The recent fuss over leaked Judicial Appointments Commission minutes is indeed concerning.
In the past, we depended on laws to protect information deemed ‘sensitive’, from leaking. Those were the days of fax machines, fixed phone land lines and photocopiers.
Today, however, such laws may seem less than adequate to stem such leaks, in this age of social media, and given the speed at which information travels,
The ‘networked’ society that we live in (as warned by sociologist Manuel Castells decades ago) is most susceptible to the wide sharing of information, secrets or not. Going viral has become inevitable.
In the 1990s, media theorist Mark Poster predicted that the with advancements in technology, ‘leakages’ of ‘secrets’, whether they are corporate or government, will eventually be resistant to the caveats, controls and the laws.
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No one can hope to be spared from this ‘liberalisation’ of information.
Governments and companies need to think and act outside the box to protect their ‘secrets’ and sensitive information. Perhaps it is time to consider that ‘secrecy’ is not the way forward to influence public perception.
We are fast advancing to the borderless realm of transparency and accountability. Today, we are even witnessing artificial intelligence (AI) rewriting the rules of secrecy.
As for Malaysia’s recent uproar over the ‘leaked’ JAC minutes, it is time we stopped believing in draconian laws to ‘correct’ perceived wrongs.
Instead, the time is right to consider ‘value-based leadership’ anchored in transparency and accountability in order to win public endorsement.
In summary, communication technology is taking us to new frontiers beyond imagination. It is time to think outside the box.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
