[Groop]Sun may not rise after tomorrow
Azamin \"Cantona\" Zainol Abidin
azamin7@pd.jaring.my
Sat, 02 Mar 2002 10:09:23 +0800
I should sent this before I sent the news in "latest news from the
Sun.. the ship is
sinking..." mail
The Sun newspaper which reprinted Groo a few years ago is more in
sinking position....
Gary Grossmann (Icannot just call him Gary now as there is a Gary Groo
emerged), ...I'll try to contact them if they wnt to clear out their
library... but maybe after the dust had settle a bit.... The situation
is too hot there for me to go and ask for those reprinted now.... But
I'll do the recon
first thru phone... over and out...
about the taxes Groo... yes.. I want you tot hold it first till after I
finish do the recon at the Sun newspaper office....... yessir ..
affirmative... yes comrade...
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/20020227001337.php
Sun may not rise after tomorrow
7:44pm Wed Feb 27th, 2002
Kevin Tan
updated version More than 200 workers, including
senior editorial
staff and production workers, will be retrenched in
stages
beginning tomorrow by beleaguered English daily The
Sun, making it
the biggest round of retrenchments the paper has
made since a
restructuring exercise began in January.
A Sun editorial staff told malaysiakini that the
management had
put up a notice to that effect earlier today.
“The notice said that notices of retrenchment will
be issued by
head of departments from 2pm and all staff on leave
have been
asked to return to work,” said the staff who
declined to be named.
“The notice also said that the retrenchment
exercise will be done
in a professional manner.”
National Union of Journalists general secretary
Hong Boon How also
confirmed that retrenchment exercise will begin
tomorrow.
He said he was informed of this by the Sun’s
management during a
meeting earlier today. He however was not sure of
the number of
staff that will be laid-off.
Another senior editorial staff, who also declined
to be named, told
malaysiakini that the paper’s production facilities
may be closed
down as well.
“There’s talk that the paper’s printing will be
contracted out,” said
the staff when asked how the newspaper will be
published with the
closure of its production department.
Contributors axed
The newspaper had earlier axed 10 contributors as
well as several
translators and sub-editors. They include former
group
editor-in-chief of News Straits Times Abdul Kadir
Jasin.
Abdul Kadir, who is now national news agency
Bernama chairman
and Berita Publishing editor-in-chief, began
writing a column for the
daily a few months ago.
Other major contributors terminated are Malaysian
Strategic
Research Centre executive director Abdul Razak
Baginda and writer
Akbar Ali.
Last month, The Sun sacked some 40 staff comprising
journalists
and non-editorial workers. The first round of
retrenchment exercise
saw the termination of six of the 10 key NUJ-Sun
branch officials.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) have
described it as a
“union-busting” exercise.
The Sun management has cited economic difficulties
and a decision
to cut down on manpower in its central region
operations as the
reasons for the retrenchment and restructure.
It is believed that plans are afoot for the
national daily to relaunch
itself as a free Klang Valley-based paper, which
explains the drastic
downsizing of its staff.
This new suburban newspaper is expected to follow
the model first
developed by The Leader, an English-language weekly
distributed
free by Utusan Melayu in the Klang Valley in the
mid-90s which
failed after a few years.
Assassination plot
The Sun, launched in 1994 and owned by Berjaya
Group supremo
Vincent Tan, has more than 400 employees.
Prior to the first round of retrenchments in
January, the newspaper
had an editorial staff of about 100 with another 50
journalists
stationed in various bureaus nationwide.
Editorial staff have been picketing for the
reinstatement of four
suspended editorial staff and against a delay in
the payment of
their bonuses.
The suspensions followed a controversial Christmas
Day front-page
report of a plot to kill the prime minister and his
deputy. The report
was picked up by international news agencies and
circulated
worldwide.
This irked Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who
criticised the
daily for sensationalist reporting. The Sun
suspensions, massive
lay-offs, ‘restructuring’ and general winding-down
began soon
after.
It was, however, learnt today that the suspension
order of the
four had been lifted and they have been asked to
report to duty
tomorrow after which they will be retrenched.
The paper, with a circulation of about 82,000, has
suffered an
estimated loss of RM200 million since its
inception.
Media deal
Fledgling media company, Nexnews Berhad has
expressed
intentions to take over The Sun.
It was reported to have entered into a memorandum
of
understanding with Tan to acquire 100 percent stake
in Sun Media
Corporation Sdn Bhd — publisher of The Sun — and
also to acquire
up to 70 percent of the Edge Communication Sdn Bhd,
publisher of
popular business weekly The Edge.
The intention by Nexnews came soon after Tan
announced on Jan
21 he had purchased a 26.15 percent stake in the
former.