SO, why would Malaysia need another news portal? This was among the questions thrown at us when a motley group of friends – yes, some with deep pockets – got together one evening in the middle of 2020 and dreamed up a platform to bring our standards of journalism to the masses.
The question was a legitimate one. The news business can be a thankless one and it is one that burns money. Here we are in the middle of a global pandemic launching one, with zero idea where the revenue was going to come from – if it was going to come.
Only the commitment of a funder that this is something he will see through for the long haul. Simply because it is something that the nation needs.
And so, with much pomp and pageantry – and fireworks that cost just over RM20,000 (no, not RM1 million as some had erroneously estimated) – The Vibes was launched today, one year ago in Kota Kinabalu.
It coincided with a mini concert that helped provide temporary jobs and respite to the event management and entertainment industry reeling from a lockdown that at the time seemingly had no conclusion.
But, more importantly, The Vibes was launched in the midst of the Sabah election with a promise of “Malaysia. From Every Side”.
In the days to come, we will reproduce some of what we think were our most meaningful stories. Be they investigative exposés of royal hands involved in environmental destruction; the continued shafting of indigenous and vulnerable communities; corruption and excesses with public funds and conversations with personalities who acknowledged that The Vibes is a credible sounding board for the people.
It has been an eventful year for us. That older, more established news organisations have lifted our stories and are quoting us is testament of their acknowledgement of the work we do.
That our lawyers have been kept busy responding to threats of legal suits is, I would like to think, proof of our relevance.
In the meantime the team has grown. The PETRA News family has grown. We launched a sister portal in Bahasa Malaysia on January 29 this year and soon the business community will also be seeing something coming its way in the near future.
The Vibes was launched on a Malaysia Day weekend and we celebrate our first birthday during a Malaysia Day weekend.
In the time since we launched, we have seen the coronavirus take more than 22,000 Malaysian lives. We have seen an emergency being declared and we have had two prime ministers.
The number of Malaysians pushed to desperation with a record of more than 1,000 suicides and 200,000 jobs lost, and 100,000 registered businesses closing down, are further compounded by politics.
However, that the current prime minister is attempting to bridge the schism is perhaps the silver lining that at least it will not be politics as usual. We hope.
Which is why, to answer the year-old question: why another news portal? It is precisely because of the state of the nation that we need the Fourth Estate to speak up unfettered and unapologetically.
The Vibes will continue our role as the voice of reason. To call out what is not right but at the same time be constructively critical.
Our role in this time should be nation building. Yes we report the news, but we should also play our role as stakeholders in this country to bring it out of the socio-economic and health crisis.
Be it by providing jobs and opportunities; as a curator of meaningful content or the voice of the silent and silenced.
Our readers deserve that. Our people who have put their faith in the leadership of this portal deserve that.
We could not have come this far without the support, encouragement and even the criticisms of our readers
We aim to keep doing what we do best but to do it better.
We thank you for sticking with us this past year and we endeavour to continue to make ourselves worthy of your support and patronage.
This Malaysia Day, I, on behalf of my colleagues at The Vibes, wish you a blessed commemoration of our nationhood, as we observe our first anniversary as your news portal.
Wishing you nothing but good vibes. – The Vibes, September 19, 2021
Terence Fernandez is editor-in-chief of PETRA News and managing editor of The Vibes
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