Malaysiakini: Malaysia These Days
Malaysia
Malaysia is one of Southeast Asia's most durable political systems. Its parliamentary democracy has endured since independence in 1963. Indeed, the country's ruling party has never gone out of power despite many elections and a succession of prime ministers—each of them the ethnic-Malay party leader of UMNO, the United Malays National Organization. UMNO's dominance has been orchestrated in collaboration with other political parties that represent the country's large populations of ethnic Chinese and Indians. The political power of the Malays is enshrined in Malaysia's constitutions and laws, which grant Malays pride of place in the nation-state. They form a slight majority of the national population (just over 50 percent) and their power is also protected by a variety of national security laws that enable the government to censor and otherwise muzzle the press. Journalism in Malaysia is thus constrained. SEAPA routinely describes the press atmosphere in Malaysia as "not free."MALAYSIAKINI is a multi-platform, multi-lingual news site dedicated expressly to Malaysia. Here is Steven Gan discussing the vision and work of Malaysiakini, of which he is one of the founders.
Steve Gan, Founder
Here is Malaysiakini's vision statement:
ASSIGNMENT: Answer these questions:About Malaysiakini
Launched in 1999, Malaysiakini believes that independent media is critical to a country's progress. Independent media inform citizens of current affairs, helping them hold the government of the day accountable through citizen action, participation and voting decisions. Without a vigilant media, those in power are tempted to use their financial powers to bribe the influential and their policing authority to limit dissent. Acting in the interest of a few, such actions lead to disunity of the nation and decay of society.
In Malaysia, traditional print and broadcast media are tightly regulated and controlled by the government. Media operations are closely monitored and owners encouraged to toe the line on matters of political interest.
However, the online media has to date not been subject to the same licensing, and allowing more diversity on the Internet. Nevertheless, Internet media is subject to laws that restrict freedom of speech, such as the Official Secrets Act and the Sedition Act, as well as civil action such as defamation.
Malaysiakini is now published in four languages - English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil - reaching over 2.5 million readers every month with independent coverage of political and current affairs. We achieve this independence by allowing editors and journalists the full freedom to practise professional and ethical journalism, without interference of the shareholders, advertisers or government. We believe the past and present journalist will vouch for the independence of the newsroom from external influences.
Editorial independence is the fruit of financial independence. By paying for content, news readers help maintain the focus on quality news. It's a small investment toward an informed society, as well as an accountable government. Find out more about our finances and how you can contribute. We have also benefited from donors who share our vision of a free press.
- According to Malaysiakini and Steven Gan, what are the most significant threats to press freedom in Malaysia?
- How does Malaysiakini respond to these threats?
- How does Malaysiakini's model differ from the PCIJ? How is Malaysiakini funded, for example?
- How many languages does Malaysiakini publish in? Why?
Premesh Chandran
Aidila Razak
Ee Chia
You can read about other Malaysiakini reporters and staff members on the MK website.
ASSIGNMENT: Afterviewing the videos (and reading about others) write a short one- to two-paragraph essay in which you process your impressions of these MK actors. What are their motivations? Their backgrounds? Their ethnicities? How would you describe their attitudes toward Malaysia?
Malaysiakini hot topics: The 1MDB Scandal.
Many urgent issues in contemporary Malaysia emerge around the domineering role of the ruling party, UMNO (The United Malays National Organization) and its elite Malay leaders. A prominent example is the scandal surrounding a government-owned development fund called 1MDB (1 Malaysia Development Berhad), launched by Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009, which critics alleged morphed into the Prime Minister's election slush fund and personal cash cow. (The Wall Street Journal revealed that $700M of 1MDB funds hadbeen shifted into private accounts bearing Najib's name, for example.)
Here is a Wall Street Journal video that discusses the role of UMNA, Najib, and money politics in contemporary Malaysia.
Najib Razak and Malaysian political patronage.
Prime Minister Najib and other complicit figures denied all wrongdoing and attached news outlets that dared to challenge the official line. They accused Malaysiakini and others of engaging in "activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy." Malaysiakini was aggressive in its coverage of the scandal. Both of its senior editors were targeted. Here is editor-in-chief Steven Gan responding to government charges of insulting the country's Attorney General (AG) in 2016 after Malaysiakini uploaded to its website a video of a press conference in which an opposition figure attacked the AG for failing to investigate the prime minister.
Steven Gan meets the press amid 1MDB scandal
The issues surrounding the 1MDB scandal still swirl in Malaysia.
ASSIGNMENT: Browse the current Malaysiakini website for articles that address aspects of the abuse of power by Malaysia's government, ruling party, and senior officials. Write a brief analysis of one of them.