THE RM2,000 advance payment by Utusan Melayu (M) Berhad to its staff will be made with funds given by Umno, the Malay-language newspaper National Union of Journalists’ chief said.

Branch president Mohd Taufek Razak said the decision to pay staff RM2,000 each by tonight from salaries owed them was made after Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi met with company directors, subsequently injecting RM1.6 million to cover the advance, he said.

“This money is an injection from Umno as a result of our picketing yesterday,” Taufek said at a press conference today after a town hall between Utusan management and staff, where it was revealed the paper and its sister publication Kosmo would not cease publication as speculated yesterday.

Taufek said Zahid had wanted an amicable solution.

Earlier today, Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa said the party wanted to help Utusan but its hands were tied because the government had frozen its accounts over investigations into 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Utusan’s human resources, administration and property general manager Nazlan Osman said the value of funds was based on the company’s current financial situation.

“The payment will be credited into staff accounts by tonight and it will be deducted from salaries owed by the company.

“We hope that this payment will help ease the staff’s financial situation.”

Utusan has been in financial crisis since last year and has failed to meet salary payments from June this year.

It is also having difficulty paying 800 staff members who left under a voluntary separation scheme – a move management believed would help the company stay afloat.

Yesterday afternoon, the papers’ staff picketed the company over the delay in payment of their salaries. – August 20, 2019.