PETALING JAYA • Utusan Malaysia, the oldest Malay newspaper, will be laid to rest tomorrow after a sustained period of financial uncertainty.

All publications under the Utusan Group - Utusan Malaysia, Mingguan Malaysia, Kosmo! and Kosmo! Ahad - will cease all print and online publications.

Utusan Malaysia's National Union of Journalists chief Taufek Razak said that executive chairman Abd Aziz Sheikh Fadzir admitted that the company is now penniless.

The news was communicated at a meeting between staff representatives and personnel from the Human Resources Ministry yesterday.

"We were told that the company has no money left to pay the staff or operate the business any longer," said Mr Taufek.

The board of directors had made the decision to shut the company down at a meeting earlier.

Sources said that the closure will be finalised once the group is delisted from local stock exchange Bursa Malaysia.

The Utusan Group has not paid its staff any salaries since June.

Utusan Malaysia was first published as the Jawi-language Utusan Melayu in Singapore in 1939.

It was founded by Mr Yusof Ishak, who later became the first President of Singapore, and Mr Abdul Rahim Kajai, known as the father of Malay journalism.

Its office was relocated to Kuala Lumpur in 1959. The romanised version of Utusan Melayu, Utusan Malaysia, started printing on Sept 1, 1967.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Correction note: This article has been edited for clarity.