Malaysiakini and the Power of Independent Media in Malaysia
Janet Steele
NUS Press: 2023
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In some ways, to know the history of Malaysiakini is to know the history of modern Malaysia. That is largely what Janet Steele attempts to convey in her latest book, Malaysiakini and the Power of Independent Media in Malaysia.

The juxtaposition of an independent media outlet’s journey against the backdrop of Southeast Asia’s political realities was previously leveraged by Steele in her 2005 book Wars Within: The Story of Tempo, an Independent Magazine in Soeharto’s Indonesia, which focuses on the work of the renowned Indonesian magazine during the oppressive New Order era, leading up to its banning in 1994. In this new tome, the journalism professor turns her attention to neighbouring Malaysia and the story of the country’s first, and perhaps “most important”, independent news organisation. To those familiar with the landscape of Southeast Asian media, Malaysiakini stands alongside Tempo and the Philippines’ Rappler as media outlets that not only persist under authoritarian governments but also give those governments a run for their money.

• Tags: Darshini Kandasamy, Issue 36, Janet Steele, Malaysia