Umno cannot stop Utusan from shutting down, Annuar Musa says

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): Umno secretary general Tan Sri Annuar Musa (pictured) said the party is not capable of interfering with Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd's decision to stop its newspaper publication.

Speaking to reporters at Parliament lobby today, Annuar said this is because Umno has divested the majority of its shareholdings in Utusan.

"We will let Utusan make their own business decision, the party cannot intervene, the board of directors is free to make any business decision, Umno is left with very little shares.

"We have to check and see what actually happened, because the impression given to us before this was that they intend to continue the business. What they did today, we were not informed beforehand," he said.

"Personally, ceasing the publication of Utusan is definitely unfortunate. The paper has been around even before the country's independence. It played a significant role in our history, but we cannot be nostalgic in business," he added.