• Research • Journalism • Art • Film • Media Advocacy •

About

Liani MK is a journalist and artist based in Malaysia. 

Shaped by her mixed indigenous-diasporic heritage, Liani’s work often focuses on the environment, human rights, culture, language and migration — with stories that centre women, migrant and indigenous experiences. She is most interested in community-led initiatives and society’s relationship with land and water, in the context of broader political and environmental shifts.

​​Her commitment to community-centred storytelling is also reflected through her creative pursuits in visual art, comics and film. Across these media, she has assumed professional roles as a producer, screenwriter, script editor, translator, proofreader, designer, photographer, editor and researcher.

In recent years, she has collaborated on media advocacy initiatives with journalists and grassroots organisations as a communications associate at the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD). This includes mentoring and supporting their media fellowship programme after once being a fellow herself.

Her background includes history and Southeast Asian studies — where as an undergraduate, she learnt Thai, played Indonesian gamelan, and researched a precolonial Tagalog writing script called baybayin. Outside of work, Liani tinkers with art, organises informal learning exchanges, and dreams of her next journeys along forest trails, caves and rivers.

​​​​​​​​Awards​

Interviews

Performance/Recording

Selected Clients and Platforms

  • International/Global — The New York Times, NPR, Rest of World
  • Asia–Pacific — Kontinentalist, New Naratif, Project Multatuli, Southeast Asia Globe
  • Malaysia — Macaranga, Malaysiakini, Family Frontiers, Justice for Sisters, KRYSS Network, Penang Monthly, Tropical Spice Garden Penang, Yahoo! News​ Malaysia