Digital innovations in Malaysia - Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Media Programme Asia
www.kas.de/mediaasia
Asia’s Media Innovators
by Stephen Quinn and Digital innovations in Malaysia
Kim Kierans
October 2010 – Decisions made almost two decades nities to attract audiences. But publishers
Chapter Nine ago are showing significant returns in must incorporate the most compelling as-
Malaysia as the country focuses on de- pects of the iPad to attract audiences. Oth-
veloping digital technologies and inno- erwise publishers risk doing what they did
vations. In 1996 then Prime Minister online when they shovelled content from
Mahathir established the Multimedia the newspaper without understanding that
Super Corridor (MSC) along the high- online requires a new form of journalism.
way between the capital, Kuala Lum- “It’s the same with the iPad. The device
pur, and the international airport to the needs a new way of thinking,” Koster said.
south of the city. The MSC offered com-
panies attractive tax breaks and excel- Publishers must not ignore the potential of
lent facilities such as high speed Inter- the iPad. An iPad app must not simply
net and proximity to the airport. In re- transfer pdf content from online. It must
turn, Malaysia aimed to attract knowl- embrace all of the aspects that have made
edge-based international companies to the iPad such a success: excellent still im-
help develop domestic markets. Cyber- ages, crisp text, compelling audio and
jaya, a planned city with a science park video, and elegant design that is easy to
as its core, forms a key part of the MSC. navigate. To do this well requires talent and
This city aspires to be seen as Malay- imagination, and a new approach to digital
sia’s Silicon Valley. Cyberjaya officially storytelling.
opened in May 1997.
The unique selling points of the iPad are the
That year the MSC had fewer than 300 IT potential to display rich text and magnifi-
companies. Thirteen years later the number cent images, interactivity and the power of
had grown to almost 2,600. More than multimedia for new forms of storytelling.
63,000 knowledge-based jobs have been “The aim of any iPad app is to allow audi-
created, and almost RM820 million ($US ences to enjoy the content, and it must be
264 million) spent on research and devel- easy and intuitive for people to find and en-
opment as of October 2010. The MSC had joy that content,” Koster said. He believes
generated revenues of more than RM13 bil- that quality “got lost in the web era” and
lion ($US 4.19 billion) as of the same date, the iPad gives publishers the chance to fo-
and Malaysia’s ICT exports totalled more cus on quality again. People are more will-
than RM5 billion ($US 1.61 billion) a year in ing to pay for iPad apps than for online con-
2009. tent, he said, provided the apps give “con-
venience, quality and a nice environment”.
Building iPad applications for the world
Woodwing Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of the Convenience refers to ease of use and intui-
Dutch parent Woodwing Software, is one of tive navigation that shows off the content in
the key international companies based in the simplest but most elegant way. The en-
Cyberjaya. The parent company was vironment of an iPad app must be attractive
founded in May 2000 and the Asia-Pacific in the sense that it appeals to audience aes-
subsidiary in 2006. Remco Koster is the thetics. Images and video must be of the
managing director and looks after a range highest quality, text must be crisp and easy
of countries in the region, from Indonesia to read, and an orderly design is of para-
and Australia in the south to China and Ja- mount importance. “Quality is that undefin-
pan in the north. Koster believes the arrival able concept that audiences will pay for,”
of the iPad offers publishers fresh opportu- Koster said. It was also important to appre-
2/9
ciate the power of appropriate text fonts. make mashed potato out of French fries in-
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung “Good type is so important on an iPad app.” stead of returning to the original potato.
Media Programme Asia “Too many news companies think that tak-
www.kas.de/mediaasia Koster described the iPad as an “accelerator ing the portable document format (pdf)
of major change” for digital publishing. It from the web site and pushing it into an
might also accelerate the demise of ink on iPad app is being creative. But it is still
Asia’s Media Innovators paper. French fries [pdf]. It cannot be anything
else.” Koster believes it is important to
by Stephen Quinn and
We need to pause here to discuss the eco- study successful iPad apps to discover what
Kim Kierans
nomics of print newspaper production. In works, and also to learn from failed apps.
June 2009 a Moody’s senior analyst in New
October 2010 –
York, John Puchalla, said the American Woodwing has created a range of videos
Chapter Nine newspaper industry spent too much of each about its apps at its YouTube site www.you-
dollar on printing and distribution, and too tube.com/user/WoodWingSoftware.
little on what sells newspapers: the content.
Puchalla estimated 70 cents of each dollar
were spent on paper, printing, distribution
and corporate functions. Only 14 cents were
spent on editorial content. The other 16
cents went to pay for advertising and mar-
keting. Puchalla described the cost structure
of the American newspaper industry as “dis-
torted”. The New York Times, for example,
spent $US 650 million in 2009 on printing
and distribution, but less than a third of that
amount – $US 200 million – on content. The Sales of the iPad have been extraordinary.
company paid $US 65 million that year for In the first three months after the device
newsprint. became available in 2010, Apple sold 3.27
million. A leading American market research
Many Asian newspapers have the same company, iSuppli, expects Apple to sell
“distorted” cost ratios. Devices like the iPad about 100 million iPads over the next three
could help publishers reduce printing and years, if Apple can keep up with demand.
distribution costs, and allow more to be Why do iPad owners love their devices?
spent on content. For example, newspapers Portability and elegance top the list. Next is
could give loyal readers – people who have the ease of wi-fi connectivity and the capac-
subscribed for more than two years – an ity to read e-books and other digital docu-
iPad or similar device in recognition of that ments, plus the versatility the wide variety
loyalty. The device would be a status sym- of apps offer in terms of performing tasks
bol and readers could keep the device while that save time and make life easy. Consum-
they continued to subscribe. ers love finding new ways to interact with
their iPad. We would argue that smart-
But iPad content must involve more than phones like the iPhone have already taught
transferring pdfs from the newspaper. Too a generation of users how swiping and other
many iPad apps offered by major publishing multi-touch gestures work, and they have
companies simply copy or emulate existing grown to appreciate the simplicity and ease
or previous media. Newspapers’ iPad apps of use of these phones. The iPad has simply
look like their online sites, which in turn continued this theme of ease of use.
look like newspaper front pages. Where is
the imagination or the innovation? Too In September 2010 Stephen Baker, vice
many newspaper apps offer poor-quality president for industry analysis for the NPD
multimedia. It reminds one of the early Group, released details of research into how
years of television news when news pre- people used their iPads. Details can be
senters read news agency copy on air. found at www.npdgroupblog.com/author/
stevebaker/. Baker found that early adopt-
Remco Koster uses the analogy of potatoes ers were using their iPads for more than 18
to make various forms of food. If publishers hours a week, and for almost a third of
provide content for iPad apps and other tab- them that time was increasing. “Clearly
let platforms using pdf, they are trying to early adopters love their iPads and are find-
3/9
ing increased opportunities to use them.” WoodWing had launched more than 50 ap-
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Interestingly, a fifth of users’ time with the pand published more than 350 digital publi-
Media Programme Asia iPad was spent in bed, only slightly less cations for the iPad worldwide. Newspapers
www.kas.de/mediaasia than the 25 per cent of time people spent in the Asian region for whom Woodwing has
with their iPad on a stationary surface. It created an iPad app include The Star (Ma-
was obvious, Baker wrote, “that the iPad laysia); Kompas (Indonesia); the Mainichi
Asia’s Media Innovators form factor makes people feel warm and Newspaper Company (Japan), and the
cuddly”. South China Morning Post (Hong Kong,
by Stephen Quinn and
SAR). Details of European, American and UK
Kim Kierans
In a Zogby International survey published in media companies that have developed iPad
October 2010, three in four respondents apps in partnership with Woodwing can be
October 2010 –
said devices like the iPad made them more found at the company’s web site at www.
Chapter Nine productive. And 80 of the top 100 compa- woodwing.com/en/digital-magazine/ipad-
nies in the Fortune 500 were testing and gallery.
evaluating the iPad, according to Apple.
Writing apps has become a profitable indus- Woodwing’s history and technology
try. As of October 2010 about 225,000 apps Founded in 2000, WoodWing is a privately
were available for the iPhone via iTunes, owned company with 85 employees and of-
with another 100,000 available for Google’s fices in Europe, USA, Latin America and
Android phones. It is relatively easy to re- Asia-Pacific. It was the first company to
write iPhone apps for tablet devices like the commit to the Adobe InDesign and InCopy
iPad. platform, and later developed the award-
winning Smart range of productivity tools
In The Facts About Australian Newspapers and efficiency-enhancing plug-ins. The
Report published in October 2010 by News- company shifted focus from productivity
paper Works, CEO Tony Hale said 331,000 tools to publishing systems, and in 2007
newspaper-related apps were downloaded Deloitte described WoodWing as one of the
on iPhones and iPads in Australia in the five fastest-growing technology companies in
months to the end of June 2010. Newspaper the Netherlands. It serves hundreds of cus-
Works is the marketing arm of Australia’s tomers through a professional network of
newspaper publishers. These apps included more than 70 partners, active in more than
a range of subjects, from finding jobs, 75 countries.
houses and restaurant reviews, to sites that
focus on individual sports as well as news. WoodWing developed its Digital Magazine
Tools for iPad early in 2010, to release them
Woodwing has been probably the most suc- with the launch of Apple’s iPad on 3 April
cessful company worldwide in the develop- 2010. These tools allow publishers to create
ment of iPad apps for publishers. It has a digital magazine and distribute it via an
launched a new iPad app every month since interactive Reader app, simplifying the crea-
April 2010, when it released the first iPad tive process. Creating a digital magazine or
app for TIME magazine. As of October 2010 app for the iPad is done in almost the same
way as making one for print,
which means publishers are al-
ready familiar with the process.
WoodWing’s Enterprise content
management system is the foun-
dation of the suite, providing
tools for storage and workflow
control. Adobe InDesign is used
to create the digital content. Con-
tent Station allows a designer to
set the page order and export
content, which is then placed in a
bran-ded iPad reader application.
Content Station, WoodWing’s
content management application,
Remco Koster demonstrating the Woodwing app for Time Magazine
allows users to create Dossiers
Photo by Kim Kierans, 2010 containing the InDesign layouts
4/9
and all material for a digital magazine. Im- Launch of rivals to the iPad
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung ages, video, and audio are uploaded via The iPad’s success saw the launch of several
Media Programme Asia content Station and stored in the Enterprise rivals in 2010. Samsung, Hewlett-
www.kas.de/mediaasia system. Users can create stories in Content Packard, Cisco, RIM, Dell, Lenovo, Asus,
Station using the built-in editor, InCopy. Acer, Google, CSL, Toshiba and Microsoft
were all selling or planning their own tablet
Asia’s Media Innovators Dossiers are folders that contain the content platforms as of October 2010. Here is a list
for a single story. Once the Dossiers are of some of the contenders.
by Stephen Quinn and
created, Content Station has a special “digi-
Kim Kierans
tal magazine” view that allows users to ar- RIM BlackBerry PlayBook: Details revealed
range the Dossiers via drag-and-drop. This September 2010. It has a 7-inch screen and
October 2010 –
creates a page order for the digital maga- dual facing cameras. It is expected to be
Chapter Nine zine. The branded iPad application functions available early 2011. It runs BlackBerry
as a reader for the content generated by software and will be able to connect with a
Content Station. Users have the choice of nearby BlackBerry phone, acting as a bigger
using either a standalone app that contains screen for it. The price has not been an-
all content for a single issue, or a distribu- nounced.
tion app that connects to a content delivery
server. In the latter case content is pulled Dell Streak: A 5-inch tablet with full mobile
from the web in the same way a browser phone functions was released October 2010.
pulls content. The distribution app allows Runs Google’s Android software. Costs
publishers to show multiple issues in a store about $US 650.
format and allows end-users to buy individ-
ual issues that are downloaded right into Cisco Cius: Another 7-inch tablet designed
the application. for business use. Scheduled to launch early
2011. Price has not been announced, but
Newspapers, magazines, books or corporate Cisco said it aimed to keep it under $US
clients each have their own rules and de- 1,000.
mands, “but all our solutions share the
same core technology underneath: Enter- CSL Droid Spice MI700: Runs Google’s An-
prise, a versatile publishing system,” Koster droid software. Costs about $US 400 and
said. Enterprise allows for cross-media con- has full mobile phone functions plus Blue-
tent management. It supports all kinds of tooth and wi-fi.
publications and editions, encompasses any
printed or digital media, and handles im- Samsung GALAXY Tab: A 7-inch tablet was
ages, text, audio, video and graphics. scheduled to be released by the end of
2010. Will run Google’s Android software.
By using WoodWing’s Digital Magazine Tools, Prices have not been announced.
editors in a newsroom decide which stories
from the print edition will be published on Late in 2010 WoodWing extended its Digital
the iPad. The app can also provide readers Magazine Tools to support these new and
with content created especially for the iPad. upcoming tablet devices. Samsung and
For example, a dedicated layout team could WoodWing worked together to bring digital
create the digital edition while the photo publications to Samsung’s GALAXY Tab, a
editor collects extra images that will appear new-generation Android tablet. Examples
only in the iPad app. Readers can also be went on display at WoodWing’s booth at the
offered options such as Sudoku or cross- IFRA Expo, the world’s biggest publishing
word puzzles, and a range of interactive op- convention, in Hamburg in Germany in Oc-
tions that will build and hold audiences. tober 2010. Erik Schut, president of Wood-
Wing Software, said Samsung’s GALAXY Tab
To accommodate the huge interest in pub- was the “first step into a multi-device tablet
lishing on the iPad, WoodWing offers hands- publishing world” for WoodWing.
on workshops for publishers around the
world. The two-day workshop is held at a Koster said WoodWing believed in open-
WoodWing or partner office. Target atten- ness: “Open standard components, open
dees are designers familiar with magazine source, an open XML foundation and an
creation in InDesign. Details can be found open architecture enable tight integration
at www.woodwing.com. with third party products and a wide variety5/9
of content sources.” WoodWing also helps Philippines, publisher of his country’s most
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung publishers connect with social media, which prestigious daily, the Philippines Daily In-
Media Programme Asia in turn enables almost any publication to quirer. He said his company was excited
www.kas.de/mediaasia reach almost any community. “Our large about tablet devices because they combined
customer base, across the full spectrum interactivity with an audience willing to be
from small to large publishers, is proof that more engrossed with content. “On the web,
Asia’s Media Innovators WoodWing delivers the best solutions for people are constantly distracted, and they
the best price.” are information grazers: a tweet here; a
by Stephen Quinn and
link there; the first few paragraphs of an
Kim Kierans
WoodWing software for making iPad apps article. When people pick up tablets they
offers a reader-friendly interface. In portrait appear to be more willing to invest time in a
October 2010 –
mode, apps focus more on the text, while in content experience. That more closely ap-
Chapter Nine landscape mode apps offer all multimedia proximates the print experience, without
features such as images, interactive graph- giving up the interactivity offered by digital
ics, audio and video. Scrollable text columns devices. It’s good for journalists who want
enable readers to capture comprehensive to treat of topics that don’t lend themselves
information even in landscape mode. Erik to a 140-character tweet or blurb, and it’s
Schut, president of WoodWing Software, said good for advertisers.
his company’s iPad publishing options were
ideal “even for the demanding workflows in Rufino said he could see the interactive as-
the newspaper field” and were the best tools pects of tablets reaching a “framework of
for creation of daily iPad publications. conventions” as had happened on the desk-
top web. And ultimately tablets could be-
Advertising and the iPad come as thin and flexible as paper, and per-
The potential for advertising on the iPad has haps as cheap to produce.
scarcely been touched. The interactive na-
ture of the device and the potential to offer iPad apps for e-reading
layers of information suggests that adver- One area with huge potential for develop-
tisers will grow to love the iPad as a way to ment is electronic books (e-books) on the
market their products. And consumers ap- iPad especially for children. According to a
pear happy for that to happen. Research study released in October 2010 in the
published in September 2010 suggested United States, the amount of time children
that iPad owners were more open and re- spend reading books for enjoyment de-
sponsive to advertising than mobile users of creases as they use mobile phones and
other devices – even iPhone owners. The other mobile technologies. But e-books
study, by AdAge, showed that iPad users might bring them back to literature. The
were more likely to buy products after being study, by educational and media company
introduced to advertisements. Three in five Scholastic and Harrison Group, found par-
of respondents – all users of the iPad, ents were concerned that greater access to
iPhone and all other connected devices – technology would limit children’s time spent
said they were “OK with advertising” if it reading or with the family. About 40 per
meant they received content for free. cent of parents in the study believed that
time spent online or on mobile devices
The magic word for making effective adver- would reduce time with books or engaging
tisements for the iPad is interactivity. Al- in physical activities. A third were concerned
most half of iPad owners said they were technology would lead to less time spent
more likely to click on advertisements that with family.
included multimedia compared with a quar-
ter of iPhone subscribers and 27 per cent of But the study found that technology could
owners of other connected devices. And encourage children to read. Of the children
iPad users also said they would buy a prod- polled in the study, 57 per cent said they
uct via their mobile device because of an would be interested in reading an e-book.
advertisement. The iPad will attract Genera- And about a third of children said they
tion Y because of their desire for interactivi- would read more books for pleasure if e-
ty, mobility and connection to others. books were more available to them. To ap-
preciate the future of books, see the Toy
JV Rufino is vice-president for mobile and Story iPad app from Disney Digital. It is
publishing with the Inquirer Company in the truly magical. The iPad’s colours are vivid6/9
and attractive. This puts the iPad well ahead stage of the high-speed broadband project
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung of any device that only has a black and was launched in early 2010 offering access
Media Programme Asia white screen. speeds of 10Mb/s. For more details see
www.kas.de/mediaasia www.budde.com/au/Research/Malaysia-
Malaysia Vision 2020 Telecoms-Moble-and-Broadband.html?r=51.
Malaysia is well positioned to take full ad-
Asia’s Media Innovators vantage of new technology such as iPad and The growing use of the web either on mo-
the supporting software applications. Statis- bile phones or computers is taking a bite
by Stephen Quinn and
tics show that in 2010 almost 17 million out of circulation among daily mainstream
Kim Kierans
people were online – about 65 per cent of newspapers. When the Audit Bureau of Cir-
the population according to the Internet culation (ABC) released circulation figures
October 2010 –
World Statistics web site (www.internet- for daily newspapers in September 2010,
Chapter Nine worldstats.com/asia/my.htm). The impetus the results looked a lot like what newspa-
for this rapid development of the telecom- pers in Europe and North America are ex-
munications sector including the Multimedia periencing. The Malaysian Insider story on
Super Corridor (MSC) Project was laid out in ABC circulation figures reported that be-
the Sixth Malaysia Plan’s Vision 2020, intro- tween 2005 and 2009 The Star had dropped
duced by former Prime Minister Mahathir in 7.4 per cent from 310,000 to 287,000 read-
1991. Its goal was to see Malaysia ranked ers while circulation at the New Straits
as a fully developed country by the year 2020 Times went down by 20 per cent, Utusan
and the plan recognized telecommunications Malaysia by 21 per cent and Bertia Harian
as an essential component of development. by 24 per cent. The ABC figures also
showed more Malaysians were turning to
As a result Malaysia has one of the more tabloid-style scandal sheets such as Harian
advanced telecommunications networks in Metro, China Press and Kosmo.
the developing world, according to a study
released in May 2010 by Budde Communi- The reason, according to the authors of the
cations, an Australian-based telecommuni- September 2010 article in The Malaysian
cations research and consultancy company. Insider, was: “A combination of changing
The study documents the country’s booming tastes and competition from the Internet
mobile market with a penetration rate of have contributed to the decline. Many cor-
106 per cent. According to the study at the porate readers have switched to going
start of 2010 more than 30 million people online and reduced the number of subscrip-
were mobile subscribers, the second highest tions for their offices. The general public
number in South East Asia after Singapore. also appeared bored with political drama
The major push has been into 3G services and suspect that mainstream media is con-
by providers Telekom Malaysia and Maxis. trolled by the government and tends to fil-
The result is that one in every five mobile ter the news.”
users subscribes to 3G services. In Novem-
ber 2010 the country leapt into a new con- Readers are turning to what they regard as
verged fourth-generation (4G) voice and more independent sources of news, free
broadband network for the country under newspapers such as The Sun and Internet
the auspices of international communication publications such as Malaysiakini.com, The
companies, Carat Malaysia and YTL Com- Malaysian Insider and Free Malaysia Today.
munications Sdn Bhd. And as telecommunications improves more
people will be turning to their mobile phones
The phenomenal growth of mobile and early or laptops to get the news they want when
adoption of SMS messaging could be due to they want, as one manager of an interna-
the slow growth of traditional Internet in tional transportation company told the The
Malaysia. Budde estimates than in 2009, Malay Insider. “Getting updates via the mo-
about 100 billion SMS were sent on mobile bile phone is so fast,” he said in the article,
phones. High-speed broadband access published 10 September 2010. “People pre-
started to gain momentum only in 2008. In fer to get business and political news from
that year the government awarded Telekom the Internet but buy tabloids to read gossip
Malaysia the main service provider the con- to pass the time.” The declining popularity
tract to develop a National Broadband Net- of government licensed newspapers in fa-
work (NBN). It is building a fibre-based vour of a free uncensored Internet has Ma-
open system and as Budde reports the first laysian government officials concerned.7/9
aimed “to protect the public against
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung websites that have contravened local
Media Programme Asia laws and regulations, including those
www.kas.de/mediaasia that concern online fraud activities,
also phishing, obscene materials and
identity thefts.” The term “phishing”
Asia’s Media Innovators refers to fake online communications
designed to trick people into giving
by Stephen Quinn and
personal information such as account
Kim Kierans
log-ins. Authorities are also concerned
about material online that incites racial
October 2010 –
or religious tensions. Indications are
Chapter Nine that the government is looking for
ways to monitor undesirable blogs as
well as the websites of alternative and
mainstream media and may be enlist-
ing the help of Internet service pro-
viders (ISPs). The Malaysian Insider
reported fears among publishers and
bloggers that the government could be
considering an Internet filter to block
The Press Freedom wall in the stairwell leading up to the office
“undesirable websites” similar to China’s
of Malaysiakini. Photo by Kim Kierans 2010
aborted “Green Dam” software.
Internet not so free In the meantime, MCMC continues to inves-
Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor Bill tigate complaints of Internet abuse. Malay-
included a commitment not to censor infor- sia’s information and communication culture
mation on the Internet. The government minister, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, told the
made the “no censorship” policy part of the business magazine MIS Asia that MCMC has
Communications and Multimedia Act of formed a special team, which included po-
1998 as a way to attract investors. The pol- lice to investigate complaints online about
icy also opened the door to a public dia- possible threats to national security and
logue not readily available in major news- unity. He said MCMC has received more
papers and broadcasters, many of which are than 500 complaints of Internet abuse and
government controlled or closely linked with has looked at 503 websites including Face-
political parties. Apart from occasional raids book and Twitter for offences that would
and bans, online publications have been violate the Malaysian Communications and
mostly free to publish diverse views and Multimedia Commission Act, in particular
opinions. As the Internet becomes more section 233, which prohibits the online pub-
readily available to citizens, authorities are lishing of “obscene, indecent, false menac-
trying to figure out ways to monitor and ing or offensive in character with malicious
catch those who overstep the 1998 guide- intent”. Of those complaints, 13 cases have
lines or who violate other laws connected been forwarded to the Attorney General’s
to cyberspace and free speech, including chambers, Dr Rais Yatim told Bernama, the
the Sedition Act 1948, the Computer Crimes national news agency on 18 September
Act 1997 or the Personal Data Protection 2010. “We have taken action, are taking
Act 2010. action and will take action against the of-
fenders,” he explained. “But we need to be
In August 2010 the government agency, the very cautious as the cyber world is very
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia complicated.” Internet publishers and blog-
Commission (MCMC), announced it had hired gers see the KMPG study and Internet in-
KPMG, an international consulting company, vestigation team as further steps by gov-
to conduct what it calls a study on positive ernment to control new media and freedom
and safe use of the Internet. MCMC’s com- of speech. The Centre for Independent
munications officer told the Malay Mail on Journalism (CIJ) in Malaysia said this action
28 September 2010 that the study involving was evidence of authorities setting out “no-
police, Internet regulators, the information go areas” and “instilling self-censorship” in
ministry and attorney general’s chambers the blogging community.8/9
Malaysiakini government, human rights, people dying in
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Malaysia’s first and best-known online custody and issues like that. Newspapers,
Media Programme Asia newspaper, Malaysiakini.com has been he said tend to shy away from stories
www.kas.de/mediaasia fighting authorities since it went online in “whenever there’s a political cost. Even
November 1999. It has 40 editorial staff economic costs when the price of petrol
working on Malay, Chinese, Tamil and Eng- goes up, they don’t want to cover that.”
Asia’s Media Innovators lish publications. Alexa.com reports that
Malaysiakini.com gets 4.5 million monthly The only sensitive point for the online publi-
by Stephen Quinn and
visits. Its CEO Premesh Chandran says the cation is its coverage of religion. Chandran
Kim Kierans
online paper had grown 20 to 30 per cent makes the distinction between religious dis-
each year and 90 per cent of its funding cussion – apostasy, conversion, custody is-
October 2010 –
comes from subscriptions and advertise- sues – and religious conflict. He said Malay-
Chapter Nine ments on its English website. A banner ad- siakini encourages discussion of issues but
vertisement at the top of a page costs about is careful when dealing with conflict. “If
3,000 Malaysian ringgit (about $US 968). there is a religious clash, we make sure we
get the facts right,” Chandran explained.
“We feel that our job is to be an independ- “When churches get burned or a pig’s head
ent news organisation, to report what’s gets thrown in a mosque these are acts of
happening in society, provide differing news violence, these are acts of agitation. They
points and analysis,” Chandran explained in are meant to agitate. So do you play up and
an interview near his office in the Bangsar provoke? No you don’t.” He said the role of
suburb of Kuala Lumpur in June 2010. the media is not to pit religious groups
against each other because “it is an isolated
Malaysiakini has trained about 200 citizen act. We should just find the criminals and
journalists around the country who are prosecute them.”
equipped with Flip video cameras. They file
reports on local issues such as a playground Despite the law that says the Internet can-
where the swings are not working, a road not be censored, over the past 11 years
not completed, violations by logging com- Chandran has experienced police raids
panies, and the effects of a washed out where office computers were seized; and he
bridge on school children. Videos can be and others at the online paper have spent
seen at http://cj.my time in jail.
The online publication has its own video
production unit www.malaysiakini.tv. Edi-
tors push stories to Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube. As an integrated digital company,
Malaysiakini has developed applications for
iPhone and iPad users.
Chandran said people turned to Malaysiakini
and other online newspapers because “by
and large nearly all mainstream media is
owned by individuals or companies which
are related to the ruling coalition. I don’t Premesh Chandran with computers seized in the 2003 raid
think anybody can be seen to be independ- on Malaysiakini offices. Photo by Kim Kierans 2010
ent. Because of the annual licensing regime
newspapers can easily lose their licences.” In late 2010 Chandran was fighting against
And Chandran says newspapers have been a ban by authorities concerning the publica-
suspended, and closed down by authorities. tion of the book of cartoons by Malaysi-
akini’s cartoonist Zunar, whose real name is
Malaysiakini and other online publications Zulkiflee S.M. Anwarul Haque. The cartoons
have greater freedom because of the law in 1 Funny Malaysia have already been pub-
that says the Internet cannot be censored. lished online and Chandran argues are in
Chandran said this allows online publica- the public domain. “What if it’s on [an]
tions like Malaysiakini to do regular cover- iPad? That’s allowed, but the physical book
age of both sides and not shy away from is not allowed,” he said with a laugh. “We
stories concerning corruption, neglect by have this duality in law. If it is printed they9/9
can ban it, if it’s published online they can’t
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung do anything about it.”
Media Programme Asia
www.kas.de/mediaasia Chandran said it is important that people
should not see news just as news. “It’s
fighting for justice. It’s part of the political
Asia’s Media Innovators process. If you’re part of the process it’s
[journalism], is not a financial bottom line,”
by Stephen Quinn and
Chandran said. “Democracy really cannot
Kim Kierans
function without journalism. People should
see it as a public good like how we have
October 2010 –
health services, how we have education
Chapter Nine services.”You can also read
