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A RESPECTED veteran journalist and former executive editor at a leading news daily, Joshua Purushotman, has passed away at the age of 66, following a fatal heart attack, his family and authorities confirmed.
The news was confirmed by his brother, fellow journalist G. Umakanthan, who was notified by the Gombak police early on Thursday morning.
Purushotman’s body was discovered in the driver’s seat of a parked vehicle in Selayang.
A post-mortem examination determined that he had suffered a heart attack, believed to have occurred on April 7.
The Gombak police have classified the case as a sudden death.
Gombak police chief Assistant Commissioner Noor Ariffin Mohamad Nasir confirmed that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.
Earlier, images and video clips circulated on social media showing Purushotman slumped in the driver’s seat of a Mercedes-Benz.
Purushotman began his journalism career at theSun in 1995, playing a pivotal role in establishing the newspaper’s Johor bureau, where he worked as a staff correspondent for several years.
Former colleagues highlighted his influence in the newsroom, noting that Purushotman broke several major stories on water issues in Johor and was among the first journalists with the newspaper to secure front-page leads for five consecutive days.
His career spanned multiple publications, including the New Straits Times, Singapore’s Today, The Heat, and Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Post, before returning to the daily in 2021.
Beyond reporting, he contributed his expertise to the public relations sector and worked with the National Kidney Foundation.
Funeral services will be held at Fook Yee Memorial Centre in Petaling Jaya on April 11 at 9am.
Colleagues and friends remember Purushotman as a tenacious reporter whose work left a lasting mark on Malaysian journalism. - April 9, 2026
