Will there ever be a Malaysiakini in Singapore?
In a feature article published on Malaysia’s leading internet newspaper Malaysiakini as part of its 10th anniversary celebration, Singapore veteran journalist Cherian George lamented that Singapore’s new media is stuck in the “kampung” era and wondered why there is no “Singaporekini” here.
The Malaysian new media is at least 10 years ahead of Singapore if not longer. In the last two months alone, two news sites have emerged in Malaysia, adding to an already crowded landscape dominated by big players like Malaysiakini, The Malaysian Insider, Malaysia Today and Merdeka Review (Chinese).
One of them, the Malaysian Mirror is founded by a group of former journalists who are working on it on a full-time basis. The other, Free Malaysia Today, appears to be run by bloggers affiliated to the famous blogger Raja Petra Kamarrudin of Malaysia Today.
After the new media was credited with triggering the political tsunami which hit Malaysia last year, some Singapoeans have harbored the hope that the feat can be replicated in Singapore in its next election.
Being culturally and strategically linked to each other, it is inevitable that comparisons will made between Malaysia and Singapore, both of which are briefly united as one single country between the years 1963 to 1965.
The Malaysian online news sites can be roughly divided into three categories based on their level of professionalism:
1. Professional sites run by full-time journalists, e.g. Malaysiakini, Merdeka Review and The Nut Graph.
2. Semi-professional sites helmed by a few full-time journalists and supported by a large team of freelance columnists, e.g. Malaysian Insider.
3. Amateur sites maintained by bloggers which republish news from other sites, e.g. Malaysia Today.
In order for news sites to survive, grow and expand in any country, they must fulfill three basic criteria:
1. Sufficient resources for long-term sustainability.
2. Large enough readership to influence the public.
3. Managed by trained journalists.
Unlike Malaysia, Singapore simply does not have the necessary conditions for such internet newspapers to develop let alone flourish which explains why there will not be a Malaysiakini in Singapore at least in the near future.
There are three key differences which account for the wide disparities in the new media landscape between the two countries.
