Asean Newsrooms Band Together Democracy Under Siege

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Representatives of six Asean newsrooms met last November at the Rappler headquarters to discuss common nagging challenges that have affected operations and revenues in recent years.
Editors wearing multiple hats and managers also in charge of growth marketing, community growth, and digital product development huddled for one day to find common ground and possible solutions for newsrooms that want to survive the onslaught of AI and big tech.
Indonesia’s Tempo, Malaysia’s Malaysiakini, Myanmar’s Mizzima, Cambodia’s Kiripost, Singapore’s Straits Times, and Rappler were present during conversations on the rapidly changing media landscape, newsroom best practices, and possible areas of collaboration.
As a start, editors agreed to share their thoughts on the state of democracy in their respective countries - very timely, given elections starting Dec 28 called by the ruling Myanmar junta that seized power in 2021.
We are compiling these contributions that mirror a spectrum of the state of democracy in select Asean countries.
Democracy, according to experts, is a constant work in progress, and not a fixed, static state. The experience of democracy across nations is diverse and complex, if not nuanced.
We start this two-part series with contributions from Myanmar and Malaysia, and end with Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Life interrupted: Myanmar Gen Z struggle with threats post-coup
By SRI
Democracy has taken a turn for the worse under the Myanmar military that illegally grabbed power in February 2021, and the country’s youth are suffering as a result.
Local and international attention is focused on the military’s planned election set to start on Dec 28, which the generals hope will place a civilian fig leaf over military rule.
While Asean has largely dismissed the poll, and many critics claim it will be a “sham,” Myanmar Gen Z civilians have other, more pressing issues to deal with, with little or no interest in voting.
After all, their choice of government under Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was axed in the wake of the coup, their elected leader jailed under trumped-up charges.
Take the situation of 20-year-old Hnin, a pseudonym. She fled Myanmar to the border town of Mae Sot in Thailand.
"I left my home because my mom was so afraid. After my older brother joined the resistance, the fear grew worse. People were saying it was the girls' turn for (forced) military conscription.
“My mom brought me to Thailand so I could study for the GED (General Educational Development). For the first month, I was sad and wanted to go home every day.
“Now I am focused on my studies for IT, but if my mum said it was safe to return, I would go back immediately."
For many in Myanmar, life under the military junta is dire.
"When I was at home, we had no electricity, no internet, and only fear,” Hnin said.
This latest “democratic move” by the junta means little to her.
"I don't think about the election much, because how can we talk about voting when people are being forced to flee their homes?
“A real election can only happen when we are all safe, and my brother can come home."
Gen Z are arguably the most seriously affected by the coup and the unfolding military rollout of an election.
“For me, this is a life that forced me to sacrifice everything just to have a chance to finish high school and maybe go to university. This situation is unfair to my whole generation," Hnin said.
‘Spirit and tech’ main Gen Z weapons
In contrast, 22-year-old Ko Thet, a pseudonym, has taken up arms in Kayin state to fight against the junta.
"I wanted to be a football player, but I saw there was no opportunity under the military. So, I came to the jungle with my friends. Now I am a drone operator.
“We are learning new technology every day. The army is more brutal than before; they only think about how and when to kill us. We fight with our spirit and technology."
He is adamant his generation has no choice but to push back, after the earlier failed push against the generals for democracy in the 1980s and 1990s.
"The state of Myanmar is at war. It's simple. We cannot go back until they (the generals) are gone.
“My friends and I believe we can use our minds, our skills, and our new technology to keep fighting them as much as we can. Our generation has to be the one that ends this."
Ko Thet said that whatever the junta does, it is only for its own benefit.
“We are not interested in their fake political process; we are focused on the revolution."
Forced to find work abroad
Twenty-seven-year-old Ma Thuzar, a pseudonym, said Gen Z have to choose between no work at home, staying with their family, and working abroad.
She left Myanmar to work in a bar in the Thai seaside resort of Pattaya, then transitioned to work in a nail salon, which helps her scrape by.
Ma Thuzar has a computer engineering degree but could not find stable work in Myanmar after her father passed away, making her the main provider of her family. She followed friends to Thailand to find work, like millions of Myanmar migrants.
The Myanmar generals may have pulled the plug on a semblance of real democracy in the “Golden Land” but Gen Z have been the ones protesting and fighting back, their lives typically plunged into turmoil.
Judging by the comments of the youth interviewed, they hold no store in the election.
As Ma Thuzar put it: “I told my family at home, 'Don't vote.' They told me they won't even walk past the polling station.
“Our focus is on survival, not generals’ fake politics."
Mizzima is an independent Myanmar media organisation covering Myanmar that was started 27 years ago in response to the military's crackdown on democracy and human rights.
SRI is an independent journalist from Myanmar focused on investigative reporting on human rights and conflict reporting.
Malaysia: Youth activism holds promise for the future
By Zarrah Morden
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim began his political journey as a student activist.
This trajectory is emblematic of the country’s political landscape, where student unions continue to be a cohesive and influential force, especially in organised protests.
What has changed most since Anwar’s early days is the strategic and practical use of social media.
Student activists from Universiti Sabah Malaysia (UMS) have recently made headlines for organising a series of protests over current events, ranging from campus access to water, the tragic death of a young girl who was allegedly bullied, to a state-wide corruption scandal.
Organised under Suara Mahasiswa UMS, the students distribute information about planned rallies, statements, and related social media posts through a dedicated WhatsApp group for the press. Their rallies are also live-streamed.
After Malaysiakini exposed a mineral exploration licence scandal implicating leaders in the Sabah government, about 50 UMS student activists staged a march that was broadcast live on TikTok.
The live-stream was viewed by thousands of users, who left up to three million “hearts” as a symbol of support.
This digital enthusiasm carried over into more formal avenues of participation.
Ahead of the 17th Sabah election, a coalition of youth groups and civil society organisations held “Bah Bincang Kita” (Let’s Discuss), a forum for discourse on policies.
“For the first time in Sabah, and perhaps in Malaysia, youth leaders from across political lines came together not to debate, but to dialogue, laugh, and dream together,” co-organiser Noah Raj said in a press release afterwards.
Youth leaders from established political parties attended the forum to present their ideas and policies.
Noah said panellists grappled with issues that directly shape life in Sabah: the state’s rights, cost of living pressures, anti-corruption reforms, resource management, road conditions, and inclusivity for persons with disabilities.
As a move to safeguard neutrality, the forum was financed exclusively by grassroots crowdfunding.
Large pool of youth voters
The reason for investing in the political education of youth voters is simple: those under 30 comprised nearly a third (31 percent) of all Sabahans who were eligible to vote in the state election held on Nov 29.
According to political analyst Bridget Welsh, an initial look at election data showed that 41 percent of the youth voters in Karambunai gave the Islamist party PAS its very first seat in the state.
This is a callback to the “Green Wave” that swept the peninsula in the 2022 general election - robust participation from an eager youth electorate gave PAS the highest number of seats it had ever won in the Dewan Rakyat and the highest of any party in that polls.
Welsh said youths were also a decisive force in the Sabah election, helping deliver seven seats to Warisan - a relatively new opposition party.
Warisan ultimately secured 25 seats, while the ruling coalition Gabungan Rakyat Sabah won 29, even as several of its leaders faced corruption allegations.
The role of youths in Sabah hints at their potential power nationwide, but the direction of that influence is far from settled.
How this rising generation intends to use its voice remains to be seen - whether they create a Malaysia that is more inclusive or polarised; and whether they do it on the streets, online, or at the ballot box. - Mkini
Malaysiakini was founded in 1999 to provide the nation with an independent voice in a repressive media landscape dominated by corporate and political interests as well as government censorship. It provided Malaysians with the unvarnished truth about significant political developments, corruption and abuse of power.
Zarrah Morden is an early-career reporter who mainly covers politics. She is passionate about human rights, the environment, and labour issues.

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