Kota Kinabalu: Daily Express won the main journalism prize at the 2022 Kinabalu Shell Press awards for the third consecutive year on Sunday night.
Sherell Ann Jeffrey’s series on cybercrime was adjudged to be the best. She previously won in 2018 and 2022 for her reporting on the mobile court and on HIV. The awards presentation was suspended in the intervening years due to the Covid pandemic.
The paper also continued to dominate on environmental reporting when veteran Special Writer Kan Yau Chong clinched the English environmental jounalism award with a piece on the Sugud flood that for the first time saw devastating mudflows blamed on hill cutting, alleged unsupervised rubber planting in the Penampang hills and the Pan Borneo Highway construction.
A team effort by Sherell, David Thien, Zulhayati Dzulkifli, Larry Ralon and Oswald Supi on the controversial Nature Conservation Agreement (NCA) that has since been referred to the court, also received a merit award in the Reporting category.
Harian Ekspres’s Siti Kazalinah Kamaludin was the winner for the Bahasa Malaysia entertainment, culture and arts reporting award with her series on recognition for Sabah filmmakers and Sandakan reporter Mardinah Jikur for a story on Khai Arba’s pilgrimage in the same category.
Sister paper Overseas Chinese Daily News chief reporter Bong Tze Pin bagged two reporting awards with his articles on Covid-19 counter measures and recycling while Gravin Wong Chian Kyun clinched the entertainment award with her Sabah male cultural pageantry work.
Gravin also received a merit in sports journalism for her feature on a Sabahan woman bodybuilder and Bong on the damages by six major floods in 2021.
Representing Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor at the event at the Grand Ballroom Pacific Sutera was State Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.
Hajiji said the State Government always recognised the role of mainstream media as an important partner in spreading news on policies and development.
“Good journalism plays an important role in society. Therefore, it is very important that the information shared with the public is authentic.
“You are able to influence people’s thinking through reports, changing their views and even the social and political landscape of a country. Thus, journalists need to report intelligently, responsibly and professionally,” he said.
This year’s awards were themed “Forward in the Digital Age”, symbolic of the earnestness of media practitioners in channelling fast and accurate news in the digital world.
“With an overabundance of information at the fingertips, the community has a responsibility in finding the right information.
“In this regard, media practitioners are pillars that support this responsibility,” he said.
Hajiji said news about initiatives and policies by the State Government through the Sabah Maju Jaya Development Plan has become easy to find either through mass or electronic media.
“All this is a blessing from your efforts to spread the news to the public. The state government is always committed to making the state’s development agenda a success.
“The direction of Sabah Maju Jaya is our commitment to develop the state for the sake the people. Therefore, we want the media to continue its role in reporting the government’s development agendas,” he said.
Hajiji hoped that modernisation would not contradict the basic principles of news writing of facts and the need to be fair.
“I believe that no matter how advanced the technology used, journalism both in print media, electronic or news portals, ethics as well your responsibility as a journalist will never change.
“We are on the verge of welcoming 2023. The year 2022 that we will leave has brought many successes that were broadcast to all media in this state.
“I hope this good effort will continue. Well done to media practitioners who have become catalysts for the development of this state. The government really appreciates it,” he said.
He said the Kinabalu Journalism Award is a platform to recognise the contribution of journalists. “I congratulate the winners. It is a high recognition for media practitioners.
Also present were Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment and former President of the Sabah Journalists Association (SJA), Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, and SJA President, Datuk Muguntan Vanar.
SJA President Datuk Munguntan Vanar in his speech thanked sponsors, Petronas, Shell, Qhazanah and Sawit Kinabalu.
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