# Harian Metro

Harian Metro is a Malaysian Malay language daily newspaper published by the New Straits Times Press. It was established in March 1991 as Malaysia's first Malay-language afternoon tabloid in the Klang Valley, contrasting with the morning tabloids prevalent in other parts of the country. Harian Metro holds the distinction of being the first and oldest Malay-language tabloid and is currently the highest-circulating newspaper in Malaysia across all languages.
In response to the changing demographics of urban readers, the paper shifted its focus to cater to a younger audience interested in entertainment, shopping, lifestyle features, and current news.
On 17 July 2006, Harian Metro underwent a layout redesign to stay relevant and appealing to its readers. This update introduced new sections, including "Rap" and "Variasi." Later, on 11 April 2009, the newspaper further expanded its content with additional pullouts such as "GIGS" and "EKSTRA," alongside an increase in its cover price.
In 2011, Harian Metro remained the No. 1 daily Bahasa Melayu newspaper for the fifth time as declared by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. However, it later lost the status to its rival, Mingguan Malaysia [ms], in the second quarter of 2013, largely due to increased access and availability of internet news sources and subsequent growth in their audience.

## History
### 1990s

On 26 March 1991, Harian Metro, Malaysia's first afternoon Bahasa newspaper, was launched. The price per copy was RM0.50. The first news editor appointed was Mior Kamarul Shahid. On 26 June 1991, Harian Metro underwent its first revamping. The following year, in 1992, Ahmad Puad Onah was appointed as editor. On 25 March 1992, the southern edition of Harian Metro was launched in Johor Bahru. Two years later, on 1 April 1994, Zian Johari was appointed as editor. In that same year, Harian Metro Edisi Timur was launched on 16 May, and Harian Metro Edisi Utara was launched on 1 August. A year later, on 29 August 1995, Metro Ahad was launched.

### 2000s

On 17 July 2000, Harian Metro was revamped with a new tagline, "Kini, Sini, Terkini". Nearly a week later, on 23 July, Metro Ahad also underwent a revamp. On 26 March 2001, Harian Metro celebrated its tenth anniversary. Two years later, in the fourth quarter of 2003, Metro Ahad reached 1,068,000 readers.
On 27 January 2004, new official websites for Harian Metro and Metro Ahad were launched at Balai Berita in Kuala Lumpur. On 1 June 2004, Berita Harian Sdn. Bhd. appointed Hafifi Hafidz as the new executive editor of Harian Metro and Metro Ahad, replacing Zian Johari, who became the executive editor of Berita Minggu.
On 27 July 2004, Harian Metro launched a weekly column titled "Liku-liku Niaga", which was published every Tuesday in the newspaper's business section. On 23 August 2004, a new pullout section of Harian Metro, titled "Bintang and Variasi Metro" (V-Met), was launched.
On 1 January 2005, the cover price of Harian Metro increased to RM1.20 while the cover price of Metro Ahad rose to RM1.50. In Sabah and Sarawak, both Harian Metro and Metro Ahad were sold for RM2.00 per copy. The next year, on 6 June 2006, i-Metro, an interactive portal that allowed readers the opportunity to be the eyes and ears of their community was launched. A month later, on 15 July, Harian Metro redesigned its layout to appear more stylish, colourful, and reader-friendly. It also included new sections focusing on topics surrounding celebrities, lifestyle, health, and fashion. Among the changes made were new nameplates for Harian Metro and Metro Ahad, replacing Metro Ahad's 'Meta' with 'Ekspresi' and renaming Harian Metro's 'Bintang' to 'Rentak Artis Popular' (RAP) and 'V-Met' to 'Variasi'. The next day, on 16 July, Metro Ahad underwent a revamping.
On 1 March 2008, Abdul Ghafar Ismail was appointed as executive editor of Harian Metro and Metro Ahad. The following year, on 12 April 2009, Metro Ahad launched a new pullout titled 'GIGS - Gema Informasi Generasi Semasa'. This pullout was inserted into Metro Ahad every Sunday. On 13 April 2009, the cover price of Harian Metro increased to RM1.50, with the newspaper being sold for RM2.30 in Sabah and Sarawak. The 'RAP' and 'Variasi' pullouts also introduced new nameplates. On 1 July 2009, Abdul Ghafar Ismail was re-designated as Deputy Group Editor of Harian Metro. A month later, on 17 August, Datuk Mustapa Omar was appointed as Group Editor of Harian Metro. On 9 October 2009, Harian Metro launched a new pullout titled 'AYU'.

### 2010s

On 3 May 2010, Harian Metro became available in Sabah and Sarawak. In the same month, on 23 May, Harian Metro's Sabah and Sarawak edition was officially launched in Kuching. The 64-page Sabah and Sarawak edition was priced at RM1.50 each and provided readers with news coverage surrounding topics in sports, education, and community happenings. On 7 January 2013, Harian Metro's weekday entertainment pullout, 'Rentak Artis Popular' was shortened to 'RAP'. In October 2019, Harian Metro underwent another revamping, with its weekend entertainment section, 'Bling' being renamed to 'RapXtra'.