Three years on, former Utusan Melayu staff say still owed compensation

KUALA LUMPUR – Around 300 ex-employees of now defunct publisher Utusan Melayu Bhd held a protest today over unpaid compensation since the company was closed and liquidated in 2019.

The event’s organising committee chairman, Saifol Bakhtiar Hamik, said the welfare of 1,500 former employees was still being neglected.

“Since the company’s closure, we have yet to receive our compensation. Thirteen of our former colleagues have since died without receiving a single cent, and 23 more are left destitute,” he said in a statement after the gathering of ex-staff held in front of the paper’s former headquarters at Jalan Chan Sow Lin.

The gathering was meant to commemorate the “death” of the oldest Malay newspaper, which began publishing even before Malaya’s independence in 1939. It was also held to peacefully protest the alleged failure of the new company publishing Utusan Malaysia in protecting the welfare of those retrenched.

Saifol said the gathering was also intended to pressure company liquidator UHY Advisory (KL) Sdn Bhd to expedite any compulsory or statutory payments, compensations, and any outstanding VSS (voluntary separation scheme) payments due over the past three years.

“As we can see, the Utusan Melayu logo signboard has been taken down from the ex-headquarters and factory in Bangi. This shows that the floating assets valued at RM150 million have been sold,” said Saifol, adding that UHY Advisory should not claim that a number of Utusan assets remain unsold.

Saifol also said the prime minister should intervene in the ex-workers’ plight, as Utusan employees of the former Umno-owned company had served the struggles of the Malays and Islam.

“We also hope that the high court can expedite the ongoing court proceedings, and ensure justice for the workers,” he added.

Those who attended the meeting today agreed to set up an ad-hoc committee to resolve the former employees’ problems, and also mooted forming a Utusan alumni club that represents all ex-staff.

They also plan to approach the Human Resources Ministry and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the possibility of any wrongdoing in Utusan’s closure.

Utusan officially ceased operations on October 9, 2019, after a prolonged financial crisis that led to its then-employees protesting over unpaid wages. The paper has since been bought over by business tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary. – The Vibes, October 1, 2022