KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 ― Welcome to Malaysia’s newest independent online newspaper, launched today under the banner of one of the country’s oldest news brands.

And we hope this new kid on the block will engage and inform you by delivering the kind of journalism Malaysians deserve.

Instead of being just an online duplicate of the daily paper, www.themalaymailonline.com is separate and different from the print edition.

Effectively, this gives readers of The Malay Mail ― and all Malaysians ― a wider perspective of what is going on in the country. No other paper in the country offers this.

Led by managing editor Joan Lau and executive editor Leslie Lau, who were most recently part of the team that managed online news portal The Malaysian Insider, www.themalaymailonline.com will report the news of the day in a balanced and non-partisan manner.

There will also be commentaries and analyses of burning issues so you, the readers, can get a sense of what it all means.

This online newspaper is free. But more importantly, we hope this online newspaper will do you ― the readers ― justice rather than insult your intelligence.

We believe every Malaysian deserves to be informed.

You, the readers, must also have a voice.

At www.themalaymailonline.com, we hope you will find news that enlightens and entertains you, and a place where your voice can be reflected.

Do give us your support when we deserve it, your criticism if warranted, and we will try our best to raise the bar higher for journalism in this country.

Some people may ask if we are pro-Barisan Nasional or pro-Pakatan Rakyat.

The answer is neither.

We just want to give a voice to all Malaysians, and to report the news as it happens.

We want to help explain what the news means.

We want to give you information you can use; from how your taxes are being spent to where we think would be a good place for you to eat.

Enough said. We will let the product speak for itself.

It’s alive now! And we hope that, unlike the tale of Frankenstein’s monster, it will be a magnificent creation.