KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S traditional newspapers are facing a serious challenge from online news portals, which are winning a reputation for being fast and more credible than the government-friendly press.

The number of Internet newspapers has mushroomed from one to eight over the past two years, with new titles appearing in Chinese, Malay and English to cater to the multicultural population.

'I don't really trust the newspapers as they are controlled by the government,' says engineer Ryan Kong, 30, as he clicks on the website of pioneer portal Malaysiakini to get his daily dose.

'There are the cost and convenience factors, and I can get today's news today rather than wait until tomorrow for the newspaper,' he said.

Malaysiakini began operating a decade ago, but its competitors now include the popular Malaysian Insider and the latest entrant, the Malaysian Mirror, which was launched last month.

Unlike other countries where the most popular portals churn out celebrity gossip and paparazzi shots, Malaysia's top sites focus on politics, corruption allegations and serious social issues including race relations.

Editors expect a challenging time ahead for mainstream newspapers and television stations which are mostly government-linked, and often viewed with suspicion by the tech-savvy younger crowd.

'There is a credibility crisis with regards to what is written in mainstream media - the level of believability among the people seems to be less,' said Bernama national news agency editorial adviser Azman Ujang.

The rise of online newspapers began with political turmoil in 1998 that saw Mr Anwar Ibrahim sacked as deputy prime minister and jailed on sex and corruption charges widely seen as politically motivated.

Malaysians flocked to the Internet for coverage of his trial, and major political events since then have also triggered spikes in viewership. -AFP

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