Far East Economic Review, January 20, 2000

Malaysiakini.com is one of the latest websites among a host of Malaysian websites providing independent reports of events in the country. But unlike other anonymous websites, even its editorial comment carries a byline, writes S JAYASANKARAN in the Far Eastern Economic Review.

Four years ago, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad promised not to censor the Internet in the hope of luring investors to the Multimedia Super Corridor, Kuala Lumpur's version of a utopian Silicon Valley. So far, he has kept his word, and Steven Gan is betting the hands-off approach will continue.

Gan is the editor of Malaysiakini (Malaysia Now), the country's first commmercial on-line newspaper. Brassy and bold, the paper was launched on November 20 to cover Malaysia's general election and is run out of a small office in suburban Petaling Jaya with four full-time reporters and a core of volunteer copy editors, some of whom have day jobs in the mainstream media.

An on-line paper such as Malaysiakini, however, falls through the cracks.

"We don't need a permit, there are no laws governing our existence," says Gan, who was an editorial writer at The Nation in Bangkok until October. "But we do have Mahathir's word on no censorship. We're going on that."

Published in English and Malay, Malaysiakini's website says the paper was conceived by journalists "unhappy with the sorry state of our mass media." Many Malaysians appear to share that sentiment: the paper claims it logs 75,000 hits a day.

"The credibility of the mainstream media is at an all-time low," says Zaharom Nain, a communications lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang. "That's why this paper works."

Gan says Malaysiakini is politically neutral, but fears it could get lumped in among anti-establishment publications because it routinely quotes opposition figures - mainly because they are accessible.

We try and get both sides,: says Gan, "but it's difficult to get the government side of things, perhaps because they haven't heard of us yet."

The paper evolved out of a regional effort to promote media freedom in Southeast Asia, something unlikely to impress Mahathir, who has frequently railed against foreign "meddling" in Malaysian affairs. Malaysiankini is mainly funded by a US$100,000 grant from the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, a newly formed coalition of journalists' associations in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

"We're their first big project, says Gan. Lin Nuemann, an adviser to SEAPA and a consultant to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalist, says the group's funding comes from diverse sources including the United Nations Development Programme.

The Malaysian government has frequently blasted as purveyors of lies the many reformasi websites that sprung forth the wake of the sacking of former Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim in late 1998. But the cover of anonymity shielded the people behind those sites, making it impossible for the government to point a finger at anyone.

Not so at Malaysiakini - even editorial comment in the paper carries a by line. "It's one of the most professional sites around," says noted Malaysian authors Rehman Rashid.

But professionalism may not be enough to ensure Malaysiankini's survival.

Analysts will be watching the government's treatment of Malaysiakini for indications of its commitments to free speech on the Internet and to the Multimedia Super Corridor. Moves to quiet the paper could lead to a noisy battle.

"If they are going to harass us, we're going to scream and shout," says Gan. "As far as we're concerned, we're an Internet company."

Although the government has so far resolutely ignored the website, the mainstream media has started picking up stories from the paper, though its news is attributed only to "an Internet website." The fledgling paper also is attracting the interest of some well-known journalist.

It publishes a number of columns by writers at, or formerly from, its established print rivals. Amir Muhammad, whose cocksure wit made his fortnightly literary columns in the New Straits Times a smash hit, now writes a column for the online paper. Despite the popularity of his New Straits Times column, its anti-establishment streak that grew stronger in the run-up to the general elections brought an end to the column late last year

So Amir offered his skills to Malaysiankini. "I had a lot more time on my hands after getting canned from the NST," says Amir. "And I think the Internet can only get bigger."

So far, Gan's biggest problem has been finding enough experienced journalists to run the paper. "They seem be worried about joining us although we pay market rates," he says.