Strategic talks: Fahmi speaking to (from left) Ng, Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin, Communications Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Seri Mohamad Fauzi Isa, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching, Wong and Bernama CEO Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin during the letter of appointment ceremony at Wisma Bernama in Kuala Lumpur. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Prominent media figure Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai has been reappointed as chairman of the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) Board of Governors.
Also appointed as the new president of the news agency’s Supervisory Council is Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid.
Their appointments, effective Sept 1, 2025, to Aug 31, 2027, were made with the consent of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.
Star Media Group (SMG) chief content officer Datin Paduka Esther Ng also received her appointment letter as a permanent member from the media organisation representative on the Board of Governors.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil presented the letter of appointments to the newly named members of the Bernama Supervisory Council and Board of Governors for the two-year term, here at Wisma Bernama, yesterday.
Wong, 64, a National Journalism Laureate, was first appointed as Bernama chairman on Sept 1, 2023. He has over 40 years of experience in the media industry and has served as a member of the news agency’s Board of Governors from 2004 to 2010 and its Supervisory Council from 2010 to 2014.
The Penang-born Wong graduated from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, where he studied political science and history in 1984.
Wong has also served as an adjunct professor at the Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) and was an adjunct professor of media at UKM’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Science.
He has also undergone leadership and financial courses in various prestigious universities in the United States, including the University of Southern California and the University of Stanford.
In 2003, Wong won the prestigious Best Journalist Award for news features from the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) for his investigative article on Malaysian terrorists and their arms training in Afghanistan. In the same year, Asia Inc, a regional business magazine, named him in a list of Asia’s top 50 young movers and shakers.
He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Media Industry by the World Chinese Economic Forum in Chongqing, China, in 2014, and won the media leader title in 2015 from McMillan Woods, a renowned accounting firm.
The Board of Governors, made up of a chairperson and 20 members representing both the government and Bernama’s media clients, is tasked with overseeing policy implementation and agency procedures.
Among the others named in the list of 20 members were SMG’s Chief News Editor Mazwin Nik Anis (alternate member), Sin Chew Daily Editor-in-Chief Chan Aun Kuang (permanent member), and Sinar Harian Group Editor-in-Chief Zamri Rambli (alternate member).
Meanwhile, Azhar, 61, holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the International Islamic University Malaysia.
A native of Batu Pahat, Johor, he began his judicial career in 1989 as a Magistrate in Pahang and has held a number of key legal and administrative roles, including general-manager of the Legal Division at the Companies Commission of Malaysia, head of the prosecution unit in Kedah, State Legal Advisor for Terengganu and head of Prosecution and Appeals Division at the Attorney General’s Chambers.
The Supervisory Council is headed by a president with four other members, who are responsible for ensuring that Bernama always complies with the provisions of the Bernama Act 1976 in carrying out its objectives and roles.
