KUALA LUMPUR – The Vibes team has bagged its first prize from the prestigious MPI-Petronas Awards 2020 for outstanding journalism.
During the ceremony at the Majestic Hotel this evening, The Vibes’ former specialist writer Muhammad Zaidi Azmi had clinched the trophy for the Petronas Excellent Environmental Journalism award for a report published last year.
Zaidi, who now writes for The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister publication Getaran, won the award for his compelling story titled Temuan tribe decries Kuala Langat degazettement published in October 2020.
This marks the first major award for The Vibes, which only began operations in September last year.
For the prize, Muhammad Zaidi – who graduated with honours in Mass Communications (Journalism) from Universiti Teknologi Mara in 2014 – took home RM10,000 in cash, a certificate, and a trophy.
The winning story touched on the natives from the Temuan tribe who wanted to maintain their connection to the Kuala Langat Forest Reserve.
The issue was brought to the fore amid the Selangor state government’s plans for the development of the area, which is rich in swamp forests and biodiversity.
Although the tribespeople earned a meagre living, their livelihoods depended on the forests where they harvested spices and other natural medicines. – The Vibes, November 30, 2021
