Compiled with the help of Zaharom Nain, University of Nottingham Malaysia.

Further political upheaval in Malaysia has led to a further change of government (March 2020) and renewed concerns about freedom of expression and legal restrictions on the activities of journalists.

Note: Data are from more urban areas, rather than a fully nationally representative sample. These will tend to represent richer and more connected users.

Top Brands

Changing Media

Online and social media remain the predominant sources of news for our online sample of Malaysian news users. TV and print continue to play an important role for those not online. Smartphones are the main access point for digital news, with access from computers and tablets falling over time.

Trust

Overall trust in the media is amongst the lowest in our survey, with just a quarter (25%) saying they trust most news most of the time. Twenty-four-hour TV news channel Astro Awani leads in the area of brand trust, taking a sometimes-critical approach to discussing news and current affairs.