Thursday, October 07, 2010

Hidup-Mati Akhbar Melayu

Forum: The survival of Malay language newspapers
Saturday Oct 9
9am-Noon
UiTM, Shah Alam


Did you know that the largest circulation daily is a BM-language newspaper, the Harian Metro? And yet, the future of credible Malay language newspapers are in the balance. Why is that? Why are advertisers shunning the Malay dailies? And why are the people who claim to fight for Press freedom calling for Utusan Malaysia, the oldest Malay newspaper, to be boycotted?


At a tribute to the nation's 8th Tokoh Wartawan Negara, CC Liew, yesterday at the Sime Darby Convention in KL, former editor-in-chief of Utusan Malaysia (and the 7th TWN) Zainudin Maidin aka Zam recalled how Utusan Malaysia was helping out Sin Chew Jit Poh, the newspaper CC Liew was editing, by providing it with newsprint. This was after the Operasi Lalang in 1987 and Sin Chew was one of the 3 papers that had been suspended during the crackdown. Sin Chew did not even have the newsprint to publish the next day's edition. Business rivalry meant that the other Chinese media groups were not going to help out Sin Chew.

Today Sin Chew is the largest Chinese language daily.


52 comments:

  1. Saya tahu akhbar Harian Metro mempunyai edaran tertinggi. Tapi sebagai orang melayu, setiap kali saya baca harian metro (dan juga kosmo&sinar harian), rasa macam orang melayu bermasalah je - 'budak kenal rogol...''mat rempit...''dadah...''buang bayi...''selebriti bercerai...'. Satu lagi, majalah yang laris sejak bezaman ialah Mastika...alahai tolonglah bagi cerita yang lebih bermutu untuk orang melayu. sekurang-kurangnya cuba ubah pemikiran mereka, jangan asyik bagi apa yang syarikat media rasa boleh laris jualan akhbar/majalah mereka. Itu tanggungjawab besar syarikat media brader.
    Tak perlu bangga kalau HMetro terlaris tapi fikiran melayu disumbat dengan cerita sensasi dan gosip.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous1:15 pm

    Harian Metro sudah merendahkan martabatnya sendiri demi mengejar pembaca - dengan memaparkan berita-berita bodoh dah menjijikkan, dengan heading yang indah kulit dari isi, suka sangat dengan cerita sumbang mahram (incest), urut batin, bohsia, rogol, seks luar tabii dan banyak lagi yang setaraf dengannya.

    Orang Melayu suka sangat baca cerita pasal sumbang mahram, sebab tu selalu dipaparkan di dalam surat khabar seperti H.Metro. Tanyalah sesiapa sahaja orang Melayu apa pendapat tentang sumbang mahram. Jawabnya tentulah "Jijik", tapi dalam hati lain pula bunyinya. Secara statistik, orang Melayu sangat banyak terlibat dalam kes-kes sumbang mahram. Itu belum lagi termasuk kes yang tidak dilaporkan atau dirahsiakan oleh 'pengamalnya' atau kerana mangsanya takut untuk berbuat demikian.

    The Editorial board of Harian Metro realised that their reporters are not as good as their Berita Harian counterparts, and therefore "trash-ify" the newspaper instead.

    For the past few years, it heavily highlights and front-pages stories like incest (all-time No. 1 favourite among Malays!), anal sex, oral sex, loose underage girls, penis massage and such.

    All for the sake of circulation and readership figures. I have no problem at all with this strategy. It works!

    I'm just not surprised many premium advertisers ignore HMetro.

    - Lan.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous1:45 pm

    Utusan should just have massage parlour ads like the Malay Mail, and along adds like in Metro, then sales will improve and not keep harping on how it helped Sin Chiew.
    I'm sure Sin Chiew, now will return the favour if Umno does the right thing and sell Utusan to them.
    Yes, let Sin Chiew own Utusan in the truest form and spirit of One Malaysia.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Why do advertisers shun Malay newspapers you ask. May I ask you then, what does it make me or my company or my products when all that, say, Utusan represents is hate? Does it mean my company and my products also condone all that Utusan says and represents?

    If this should not matter, then it should be quite alright too if we advertised in smut magazines and tabloids. But of course in Malaysia we don't have smut tabloids and magazines. But we could in sites which pop up when you do a Google search on, say, "Malay sex!!"

    But you see, even the crooks amongst the business community will not want to associate their companies and products with garbage. That is what Utusan is.

    In fact I recall when at Blog House, those days when we went on the campaign to boycott newspapers, I had suggested that we should actually target the advertisers and send them reminders about what exactly, by them advertising in these garbage newspapers, they support and concur with. I suppose slowly, but surely, advertisers are beginning to realise this themselves and hopefully they are shying away from Utusan in droves. Without circulation and without advertisements, boy oh boy, I think that is a more deserving death for Utusan, don't you think?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous2:13 pm

    Rocky, let us examine the facts. Utusan's revenue for six months of 2010 was RM155 mil, down from RM164for six mths of 2009.
    Utusan suffered a net loss of RM11 mil for six months of 2010 against a loss of RM7 mil for six mths of 2009.
    Clearly Utusan is losing money. It should ask itself WHY?. Advertisers are not shunning the Malay dailes. If they are, can you tell us why the Malaysian Reserve and the Malay Mail is not flushed with advertisments?.
    It all depens on the product. If you have a good product, people will come. That is why TV3, which is owned by a Malay company is doing well raking in advertisment money.
    Is Utusan catering for the masses or is it playing cheer leader for some private investor.I understand Syed Mokthar owns about a third of Utusan.
    Now, lets look at Media Chinese Int Ltd, in which Sin Chiew is a member company.
    Revenue for 6 mths of 2010 RM342 mil versus RM280 mil for 6 mths of 2009. Profit for 6 mths of 2010 RM43 mil, versus profit of RM15 mil in six mths of 2009.
    Utusan's staff cost is RM58 mil, which means, for every RM3 Utusan makes, RM1 is being paid as salary.
    Rocky, nobody is trying to close Utusan, as we can see, being badly managed, UTUSAN is closing itself down slowly and surely.

    Habhajan

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous2:45 pm

    zam oh zam
    yg ko tolong tu buat ape?
    Kan ke ngabih kan beras je.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rocky gone to the dogs3:36 pm

    Rocky, you are not fit to lead MM!
    Your attempt to butter the bread on the right side is show clearly here.

    You asked "And why are the people who claim to fight for Press freedom calling for Utusan Malaysia, the oldest Malay newspaper, to be boycotted"

    If u use your brain, you'll realised what a STUPID question is that.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous6:16 pm

    Sell Utusan to Sin Chiew. That is the best solution. The young female reporters will enjoy working with us Chinese.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yang Berbahagia Dato,

    Pada pendapat saya surat khabar Melayu seperti Utusan yang hanya cuba mengapi-apikan isiu bangsa dan agama memang tidak ada tempat lagi dizaman informasi. Saya berpendapat teguran YB Dato Seri Nazri kepada Awang Selamat memang tepat dan KPI Awang mestilah dilihat dengan lebeh teliti.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous7:43 pm

    Akhbar-akhbar awam yang tidak meraikan perbezaan pendapat atau hanya mengutamakan kelompok tertentu sahaja memang patut diboikot...

    Akhbar-akhbar yang mendapat lesen penerbitan sebagai akhbar awam TIDAK BOLEH berbuat begitu kerana ia melanggar prinsip sebuah akhbar awam...

    Ini berbeza dengan Suara Keadilan, Harakah, Roket kerana mereka memohon lesen sebagai akhbar rasmi parti bukannya akhbar awam...

    Jadi, jika anda memohon lesen sebagai akhbar awam, maka beroperasi lah sebagai akhbar awam bukannya sebagai lebih kepada lidah parti politik tertentu kerana perkataan 'awam' itu sendiri bermaksud kepelbagaian / tidak mengkhusus...

    Jika gagal, memang lah kena boikot malah sepatutnya ditarik balik lesen sebagai akhbar awam kononnya...

    Anda sepatutnya faham perkara ini...

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think you have to count total newstand and online readership.

    If the advertisement revenues are not on par with Chinese or English dailies, then the NEP objectives of achieving parity with others have not been achieved, contrary to claims by some. Only when the Malay economy is more extensively integrated with the mainstream economy will the advertisements also go up.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous8:42 pm

    Habhajan, you seem to have a TnT in your RESERVE. Malays have good companies such as UEM and MMC, if you comprehaod what I mean. K A R P A L.

    ReplyDelete
  13. the malay language media is up and well.

    It's called Harakah, it's as political as Utusan but a lot more honest about it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous9:22 pm

    I am going to buy utusan daily from now on...

    Ross

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous9:28 pm

    Seriously, the quality of the articles in these newspapers is so poor I'd be embarrassed to read them. Because of their low readership, companies do not find it worthwhile to advertise in them. It's a simple explanation. I suppose in time they'll be distributed for free similar to the MM, which I also don't bother to read.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:08 pm

    You said - "Hidup-Mati Akhbar Melayu".

    The event title is 'Survival Akhbar Melayu".

    How can survive lah, when even the event title has an English word 'survival'?

    The Malay language is officially known as Bahasa Malaysia.

    Perhaps the event should be 'Hidup-Mati Akhbar Bahasa Malaysia'?

    But then, pendatangs are not supposed to be good in Bahasa Malaysia usage and hence should zip up the mouth?

    PARAMESWARA

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous10:41 pm

    Salam Dato'

    Bantuan Utusan kepada Sin Chew tu boleh lah dianggap sebagai ' Malay Burden' kerana memang tanggungjawap orang Melayu membantu bangsa lain termasuklah memberikan kerakyatan, membukas segala peluang perniagan kepada mereka dan membenarkan mereka menginjak mimbar masjid kita...

    Seasoned Warior

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous10:42 pm

    Its simple economics.
    If you have premium readers you get premium advertisors.
    If your paper does not sell then how can you make money?

    Mazlan

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous10:44 pm

    I think Malay should not be a language all together. When I first came to Malaya in 1933 at the age of 15 from Southern India I could not speak Malay. To my surprise in 3 months I can speak with any Malays that I met and this prompt me to check how many words in Malay did I learn to be able to communicate in the language. You guess? Believe me? I counted and in total I only know 45 Malays words and there I speak their language, what kind of language is this?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Dato Rocky,

    The future of credible Malay papers in the balance? I see Sinar Harian doing quite well for a fledgling paper.

    Utusan is & was a victim of its own excess. When you act like a broadsheet version of Suara Perkasa or BM edition of Der Sturmer people will stop buying. When your reputation for truth & accuracy is no better than Mastika advertising firms will pull out. The newsagent near my house is only stocking a few copies now. "Tak laku" he says.

    Unless they can change the rats in mgmt, editors & quality of reporting it will die. Sad to see an old pre Merdeka paper die but they dug their own grave.

    Btw an x-classmate informed me the circulation has been heavily Enron-ed with free distribution to schools, colleges, and Government departments. This guy works at M.P.

    Those with shares in Utusan Group better get rid of them. Dead cat don't bounce high enough to recoup losses.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous11:32 pm

    Pertama ... akhbar melayu mesti lah siar berita yang lebih menafaat bukan sensasi bodoh. .. macam akadamik fantasia bila gagal menangis, lembek, emosi gila-gila.

    Kedua .. banyakan berita untuk berdaya maju, berita berteknology, bahasa yang ada standard bukan cedokan perkataan english atau bahasa kampong tak bersekolah, tunjukan si pembaca ada class bila baca akhbar melayu

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous12:10 am

    Aku baca Utusan, The Star, Metro, M'sian Insider, Sin Chew (English version) etc. Semua aku baca.

    Semuanya ada agenda sendiri, untung/rugi bukan soalnya, banyak lagi surat khabar inggeris yang tak untung dan terpaksa tutup atau ubah strategi, seperti the Sun yang mengubah menjadi s/khabar percuma barulah dia mendapat keuntungan. Sebelum itu rugi.

    Sekali lagi di ulang, SEMUANYA ADA AGENDA SENDIRI, UNTUNG ATAU RUGI adalah soal strategi perniagaan. Utusan pernah untung dulu, tiada siapa yang bersorak, kenapa tiba-tiba utusan menjadi fokus? Bukan nak bela utusan, tapi aku rasa s/kabar utusan seperti menjadi kambing hitam sekarang ini. Strategi dari siapa agaknya?

    -oko

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous12:50 am

    Utusan needs to decide if it wants to be a mouth piece 4 certain individuals or a business entity. No one is boycoting Utusan but have u gone through their biz, sports and world stories? Bad as their layout.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Bro,
    Kalau Utusan Malaysia tidak berjuang untuk orang Melayu siapa kah yang akan berjuang? Adakah Akhbar Cina? Tamil?? akhbar bahasa penjajah?(Sun,Star,Straits Time)mahu berjuang nasib orang Melayu? Akhbar2 inilah kadangnya lebeh galak berjuang untuk bangsanya!
    Mengapa harus kita marah kalau Utusan berjuang untuk Melayu? Bagaimana pula Akhbar Cina dan Tamil bercakap dan berjuang untuk bangsanya?
    Sejak sebelum merdeka akhbar Melayu inilah yg memertabatkan bangsa Melayu dan Bahasanya daripada dihina!Orang Melayu yang memboikot Utusan jangan lupa daratan dan jangan jadi Pak Pandir! Mengapa Utusan saja dituduh resis? Salahkah jika Utusan resis? Tahukah kita apa maknanya resis? Kalau tidak rasis, apa guna berjuang untuk bangsanya?
    Kita mahu tanya akhbar Cina dan Tamil dan Sun juga Star, apakah mereka tidak RESIS? Anda perlu baca akhbar mereka ,baru anda tahu!
    Kita mahu Utusan pertahankan dasarnya berjuang untuk bangsanya,MELAYU. Walau pun diboikot( oleh pak turut bangsanya sendiri) dan walau pun tinggal sekeping atau sehelai halaman berita,atas nama berjuang untuk bangsanya kita akan tetap terus menyokong tuan. Utusan perlu terus DITERBITKAN! Utusan tidak perlu gusar,pengalaman sebegini bukan tidak pernah dilalui!Sudah berkali- kali!
    Orang Melayu diluar sana yang tidak leka dengan internet,tidak leka dengan blog masih ramai meyokong Tuan. HIDUP UTUSAN!HIDUP MELAYU!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous2:08 am

    Anon 10.44

    Are you saying you are 92 years old today?

    Get real and cut the crap.

    What a lie.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous4:22 am

    Aiya is simple, is the quality of the readers that decide the Ad that you can attract. Why spend on Ad where the average readers are Mat Rampit? Secondly we businessman don't like to put up Ad in papers that cook stories, tell lies and editors with 3rd world brain otherwise our product would look like them.

    Sin Chiew on the other hand is a serious paper that check their story before publishing, they have an international outlook that always report of the important of global competition, so we love to advertise in Sin Chiew.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Aku Dah Kate Ngan Kau!5:59 am

    Rocky: convert Malay Mail to a Malay newspaper (why is it called Malay Mail if it's not in Malay?). Then show pictures of tits on the first page every day. I'm sure your paper will sell, and there'll be a stampede of companies wanting to advertise in it! :))

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous7:02 am

    Salam Rocky,
    You kata akhbar spt Utusan d boycott d sebab kemelayuannya. Crita apa ni Rock? Nak crita kat u, I am from the MCE era. Masa blajar dulu ada la sampai wat 2 masters degree. Dari zaman u dulu saya aggap UMelayu sebg satu akhbar yg membodohkan minda org Melayu. Ikhlas ckp. Bila akhbar2 Malaysia smpai kat library (luar negara) sy boleh baca NST saja utk brita tanah air. Bila sy nmpak UM rasa nak muntah.

    U must undertstand that it's not due to my education or wat not. Sure I extol English in higher esteem tapi UMelayu, urg urg urg ptui! The longer UM exists more Malay minds will shrink in stealth.

    Minta maaf Rocky for my comments.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous7:12 am

    Melayu Raya,

    I think your mind is a typical mindset that has been moulded by persistently reading Utusan Meloyar. Seriously.

    - proud educated, progressive, Malay Muslim -

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous9:49 am

    Nazir goes to war and Najib may lose

    1. Najib's weak link is not his wife but his youngest brother Nazir Razak, the wonder banker who can do no wrong and who says he does not need help.

    2. Nazir sits on the EPF investment panel, nd guess what? He has been pushing for EPF to get involve in projects with his clients.

    3. All the while Azlan Zainol the big man at epf is keeping silent because he does not want to upset Najib and reducing his chances of getting renewed.

    4. But Azlan cannot hold his peace anymore.

    5. It is confirmed that Azlan will leave next year so he is telling anyone who will listen and complaining about how Nazir has been using Jibby's influence to push through investments important to cimb and nazir while sitting on the epf investment panel.

    6. Same story at Ministry of Finance. Datuk Puteh, Datuk Zulaikha and the secretary-general of treasury Tan Sri Aziz have been conducting a whispering campaign against Nazir n CIMB.

    7. They say they feel pressured to give CIMB all the MOF's business, the latest being the rm800 million Sukuk Bonds.

    8. Whenever word spreads that MOF is thinking of spreading the business to other banks, they get a call from Nazir or one of his guys at cimb, dropping big brother's name.

    9. With elections around the corner, Najib is courting disaster by making civil servants angry at the growing influence of his brother.

    10. Worse still Nazir feels slighted by Dr Mahathir and has started a campaign to discredit the former pm and block any investments from Mahathir's cronies like Syed Mokhtar and Daim Zainuddin.

    11. To go to war with Dr Mahathir, he has the help of his good friend Khazanah boss Azman Mokhtar.

    12. Azman will block Syed Mokhtar's bid for UEM and has also blocked Daim's move to privatise PLUS.

    13. Nazir is upset Dr Mahathir blasted him for questioning the NEP.

    14. He is also upset that mahathir has started digging up info on the billions in fees cimb has made in pushing deals at the expense of the country.

    15. At a meeting two weeks ago, Mahathir told Najib that Nazir was a weak link.

    16. Now Nazir is hitting back, funding a campaign to discredit Mahathir.

    17. He has hired international pr outfit to dig up dirt on Mahathir and his son, Mokhzani.

    18. This has consequences for Najib because he may be old but Dr Mahathir is a fighter.

    19. Now that Nazir is gunning after Dr Mahathir, there is nothing stopping Dr Mahathir from unleashing hell on Nazir and his protector Najib.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous9:50 am

    Nazir goes to war and Najib may lose

    1. Najib's weak link is not his wife but his youngest brother Nazir Razak, the wonder banker who can do no wrong and who says he does not need help.

    2. Nazir sits on the EPF investment panel, nd guess what? He has been pushing for EPF to get involve in projects with his clients.

    3. All the while Azlan Zainol the big man at epf is keeping silent because he does not want to upset Najib and reducing his chances of getting renewed.

    4. But Azlan cannot hold his peace anymore.

    5. It is confirmed that Azlan will leave next year so he is telling anyone who will listen and complaining about how Nazir has been using Jibby's influence to push through investments important to cimb and nazir while sitting on the epf investment panel.

    6. Same story at Ministry of Finance. Datuk Puteh, Datuk Zulaikha and the secretary-general of treasury Tan Sri Aziz have been conducting a whispering campaign against Nazir n CIMB.

    7. They say they feel pressured to give CIMB all the MOF's business, the latest being the rm800 million Sukuk Bonds.

    8. Whenever word spreads that MOF is thinking of spreading the business to other banks, they get a call from Nazir or one of his guys at cimb, dropping big brother's name.

    cont..

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous9:51 am

    cont...

    9. With elections around the corner, Najib is courting disaster by making civil servants angry at the growing influence of his brother.

    10. Worse still Nazir feels slighted by Dr Mahathir and has started a campaign to discredit the former pm and block any investments from Mahathir's cronies like Syed Mokhtar and Daim Zainuddin.

    11. To go to war with Dr Mahathir, he has the help of his good friend Khazanah boss Azman Mokhtar.

    12. Azman will block Syed Mokhtar's bid for UEM and has also blocked Daim's move to privatise PLUS.

    13. Nazir is upset Dr Mahathir blasted him for questioning the NEP.

    14. He is also upset that mahathir has started digging up info on the billions in fees cimb has made in pushing deals at the expense of the country.

    15. At a meeting two weeks ago, Mahathir told Najib that Nazir was a weak link.

    16. Now Nazir is hitting back, funding a campaign to discredit Mahathir.

    17. He has hired international pr outfit to dig up dirt on Mahathir and his son, Mokhzani.

    18. This has consequences for Najib because he may be old but Dr Mahathir is a fighter.

    19. Now that Nazir is gunning after Dr Mahathir, there is nothing stopping Dr Mahathir from unleashing hell on Nazir and his protector Najib.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous10:10 am

    Why is Metro's circulation high and Utusan's Kosmo not doing well? Again it boils down to management. Clearly, those executive managers at UTUSAN are doing a bad job

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous11:17 am

    A plausible explanation is you reap what you sow.

    If you are good, any calls to boycott would be ineffective.

    Joe

    ReplyDelete
  35. Dato' Rockey,
    Suadara Melayu Raya,

    Saya setuju pendapat anda. Kesimpulanya akhbar Bahasa Melayu banyak membantu Orang Melayu. Tapi orang Melayu terutamanya kelas atasa yang banyak MEMBUNUH akhbar berbahasa Melayu. Tanya mereka SURATKHABAR APA YANG mereka baca? Denagan bangga mereka akanmenjawab Strait Times, Sin Chew, Nan yang dan lain lain.

    Memang sudah nasib Orang Melayu !! Ada pejuang tak dapat dibangga kan kernana takut di anggap DERHAKA !! Ada ahli ekonomi buta tentang ekonomi .
    Ada penggubal undang undang DUNGU tentang unadang undang.

    Lihat sahaja dasar ekonomi kita -
    Dari darar ekonomi bahru (DEB) kepada MOdel Ekonomi Baru (MEB). Tadak ada langsung satu yang menyentoh tentang EKONOMI LAKNAT yang dilakukan setengah mereka.

    Mereka untung besar dengan PEDAGANGAN MANUSIA. Mereka yang tidak payah mempuyai Lesen Perniagaan dengan Perdagangan Manusia. Mereka tak payah bayar cukai/Cukai Pendapatan. Mereka boleh gunakan keuntungan mereka untuk memanipulasikan ekonomi negara.

    Paling malang sekali keuntungan mereka boleh di gunakan untuk membesarkan lagi PERNIAGAAN mereka. Kalaupun tertangkap ESOK mereka kan mula semula. Bagi mereka denda atau hukuman yang mereka terima TAK SEBERAPA

    PARA PENGGUBAL UNDANG UANDANG TAK NAMPAK PERKARA INI ?

    Betullah saperti perman Allah :

    ALLAH TUTPKAN HATI MEREKA, PANDANGAN MEREKA DAN PENDENGARAN MEREKA (kerana keingkaran mereka)
    DAN BAGI MEREKA AZAB YANG BESAR. (surah Al Baqarah).

    ReplyDelete
  36. Bro, it does not need rocket science to figure out why the Sin Chiew for that matter TheStar makes more money than Utusan or even the NST, just pick a Sin Chiew paper or TheStar open it up and Lo and Behold the tons of advertisements for jobs, advertisement, sale of properties etc. The Sin Chiew is well supported by the affluent Chinese commercial and merchant community no matter what it published as it publishes agenda for the Chinese community.

    Bro Praxis and Anon-oko- is also right. If Malays have economic parity with the Chinese then Utusan and Harian advertising revenues will go up that's a given. Until that time happens Utusan have to swallow their loss or cut cost to stay afloat lah. Kalau kena paycut haircut ke then so be it as they carry the torch for the Malay agenda kan.

    Anyway in the age of the broadband internet you can sell or buy or advertise almost everything through cyberspace its as east as mudah.com. So to casually say that the Quality of the editorial or publication or readership of a certain newspaper is better than the other newspaper is really subjective and sometimes downright misleading could be racist even.

    In fact as internet advertising awareness and popularity grows as fast as efficient broadband coverage in Malaysia, I see the old style publishing of advertisement in newspapers will soon disappear and so will the mega advertisement revenue of Sin Chew, The Star newspapers. Its happening readily everywhere round the world where broadband coverage is high, that moment will reach Malaysia's shore sooner than later as the broadband internet baby boomers joins the employment ranks.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous said...

    I think Malay should not be a language all together. When I first came to Malaya in 1933 at the age of 15 from Southern India I could not speak Malay. To my surprise in 3 months I can speak with any Malays that I met and this prompt me to check how many words in Malay did I learn to be able to communicate in the language. You guess? Believe me? I counted and in total I only know 45 Malays words and there I speak their language, what kind of language is this?

    10:44 PM

    -----------

    Two things, anon:

    1. Bahasa Malaysia is easy to learn, but hard to master.

    2. Malays adapt to other people speaking their language in their daily lives.

    Infer what you can.

    ReplyDelete
  38. JayZek1:11 pm

    Saya sebagai seorang yang berkejaya professional tidak suka membaca Harian Metro dan tidak akan membenarkan anak-anak saya membacanya. Isi kandungan nya tidak membina dan kosong.

    Harap akhbar ini dapat melihat dan menilai semula isi kandungannya supaya ianya lebih berfaedah untuk kebaikan orang-orang melayu jua.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous2:04 pm

    A lot of craps have been posted in the blogs with regards to the status of the Malay Newspapers, especially Utusan Malaysia. Most of the argument spelt out touched on the stories published, circulation and readership numbers.

    Also not spared is the Harian Metro, the largest circulated newspaper in the country. So much craps have been thrown at these two newspapers, and yet, the stakeholders of these papers did not respond. What a shame.

    I like to remind everyone that the Malay newspapers, even Utusan Malaysia when they were doing extremely well both in terms of readership and circulation numbers being high, did not enjoy strong advertising support then.

    This is largely because advertisers felt that readers of the Malay newspapers has poor purchasing power as compared to readers of the English newspapers.

    But, I believe that the trend is reversing now and I am sure too that if you are a reader of Harian Metro or Berita Harian, you can see that more than half of these newspapers contained advertisements, including those owned by multinational companies.

    Also, an advertisng agency friend of mine, also mentioned that the educated and well paid Malays read Harian Metro.

    I think this trend will continue for a long long time.

    Hence, the argument that Malay readers have low purchasing power is no longer true.

    I am a reader of Harian Metro, and I don’t see the paper being flooded with sex stories all the time. There are and there will be, a few, but the content is not meant to entertain but to warn us of what is happening to our society. We need to be on alert and ensure that such things do not happen to us and our families.

    I am disappointed that there are some bloggers who failed to see this but think of themselves as intelligent people yet continue to post negative and without basis comments about the Malay newspapers.

    IRWAN

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  40. Anonymous2:19 pm

    Utusan, tolong jangan cari saya.

    Abdul Kayum S A

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  41. Anonymous3:48 pm

    apakah gunanya luangan dan jeritan hidup itu hidup ini bila kocek dah kosong & gaji pun takkan datang, boleh kenyang ke dengan hanya jeritan aje?

    Utusan gagal kerana pengurusannya sudah jauh terpesong dari kehendak orang ramai, ceritanya semua berbentuk poiltik pro-BN serta suka menyendir bangsa2 bukan melayu.

    Rakyat melayu semakin meningkat tapi pembaca Utusan kian meruncing, sebabnya cerita semuanya juah dari realiti.

    Kalau asyik ingin menhujah nostalgia bangsa tanpa menbuat apa apa bermakna, jangan capak Utusan, Bank antarabangsa berusia 100 tahun pun bangkrap lah...lihatlah di Europa & Amerika.

    Kalau sendiri tak berubah, maknanya akan diubah orang aje, hakikat tu.

    Ahill

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  42. Anonymous4:01 pm

    Bahasa bukan setakat menjadi medium untuk berkomunikasi tetapi bahasa juga pada kedudukan tertentu mempengaruhi jaya atau gagalnya seseorang dalam banyak perkara yang mahu dilakukan.

    Individu yang mampu menguasai sesuatu bahasa akan dipandang tinggi dan adakalanya diberikan pertimbangan istimewa berbanding individu yang tidak menguasainya.

    Politikawan yang fasih bertutur menggunakan Bahasa Daerah akan dipandang lebih tinggi berbanding lawan mereka yang pelat apabila bertutur menggunakan bahasa berkenan.

    Kalaulah penguasaan terhadap Bahasa Inggeris menyebabkan seseorang usahawan itu lebih dihormati oleh rakan usahawan maka terpulanglah kepadanya untuk berusaha menguasai bahasa itu atau sebaliknya.

    Dalam konteks yang sama kalaulah dengan menguasai 'bahasa pasar' akan memberikan kelebihan dari segi menarik lebih ramai pelanggan Melayu makanya terpulanglah kepada peniaga India atau Cina untuk belajar bahasa pasar.

    Kalaulah penguasaan terhadap Bahasa Dusun memberikan kelebihan kepada politikawan untuk menguasai negeri yang menggunakan bahasa berkenaan maka terpulanglah kepada mereka untuk cuba menguasainya atau terus berbangga menggunakan dialek sendiri-sendiri.

    Kalaulah penguasaan terhadap Bahasa Indonesia memberikan kelebihan kepada majikan untuk berkomunikasi dan mendapatkan layanan yang baik dari pembantu rumah maka terpulanglah kepada mereka sama ada mahu belajar bahasa Indonesia atau teruskan dengan gambaran sedia ada.

    Kalaulah penguasaan Bahasa Malaysia memberikan kelebihan kepada individu Cina atau India untuk melayakkan diri memasuki sektor perkhidmatan awam maka adalah logikal kalau mereka berusaha untuk menguasainya tetapi bukan menidakkan kepentingannya.

    Yang pasti keupayaan orang asing menguasai bahasa tempatan tidak banyak memberikan kelebihan kepada bahasa berkenaan tetapi ia memberikan banyak kelebihan kepada orang asing yang berusaha menguasainya.

    Justeru terpulanglah kepada individu/kumpulan yang menyedari betapa pentingnya Bahasa Melayu dalam memajukan diri, rakan dan kaum masing-masing untuk membantu usaha ke arah mengembangkan lagi bahasa berkenaan. Kepada yang menafikan kepentingannya, biarkanlah mereka dengan persepsi yang salah lagi merugikan mereka jua.

    ANDIKARYA MAYA

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous5:01 pm

    Maaf rocky, cerita utusan memang tak boleh percaya. Malah kadang-kala utusan ini menyebabkan orang umno sendiri malu sbb cerita sepatutnya begini, dijadikan begitu!! Sepatutnya utusan menulis sebetul-betulnya. Maaf, saya pun malu nak baca utusan!

    Zamri, ex-ppbss

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anonymous5:15 pm

    PKR’s campaign to shun away Utusan really demonstrates how weak the party is. What is it that they are afraid of? Utusan telling lies or maybe Utusan is telling the truth. The truth then will definitely open the party’s supporters.
    PKR supporters as they claimed are middle class Malaysia, with proper education can differentiate between truths and lies. Taking this into consideration, PKR should not be afraid of Utusan.
    Furthermore, such campaign, coming from a political party that promotes freedom of speech etc is somehow confusing. PKR should really give the freedon to its supporters to read whatever they want. I never heard BN ever boycotting Harakah, Suara Keadilan & other opposition newspaper.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Anonymous7:27 pm

    in the name of free economy and free press, utusan should be sold off to Rupert Murdoch. he can turn around the company and make a zillion out of it. we, the malay race can have the last laugh as utusan is better than sin chew, the star or whatever paper in this country of ours...he...he...ha...ha...ha

    ReplyDelete
  46. Charles F Moreira6:48 am

    One thing which Audit Bureau of Circulations Malaysia report, especially the one ending 31 December 2009 shows. is that unlike the popular rhetoric and perception propagated through social discourse, overall newspaper circulation in Malaysia has basically held up, contrary to the claims by new-media proponents that online publications are robbing print publications of readership.

    What is true however, is that while overall circulation of the Bahasa Malaysia and English-language newspapers has more or less also held up, there has been a shift of readers between different papers within each language segment, such as towards Harian Metro in the BM segment and The Sun in the English segment, while the more serious BM papers have seen their circulation drop and The Star in particular among the English-language papers.

    Of course, if you also consider ADEX figures of advertising revenue, then it could be another story.

    As for the mushrooming online publications, I wonder how long they will last if their investors were stop funding them, once they no longer serve their political agendas.

    But then, what's their ADEX ranking if any?

    Not much, I understand.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Harga susu naik hanya spekulasi
    Oleh NIZHA PERIASAMY, JAGATHESWARY NARAYANAN dan NOOR ASHREEN ISMAIL
    berita@kosmo.com.my
    KUALA LUMPUR – Laporan kenaikan harga susu termasuk produk tenusu tempatan naik dalam tempoh terdekat ekoran peningkatan harga bahan mentah barangan tenusu di pasaran dunia dianggap spekulasi semata-mata.
    Menteri Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (gambar) menegaskan, spekulasi tersebut yang hangat diperkatakan ketika ini oleh sesetengah pihak adalah tidak benar sama sekali.
    Justeru beliau menasihatkan pengguna supaya tidak perlu bimbang sebab harga susu masih dikekalkan seperti biasa dan belum ada lagi sebarang kenaikan.
    “Namun oleh sebab harga jualan susu bukan berada di bawah produk kawalan harga, jika berlaku kenaikan pada masa depan, kementerian tidak berkuasa mengambil sebarang tindakan,” katanya ketika ditemui di sini semalam.
    Beliau berkata demikian mengulas laporan berhubung harga tepung susu tanpa lemak yang merupakan bahan mentah tenusu utama dijangka meningkat lebih AS$3,000 (RM9,630) satu tan metrik pada tahun ini berbanding AS$2,100 (RM6,741) dalam suku keempat tahun lalu.

    Sinar harian
    Kenaikan harga susu tak dapat dielak SEREMBAN - Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan (KPDNKK) tidak mempunyai kuasa untuk menyekat kenaikan harga susu di negara ini sekiranya harganya meningkat di pasaran dunia.

    Menterinya, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob berkata, harga jualan susu, termasuk produk tenusu tempatan dijangka meningkat tidak lama lagi disebabkan kenaikan harga bahan mentah di pasaran dunia.

    “Kenaikan itu tidak dapat dielakkan memandangkan pengeluar dan pengilang tempatan terpaksa menanggung kos belian import yang tinggi.

    “Biasalah, apabila kita beli barang dengan harga mahal, sudah pasti kita terpaksa jual dengan harga yang lebih tinggi. Bagaimanapun, buat masa ini harga susu kita masih dikekalkan seperti biasa,” katanya kepada media selepas merasmikan bangunan baru Pejabat Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan Negeri Sembilan di Seremban 2 di sini, semalam.

    Beliau berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas laporan media berhubung harga tepung susu tanpa lemak adalah bahan mentah tenusu utama dijangka meningkat kepada lebih AS$3,000 (RM9,630) satu tan metrik tahun ini, berbanding AS$2,100 (RM6,741) satu tan metrik dalam suku keempat tahun lalu.

    “Sekatan harga tidak boleh dilakukan ke atas barangan itu disebabkan ia di luar kawalan kita. Ini kerana kita membeli barang diimport. Perkara ini sudah banyak kali berlaku,” katanya.

    Ismail Sabri berkata, biarpun kementerian akan membentangkan Akta Anti Pencatutan 2010 di Parlimen bulan ini, ia masih tidak boleh menghalang pengeluar untuk menaikkan harga barang itu.

    “Ini kerana sekiranya pengeluar mempunyai bukti bahawa harga bahan mentah itu benar-benar meningkat di seluruh dunia. Akta ini hanya boleh menyekat dan mengenakan tindakan terhadap peniaga yang menjual barangan untuk mencari keuntungan berlebihan tanpa sebab munasabah.:

    “Sebagai contoh, topeng muka, peniaga beli 30 sen dan jual 50 sen tetapi apabila permintaan meningkat dan mereka masih membeli dengan harga 30 sen sekeping, tetapi jual sampai RM5, yang ini memang boleh dikenakan tindakan mengikut akta ini,” katanya.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Anonymous12:09 pm

    Dato Mustapa omar ke sana ke mari tunjuk gagah kononnya dia lah hero yang bagi harian metro laku.

    bro.. kalau main cerita sex, khalwat, kondom, seluar dalam, memanglah laku. surat khabar apa pun laku kalau cerita sampai ke dalam seluar dalam orang.

    tapi semua cerita orang melayu. kalau ikut metro, org melayu kaki sex, org melayu kaki cerai bini. org melayu kaki pakai kondom.

    org umno pun bangga dengan dengan harian metro. tak ada sorang pun pemimpin umno komplen pasal metro.

    padanlah cina tak hormat melayu. kalau aku cina pun aku tak hormat melayu. melayu kaki seks, melayu kaki pukul isteri , kaki tinggal isteri.

    aku bangga orang melayu kat harian metro sanggup jual maruah org melayu. cina asyik ketawa baca cerita metro.

    penjualan metro tinggi bukan setakat orang melayu saja baca. cina pun baca. malah ruangan agama dalam metro pun cerita seks. cerita melancap kali pertama. cerita siisteri tak puas dimainkan suami.

    bangganya orang macam dato Mustapa Omar.

    NSTP patut lantik mustapa jadi editor berita harian untuk naikkan jualan bn yang tinggal 100 ribu saja.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Anonymous4:25 pm

    Sdra Rocky,

    When your newspaper's circulation goes down, what do you do? Do a revamp, change the masthead, change the layout and design, of course. Setiap Pengarang Kumpulan yang baru akan memastikan wajah suratkhabar diubah during his reign. It is always about a physical change, never content. Kalau ubah content pun, the tendency is make it more 'sexy'. Ikut selera pembaca konon.

    Lino Typist

    ReplyDelete
  50. Anonymous5:58 pm

    Rocky, just sharing my thoughts... Whatever negative views people have about Utusan Malaysia, I have some good things to say about the paper. it has done me a lot of good over the years. My Malay is much better than it was before. Now, I even write speeches in Malay for heads of large organisations; this has been going on for a few years now.
    I enjoy reading Mingguan Malaysia, especially write-ups on issues of national interests. In spite of what critics say, these writings help me to see things from a different and wider perspective. I have learnt a lot from what Mingguan (and Utusan) has to offer in making me a thinking Malay.
    If there are things bad about Utusan and Mingguan Malaysia in terms of stance and slant, it's the same for any other newspapers which I read - Berita Harian, Harian Metro, Sinar Harian, Kosmo!, New Straits Times, The Star, Malay Mail and The Sun.
    I have no problem reading all these papers - even Harakah, if need be. If I could understand Mandarin and Tamil, I would have read those papers too.
    We may have no control over people's perception of us, especially negative thoughts, but it's an enriching experience nevertheless. So whether a tabloid or a broadsheet, they serve their purpose.
    In fact, in Malaysia, the term "tabloid" has lost its original meaning synonymous to mosquito newspapers.
    Whether a paper is thrash or otherwise, it's really up to us to be discerning and to use our critical thinking skills when poring over articles and news. It's unfair to make judgements based on issues published which we feel are unfavourable to us, especially controversies.
    I think Utusan is as parochial as any other vernacular papers. Even the English language Star is skewed towards the interest of a particular community more than some others.
    And if there are Malay tabloids which are seen as thriving on sensational issues, they are not alone. Sensational stories have been carried by other vernacular papers long before the birth of Kosmo! and Harian Metro.


    Mom-o-Success

    ReplyDelete
  51. Anonymous10:44 pm

    Jawabnya mudah sahaja, dalam syarikat-syarikat milik kaum Cina siapa yang kawal budget untuk iklan?
    Tak kan lah orang yang baca tulisan jawi yang control financial matters syarikat itu?

    ReplyDelete
  52. Anonymous11:18 pm

    mulai besok,aku nak beli utusan dan bagi pada sekolah.
    siapa lagi nak tolong akhbar melayu jika bukan orang melayu.

    ReplyDelete