People often ask me, “What’s your proudest achievement at Malaysiakini ?” Oddly, it’s not the political impact we have made. That was relatively easy, especially when mainstream media often couldn’t - or wouldn’t - tell the stories that truly mattered. What I’m most proud of is Malaysiakini's financial independence.
Few believed a scrappy website like ours would survive this long, let alone for a quarter of a century. Yet, here we are. Our journey hasn’t been easy.
We have faced countless challenges, but through it all, we remained financially independent. Year after year, we have managed to break even, sometimes even turning a modest profit. And on the few rare occasions when we were unable to make ends meet, we adapted.
We cut costs, tightened our belts - but never compromised our mission. We have done this by staying lean. Our top editors and managers take home below-market salaries.
We have also diversified our income streams - relying on subscriptions, advertising, and event organising. And when push came to shove, we turned to our greatest asset - you, our readers. From helping us pay steep court fines to funding the building of our headquarters, your support has been nothing short of remarkable.
University Malaysia Perlis associate professor Murray Hunter recently described Malaysiakini as a product of a “black swan event” . Back in mid-1990s, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, seeking to attract foreign investment for his Multimedia Super Corr.