28-yr old nocturnal over@nal geekette Malaysian.
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The Case Repercussions
The Sun's slightly more detailed report on the defamation suit against Jeff has stirred up a number of questions. I've been disappointed by the "bullying" that NSTP has chosen to do via the injunction which didn't specify any amount of damages. It seems more evident now that all the NSTP wants is a silence order on Jeff from writing anything regarding their business or related individuals in his blog or potential publications.
In the interim injunction granted by Justice Datuk Abdul Malik Ishak in his chambers on Jan 11, Ooi was ordered to remove 13 postings from his blog within seven days. Ooi also cannot post articles or words which defame the plaintiffs in his blog or anywhere in the worldwide web. Apart from the articles, the injunction also stops Ooi from allowing any other articles, log books, letters, comments, posts and statements which defame the plaintiffs on his blog or any other places.I believe that it is obvious (to regular readers at Jeff's) as to why all this has surfaced and the case brought about from the Brendan Pereira plagiarism issue was merely the tip of the iceberg. Which from that angle, it really becomes more of a case between Jeff and the NSTP than a case against bloggers' freedom of expression, doesn't it?
"...The purpose of the suits is to help to promote responsible blogs," said the source who declined to be named.However, re: NSTP's agenda for this injunction, I disagree that a defamation suit with a silence order is a way to "promote responsible blogs". How exactly do you promote responsible blogging by completely disallowing one person from criticizing an institution? It just seems as though NSTP is saying - "You can blog anything you want, just don't blog about us."
While the rest of us watch the landmark case with eagle eyes, and speculate from every corner of the blogsphere - we have to admit that, regardless of truth or lies, we already have a law in Malaysia that exists to enforce a kind of silence order on all of us citizens. So, will the result of this case really affect us? Yes and no.
Yes, because it has awaken bloggers with the reality of the possible legal proceedings you could face for what you've written (like in any media form, which I believe blogs are media); that being in cyberspace, writing in the blogsphere does not give you legal immunity by default. Yes, because international institutions will view this case as a suppression of their fanatical upholding of freedom of speech on the Internet. No, because - like in real life - there will always be ignorant individuals who believe that they do no wrong when they defame other bloggers. The latter of which is so prevalent in non-socio-political blogs (that are currently unafraid of the Jeff Ooi-NSTP case).
Although this defamation suit of a corporate institution against an individual blogger has so many interpretable layers, on the long run it could also be an opening to bloggers suing other bloggers for defamation of character. A potential chaotic blogsphere looms, I think. The Internet media evolution.