UTUSAN Malaysia will “live on” under another company linked to tycoon Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, The Edge reported.

However, re-employing existing staff will be up to the new shareholder, the business paper quoted Abd Aziz Sheikh Fadzir, executive chairman of the Utusan’s former holding company Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd, as saying.

The country’s oldest Malay-language newspaper will be relaunched under Syed Mokhtar’s company, Aurora Mulia Sdn Bhd, which has ownership of the printing licences, Abdul Aziz said.

“Utusan will live on. We are liquidating the holding company but the ownership of the printing licences [has] been acquired by Aurora Mulia and they will relaunch publications in the near future,” he told The Edge.

Utusan Melayu earlier announced it was shut down effective today and would cease publication of Utusan Malaysia and sister title Kosmo! from tomorrow.

More than 800 staff have been sent on a month’s leave and their last day is October 31.

They are required to attend a briefing on October 30, when they will know their ultimate fates.

Aziz said it would be up to the new shareholder to transfer the employment of Utusan staff to the new entity that would run the publications.

Aurora Mulia is 31.22% owned by Syed Mokhtar, according to The Edge, and it has taken over 70% of Utusan’s holdings in Dilof Sdn Bhd, which earlier acquired the printing licences and archives for Utusan Malaysia and Kosmo!.

Utusan’s disposal of its 70% stake in Dilof to Aurora Mulia was announced three days ago, on October 6.

Aziz told The Edge that the change in ownership of the printing licensed to Dilof was approved by the Home Ministry in early October.

The Edge said a check with the Companies Commission of Malaysia found that Dilof has since been renamed to Media Mulia Sdn Bhd.

Meanwhile in August, Aurora Mulia upped its stake in media group Media Prima Bhd to 20.56% after acquiring 50 million shares in the loss-making listed company. – October 9, 2019.