The Star won first prize in the category for multimedia stories at the prestigious Malaysian Press Institute (MPI)-Petronas Malaysian Journalism Awards 2022.

Star Media Group advisor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai also received a special award worth RM5,000 cash, a trophy and certificate.

The multimedia stories team, comprising journalists Diyana Pfordten, Farik Zolkepli and Justin Zack, clinched the gold medal, a trophy and RM10,000 in cash prize for their stories “Interactive: Suffering in Silence, In the Memory of Our Lost Children,” and “Interactive: Letting Go – How Parents of Young Autistic Adults are Teaching Independence”.

Also in the team are editors Razak Ahmad, Ivy Soon and Sim Leoi Leoi, as well as artists Foo Chern Hwan and Shaiful Rizwan Mohd Azhar.

The team bested news portals Malaysiakini and Astro Awani for the award, which came in second and third respectively.

This is the third year that The Star team has been nominated for the multimedia category.

Also on the winning list are Star photographers Chen Soon Ling and Azhar Mahfof, who won bronze awards for the best photojournalism category for “Fight against Covid, the Invisible Enemy” and the best photo essay category “After the Flood” respectively.

StarMetro journalists Bavani Mahalingam and Aida Ahmad brought home another bronze for the company under the best news reporting category, bagging RM1,000 cash and certificates.

“I’m so proud of our data journalism team – we are such a small and effective team, and the fact that the team is always game to try out new things and new technology is what sets them apart from others.

“We will continue to delve into important and relevant issues because the Star Media Group is all about that – we are big on people issues. This award is proof we are on the right track,” said Chief Content Officer Esther Ng.

This year’s awards saw 350 participations from newsrooms across the country, with 116 winners chosen after screening by judges.

In his speech, MPI chief executive officer Datuk Dr Chamil Wariya said the selection of winners was made by a panel of independent judges, who were veteran journalists unaffiliated to any media organisation, as well as academicians from local public and private universities.