ANALYSIS With Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak strengthening his position in the wake of the ‘donation’ scandal and launches a counter-attack against his critics, the media industry has become one of the first casualties.

This, coupled with a sluggish economy, resulting in a fall of advertising income, has impacted, in particular, a number of fledging online news websites.

A week ago, rumours began spreading within the journalists’ circle that the ownership of certain media organisations may change hands, a few will close shop, while some are altering their market position.

Among those affected is news website The Rakyat Post ( TRP ). Its investor is believed to have withdrawn funding and the portal could face closure, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The trilingual portal, which was set up after the 13th general election, provides tabloid-style news. It is believed that its former patron is a businessman who has an affinity to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Sources told Malaysiakini that TRP was facing a "cashflow issue", resulting in late payment of salaries, and journalists were encouraged by the management to seek employment elsewhere.

Malaysiakini has contacted TRP for confirmation but has yet to receive an official response.

Meanwhile, Astro Awani , a popular television channel that has successfully built a large Malay audience, will soon morph into an English-only outfit.

According to a source, it seeks to reposition itself as a regional news agency and will no longer focus solely on local current affairs.

It is understood that Astro Awani will abandon its sizeable Malay-speaking market and is to broadcast entirely in English by April 1.

A number of employees are expected to be laid off while some Malay-speaking reporters may opt to resign, according to sources.

The 24-hour Bahasa Malaysia news station was launched in 2007 in conjunction with the 50th Merdeka celebration. Two years later, it expanded its stable to include English programmes.

Astro Awani also operates a BM and English website, providing news not just in video but also in text. It is unclear if the website would be affected by the transformation.

Observers believe that the language switch could help the government curb Astro Awani’ s influence among Malay viewers.

Viewers of Malay language news and current affairs programmes will be left with RTM , Media Prima’s TV3 and TV9, and Astro’s TV Al Hjirah , which has an Islamic focus.

When contacted, Astro Awani chief executive officer Faizal Mansor had this to say: "Astro Awani, Malaysia's first and only 24/7 news channel, has built a strong franchise in BM and is looking forward to building on it to better serve our customers."

Malaysian Insider put on the market

Another shocker is news on financial weekly The Edge , which is reportedly planning to sell The Malaysian Insider (TMI) , allegedly as part of a deal with the powers-that-be to resolve the issue of its publication permit suspension.

Former New Straits Times group editor-in-chief A Kadir Jasin has claimed in a blog posting that the potential buyer is someone from Najib's camp.

The Edge was suspended for three months last year after publishing a four-page expose claiming that flamboyant tycoon Jho Low and PetroSaudi International had siphoned RM1.83 billion from 1MDB through the 1MDB-PetroSaudi joint venture company.

The Edge resumed publication in September after the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the home minister’s suspension order.

The financial weekly, owned by tycoon Tong Kooi Ong, has recently conducted an exclusive interview with 1MDB chief Arul Kanda, which raised some eyebrows.

Ahirudin Attan, a veteran newsman from the pro-Najib camp, said in his blog: "Does that mean Arul has won them over? It seems that way to me. The whole report on Arul and 1MDB was glowing, if you ask me.”

Tong bought TMI in 2014 from a group of unnamed investors. The news portal was launched in February 2008, just before the 12th general election, and is believed to have changed hands a number of times.

Malaysiakini has contacted The Edge and TMI , but both did not respond to questions on the matter.

It is also learnt that a number of media organisations have received warnings from the Prime Minister’s Office in recent weeks not to play up issues that could cast a negative light on the government, such as the 1MDB scandal.

However, Malay daily Sinar Harian denied this in an email message to Malaysiakini , while another bilingual news portal has declined to answer queries on the matter.

Sinar Harian is the only Malay daily that has no direct link to Umno. Its sales have increased in recent years as its editorial stand is seen to be relatively more independent compared to its rivals.

The empire strikes back

Ever since Najib was implicated in the RM2.6 billion ‘donation’ scandal last year, he has mounted a series of attacks - using both restrictive laws and the state machinery - against the Fourth Estate.

Asia Sentinel is the latest casualty in Najib’s war against pestering websites. On Thursday, the Hong Kong-based current affairs news site was blocked by Putrajaya after it reproduced an article by Sarawak Report , where the latter claimed to be in possession of evidence against Najib in relation to the SRC International case.

Last November, the offices of Malaysiakini and The Star were raided by police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) over their reports on the transfer of a top government official involved in the SRC investigation.

Earlier this week, Umno minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan filed a defamation suit against Malaysiakini over a vox populi article on his "reverse migration" remark.

This is the second lawsuit against the country’s top news portal from a key member of the government. In 2014, Najib sued Malaysiakini for publishing readers’ comments which criticised him for alleged money politics.

Meanwhile, inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar has vowed that there would be more Internet policing on social media, as Malaysians “have shown to be less than mature” when posting their views.

The Communications and Multimedia Act will also be amended when Parliament resumes its sitting in March to block sites from defaming the national leadership, warned Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak.

Centre for Independent Journalism co-director Jac Kee has expressed serious concern over the troubling drift in the media industry.

“If the purported news is true, then it signals a worrying trend where alternative news sources are becoming more scarce and under threat - not just from increasingly heavy-handed content regulatory laws, but also the tough economics of running online content sites.

“Unless we have a policy and legal environment that values and protects press freedom and diversity as fundamental pillars of a functioning democracy, then our media will always be at risk of such gaming tactics to consolidate power,” she said when contacted.

It has also been reported that KiniBiz - a joint-venture between business editor P Gunasegaram and Malaysiakini - is to end both its print and online run. An announcement will be made on Feb 1.