Media Prima Berhad Announces Key Senior Management Appointments

BANGSAR, 27 January 2017 – Media Prima Berhad (“MPB” or “the Group”), Malaysia’s largest integrated media group today announced that Dato’ Mohammad Azlan Abdullah, will be ending his tenure as the Chief Executive Officer of the New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad effective 28 February 2017 to pursue new challenges outside Media Prima Berhad (“Media Prima” or “the Group”).Dato’ Mohd Azlan has decided to assume the position of Group Chief Executive Officer at a major government-linked Investment Company in Malaysia specialising in infrastructure development. In announcing his decision, Dato’ Mohammad Azlan said that he is gratified to have been given theopportunity to lead two of Media Prima’s key businesses and expressed his sincere thanks to the Board, colleagues and staff of the Group who have given him utmost support throughout his 9-year
tenure.

In view of the resignation, the Group also announced the following Senior Management Appointments effective 1 March 2017:

1. Datuk Abdul Jalil Bin Hamid, aged 58, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of NSTP. AsCEO, he will be responsible for the overall operations of NSTP. He will focus on strengthening the core business of NSTP while pursuing new opportunities to improve the performance of the company in line with Media Prima’s long-term growth strategies. He will report to the Group Managing Director of Media Prima. Datuk Abdul Jalil has been Group Managing Editor of NSTP since 2011 spearheading the editorial operations and content improvements for the company’s print and digital products. He has more than 30 years’ experience in journalism and communications. He has held positions in the Prime Minister’s office, the Securities Commission Malaysia, Reuters and Bernama. He sits on several advisory panels and the board of Bernama.

2. Encik Yushaimi Maulud Yahaya, aged 49, is promoted to the role of Group Editor, New Straits Times (“NST”) and will manage the overall operations of NST while spearheading the revamp of the country’s oldest English daily with 171 years of history. A seasoned journalist with over 26 years’ experience, Yushaimi has more than 26 years of experience in journalism, starting his career as a cub reporter with the Malay Mail after graduating from the NSTP Pre-Entry Training scheme in 1990. In 2002, he was one of the two Malaysian journalists chosen for the Nihon Shinbun Koki/Japanese Press Foundation fellowship programme. Since then, he has held key positions including Editor in Chief of the Malay Mail, Group Editorial Advisor for the Redberry Group and became Executive Editor (News) for NST in 2012.

Commenting on the new appointments, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Utama Haji Ismail Haji Omar, Chairman and Independent Non-Executive Director of NSTP said, “The new appointments will help further strengthen NSTP’s print and digital offerings while solidifying the company’s position as the news and content provider of choice in the face of an increasingly challenging business environment. It also mirrors our strong succession plan enabling smooth handover of responsibilities and operations, where we will continue our aggressive efforts to expand our digital initiatives to generate new revenue sources moving forward.”

Commenting on the appointment of Datuk Abdul Jalil as Chief Executive Officer NSTP, Dato’ Mohammad Azlan said “Datuk Abdul Jalil is well-respected in this field and his strong leadership traits make him the natural choice to continue the momentum of NSTP’s digital expansion efforts. He has done an incredible job over the past six years with Media Prima and possess deep familiarity with the brands as well as the editorial, commercial and operational aspects of NSTP. I am confident that he will contribute immensely in delivering operational efficiency and bringing new levels of success to NSTP.”

Meanwhile, the Board of Directors and Senior Management of Media Prima has expressed their deepest gratitude to Dato’ Mohammad Azlan for his years of dedicated service to the Group. Dato’ Sri Amrin Awaluddin, Group Managing Director of Media Prima said, “Dato’ Mohammad Azlan has contributed immensely to the Group where he played a pivotal role in laying the foundation for growth at Big Tree Outdoor and executed key transformation initiatives leading towards higher efficiency, cost management and overall integration of NSTP to the Group. He also led various digital initiatives at NSTP in response to the increased demand for online content as evident by the increased traffic for online news portals, social media sites, digital publications and other internet based content platforms such as the digital versions of BH, Harian Metro and New Straits Times. We wish Dato’ Mohd Azlan well in his future endeavours.”

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For further information, please contact:
Media Prima Berhad at: 603- 1300 300 672 Ext: 8949 or 03 – 2724 8949
Azlan Abdul Aziz at [email protected]/ or 60126140522
www.mediaprima.com.my/http://twitter.com/MPBtalk