With Utusan's demise, PAS hopes readers will shift to Harakah

• Updated to include Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim's comments
• Updated to include Umno president Ahmad Zahid's comments

PAS vice-president Mohd Amar Abdullah hopes Utusan Malaysia readers will shift to the party's organ Harakah following the demise of the former.

"I sympathise (with the demise of Utusan), but I hope after this, Utusan fans will start buying Harakah," he told journalists after chairing a Kelantan state exco meeting at the Kompleks Kota Darulnaim in Kota Bharu this afternoon.

Mohd Amar said he was saddened by Utusan's closure, but did not want to elaborate further, stating that it was a "business matter".

Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd staff received a memo today informing them that the company was ceasing operations and all staff were to be laid off with immediate effect.

The newspaper initially planned to shut down on Aug 21, but aborted the plan after receiving a RM1.6 million cash injection from Umno. It also moved to raise the prices of its newspapers Kosmo and Utusan Malaysia.

However, the measures were shortlived for the company which had been struggling to repay its debts, and it announced it was going into voluntary liquidation.

A day before the announced liquidation, it was revealed that Utusan Melayu Bhd had sold a 70 percent stake of its wholly-owned subsidiary Dilof Sdn Bhd, which holds the printing licence for its newspapers, to Aurora Mulia Sdn Bhd, an entity controlled by Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary.

It is not yet clear what the tycoon plans to do with the newly-acquired printing licence.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi lamented the fate which befell the former party mouthpiece but claims Umno no longer had the financial means to help the paper.

He attributed this to the freezing of the party’s accounts by the MACC in June as the latter investigates 1MDB-linked transactions.

“What has happened (to Utusan) and the fate of Utusan staff is sad, not just to the staff but to the public, especially its readers.

“This is as Umno’s account itself, which constantly was used to help Utusan financially, cannot do so any more as the party account has been frozen,” the Bagan Datuk MP told reporters at the Parliament's lobby today.

“Therefore, as a result, it is part of the cruelty of the current government,” he added.

As Umno was no longer a major shareholder, he said he was leaving it to Utusan’s new owner to decide on the paper’s future.

Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa said Umno had tried to help the struggling newspapers a few times, and the move to go into voluntary liquidation was a business decision.

"The party does not need to interfere [...] their board of directors is free to make their decision," he told journalists in Parliament.

He added Umno could not do much as it was now a minor shareholder after selling off most of its stake to its former Kulim Bandar Baru MP Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir (below).

He said it was "unfortunate" for a newspaper that existed since pre-independence to cease operations, but added that it could not be nostalgic, and needed to make decisions based on business considerations.

Also at Parliament, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim said the closure of Utusan should serve as a lesson to other media to not succumb to control by any political party.

“Utusan should return to being a paper for the people and not just champion the interest of the Malays, but for all Bangsa Malaysia. If that becomes the case, we will support it.

“[...] this is a lesson to other newspapers not to bow to political parties’ control. It is disadvantageous,” he said.

PKR president Anwar Ibrahim said he sympathised with the fate of Utusan's staff who were laid off.

"Hopefully, other media agencies will be willing to take them in so that they can continue to earn a living," he said in a Twitter posting.

Meanwhile, Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran told journalists at Parliament that the laid-off staff can apply for compensation under the Employee Insurance Scheme (EIS).

Under the scheme, laid-off workers are paid 80 percent of their last drawn salary for the first month. This is reduced to 50 percent in the next month, then 40 percent in the third and fourth months, and 30 percent in the fifth and sixth months.

This is to help laid-off workers with their cost of living as they seek out new employment. They are also offered re-training.

"They can make a representation to the EIS [...] but I hope it (the closure) doesn't happen. I hope the Utusan management will reconsider, or maybe other buyers will take over," he said.

Additional reporting by Fion Yap and Haspaizi Zain.

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