Journalist Laureate Award Goes to Journalism’s Unsung Hero

The MPI-PETRONAS Malaysian Journalism Award of “Tokoh Wartawan Negara” (Journalist Laureate) 2009 was awarded to Dato’ Liew Chen Chuan, the Group Managing Director and Group Editorial Director of Sin Chew Media Corporation, during an award ceremony held at the Sime Darby Convention Centre on 6 October 2010.

Hailed as “journalism’s unsung hero” by his peers, Dato’ Liew, or better known as “CC”, is the only journalist who has served under all six Prime Ministers of Malaysia. With nearly half a century at Sin Chew, he is at the pinnacle of his career as a professional journalist, rising from the ranks to become both Group Managing Director and Editorial Director of the newspaper.

Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) Datuk Chamil Wariya said, during the award ceremony’s welcoming speech, that the criteria for choosing a “Tokoh Wartawan Negara” is continuous excellence in writing and publishing; impact of his intellectual contribution to the community of readers of his publication; effectiveness, contribution and activities in his media organisation as well as other non-governmental media organisations; and leadership, prominence and assiduousness.

“Based on such criteria, not a lot of journalists could be considered for the ‘Tokoh Wartawan Negara’ award,” Datuk Chamil observed, implying that a highly accomplished journalist like Dato’ Liew is few and far between.

The MPI-PETRONAS Malaysian Journalism Award of “Tokoh Wartawan Negara” (Journalist Laureate) 2009 was presented to Dato’ Liew by guest of honour YB Datuk Wira Abu Seman Bin Yusop, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs.

Also present was En Mohammad Medan Abdullah, PETRONAS’ Senior General Manager of Corporate Services.

Speaking on behalf of Minister of Home Affairs YB Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Datuk Wira Abu Seman acknowledged the contributions of journalists and the instrumental role they play in nation building. He also reminded journalists to fight hatred, senseless conflict and prejudice. “Avoid putting forth baseless arguments, and encourage dialog and harmony. Do not become arrogant and prideful, insensitive, inaccurate, overly biased and overly sensational. Give priority to what is good for our nation,” he said.

Before ending his speech, Datuk Wira Abu Seman congratulated Dato’ Liew and assured the journalism community that the Ministry of Home Affairs remains committed to working strategically and closely with the media for the long term.

Interestingly, Dato’ Liew’s accomplishments were so remarkable that the panel of judges who assessed his candidacy for the “Tokoh Wartawan Negara” award need not comprise of anyone who could read or speak Chinese.

As Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin, Journalists Laureate for 2006 and Chairman of the Selection Panel asked rhetorically, “How could a panel of judges comprising people who are not native speakers of Mandarin or any Chinese dialect preside over the judging of a ‘Tokoh Wartawan Negara’ like CC?” After detailing Dato’ Liew’s extensive accomplishments, Tan Sri Zainuddin remarked, “CC Liew, the unsung hero in the realm of Chinese media publication, has all the qualities of a ‘Tokoh Wartawan Negara’.”

During his acceptance speech, Dato’ Liew said, “I am humbled by the great honour fellow journalists have bestowed upon me. I see it (the award) as recognition, not my personal efforts but, of the role of Sin Chew daily in journalism and nation building.”

He added, “As a daily newspaper, our primary function is to serve our readers. If we serve them well, we develop with them a relationship of mutual respect that is enduring and rewarding. If we don’t serve them well, well, they have plenty of alternatives – other newspapers, other media. I’ve always believed that with good views and sincerity, no problem is beyond solution. Having said that, we (Sin Chew), as a newspaper, are fully cognisant of the sensitivities of certain matters, especially those not enshrined in the (Federal) Constitution – we know how far we can go in a rational discourse.”

Dato’ Liew went on to explain that established media organisations and journalists maintain certain standards and discipline to ensure that informed debate does not result in harm to society. Although the modes of communication are changing, certain journalistic principles remain immutable. They are truth, accuracy, fairness and balanced presentation.

“At the same time, if writers or publishers are careless about the possible consequences on public order as a result of what they write or publish, they must face the music. I believe in freedom of the Press, but with freedom comes responsibility. But again, punishment must be in accordance with the law and not administrative fiat, and the law must be fair, just and not oppressive,” he added.

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About Dato’ Liew Chen Chuan

Malaysian, aged 72, Dato’ Liew is a highly accomplished journalist of 48 years.

He joined Sin Poh (Star News) Amalgamated Malaysia Sdn Bhd (former publisher of Sin Chew Daily) in 1961 as a reporter, and was made Editor-in-Chief in 1981. He was appointed as the Executive Director of Sin Chew on 1 April 1991, and was re-designated as Managing Director effective from 1 September 2004.

He serves as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of Sin Chew (since 15 September 2009) and is the Senior Advisor to the Group Executive Chairman of the Company. He sits on the board of Yayasan Sin Chew as a trustee and holds directorships in several private limited companies.

Under his editorship, Sin Chew has become the largest and most influential Chinese media group in Malaysia. After a corporate restructuring, the group is now part of an enlarged entity known as Media Chinese International Limited, which is listed both in Malaysian and Hong Kong stock exchanges. It has become a significant global media player and is the biggest Chinese media group in the world outside of mainland China.

Concerned with improving conditions for the working journalists, Dato’ Liew plunged himself into building up the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) when it was in its formative stage. He became its General Secretary for five years, which is unprecedented, as this key position would normally be held by someone from the English newspapers.

One of his concerns was to bring journalists from Utusan Melayu back into NUJ’s fold to ensure a balanced representation of working journalists in the country. Since then Utusan journalists have been playing a significant role in the NUJ, often holding the Presidency.

Dato’ Liew was a member of Advisory Council of the Malaysian National News Agency (BERNAMA).

He is also the Advisor to the World Chinese Media Research Centre of Beijing University.

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About the MPI-PETRONAS Malaysian Journalism Award of “Tokoh Wartawan Negara” (Journalist Laureate)

The award was introduced by the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) in 1988 to acknowledge those who have greatly contributed towards the development of journalism in the country, through their writings as well as their actions.

Nominations for the award can be submitted by media organisations or media related bodies and individuals.

Previous winners were:
1) 1988 - Allahyarham Tan Sri Abdul Samad Ismail

2) 1992 - Mendiang Tan Sri Lee Siew Yee

3) 1995 - Allahyarham Datuk Dr Ishak Muhammad

4) 1998 - Allahyarham Tun Mohammed Fuad Stephens

5) 1999 - Allahyarham Tan Sri Melan Abdullah

6) 2000 - Tan Sri Mazlan Nordin

7) 2006 - Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin

The prize for “Tokoh Wartawan Negara” has been included into PETRONAS’ sponsorship of MPI-PETRONAS Malaysian Journalism Award, beginning 2009. The winner of “Tokoh Wartawan Negara” receives RM30,000 in cash from PETRONAS.