The Star publishes its first Malay weekly

Posted by Savita Sauvin on March 2, 2010 at 12:59 PM

Malaysia's largest English-language daily, The Star, on Sunday published its first Malay weekly pullout, called Mingguan mStar, the New Statesman reported. The weekly issue is a print version of the online publication, which will be distributed along with the Sunday Star.

About 170,000 copies of the 40-page weekly will be available every Sunday in certain areas of Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and Putrajaya, according to The Star. The inaugural issue received an overwhelming response on Sunday, with 500 copies of the weekly being snapped up within hours of its launch. Mingguan mStar readers told the Star that the English publication's Malay weekly was a welcome addition to give readers another dimension of content in the country's official language.

The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) owns The Star. Some observers said the addition will offer an alternative voice for the Malay community, while others said they think it will wrap up like other past Malay newspapers, the Strait Times reported.

"The paper will give a more balanced view since it is owned by MCA, while other Malay papers focus on racial issues," political analyst James Chin told the Straits Times.

The first few issues of the weekly will be distributed at different locations until May 16, and "those who subscribe for the entire period will receive a Touch'n Go mStar edition for free," Nur Afzan Abd Aziz, Star Publications corporate sales and promotions circulations executive, told The Star. Visitors also have the chance to win prizes at the promotional booths in a lucky draw.

"There is a huge market potential with Mingguan mStar being able to reach out to those who are not covered by The Star," Datuk Nancy Yeoh, CEO of public relations firm RAPR Mileage Communications, told The Star.