limitations and of the government's hegemonic, and sometimes more coercive, mechanisms of control. In this article, particular attention is paid to critical blogs that fit Cherian George's (2005, 2006) criteria of 'politically contentious' media. The foremost goal of these media, which range from professional online newspapers and amateur radio to personal blogs and zines, is to 'directly and explicitly challenge the authority of elites in setting the national agenda and in forging consensus' (George 2006, p.4). This article focuses specifically on politically contentious blogs that Herring, Kouper, Paolillo, Scheidt, Tyworm, Welsch, Wright & Yu would define as 'A-lisf: blogs that are 'widely-read, cited in the mass media, and receive the most inbound links from other blogs' (Herring et al 2005, p.1). The discussion opens with a critical overview of the politically contentious Malaysian blogosphere, contextualised within the country's broader media landscape. It then turns to examine the potential democratising power of blogging, presenting optimistic and skeptical perspectives of the impact this activity may have on Malaysia's sociopolitical landscape.