Brunei Times closes down on Monday

PETALING JAYA: Brunei's second largest English-language newspaper, The Brunei Times, ceased publication on Monday after 10 years in business.

On the front page of its last edition, it said: "This is due to business issues, reporting and journalistic standards that should meet the mark set, and also issues relating to business sustainability, especially in the face of considerable challenges from the alternative media."

The Asia News Network member added that it "no longer has sustainable resources to continue its media and publication operations and the company's Board of Directors has agreed that the best course of action is to close down the paper." 

Annie Bandial, a Brunei based journalist said on Twitter that the website will go dark on Monday night, and that the paper's archives will no longer be publicly available.

The Brunei Times is second in daily circulation with 10,000 copies, second only to the more established Borneo Bulletin.

The closure is likely to result in a loss of up to 130 jobs.