Veteran newsman Ahmad Talib passes away
Former New Straits Times Press (NSTP) group editor Ahmad A. Talib died at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) here at 5.42 pm today.
He was 69 years old.
Former New Straits Times Press (NSTP) group editor Ahmad A Talib died at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) here at 5.42 pm today. He was 69.
The veteran newsman had been battling liver cancer.
News of the passing of Ahmad, who was also the former director of News and Editorial Operations, Media Prima Berhad, was shared by his daughter Sophia Ahmad, also a journalist, in a post on her Facebook page.
When contacted, Sophia said her father was diagnosed with liver cancer about a month ago while receiving treatment at a private hospital in the capital.
“Then he was admitted to UMMC on the first day of Syawal (Aidilfitri day),” said the Berita Harian reporter.
Besides Sophia, Ahmad is survived by his wife, Nur Shima Daud, 66, and three other children and a granddaughter.
The funeral prayers were held at Masjid Al-Muqarrabin in Bandar Tasik Selatan, led by Ahmad’s youngest son Al-mu Syarisyawal.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Saifuddin Abdullah was present, along with Ahmad's family members.
Social distancing and the wearing of face masks were observed at the funeral as per the SOPs of the conditional movement control order (CMCO) due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ahmad’s remains were then taken to the Raudhatul Sakinah Muslim Cemetery at Kem Perdana Sungai Besi. It is learnt that only close family members were allowed to be present at the burial.
Ahmad began his career in journalism as a cadet reporter with the Economic Service of the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) in 1972. He then joined Business Times (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (formerly Financial Publications Sdn Bhd) in 1978 and moved to Berita Harian in 1985.
In 1987, Ahmad was appointed assistant editor at Berita Harian and thereafter held several key positions such as news editor, chief news editor, associate editor and assistant group editor at the New Straits Times from 1991 to 1996.
He became the group editor of New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Bhd (NSTP) in 1998 and served as group general manager, communications and editorial marketing in 2004 before opting for early retirement from the group in 2005.
In July 2009, Ahmad rejoined NSTP and was appointed executive director of the newspaper and Media Prima Berhad (MPB), and assumed the role of MPB group advisor (Corporate Social Responsibility) in 2013. - Bernama
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