The Malaysian Insight

THE Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia is to get new editors this week after its chief editor quit while another retired, two months after its owners lost the May 9 elections, sources said. 

Utusan Group editor-in-chief Abdul Aziz Ishak tendered his resignation on Friday while his deputy, Othman Mohamad, will retire in October.

Utusan Melayu Bhd executive chairman Abd Aziz Sheikh Fadzir confirmed the intention of the two senior editors to relinquish their positions but no decision has been made to reshuffle the newsroom.

The former Umno MP for Kulim-Bandar Baharu was appointed executive chairman on June 7.

“Both said that they wanted to step down and go on leave by the end of this month,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

If the resignations are accepted, Utusan Melayu Bhd, which publishes Utusan Malaysia, Mingguan Malaysia and Kosmo, is expected to announce the vacancies and their replacements on Bursa Malaysia this week.

A source from Utusan said Aziz had declared his intention to resign several times, at least two years before the 14th general election.

The 54-year-old, however, refused to comment on the matter. He has led the newspaper since December 1, 2009, when he replaced Khalid Mohd. He had been Khalid’s deputy until July 2008.

Another source said the successors will be decided early this week.

“Utusan staff want the newspaper to be led by an editor-in-chief selected from the existing group of editors,” the source told The Malaysian Insight.

This is the second restructuring exercise in Barisan Nasional-linked media outlets.

On May 20, Mohd Ashraf Abdullah, Media Prima Bhd’s group managing editor of news and current affairs at Media Prima Television Networks, stepped down.

Media Prime operates television channels TV3, ntv7, 8TV and the newspapers New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Harian Metro.

The reshuffle in Utusan follows the resignations of four independent non-executive directors on May 15, a week after former prime minister Najib Razak’s administration lost power in GE14.

On May 26, the Utusan chapter of the National Union of Malaysian Journalists (NUJ) submitted a memorandum to Umno, urging the party to revamp the paper’s leadership.

The NUJ accused the bosses of mismanagement and misappropriation. Utusan denied the allegations and lodged a police report against the two union leaders.

It is also understood that two names have been floated to replace Aziz, said another source.

They are Zaini Hassan, assistant to the editor-in-chief, and Kosmo editor Baharom Mahusin.

Rumours also surfaced that a former senior reporter close to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will be appointed to lead Utusan, said a source.

“But Utusan staff prefer if the tradition continues, that the editor-in-chief is replaced by an insider,” the source said.

The previous editors-in-chief comprised insiders, except Johan Jaaffar, who was brought in from Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka, to lead Utusan at the tail end of 1992.

According to data released by the Audit Bureau Circulation in December last year, circulation numbers have increased consistently.

Its weekly newspaper, Mingguan Malaysia, sold 245,911 copies, making it the No. 1 Malay newspaper in the country. Daily newspaper Utusan Malaysia has a circulation of 112,050 copies, more than its rival, Berita Harian, at only 70,000 copies.

These sales, however, are not reflected in the company’s financial position.

Early last month, Utusan was said to have considered a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) as part of its restructuring exercise.

Its group managing director, Mohd Noordin Abbas, said the scheme was necessary for Utusan’s future, apart from being a simple cost-cutting measure.

“This is to prevent future situations where the company suffers losses of millions each month,” he reportedly said at the paper’s annual general meeting on June 6.

The exercise would likely reduce the workforce by 50% from a total of 1,400 staff members. The move could help the company save RM8 million every month.

Utusan Melayu and its subsidiaries managed to narrow their net loss position in the first quarter of 2018 to RM5.85 million, compared with a loss of RM22.84 million in the same period last year.

Utusan shares closed at 28 sen on Bursa Malaysia last Friday.

Another source told The Malaysian Insight that the recent VSS scheme mooted by the management was the fourth suggestion in 10 years.

“Utusan has talked about VSS at least four times. But how are they going to do it if they don’t have enough compensation money?” the source, who is familiar with the company’s management, said. – July 16, 2018.