Arising from the ashes of defeat of the 2008 General Elections, many politicians from the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat divide have ventured into blogging - an effective tool which many found to have made considerable impact in the run-up to the General Elections. From a reading of the MyMP and MyADUN feature columns in The Star newspaper, it is quite obvious that some who do not blog are now seriously considering blogging to reach out to the people.

I was reading one of the newbie's today:- son of Lim Keng Yaik's blog and his first "meaty" post was a tirade of criticisms levelled at his ex-comrade-now-DAP-MP of Jelutong, Jeff Ooi. What triggered this post was Jeff's response to a news piece in the Sun which quoted Si Pin as saying that Jeff's blog was only established about 3 years ago. Jeff was quick to point out that he had been blogging far longer than that and whilst he had given a historical account of his blog, he also went one step further to make a personal attack on Si Pin's smartness by saying:-

"Just a wild thought. Perhaps, one way to make this son-of-an-ex-minister look smart is to, as soon as possible, get someone throw him a 20% shareholding in one wireless WiMAX company, and another 30% in another wireless WiMAX company, plus perhaps a business radio license to boot. Then we talk blogs."

Personally, I think that is uncalled for. There is no need for Jeff to insinuate Si Pin's lack of credibility in that manner. But that is not the end as far as this post is concerned. Si Pin's response was as brutal with name-calling and personal attacks on Jeff's apparent lack of contribution when Jeff was a Gerakan member. I am rather appalled. As far as I am concerned, that kind of personal attacks do not demonstrate a matureness in political or even simple debates. You don't go into personal attacks. You attack the facts. By name-calling and insinuations (without facts to prove), that makes one no different than children in their pre-school years with their ejek-ejek taunts.

For Jeff, yes, he is a blogger but he is also now a Member of Parliament and holds a prominent post in the Penang State Government. I would prefer that he concentrates with issues which touch the lives of the citizens, which I know he is well capable of. I am not saying he should not defend himself against misrepresentations levelled at him. On the contrary, he should but minus personal attacks and insinuations which can get him into trouble (legal suits) if he is not careful enough. People look up to him now as a Statesman and he should demonstrate that he is up to that calling.

For Si Pin, frankly, when I stepped into his blog, I was impressed with the overall look of the blog as it is up-to-date and shows that he is willing to invest in a professional looking site. Unfortunately, his post did not impress me a bit. The introduction to his site reads:-

limsipin.com is an open forum where the young and the old, and the people of all races who make up this beautiful country known as Malaysia, can have an open-heart discussion on topics that is dear to them. It is also a meeting of minds and a platform where information, ideas and learnings are shared, in order to push ourselves into the forefront, becoming an excellent nation in deed and in creed. The ultimate aim of which is that, in the end, we can truly see the emergence of a harmonious and united Bangsa Malaysia.

With that, I expect discussions on topics which are dear to citizens of Malaysia. In 4 posts, he has yet to touch on national issues which are aplenty. As the MP-candidate for Batu in the recent elections, I would expect him to deal with national issues just like how an MP would. So get cracking! By the way - please remove the registration function for people to leave comments. It's a turn-off unless that's what you intend it to be.