The Malaysian Insight

FORMER Utusan Melayu chairman Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzil said he will not return as group chairman because he does not want to sour his ties with embattled Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who happens to be his good friend, a source told The Malaysian Insight.

Aziz, who quit as Utusan chairman on December 13, said he will only oversee the salary and compensation payments owed to staff, said the source.

The Malay-language daily was unable to pay salaries on time last week and also failed to pay compensation due to the more than 700 former employees who accepted its voluntary separation scheme (CSS) in November.

According to the source, Aziz told Utusan’s department heads and former employees in a meeting on Monday that he did not want to be seen as opposing Zahid, who is also facing calls to step down as Umno president.

“Aziz said he was a close friend of Zahid’s and it would be hard for him to lead Utusan as he would be seen as opposing Zahid,” said the source.

After being elected as Umno president in July, Zahid appointed Aziz to manage Utusan, which is owned by the Malay party.

But the former Kulim Bandar Baharu MP quit as Utusan chairman after Zahid announced that he would go on leave and appointed Mohamad Hasan as a stand-in.  

The Utusan chief is traditionally appointed by, and is a loyalist to, the Umno president. A week after Aziz’s resignation, newly appointed Utusan group editor Ibrahim Yahaya also resigned.

Ibrahim was Zahid’s press secretary during his tenure as the deputy prime minister before the 14th general election.

The Malaysian Insight has contacted Aziz for comments.

Aziz’s tenure in Utusan came under the spotlight after he cut short his holiday in Europe recently to try and resolve Utusan’s financial problems.

Utusan staff handed over a petition to Aziz, urging him to stay on and resolve the company’s financial woes.

It is learnt that Utusan will pay out the VSS compensation by instalments over the next 12 months. The first three months’ compensation will be paid out before January 25.

Utusan is listed under PN17 status on Bursa Malaysia because of its financial woes. – January 3, 2019.