KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — Malay daily Utusan Malaysia is set to restart its operations in early 2020 after its surprise shut down, Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Redzuan Yusof said yesterday.

New Straits Times reported Redzuan explaining to voters of the Tanjung Piai by-election that the relaunched daily will then help to disseminate information on the current government’s initiatives and policies.

"Utusan is still around. It will be re-launched, God willing, around the New Year.

"[Utusan] will help disseminate information on the [government’s] policy implementation, some of which have been done and some are being carried out right now,” he said during an event in Pontian, Johor.

Utusan Malaysia was forced to close its doors after 80 years on October 9, after facing many years of financial crisis which even led to its workers protest it over unpaid wages.

Utusan Malaysia began operating before Malaysia’s independence in 1939.

It was first published as Utusan Melayu, using the Jawi medium, before the current Romanised version began publication on September 1, 1967.

As of December 2018, approximately 800 employees had accepted the voluntary separation scheme. However, their payments were also delayed.

The Utusan Group, which publishes Utusan Malaysia and Kosmo!, is currently on PN17 status on the Malaysian Stock Exchange after failing to pay an outstanding debt of nearly RM1.2 million to two banks.