KOTA KINABALU, Dec 8 — The New Sabah Times, one of the oldest local newspapers in the state, plans to cease operations at the end of this month.

Company managing director, Felix Gusti confirmed that there were plans to shut down and the company would be issuing an official statement after discussions with staff this Thursday (Dec 10).

He explained that declining sales and revenue from advertising were some of the reasons behind the company’s move.

The New Sabah Times was founded in 1949 by Tun Muhammad Fuad Stephens, who saw the need for a good local newspaper at the time.

Muhammad Fuad would later become Sabah’s first chief minister, after playing a pivotal role in negotiating Sabah’s independence and subsequent formation of Malaysia, together with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore in 1963.

Meanwhile, a staff of the newspaper said that the management was having discussions with employees affected by the move.

"The management has assured us that the staff would be taken care of whatever the decision they make. There were also suggestions that the shut down only involve the publishing of the newspaper and to focus on online news,” the source said when contacted by Bernama today.

Besides New Sabah Times, there are two other English local papers, the Daily Express and the Borneo Post, while Utusan Borneo is the state’s Malay local newspaper. — Bernama