Harian Metro, Malaysia's first Malay daily afternoon tabloid in Klang Valley and morning tabloid in other part of Malaysia was established on 25 March 1991. It is now Malaysia's largest circulating newspaper in any language. The change in the demographics of urbanites resulted in a growing audience of young people who were looking for entertainment, shopping news, lifestyle features and current news. Harian Metro met those needs in exciting editorial presentations. On 17 July 2006, not content to rest on its laurels, the newspaper underwent a layout revamp to remain fresh and relevant for its readers. New vibrant pullouts were introduced such as “Rap” and “Variasi”, and this complemented the main paper further. On 11 April 2009, Harian Metro increased the cover price with introduction of its new exciting pullouts such as “GIGS” and “EKSTRA”. Harian Metro's meteoric rise has steadily gained momentum over the past few years. For 2011, Harian Metro maintained for the fifth year running as the No. 1 daily Bahasa Melayu newspaper as declared by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. However, it have lost the status to its rival, Mingguan Malaysia since 2nd quarter 2013, largely due to increasing usage and availability of news sources on Internet. The continuous changes have since been well received by its readers, consolidating further the tabloid's position as the leading Bahasa Melayu newspaper.
History
1991
On 26 March, Harian Metro, the country's first afternoon Bahasa newspaper was launched. The price was RM0.50.
Mior Kamarul Shahid was appointed the first News Editor.
On 26 June, Harian Metro first revamped.
1992
Ahmad Puah Onah was appointed Editor.
On 25 March, the southern edition of Harian Metro was launched in Johor Bahru.
1994
On 1 April, Zian Johari was appointed Editor.
On 16 May, Harian Metro Edisi Timur was launched.
On 1 August, Harian Metro Edisi Utara was launched.
On 26 March, Harian Metro celebrated its 10th Anniversary
2003
Metro Ahad achieved 1, 068, 000 readers for the fourth quarter of 2003.
2004
On 27 January, new official web page for Harian Metro & Metro Ahad was launched at Balai Berita, Kuala Lumpur.
On 1 June, Berita Harian Sdn Bhd appointed Hafifi Hafidz as the new Executive Editor of Harian Metro and Metro Ahad, replacing Zian Johari, who was appointed Executive Editor of Berita Minggu.
On 27 July, Harian Metro launched its weekly column called “Liku-liku Niaga”. The column publishes every Tuesday in Harian Metro's Business section.
On 23 August, a new pullout of Harian Metro called Bintang and Variasi Metro was launched.
2005
On 1 January, the cover price of Harian Metro was increased to RM1.20. In Sabah and Sarawak, Harian Metro was sold at RM2.00 each and the cover price of Metro Ahad was increased to RM1.50. In Sabah and Sarawak, the newspaper was sold at RM2.00.
2006
On 6 June, i-Metro, an interactive portal providing readers a chance to be the eyes and ears of their community was launched.
On 15 July, Harian Metro launched its new look with more stylish, colourful and reader-friendly layout. New sections focusing on celebrities, lifestyle, health and fashion have been added. Among the changes made are introducing new mastheads for Harian Metro and Metro Ahad, replacing Metro Ahad's Meta with Ekspresi and renaming Harian Metro's Bintang to Rentak Artis Popular and V-Met to Variasi.
On 1 March, Abdul Ghafar Ismail was appointed Executive Editor Harian Metro/Metro Ahad.
2009
On 12 April, Metro Ahad launched a new pullout “GIGS – Gema Informasi Generasi Semasa”. The pullout is inserted in Metro Ahad every Sunday.
On 13 April, the cover price of Harian Metro was increased to RM1.50. In Sabah and Sarawak, the newspaper was sold at RM2.30. RAP and Variasi pullout introduced new masthead.
On 1 July, Abdul Ghafar Ismail was re-designated as Deputy Group Editor, Harian Metro.
On 17 August, Datuk Mustapa Omar was appointed Group Editor, Harian Metro.
On 9 October, Harian Metro launched a new pullout AYU.
2010
On 3 May, Harian Metro was made available in Sabah and Sarawak.
On 23 May, Harian Metro's Sarawak and Sabah edition was officially launched in Kuching. The 64-page Sarawak and Sabah edition is priced at RM1.50 each, providing readers with various interesting stories from sports, education, community to special features.
