'Membedah' PAS 2004

Penulis, bersama sejumlah wartawan dan petugas media arus perdana dan harian, diundang oleh PAS untuk mendapatkan masukan (input) tentang sebab-sebab ketewasan parti itu dalam pilihan raya umum Mac 2004.

Berikut petikan coretan penulis blog terkenal Jeff Ooi tentang acara tersebut (PAS soul searching, 28 April 2004):

1. The Ulama Syndrome:

Malaysiakini columnist Fathi Aris Omar said PAS had failed to portray an image that appealed to the public, and that the rigid attitude of some of its ulama (religious scholars) had not helped either. Via Malaysiakini:

"The professionals in the party can be pragmatic, but their activities are restricted by the ulama. Some leaders issued strange policy statements that confused the public," he said. He said PAS could not continue to blame the media for biased reporting, but should instead find effective ways to reach out to voters.

2. PAS Trapped in 1999 Time-Warp:

An editor from a mainstream newspaper editor said PAS’ mistake was that it had been too aggressive and strident in its election campaign. Via Malaysiakini:

Basing his evaluation on observations during several PAS ceramah (political talks), he said party leaders had been speaking like it was "still 1999" when the reformasi spirit was very strong.

"It was strange that PAS adopted such an aggressive stand when the sentiment has changed so much since 1999. You hoped that the sentiment would help you through this election. Maybe that was your mistake," he said.

Fathi concurred to this point when he said:

"In 1999, independent or pro-opposition publications mushroomed ... 66 percent of these were sold around Kuala Lumpur. But this did not happen (this time). PAS should have taken steps to address the situation," he said.

Reformasi di Hari Kekasih

Sewaktu orang ramai berpusu-pusu ke Mid-Valley, sehingga menimbulkan kesesakan jalan yang luar biasa dan menjelang malam Hari Kekasih (Valentine's Day), kami berbicara tentang kebebasan siber dan saya berbicara tentang pengalaman laman-laman web pro-reformasi 1998-2001.

Berikut petikan berita Malaysian cyberactivists receive 'awards' (JGnews.com, 14 Februari 2004)

Several cyberactivists in Malaysia were recognised during an “awards” presentation for their work in advocating issues online during the launch of the book Asian Cyberactivism: Freedom of Expression and Media Censorship in Kuala Lumpur on 14th February 2004.

MGG Pilliai was noted for his one man prolific online contributions, while the Democratic Action Party was accredited for being the first political party to go online. But the person who stole the show was a man known affectionately as “Uncle Yap”.

The book launch was held at Cititel Mid Valley and was jointly hosted by Gerakbudaya – the Malaysian distributor - and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

Speakers included two of the book’s - itors Steven Gan, editor-in-chief and founder of malaysiakini.com, and James Gomez from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

Other speakers present were book reviewer Oon Yeoh, author and journalist; Masjaliza Hamzah from Sisters-in-Islam (SIS), and Fathi Aris Omar, freelance writer and malaysiakini.com columnist.