PETALING JAYA: Photographer Norafifi Ehsan had been to Parliament countless times to do her job, but the morning of Oct 31, 2003, felt very different.
It was the first week of Ramadan and as Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s car rolled by, she and the other photographers were waiting.
Only this time, many of them were in tears.
It was the Prime Minister’s final day at work, after 22 years in charge.
“When I asked him to roll down the window, he did. Then we asked him to wave, which he also did.
“As photographers, we feel that Dr Mahathir understands our job. That is why, whenever we request for photo opportunities, he rarely does not accommodate,” she said.
Sabahan Norafifi, a former The Star photographer, said that was probably one of her hardest assignments.
“People around us were all teary-eyed and crying.
“But we had work to do. It was not the time and place for emotions, although for us, work comes first. It was only after the day was done that I felt the sadness,” she said.
The following day, her photograph – showing a smiling Dr Mahathir waving from the back seat of his car after his final appearance in Parliament as Prime Minister – was splashed across the front page of The Star.
The headline simply read: “Heartfelt thanks”.
Just above it, a smaller line set the clock ticking on a historic transition of power: “At 3pm today, Dr Mahathir will hand over the reins of the country to Pak Lah.”
There were many sad faces too in Putrajaya on that day.
Star Media Group Associate Editor Mergawati Zulfakar remembers the day as the culmination of a “long goodbye” – a phrase a Cabinet minister had used with her.
“The final day as PM finally came, about a year after he announced his retirement at the Umno General Assembly,” she said.
Mergawati said Dr Mahathir’s last day was a busy one at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya.
“While he chaired his last Cabinet meeting, I had a last-minute interview with his principal private secretary Tan Sri Badriah Arshad at her office.
“Even The Star photographer Raja Faisal Hishan was too busy to feel anything as he photographed the historic day. But Cabinet members were unable to control their emotions,” she said.
The reality sank in on the following day.
“When I called one of his bodyguards the next day to tell him to take care of the ‘old man’ as they were departing for a long-deserved break, I broke down in tears.
“As a journalist assigned to cover Dr Mahathir in Malaysia and abroad, I consider myself lucky to have witnessed a leader clear in his mission to elevate Malaysia to be highly respected,” she said.
It was also the first time the editorial column “The Star says” took over the front page.
And it said what many were feeling: “It will feel strange for a while ... the emptiness may linger for some time.”
Readers that morning were also treated to a massive 60-page pullout dedicated entirely to Dr Mahathir, chronicling his political “art of war,” mega-projects and his enduring partnership with his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali.
Alongside the main paper, The Star produced a 16-page “Collector’s Issue” focusing on his final day in Putrajaya, which was sold for RM1 with proceeds going to a local HIV/AIDS charity.
The multimedia desk also released a “VCD Special” featuring tributes from everyday Malaysians and corporate leaders.
Today, the “Heartfelt thanks” edition remains a powerful reminder of print journalism’s role – capturing not just the facts of the 3pm handover, but the collective mood of a country, and the reporters covering it, watching an era come to a close.
As The Star celebrates its 55th anniversary, revisiting this front page offers another story – of how journalists set aside their own emotions on that day to document the departure of the nation’s longest-serving leader.
