KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 ― The publisher of the Upin & Ipin comic magazine has insisted that it was forthright with well-known cartoonist Ibrahim Anon about terminating his services.
Tunku Maziah Tunku Mukhtar, director of the publisher Nyla, also clarified that Ibrahim, popularly known as Ujang, was not on their payroll, but was instead paid a monthly retainer fee for his role as advisor and editor for the magazine adaptation of the popular animated television series for the past seven years.
“We were under the impression that this was an amicable parting.
“Considering that we have honoured our agreement for the past seven years despite minimal input on his part, it was disappointing to hear that Ujang took to Facebook with an unwarranted post after collecting the cheque for April’s fee on 5th May 2017,” Tunku Maziah said in a statement last night.
Ujang, an influential figure in the local comics industry, posted on Facebook last Friday about getting suddenly sacked last week through a text message.
Tunku Maziah said Nyla decided last February, with input from Les’ Copaque Production ― the creator of the Upin & Ipin cartoon show ― to restructure the comic magazine to boost sales.
“Ujang was not agreeable to the change but Nyla felt it was in the best interest of the comic magazine to go ahead,” she said.
She said with Les’ Copaque taking on an active role as advisor and editor for the magazine, Nyla had informed Ujang in February that his services would no longer be required in due course.
“We were also upfront in informing him that in view of the continually declining sales of the comic magazine, we had to look at trimming our operating costs. He seemed to acknowledge the fact that cessation, which we subsequently confirmed in mid-April, was inevitable,” said Tunku Maziah.
News portal Malaysiakini reported Les’ Copaque owner and managing director Burhanuddin Md Radzi as claiming that Nyla had fired Ujang within 24 hours, suggesting that the cartoonist could have been sacked for failing in his role as adviser.
