Farrah Naz to replace Lokman as NST's group editor

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 13): The New Straits Times Press Bhd (NSTP) has assigned Farrah Naz Karim as group editor of its English daily New Straits Times (NST), effective from Sept 15.

The Media Prima Bhd subsidiary said in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 13) that Farrah Naz's appointment is in line with NSTP's strategy to further enhance its content offering.

"Her extensive experience in print journalism combined with her experience in television would be invaluable as Media Prima moves forward in consolidating its news operations across its media platforms," NSTP said.

According to the company, Farrah Naz has served at NSTP in various capacities since 2000 including as executive editor. Most recently, she was attached to Media Prima Television Networks as an executive producer for current affairs programmes.

Group managing editor Mustapha Kamil Mohd Janor said that NSTP will continue to implement changes which include changes in stewardship in the newsroom, primarily to keep up with rapid advances and increasing competition in the media industry.

"As a group, we have made significant progress in this as evident in Media Prima's financial performance in the last two years," he said.

"NST's sister publications, Berita Harian and Harian Metro, are currently leading the digital audience share in Malaysia and NSTP hopes to grow NST to the same level."

He added that NST has in recent years strived to operate independently of any outsider influencers including political influence.

"As a member of a public-listed company, the group is governed by strict corporate governance and transparency, and an able board of directors," Mustapha Kamil said.

Prior to the announcement for the appointment of Farrah Naz, news portal The Vibes reported that NST's group editor Ahmad Lokman Mansor would be removed from his post, "due to alleged interference by Umno bigwigs, namely former second finance minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani and Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh".

The portal said the move to replace Lokman was allegedly mooted by Rauf, who is also a Melaka executive council member. He had purportedly spoken to Johari, who is said to be the second-largest shareholder of Media Prima.

Quoting sources, the portal said that NST under Lokman had not played its role in protecting Umno's interest and allowed NST to become the party's mouthpiece.

On Tuesday, Media Prima's stock closed unchanged at 45.5 sen, translating into a market capitalisation of RM504.7 million.

For the full financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY21), Media Prima returned to the black by posting a net profit of RM55.23 million against a net loss of RM18.38 million in the prior year. Revenue increased 7.55% to RM1.12 billion from RM1.04 billion.

For the cumulative first six months of FY22, Media Prima's net profit rose 17.06% to RM21.85 million from RM18.66 million in the same period in the previous year — although revenue fell 7.12% to RM508.05 million from RM546.98 million — owing to lower operating expenses and other depreciation, as well as stronger other operating income.