The Malaysian Insight

FOR the second consecutive month, salaries of staff at Umno-owned Kumpulan Utusan Melayu Berhad are delayed, with payment only expected by the first week of October.

In a memo dated September 25, the management informed its staff that the latest delay was due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

In August, the company which publishes the oldest Malay daily in the country, Utusan Malaysia, delayed salaries for its executives.

And on September 15, it again failed to pay salaries on time for its non-executive personnel, prompting journalists and photographers to plan a picket.

The circular issued by the general manager of human resources, Mohd Nazlan Osman, said the company was trying to trying to pay the September salary before October 7.

Reeling from heavy losses accumulated over the years, Utusan last week offered voluntary separation scheme (VSS) letters to its 1,500 employees in a restructuring exercise aimed at off-loading at least 50% of the workforce to overcome its financial constraints.

Sources told The Malaysian Insight the decision was made at a meeting between Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd executive chairman Abd Aziz Sheikh Fadzir and staff.

The VSS offer was valid until October 10.

The scheme, however, was slammed by the National Union of Journalists as “insincere, dishonest, and suspicious”.

Meanwhile, the Industrial Relations Department has called up representatives of four workers’ unions in Utusan for feedback on the VSS.

“They were called up on the orders of the minister,” said a source.

The unions involved were the Utusan chapter of the NUJ, NUJ chapter of Utusan Karya Sdn Bhd which publishes the company’s magazines and two branches of the newspaper workers’ union (Kesatuan Kebangsaan Pekerja-Pekerja Akhbar).

As part of its attempt to cut costs and stem its burgeoning debt, Utusan has been reformatted as a tabloid from the traditional broadsheet format, beginning September 16.

Umno owns a 49.77% stake in Kumpulan Utusan Melayu Bhd, while tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhari’s Nilam Setar (M) Sdn Bhd is the second largest shareholder (14.76%).

Following Barisan Nasional’s defest in the 14th general election, Utusan has been trying to find its footing in the Pakatan Harapan administration. – September 30, 2018.