Privatization
However, in June 1971, the company was taken over by Slater Walker, reducing the Aw family to minority shareholders.[10] At the same time, Aw Cheng Chye, the eldest son of the late Aw Boon Par, acquired Sin Poh (Star News) Amalgamated Limited from Haw Par Brothers International. He was also serving as the company's chairman at the time.[11] However, later that year, Aw Cheng Chye passed away in Santiago, Chile.[12]
In May 1971, Aw Kow, the eldest son of the late Aw Boon Haw, resigned as a director of Sin Poh (Star News) Amalgamated Limited and as the managing director of Sin Chew Jit Poh.[13][14][15] That same year, a scandal emerged when the Singapore government revealed that Eastern Sun , an English-language newspaper founded by Aw Kow in 1966, had received financial support from a Chinese intelligence service based in Hong Kong.[16] In response, Sin Poh (Star News) Amalgamated issued a press release in May 1971, stating that it had no connection with Eastern Sun.[13][17]
Although Star News itself was not affected, that year saw the closure of Eastern Sun, the arrest of the chairman of Nanyang Siang Pau Press, and other significant events concerning the press. Ironically, despite being accused of having ties to the People's Republic of China and posing a threat to Singapore's internal security, Aw Kow was never charged or imprisoned.[18][19]
After Aw Kow’s departure, Frank Wong was promoted to general manager of Sin Chew Jit Poh (Singapore) in December 1972.[20] The position was previously held by Aw Swan, the second son of the late Aw Boon Haw, from 25 June 1971[17] to around 1972.
Nevertheless, the Government of Singapore initiated another media reform in 1975 that affected Star News.
Dismantle
Following the enactment of the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act in 1974, the Singapore edition of Sin Chew Jit Poh came under the ownership of a newly incorporated company, Sin Chew Jit Poh (Singapore) Limited. From 1975 until its initial public offering in 1977,[2] the majority ownership—through both ordinary and management shares—was held by the Aw family (including the widow of Aw Cheng Chye and her son, Aw Toke Soon, as well as Aw It Haw , the fourth son of the late Aw Boon Haw), senior editors of Sin Chew Jit Poh (such as Frank Wong, Goh Seah Hiong and Lu Kuang Chi ) and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, Temasek.
Management shares functioned as a form of golden share, granting holders decisive voting power on resolutions related to the appointment or dismissal of directors or staff, while otherwise carrying the same voting rights as ordinary shares.[21] This structure rendered ordinary shares inferior in certain circumstances. Without a majority stake in management shares, ordinary shares, or board representation, the Aw family effectively lost its ability to use the newspaper as a tool for public influence.
By August 1978, only one member of the Aw family, Aw It Haw, remained on the board of directors.[22]
