New Media Political Engagement and Participation in Malaysia

Chinnasamy, Sara

doi:10.4324/9781315628998

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…First, Malaysia is among the top five of the world's most digitally connected countries, and 87 percent of its population of 31 million can access the internet using mobile smart phones (MCMC, 2018). Malaysians prefer to spend more time online than watching television or listening to the radio (Chinnasamy, 2017). Video streaming is one of the people's favourite online activities with 51 percent of online users having an active YouTube account (MCMC, 2018).…”

Section: The Digital Public Sphere In Malaysiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Public actors in new spaces: A case study of digital Malaysia in transnational public deliberation

Chinnasamy,

Volkmer

2023

PJR

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article examines the role of new transnational public actors and their influence on public deliberation processes in Malaysia. Malaysia is one of the world’s most social media-connected countries where online platforms greatly influence the Malaysian public sphere. Our study suggests considering digital news portals as specific ‘public actors’ since they enable new political debates in an otherwise fragile national public sphere. While national media are controlled by the state, digital news portals offer not only an alternative news perspective but are a stage for a diversity of voices. Furthermore, they link the Malaysian civic discourse to transnational political debates, such as human rights and ethnic interests. Results from eight in-depth semi-structured interviews with news journalists and editors of traditional media and independent digital news portals provide insights into their perceptions concerning the implications of digital news portals for new aspects of public discourse in Malaysia.

show abstract

Section: The Digital Public Sphere In Malaysiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Public actors in new spaces: A case study of digital Malaysia in transnational public deliberation

Chinnasamy,

Volkmer

2023

PJR

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Such policy has provided a leverage and fertile ground for oppositional politics to flourish online. Studies have indeed found that online media have galvanized Malaysians’ political participation (Chinnasamy, 2018; Willnat et al , 2013). It is also against this background that an array of alternative online media has sprung up in the past two decades.…”

Section: The Rights To Newsgathering In Hong Kong Taiwan and Malaysiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Who gets the rights to newsgathering? Media credentialing and press freedom in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia

Leung

2021

STICS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose Against the background of the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests, this paper aims to examine the legal-political negotiations over equal press rights in Hong Kong, focusing specifically on “the rights to newsgathering” – the rights of all journalistic actors to get access to certain places and events to collect first-hand news information, such as on the streets, during protests and in government events. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a comparative approach to the question of equal press rights by comparing Hong Kong’s situations with those of Taiwan and Malaysia. Drawing upon secondary sources such as existing studies and news archives, this paper attempts to delineate the legal-political negotiations over equal press rights in the three places in the past two decades. Findings This paper finds that in Hong Kong, there are signs of increasing suppression of press rights amidst the city’s authoritarian backlash in recent years. While the Hong Kong Government was willing to broaden the rights of online independent media a few years back, it has started to tighten its control over them after the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests. Without a constitutional guarantee of equal press rights, it remains to be seen how the online independent media would fare in the future, especially after the introduction of the national security law. Originality/value While Hong Kong is home to a variety of non-mainstream media, the issue of their press status has remained largely unrecognized by the public. This paper pays attention to this understudied yet important issue.

show abstract

“…This is because mainstream media due to strict governmental control, have become the mouthpiece of the government, while any political dissent and public condemnations against the government are deliberately contained (Nain, 2000). Over the past 20 years, the popularity of Malaysiakini has continued to grow and spawned the emergence of other independent news portals such as Malaysian Insider, the Malaysian Insight and many others (Chinnasamy, 2018).…”

Section: Historical Development Of Online News Portalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online News Portals in Malaysia - A Revisit of the Regulatory Regime Governing the Media in the Era of Media Convergence

Nawang

Mohamed

Mustaffa

2020

UUM Journal of Legal Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Online news portals such as Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today and many others have been instrumental in providing alternative news and information to the Malaysian public. These portals are currently treated differently from print media as they need not procure a licence or permit before publishing online content. Conversely, print media proprietors are mandated by the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 to hold valid printing licences and publication permits before offering their services. Further, the presence of the no censorship guarantee of the Internet appears to render online news portals and other online publications to be free from legislative control. This is undesirable as there appears to be two different sets of regulatory frameworks for traditional media and new media. Hence, this paper will trace the historical development of online news portals in Malaysia, analyse the existing regulatory regime which govern print media and new media, and examine the potential application of these laws to regulate online news portals. By adopting a qualitative approach, the study employed a combination of doctrinal and comparative analysis. A doctrinal analysis was adapted to explore the current regulatory framework in order to address the legal predicament faced by online news portals. Further, the study applied a comparative analysis method by examining current practices and experience in the United Kingdom (UK). For this reason, the study scrutinised relevant statutory provisions and other secondary sources comprising textbooks, academic journals, seminar papers, and other pertinent materials found in newspapers and/or reputable websites. In conclusion, it is submitted that the same set of laws and regulations should be applied to govern print media and online news portals here, similar to the practice adopted by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) in the UK.

show abstract

New Media Political Engagement and Participation in Malaysia

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Public actors in new spaces: A case study of digital Malaysia in transnational public deliberation

Public actors in new spaces: A case study of digital Malaysia in transnational public deliberation

Who gets the rights to newsgathering? Media credentialing and press freedom in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia

Online News Portals in Malaysia - A Revisit of the Regulatory Regime Governing the Media in the Era of Media Convergence

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About