KUALA LUMPUR: Star Media Group (SMG) emerged as one of the biggest winners at the MPI-PETRONAS Malaysian Journalism Awards 2025 on Friday (July 17), taking home three gold, two silver and four bronze awards.
The gold award winners for SMG were Mohd Izudin Ismail, Hassan Bahri and Mohd Syahril Mohd Jamil, who won Best Infographic for 'Sabah's Pinnacle of Nature'; Christopher Fam, who received the A. Samad Said Young Journalist Award (Print) for 'Tapping Into Debt: Spend Now, Stress Later, Real or Deepfake: Through The Looking Glass' and 'Hold The Phone: Age For Access'; and Ragananthini Vethasalam, Charles Ramendran and Justin Zack Yusof, who won Best News Reporting for 'Monsters Prey on Children and The Day I Lost My Smile'.
The silver award winners were Nelson Benjamin, who won Best Column; and Gerard Gimino, Ragananthini and Benjamin Lee, who received Best News Reporting for the fire safety series.
The bronze award winners were Muhammad Hafeez Aminuddin, Foo Chern Hwan, Tung Eng Hwa, Muhammad Shyafiq Dzulkifli and Abdul Razak Ahmad Idris for Best Infographic; Angelin Yeoh for Best Feature; Chelsea Ng, Fazleena Aziz, Zakiah Koya, Nurbaiti Hanim Hamdan and Ragananthini for Best Investigative Reporting; and Dr Christina Chin, Nor Shalina Abdul Samad, Mohd Syahril Mohd Jamil and Mohd Farik Zolkepli for Best Multimedia.
Meanwhile, the prestigious Kajai Award was clinched by Nurul Hidayah Hamid from Sinar Harian, who produced a special report series titled “Nasib Budak Flat”.
Earlier in his speech, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that as artificial intelligence reshapes the media landscape, journalism must remain firmly rooted in strong values and ethics.
He said that while AI was becoming increasingly accessible and offered vast opportunities to improve capabilities across industries, its development and use must be guided by integrity and strong moral principles.
“We must be prepared to face the challenges brought about by technological advancement by enhancing our capabilities and skills across all fields.
“As AI becomes increasingly accessible to everyone, we must exercise caution in how we approach and develop this technology.
"We must strive to advance AI in a way that is more integrated and firmly grounded in strong values and ethics,” he said in his address at the event on Friday.
MPI president Datuk Yong Soo Heong, who spoke at the event which also hosted the Malaysian Journalism Night (MWM) 2026, said to ensure journalists remain equipped for the changing media landscape, MPI would continue strengthening training in reporting, editing, digital journalism, data analytics, cyber security and the ethical use of AI, enabling media practitioners to adapt to technological advances without compromising professional principles.
Chief reporter, Ragananthini, 34, who clinched the gold award, said she hopes the stories will make a real impact and bring about meaningful change.
“It doesn’t stop here. We will continue producing stories until there are changes in the issues we highlight, whether it is the registry for video pedophile, fire hazards, or conditions in hospitals and schools.
“We hope the authorities will take note and take concrete action. We will continue doing our job and producing stories that make a difference,” she said.
Meanwhile, Fam, 29, who won gold for the A. Samad Said Young Journalist Award (Print), said he was delighted to have won the gold award after missing out last year despite being nominated.
“Last year, I was nominated but didn’t win. I’m really happy that I finally got it this time,” he said.
He also hoped the recognition would motivate him to continue producing impactful technology stories with a strong human angle.
