Malaysia’s original citizen journalism platform.
Citizens Journal Malaysia trains everyday Malaysians to report, publish, and get paid for the stories their communities actually need told.
Our Story
Built on the belief that everyone has a story worth telling
Citizens Journal Malaysia (cj.my) was founded in 2008 as Malaysia’s first dedicated citizen journalism platform — a space where everyday people, not just trained reporters, could report on the issues shaping their own communities.
Over the years, our contributors have come from all walks of life: students, retirees, small business owners, and community leaders, united by a shared interest in telling stories that matter where they live. We’ve trained over 1,000 citizen journalists across Malaysia and the wider region, including remote communities in Sarawak and partner programmes in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore.
Today, cj.my covers the full range of community life — heritage and forgotten history, civic issues and public accountability, wildlife and environmental crime, food and culture, and yes, difficult stories too, when they matter to the public we serve. We don’t shy away from a story because it’s hard. We just insist on telling it fairly, accurately, and with the community at the centre of it.
Citizens Journal in numbers
What We Stand For
Vision & Mission
Vision
A more informed, connected Malaysia
To be the leading platform for citizen journalism in Malaysia — where everyday people are equipped to report on their own communities, surface stories that matter, and hold power accountable, regardless of how comfortable or uncomfortable the subject may be.
Mission
Train and support everyday citizens to report news and tell impactful stories, through workshops and ongoing editorial mentorship.
Publish honestly — covering civic accountability, heritage, environment, and community life without flinching from difficult subjects.
Create a real pathway from learning to earning, so contributors are paid for published work, not just trained and left behind.
What We Cover
Stories with substance, not just traffic
We publish across the issues that shape everyday life in Malaysia — the ones often missed by larger outlets chasing the daily news cycle.
Leadership
Led by 24 years in Malaysian journalism
Maran Perianen
Founder, Citizens Journal Malaysia
Maran Perianen has spent more than two decades at the intersection of journalism, documentary filmmaking and media training across Southeast Asia. He founded Citizens Journal Malaysia as a platform built on a simple belief: that communities are the best witnesses to their own stories. That conviction comes from years in the field — covering native rights, environmental issues and political crises across the region, with most of his reporting and commentary published on Malaysiakini.com. As a documentary producer and director, Maran has worked with organisations including The Asia Foundation, SUARAM and Pusat KOMAS. His award-winning credits include She Is My Son, Perak Crisis: No Silver Lining, Running, and Incarcerated Rhythm. He is also a regionally recognised video journalism trainer, having helped media organisations and NGOs across the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam build digital content capacity for online publications and social media. He has lectured at the National Arts Academy, Monash University and LimKokWing University. Citizens Journal Malaysia is the continuation of that work — a living newsroom shaped by the communities it covers.
He founded Citizens Journal Malaysia in 2014 to give that movement a permanent home, and continues to lead its editorial direction and training programmes today, alongside his work as a documentary filmmaker through Far East Documentary Center Sdn Bhd.
Want to tell your story?
Learn citizen journalism, get published on cj.my, and get paid for every story we run. Or simply reach out with an idea worth covering.
