Abstract
Malaysia a democratic country which gives the freedom to the citizen to access the information through the internet cannot run to face the destructive impacts of the internet on social and political arena. One kind of online participation which practicing in Malaysia is politically contentious journalism that be the tradition of the radical alternative press, challenges dominant ideologies and attempts to democratize public discourse. Although it is just one type of online activity, it has particular theoretical importance, given that one of the main predictions made about the internet has been that it will democratize communication. Nowadays, the internet had been use widely in Malaysia because of availability to access the internet. As we can see now, many internet provider such as streamyx, TM, Wimax and many more had provide the internet connection with the affordable price. That why many of people in Malaysia can be access the internet much more easily. With the internet everything is on our fingertips. In this information age the citizen had gain a lot of information through the alternative medium. If the citizen use wisely the information which acquire from the internet it not will be a problem but if the information which get from the information is fake, added with slander, seduction and other negative information it can harm the whole country. All of that information can make our social and political arena tensed. Beside that, the internet also being the revolutionary tools among the teenagers because nowadays most of teenagers love to go online to gain an information rather than going to read conversational newspaper. This factors also contributed to the existence thousand of blogs which being the alternative medium to throw their opinion, to criticize about some issues or maybe criticize the government, to influence others and so on. The writer of this article also loves to give the example based on current situation happen in Malaysia. This article also makes the readers think out of box what will happen if all of the people revealed with the excessive information from the internet.
Introduction
Malaysia is a democratic country which governs by a party which win the majority in an election once each five years. The election on 2008 had shown the power of new media that is the power of technologies or much more specifically called as internet. After that election the government realizes the importance of the internet which had been manipulated successfully by the opposition. That situation shows to us that internet can bring the good impacts and destructive impacts. In this essay we will see more on destructive impacts of the internet on Malaysia’s social and political arena. In this modern era technologies is use widely throughout the world. One of the useful technologies and widely use throughout the world is internet. First of all let us see what is internet? Regarding “Discovering Computers: Living in a Digital World” by Gary B. Shelly internet means worldwide collection of networks that connects millions of business, government agencies, educational institutions and individuals. That’s means more than a billion people around the world use the internet daily for their own purpose. Usually the common purpose or reason why many of people use the internet are to communicate with and meet other people, to conduct research and access a wealth of information and news, to shop for goods and services, to bank and invest, to participate in online training, to engage in entertaining activities, to share information, photos and videos, to download music and videos and also to access and interact with Web applications. If we see surround us too we can see many people from various level including our parents, siblings, teenagers especially an at education center such as college or universities, use internet to exchange information with others around the world. We can see they will using e-mail to send and receive messages to and from other users, they also using instant messaging to have a live conversation with another connected users, using chat room to communicate with multiple user at the same time and sometime we can found that they are using internet to make a phone call. Beside that, many of internet users love to throw their opinion, criticism or comment about some issues through the blog medium. In this modern era blog is really helpful and sometimes really useful to influence many people because many people nowadays like to find an alternative ways to find some information through new medium rather than usual medium such as newspaper and television.
Socio- political arena tense
Even internet really useful and helpful for the internet user but sometimes internet also brings destructive impacts on Malaysia’s social and political arena. Political situation in Malaysia can be described as has the more on developed political activism online. We can see political Malaysia still using traditional social networks that help to organize online dissent, and the motivation to use available technology in creatively political ways. What I can say here, the internet only can use depend on the internet availability. If we deal with technologies there always has a simple linear relationship between availability and use. I say like that because if we think logically any technology which had limited accessibility or availability will be useless but the internet which can be found anywhere in Malaysia is a technology which can bring big impacts to the society and to our social and political arena too. It is conceivable that, once the diffusion of a communication technology has reached a certain critical threshold, every additional unit of that technology does not produce greater quantity or quality of use. The use to which any given level of technology is put may depend on other factors. Accordingly, a country with lower penetration levels for a medium may, paradoxically, exhibit more and better utilization of that medium than a country with higher penetration. The Malaysia socio – political situation will be affected by the internet when many internet user such as blogger using the internet medium to convey or influenced other internet user through their blog. If the news or opinion written in their blog is the truth which supported by reliable facts, its not be a problem but if the information in their blog full with the fake facts which have the hidden agenda it can bring the destructive impacts towards the socio – political arena. Lets imagine that if the internet user who access and being a loyal follower for a blog which only know how to blame the government, criticize the government, convey the fake information, manipulated the hot issues, and so on; what will happen to our country? Of course our socio- political arena will tense. If our socio- political arena tensed it will make our country unstable and will cause a lot of bad effect not only to the society but also towards the future of our country. Either we realize or not since the existence of the internet which use widely in Malaysia especially after the existence of hundreds blog everyday, our society had start transform to be much more outspoken or in the harsh words being rude. I say like that because through my reading on many blog either from the government supporters and from opposition supporters, I found out they always using the harsh words in their blog to attack their opponent. Maybe that is normal for some people but this situation can cause the tense situation and also can bring the bad image to the whole Malaysian.
Internet as powerful revolutionary tools
Nowadays, internet had being an important asset for each government in the world because in this modern era internet had transformed to be a powerful revolutionary tool which can determine the future of the government for each country. The history had shown to us that the internet had being a powerful weapon for the parties which can manipulate successfully the internet on that time. For example, on the General Election 2008, the opposition in Malaysia had realize the internet can influence the mass audience, so that they had using this medium to persuade the voters and to criticize the government to make sure their parties will gain the victory. This medium also had successfully attract many young voters to vote for the opposition on that time because they had been influence by the bloggers who had successfully brainwash their mind to vote for the opposition. Those situations shown to us that the destructive impacts of the internets where the internet which use by the intellectual people or maybe skillful blogger can influences the mind and believe the mass audience. In the worst scenario the internet also being a place to influenced the mass audience to make the illegal gathering at certain place. This situation can be seen when the opposition successfully make the illegal gathering at many places in Malaysia to show their power, to send memorandum and so on. If we make the research or study about Malaysia political history, all of this kind of situation rarely occur before but after the general election 2008 all of these unwanted scenario had arise. The other example which can show the internet can bring the destructive impact towards socio – political arena and had being the powerful revolutionary tools can be seen on the Korea political history below;
…Subsequently, the recent ten-year period has clearly demonstrated that the Internet, when combined with human networks, can be a revolutionary tool for both political and social changes. The mainly offline social capital, the 3861 Generation played a vanguard role in Korea’s democratization in the late 1980s against the military dictatorship and contributed to the revolutionary reshuffles in the 2000 General Election with Internet power, for the first time in Korean election history…(Han,Jongwoo, 2002).
That simple example shows to us that internet when combined with the human networks can determine who can govern the country. This situation also can occur in Malaysia if the current government not takes any appropriate action to win their voters back.
Internet can cultivates the negative behavior among people
As we know the internet user consist of various users. The internet users can consist of the children, teenagers, intellectual, professional people, politician, professor and others from various fields. Most of these users access the internet for two main reasons that are because of the information and the freedom. People go online because wanted to get information for example music, news, stock prices and etc. when people surfing the internet it can be same like a kid going to a toy store; there is so much to do and explore where sometimes we feel like don’t want to leave that place. People go online also because the internet offers freedom to do whatever they want, to say whatever they want and sometimes to be whatever they want. But because of the excessive use of the internet too many people especially the children get the wrong information which they not should now on their age. As we know the modern children nowadays can access internet almost everywhere either from their home, from cyber café and sometimes from their own modern phone. So that they will be easily revealed to the unwanted information such as the overload information about the political issues, slander among the bloggers, corruption among the politician or maybe the authorities and so on. Yes I agree that they have right to know about all of those such information but I think on their age they should not be revealed with an overload heavy information because their level of thinking is different than people who is much more older than them. Usually children will be easily accept what they heard, what they see surround them only but they not thinking out of their boxes. So that if all of those children influenced or always prompt by the negative issues, growth with the slander environment, had been revealed to the unhealthy information, and so on, our children will be live and being a bad teenager which had limited thinking and this situation can cause our country to fall in the destructive situation. For example let’s imagine those children who had read a lot of fake information, slander issues, corruption, gossip and live in the opposition family which hardcore against the government, what do you think they will be? I’m sure those children will be against the government for the whole life because their thinking had full and set to against the government. Their perception towards the government always bad and they just know how to blame the government because they had been prompt to against the government since their early age. So, if our country full with this kind of children, what will happen to the future of our country? Sad to say and it maybe will be the reality in the future that our children will face a difficult situation to govern the country together.
Conclusion
As a conclusion, in this information age where information being the most important thing in each sectors in each country we cannot denied the positive impacts of the internet but we also must realize that internet also can bring the destructive impacts not only to our society but also can effected the social, political for each country. Through the internet where nowadays had being like the compulsory medium for each teenagers to find the information to make the research, enjoy in their social networks, playing the game and so on, it make the internet as a potential influencer or maybe the new tools to teach our children or becoming a suitable medium to being closed with the teenagers in the future. The government or any authorities or responsible association must pay attention to the power of the internet in the future because if they not pay attention towards the power of the internet maybe it can caused the biggest problem not only to our country but maybe to our next generation. For a democratic country like Malaysia the government must take the appropriate action to cope all of these destructive impacts of the internet to make sure all of the citizens in Malaysia can live in the peace and harmony.
No comments:
Post a Comment