History

1957

» On July 1, the inaugural issue of Berita Harian, first romanised Malay morning newspaper was published. Initially, it reflected the contents of Straits Times and was priced at 15 sen with only 8 staff operating the paper.

1958

» In April, Abdul Samad Ismail was appointed Editor.

1960

» On July 10, Berita Minggu first romanised Malay Sunday newspaper was launched.

1966

» On Jan 1, Berita Harian introduced a new masthead.

1968

» Cartoonist Lat started contributing "Keluarga Si Mamat" cartoon series in Berita Minggu.

1972

» Abdul Wahab Zain was appointed Editor.

1974

» Two pages of Berita Harian were added to make it a total of 12 pages - the contents focused on trade and business, notes on photography, advice for students in exams, more pages on entertainment, foreign news & articles and general features.

1975

» On July 1, Berita Harian price was increased to 25 sen.

1976

» Abdul Samad Said was appointed Editor.

1978

» Salim Kajai was appointed Editor.

1979

» On November 29, Edisi Bandar Berita Harian was launched.

1981

» Berita Harian was revamped with new colour masthead, new sections and greater emphasis on entertainment features. Priced at 35 sen.

1983

» Berita Harian price was increased to 45 sen.

» Adibah Amin was appointed Editor.

1984

» In February, Ahmad Sebi Abu Bakar became Group Editor.

1985

» On June 19, Berita Harian and Berita Minggu were incorporated under a subsidiary, Berita Harian Sdn Bhd.

» On October 20, Akhbar Dalam Darjah (ADD) was launched.

1986

» In April, Abdul Kadir Jasin became Group Editor.

1987

» In May, Berita Harian won "The Run For Money Kodak Newspaper Colour Reproduction" contest in the "large offset" category.

» In December, Anugerah Bintang Popular was launched.

1988

»On April 8, Ahmad Nazri Abdullah became Group Editor.

1989

» Berita Harian won a world award for "The Run For Money Kodak Newspaper Colour Reproduction" contest.

» On August 8, Jaguh - a special 16-page tabloid pullout on Sports was introduced.

1991

» On December 2, new format of Berita Harian with the tag line "Sumber Ilmu dan Maklumat Mutakhir" was launched.

1992

» On June 1, special daily supplements were added : Berita Pelajar, Berita Wanita, Berita Teknologi, Jaguh, Perspektif and Dunia.

1993

» On May 5, Komputer was published as a sub-section in Teknologi section.

» Launch of Minda Pelajar on the 4th of December. 50,000 issues were printed weekly at 70 sen per issue.

1994

» On January 5, Komputer was launched as a separate pullout.

» On August 11, launch of a new image of Berita Komputer.

» The first issue of Didik, a weekly education tabloid, was published on December 19. It was officially launched on January 23,1995.Didik’s cover price was 70 sen.

1995

» On January 2, Regional page in Section 2 was abolished. Masthead for Section 3 was changed.The main section of the paper focused on national news, foreign and business.

» On February 23, Citra a weekly newspaper was introduced. It carried the tagline "Bicara Wanita Kontemporari". It was sold at RM1.00. The last issue of Citra pullout was published on January 31, 2000.

1996

» On October 4, Joran pullout was launched.

1997

» Berita Harian celebrated its 40th anniversary.

» In October, the first Grand Slam Joran annual event was introduced. The event was the finale of the Grand Prix Joran series of Malaysia's popular angling competition.

1998

» On July 19, Ahmad Rejal Arbee was appointed Group Editor Berita Harian.

» In November, a new price for Berita Harian (RM 1.20) was announced. Persada Seni was moved into Section 3. Other segments included in Section 3 were Wanita, Sastera & Budaya and Iklaneka.

2000

» In June, the new look Berita Harian and Berita Minggu were launched, incorporating new mastheads and layout design as well as improved content with more space for news, features and analysis.

2001

» Berita Harian's weekly education tabloid, Didik was incorporated into Berita Harian as a free pullout beginning issue dated 6-12 February.

» Berita Harian's weekly education tabloid, Minda Pelajar was incorporated into Berita Harian as a free pullout beginning issue dated 5-11 February.

» On April 26, Berita Harian's third education tabloid, SKOR was launched. SKOR aimed to guide secondary students in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, was distributed free with Berita Harian.

» In August, Berita Sawit was launched as a monthly news pullout in the Berita Harian. The pullout's first issue was on 4th of August and it was made available on the first Saturday of every month.

2002

» On March 11, Berita Harian was published in 2 sections only. Wanita & Keluarga and Persada Seni merged in Section 2.

» On May 1, Joran (Fishing) Unit of Berita Harian organized the Joran-Labuan International Fishing Challenge 2002 over four days at Pulau Layang-Layang to coincide with the Labuan International Sea Challenge 2002.

2003

» On Jan 6, a new look Berita Harian was launched. The revamp was to make Berita Harian more reader-friendly, and with content to attract younger readers.

» From March 20 to March 26, Berita Harian produced War Edition for distribution and sales in the Central, Southern and Northern regions. The 12-pages broadsheet War Edition was sold at RM 1.00 per copy.

» On May 30, Berita Harian first published YIFI pages in broadsheet size, published every Friday, Saturday, Sunday (in Berita Minggu) and Monday.

» On June 3, the latest educational product, called YIFI (Year 1 Form 1) from Berita Harian was launched by Director-General of Education, Datuk Abdul Rafie Mahat at the Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station.

» On July 18, Hishamuddin Aun was appointed Group Editor, BHSB.

» On August 9, Lembaga Minyak Sawit Malaysia (MPOB) and Berita Harian signed an agreement for the new pullout (8 - 10 pages) Berita Sawit for one year.

»On September 15, Klik DBP, bi-monthly pullout was first published to promote proper usage of the National Language now available in Berita Harian.

» On Sept 22, BH-YIFI became a tabloid-sized pullout and came free with Berita Harian every Monday.

» On Oct 4, Berita Harian launched a new pullout IKON targeted at youth. The pullout is inserted in Berita Harian free every Saturday.

» On November 5, first issue of SKOR & MINDA PELAJAR (19-25 November), a weekly education tabloid was published.

» On November 6, EpG (Emas, Gangsa dan Perak) was launched in place of Jaguh, Berita Harian sports pullout.

» On December 18, Karim Sulaiman, Head of Berita Harian Special Unit bagged the Kajai Award, the country’s highest honour for journalism at the Malaysian Press Institute 2001 awards ceremony.

2004

» On January 13, average daily circulation figure of Berita Harian reached 238,000 copies.

» On January 26, Berita Harian introduced Page 1 for Edisi Wilayah, Tengah, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Sabah-Sarawak, Timur, Utara and Selatan. Each region will have its own front-page story daily.

» On February 12, Malaysia Super League (MSL) came in tabloid size for every first Thursday of the month.

» On February 18, for the first time in history, Berita Harian signage was placed at Pustaka Kelang outlet and Pasar Mini AA outlet in Shah Alam, Selangor during sales blitz activities.

» On February 21, Brand’s-BH pre-examination workshop kicked start its nationwide campaign called “In pursuit of Excellence” at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Taman SEA in Petaling Jaya.

» On February 25, Berita Harian Sdn Bhd launched its yearly publication, the UPSR 2004 exercise workbooks. The exercise workbooks comprising Bahasa Melayu (writing), Bahasa Melayu (Comprehension), English Language, Mathematics and Science, are published to help UPSR candidates excel in their examinations.

» On March 2, Parliament Secretary, Datuk Mahathir Mohd.Khir, launched UPSR Examinations Book.

» On April 5, Berita Harian started “Hello YB” column on the front page of its regional edition.

» On April 19, Klik DBP, a joint publication of Berita Harian and Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka (DBP)(first published on September 15, 2004), was officially launched at Balai Berita by DBP Director-General Datuk A. Aziz Deraman. The bi-monthly publication is a free pullout of Berita Harian to promote proper usage of the National Language.

» On August 23, a new look of Berita Harian’s Edisi Tengah called Sentral was launched.

» On October 11, Berita Harian won the prestigious Kajai Award when its journalists Mohd Yusof Sulaiman and Khairul Anwar Rahman won the Kajai award for their report on bureaucracy in land offices in Malaysia.

» On November 29, Y1F1 ceased to be published.

2005

» On January 1, the cover price of Berita Harian was increased to RM1.50. In Sabah and Sarawak, the newspaper was sold at RM2.00.

» On March 4, University College of Technology and Management Malaysia (KUTPM), PTPL and Berita Harian jointly launched the SKOR-KUTPM-PTPL Education Scholarship. The scholarships would assist needy students further their tertiary education at KUTPM or PTPL.

» On June 14, The Berita Harian pullout - Klik DBP - is now available on the Internet. The joint publication of Berita Harian and Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, into its third year, is distributed with the Berita Harian once a month.

» On June 14, Berita Harian won the 2005 Samad Idris Trophy for quality reporting on films by the print media last year. The entry was submitted by its entertainment assistant editor, Akmal Abdullah. Akmal, who was a winner in 2001 and a runner-up in 2002, won this time through his article titled “Prasarana pawagam perlu ditingkatkan lagi” (Theatre infrastructure needs upgrading).

» On June 20, the new look of Berita Harian was unveiled. It was redesigned for the young and dynamic who want easy-to-read news while on the go. Berita Harian, in its new look, helps readers navigate through pages easily with a hierarchy of headings and text. Quotes, quick notes and numerical facts are also inserted to enhance the news items. The revamp also saw changes in the BH masthead as well as its pullouts. Other changes included renaming Persada Seni as Hip and replacing Wanita & Keluarga with Citra.

» On June 23, Kolej SAL Group in association with Berita Harian Sdn Bhd (BHSB), launch scholarship value at RM500,000 for students for nine programmes offered by the college. The scholarship is open to Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) school leavers and international students with equal qualification.

» On July 7, in association with the Kedah State Education Department and Berita Harian, the University College of Technology & Management Malaysia (KUTPM) launched an essay-writing competition.The competition was open to all Form Five and Six secondary school students in Kedah – Kota Star, Pendang and Padang Terap, and Kuala Muda Yan.

» On July 20, Berita Harian Sdn Bhd Deputy Group Editor Manja Ismail received the Darjah Setia Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Terengganu (SMZ) which carries the title Dato’.

» On December 21, GP Joran Carnival 2006 series was launched by New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd acting group editor-in-chief Datuk Hishamuddin Aun. It is organised by Joran - a unit of Berita Harian.

2006

» On April 1, Berita Harian deputy group editor Datuk Manja Ismail has been appointed the paper’s group editor and director of Malay publications. He takes over from Datuk Hishamuddin Aun who was appointed New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd group editor-in-chief on Jan 1.

» On March 29, Ministry of Youth and Sports with the co-operation of Berita Harian’s pullout, I-kon introduced the Anugerah Belia Remaja I-Kon 2006 in conjunction with the celebration of National Youth Day on 15 May.

» On April 1, Berita Harian deputy group editor Datuk Manja Ismail has been appointed the paper’s group editor and director of Malay publications. He takes over from Datuk Hishamuddin Aun who was appointed New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd group editor-in-chief on Jan 1.

» On April 10, Berita Harian readers can now share their personal comments about current issues, provide relevant information to the newspaper or even download their favourite news articles via mobile phone. By registering with RakanBH, an interactive community service by the newspaper, readers can send or receive news with their cell phone.

» On August 5, Berita Harian’s Women’s Unit together with R&R Crafts organised a half-day program “Bengkel Kraf Citra” which was opened to those who are interested in learning handicraft skills.

» On 26 August, New pullout with Berita Harian every Saturday – K & M (Kereta & Motosikal).

» On September 16, Berita Harian’s Women’s Unit with the cooperation of Lam Soon Edibles Oils Sdn Bhd (manufacturer of Fruitale bath soap) organised a craft workshop called Bengkel Kraf Sabun Citra.

» On 24 December, Berita Harian via its Education Unit launched ‘Program Pendidikan Berita Harian 2007’ at National Museum, Kuala Lumpur.

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