New Media: Online Citizen Journalism and Political Issues in Malaysia

Media and politics are inseparable; media play an important role in depicting the political lanscape within a country. It is well understood that in Malaysia, political parties are in control of mainstream media. Journalists are prone to write within the boundaries of the law that enforces a leash on the freedom of press. This causes a biased form of reporting where political issues are concerned. This may well also be one of the major reasons in the rise of various online media that are taking over the tasks of conventional journalists in this country, one of which is the advent of citizen journalism that consists of ordinary citizens writing about happenings around them. They, however, are without journalistic background and some, if not all, write based only on experience and interest. The question that arises as a result of this is: Does the emergence of citizen journalism carry enough influence to change the Malaysian political landscape?