KUALA LUMPUR, March 22: Starting today, the English language edition of Harakahdaily, the online web edition of PAS organ Harakah, will be available to readers.

The new subdomain at www.harakahdaily.net/en will feature news and analyses on current events, as well as a selection of world news. It is the first time that Harakahdaily has a dedicated page in English, although in the past included the main main Bahasa Malaysia section had now and then included news and articles in English.

PAS secretary general Datuk Mustafa Ali, launching (PIC) the new English version at its office in Kuala Lumpur today, hoped that the English pages would help PAS reach a wider selection of English-reading audience, whether in Malaysia or around the world.

Harakahdaily was launched in March 2000 in the wake of the government's withdrawal of Harakah's permit to publish the tabloid twice a week. The move had effects on the paper's influence as it was then the only political newspaper which posed a formidable challenge to the mainstream media during the reformasi era.

With the launch of the English Edition, all news and features in Bahasa Malaysia will remain on the mainpage, while those who prefer to read in English can go to the new subdomain.

While Harakahdaily’s English Edition will share similar outlook in contents and format, it will not be an exact replica of its Malay counterpart.

Zulkifli Sulong, chief editor of Harakahdaily, said Harakahdaily would like to bring the debate on current affairs to the next level beyond rhetoric and opinion.

“We would like to set a standard in Malaysian online journalism. But we do not want to duplicate what other online news sites, especially those who practise fair journalism, are currently doing,” he said, adding that his team will strive to include the views of everyone in the current political debate.