"Adopt code of ethics" - Che Det, author of Blogging to Unblock, chedet.co.cc

"Adopt code of ethics"

By: by Karen Aruskesamy (Wed, 28 Jul 2010)

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, flanked by Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Datuk Seri Tony Fernandez (L) and Chairman and chief executive officer of Malaysia's Berjaya Corporation Berhad Tan Sri Vincent Tan, arrives for the Asian Bloggers and Social Media Conference.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 28,2010): Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad urged bloggers to voluntarily adopt a code of ethics so that they blog responsibly and factually to ensure that the blogosphere becomes a respected medium. "I would like to emphasise the need for bloggers to be responsible for if we are responsible we can contribute to the community," he said when delivering his keynote address at the Asian Bloggers Social Media Conference 2010 yesterday.
The two-day conference, themed "Reflections of the Social Media Revolution", is organised by My Events International and is attended by about 400 people across Asia.
"Bloggers have the ability to shape the thinking and opinions of communities in the whole world if we want to. This is an opportunity to help for the betterment of the society," said Mahathir, who also has his own blog.
He stressed that bloggers, although free to express themselves, should only express something that is substantiated with truth and facts and not abuse the medium.
"Don’t abuse but make full use of the internet. It is a powerful instrument put into our hands," he said.
The former prime minister said he had been accused of censoring the media during his tenure, but he pointed out that the press has never been free.
"There is always someone to control them – the government through licensing, the owners, editors or even the advertisers," he said, adding that whatever one reads and hears from the media is what is permitted by the people who are in charge of them.
Now, the advent of the internet has released us from the controls, so we are free to say anything we want within reason, he said.
Mahathir however cautioned that this freedom comes with some responsibility.
"Be careful in the use of the freedom; careful in the sense that we will be able to back what we say with truth and facts," he said, adding that only would blogs have a good reputation and be respected.
Mahathir also reiterated his opinion that, notwithstanding the Multimedia Super Corridor Malaysia Bill of Guarantees, the government should censor access to pornography on the internet.
"When we first had the Internet and MSC, we promised that we will not censor the Internet but I am now having second thoughts about.
"I think we should censor access to pornography on the Internet because it is causing the children and the young to be exposed to all kinds of filth... but otherwise don't censor the bloggers and what they want to say," he said. -- theSun

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