Welcome back Utusan Malaysia, Kosmo!

The country’s oldest Malay-language newspaper, Utusan Malaysia and its sister publication Kosmo!, which stopped publication more than nine months ago, are making a comeback today.

Officially launched on Saturday, the two newspapers, now under Media Mulia Sdn Bhd, have re-entered the market, priced at RM2 each.

Kosmo! maintains its contemporary voice as its slogan, while Utusan Malaysia carries its new slogan, ‘Pemikiran Baru’ (New Thinking) and both newspapers also maintain their tabloid size.

On the reintroduction of Utusan Malaysia, Media Mulia managing director and group editor Mohamad Azlan Jaafar said that the newspaper would strive to restore readers’ confidence as a reliable disseminator of information, and inculcate the proliferation of ideas.

“Accountability is the guide in every report - credibility is the cornerstone of operations. Today’s society needs objective, accurate, true and fair reporting, whether from political, social and economic aspects.

“Our commitment is to develop a national newspaper that brings aspirations of every Malaysian,” he said through the ‘Minda Pengarang’ column in the newspaper, today.

Mohamad Azlan described the re-emerging of both newspapers while the country’s media and publishing industry were in a difficult period, as a ray of a star in the dark night.

He also hoped that readers would see each newspaper report as just news reporting and not to scrutinise it as if it was driven by a specific agenda.

“Respecting differences of opinion is at the core of a dynamic democracy and the only way to form a knowledgeable Malaysian society is by being exposed to various perspectives and helping to form one’s opinion based on facts and not emotions,” he said.

On Kosmo!, he said that the newspaper still retains its original features, however, at the same time combining various new elements to cultivate an interest in reading especially among young people, such as e-sports and motoring.

He said that many more innovations have been introduced in Kosmo! daily and continuous improvement would be carried out to ensure that the newspaper remains relevant to readers from all levels of society, nationwide.

“Despite being seen as a compact newspaper, Kosmo! maintains the highest standards of journalism expected for all newspapers under Media Mulia.

“Integrity, professionalism and accountability are the values and guidelines of Kosmo! news reporting, similar to its sister publication, Utusan Malaysia,” he said.

Meanwhile, a check by Bernama found that the news portals of the two newspapers and all their news links were now accessible to readers online.

Both Utusan Malaysia and Kosmo!, including its news portal, ceased operations on Oct 9 last year, due to financial troubles.

-- BERNAMA