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''The Star'' () is an English-language newspaper in
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. Based in
Petaling Jaya ) , website = , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''From top, left to right:Skyline of Petaling Jaya, the 1 Utama Mall integrated with Bandar Utama Station, the Kota Darul Ehsan arch, the Petaling J ...
, it was established in 1971 as a regional newspaper in
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
. It is the largest paid English newspaper in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. It has a daily circulation of about 250,000 (as of January 2017), far eclipsing the circulation of its next-largest paid English-language competitor, 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 ' ...
'' (which has a circulation of approximately 65,000). ''The Star'' is a member of the
Asia News Network Asia News Network (ANN) is a news coalition of 24 news organisations from various Asian countries. Headquartered in Singapore, it was established in 1999 to form an alliance and enhance co-operation between them and their respective journalists ...
. It is owned by the publicly listed Star Media Group.


History

The daily newspaper was first published on 9 September 1971 as a regional newspaper based in
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
. ''The STAR'' went into national circulation on 3 January 1976 when it set up its new office in
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...
. In 1978, the newspaper headquarters was relocated to Kuala Lumpur. ''The Star'' continues to expand its wings over the years. In 1981, it moved its headquarters from Kuala Lumpur to
Petaling Jaya ) , website = , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''From top, left to right:Skyline of Petaling Jaya, the 1 Utama Mall integrated with Bandar Utama Station, the Kota Darul Ehsan arch, the Petaling J ...
which is also its current premise to accommodate a growing number of staff and technology devices. In 1987, ''The Star'' was one of the newspapers whose publication licences were withdrawn in
Operation Lalang Operation Lalang ( ms, Operasi Lalang, also referred as Ops Lalang and taken to mean "Weeding Operation" or "Operation Weeding") was a major crackdown between 27 October and 20 November 1987 undertaken by the Royal Malaysian Police, ostensibl ...
. It resumed publication five months later in March 1988, but after its return, ''The Star'' lost its previous 'liberal flavour'. It was the first Malaysian paper to offer an online edition. ''The Star'''s dominant position as Malaysia's leading English-language newspaper has, for decades, been of significant benefit to its major shareholder, the
Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA; zh, 马来西亚华人公会; ; ta, மலேசிய சீனர் சங்கம், initially known as the Malayan Chinese Association) is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that seeks to ...
(MCA) political party (which ruled from the independence of Malaya until 2018 as a junior member of the
Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
coalition). Between 1997 and 2007, it was estimated that the MCA's investment arm, Huaren Holdings, collected MYR270 million in dividends - almost exclusively from their 42% shareholding in the Star's parent company - with dividends peaking at MYR40 million per year between 2005 and 2007. Despite a significant portion of these dividends funding debts from their later acquisition of
Nanyang Siang Pau ''Nanyang Siang Pau'' or ''Nanyang Business Daily'' () was founded by philanthropist-entrepreneur Tan Kah Kee on 6 September 1923 in Straits Settlements, currently published in Malaysia. ''Nanyang Siang Pau'' is one of the oldest Chinese-langua ...
, a total of MYR100 million was still paid out to the MCA between 2001 and 2007.


Editions

''The Star'' (daily) and ''Sunday Star'' are published in five editions. Two editions cover the northern peninsular states of
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
,
Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...
,
Perlis Perlis, ( Northern Malay: ''Peghelih''), also known by its honorific title Perlis Indera Kayangan, is the smallest state in Malaysia by area and population. Located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it borders the Thai provinces ...
,
Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in the ...
and northern
Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...
, while another two editions cover the rest of the country. As of March 2010, the newspaper has a separate
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
edition priced at RM1.20. There are two main printing plants that publish four editions of ''The Star'' on a daily basis. The northern editions are printed at the ''Star'' Northern Hub in
Bayan Lepas Bayan Lepas is a town in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located within the Southwest Penang Island District, near the southeastern tip of Penang Island. Founded in the 19th century, Bayan Lepas has various industries. History Bayan Le ...
, Penang, while the other two editions are printed at the ''Star'' Media Hub in
Bukit Jelutong Bukit Jelutong (est. pop. 44,000)Lim, L.Y., "Pressured by housing demand", ''New Straits Times'', March 5, 2005 is an upscale suburb of Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. The suburb is a planned community, with an area of over and developed by Gut ...
,
Shah Alam Shah Alam () is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia and situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in ...
,
Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
.


Features

''The Star'' weekday paper is packaged as a 4-in-1 paper, comprising the Main Paper, StarBiz, Star2 and Star Metro. Naturally, this newspaper also contains classifieds. The Main Paper covers the latest in both local and international news while StarBiz offers a comprehensive coverage of business developments, market trends, financial reports and updates in the stock market. Star2 features articles on lifestyle, entertainment, health, parenting, social etiquette, science, environment, fashion, food, comics and many more. The contents published on the Star Metro varies by edition, covering news and events in a particular region covered by each edition. Weekly sections include: *StarBytz (every Monday; formerly known as In-Tech): focuses on computers and information technology *StarEducate (Sundays): features careers, school, exam tips, advice on furthering education, commentaries by renowned educationists and updates in the education industry *Star Fit4Life (Sundays): focuses on various aspects of well-being, from medical research to treatments, fitness trends, diet and nutrition, mental health, ageing and public health issues, alternative therapy and healing methods *Life Inspired (Sundays): a luxury-focused pull-out covering topics from art, architecture, travel, fashion, food and more. This section was launched in October 2013. *Dots (Sundays): News and articles sourced from international media partners covering a varied range of topics from politics and society to people. Provides a deeper insight into thoughts, senses and outlook *The Star BizWeek is a weekly financial magazine published every Saturday that highlights issues, companies, personalities, developments, and stocks that are likely to make news in the week ahead *F1F4 is a fortnightly pull-out published on alternate Mondays. It contains information about Mathematics and Science syllabus for Form One and Form Four. *Stuff@school is a weekly pullout distributed every Monday to schools that subscribe to ''The Star''. It features newsy articles, interviews, book reviews and short stories dedicated to teens. *Star Metro is a pull-out featuring news and events from all of
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and occasionally, abroad. Star Metro also features the
classifieds Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements used ...
. *CarSifu is a pullout distributed every twice a month on alternating Thursdays that offers updates on the automobile scene. *R.AGE now does video-based content with an investigative angle. Their work with the Predator in My Phone series led to the passing of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017. They are currently working to unravel the student trafficking syndicate in Malaysia, featured in their series Student/Trafficked


Columnists

Notable columnists for ''The Star'' include
Marina Mahathir Datin Paduka Marina binti Tun Dr. Mahathir (born 9 June 1957) ( Jawi: مرينة بنت محاضر) is a Malaysian socio-political activist and writer. She is the eldest child of the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Mahathir Mohamad ...
, a socio-political activist and writer,
Martin Khor Martin Khor Kok Peng (November 9, 1951 – 1 April 2020) was the executive director of the South Centre, an intergovernmental organisation of developing countries based in Geneva, from 1 March 2009 to 2018. He replaced Dr. Yash Tandon who was t ...
(since 1978), former head of the Third World Network, and law professor
Shad Saleem Faruqi Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi is a Malaysian legal scholar and professor of law at the University of Malaya, currently holding the Tunku Abdul Rahman Chair as Professor of Constitutional Law. He is also the fourth holder of the T ...
.
Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...
, the first Prime Minister and chairman of the paper's parent company from the 1977 to 1989, also contributed to the newspaper through his column ''Looking Back'' which was published every Monday from 1974 to 1989. His writings in the column, which consisted of his personal accounts in the ruling party in regards to seeking Malaysia's independence, were deemed to be influential and so closely associated with the paper that its name was often
backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
ed by some readers as ''Suara Tunku Abdul Rahman'' ( en, the Voice of Tunku Abdul Rahman).


Ownership

''The Star'' is a party-owned paper, associated with the former government of Malaysia. Since 1977, ''The Star'' has been effectively controlled by the
Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA; zh, 马来西亚华人公会; ; ta, மலேசிய சீனர் சங்கம், initially known as the Malayan Chinese Association) is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that seeks to ...
, a component party in the
Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
alliance, though it is part of the publicly listed Star Media Group ( MYX:br>6084
. The largest stake, at 42.46%, is held by the MCA; the three next-largest shareholders are
Amanah Saham Bumiputera Amanah or Al-Amanah may refer to: Organizations * Al Amanah College, an Islamic private school in New South Wales, Australia * Al-Amanah Islamic Bank, a bank in the Philippines * Amanah Raya Berhad, a Malaysian trustee company wholly owned by the G ...
, a unit trust scheme exclusive to
Bumiputera Bumiputera or Bumiputra, which is a Malay word, comes from the Sanskrit word ''Bhumiputra'' which may be transliterated as "son of earth" or "son of the soil" (Bhūmi; भूमि = earth; putra = son). It has different definitions in Brunei and M ...
(15.44%), the Malaysian superannuation scheme, the Employees Provident Fund (5.98%) and
Tabung Haji Lembaga Tabung Haji ( Jawi: تابوڠ حاج ; Arabic صندوق الحج) also known as Tabung Haji or TH is the Malaysian hajj pilgrims fund board.(18 July 1990)Tunnel tragedy death toll may reach 155, says Yusof '' New Straits Times'' It was ...
, the government-run
hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
savings and investment fund (5.42%).


Reception

A 2020
Reuters Institute The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) is a UK-based research centre and think tank founded in 2006, which operates Thomson Reuters Journalism Fellowship Programme, also known as the Reuters Fellowship. History The institute ...
poll found that 56% of Malaysian respondents trusted reporting from ''The Star.'' The percentage was tied with ''
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 ' ...
'' as the third highest out of the 14 media outlets surveyed.


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 *''T ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Star (Malaysia), The English-language newspapers published in Asia Mass media in Kuala Lumpur Newspapers published in Malaysia Penang Mass media in Petaling Jaya Newspapers established in 1971 1971 establishments in Malaysia Mass media in George Town, Penang Malaysian Chinese Association Asian news websites Malaysian news websites