FORMER Umno mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia will return to newsstands next month as a 48-page publication, following the rehiring of 200 employees, said editorial staff.

Its revival under a new company, Media Mulia Sdn Bhd, along with its sister publication Kosmo!, comes as industry giant Media Prima Bhd is set to retrench some 300 employees in a matter of weeks.

The “new” Utusan will have employees throughout the peninsula, with no bureaus in Sabah and Sarawak, several staff members who got their jobs back told The Malaysian Insight.

It will be headquartered at Balai Berita in Jalan Riong, Kuala Lumpur, which is also the head office of The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd (NSTP), which publishes New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Harian Metro.

NSTP, which is under Media Prima, is owned by businessman Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, who bought Utusan Group from Umno after the company ran into financial problems last year.

A rehired staffer said it is not yet clear when Utusan will once again hit the streets.

“We will start in July, but the date of the first issue has not yet been set.”

Other employees said they were told that the new publication will be “fairer and more transparent in its reporting”.

“Our reports will be more balanced, without siding with any political party. And, we will try to put in more analysis,” said one.

Another said the newspaper’s new tagline will be “Pemikiran Baharu” (New Outlook) to show that it has changed, referencing Utusan’s reputation in the past as being pro-Umno and supportive of the right-wing Malay agenda when the party held controlling shares in the publication until February last year.

“To be honest, the journalists are not sure how the reports will come out later, but we have been told that the changes will be in line with our new slogan.”

Another source, who will be based in the southern peninsula region, said Utusan and Kosmo! will be given free rein when it comes to editorial decisions, and not serve as mouthpieces for any political outfits.

“Our reportage will be balanced, and the focus will be on the people’s issues. We aim to give fair treatment to all political parties.”

Several rehired journalists confirmed that they have been reporting for work since June 15.

“The staff in Kuala Lumpur will number around 180, of whom 56 will be in Utusan’s editorial team. Another 53 will be in Kosmo!.

“The photo and graphics departments will have about 15 people,” said an employee.

Utusan is expected to print a 48-page issue each day, and resume its online portal.

Those rehired said the salaries offered are lower than what they made previously, but nevertheless, they welcome the opportunity to return to work.

A mix of senior and junior staff have been rehired.

Last October, about 800 Utusan employees lost their jobs when the newspaper stopped operations with a 24-hour notice.

The daily had been in deep financial trouble since 2018, when it began paying salaries late. It was also unable to honour payments to some of those who opted for the voluntary separation scheme. – June 30, 2020.