Behind the Stories The making of The Edge - the people, the elations and heartbreaks of the past 30 years

How should a news media company that is used to writing about others publish a book about itself? Should it be written by one of its own journalists? Or should it be done by an outsider? We had asked ourselves the question before we proceeded to commission Lilian Tan in 2019 to research and write a book on the 25 years (1994-2019) of The Edge, with the intention of getting it out in 2020.

The brief to Lilian was to not just document our story, but to tell it against the backdrop of what was happening in Malaysia at the same time — and there was plenty happening economically and politically. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted our plan to get the book out in 2020, but the delay allowed us to review our earlier idea. Lilian suggested, after she submitted the first five chapters covering 1993-2013, that the remaining chapters, in particular the ones on 1MDB, be written by ourselves.

This seemed unconventional. But then again, we did do the unconventional in September 1994 when we launched a glossy business weekly in tabloid format. We were asked, “Are you a magazine or a newspaper?” And we were told that, at RM3.20 a copy, we would not last beyond one year, as newspapers cost RM1 then. Well, it has been 30 years and we are still around, despite three economic crises and attempts to emulate us. And this is despite the current pervasiveness of social media platforms, which have lured both readers and advertising revenue away from traditional news media companies, forcing many of them to downsize or close down.

By publishing this book, we want to show that while there is social media information overload today, there is still a place — in fact, a hunger for — credible and trusted news. And we want to inspire young Malaysians to pursue journalism as a public service. That said, we must be honest and say that while good journalism is a prerequisite for commercial success, good journalism by itself cannot guarantee commercial success. To use an analogy: While a football team needs goal scorers to win, it cannot succeed without a good goalkeeper and strong defense working together as a team with the forwards. And, it also needs loyal fans.

This book is, therefore, a tribute to everyone who has made The Edge a success — the founders/pioneers who dared to pursue their dream 30 years ago; past and present staff from all departments who helped turn the dream into reality; and our fans and friends — advertisers, contributors, distributors and printers — who have supported us through our ups and downs. And through this book, we want to share with you the behind-the-scene moments of elation and heartbreak, as we went about doing our best to fulfi l our editorial commitment to serve the public interest. We may have faltered at times, but we hope that we have been true to our commitment most of the time. Thank you for being part of our journey.