Veteran Labuan Journalist Sohan Das Receives Tabung Kasih @HAWANA Aid

LABUAN, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Sohan Das, a senior journalist whose career spanned over five decades, was among 196 journalists and media practitioners to receive financial aid under the Tabung Kasih @ HAWANA initiative today. 

Ministry of Communications deputy secretary-general (Strategic Communications and Creative Industries) Nik Kamaruzaman Nik Husin visited Sohan at his home in Kerupang Satu, with a team from the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama). 

Present were Bernama’s chief executive officer Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin; head of broadcast sales Mastura Hassan; head of corporate affairs Mariati Mohd Arif; senior broadcast sales manager Farhan Mustafa Kamal; and Labuan bureau editorial executive Jailani Hasan.

Nik Kamaruzaman, while presenting the aid, commended Sohan for his enduring legacy in journalism, saying, “His contributions have shaped local media and inspired countless aspiring journalists.”

Sohan, currently with the Daily Express in Labuan, expressed gratitude for the recognition and shared his perspective on the changing landscape of journalism.

Acknowledging the industry's challenges, including the rise of digital platforms, he remained optimistic about journalism’s future, emphasising its resilience in embracing new technologies while upholding its core mission to inform and educate the public.

The 81-year-old veteran began his career in the 1970s, working with various local dailies and briefly with Bernama from 1976 to 1977, before moving on to national newspapers and Reuters.

Reflecting on his early days, he recounted filing stories on a clunky old typewriter—memories that vividly captured the analogue era, a striking contrast to today's digital tools.

--BERNAMA