UMNO-owned Utusan Melayu has appointed Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir as its executive chairman with immediate effect, reports Utusan Malaysia today.

The former Kulim-Bandar Baru MP, a close ally of acting Umno president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, steps in at a time when the board mulls cost-cutting, including a voluntary separation scheme for its staff.

In a statement, Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad, which owns Utusan Malaysia, said four directors of the company have also left its board voluntarily.

They are former chairman Mohamad Fatmi Che Salleh, directors Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad, Jamalul Kiram Mohd Zakaria and Mohd Yusof Abu Othman.

Aziz, 55, is the executive chairman of Kretam Holdings Bhd and executive chairman of Hotel Seri Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

Today, the Star reports that Utusan Malaysia is considering a VSS as part of its restructuring exercise.

It quoted group managing director Mohd Noordin Abbas as saying that the daily could not “escape the reality”.

Noordin said the scheme was necessary for Utusan’s future, apart from the newspapers’ overall cost-cutting measures.

“This is to prevent future situations where the company suffers losses of millions each month,” he reportedly said at the daily’s annual general meeting yesterday.

Noordin said the move would help the daily “rebuild from scratch”.

Star Online also quoted Utusan chief editor Abdul Aziz Ishak as saying that the company’s VSS move was too late, when other media companies have already adopted cost-cutting measures in recent times.

Utusan had often been slammed for its anti-Pakatan Harapan articles before the May 9 polls and inflammatory stories that stoked fear and discord, especially among Malays and Muslims.

Earlier this week, two of its former editors, Zainuddin Maidin and Johan Jaaffar, said Utusan was one of the factors that contributed to the dismal performance by Umno and Barisan Nasional in GE14. – June 7, 2018.