The Education Ministry has instructed schools, universities, colleges and other institutions under its purview to cease its subscription of Utusan Malaysia, an Umno-owned newspaper.

A memo on the matter was issued through Wan Saiful Wan Jan, the special adviser to Education Minister Maszlee Malik.

"For your information, the minister has requested that subscriptions for Utusan Malaysia by all divisions, agencies, schools, universities, college and institutions under the Education Ministry to cease immediately," said the memo.

The July 18 memo was directed to Education Ministry secretary-general Mohd Ghazali Abas.

When contacted, a ministry official confirmed the authenticity of the memo.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ministry is also looking at cancelling subscriptions for other newspapers.

"This is to cut cost as nowadays, the same news can be obtained online," he said.

Despite being a loss-making newspaper in recent years, Utusan has long enjoyed state support due to its affiliation with Umno.

However, the Umno-led BN was defeated in the 14th general election.

RELATED REPORTS

Utusan to meet Education Ministry over ditching move

No reason for Harapan gov't to 'fear' Utusan, says Umno MP

Ex-Utusan head lauds Education Ministry’s move to ditch Utusan

Maszlee: Utusan can be read online, we're saving money