THE journalism industry lost two more veterans when former Kedah State Legislative Speaker Datuk Paduka Md Rozai Shafian who served briefly as a Utusan Melayu journalist and retired New Straits Times Penang and Kedah bureau chief Noor Adzman Baharuddin passed on.
Rozai aged 69, passed away in Alor Setar after a brief undisclosed illness while Noor Adzman, 64 died while receiving treatment for liver cancer at the Island Hospital in Penang.
Pendang-born Rozai started as a Utusan journalist for a short while before he joined the diplomatic corps and then ventured into the world of politics.
He started as political secretary to the late Tan Sri Sanusi Junid, who was the Kedah Menteri Besar from 1996 to 1999 before he became the Sungai Tiang assemblyman in 1999.
Rozai also served as the Kedah Umno liaison secretary for two separate terms and was appointed as the State Legislative Assembly Speaker from 2013 until 2018.
Kedah Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid paid his last respects to the late Rozai at his home before his burial in Pendang.
He expressed his condolences to the widow Datin Paduka Khalijah Ghazali and her children.
Melaka-born Noor Adzman had the honour of serving as bureau chief in the two neighbouring states of Penang and Kedah.
He often commuted from his home in Bayan Baru in Penang to Kedah during his heydays of managing the editorial office there.
He was full of humour, which was an asset for most journalists struggling in the world of a highly stressed working environment. - The Vibes, February 28, 2024.
