It was Sept 9, 1971 and the inaugural issue of The Star , which was Penang-based at that point in time, came out late at 4pm, due to some technical glitches.

“Ironically it was our editor (and founder) KS Choong’s birthday… people were asking if we were an afternoon paper and not a morning paper,” said Sugumaran Krishnasamy, a news editor of The Star at that time.

M Menon another pioneer from the paper said, “They called us ‘The Moon’ as we came out so late.”

The first issue, Sugu, as he is fondly known as said, was of a drunk sailor clambering down a gangway. Menon meanwhile said it was a court story. Both agreed that it was a long time ago, which could be the reason for their difference in opinion.

“Our office then faced the sea… it was strategic, we witnessed all sorts of things… the Straits Times and the (Straits) Echo knew we meant business,” Sugu reminisces.

The Star grew from strength to strength, becoming a national paper five years later on Jan 3, 1976, and shifting its headquarters to Kuala Lumpur in 1978.

In 1977, the MCA, the second largest member of the ruling BN coalition, took ownership of The Star .

The joke then was that The Star was owned by the MCA, run by the MIC - the third largest member of BN - for the benefit of the DAP.

The Star with the late Tunku Abdul Rahman ( right in photo ), the first prime minister as its chairperson, was critical of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad ( left in photo ).

Mahathir, who held the reins of the country from 1981 to 2003, changed the entire media landscape, largely as a result of the unbiased reporting by The Star .

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