Growing tomatoes in Antartica
A February review
It’s been super hot lately (the weather) and I just discovered this tiny corner in Subang that serves fresh coconut juice and other coconut-based beverages.
It’s good and, nope, this isn’t a food review, paid or otherwise.
First, in case you missed yesterday’s newsbreak:
We end the week with a few interesting signposts.
Election Commission deputy chairman Azmi Sharom told the media that his team is ready for an early 16th general election, including the possibility of holding federal polls concurrently with state elections in Melaka and Johor to save costs.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has until February 2028 to call an election, but there’s a certain push to do it now because of internal bickering between him and those aligned with former minister Rafizi Ramli, the exposes on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the implosion of the opposition, and decent macroeconomic conditions.
The grand old GLC that is Petronas will see roughly another 1,000 staff affected in the next phase of its so-called rightsizing exercise.
This follows comments from the national oil company’s president and group CEO, Tengku Muhammad Taufik, who said the next big wave of cuts is expected in March, with further rounds in July, concluding by August.
(The overall exercise targets around 5,000 roles, or about 10% of the workforce, phased over time due to falling profits and the need to streamline operations.)
But there were also Najib vibes when Naimah Abdul Khalid, wife of the late former minister-billionaire Daim Zainuddin, made the news after a viral police report alleged that a prominent family (implied to be hers) had engaged a London-based strategic communications firm (reported in some sources as Teneo).
The alleged motive? To put pressure on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and MACC chief Azam Baki.
And her efforts were allegedly behind the recent Bloomberg exposes on the MACC, among others.
Naimah strongly denied any plot to topple the government, calling the claims “false and preposterous” as well as “laughable”.
She stated that the report was lodged by a disgruntled individual — a former journalist/editor — she had briefly hired in July 2025 as part of a proposed communications team but later terminated for poor performance.
After his dismissal, the said editor/journalist allegedly made further monetary demands.
Naimah questioned how seeking professional PR advice could amount to toppling a government and emphasised it is not a crime.
While hiring foreign PR firms has long been a go-to for prime ministers and those with deep pockets, the concern here is that this involves a billionaire family whose real net worth remains opaque, as with others in similar positions.
There’s also the fact that the one who lodged the police report was reportedly an editor from a newsroom who doubles as a PR agent (and a rather ineffective one, at that).
This is an open secret in some circles: many so-called journalists and newsrooms engage in similar practices.
Why? Isn’t it unethical?
Of course it is, but just because it’s unethical doesn’t mean it’s not tolerated.
In Malaysia, only a small section of the public pays for journalism. Some of them are here, as subscribers of The Malaysianist.
The rest? They’ll gladly consume and complain about free reads.
Of course, we know there’s no such thing as “free reads”, but human beings are irrational creatures.
They’ll consume knowing full well that whatever they’re reading may be compromised… as long as it’s free.
So the question arises: since part of the PR effort reportedly involved media outreach, was Naimah’s media appearance — including on the popular podcast Keluar Sekejap — part of that plan?
For those of us who still cling to the ideal of total independence, it’s a very rough journey.
It’s like growing tomatoes in the Antarctic: doable, but costly.
I can’t speak on behalf of Bloomberg or the other doyens of journalism.
But readers of The Malaysianist can rest assured that the scoops and stories here are based purely on simple journalism and editorial judgement.
If I entertained PR pitches or “business-friendly” deals, life would be far easier.
I’d have a nice house, a few cars — including a Beemer or Merc, maybe even a Porsche — and I’d be flying here and there. Ah, the life.
I could even do “free” media in the name of “public interest”. Surely that last bit will be a lie. But who cares? No one will be able to tell the difference.
Going down the independent route is painful. I’m not living the T10 life, though I must say I have some flexibility and freedom.
And, more importantly, I’ll have to entertain silly people like the one in the screenshot below.
As expected, after I mentioned this whole fiasco on Friday, this guy popped up out of nowhere to try and steer the narrative.
Just one problem: he wants me to engage, but he isn’t a paying subscriber.
Bizarre? That’s the media landscape on all sides, from creators to consumers.
🚀 The big update
If you’ve noticed changes in the charts, especially the network graphs?
That’s a sign of something new coming soon. I’m positioning it as a top-up for founding members, a pro tier of sorts.
The main dilemma I’m wrestling with is that to introduce a pro tier, I might have to leave Substack.
That may not be the worst outcome.
Substack takes 10% of every subscription dollar, and frankly, the platform hasn’t done much for me in return.
Some creators were lucky enough to receive grants and favourable concessions, mostly US-based writers.
I even reached out to Substack about adding an additional tier, only to be told no, despite it being a win-win, as they’d still collect fees from the pro tier.
The downside is obvious, in that leaving means stepping outside the Substack ecosystem entirely.
Inbound traffic from the platform accounts for only around 10% of my readers, but that cohort converts to paying subscribers at a disproportionately high rate.
So it’s not a clean calculation.
It’s a business decision, and I still have some time to think it through properly. But I am putting this out since it’s something exciting in the pipeline.
As usual, here are the stories that performed best in February.
It was a short month, punctuated by public holidays, but a challenging one for this small corner of the internet.
As with every monthly recap, here are the standouts.
I tracked pieces that pulled at least 3,000 views and more than 10 paying subscribers (across all tiers: monthly, annual, or founding):
🗓 Programming note: Tomorrow, I’ll be taking the day off and will return on Tuesday, fingers crossed, with a newsbreak.
See you soon,
Emmanuel
The Malaysianist runs on subscriptions. Fuel up with a monthly, annual or founding member plan.
P.S. The founding member tier doesn’t have a ceiling; you can go as high as you want — it’s the ultimate supporter badge.
It’ll also grant you access to Brainjam with bangers such as this 👇🏽
And, yes, you can upgrade subscription tiers at any time.
Mulling a group purchase for family, friends and colleagues? I’ve got you. Group subscriptions come with discounts, too.
Talk to me
Got a burning question or a tip-off? Reach me anytime at: emmanuel@themalaysianist.com