Malaysiakini
| Type | Online newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Online |
| Owner | Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd |
| Publisher | Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd |
| Editor | Steven Gan |
| Founded | November 20, 1999 |
| Political alignment | Center-left, independent |
| Headquarters | Kuala Lumpur |
| Circulation | N/A |
| Official website | http://www.malaysiakini.com/ |
Malaysiakini (English: "Malaysia Today") is a political news website published in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. Since its launch on November 20, 1999, it has been widely considered to be one of the leading non-government owned paid-news agencies in Malaysia. Compete.com estimates that Malaysiakini now attracts over 10,000 unique visitors in May 2009.[1] Alexa ranked malaysiakini.com as the 16th most popular web site in Malaysia (ahead of Star) in 2008.[2]
Unlike most news sources in Malaysia, Malaysiakini remains free from government regulation and thus widely considered to be the country's only independent voice. Malaysiakini has gained both praise and notoriety by regularly covering subjects and viewpoints deemed taboo by the mainstream broadcast and print media; the fact that it is still allowed to operate is partly due to the Malaysian government's tolerance regarding internet censorship. The Malaysian government had pledged there would be no control and censorship of Internet content in line with efforts to create the Multimedia Super Corridor.
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[edit] Founding
Malaysiakini was founded by Premesh Chandran and Steven Gan in November 1999. Frustrated with constraints on his previous reporting for The Sun, Gan decided to use the Multimedia Super Corridor pledge to create a space for uncensored journalism.[3] The site began with a staff of five journalists and a starting budget of $100,000.[4] Gan served as its editor-in-chief. For its first story, Malaysiakini posted a report on 20 November criticizing the practices of Sin Chew Jit Poh, Malaysia's largest-circulation Chinese-language newspaper. Sin Chew Jit Poh had doctored a photograph of Malaysia's ruling party to remove Anwar Ibrahim, who had recently been imprisoned for corruption. According to BBC News, the Malaysiakini report led to "worldwide infamy" for Sin Chew Jit Poh, and the newspaper later issued a public apology.[5] In April 2001, Malaysiakini made news again when it discovered and reported the secret detention of 10 political activists.[6]
[edit] Content
The Malaysiakini website is updated daily, except for certain public holidays. Its news coverage concentrates mainly on local events, with a strong emphasis on items related to Malaysian politics. Malaysiakini also publishes columns, blogs and features that offer diverse viewpoints, both on local and international issues. Malaysiakini claims to practice an editorial policy that is consistently supportive of justice, human rights, democracy, freedom of speech and good governance.
Malaysiakini publishes its readers' opinions in its letters section. The letters section has generated active participation from readers of all races and religions and of various ideological backgrounds, creating an open arena of public debate unseen in Malaysia since the 1960s. Among other common topics are taboo subjects such as migrant workers, AIDS, Islam and racial quota systems. Malaysiakini claims to avoid exercising excessive editorial control on the letters section, as it attempts to foster a spirit of reasoned discussion.
[edit] Controversy
Malaysiakini has attracted its fair share of controversy. In March 2001, police in the Malaysian state of Selangor lodged a report against the website for quoting comments questioning the official death toll from racial rioting in the city of Petaling Jaya. In July of the same year, a university student leader filed a report claiming that a letter published on Malaysiakini bearing his name was not written by him.
However, the most serious incident occurred on January 20th, 2003 when Malaysiakini was raided by the Malaysian police. Four servers and 15 personal computers from its office worth RM150,000 (US$39,500) were seized during the raid. The police raid was instigated after the right-wing cadres in UMNO Youth, an arm of the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO), complained that a letter written by "Petrof", a reader, and published on Malaysiakini's website was seditious. In its police report, UMNO Youth claimed that the letter had questioned the special rights and privileges of the Bumiputras that are enshrined in the Constitution. Additionally, UMNO Youth claimed that the letter also contained false allegations that the Malaysian government was unfair to other ethnic races in the country. The seizure of the hardware temporarily silenced Malaysiakini, though it eventually resumed its normal operations.
On April 1, 2005 Malaysiakini published a fake news report alleging that four unnamed senior government officials were being charged for corruption. The report turned out to be an April Fool's joke, albeit published with the intention of casting the spotlight on official corruption, a problem still rife in Malaysia. These caused quite a stir in Malaysia with the government ordering a probe on the news organization.
[edit] Awards and recognition
In 2001, Malaysiakini won a Free Media Pioneer award from the International Press Institute.[7]
Gan himself won a 2000 International Press Freedom Award of the Committee to Protect Journalists,[3] "an annual recognition of courageous journalism".[8] In July 2001, Businessweek named him one of the "Stars of Asia" in the category "Opinion Shapers" for his work with the website.[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 175,000 visitors in 2008
- ^ Malaysiakini overtakes Star online rankings
- ^ a b "IPF Awards 2000 - Announcement". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2000. http://cpj.org/awards/2000/awards00.php. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ "Steven Gan, editor Malaysiakini". PBS NewsHour. 2000. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/media/ipf/gan.html. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ "Malaysia's first online paper". BBC News. 20 November 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1028657.stm. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Steven Gan: Editor-in-chief, Malaysiakini". Businessweek. 2 July 2001. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_27/b3739102.htm. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ "ICIJ Journalists: Steven Gan". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/icij/journalists/profile/791/. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ "CPJ International Press Freedom Awards 2011". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2011. http://cpj.org/awards/. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- Chin, James (2003). MalaysiaKini.com and its Impact on Journalism and Politics in Malaysia. In K.C. Ho, Randy Kluver, & C.C. Yang (Eds.), Asia.com: Asia Encounters the Internet, pp. 129–142. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-415-31503-4.
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