: Malaysiakini at one year old on Nov 20 is a tadpole to the stately New Straits Times , which is 155 years old. But it, than any newspaper, radio or television station, dictates the media Malaysia would have.
It is a tall claim, but its irreverent, its neutral reportage, its columns, returns the news to what it began as.
One expects in one's newspaper an honest coverage of the news, different points of view, a clear editorial worldview - all of which, and more, Malaysiakini is - and this stood out in a society where the newspapers outdo one another to show who can sing the government's praises better.
That happens rarely now. The newspapers and media are forced to change. If only to staunch declining circulations. They now report a little more neutrally, and begin to call a spade an agricultural implement when once it would pretend there is no spade anywhere.
The Star 's report of the recent Umno extraordinary general meeting contained a commentary which starkly described how isolated its president and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is. It would not have appeared a year ago.
The New Straits Times , seen as His Master's Voice, now has columns and frequent news analyses that make it a better paper.
The two felt the heat from the third English language newspaper, The Sun , but it was the Internet that provided the spark to improve.
The government refused to allow new newspapers, and had the power, which it famously used in 1987, to shut down The Star . It forced newspapers to walk the tightrope, knowing a long suspension or ban would destroy it financially.
Internet for the people
But it also ensured it would make lots of money.
In other words, the newspapers filled in the space between the advertisements with news.
But the Internet changed all that. The fax machine was what made the Tiananmen affair in 1989 what it became. The e-mail fueled the pressures that drove President Suharto of Indonesia out of power.
The Internet short circuits Mahathir's hold on power.
The Internet provides an alternative view of events faster than the official view and is believed. Whoever comes out with the news first consistently, gets the readers. But that competition was irrelevant, since all newspapers carried an official view, the difference only in style and worldview.
The expulsion, arrest, assault, convictions of the then deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, in September 1998 could not be contained. His followers used the Internet to tell the world how wrongly he is treated.
More than 100 websites espousing his cause spawned all over the Internet, challenging the government at every turn.
Discussion groups like Sang Kancil, run by this writer, opened an option that Malaysian readers did not have until then: a different, even if quirky, point of view. This was followed by others such as AgendaMalaysia , which covers issues in-depth as newspapers should but staying clear of the battle.
100,000 readers a day
Into this, a year ago, came malaysiakini . The shoestring budget with which it began on gave it the cohesion it needed to survive, with a small coterie of reporters covering the news so thoroughly that it began to be believed.
It succeeded beyond its wildest dreams, with more than one hundred thousand readers a day today and with advertising coming in.
The Opposition PAS organ has its web-based newspaper, but it is from its Islamic worldview, and it attracts sufficient hits to take it head on with malaysiakini.
What this shows is that competition is good. The arrival of malaysiakini improved the mainstream newspapers beyond recognition. And it is kept on its toes by the likes of Harakahdaily .
The Internet newspapers have become so important that the mainstream newspapers had to keep pace or fall even further behind.
It points to one rule the authorities insisted did not apply to it. That competition makes for a better product. This is as true of newspapers as of toothpaste. When that competition is from a guerrilla, as malaysiakini, as well as Harakahdaily , are, it improves faster.
Malaysiakini fills a much-needed niche. But it has to widen its coverage. The heavy concentration on politics is important, but it should be balanced by coverage of national political issues with commentaries on economics, culture and other areas which would make it more of an online newspaper.
Tough years ahead
It should venture into the states, for much happens there which is ignored by the mainstream media.
It sets the pace for news coverage and analyses. If it spreads its wings into more areas, this would force the newspapers to improve.
That will bring forth change that can only be for the better. For one's understanding of what happens, for democracy, for social consciousness.
Malaysiakini has succeeded beyond its backers' dreams, but the hardest years are ahead. It has written itself into Malaysia's media history, and it no doubt will continue to be as current, forceful, and hardhitting as it is.
MGG PILLAI is a freelance columnist. He also runs the Sangkancil discussion group.
