Circulation of Malaysian Newspapers: A Decade of Contraction and Growth

 

Published in Jurnal Komunikasi, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2003 (updated to 2006)

Circulation of  Malaysian Newspapers:

 A Decade of Contraction and Growth

 

Mohd Safar Hasim

 

With a few exception, the circulation of most Malaysian newspapers  contracted last year, 2003, compared to a decade ago (1993).  Of the Malay newspapers, only Mingguan Malaysia showed a slight growth of 3.8% compared to a decade ago, with the rest declining,  a few of them declining   more than 50%.

Of the English newspapers, only The Star and The Sunday Star showed a robust growth, while the  others declined by almost 50%.  Of the Chinese newspapers, only Sin Chew Daily gained more than 50% compared to a decade ago. China Press, in the controversy-laden Nanyang Press Holdings, also made a strong growth compared to a decade ago. On the other hand Nanyang Siang Pau was down by almost 25%.

In Sabah, where circulation of most newspapers are below 30,000, one English newspaper, Daily Express, and two Chinese newspapers, Overseas Chinese Daily News and Morning Post showed good growth. However, comparison was not possible for other newspapers because of lack of data. 

Sarawak is the only bright spot where the English newspapers,   Borneo Post jumping by almost 69%  and The Sarawak Tribune 131%,  and the Chinese newspapers between 10-20%. 

On a brighter note, most newspapers are showing sign of recovery in 2002 compared to the previous year, with the exception of some newspapers. The biggest beneficiary is Harian Metro and Metro Ahad. On the other hand, Utusan Melayu and Utusan Zaman continued to drop.

The Star and The Sunday Star continued to show strong growth but New Straits Times and The New Sunday Times continued to fall. Sin Chew Daily continued to show small growth, but Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press were beaten down drastically. 

With the exception of one, all newspapers in Sabah showed growth.  All newspapers in Sarawak showed steady growth with Chinese Daily News gaining more than 30%.

Malaysia enjoyed a very strong economic growth prior to the Asian financial crisis in 1998, averaging above 8% per annum. However, in 1998 the GNP went down to -4.8% and although the growth had somewhat picked up since then, it had managed to go up to 4.o% only in First quarter 2003.

The country was recovering from the financial crisis when   the devastating blow of September 11, 2001 incident came which affected the whole world economically. It is against this backdrop that  this analysis of  growth and decline of newspaper circulation in Malaysia over the last decade should be seen.

 

Bahasa Malaysia Newspapers

A decade ago in 1993, eight Bahasa Malaysia newspapers were in circulation in Peninsular Malaysia, namely Berita Harian, Berita Minggu, Utusan Malaysia, Mingguan Malaysia, Utusan Melayu and Utusan Zaman. Five of the newspapers showed a decline of between 52.25% to 5.18%.

Utusan Zaman and Utusan Melayu suffered the biggest drop when their circulation dropped by 52.25% and 51.18% respectively. While Berita Harian and Berita Minggu dropped 24.97% and 18.33% respectively. Utusan Malaysia suffered a 5.18% drop which is fair considering the big drop by Berita Harian. However, Mingguan Malaysia bucked the trend when the Sunday paper showed a growth of 3.80%.  

Compared to the previous year (2002 over 2001)  the situation was  more positive.  Harian Metro and Metro Ahad  showed a tremendous growth with Harian Metro attaining 59.63% and Metro Ahad 52.14%. Harian Metro and Metro Ahad are two newspapers in the New Straits Times group mostly young  readers.

Berita Harian and Berita Minggu, also in the same group managed a growth of 6.14% and 6.26% respectively. Utusan Malaysia maintained a steady growth with 1.66% and Mingguan Malaysia 2.91%.

Circulation figures of Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia in 2002 showed that the two newspapers are close competitors, with Utusan Malaysia ahead slightly. But Mingguan Malaysia continued to be in the lead as it did over the last decade. The biggest loser was Utusan Melayu and Utusan Zaman, which reflected  a decline in the number of older generation of  Jawi   readers. Incidently, from 2003 Utusan Melayu is  a weeklynewspaper called Utusan Melayu Mingguan.

 

 

English Languages Newspapers

 

The Malay Mail and Sunday Mail dropped by almost half of their circulation over the last decade. The Malay Mail suffered a 49.68% drop, while Sunday Mail dropped 47.21%. New Straits Times dropped  almost a 25.0% and New Sunday Times dropped 27.51%. But The Star and Sunday Star bucked the trend with a 62.84% and 40.95% growth, respectively.

New Straits Times continued to drop, albeit slightly, over 2001, i.e. -0.86% possibily reaching a plateau. The New Sunday Times too showed a similar characteristics, dropping merely 1.19%. But The Malay Mail continued to drop, with -4.32% over one year, and The Sunday Mail  -1.24%. The Star and The Sunday Star continued with their growth of 4.84% and 4.02% respectively. The Edge, a business paper, showed a modest growth of 2.93% over a one year period.

 

Chinese Language Newspapers

 

In 2001, MCA through the party’s investment arm Huaren, purchased Nanyang  Press Holdings, publishers of Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press, for RM230 million. The purchase drew a loud protest from the Chinese community and Chinese opposition party DAP because they wanted the Chinese press to continue to be independent.

The incident  resulted in a deep split between two opposing groups in MCA, led by Datuk Ling Liong Sik, the party president and Datuk Lim Ah Lek, the deputy president. Worse, the controversy affected the bottom-line of the two newspapers as circulation figures of the two newspapers plummeted.

The beneficiary was Sin Chew Daily, a newspaper which had been showing strong growth over the last decade. Following the incident, Oriental daily News, a new Chinese newspaper was set up in January 2003.

Nanyang Siang Pau was declining in circulation over the last decade. It dropped 24.23% compared to its rival Sin Chew Daily which gained 59.43% over the last decade. It was this decline which probably caused the owners to sell their shares to Huaren.

Circulation of 2002 over 2001 showed a big drop of 20.16% probably a protest by readers, and the newspaper suffered editorially when a large number of its columnists abandoned the paper. In comparison, Sin Chew Daily showed a a slight improvement of 1.39%.

China Press, in the Nanyang Holding stable,  and connected with the MCA purchase controversy suffered a huge one year drop of 42.39%. The newspaper was doing considerably well over the last decade with a 19.29% growth.

Another newspaper, not affected with the controversy and away in the north in Penang continued with a lackluster growth of 1.30% over a decade, and 0.44% over a one year period. The newspaper saw little prospect for growth and as such the newspaper has merged with Penang Sin Poe, another old newspaper in Penang.

 

Sabah Newspapers

 

There are four English newspapers in Sabah, all are small circulation newspapers. The field is probably too small for four newspapers. But their survival thus far showed that they probably have their own niche and affiliation. Of the four, only Daily Express, an established newspaper formed  after Merdeka, showed a steady progress. Over the last decade it grew by 15.93%, while over a year it was 4.52%. Another paper, New Sabah Times, showed great potential with an 8.11% over one year. On the other hand, Borneo Post, originally from Kuching attained a meager 0.29% growth. Borneo Mail did not have circulation figures for 2002 to make comparison.

Chinese newspapers showed a steady growth compared to a decade ago, with Overseas Chinese Daily News obtaining 20.13% growth and Morning Post 26.11% growth. Three other newspapers did not have complete figures for comparison. Year-on-year basis showed Overseas Chinese Daily News attaining a positive growth of 0.65% and See Hua Daily News 0.19%, while Morning Post suffered a drop of 1.85%. There was no comparative figure for Merdeka Daily News, a newspaper published in Tawau.

 

Sarawak Newspapers

 

The Sarawak Tribune and The Sunday Tribune made a robust growth gaining 131.28% compared to a decade ago, while Borneo Post gained 75.86%. Two Chinese newspapers, See Hua Daily News gained 21.36% and Miri Daily News gained 12.47%. On an annual basis, all newspapers in Sarawak showed growth ranging from 0.79% to 11.69%.

Most newspapers enjoyed strong circulation a decade ago, but dropped considerably in line with economic downturn. Only a couple of newspapers are resilient enough to buck the trend such as The Star, The Sunday Star and Mingguan Malaysia at the national level. 

On the other hand, Sabah and Sarawak newspapers showed commendable growth over a decade ago. However, a comparison of  last year’s circulation figures over 2001 showed that a majority of newspapers are showing signs of recovery in line with economic recovery, with the exception of Nanyang Siang Pau, China Press and New Straits Times and New Sunday Times.

 ****

 

 

Table 1: Circulation of Bahasa Malaysia Newspapers in Peninsular Malaysia

 

Name of Newspaper	1993	2001	2002	2005	% Growth   or Decline
					1993-2005	2001-2005
Berita Harian	314,240	222,142	235,775	231,163	-26.0
Berita Minggu	418,790	321,898	342,040	358,054	-15.0
Utusan Malaysia	252,452	235,483	239,385	228,802	-9.0
Mingguan Malaysia	514,677	527,888	543,232	509,016	-1.0
Harian Metro	-	75,895	121,154	221,599	-	+192.0
Metro Ahad	-	90,029	136,974	229,829	-	+155.0

Source of circulation figures: Media Guide 2002/2003 and 2003/2004.

 

 

 

Table 2: Circulation English Language Newspapers in Peninsular Malaysia

 

Name of Newspaper	1993	2001	2002	2005	% of  Growth  or Decline
					1993-2005	2001-2005
New Straits Times	177,955	136,273	135,104	139,517	-22.0
New Sunday Times	212,064	155,565	153,717	150,723	-29.0
The Malay Mail	65,034	34,206	32,727	42,913	-24.0
The Sunday Mail	93,941	50,215	49,593	55,661	-41.0
The Star	180,043	279,647	293,176	299,589	+66.0
Sunday Star	215,801	292,408	304,169	316,463	+47.0
The Edge	-	18,143	18,675	23,216		+28.0

Source of circulation figures: Media Guide 2002/2003 and 2003/2004.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 3: Circulation of Chinese Language Newspapers in Peninsular Malaysia

 

Name of Newspaper	1993	2001	2002	2005	% of Growth or Decline
					1993-2005	2001-2005
Nanyang Siang Pau	182,926	173,295	138,352	137,333	-25
Sin Chew Daily	195,118	306,812	311,067	349,355	+79.0
China Press	97,857	202,631	116,734	223,322	+128
Guang Ming Daily	-	94,349	91,843	138,774	-	+47.0
Kwong Wah Yit Poh/Penang Sin Poe	69,089	69,677	69,985	68,909	-0.3
Oriental Daily	-	-	-

Source of circulation figures: Media Guide 2002/2003 and 2003/2004.

 

 

 

 

Table 4: Circulation of Sabah Newspapers

 

Name of Newspaper	1993	2001	2002	% of Growth or Decline
				1993-2002	2001-2002
English Newspaper
Daily Express	22,922	25,426	26,573	15.93	4.52
Borneo Post	-	21,189	21,127	-	0.29
New Sabah Times	-	16,850	18,216	-	8.11
Borneo Mail	12,853	15,202	-	-	-
Chinese Newspaper
Overseas Chinese Daily News	15,869	18,941	19,064	20.13	0.65
Morning Post	7,725	9,926	9,742	26.11	-1.85
Asia Times	13,586	-	na	-	-
See Hua Daily News	-	21,007	21,046	-	0.19
Merdeka Daily News	6,364	7,240	-	-	-

Source of circulation figures: Media Guide 2002/2003 and 2003/2004.

 

 

 

Table 5: Circulation of Sarawak Newspapers

 

Name of Newspaper	1993	2001	2002	% of Growth or Decline
				1993-2002	2001-2002
Bahasa Malaysia Newspaper
Utusan Sarawak	-	31,801	35,520	-	11.69
English newspaper
Borneo Post	26,736	44,773	47,018	75.86	5.01
The Sarawak Tribune/    Sunday Tribune	19,236	43,301	44,489	131.28	2.74
Chinese newspaper
See Hua Daily News	43,465	49,715	52,751	21.36	6.11
Miri Daily News	19,753	22,042	22,216	12.47	0.79
Chinese Daily News	-	12,060	15,879	-	31.67
International Times	-	-	24,143	-	-

Source of circulation figures: Media Guide 2002/2003 and 2003/2004