MalaysiaVotes.com is a free news site that was created with minimum resources to cover the 2008 general election. Drawing on the collective training and experience of three seasoned journalists – Cindy Tham, Danny Lim and Jacqueline Ann Surin – the news site aims, wherever possible, to provide news about the main issues that the nation is grappling with as we go to the polls, as well as news on the elections that would not gain either the attention of or fair coverage from the traditional media in Malaysia.

MalaysiaVotes.com will specifically report news and the mood from the ground in the following areas:

• hot seats: whether it’s the big fight up in Penang between the DAP and Gerakan or the challenge Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu will face in Sungai Siput post-Hindraf rally, MalaysiaVotes.com will report on what the issues are, what the candidates are promising, and what mood the electorate are in.
• the fight in rural Kelantan: Danny Lim promises to keep urban, Internet-connected readers in touch with what goes on during the election campaign in the kampungs of Kelantan where Umno will slug it out with PAS. This coverage will demonstrate how Malaysia is a complex nation with diverse interests, terrains and political persuasions.
• noteworthy independent candidates (if any): charting the independent’s trail will give readers a sense of what independent candidates are offering, how they are bucking the trend of political party politics, and the challenges an individual faces should s/he decide to contest in an election.

Additionally, MalaysiaVotes.com will provide picture essays; video reports where possible; analysis and commentaries by Cindy, Danny and Jacqueline or expert political observers; and facts about the elections that will answer questions such as how much it costs to run in an election, and why Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim cannot contest because the election is being held before April 2008.