Thank you, Malaysians

The Malaysian Insider's staff wishes to thank the public for its support over the past eight years. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, March 14, 2016.Before the lights go out on The Malaysian Insider at midnight, we say "Thank You" to our readers.

TMI started on February 25, 2008.

Today, after eight years and less than a month, we say good night to all as our owners call it a day after keeping us for 20 months.

It has been an exhilarating ride.

In our eight years, we have garnered a following of some close to three million readers a day and have become one of the top three most read news websites in the country.

Fahmi Reza posted a cartoon after the announcement that The Malaysian Insider will be shut down from tomorrow. – Pic taken from Fahmi Reza's Facebook, March 14, 2016.The most challenging time has been over the past year when four of our editors were detained, and our website being blocked for allegedly publishing false news.

On the day we turned eight this year, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) blocked the site on grounds of "national security" over an article that quoted a source regarding evidence against the prime minister's alleged financial scandals. 

Since the news earlier today about the closure, we have seen a torrent of thank you messages and well-wishes on the site and on social media.

Many readers, who have contributed articles to our site, also expressed their appreciation for giving them a platform to share their opinions and writing.

No words can express our thanks to our readers who have praised us, critiqued us and stuck with us.

We thank you for your support.

We hope our reporting has inspired Malaysians to think for themselves and strive for a better tomorrow although our site will be offline from midnight.

The struggle for a free Press does not end with the closure of The Malaysian Insider. – March 14, 2016.