| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Utusan Group |
| Publisher | Utusan Group |
| Founded | May 29, 1939 |
| Political alignment | Pro UMNO, Pro Corruption, Pro Racism, Pro Cronism |
| Language | Malay |
| Headquarters | 46M, Jalan Lima off Jalan Chan Sow Lin, 55200 Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia (as of 2005). |
| Circulation | 256,247 *Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations, 2004 |
| Official website | Utusan Online |
Utusan Malaysia (literally translated from Malay to English as the "Malaysian Courier") (formerly known as Utusan Melayu) is a controversial Malay language newspaper in Malaysia. First published in Jawi, the newspaper is now published in romanised letters, and is still the number one selling Malay-language daily in Malaysia. Its earlier name, Utusan Melayu, has been retained for its weekly Jawi script supplement.
Contents |
History
Utusan Malaysia started publication from Singapore as Utusan Melayu on May 29, 1939, catering to the Jawi-literate in then British Malaya. It became an influential medium for the populace to voice their opinions towards the colonial government in pre-independence Malaya.
The broadsheet was the first of four newspapers, published by the Utusan Group (Malay: Kumpulan Utusan), established in 1938 in Singapore as "Utusan Melayu Press Limited". In February 1958, five months after Malaya gained Independence from the British government, Utusan Melayu moved its headquarters and operations to Kuala Lumpur, the nation's capital.
In 1997, the Group made its entry into the world of multimedia with the launch of "Utusan Malaysia On-Line", Malaysia's first Online Newspaper in full text and visuals. The service provided, in collaboration with Telekom Malaysia, enables pay-subscribers to read exact replicas of the Group's newspapers, including Utusan Malaysia. On July 2, 2001, "Utusan Education Portal" (Portal Pendidikan Utusan) was launched. The free service has received recognition from MIMOS (the "Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems") as one of the top five education websites in Malaysia in 2001. Utusan had also won the "IFRA Publish Asia 2003 Award" for the "Best in Print" category on March 20, 2002. It was the first award to be won by the newspaper at the international level.
Format
Distinctive for its blue masthead as its logo and trademark, Utusan Malaysia has over 32 pages of news and current affairs, with regular supplements, focusing on such diverse topics as entertainment, fashion, music, health, technology, and politics.
Circulation
A poll survey conducted on Malaysian publications by AC Nielsen in early 2005 showed that the Utusan Group's two key newspapers, Utusan Malaysia, as well as Mingguan Malaysia, have consistently achieved and maintained the highest circulations and readerships in Malaysia. AC Nielsen first quarter of 2005 report indicates Utusan Malaysia has a readership 1,497,000, while the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) put Utusan's circulation in 2004 at 256,247.
Criticism
Utusan Malaysia's credibility as a newspaper has come under fire from many circles for its blatant practice of double standards in its reporting, especially with regard to politically-related news.[1][2] Statements by Chief Ministers in Opposition-held states have been taken out of context, manipulated, or otherwise downright fabricated and also regarded as the voice of ruling party Barisan Nasional (BN).[3]
Of late, Utusan has also stoked racist sentiments with provocative headlines championing the New Economic Policy and Ketuanan Melayu.[4][5][6] Former menteri besar Khir Toyo defended himself by shifting the blame on the Utusan Malaysia reporter who had called him up to get his comments on his blog's posting, for being the catalyst that sparked the detention of Democratic Action Party's (DAP) Kinrara assemblyman Teresa Kok under the Internal Security Act. [7]
In view of Utusan's extreme racist rhetoric, the Opposition-led Perak state government has staged a boycott against the newspaper, with other Opposition states expected to follow suit. A motion was also set by the Selangor state government to boycott Utusan while all Selangor state agencies and departments were told to refrain from buying the newspaper and to stop advertising in the newspaper, in a move to protest a short story titled "Politik Baru YB J" by columnist Datuk Chamil Wariya that appeared in the paper and depicted an assassination of a fictional character that portrayed Teresa Kok.[8] In addition, Teresa Kok has demanded RM100 million in compensation from Utusan Malaysia Chamil and the publication for defamation, demanding an immediate public retraction by Utusan and an apology to be published in newspapers of her choice, plus an undertaking that Chamil and Utusan will not repeat the allegations and comments contained in the article.[9] DAP has also filed a report against Utusan Malaysia, claiming Chamil was attempting to stir up public sentiments to carry out political assassination against Kok. [10]
Utusan has also been criticised for publishing very little international news; the Foreign News section typically consists of only two to three pages out of 50 pages in total.
References
Notes
- ^ klpos.com
- ^ Utusan Malaysia in the Malay Wikipedia
- ^ Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng of Penang clarifies matters on youtube.com
- ^ Ketuanan Melayu tercabar - Kaum lain lebih dominan dari segi politik, ekonomi – Tengku Faris (Malay) (Crown Prince of Kelantan: "Malay supremacy challenged" at Utusan.com.my)
- ^ Persoal pemimpin Melayu tolak DEB (Malay)
- ^ Bangkitlah Melayu (Malay) - "Orang Melayu perlu bangkit dan bersatu dalam berhadapan dengan tuntutan kaum lain yang kini dilihat semakin keterlaluan. Mereka juga perlu sedar dan insaf dengan situasi politik semasa yang menyaksikan pelbagai tuntutan hingga boleh menjejaskan kekuatan politik orang Melayu. Sehubungan itu, orang Melayu diminta tidak tunduk kepada tuntutan keterlaluan tersebut sebalik bangkit bersatu bagi mempertahankan hak dan kepentingan mereka."
- ^ SELANGOR ASSEMBLY: Khir pins blame on Utusan Malaysia
- ^ Motion for Selangor govt bodies to boycott Utusan
- ^ Kok seeking compensation RM100m suit against paper and columnist
- ^ Another report against Utusan
External links
- Utusan Melayu (M) Berhad, Utusan Group's official website.
- Official Utusan Malaysia website (Malay)
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