Utusan Malaysia
Encyclopedia
Utusan Malaysia (another sister newspaper known as Utusan Melayu published in Jawi script ceased publication in January 2006) is a Malay language
pro-government newspaper in Malaysia. First published in Jawi, the newspaper is now published in romanised
letters. While readership had rapidly declined in line with declining editorial quality, it is still regarded the number one selling Malay-language daily in Malaysia.
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 replica
s 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.
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
.
s in Opposition-held states have been taken out of context, manipulated, or otherwise downright fabricated.
Of late, Utusan has also stoked racist
sentiments with provocative headlines championing the New Economic Policy
and Ketuanan Melayu
.
In view of Utusans extreme racist rhetoric, the former Opposition-led Perak
state government staged a boycott against the newspaper, with other Opposition states following 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. 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. 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.
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.
In January 2011, the newspaper suspended a journalist, Hata Wahari, president of the National Union of Journalists, after alleging that Hata had brought the newspaper into disrepute and "insulted" its management.
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
pro-government newspaper in Malaysia. First published in Jawi, the newspaper is now published in romanised
Romanization
In linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...
letters. While readership had rapidly declined in line with declining editorial quality, it is still regarded the number one selling Malay-language daily in Malaysia.
History
Utusan Malaysia started publication from SingaporeSingapore
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...
as Utusan Melayu on May 29, 1939, catering to the Jawi-literate in 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...
. It became an influential medium for the populace to voice their opinions towards the colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
government in pre-independence
Hari Merdeka
Hari Merdeka is a national day of Malaysia commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule in 1957, celebrated on August 31 each year. It is not to be confused with the formation of Malaysia...
Malaya.
The 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...
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
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, the nation's capital.
In 1997, the Group made its entry into the world of multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
with the launch of "Utusan Malaysia On-Line", Malaysia's first Online Newspaper
Online newspaper
An online newspaper, also known as a web newspaper, is a newspaper that exists on the World Wide Web or Internet, either separately or as an online version of a printed periodical....
in full text and visuals. The service provided, in collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
with Telekom Malaysia
Telekom Malaysia
Telekom Malaysia Berhad , DBA TM, is the largest integrated solutions provider in Malaysia, and one of Asia's leading communications companies, with a market capitalisation of RM13.9 billion and a workforce of 26,629 employees. Established as the Telecommunications Department of Malaya in 1946, it...
, enables pay-subscribers to read exact replica
Replica
A replica is a copy closely resembling the original concerning its shape and appearance. An inverted replica complements the original by filling its gaps. It can be a copy used for historical purposes, such as being placed in a museum. Sometimes the original never existed. For example, Difference...
s 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
MIMOS
MIMOS Berhad is a strategic agency under purview of the Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation . The agency is led by Dato’ Wahab Abdullah, who was appointed in July 2006, to become the premier applied research centre in frontier technologies; and transform the landscape of the...
(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 mastheadMasthead (publishing)
The masthead is a list, published in a newspaper or magazine, of its staff. In some publications it names only the most senior individuals; in others, it may name many or all...
as its logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
and trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
, Utusan Malaysia has over 32 pages of news and current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
, with regular supplements, focusing on such diverse topics as entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
, fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
, technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
.
Circulation
According to Audit Bureau of Circulation (figures for West Malaysia publications for the period ending 31 December 2009), Utusan Malaysia’s daily circulation has dropped 21 per cent from 213,445 in 2006 to 169,548 in 2009.Criticism
Utusan Malaysias 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. Statements by Chief MinisterChief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
s in Opposition-held states have been taken out of context, manipulated, or otherwise downright fabricated.
Of late, Utusan has also stoked racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
sentiments with provocative headlines championing the New Economic Policy
New Economic Policy
The New Economic Policy was an economic policy proposed by Vladimir Lenin, who called it state capitalism. Allowing some private ventures, the NEP allowed small animal businesses or smoke shops, for instance, to reopen for private profit while the state continued to control banks, foreign trade,...
and Ketuanan Melayu
Ketuanan Melayu
Ketuanan Melayu is a political concept emphasizing Malay preeminence in present day Malaysia. The Malays of peninsular Malaysia claimed a special position and special rights owing to their long domicile and the role of the Malay rulers of the nine Malay states...
.
In view of Utusans extreme racist rhetoric, the former Opposition-led Perak
Perak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
state government staged a boycott against the newspaper, with other Opposition states following suit. A motion was also set by the Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
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. 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. 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.
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.
In January 2011, the newspaper suspended a journalist, Hata Wahari, president of the National Union of Journalists, after alleging that Hata had brought the newspaper into disrepute and "insulted" its management.
External links
- Utusan Melayu (M) Berhad, Utusan Group's official website.
- Official Utusan Malaysia website
- Utusan Malaysia Online - Utusan Malaysia Blog Edition
- Alternative Web Utusan Malaysia