Kuala Lumpur: The late Rozaid Abdul Rahman, former Director of Media and Strategic Communications at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), was posthumously honoured with the National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA) 2025 Special Award during the culmination of today’s celebration. The award was presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to Rozaid’s eldest son, Roz Ariffin, 34, in a special ceremony at the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre (WTCKL), which was attended by Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil and 1,000 guests, comprising local and international media practitioners.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the event was also graced by the presence of Chairman of the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, Bernama Chief Executive Officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin, and Bernama Editor-in-Chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, who is the Director of the HAWANA 2025 Project. Rozaid, who died on August 18 last year of a heart attack, is remembered as a key figure in the country’s journalism world with over four decades of experience in the media industry.
Born on October 1, 1964, in Nibong Tebal, Penang, Rozaid began his career as a cadet journalist at the Utusan Melayu newspaper on April 21, 1984. He rose through the ranks to become chief reporter and subsequently made history as the youngest individual to be appointed news editor of the Utusan Group at the age of 27. Rozaid was also the first Malaysian journalist to set foot in the tunnel of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) on the Thai border in December 1989. His exclusive report was later quoted by media globally.
Rozaid was the first Malaysian journalist to interview CPM Secretary-General Chin Peng and its Commander of the 10th Regiment, Rashid Maidin, shortly before the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Malaysian Government and the CPM in Haadyai, Thailand. As an experienced journalist, he spent more than a month in Bangkok covering the coup that led to the fall of the Thai government in February 1991.
In 1992, Rozaid was awarded a scholarship from the British High Commission in Malaysia to attend a journalism fellowship programme at Wolfson College, UK. He was later named the recipient of the Penang Eminent Journalist award by the state government in 1994. He further cemented his legacy when he became the first Malaysian to receive the Asia Digital Media Award, presented in Hong Kong on November 18, 2015, by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.
Rozaid was not only a journalist, editor and media leader but also a pioneer in the evolution of digital news in Malaysia. He developed the mStar Online portal under The Star Media Group and launched Sinar Daily, the English version of Sinar Harian newspaper. He returned to The Star in 2023 as Group Consulting Editor before being appointed as Director of Media and Strategic Communications at the Prime Minister’s Office on May 23, 2023, tasked with managing government communications and media strategy. His death was a significant loss to the country, and his contributions will always be remembered.
HAWANA 2025, themed ‘Journalism in the New Era: Embracing AI, Safeguarding Ethics’, spanned three days from Friday and was attended by about 1,000 guests comprising local and international media practitioners. May 29 was gazetted as National Journalists’ Day to commemorate the publication of the first edition of Utusan Melayu on May 29, 1939, honouring media practitioners’ contributions and dedication in shaping an informed and progressive society.