(IPS) Malaysia's small and independent media groups are bracing themselves for a bumpy ride ahead, given obstacles they face in the form of limited financial resources, wary advertisers, restrictive media curbs and stiff competition from mainstream media giants.

As if that were not enough, several newspaper vendors selling publications critical of the government have been the target of official raids of late, according to the Independent Media Activists Group (Kami).

Vendors in the country are barred from selling opposition party newspapers, which are supposed to be confined to members of the political parties that put them out.

But some vendors continue to sell these papers discreetly - looking left and right before quietly pulling out copies from under stacks of newspapers or under the counter when a customer comes along or asks for them.

As official raids are stepped up, several vendors and distributors could now face charges under the Printing Presses and Publications Act, reported Kami.

Harassment and intimidation of those selling critical political publications is on the rise, claimed Kami spokesperson Ahmad Lutfi Othman.

"Such action is actually politically motivated to prevent the people from getting reliable information at a time when the mainstream newspapers, television and radio have become the tools of the ruling parties in spreading their cheap propaganda," he said.

Publications seized

Moreover, Lutfi alleges that even publications with valid, Home Ministry-issued publishing permits - required under the law before publications can be printed - have been confiscated in recent raids.

He cited a case in Kuala Langat district in central Selangor state on Aug 13, in which police allegedly seized at least three publications with valid permits - the local-language Cabaran , Bebas and Semasa - as well as opposition newspapers.

Two traders in Banting town were arrested for selling such papers and are due to appear in court on Sept 14.

According to Lutfi, one of the traders claimed that when he asked an official in the raiding party why publications with valid licences were being seized, he was told that "any publication with news of (jailed ex-deputy premier) Anwar Ibrahim cannot be sold."

There are other more subtle means of eroding the ability of independent media organisation to stay afloat.

Ask Steven Gan, editor of the popular and independent Internet news portal Malaysiakini.com. Although Malaysiakini receives 150,000 visitors daily, the site has lost a few advertisers.

"Some may feel uneasy about advertising in Malaysiakini ," he told IPS . Malaysiakini has in the past come under fire from the authorities and its reporters have been refused access to some official press conferences.

"We cannot compete with the mainstream media giants," he conceded. "What we have is only a small group of journalists who lack experience, working under a tight budget, in competition with multi-billion ringgit media empires," said Gan, who addressed a crowd of 400 people at an Independent Media Night last week.

The dinner gathering marked the first anniversary of the launch of the alternative Chinese-language magazine, Perspektif Pedas (Spicy-hot Perspective).

Level the playing field

Such alternative Chinese media have grown in significance following the takeover this year of two fairly independent newspapers - Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press with a combined circulation of 400,000 - by a firm controlled by the Malaysian Chinese Association, a key party in the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Apart from Perspektif Pedas , new independent Chinese websites like Berita Generasi , Free Media , and Mytianwang have sprouted out of nowhere.

Still, alternative publishers have to rely on low budgets and limited personnel.

Print publishers, moreover, face anxious moments when applying for a fresh publishing permit every year from the Home Ministry. They also have to contend with powerful competition from the mainstream media, some of which are themselves running losses.

"I am not against political parties owning media, but level the playing field," said Gan. "Do away with the licensing system. Don't hide behind the skirt of powerful patrons. Allow us to compete on equal terms."

The Internet has helped level the field somewhat, because there are less legal restriction on on-line sites, but the medium is limited by a low penetration rate: only some 10 percent of the country's 24 million people have Internet access.

Despite the odds, demand and support for alternative media and greater media freedom persists.

Those who attended the Independent Media Night heartily applauded a group of journalists from Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press who received awards for their protests against the newspapers' takeover ( photo ).

Great challenges

Demand for alternative news has helped sustain Perspektif Pedas , whose circulation has crept up to 4,000. "I think a lot of people doubted that Perspektif Pedas could survive more than a year," said editor Yong Kai Ping.

"We know that a lot of independent and critical Chinese magazines have failed to survive."

Yong attributes his magazine's survival to an effective marketing plan and his team's professionalism. The magazine has tried to meet readers' expectations by analysing the emergence of the reformasi movement and its implications for the Chinese Malaysian community.

The challenges, however, remain formidable.

"Many of us in the alternative media are still struggling," observed Gan.

But journalists in these independent media are not about to give up easily if only because they believe in widening the space for media freedom.

"Publications like Perspektif Pedas and Internet websites like Malaysiakini , Radiqradio , Agendadaily and all the others cannot, and must not, fail," asserted Gan.

Added Gan: "If we fail, it will in effect be a blow not only to press freedom in Malaysia but also to the powerful concept that the Internet can bring about democracy and can enhance press freedom in this country."