‘The Brunei Times’ closes down after 10 years

PETALING JAYA: After 10 years in the print business, The Brunei Times ceased publication yesterday, leaving its 130 staff without a job.

The country’s second largest English newspaper posted this on the front page of its last edition: “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.”

A member of the Asia News Network, it 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 posted on Twitter that the website will go dark effective yesterday, and that the paper’s archives would no longer be available in public domain.

The Brunei Times is second in daily circulation with 10,000 copies after the Borneo Bulletin.

The newspaper, which was launched on July 1, 2006, is owned by Brunei Times PLC.