The Nut Graph

Ah, Malaysiakini had dominated the online journalism scene in Malaysia for almost 10 years now. And when you suddenly find a plethora of other online news sites sprouting very quickly, you know that online news reporting has "arrived". And certainly, one cannot underestimated the role it played in the last general elections.

Many of you would have read The Malaysian Insider by now. Oon Yeoh has written previously on the transformation (sort of) of MalaysiaVotes.com into TheNutGraph.com, and written again on another new site, Project Malaysia.

Well, TheNutGraph is finally launched today. DAP city councillor for MBPJ, and former journalist with The Star Metro, Mak Khuin Weng has his column "Ampersand" kicked off with his thoughts on being appointed a councillor.

I have much to learn as a first-time councillor and newbie in politics. Already, the learning curve is steep, and time has become more precious than ever. But here is an opportunity for me to walk the talk. As a journalist, I was critical from the outside; now I am on the inside, and perhaps can make a difference from this vantage point.

I have also been approached to write for TheNutGraph, which I have agreed to, but probably on a less regular basis due to the many other writing commitments, weekly columns in the Oriental Daily, China Press plus of course, my very own blogs. So watch out for my first article, probably out in the next few days - it's got a little to do one of the most popular FAQs, what do you do in your life as an MP.

And for the many of us curious about the real meaning behind the idiosyncratic name, "The Nut Graph", well, it's now all revealed here. And it's got something to do with nutshells and paragraphs ;-).