Two Malaysiakini journalists shortlisted for Said Zahari award

Two of Malaysiakini’s journalists have been shortlisted for the Said Zahari Young Journalist Award 2022.

Alena Nadia and Low Choon Chyuan are shortlisted alongside independent journalist Liani MK.

This is also Low’s second time shortlisted for the award, which is open to journalists aged 18 to 35.

The award is presented in honour of the late notable journalist Said Zahari and his commitment against racism and for social justice.

Alena was shortlisted for her opinion-editorial on the legal woes faced by the Orang Asli community and a profile piece on Gerakbudaya founder Pak Chong.

The third shortlisted article by Alena is a news report on a British geologist who escaped a death sentence in Iraq when a charge of attempting to smuggle historical artefacts was quashed.

Low, meanwhile, was shortlisted for his reporting on the royal and political links to the Bukit Lagong quarry projects.

He was also shortlisted for his report on how developers take advantage of a legal loophole to develop forest reserves, and farmer evictions in Perak amid a food crisis.

Low is part of Malaysiakini’s Chinese edition team, while Alena was part of the English language news desk and now works with KiniTV and the social media team. 

The winning journalist, who will be announced on Saturday (March 18) will win an RM1,000 cash prize, plus an additional RM2,000 which will go towards advancing their skills.

In their submissions, the candidates were asked to share how they intend to use the RM2,000 if they win.

The shortlisted journalists will also speak in a forum on journalism in crisis, at the award ceremony, which will be streamed live online via the Pusat Sejarah Rakyat Facebook page.

Pusat Sejarah Rakyat has organised the Syed Zahari Young Journalist Award since 2019.

This jury for the 2022 edition were social scientists Syed Husin Ali and Por Heong Hong, and Pusat Sejarah Rakyat programme coordinator Zikri Rahman.

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