The silent roar: a decade of change (2009) by Raja Petra Kamaruddin, is a collection of articles, speeches and essays by this prominent and controversial Malaysian blogger. Also known as “RPK” or “Malaysia’s Julian Assange” the online news blog he founded and edits, Malaysia today , hosts documents revealing government corruptions and scandals as well as his candid and incisive commentaries.

Tellingly, this book was published in Scotland rather than Malaysia. It includes not only articles from the website but also new and previously unpublished writings (a table of contents can be viewed here). Focusing on changes in the Malaysian political landscape leading to the March 2008 general election, when a once silent people “exploded in a roar”, he examines the disillusionment and the growing exasperation of a people no longer willing to accept corruption, money politics, repression and ethnic polarisation, a people increasingly calling for transparency and accountability . With controversial statements such as “Malaysia is still as racist as the day we saw independence 52 years ago”, and “we owe it to ourselves … to open up the can of worms called Malaysian politics and bare it for all to see what it is, and what should be”, the author hopes this book is seen as a call to fight for a better Malaysia, and why it needs to be done.