Who we are
A collection of like minded individuals including activists, media practitioners and others who want to carry out work without the interference, censorship and oppression that is prevalent in today’s media industry, to the detriment of free speech and the marginalisation of those who do not have the means to speak up for themselves.
Mission
The mission of INS is to provide readers in Southeast Asia, an alternative truthful and accurate news in the face of other news portals and outlets which have come under the control of certain interests, limiting their ability to cover issues concerning the Rakyat in a meaningful way.
INS aims to advocate, publicise and promote issues concerning democratisation of Malaysian society including the reinstatement of local council elections, awareness and protection of Malaysia’s environment, anti-corruption transparency and good governance and a range of other issues that simply do not make it into the news for a variety of reasons.
Our concept is to produce news in the traditional way, using our in-house writers and editors, but also to include a large amount of public input as well as hosting a major section dedicated to letters, opinions and feedback from the public.
Protecting media freedom
The role of the media is to inform the public, whether it is a weather forecast or corruption at the highest echelons of power and this naturally invites attacks, threats and intimidation. The people have a right to know but there are those who would rather keep them in the dark.
Some extreme examples include the killing of journalists in several Southeast Asian countries such as in Myanmar, Indonesia and the Philippines, while others such as Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore wield laws and threats. The methods may differ but the motive is the same.
From a modest start INS has grown rapidly, drawing in traffic from the region and beyond, as well as drawing in experts, opinionists and writers from all corners of Southeast Asia, who contribute articles, some that would help educate readers but others that simply cannot or will not be accepted by more established media houses.
As INS continues to grow it will stand by this principle: to give space and a platform for those who are willing to write the truth regardless of the consequences.