THE FIFTH ESTATE – A SPACE FOR ACADEMIA OR INTELLECTUAL LEADERSHIP?

The Razak School of Government (RSOG) had introduced the Chief Secretary Annual Lecture Series in 2011. This event is a platform for the academia (public and private higher institutions) in Malaysia to interact with senior officials from the Public sector. It provides both sides, including the students the opportunity to offer their insights in the building of a competitive Malaysia.  This event is targeted for the academics, public and private sector as well as the NGOs. I and Dr Alias Rameli (Federal Department of Town and Country Planning) have a chance to attend Chief Secretary Annual Lecture Series on 20 Mac 2012 at Dewan Perdana,Putrajaya International Conference Centre (PICC).The theme for this Inaugural Lecture is “The Fifth Estate– A Space for Academia?”. When I was driving to PICC and entering the Perdana Hall PICC, I  was wondering what is actually the Fifth Estate? Why the Fifth Estate? Before the Fifth Estate, what is First Estate? Second Estate? Third Estate? Forth Estate? Why all the estates are so significant to our nation? Where are we? Where do we go from here?

YBhg. Tan Sri Mohd Sidek bin Haji Hassan began his speech  to provocate a conversation, a debate even, on the role of academia in influencing opinion, shaping thinking, growing minds. And if the social media is increasingly popular and impacting the lives of our young, is there a place for academia in this space? And if there is that space, can it be considered the Fifth Estate? There is general acceptance as to these four estates, namely the clergy, First Estate, the nobility, Second Estate, the proletariat, Third Estate, and the print media, Fourth Estate. The first three estates have their roots in feudal society, some put it down to French feudal society, some to the British estates of Parliament: the Lords Spiritual, the Lords temporal and the Commons.

In his speech  mentioned that today the influence of the Fourth Estate has waned in the face of the rise of the Digital Media. Whereas in years past the print media provided the outlet for the masses, today, people especially the young, find empowerment in the digital realm of Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and other forms of social media. So is this the Fifth Estate? Sceptics have challenged utopian perspectives on the role of the Internet in democratic political processes. These critiques can be useful, but often fail to understand the very real impact of enabling individuals to network in new ways. The rise of the press, radio, television and other mass media created an independent institution: the ‘Fourth Estate’, central to pluralist democratic processes. However, the growing use of the Internet and related technologies enables the networking of individuals in ways that create a new source of accountability not only in government and politics, but also in other sectors. How does the Internet create a space for this new form of social accountability? Is it indeed enabling a ‘Fifth Estate’?

He also mentioned that the Internet is a platform for networking individuals in ways that can challenge the influence of other more established bases of institutional authority, and that can be used to increase the accountability of the press, politicians, doctors and academics by offering networked individuals with alternative sources of information and opinion. Questions about the governance of the Fifth Estate are likely to become more prominent as people realize that the Internet is a social phenomenon with broad and substantial implications for political and social accountability, as illustrated by the crisis over WikiLeaks. The development and vitality of the ‘Fifth Estate’ rests less on new policy initiatives than by responding to the strategies of its enemies -- the other four estates, and the mob, of the Internet realm.

YBhg. Tan Sri Mohd Sidek bin Haji Hassan in his speech raised a few questions,so where does this leave the academia? Can we regard academia as the Fifth Estate? Or are members of the academia a part of the Fifth Estate? I do not think the Academia can claim that they are THE Fifth Estate. Yes, they are part of the Fifth Estate if one agrees that their role goes beyond providing checks and balances. There are some points that are prerequisites for the academic fraternity to claim the status of a Fifth Estate:

a. We must believe that ours is a noble profession and that we are in it out of conviction and choice, and not out of circumstance. We must have the skills, knowledge and expertise. We are in this field because we are convinced that we can make a difference in the lives of the people we teach; that we want to be involved.
b. We must believe that ours is a profession of immense power and influence. We have the power to shape minds, thought and character. We believe that education shapes and empowers the human intellect and spirit.  So to be a force in the Fifth Estate we must reclaim our intellectual leadership. This must of course be derived from the quality of scholarship of the leaders of the universities. Therefore the academia can visible in the public eye.
c. We must believe that in the course of our work we can give voice to the marginalised. In this space we re-assert that all-important relationship between the university and society. In this we must be willing to take up the cause of the marginalised. Our research should guide the conversations on topics that concern society and the minorities who have no one to speak for them.
d.We must use our expertise to differentiate ourself from the citizen journalists that operate in the blogosphere. Many bloggers advocate the same things we dislike in the Fourth Estate. They are often biased and tend to take extreme positions, regardless of the facts.
e. Focus on the people, not on the technology. This is what sets we apart from the other folks who claim the Fifth Estate. For them it is Facebook, Twitter and their blogs. We are trained to analyse, to teach, to communicate. This is about extending our reach beyond our classroom. What power we have at our fingertips! Use it well.

The end of his speech, he mentioned that  there is a place for academia in the Fifth Estate. As much as a place for government and government officials. Like many of us here. For in the final analysis, what the Fifth Estate has to do is to influence people, and for the right reasons; in what is right, what is true and what is good. For is it not said somewhere that the voice of the people is the voice of God! 

In my opinion, conceptualization of the Fifth Estate builds on the depiction by Manuel Castells of the Internet as creating a space of flows, in contrast to a space of places. When we ‘go to’ the Internet, we enter this new space of flows that connects with people and places. This is dramatically different from a physical place, such as this hall. Both are important and serve major social roles in shaping the quality of our information environment. Academics themselves mobilize around local issues, such as university governance, as well as more international issues like copyright through mailing lists, Web sites and blogs. Even in academia, there is an emerging Fifth Estate, enabled by the Internet, providing checks and balances on the more established academic institutional structures.  Knowledge acquisition, deliverance and administration is a continuing process. Therefore collaboration between academicians and practitioners are actually for enhancing knowledge and bring the our nation more competitive.