Tamil Murasu donned a new look, including a new masthead, more colour pages and pictures, increased pagination, more local content as well as coverage of South Asia.
Sections such as the cinema news will be beefed up, while regular columns on lifestyle, technology and health will be added. Young readers can look forward to more pages in the student tabloid, Maanavar Murasu, which is distributed as part of the main paper every Monday.
Murugaian Nirmala, editor of Tamil Murasu, said, “Not many people know that Singapore's Tamil Murasu is one of the oldest Tamil newspapers in the world. Tamil Murasu has come a long way in establishing itself as a trusted source of information for our readers. We will continue to build on this strength to engage our readers, as well as to preserve the Tamil language, especially among the younger generation.”
Tamil Murasu has established itself as the voice of the Tamil-speaking community in Singapore. The paper is also known for its coverage of Tamil Nadu news.
President S R Nathan was the guest of honour at the 'Tamils in nation building' concert, which featured a medley of yesteryear songs, exhilarating drum performances, traditional folk dances and fire displays. There was also a video which showcased the contributions of the Tamils and Tamil Murasu towards nation building. The video was produced by The Straits Times RazorTV.
The concert attracted about 1,600 people from all walks of life, including community leaders, junior college students, beneficiaries from voluntary welfare organisations and avid readers of Tamil Murasu.
President Nathan unveiled the new look for Tamil Murasu at the event.
Founded in 1935 by G Sarangapany, a Singaporean Indian business leader, the Tamil Murasu has grown from a circulation of about 200 copies in the founding years to its current average of 13,000 on weekdays and 20,000 on Sundays. It was bought by Singapore Press Holdings in 1996.