By NATASHA JEE and FENNY SILONG
KUCHING: City folk are excited to know that there is a new Malay language tabloid newspaper Suara Sarawak.
The paper, which hit the street yesterday, had already seen people buying it either for a good read or out of curiosity.
New Sarawak Tribune walked the city’s streets yesterday and spotted people curiously flipping and reading through the newspaper.
Forty-four-year old Mail said he was excited and hoped the tabloid could report on a fair and balance news.
“It is hoped the voice of the people, people like us, can be heard through the newspaper, and the government would know what our wants and needs are,” he said.
Johari, 76, hoped Suara Sarawak would also report on rural development.
“Kuching is a big city; many events have been reported both in the papers and online, unlike rural areas where there is less coverage. My hope is more will be covered in the rural areas so that the people would know those development projects done by the government,” he pointed out.
With the encouraging reception to its inaugural issue, the 56-page Malay tabloid with its slogan “Bukan Sekadar Berita”, literally translated “Not Just News”, will certainly go a long way in carving a name for itself in satisfying the demand of newspaper readers.
Mohammad Musa, 35, said news published by Suara Sarawak were interesting and ones that involved local issues.
“Packed with news and with its small (tabloid) size, it is also convenient to bring this newspaper when on the move.
“It terms of price it is also very reasonable,” he added when approached for comments yesterday.
Mohammad added, “Overall, the news content of Suara Sarawak is in tune with the expectations of today’s readers.”
Suara Sarawak is retailed at RM1 per copy.
Another reader, Jhonatan Jeluing, 25, also echoed Muhammad’s comments, sayingthe news content of Suara Sarawak are not only interesting read, but up-to-date and covered a wide section of readership.
“The news content caters for the need of everyone, encompassing politics, sports, national and world news and also entertainment.
“With all these qualities, I am quite confident that Suara Sarawak would be able to have its own niche readership in no time,” he added.
For Dorryna Law Chai Ha, 25, Suara Sarawak was quite creative in playing with the photographs in enhancing the news content.
‘With the impressive selection of photographs, readers will have a better grasp of the news,” she added.
Law was particularly also impressed with the entertainment section of Suara Sarawak which had a good mix of news both local ones and foreign.
The tabloid paper consists of 56 pages of local issues in Sarawak, business, entertainment, sports and global news. It also has an Iban section.
The newspaper is distributed throughout Sarawak, covering Kuching, Sibu and Miri, and their outlaying areas and suburbs.