Free Malaysia Today (FMT) is an independent, bilingual news online portal with content, in both English and Bahasa Malaysia (Malay), with a focus on Malaysian current affairs, published since 2009.[1][2] It is one of Malaysia's most accessed news sites with monthly visits of 11.83 million.[3][4][5]
Free Malaysia Today emerged from the aftermath of the 1990s Reformasi period in Malaysian history, during which Malaysia's government, under Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, attacked various journalistic media in response to their efforts to investigate the government—particularly its prosecution of Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.[6]
Most of Malaysia's mainstream media—including principal newspapers and the country's four main TV stations—were heavily dominated by ownership of, or affiliation with, Malaysia's ruling long-time ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) party ("BN") and its coalition. This led to public concerns that objective media coverage of political issues was not happening.[4]
During this period of BN-party media domination and suppression (coincidentally during the rise of the World Wide Web), several prominent online media sites emerged in Malaysia—featuring news, commentary and investigative journalism—including Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today, Malaysian Insider, and The Nut Graph.[6] These sites were not subject to the same restrictive laws and regulation as mainstream media, enabling greater editorial freedom for the online media.[4]
Among these new sites was FreeMalaysia.com—particularly noted for its aggressive exposés of alleged corruption in Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's administration. FreeMalaysia.com was then accused by the government of being a threat to "national security." The site eventually discontinued operations, but has been described as the "predecessor" of Free Malaysia Today.[6]
Free Malaysia Today launched in November 2009 with several veteran news media figures, most notably Mohsin Abdullah (former news editor of NTV7, and contributor to MySinchew and Malaysian Insider.)[6]
The publication was intended to serve as a general news site, with Malaysian news and commentary, as well as articles on world news, lifestyle and sports.[6]
Content
While Malaysian politics takes up a big part of its content, the portal has in recent times been focusing on other topics of interest including the state of the economy, property, education as well as legal and social issues. It has a line-up of columnists made up of academics, diplomats, professionals and veteran journalists.
In archiving its web pages, the United States Library of Congress notes that the site "includes coverage of [the Malaysian territories of] Sabah and Sarawak (Borneo)."[2]
Format
For nine years since its launch in 2009, the website followed a simple top-down format, with the "FMT News" app available on Google Play and App Store. On 31 August 2018, it launched a new design with larger font, in a break from its previous style, with larger pictures and more stories placed in prominent positions.
FMT also has an RSS Feed, with approximately 168 posts/week, according to the "Sabah Media" blog [7]
Readership
In 2018, Eliza Ezzauddin Hussein, on the Communication and Media Studies faculty of Universiti Teknologi Mara in Malaysia, did an academic study of the readers of Free Malaysia Today ("FMT") and its principal rival, Siakap Keli ("SK") -- based on a survey of approximately 400 readers of the two outlets' Facebook sites. Hussein reportedly found that—in a survey responded to mostly by women aged 26 to 40, predominantly Malays with a bachelor's degree, and mostly students—the FMT readers' ethnicity tended to be 44% Malay and 31% [Malaysian] Chinese. It further found that the FMT readers were more highly educated (noting that 91% of them "have bachelor and master degree"), and most (69%) were working. She found FMT readers more open to comment, and to participation in public discussions on social media, than SK readers.[5]
Election coverage
2013 general election
Malaysia' 2013 general election ("GE13"), held on 5 May 2013, was a pivotal event for Malaysia's online media, including Free Malaysia Today—serving to bring Malaysia's online media into a mainstream role in Malaysia's media community.[4][5]
During the official two-week campaign, Malaysia's three largest, most-influential, online-only news websites -- Malaysiakini,The Malaysian Insider and Free Malaysia Today -- experienced millions of page views per day.[4][5]
Online media editors asserted they were serving as independent, journalistic "watchdogs" over the government, unlike Malaysia's heavily regulated traditional mainstream media, most of which had ties to the ruling Barisan Nasional ("BN") coalition.[4][5]
2018 general election
Like many other current affairs sites, FMT also witnessed a huge jump in readership in the run-up to the 14th general election as well as in the aftermath, jumping 18 positions to be ranked the 26th most accessed website across all categories in Malaysia.[8]
Throughout the election campaign in April and May, its dedicated microsite was a popular medium for breaking news stories, with correspondents placed nationwide reporting on activities by all political parties.[9]
Editorial policy
The FMT editorial policy emphasises balanced reporting and neutrality, although it takes some strong stands on issues of public interest.
Its editorials have often criticised politicians from both sides of the divide while taking a stand on controversies including the "fake degree" saga involving a deputy minister in the Pakatan Harapan government and the death of a tahfiz (Islamic school) student in April 2017.[10][11]
In May 2017, a year before the general election, it openly urged Pakatan Harapan to announce Mahathir Mohamad as its prime ministerial candidate, setting off a string of criticism on social media with many questioning the website's objectivity.[12]
Two weeks after the general election, it assured readers that it was not subservient to any political interests, while questioning a number of media organisations, especially the former mainstream print media which appeared to have "turned around" despite being known for their less than complimentary coverage of the current government leaders during their time in the opposition.[13]
Malaysia's "new media" websites, such as FMT, are likely to have less fact-checking than traditional media.[5]
Controversies
Lim Guan Eng's 2015 lawsuit
In early 2015, FMT was sued by Penang Chief MinisterLim Guan Eng for its allegedly defamatory content titled "Guan Eng has failed, says NGO".[14][15] Lim later won the suit and the portal was ordered to pay damages for RM300,000 to him.[16] However, in May 2016, the Court of Appeal quashed the RM300,000 in damages awarded to Lim Guan Eng.[17]
Arifai Tarawe's lawsuit
On 21 May 2021, the outgoing Gombak district police chief Arifai Tarawe filed a RM10 million lawsuit against Free Malaysia Today over two articles which suggested that he and the Royal Malaysian Police were responsible for the death of A. Ganapathy in police custody. 12 civil society organisations including Amnesty International Malaysia, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), TENAGANITA, Suaram and Sisters in Islam described his lawsuit as an attack on media freedom.[18]
Business and competition
In 2013, during the online-media rush to cover Malaysia's 2013 general election, FMT reportedly had a staff of thirteen "journalists": five editors, three videographers, three technical experts, and two administrative assistants, headed by editor K. Kabilan. Financing reportedly came from undisclosed investors who aimed to "open up political discourse" in Malaysia.[4] Its headquarters is in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
In 2013, FMT was reportedly the smallest of Malaysia's "three largest and most influential" online-only news outlets—along with Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider.[4] In 2018, FMT was—among "Malaysian new media journalism websites"—reportedly one of "the two most followed," along with Siakap Keli.[5]
FMT also faces competition from Malaysia's mainstream media—including principal newspapers, radio and television—most of which are connected to Malaysia's long-ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) party ("BN"). The country's four main TV stations and leading newspapers have long been heavily dominated by ownership of, or affiliation with, BN and its coalition. In particular, media conglomerate Media Prima, a pro-BN corporation, controls over half of Malaysia's media.[4]
Lim Guan Eng is a Malaysian politician and accountant who served as the Minister of Finance of Malaysia from 2018 to 2020. A member of Democratic Action Party (DAP), he is the fifth national chairman of the party since 2022.
General elections were held in Malaysia on Sunday, 5 May 2013. Voting took place in all 222 parliamentary constituencies, each electing one MP to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. State elections also took place in 505 state constituencies in 12 of the 13 states on the same day. The elections were the first since Najib Razak became Prime Minister in 2009.
The Malaysian Insider was a Malaysian bilingual news site. During its peak, it ranked consistently as one of the country's 100 most popular websites. In June 2009, Alexa ranked it as Malaysia's 57th most popular website. Compete.com estimated that it had almost 19,000 unique visitors in April 2009.
Prof. Dr. P. Ramasamy s/o Palanisamy is a Malaysian politician who served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang II and Member of the Penang State Executive Council (EXCO) in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) state administrations under Chief Ministers Lim Guan Eng and Chow Kon Yeow and Member of the Penang State Legislative Assembly for Perai (MLA) from March 2008 to August 2023. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Batu Kawan from March 2008 to May 2013. For most of his political career, he was a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the PH and formerly PR coalitions. His vocal opinions on Zakir Naik, support for the Hindu Nationalism policies in India under Narendra Modi regime and reforms of the civil service in Malaysia due to its Malay dominance have been controversial.
Lim Lip Eng is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kepong since May 2018. He served as the MP for Segambut from March 2008 to May 2018. He is a member and Secretary of Kuala Lumpur of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and formerly Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalitions.
General elections were held in Malaysia on Wednesday, 9 May 2018. At stake were all 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of parliament. The 13th Parliament was dissolved by Prime Minister Najib Razak on 7 April 2018. It would have been automatically dissolved on 24 June 2018, five years after the first meeting of the first session of the 13th Parliament of Malaysia on 24 June 2013.
The eleventh Sarawak state election was held on Saturday, 7 May 2016 after nomination for candidates on Monday, 25 April 2016. The 82 members of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, were elected in single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting. More than 1.1 million who had their names entered or retained in an electoral register for a particular electoral district in Sarawak was eligible to vote at the time of the election. Malaysia does not practice compulsory voting and automatic voter registration. The voting age is 21 although the age of majority in the country is 18. The election was conducted by the Election Commission of Malaysia.
The 14th Kedah State election was held on 9 May 2018, concurrently with the 2018 Malaysian general election. The previous state election was held on 5 May 2013. The state assemblymen is elected to 5 years term each.
The 14th Penang election was held on 9 May 2018 to elect the State Assemblymen of the 14th Penang State Legislative Assembly, the legislature of the Malaysian state of Penang. The legislature had been dissolved on 9 April by the state's Governor, Abdul Rahman Abbas, on the advice of the then Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who also led the state's ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.
The 12th Penang election was held on 8 March 2008. Polling took place in 40 constituencies throughout the State of Penang, with each electing a State Assemblyman to the Penang State Legislative Assembly. The election was conducted by the Malaysian Election Commission.
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This is a list of the members of the Dewan Rakyat of the 14th Parliament of Malaysia.
Tabung Harapan Malaysia is a fund launched by the returned seventh Malaysian Prime Minister of the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, Mahathir Mohamad on 30 May 2018. The purpose of the fund is a platform for the people to help the country and to receive the people's donations to strengthen the government's finances. The establishment of the fund was made after seeing the willingness of the people to donate to the new government to settle the country's national debt amounting to more than RM1 trillion derived after taking over the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) administration led by Najib Razak on the 9 May 2018 general election.
Datuk Wira Mohd Anuar bin Mohd Tahir is a Malaysian politician who served as Deputy Minister of Works in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and former Minister Baru Bian from July 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Temerloh from May 2018 to November 2022. He is a member of the National Trust Party (AMANAH), a component party of the PH coalition and was a member of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), then component party of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition, the People's Justice Party (PKR), then component party of the Barisan Alternatif (BA) coalition as well as the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. He also served as the 1st and founding Secretary-General of AMANAH from September 2015 to December 2019.
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