At the time of writing, a total of RM552,321 had been raised, according to the site.

Thanking its readers and the public for their support, Malaysiakini said it was currently deciding on what to do with the excess funds.

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said the show of support for the online news portal was most encouraging.

He added that it was a “great sign that the dream for a more open, just and free society in Malaysia is not dead, but is still very much alive”.

Along with Lim, 49 other DAP MPs, senators and assemblymen have each donated RM1,000 to Malaysiakini in a sign of solidarity.

“At the same time, DAP Malaysia will also donate RM10,000 to Malaysiakini,” they said in a joint statement, urging other Malaysians to follow suit.

Noting that the targeted amount of money had been raised in one-sixth of a day, Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil tweeted that “Malaysians have risen to defend media freedom”.

Azrul Khalib, CEO of the Galen Centre, congratulated Malaysians for rising up to the challenge and setting an example of what could be achieved if they worked together.

“Malaysians are voicing out their opposition loud and clear. Standing up, standing with those who fight for freedom of speech and against oppression,” he said on Twitter.

Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd, the company which runs Malaysiakini, was fined RM500,000 after it was found guilty of scandalising the judiciary in publishing readers’ comments last year. Its editor-in-chief, Steven Gan, however, was found not guilty of contempt.

The company was given three days from Monday to settle the penalty and had sought funds from readers and supporters to pay the fine.

Many have since taken to social media to criticise the sentence, questioning its implications on media portals’ liability to third-party content, as well as its threats to freedom of expression.