COMMENT “Goddammit, when is somebody going to go on the record in this story? You guys are about to write a story that says the former attorney-general, the highest-ranking law enforcement officer in this country, is a crook! Just be sure you're right.”

 

I am quoting a line uttered by actor Jason Robards in the 1976 movie ‘All The President’s Men’, a role which won him the Academy Award for best supporting actor.

 

Robards, who passed away in 2000, played the character of the late Ben Bradlee, the executive editor of The Washington Post who oversaw the publication of stories written by Bob Woodword and Carl Bernstein (played by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman respectively) on the Watergate scandal which shocked the world.

The film was based on the best-selling novel by the two reporters.

 

As documented, Woodward and Bernstein worked with sources to uncover deceit in US President Richard Nixon’s administration.

 

Nixon was impeached because of the incident and later resigned as the president. And some 20 men involved in this scandal went to jail.

 

It was a momentous occasion for investigative journalism.

 

One cannot forget the garage scene with Deep Throat, who gave the inside dirt and all the tricks employed by Nixon’s men. In 2005, former FBI associate director Mark Felt was identified as Deep Throat.

 

Now back in Malaysia.

 

We live in a country where the media laws are still archaic, yet we have seen investigative journalism being practised with an encouraging degree of success.

 

Is it flourishing? Yes, but not to the extent that most media practitioners want or wish for.

 

Malaysian journalists have certainly tested the boundaries, managed to make breakthroughs, and of course, some have got their fingers burnt.

 

Editorial excellence

Which brings me now to congratulate our Malaysiakini journalist Nigel Aw, who won an award for editorial excellence in investigative reporting from Hong Kong-based Society of Publishers in Asia (Sopa), which was announced on Tuesday.

 

The winning entry was for Aw’s four-part investigative report titled ‘ The rise of the Johor royal family's business empire ’.

 

The fact that he won it plying his trade as a journalist in an online media makes his achievement truly remarkable.

 

In a day and age where we need the stories to come out fast, investigative journalism sometimes takes a back seat.

 

As we churn out instant news, we tend to make mistakes, not just on accuracy and details but also on grammar. I know it because I am guilty of making them too.

 

Investigative journalism is known to be tough, notably because it can be time-consuming.

 

Details are very important. Information, especially from sources, need to be verified and re-verified. There is not much room for errors.

 

It gets tougher when you have to step on people’s toes, especially those who walk in the corridors of power.

 

However, exposing any form of inequality or corruption, although angering some, would certainly delight many.

 

In our country, I am proud to say that we have produced journalists who have written excellent investigative pieces over the years despite the tight control of the media, especially on the printed press.

 

For me, all journalists, by the very nature of the profession, are investigators. It is a matter of how deep they are willing to go in on certain issues when they stumble upon a lead.

 

So what prompted me to write about the subject of investigative journalism? I must admit that young Aw’s effort reminded me of Woodword and Bernstein, who were both in their late 20s when they broke the story.

 

I have known Aw for less than three months so I can’t claim to know him well.

 

But I do know that he is a humble man who has brought so much joy to people around him by winning this prestigious award.

 

It is moments like this that makes me feel good, and glad, to be a journalist again.

 

 

G JEGATHESAN is a member of the Malaysiakini team.