WAHAB AZIZ, FROM NEWSPAPER WRITER TO EDITOR

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- The presence of an elderly man sitting alone at the Raya Sama-Sama event to celebrate artists and media practitioners here yesterday caught the attention of guests.

Neatly arranged on his desk were about seven press accreditation cards, staff passes, and media personnel passes from several agencies, some of which no longer exist like Mingguan Perdana, Watan and Harian Nasional, leading one to realise that this individual was not an ordinary person.

The man also caught the attention of Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, who attended the programme's launch and sat at the same table with Abdul Wahab Abdul Aziz, 80 -- who last served as an editor at Harian Metro in 2013.

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"I saw the list of cards brought by Abdul Wahab, there was a press card, which we now call a media pass. That is a ‘power’ card of a journalist, as the person has to show his press card to attend an assignment, however, today it is very different.

"Many media companies that once printed hundreds of thousands of newspapers every day are now witnessing a significant decline in circulation and print runs," said Fahmi, while officiating the 'Program Raya Sama-sama', organised by the Ministry of Communications in collaboration with the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS) and Bernama (Malaysian National News Agency).

Abdul Wahab's career in journalism began in 1965 at the Utusan Melayu factory in Jalan Chan Sow Lin when he was 20 years old, where he worked as a newspaper compositor for 15 years.

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At that time, he said the situation in the printing plant was very different, with them being overwhelmed by organising hundreds of thousands of printed newspapers before distributing them to sales representatives, a situation that is far removed now.

However, there was a "plot twist" in his career when he was 'forced' in the 1980s to become a journalist at the company by Utusan Melayu chief editor Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin, but it did not last, as his interest was more directed towards editing.

The father of 11 children said that after three years of serving at Utusan Melayu as a journalist and editor, he then received various job offers that allowed him to work at newspapers such as Harian Nasional, Mingguan Perdana, Watan and Berita Harian.

"I received many offers as an editor and other assignments because I work with the principle of 'diligent and addicted'." Sometimes I helped with other people's work too, so from there I learned a lot of things that helped me advance quickly.

"I also held many positions as a journalist...such as editor, chief graphic layout artist, and factory manager in 1984 while working at Harian Nasional. I can work in any part of a newspaper," he said.

After completing his service at Berita Harian in 2000, he was subsequently offered a position as an editor at Harian Metro until 2013 before fully retiring from journalism.

He said that although the technological boom has caused newspapers to be increasingly overlooked, those working in the industry should not give up and should seek more opportunities and new initiatives in delivering news to the public based on journalistic ethics.

"Working as a journalist requires perseverance, we have to obtain information before the public knows it," he said.

Abdul Wahab, representing 26 media practitioners who received assistance at the event through the Tabung Kasih@HAWANA, in addition to shopping vouchers and Hari Raya clothing, also expressed his heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for the contribution.

"This assistance is very helpful in alleviating the burden ahead of Hari Raya Aidilfitri. This noble effort demonstrates the government's commitment to helping alleviate the burden of media practitioners in need," he added.

-- BERNAMA