M. G. G. Pillai

MGG Pillai (1939 – 28 April 2006) was a Malaysian journalist and political activist. He was one of the country's pioneers in Internet-based journalism and activism. His parents were immigrants from Kerala, India. His great maternal uncle, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai was a celebrated Malayalam novelist. True to the matrilineal tradition of the Nair caste, he had a reverential relationship with Thakazhi. Thakazhi in turn was proud of his nephew's journalistic pursuits. MGG Pillai was married to P.C. Jayasree. They have two sons, Sreekant Pillai and Sreejit Pillai.

A Johor Bahru-born Malaysian Indian of Malayalee descent, he studied in English College Johore Bahru, and later studied law at the University of Singapore. He started his career in journalism in the 1960s as a Reuters correspondent, and covered the Vietnam War in 1965. In 1967, Pillai had a brief stint in Bernama before joining the Malay Mail and covered the 13 May riots for the newspaper in 1969. He joined the then newly established Singapore Herald in 1970 but left after the government of Singapore refused to renew his work permit.

Upon returning to Malaysia, Pillai began freelancing for the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER). By then, Pillai was also a stringer for the Indian newspaper Hindustan Times. Besides writing for FEER, Pillai also contributed to Newsweek as a stringer and co-founded the defunct news magazine Asiaweek. In 1977, Pillai became the first Malaysian to receive a fellowship from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, which offered him a chance for further study in journalism at Harvard University.

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