TMI editor and chief executive officer Jahabar Sadiq cited low website traffic as the reason behind the decision, adding that the portal would review its direction, news operations and commercial viability.

“The decision to suspend publication in the interim is a difficult one, but was made due to the challenging financial environment faced by The Malaysian Insight and other media outlets,” he said, before thanking the readers and staff who had started working there since March 31 last year.

Jahabar was also the editor and chief executive officer of The Malaysian Insider, which was shut down by its owner, The Edge Media Group, in March 2016 for “commercial reasons”.