Utusan to close down all bureaus, Terengganu printing plant, on Dec 1

Cash-strapped Malay daily Utusan Malaysia has stated that it is closing down all state bureaus as well as its printing plant in Terengganu, effective Dec 1. 

Group Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd's executive chairperson Abd Aziz Sheik Fadzir, in a series of memos sent to the staff, said the exercise is part of the restructuring of the majority Umno-owned daily. 

Aziz, in his first memo on Nov 5, announced that the printing plant in Gong Badak, Terengganu, as well as two bureaus in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, will be closed down. 

In a second memo three days later, he announced that all state bureaus will be shuttered. However, journalists based in the said bureaus would all still be operational, albeit remotely, he had said. 

On Nov 15, it was reported that the company was selling a 4,715 square metres plot of land at Jalan Chan Sow Lin in Kuala Lumpur, to Strong Skyhutch Sdn Bhd for RM18 million. 

The land sale would enable the company to unlock the immediate value of the property, it had said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia. 

The staff of the daily had also previously picketed, as they were allegedly not paid salaries for the months of August and September. 

In August, Utusan announced that it had defaulted on loans totalling RM1.18 million. 

In September, the company also offered some 800 of its 1,500 employees a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) as part of a cost-cutting exercise. 

The VSS exercise was extended to staff members of both Utusan Malaysia and Kosmo, as well as the group's magazines Mastika, saji, Infiniti and Wanita. 

The newspaper, which has seen declining circulation, had been artificially propped up by advertisements from GLCs in recent years. 

In Utusan's 2017 annual report, it is stated that Umno owns a 49.77 percent stake in the newspaper. 

However, those funds dried up after Umno's 61-year hold on federal power ended in the May 9 general election. 

The next largest substantial shareholder is Nilam Setar (M) Sdn Bhd, owned by tycoon Syed MoktharAlbukhary, with a 14.76 percent stake. -Mkini