Blogger freedom on trial

Two of my most respected bloggers are being sued by the New Straits Times for defamation. This unprecedented move by the media giant has a 'chilling effect' on blogger freedom because the high cost of litigation would cripple the individual blogger.

Both Rocky and Jeff Ooi has this to say:

I thought nothing could express better my heartfelt gratitude of your showering of kindness while we tread in these unchartered waters than to borrow Rocky's thoughts -- wholesale but not plagiarising him (as I give Rocky full acknowledgement by attributing to him) -- for we are made to walk together in these legal suites The NSTP et.al. instituted against us.

Walk with us. I've been quiet but I haven't been idle. The young men who are going to represent me in court had given me quite a bit of homework for the fight ahead. I am going through the documents that lawyers from the NSTP and its 3 top operatives claimed to have defamed them in their suit against me. I am taking a breather now and dropping a few lines here to say Thank You for all the support that has come my way since Rocky and I posted on our blogs on the legal suit, here and here.

Many of you asked me for my bank account number because you wanted to send money to help finance the legal fees. We have decided that it will serve bloggers well if we set up a fund NOT in our names but in the name of blogger solidarity and Freedom of Expression to defend our rights in the court of law. We should be announcing the formation of the fund this week.

Bloggers Unite should also meet up soon to discuss the future of blogging, the new threat that we face, the steps that we will need to take.

It's going to be a long journey but we'll walk the distance.

Walk with us.

I'm walking with them for they are the ones who still take the risk to bring us the real news everyday. That's responsible journalism.
I believe, what the powers that be, seek to suppress will only blow up in their faces as more people turn to blogs for clarification or simply out of curiosity to see what the brouhaha is all about. And more will turn to blogging themselves because of this. Time Magazine said it right- The person of the year is us-the people.
Walk on Bros.