New Straits Times
Encyclopedia
The New Straits Times is an English-language newspaper
published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as The Straits Times
in 1845, and was reestablished as the "New Straits Times" in 1965. The paper served as Malaysia's only broadsheet
format English language newspaper. However, following the heels of British newspapers The Times
and The Independent
, a tabloid version first rolled off the presses on 1 September 2004 and since 18 April 2005, the newspaper is published only in tabloid size, ending a 160-year-old tradition of broadsheet publication. The New Straits Times currently retails at RM
1.20 (~36 USD
cent
s). On 11 November 2011, 3D publication was introduced to the paper's print and online editions.
The New Straits Times is printed by the New Straits Times Press
, which also produced the English language afternoon newspaper, The Malay Mail
, until 1 January 2008, as well as assorted Malay language
newspapers, most notably the Berita Harian
. The New Straits Times is part of Media Prima
group of companies.
As of 1 January 2009, the Group Editor of the New Straits Times is Syed Nadzri Syed Harun, while Kamrul Idris Zulkifli is Deputy Group Editor. Executive Editors, as of 1 January 2009, Lee Ah Chai (News) and Chandra Segaran (Production) and Lim Thow Boon.
and covered all of what was then British Malaya
, and Singapore
, where it was based. This continued when Singapore became part of Malaysia
in 1963, but upon its departure from the Federation in 1965, a separate paper published and based in Malaysia the New Straits Times, was established, whilst The Straits Times has continued publication in Singapore
.
In 1972, The then-owner, the Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad formed the News Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. in a desire to meet the reasonable aspirations of Malaysians to have a majority shareholding in the company which produced the largest mass-circulation organ in the English language. An agreement was reached on 17 September 1972 between the directors of the Straits Times group and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
for the disposal of 80 per cent of the stock of the News Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd for the Malaysian interets.
In 1 August 2005, a decision was made to focus the Monday edition on the enterprise market while the Thursday edition on the consumer market.
On 1 January 2008, Tech&U became a weekly publication, available with the New Straits Times every Monday with an increasing consumer slant while keeping the pulse on the enterprise scene.
Business Computing is also related to this section. It was a weekly section on Wednesdays, published from 1999 to 2004.
As of 1 January 2010, it has been incorporated and merged into the Life and Times section. The tech section in New Straits Times appears every Monday in the Life & Times section.
Other Channels
Food
Gadgets
Properties
Travel
Fashion
As of 1 January 2010, the weekly sections in Life & Times are:
tool for the Malaysian government and its proxy owner, the United Malays National Organisation
(UMNO), which is a right-wing Malay political party.
Owing to political sensitivities, newspapers from Malaysia cannot be sold in Singapore
, hence the New Straits Times is not sold in Singapore, and The Straits Times
is not sold in Malaysia. The ban was imposed before the 1 May 1969 general election in Malaysia. During 2005, the governments of both countries discussed lifting the ban, with Singapore's former Prime Minister
, Lee Kuan Yew
, speaking in favour of such a move, although Malaysian politicians were more wary.
has been published in the New Straits Times.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as The Straits Times
The Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
in 1845, and was reestablished as the "New Straits Times" in 1965. The paper served as Malaysia's only broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
format English language newspaper. However, following the heels of British newspapers The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, a tabloid version first rolled off the presses on 1 September 2004 and since 18 April 2005, the newspaper is published only in tabloid size, ending a 160-year-old tradition of broadsheet publication. The New Straits Times currently retails at RM
Malaysian ringgit
The Malaysian ringgit is the currency of Malaysia. It is divided into 100 sen...
1.20 (~36 USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
cent
Cent (currency)
In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....
s). On 11 November 2011, 3D publication was introduced to the paper's print and online editions.
The New Straits Times is printed by the New Straits Times Press
New Straits Times Press
The New Straits Times Press is a Malaysian conglomerate of publishing companies, owned by Media Prima. The NSTP publishes several newspapers, including the New Straits Times, The Malay Mail, Berita Harian and Harian Metro.-Origin:...
, which also produced the English language afternoon newspaper, The Malay Mail
The Malay Mail
The Malay Mail is a newspaper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, first published in 1 December 1896 when KL was the capital of the then new Federated Malay States, making it the first daily to appear in the FMS....
, until 1 January 2008, as well as assorted Malay language
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
newspapers, most notably the Berita Harian
Berita Harian
Berita Harian is a major Malay language newspaper in Malaysia. Its Sunday Edition is called Berita Minggu. It was founded on 31 August 1957, which also marks the date of Malaya's independence...
. The New Straits Times is part of Media Prima
Media Prima Berhad
Media Prima Berhad , DBA Media Prima, is Malaysia’s leading integrated media investment group. It currently owns 100 per cent equity interest in TV3, 8TV, NTV7 and TV9...
group of companies.
As of 1 January 2009, the Group Editor of the New Straits Times is Syed Nadzri Syed Harun, while Kamrul Idris Zulkifli is Deputy Group Editor. Executive Editors, as of 1 January 2009, Lee Ah Chai (News) and Chandra Segaran (Production) and Lim Thow Boon.
Origins
The paper was originally founded as The Straits TimesThe Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
and covered all of what was then British Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, where it was based. This continued when Singapore became part of Malaysia
Singapore in Malaysia
On 16 September 1963, which was also Lee Kuan Yew's 40th birthday, Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaya alongside Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia...
in 1963, but upon its departure from the Federation in 1965, a separate paper published and based in Malaysia the New Straits Times, was established, whilst The Straits Times has continued publication in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
In 1972, The then-owner, the Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad formed the News Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. in a desire to meet the reasonable aspirations of Malaysians to have a majority shareholding in the company which produced the largest mass-circulation organ in the English language. An agreement was reached on 17 September 1972 between the directors of the Straits Times group and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh bin Tengku Mohd Hamzah is a major Malaysian political figure from the state of Kelantan, and a former Finance Minister. He is an uncle of the current Raja Perempuan of Kelantan. Tengku is a Malay hereditary title usually translated as prince...
for the disposal of 80 per cent of the stock of the News Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd for the Malaysian interets.
Tech&U
Tech&U, was first published on 1 January 1986 as Computimes, an information and communication technology (ICT) section of the New Straits Times. It was earlier published every Thursday, and in the 1990s, the section was published on Mondays and Thursdays.In 1 August 2005, a decision was made to focus the Monday edition on the enterprise market while the Thursday edition on the consumer market.
On 1 January 2008, Tech&U became a weekly publication, available with the New Straits Times every Monday with an increasing consumer slant while keeping the pulse on the enterprise scene.
Business Computing is also related to this section. It was a weekly section on Wednesdays, published from 1999 to 2004.
As of 1 January 2010, it has been incorporated and merged into the Life and Times section. The tech section in New Straits Times appears every Monday in the Life & Times section.
Travel Times
In 1999, this weekly pullout on travel in Malaysia was published in support of the government's Cuti-Cuti Malaysia campaign. It became the Malaysian weekly newspaper pullout dedicated to publishing travel and travel-related news and features and has remained till this day Malaysia's only weekly travel newspaper pullout dedicated to tourism. The first issue was released on 6 October 1999 and the first weekly issue was released on 2 October 2000. It was published every Wednesday when it started, and it was now published on Tuesdays until 31 December 2009 as "Travel". Starting 1 January 2010, it has been incorporated and merged into the Life & Times section. The travel section now appears on Thursdays.Business Times
The paper has incorporated the Business Times starting 1 January 2002, expanding its business section and increasing its appeal among businessmen. Prior to 1976, this is also the business section's name of New Straits Times.Emedia
The online arm of The New Straits Times Press group. 160 years of articles and images at News and Image BankOther Channels
Food
Gadgets
Properties
Travel
Fashion
Life & Times
The segment was previously known as Leisure Times, Times Two and Lifestyle prior to 1994. From 1998 to 2004, the Friday edition of this segment was called Youth Quake after it was merged with the newspaper. The Saturday edition is called Weekend Life & Times, which was later known as 6, from 2005 to 2009.As of 1 January 2010, the weekly sections in Life & Times are:
- Monday: Technology
- Tuesday: Health
- Wednesday: Style
- Thursday: Travel
- Friday: Showbiz
- Saturday: Living
- Sunday: Family
Political control and controversy
The New Straits Times has been accused of serving as a propagandaPropaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
tool for the Malaysian government and its proxy owner, the United Malays National Organisation
United Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence....
(UMNO), which is a right-wing Malay political party.
Owing to political sensitivities, newspapers from Malaysia cannot be sold in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, hence the New Straits Times is not sold in Singapore, and The Straits Times
The Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
is not sold in Malaysia. The ban was imposed before the 1 May 1969 general election in Malaysia. During 2005, the governments of both countries discussed lifting the ban, with Singapore's former Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...
, Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
, speaking in favour of such a move, although Malaysian politicians were more wary.
Comics
The comic Scenes of Malaysian LifeScenes of Malaysian Life
Scenes of Malaysian Life is a comic strip series by Mohammad Nor Khalid a.k.a. Lat.In the 2000s the series ran three times per week in the New Straits Times....
has been published in the New Straits Times.