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Thank you, Malaysiakini!
Published:  Mar 13, 2008 12:49 PM
Updated: 4:28 PM

vox populi big thumbnail I believe that Malaysiakini is one of the main contributors to the success of making a change in Malaysia's political scene, not just for the past two weeks, but since its creation.

On 500,000 visited Malaysiakini on polls night

Barani Krishnan: Behind every hero, there stands an unsung one ... or a few. And behind yesterday's DAP, PAS and PKR gladiators stood the quiet heroes of the alternative media. Of these background force, the one team that Malaysians certainly owe a thank you to is you guys and gals at Malaysiakini .

For the last two weeks, your team has slogged to bring your readers, including people like me in the US, an election coverage unmatched in Malaysian history for its breadth and balance - despite being outmatched in almost every resource by the mainstream media. This quality work began even before the elections, picking up momentum from the Bersih and Hindraf rallies.

There will be countless analyses in coming days on what led to the historic March 8 outcome and how it could not have happened without the alternative media or the citizen journalists on the bloggosphere. But I'd like to take the lead in giving your team a bow and hope you will never lose that momentum that has brought your news service and democracy-hungry Malaysians this far. Thank you.

Willy Gates: Congratulations! Your site was not accessible for about 24 hours! No, I am NOT being sarcastic. Your site crashing merely reflects the huge numbers that must have tried to get the latest on the elections. This in turn proves the confidence and trust people have in Malaysiakini .

Tsu Chong: I wish to sincerely thank Malaysiakini for its coverage on the 12th general elections. Malaysiakini truly provided ‘the other side of the story’ for all Malaysians.

I was impressed by your ability to report the results of the elections so swiftly and accurately. Well done! I believe that Malaysiakini is one of the main contributors to the success of making a change in Malaysia's political scene, not just for the past two weeks, but since its creation. Please keep up the good work and congratulations!

Joyce Sivalingam: Just wanted to thank you for allowing free access to Malaysiakini news these past few days and especially for the election results updates.

I am currently studying in the UK and it certainly was nerve-wrecking not having access to national TV stations (however pathetic they may be) to view the results. Malaysiakini and its mirror sites were fantastic as I was able to get the latest updates, that even my father was unaware of since he was waiting patiently in front of the TV in Ipoh.

Thanks to Malaysiakini and your team of reporters feeding these updates, I was able to rejoice with fellow Malaysians, feeling the tides of change sweep across the nation. Most importantly, it certainly gave me hope to return to a better and stronger Malaysia.

Eh Chang: As a fee-paying reader of Malaysiakini for the past few years, I always thought that it was not much of a fee to pay for considering the service Malaysiakini has been rendering to us. It has been my daily news source ever since its inception. Malaysiakini 's contribution in the advancement of press freedom and for the betterment of this country has been tremendous.

With the mainstream media having degenerated into propaganda machine for the powers-that-be, Malaysiakini is the beacon of press freedom with its incisive and critical news and analyses. The decision to open up the website for full viewing during this critical election period is a much laudable move. I take my hat off to you!

Joanna P: Thank you kindly for providing us with free access to your site in the build-up to the just-concluded 12 th Malaysian general election. I gobbled up each and every article, opinion and letter written in relation to the elections that my parched heart and mind was terribly deprived of!

For such blatant, obvious reasons, the government-linked dailies with their pro-government, anti-opposition reports leading up to the elections did nothing but leave a nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach and a bad, vomit-like taste in my mouth!

I only wish I could access Malaysiakini from home so that I may enlighten my family (who are anything but an ignorant folk!) with the views and opinions of those not under the payroll of BN and its (dare I say it!) communist-like component parties. Short of that, I may have to print all the articles and risk killing more trees in our beautiful rainforests!

Lawrence Lee: Congratulations! I am a Malaysian living in US that always thought that The Star keeps me informed about Malaysia. I subscribed to The Star online through Bluehyppo for years. Now when it came to election time, all they did was spin tales - how dare they take me for an idiot? Feeding me rubbish. They would not even update the election results in a timely and fair manner.

Someone told me about Malaysiakini , and I just have to dump The Star. Your team deserves an applause. You have my audience. Keep it up.

Jeffrey Leong: Excuse me, all BN leaders. Want to find out why you have lost in this election? The answers have been provided in Malaysiakini all the time so please read them and you will know why. Is that so difficult?

The BN leaders were all shocked by the polls results. Their naive belief that everything was fine on the ground reflects how distanced they are and shows that they have not been listening seriously to the people's voice.

The answer to the loss is simple. If all the BN leaders had been reading and following up seriously on the letters and comments posted by readers at Malaysiakini on a regular basis, it would not have been too difficult for them to find out the reasons why people were dissatisfied with the government.

It is my doubt that any of these leaders even bothered to find out what the people were saying through Malaysiakini . They fail to acknowledge that Malaysiakini is a portal for people to voice out their concerns.

BN leaders, it is your duty to listen to people. Waiting for them to tell you during the election is too late. In this information age, you just cannot afford to assume that a small bunch of dissenting voice have no bearing on others. Please read all the public's letters in Malaysiakini and start dealing with the issues.

Steven: Saya ingin mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih kepada Malaysiakini kerana memberikan maklumat yang benar dan terkini sepanjang masa iaitu sejak dari permulaan sampaikan sekarang.

Kita telah lama dikongkong oleh penutupan maklumat benar oleh media-media kita dibawah kawalan kerajaan, namun dengan adanya Malaysiakini kita dapat menilai sendiri akan kebenaran sesuatu isu semasa.

Syabas kepada semua Team Malaysiakini yang terlibat dengan kewujudan Malaysiakini . Kebenaran bermula dengan adanya Malaysiakini . Ribuan terima kasih.

Jr Jegan: I and my family wish to sincerely thank Malaysiakini for its coverage in Malaysia. Malaysiakini made lot of people to really think positive especially the older generation. Thank you once again for your great service and we are indeed grateful to you for your valuable service. Malaysiakini rocks!

Alekos: I did really enjoy reading Malaysiakini because it was like a mirror for true everyday happenings. It will be difficult now to go back to reading the newspapers. I wish now and then you can provide free reading for everybody.

Kenny Gan: In the face of blatant propaganda by the mainstream media in the week leading up to the 12th general elections, Malaysiakini has been a vital source of independent news for the masses. It is possible that Malaysiakini has contributed in no small measure to the opposition's upset wins.

Joe: Thank you for making Malaysiakini available for free for one week. Without doubt Malaysiakini had a hand in this big electoral win by the opposition. Thank you again. Your coverage of the election results was excellent albeit the problems of line congestion. The coverage from the Malaysian TV channels were pathetic, biased and smack of unprofessional journalism.

You are now my alternative media. Many more will aspire to read Malaysiakini and not buy the mainstream media. Let Malaysiakini be at the forefront and be the preferred communications vehicle for our Barisan Rakyat as the parties work to restore our nation to its glory and give back Malaysia to its citizens.

Steven Yek: Bravo to Malaysiakini for a job well done on the last few days. We have never enjoyed such good coverage on elections because the mainstream media is always not fair to the opposition. Only negative news are reported on them, what a shame.

Very Happy: Thanks in part to the role played by Malaysiakini , people who just a few days ago were opposition candidates will now be forming state governments. It is hence imperative that Malaysiakini now be more 'neutral' towards them, and report critically and fairly, just as it would any other politician from the BN or otherwise. Surely Malaysiakini will not just be to the 'opposition' to what the mainstream media is to the BN?

Let us write and comment fairly and accurately on their successes as well as shortcomings, for as for all humans, there will be many. At some point, just as it should be the case for the mainstream media, Malaysiakini must re-evaluate any close association with individuals who are now in the government. This is in everyone's long-term interest. It is a great moment but the time for our (ex-)opposition's easy ride on alternative media has to end.

GS: This indeed it proves that Malaysiakini is an important source of information for many people concerned with Malaysia. I would therefore draw the conclusion that, under such heavy media control before and during polling by the (supposedly care-taking) government, Malaysiakini is one of the major media outlets that successfully reduced the imbalanced information platform in this general election. This rakyat’ s victory also belongs to Malaysiakini and all the people working so hard behind the scene. Kudos!

Therefore the frequent service unavailability of Malaysiakini during key moments is something very serious to address. Your loyal readers' information needs can only be fully satisfied when this technical hurdle is overcome. Work hard and you will be able to do it.

SR Jacob: I cannot thank you people enough for the fantastic job you have been doing since before polling day. Your website has been a daily 'must' for me and many of my colleagues for the past week or so. We stayed glued to your website till the wee hours of Sunday as the election results rolled in.

When it became temporarily inaccessible, some of us found the mirror sites and continued our net vigil. No words can convey our gratitude to your commitment and dedication of you people in helping to deliver 'the truth and nothing but the truth' to the rakyat . Terima Kasih, Nandri and Sieh-Sieh Nee once again. Keep up the good job and the spirit that drives you on!

Clara Chong: I would like to thank you for providing we Malaysians who live abroad the ability to follow the election results closely. Your team has done an excellent job in updating all the events during and post-election. It would be great if you can continue to do so to track all the government's and opposition's actions as we don't get the same type of news as published by the mainstream media.

Lai: During election, our TVs and newspapers were similar to their counterparts in China, Cuba or North Korea. Luckily this time Malaysians woke up and started to believe in the Internet rather than the mainstream newspapers. Malaysiakini , you are great!

Chee Weng: Let me express my gratitude to Malaysiakini for the courage to deliver unbiased news, and to these bloggers - Rocky Ahirudin Attan, Jeff Ooi, Raja Petra, Marina Mahathir, Wee Choo Keong, Dr. Bakri Musa, Farish Noor, Malik Imtiaz, Elizabeth Wong, Nathaniel Tan, Tricia Yeoh, Zaid Ibrahim, Dr Hsu Dar Ren for educating and making me an informed voter.

Thank you for the elation which I feel and my awakened hope for a better Malaysia for all without racialistic policies, religious bigotry, corrupt practices concealed and incompetent governance.

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