Sinar Project
Sinar Project is a Malaysian civic-tech nonprofit that builds open-source transparency tools, monitors internet censorship regionally, and runs AI governance and capacity-building programs for civil society.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersSubang Jaya, Malaysia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Sinar Project does
Sinar Project is a Malaysian civic-tech nonprofit founded in 2009 and headquartered in Subang Jaya, Selangor. The organization develops open-source transparency and accountability tools for the Malaysian public, including the OKU parliamentary monitoring system, the Politikus elected-representatives platform, and a database of more than 4,200 politically exposed persons alongside 5,000+ archived parliamentary documents. Its core technical work centers on scraping, structuring, and publishing government data through public APIs (notably the Popit API, which has been adopted externally by platforms such as Myanmar's Open Hluttaw).
Beyond domestic tooling, Sinar Project operates the iMAP (Internet Monitoring Action Project) across 9 Southeast Asian countries, monitoring 1,152+ websites daily for censorship events, positioning the organization as a regional infrastructure provider for digital-rights and internet-freedom research.
The organization's revenue model is grant-driven: primary funding comes from institutional donors including the European Union (via the 48-month "Safeguarding Our Information Ecosystem" partnership with Article 19 and the Centre for Independent Journalism), EWMI, Access Now, the Open Contracting Partnership, OTF, and APNIC. Supplementary income streams include individual memberships at RM10-RM250 per month and fees from workshops and training events. All public-facing tools are offered free of charge, with an 8-person staff executing programs and platform maintenance.
Sinar Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sinar Project
- Legal name
- Sinar Project
- Website
- https://sinarproject.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Sinar Project is a Malaysian civic-tech nonprofit that builds open-source transparency tools, monitors internet censorship regionally, and runs AI governance and capacity-building programs for civil society.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sinar Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Civic Technology
- NAICS
- Libraries and Archives (51921)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Development & ICT4D / GovTech Technical Assistance (BPADAEAL)
Keywords
Where Sinar Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Subang Jaya
- HQ country
- Malaysia
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sinar Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Institutional Grants and Funding: Primary revenue source from international donors and foundations supporting digital rights, open government, and civic technology initiatives. Funding covers specific projects, general operations, and in-kind donations.
- Individual Donations and Memberships: Monthly membership contributions (RM10-RM250) and one-time donations from individual supporters. Recurring donations provide predictable funding for basic operations.
- Workshop and Training Fees: Story grants worth EUR2,000 provided to selected participants upon completion of investigative journalism workshops, funded in partnership with European Union.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Basic Supporter membership |
| Subscription | Monthly | General Supporter membership |
| Subscription | Monthly | Major Supporter membership |
| Subscription | Monthly | Mysterious Arab Supporter membership |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Sinar Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sinar Project is a civic technology nonprofit that develops and operates open-source platforms and open data infrastructure to make government information publicly accessible, particularly in constrained environments. Its portfolio spans elected representative databases (Wakil Rakyat, GE14 Website, Politikus), parliamentary and government document archives (Pardocs, GovDocs), internet censorship monitoring via OONI Probe, a regional multi-country iMAP internet monitoring network, and a local AI server for civil society capacity building and AI governance research.
Product overview
Sinar Project is a civic tech initiative using open technology, open data, and policy analysis to make important information public and accessible. The organization operates a portfolio of transparency platforms including elected representative databases (GE14 Website, Wakil Rakyat, Politikus), parliamentary and government document archives (Pardocs, GovDocs), and internet censorship monitoring tools (Internet Censorship Monitoring, iMAP). Recent initiatives include Safeguarding Our Information Ecosystem (digital rights and AI governance) and Enabling Tech (civil society capacity building). The technical infrastructure includes Popit open data API serving other civic tech projects, and a local AI server for RAG services and investigative journalism.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- GE14 Candidate and Elected Representatives Website Electoral transparency platform for Malaysia's 14th General Elections providing candidate information, campaign materials, blacklist criteria, and beneficial ownership data, built on Popit API with 4,200+ politically exposed persons.
- Wakil Rakyat Electoral transparency platform bringing together information on all elected representatives at state and parliamentary level, including contact details, political interests, assets, blacklist monitoring, and integration with parliamentary documents; powered by the Popit Open Data API.
- Parliamentary Documents (Pardocs) Online searchable archive of Malaysian parliamentary documents including written replies to MP questions, PAC reports, and other legislative materials previously not accessible to the public, covering over 5,000 parliamentary replies.
- Malaysian Government Document Archives (GovDocs) Public searchable archive of Malaysian government documents including annual reports, speeches, and forms organized by ministries and agencies.
- Internet Censorship Monitoring Active research and monitoring of internet censorship in Malaysia and Southeast Asia using OONI Probe for network interference detection and documentation, performing daily tests on over 1,152 websites and services.
- Politikus Open data platform tracking politically exposed persons, elected representatives, senior public officials, their relationships, beneficial ownership, and involvement in corruption issues, using Popolo, OCDS, and BODS standards.
- Safeguarding Our Information Ecosystem 48-month project in collaboration with Article 19 and Centre for Independent Journalism to empower civil society to respond to online threats to freedom of expression, privacy, and data protection, including digital governance and AI governance research outputs.
- Enabling Tech Technical capacity building program for Malaysian civil society including community of practice, civic tech fellowships, and training curriculum on digital rights and technology.
- iMAP (Internet Monitoring Action Project) Regional internet censorship monitoring network covering 9 countries (Myanmar, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam) using OONI detection systems.
- Database on AI Implementations in the Malaysian Public Sector Research database tracking AI implementations in the Malaysian public sector as part of the Safeguarding Our Information Ecosystem project.
- Local AI Server (Limau Ais) Local AI workstation and server built on open source stack (Ubuntu Linux, AMD Lemonade Server, ROCm) for civil society capacity building, RAG services, and investigative journalism, capable of running open-weight models from Hugging Face including Qwen3 and Gemma.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 5,000 parliamentary documents made searchable and accessible online
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Sinar Project
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Sinar Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability4 records
Feature6 records
Sinar Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- European Union (EU)corePrimary funder of the Safeguarding Our Information Ecosystem project (48-month initiative). EU Delegation to Malaysia supports civic society organizations working towards development goals and UN SDGs. Provides funding for investigative journalism workshops and civil society capacity building.
- Article 19coreBritish international human rights organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of expression. Co-implementing Safeguarding Our Information Ecosystem project with focus on digital governance, online safety regulations, and multi-stakeholder co-regulatory models for ASEAN.
- Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)coreMalaysian civil society organization advocating for media freedom, freedom of expression, and access to information. Co-implementing project on empowering civil society to respond to online threats to freedom of expression, privacy, and data protection.
- Internews in MalaysiamajorPartnership for investigative journalism workshops funded by European Union. Organized workshops on fundamentals of investigative journalism with story grants worth EUR2,000 each for selected participants.
- The Web FoundationmajorCollaborated on case study 'Building an Open Database on Politically Exposed Persons in Malaysia'. Supported open data infrastructure development for government and parliamentary transparency.
- OONI (Open Observatory of Network Interference)coreGlobal partner providing open infrastructure, tools, and technical support for internet censorship measurements. Sinar Project is an official OONI partner conducting network interference testing in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
- APNIC FoundationmajorSupporting extended internet censorship monitoring and research work in the Asia-Pacific region through iMAP project.
- Initiate.myminorPartner in Enabling Tech project for building civic tech capacity among Malaysian civil society.
- AlternativesminorPartner organization in Enabling Tech project for civil society technology capacity building.
- Monash University MalaysiaminorCollaborated on events including Social Media and Politics in Southeast Asia discussion with Merlyna Lim.
- Asian Institute of TechnologyminorPartner for PULSE Measuring Internet Censorship Thailand project and training activities.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sinar Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sunlight Foundation: US government transparency nonprofit tracking politicians, lobbying, and influence. Highly comparable mission around political accountability and open data, though operates in a different national context.
- Open Knowledge Foundation: Global open data nonprofit running open data indexes, tools, and community initiatives. A past funder of Sinar Project (Open Data Day 2016 Malaysia, Global Open Data Index) that operates very similar open data programs internationally.
- Poplus: International civic tech collective developing reusable open-source components (Representatives, PopIt) for civic applications. Funds Sinar Project for component implementations and shares its open-source civic tech infrastructure approach.
- OONI - Open Observatory of Network Interference: Global internet censorship measurement project that provides the OONI Probe infrastructure Sinar Project uses. Listed as a core technology partner but performs substantially the same network interference testing work as Sinar Project's monitoring program.
- Code for America: US civic technology nonprofit focused on improving government services and transparency through technology. Shares the same nonprofit structure, civic-tech-for-good orientation, and reliance on philanthropic and grant funding.
- Alaveteli: Open-source Freedom of Information platform provider whose software Sinar Project has deployed for Malaysia. Operates as a comparable civic tech tool provider focused on government transparency and FOI request infrastructure.
- Engine Room: International nonprofit supporting civil society with technology and research, including capacity building and responsible data practices. Highly comparable mission around tech-for-good for civil society organizations.
- mySociety: UK-based civic technology nonprofit building transparency and accountability tools (They Work For You, WhatDoTheyKnow). mySociety is even a current demographic research funder of Sinar Project, indicating near-identical mission and approach.
Broad incumbents
- ARTICLE 19: Global freedom of expression and information rights organization currently partnering with Sinar Project on the EU-funded Safeguarding Our Information Ecosystem initiative. Operates more broadly in digital rights advocacy rather than technology development, with a much larger international footprint.
Regional players
- Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ): Malaysian media freedom NGO co-implementing the Safeguarding Our Information Ecosystem project with Sinar Project. A direct in-country partner, but focuses more on journalism advocacy than technology infrastructure.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sinar Project social profiles
Digital presenceSinar Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sinar Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Sinar Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sinar Project M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sinar Project
What does Sinar Project do?
Sinar Project is a civic technology nonprofit that develops and operates open-source platforms and open data infrastructure to make government information publicly accessible, particularly in constrained environments. Its portfolio spans elected representative databases (Wakil Rakyat, GE14 Website, Politikus), parliamentary and government document archives (Pardocs, GovDocs), internet censorship monitoring via OONI Probe, a regional multi-country iMAP internet monitoring network, and a local AI server for civil society capacity building and AI governance research.
Is Sinar Project a public or private company?
Sinar Project is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Sinar Project founded?
Sinar Project was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Sinar Project based?
Sinar Project is headquartered in Subang Jaya, Malaysia, in the Asia region.
How does Sinar Project make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Institutional Grants and Funding is the primary driver. The others are individual Donations and Memberships and workshop and Training Fees.
Who are Sinar Project's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sunlight Foundation, Open Knowledge Foundation, Poplus, OONI - Open Observatory of Network Interference, Code for America, Alaveteli, Engine Room and mySociety. ARTICLE 19 is listed as a broad incumbent. Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) is listed as a regional player.
Does Sinar Project have an API?
Yes. Popit is an open data standards-compliant API/DB for politically exposed persons and legislative data, providing open data via api.popit.sinarproject.org. The API serves other projects such as Myanmar's Open Hluttaw elected representatives website and mobile app. Politikus uses Popolo-spec data storage with Open Contracting Data Standard and Beneficial Ownership Data Standard support. Source code available at https://github.com/Sinar/popit_ng. Developer documentation is at api.popit.sinarproject.org.
What industry is Sinar Project in?
Sinar Project's product category is Civic Technology. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAEAL, Digital Development & ICT4D / GovTech Technical Assistance. Its NAICS code is 51921 and its SIC code is 7370.