Alternative Media (Malaysia)

Malaysia provides a case study of media under a soft authoritarian electoral system, where citizens lack the civil and political rights guaranteed in liberal democracies but are relatively free of the brutal repression faced under totalitarian states that deny even the right to vote. Malaysia's media activists are able to operate openly, but they need artful methods—and, sometimes, foreign support—to survive harassment and obstruction. Malaysia also offers striking examples of aggressive, counterhegemonic use of the Internet. Government permits are required for operating print media and broadcasting but not websites. The Internet has therefore become a haven for alternative and social movement media. The government has found it difficult to tame dissent in cyberspace.

The country achieved independence from British colonial rule in 1957. Since then, the same alliance of parties has won every general election. Politics is structured along ethnic lines. The ruling alliance, Barisan Nasional (BN), is led by the United Malay National Organization (UMNO) representing the Malays, who, with other Indigenous groups, made up more than 60% of the country's 25 million people in 2009. Traditionally, UMNO's main BN partners have represented the Chinese and Indian communities (over 20% and 7% of the population, respectively).

BN hegemony has been built on multiracial inclusivity and economic development, both fraught with contradictions, requiring BN dominance to be underwritten by frequent recourse to coercion. For this, the state possesses several instruments, notably the Internal Security Act, which permits arbitrary arrest without warrant and detention without trial. State control has limited severely the mass media's ability to offer news and opinion from diverse and critical perspectives. The national broadcaster Radio Television Malaysia and the Bernama news agency are both owned by the government.

Newspapers are commercially run, as are several television and radio stations, but all require annual permits dispensed at the discretion of government ministers. Most are owned directly or indirectly by the ruling parties, whereas others have owners who are close to the establishment. Licensing laws and other powers over the media have been used to silence the press or replace its management at critical junctures.