Thrilling image of new PM surrounded by well-wishers earns The Vibes gold

KUALA LUMPUR – A dramatic image of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim waving to hundreds of supporters ecstatically encircling him before his first press conference, shortly after he took the oath of office as prime minister on November 24 last year, was selected as the main winner of the Outstanding Photo Journalism Category at the Malaysian Journalism Awards here last night.

Titled “The Awaited Moment”, the picture shot by The Vibes chief photographer Mohamed Sairien Mohamed Nafis stole the judges’ hearts with its exciting, sentimental value, and was hailed for how it uniquely captured an opportune one-in-a-million moment. 

Commenting on his success in conjunction with the awards for work done in 2022, Sairien said he had taken on the task because it was a national historic moment that could not be missed.

“Including me, our team (The Vibes photographers) involved three visual journalists. Two of them were ready and waiting for the new prime minister to arrive in a hall filled with local and international media practitioners.

“I decided to wait for the arrival of the prime minister outside the hall. At that time, many members of the public had also gathered to wait for him. When the prime minister arrived and walked into the hall surrounded by people, I continued to take pictures from an angle above.

“I think this photo has its own uniqueness. When the prime minister was leaving the hall later to go home, I took a picture from the same angle again, but the earlier picture was more satisfying,” he told Getaran, the Malay-language sister portal of The Vibes, after the awards event.

The Malaysian Journalism Awards ceremony, which featured a grand dinner at Majestic Hotel here, was organised by the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) with Petronas as the main sponsor.

The chief guest was Anwar himself, accompanied by Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil and his deputy Teo Nie Ching.

Also present were MPI CEO Datuk Chamil Wariya, Petronas executive vice-president Liza Mustapha, Petra News CEO Datuk Zainul Arifin Mohammed Isa, and editor-in-chief Terence Fernandez, who is managing editor of The Vibes.

Dedicating his win to The Vibes, Sairien said that earning recognition at the premier Malaysian journalism awards event had been his dream since he began working at the media organisation. 

“Truly, I was aiming to land the MPI-Petronas award for The Vibes as a ‘gift’ to this news portal. Thank God we (The Vibes) are successful today. The victory is not just mine, but it belongs to all our team members who support my career. Thank you to our bosses and colleagues. 

“Endless gratitude also to my wife Shuhada Elis and children who always supported my career as a photographer,” he said, taking home RM10,000, a certificate, and a trophy.

When asked for his advice for emerging photographers on achieving success in any journalism and photography platform, Sairien said that he always reminds new entrants to the field to keep improving themselves, be confident in the images they produce, and participate in as many competitions as possible.

“What I always say to young photographers is to be confident in your photos and enter competitions, because they are not only able to help boost your name and your organisation’s, but also help you be positively aware of your current level.

“Competitions like this increase your sense of accomplishment. Many photographers may regret that they have taken good photos but not submitted them. So you have to compete, win or lose, and feel satisfied. You can keep competing again,” he said.

When asked for his views on the organisation of the MPI-Petronas National Journalism Night, Sairien said it is a good event that evaluates achievements and appreciates those active in the field of journalism.

“My only suggestion is to enhance the photography section, because it has only two categories at present. Perhaps it can be expanded further.

“The news category has categories for best article, excellent investigation, and so on. Perhaps after this, there will be a sports category and a few more for photos,” said Sairien, who has almost 20 years of experience as a photographer.

Silver prize in Photo Essay category 

Meanwhile, for the Outstanding Photo Essay category contested by The Vibes, the winner was Nur Syaheda Imran, who bagged the silver award for her work titled “Search-and-rescue efforts press on through bad weather, soft earth”.

The photo gallery taken by Nur Syaheda showed the difficult and heartbreaking situation after the landslide at Father’s Organic Farm, Batang Kali, Selangor, and what the search-and-rescue team went through in December last year.

Nur Syaheda said that this was her first time participating in the premier journalism competition.

“This is my first time participating in the MPI-Petronas awards," she said, bringing home RM1,500 in cash and a certificate. 

The following are the gold prize winners for the Malaysia MPI-Petronas Journalism Awards 2023.

1.Outstanding Photo Essay - Mohd Azlan Mat Sidek (Malaysia Gazette)
2. Outstanding Photo - Mohamed Sairien Mohamed Nafis (The Vibes)
3. Best Infographic - Mohamad Sany Misnan (Utusan Malaysia) 
4. Outstanding News Report - Farrah Naz Abd Karim (New Straits Times)
5. Outstanding Investigative News - Aliza Shah Muhamad Shah (The Star)
6. Outstanding Feature - Nurul Isnaini Mohd Muslim (Bernama)
7. Best Front-Page Design - Tung Eng Hwa (Majoriti7)
8. Outstanding Columnist/Criticism/Commentary - Martin Prasad Vengadesan 
9. Petronas Outstanding Environmental - Wong Siew Lyn, Law Yao Hua, Masjalizah Hamzah, Lee Kwai Han, Yeong Hui Jin, and Ushar Prakash Kaur Daniele (Macaranga)
10. Outstanding Video News - Juliana Shahrin and Mohd Jufri Mohd Judin (TV3)
11. Outstanding Video Documentary - Christine Lee Mei Chin and Mohd Zahril Abdullah (TV3)
12. Best Radio Report - Rosdi Omang (NASIONALfm)
13. Best Multimedia - Lee Long Hui, Ooi Choon Nam, Yan Jing Tian, Syariman Badrulzaman, Andrew Ong Kok Heng and Raveena Preet Kaur Nagotra (MalaysiaKini)
14. A.Samad Ismail Young Journalist award (print media) - Sandhya Menon (The Star) 
15. Wartawan Muda A.Samad Ismail (TV) - Andy Reza Rohadian Khairul Anwar (RTM)
16. Special Jury Award - James Alexander Ritchie (New Sarawak Tribune)
17. Kajai Award - Yusmizal Dolah Aling (Harian Metro)
18. Media Icon - Datuk Henry Lau Lee Kong (Borneo Post)  – The Vibes, June 10, 2023

Additional reporting by Susan Albert