Ooi Chuan Aun[1] (Chinese: 黄泉安; pinyin: Huáng Quán'ān), better known as Jeff Ooi, is a Malaysian IT consultant by profession, blogger and photographer.
Hailing from a small town in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah, he was brought up among rural teenagers, especially Malay boys. This gave him a good understanding of the politics of pluralism in the country as well as familiarity with Malay music and poetry, which sometimes help to add colour to his blog writing.
Internet activity
Jeff Ooi writes a popular blog known as "Screenshots..." which he started on January 2, 2003. It covers current issues relating to Malaysia, mainly on politics. From time to time, it also touches on international news and photography.
Jeff Ooi's blog has been dubbed "Malaysia's Most Influential Blog" by Malaysiakini, a popular local online news publication. Between March 6 and March 10 2006, Ooi claimed that the total data downloaded by visitors to his blog was 50.58 gigabytes. [2] In 2005, Screenshots won the Asia category of the Freedom Blogs Awards given by Reporters Without Borders.[3] He's also a pioneer in Malaysian's blogosphere.
Jeff Ooi also administrates a very popular photography forum called Lensa Malaysia. This forum receives well over 200,000 page views every month.
Besides that, Jeff Ooi has been hired by CNET Asia as a tech blogger alongside other CNET Asia bloggers. He named his CNET Asia blog Lemak Lemang which in Malay means a coconut-flavored sticky rice stuffed in a bamboo container.
Offer of political participation
In 2006, it was reported by The Star, a local English language daily, that Ooi was among several local bloggers being wooed by the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) to run for public office. Ooi, a member of Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Malaysian People's Movement), a major party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition government, stated that "it's too premature at this point" for him to consider entering active politics.[4]
Lawsuit
On January 11, 2007, Ooi, alongside Ahirudin Attan, were sued by the New Straits Times Press.[5] The Malaysian court ordered Ooi to remove more than 10 postings on his blog that the NSTP claimed were libellous by January 17. Ooi is prohibited from republishing those postings in his blog or on the internet until the disposal of the defamation suit filed by New Straits Times Press (NSTP). The lawsuits are the first of their kind in Malaysia.[6] Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has defended legal action launched against him, saying the Internet was not exempt from defamation laws. [7] This lawsuit has spawned the Bloggers United campaign to defend bloggers and the freedom of expression, and Jeff Ooi and Ahirudin have chosen to defend in court. The situation resulted in the coverage of Malaysian blogging on various newspapers. A fund has also been set up to protect bloggers and support their activities, entrusting the fund to Marina Mahathir and friends.
SMS Scam
Currently Jeff is devoted in revealing SMS scam on his blog. His effort has gain mainstream media attention. He managed to show proof that companies like Macrokiosk and NextNation are involved is SMS spoofing, and also MCMC's lack of control over such problem.
See also
Notes and references
- ^ Puah, Pauline (Jan. 18, 2007). NST sues Jeff Ooi, Rocky for defamation. The Sun.
- ^ Ooi, Jeff (2006). "Whose radar screen?". Retrieved March 10, 2006.
- ^ Blogs lauded in 'freedom awards'. (Jun. 17, 2005). BBC News.
- ^ Tan, Joceline (Nov. 26, 2006). Cyberspace talent search. The Star.
- ^ Ooi, Jeff (Jan. 18, 2006). Bloggers sued in Malaysia. Screenshots.
- ^ "Court gags Malaysian blogger". Retrieved 2007-01-19.
- ^ "Malaysian PM defends legal action against bloggers". Retrieved 2007-01-25.