Brainjam #17: Who owns the narrative?
Johari's media beast may not be as powerful as it seems.
Today’s newsletter is an extension of Saturday’s wrap which briefly discussed Trade, Industry and Investment Minister Johari Abdul Ghani’s family upping their stake in media beast Media Prima.
For some reason, Johari is the go-to for media. The banter is that he fashions himself as the Malaysian Rupert Murdoch. I have covered him in detail in past stories.
You could say that every major media house and media owner — save for me (I’m a nobody with a deadbeat car and a subscriber pool too small to bother) — have been tempted to approach him.
Aside from Media Prima, he owns another widely read portal Free Malaysia Today.
Even 500 Global managing partner Khailee Ng brought Johari in as a major shareholder in his personal media venture Lumi News in 2021.
Stories here 👇🏾 and these are available for all subscribers:
This time round, I’m going to post something for founding members.
Brainjam is a space for founding members where I post loose notes and other musings that do not make the cut for a full-on newsletter.
If you’re still on the fence, no worries.
The section is a mainstay and (for want of a better word) a value-add for subscribers who decide to take that leap of faith in purchasing the highest tier of the newsletter.
This one is an attempt to answer the perennial question of whether Media Prima — despite its reach and assets — can be a vehicle of influence for Johari, his party Umno, or even Cabinet colleagues aligned to his interests.
This is, of course, an analysis and a topical one since election talk is picking up. And it’ll be based on data from the firm’s 2025 annual report and financials for the first half of 2026.
The only difference is that I’m putting on a political lens to a business that’s very political in nature. As it should be, I guess?