Malaysia Population: 33 million Internet penetration: 94% Zaharom Nain 17th June 2024 The uncertainties faced by the Malaysian media industry continued into 2024 with at least two online news portals closing temporarily and industry leader, satellite pay-TV operator Astro Awani, suffering significant losses. The wider environment has not been very supportive either, with the constantly pressured Unity coalition government of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim imposing greater controls on Malaysia’s media. This Unity government was cobbled together after the general election of November 2022. Many were cautiously hopeful that the fragile political and economic environment that had troubled many Malaysians since the coup of 2020 would finally be stabilised. Eighteen months into its five-year tenure, however, the many reforms that had been proposed have not been carried out and the uncertainties prevail. In this environment, Malaysia’s media have undergone a tough year. Astro, for example, po
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