SUBANG JAYA, 28 June 2025 – The Utusan Melayu Remembrance Forum, held in conjunction with the anniversary of the newspaper’s inaugural publication on 29 May 1939 and the annual National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA), was commemorated in a familial atmosphere with former Utusan Melayu staff members in Subang Jaya, Selangor today.
The forum, officiated by National Journalism Laureate Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar, who once helmed the Utusan Group as Editor-in-Chief, was also attended by former Group Managing Director, Datuk Mohd Noordin Abbas and Datuk Mohd Nasir Ali (former Group Executive Director). Present at the event were Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) Chief Executive Officer, Haji Ainol Amriz Ismail, alongside senior editors, journalists, photographers, advertising and marketing staff.
Organised by the portal KitaReporters with the support of MPI, the forum aimed, among other things, to retell the history of Utusan Melayu and its role in documenting the nation’s history through its journalistic reporting.
Gamal Nasir, editor at KitaReporters and former senior editor of Utusan, stated that few are aware that the date chosen to celebrate HAWANA is rooted in the first publication of Utusan Melayu.
“This shows how significant Utusan Melayu is in the history of Malaysian newspapers and journalism,” he remarked.
In his keynote address, Tan Sri Johan emphasized the uniqueness of Utusan Melayu’s history.
“It was not merely a reporting platform, but a vessel of meaning and spirit. Its journey resonates deeply. It was my soul and my life,” he said.
Haji Ainol Amriz stressed that the legacy of Utusan Melayu deserves to be remembered, documented, researched and made a point of reference within higher learning institutions.
“We must restructure Malaysia’s media narrative by making Utusan Melayu a compulsory subject in courses on media history, Malay journalism, political communication and modern literature. Living witnesses to its legacy still exist, reporters, editors, technical staff and editorial illustrators who can serve as invaluable sources. They hold the memory, the methodology and the spirit that cannot be found in Western communication theory textbooks,” he explained.
He further proposed the establishment of a dedicated documentation centre for Utusan Melayu, to collect original print archives, handwritten manuscripts, unpublished articles, internal correspondence and the informal notes of field journalists.
“These are national historical materials, not merely corporate media assets. My suggestion is for universities to take up this responsibility. If needed, let us establish a dedicated academic chair as a tribute to the newspaper that published the longest, running Jawi script and served as the voice of the Malay community for generations,” said Haji Ainol Amriz.
