Malaysia's HR ministry says it is ready to help media workers claim EIS benefits

What the ministry offered

Deputy Human Resources Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan told the Dewan Rakyat on 3 November that the ministry is ready to assist media workers who lose their jobs. He was answering Suhaizan Kaiat, the Pakatan Harapan MP for Pulai, who asked about allegations that between 100 and 200 Utusan Malaysia employees could lose their jobs.

Khairul Firdaus said the help would apply if layoffs go ahead. The ministry would ask the companies involved to submit applications for assistance and review whether affected workers qualify under the Employment Insurance System, which Perkeso administers. Claims must be filed within 60 days of the date of job loss, subject to contribution eligibility and supporting documents. He said he had prepared six steps for affected workers but did not list them in the House.

Neither the ministry nor the company has confirmed that layoffs will happen. Media Mulia describes the move as a paid leave programme inside a review of its business model, operational structure and corporate direction.

Paid leave, not retrenchment

Director and chief financial officer Abd Wahid Idris said the shift of the media industry towards digital platforms made adjustment necessary. He said current management had rescued both brands after their former owner ceased operations in 2019. He said the company needed strategic adjustments to stop them meeting the same fate. He also said the company remains committed to publishing the print edition for loyal readers.

What happens when the paid leave ends is not stated. Employees are wondering how long the leave will last and whether they may take other work during it, The Straits Times reported.

The numbers and the industry backdrop

The parliamentary question cited between 100 and 200 employees at risk. The paid leave programme covers nearly 100 staff, and The Straits Times put the workforce at roughly 200, so the programme affects close to half. The figures cover different groups: a parliamentary allegation, the paid leave programme and the total workforce.

The pressure is industry-wide. The combined print circulation of Malay-language newspapers fell 55% from two million copies in 2013 to 905,000 in 2018, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Utusan Malaysia's own circulation fell 43% between 2014 and 2018, from about 172,000 copies to fewer than 100,000, before its original publisher collapsed.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said on 31 October that troubled media organisations should seek help from his ministry before resorting to layoffs. The government added RM30 million to the Media Innovation Fund, and 72 Malaysian media companies have benefited from the fund, he said.

Six years after the revival

Utusan Malaysia began publication in Singapore in 1939. Abdul Rahim Kajai and Yusof Ishak founded it. Its original publisher, Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad, went insolvent in 2019 after years of poor cash flow, mounting debts and declining sales, and the board began liquidation. The paper returned to publication in July 2020 under Media Mulia, a company linked to tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary.

Staff have seen this before. At the original publisher, employees had initially been told their employment would continue until the end of October, but were instructed to pack their belongings and leave the office as early as 1pm on 9 October, The Straits Times reported. Radzi Razak, a journalist welfare advocate, asked what would happen to reporters, photographers, editors and production workers once their paid leave ended.

What happens next

An internal memo seen by The Straits Times said the names of the nearly 100 affected staff were expected to be revealed on 4 November. A town hall was scheduled for 3 November, where the company was to give details of the scheme and its plans for business continuity. The ministry has not listed the six steps.