No Retirement From Service: Former Teachers Turn Stringers

By Afifitri Muhammad

KUANTAN, May 23 (Bernama) -- Retirement has not stopped two former teachers in Pahang from continuing to serve the community, with both turning to part-time journalism to pursue their passion for the media industry.

Speaking to Bernama, Salehudin Mat Rasad, said his interest in writing began during his school days when his news articles, poems and short stories were published in Utusan Pelajar, a student publication by Utusan Melayu at the time.

Salehudin, 68, said he began working as a stringer for Utusan Malaysia Pahang on Dec 1, 1985 while still serving as a teacher, handling reporting and writing assignments during evenings, nights and weekends.

“After retirement, journalism became my main focus because it allows me to remain active, contribute to society and spend my time productively.

“The job also helps me stay mentally and physically active as it requires me to travel to various locations across Pahang,” said Salehudin, who served for 38 years as a teacher specialising in Bahasa Malaysia and also taught Geography and History.

The Kampung Serambi, Pekan native said his teaching background had greatly helped in journalism as it exposed him to people from different walks of life, including students, parents and local communities.

“As a teacher, I was used to listening, observing and understanding people’s emotions. Those skills are very useful in producing balanced reports that are close to the realities of society,” he said.

Salehudin added that advances in technology had transformed journalism compared with the 1980s, when reports had to be dictated over the telephone or sent via fax.

“At that time, public telephones were limited and only available in major towns. Today, technology allows news to be delivered almost instantly,” he said.

Another retired teacher, Amir Hamzah Nordin, 66, said his interest in media began during secondary school before growing further throughout his teaching career.

He said he used to publish a monthly school bulletin using A4 paper featuring school activities and students’ work, besides serving on the school magazine committee and as chief editor of “Suara Guru”, published by the Kesatuan Guru Melayu Malaysia Barat (KGMMB).

Amir Hamzah said he began working as a stringer for Harian Watan in 1995 before joining Berita Harian from 1997 until October 2018, and later returned to active reporting with New Straits Times Press (NSTP) in April 2023.

“Although I was active as a stringer while teaching, I never neglected my responsibilities as a teacher and received the Excellent Service Award three times,” he said.

Among his most memorable assignments was covering a light aircraft crash in Sungai Tembeling in 1990, when he had to rely on another newspaper photographer to capture images at the scene.

“The photographer threw the camera film from the crash site in the river to me on the riverbank. I then sought help from another reporter who was returning to Kuantan to send the film for processing,” he recalled.

Amir Hamzah said working as a stringer after retirement has been fulfilling as it allows him to remain active while helping people through news reports.

“There was one case involving a Malaysian who fell into a coma while travelling in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and needed financial aid. The news report indirectly helped raise public funds for him,” he said.

-- BERNAMA