The ''Malay Mail'' is a newspaper in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
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, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
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, coordinates =
, su ...
, Malaysia, first published on 1 December 1896 when
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
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, coordinates =
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was the capital of the then new
Federated Malay States
)Under God's Protection
, capital = Kuala Lumpur1
, religion = Islam
, legislature = Federal Legislative Council
, type_house1 = State level
, common_languages =
, title_leader = Monarch
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, making it the first daily newspaper to appear in the FMS. As of May 2014, it is a free lunchtime paper with 100,000 copies circulated around the
Klang Valley
Klang Valley ( ms, Lembah Klang; zh, 巴生谷; ) is an urban conglomeration in Malaysia that is centered in the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, and includes its adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. It is con ...
. Their main target audiences are Professionals, Managers, Executives and Businessmen (PMEBs).
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the paper was replaced by the
Malai Sinpo
Malai (Hindi: wikt:मलाई, मलाई, Urdu: ) is a type of clotted cream, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, especially, in regards to sweets from the Indian subcontinent. It is ma ...
.
Overview
The newspaper used to be an afternoon edition which focused on local happenings and was promoted as "The Paper That Cares". It was common to find local community news making the headlines. The paper also had featured a "Page 3 Girl" and was not taken too seriously as it had the image of a tabloid with the printing of many unsubstantiated news articles. The newspaper had a commanding presence in classified ads and in the 1990s it was common to find almost half the newspapers comprising classified ads.
In 1997, the ''Malay Mail'' was the
NSTP Berhad's single most profitable unit through its grip on classifieds which, in the nature of a virtuous cycle, actually intensified its popularity.
When
the Asian financial crisis broke from 1997 to 1998, another daily newspaper, ''
The Star
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' offered huge discounts to property agents and car dealers – the ones most affected by the crisis. The ''Malay Mail'' could not, or would not, offer such rebates – which prompted a shift to ''The Star'' with the ''Malay Mail'' losing its position as the leading classifieds newspaper. Once readers moved, ''The Star''′s massive circulation ensured that they would stay, and the ''Malay Mail''′s circulation plummeted.
The ''Malay Mail'' was linked to another daily newspaper, the ''
New Straits Times
The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...
'' via its holding company, the NSTP Berhad.
During the turn of the millennium, the ''New Straits Times'' was facing increasing competition from another daily newspaper, ''The Star''. At the time, the NSTP Berhad had a whole range of newspapers including the ''
New Straits Times
The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...
'', the ''New Sunday Times'', the ''Malay Mail'', the ''Sunday Mail'', ''
Berita Harian
''BH'' (renamed on 2 July 2012; formerly known as ''Berita Harian'') is a Malay-language daily newspaper published in Malaysia owned by the New Straits Times Press. It was first published on 1 July 1957 as the first mainstream newspaper in M ...
'' and its Sunday edition ''Berita Minggu'' and the late-morning Malay-language tabloids ''
Harian Metro
''Harian Metro'' is a Malaysian daily newspaper owned by the New Straits Times Press. It is Malaysia's first Malay daily afternoon tabloid in Klang Valley, in contrast to morning tabloids in other part of Malaysia. The Harian Metro was estab ...
'' and ''Metro Ahad''.
A strategic decision was made by the NSTP Berhad to focus on only one English newspaper, which was the ''New Straits Times''. On 1 September 2004, the ''New Straits Times'' introduced the publishing of two versions of the newspaper – a tabloid-size daily along with the broadsheet format. This signalled their intention to go head-on with The Star which printed tabloid-sized newspapers. The senior reporters from the ''Malay Mail'' were transferred to the ''New Straits Times'' and the nationwide circulation of the ''Malay Mail'' was reduced and limited to the
Klang Valley
Klang Valley ( ms, Lembah Klang; zh, 巴生谷; ) is an urban conglomeration in Malaysia that is centered in the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, and includes its adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. It is con ...
.
In the early stages of 2005, plans were unveiled to change the direction of the paper and offered voluntary separation scheme to senior writers and journalists of the ''Malay Mail''. Its former weekend edition, ''The Sunday Mail'', published its last edition on 8 May 2005. After some experiments that went awry in 2006 and 2007, the NSTP decided to sell the paper to
Media Prima Berhad
Media Prima Berhad, doing business as Media Prima and stylised as media prima, is a Malaysian media company based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. It is Malaysia's largest media and entertainment conglomerate with business interests in television, pri ...
.
The newspaper's circulation slid from its peak of over 60,000 in the mid-1980s. Advertising revenue has kept in step, plummeting to RM10 million annually from its peak of RM70 million in 1997. Advertising revenue has since been declining and the business has been reporting losses.
Media Prima Berhad relaunched the Malay Mail on 5 May 2006 as a free afternoon paper but still failed to overturn its losses.
It was then sold to Datuk Ibrahim Mohd Nor of Blue Inc who tried a free model under the stewardship of Datuk ‘Rocky’ Ahiruddin Attan with an emphasis towards Klang Valley news in 2008 but that too failed.
The newspaper was then sold to a group of businessmen led by Dato’ Siew Ka Wei of the Ancom Group of Companies in 2012. It also marked Siew's entry into the media world by setting up the Redberry Media Group with advertising assets at airports, buses, cinemas and billboards.
Malay Mail shares some common shareholders with Redberry and Ancom. Besides Siew, the other directors of Malay Mail are Tan Sri Mohd Al Amin Abdul Majid and Datuk Rocky.
In 2013, the Malay Mail Online website (www.themalaymailonline.com) was launched and proved to be a hit for those seeking independent news.
In 2018, the website was revamped and relaunched as www.malaymail.com. The Chinese and Malay language news portals were revamped into Cincai News () and ProjekMM.
On 25 October 2018, ''Malay Mail'' announced that it will cease its print operations on 1 December 2018 and go fully digital on 2 December 2018.
See also
*
List of newspapers in Malaysia
This is a list of newspapers published in Malaysia, sorted by language.
Published newspapers by languages English
*''The Borneo Post'' – English daily in Sarawak and Sabah
*'' Business Times''
*''Daily Express'' – English daily in Sabah
*''Th ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malay Mail
1896 establishments in British Malaya
Online newspapers with defunct print editions
English-language newspapers published in Asia
Newspapers published in Malaysia
Publications established in 1896
Mass media in Kuala Lumpur
2008 mergers and acquisitions
2012 mergers and acquisitions