Umno-linked Utusan Malaysia newspaper shuts down after 80 years

Utusan Malaysia, the 80-year-old Malay-language newspaper with close ties to the country’s former ruling party, on Wednesday said it was immediately ceasing operations after failing to find a way out of its financial problems. The newspaper’s shutdown has been the subject of speculation for months as its troubles rapidly mounted following the fall of its political benefactor, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), in last year’s watershed general election. The closure of the Utusan…