Ahirudin Attan
Encyclopedia
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and former editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of several New Straits Times Press
New Straits Times Press
The New Straits Times Press is a Malaysian conglomerate of publishing companies, owned by Media Prima. The NSTP publishes several newspapers, including the New Straits Times, The Malay Mail, Berita Harian and Harian Metro.-Origin:...
(NSTP) publications, including the Business Times, The Malay Mail
The Malay Mail
The Malay Mail is a newspaper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, first published in 1 December 1896 when KL was the capital of the then new Federated Malay States, making it the first daily to appear in the FMS....
and The Sunday Mail
The Malay Mail
The Malay Mail is a newspaper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, first published in 1 December 1896 when KL was the capital of the then new Federated Malay States, making it the first daily to appear in the FMS....
. He currently runs a blog, dubbed Rocky's Bru, and resides in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
.
Journalism
Ahirudin's first foray into journalism was as a journalist for the Business Times in 1985, after graduating from Institut Teknologi MARA (now Universiti Teknologi MARAUniversiti Teknologi MARA
Universiti Teknologi MARA is a coeducational public university with its main campus located in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.It is the flagship institution of the Universiti Teknologi MARA...
). In 1992, he served as the group's London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
correspondent and would later furthered his studies in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
in 1993, taking up a course in Advanced Journalism. Ahirudin was appointed Editor of the Business Times in 1997 and remained so until he was appointed Acting Editor of The Malay Mail
The Malay Mail
The Malay Mail is a newspaper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, first published in 1 December 1896 when KL was the capital of the then new Federated Malay States, making it the first daily to appear in the FMS....
on 16 October 2001. He was further reappointed as the Executive Editor of both the Malay Mail and Sunday Mail on 1 May 2004, following a restructuring in the paper's news desk.
On 13 February 2006, Ahirudin resigned from his editorial position as the newspaper was revamped to cater to younger readerships. Ahirudin further departed from the New Straits Times Press on May 2006, amid speculation that included a "run-in with the present head honchos in the organization." Ahirudin has worked with the NSTP for 21 years.
Ahirudin was the President of the National Press Club from 2003 to March 31, 2007, succeeded by Mokhtar Hussain, his brother, and remains as its adviser until March 2009. He is also an Editorial Consultant, and columnist.
Blogging
In May 2006, Ahirudin started Rocky's Bru, a Blogger.comBlogger (service)
Blogger is a blog-publishing service that allows private or multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. It was created by Pyra Labs, which was bought by Google in 2003. Generally, the blogs are hosted by Google at a subdomain of blogspot.com. Up until May 1, 2010 Blogger allowed users to publish...
-based blog centered primarily on journalism, mass media and politics.
Ahirudin's blog has garnered sufficient attention by the NSTP that it was blocked from NSTP offices and branches nationwide within two weeks after the blog was formed, and has prompted the group to launch a lawsuit against him, alongside blogger Jeff Ooi
Jeff Ooi
Ooi Chuan Aun , better known as Jeff Ooi, is a Malaysian IT consultant by profession, blogger, photographer and politician. He is currently the Member of Parliament for Jelutong in the 12th Malaysian Parliament.He is a well known for his criticism of Muslims and Islam in Malaysia...
, on 11 January 2007, for libel
Slander and libel
Defamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander , and libel —is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image...
. As of March 2008, the suit is in progress.
On April 6, 2007, Ahirudin was appointed the President of the National Bloggers Alliance, a newly formed group aimed at protecting the rights of Malaysian bloggers and promoting responsible blogging.
Jeff Ooi
Ahirudin has developed a relatively healthy friendship with Jeff OoiJeff Ooi
Ooi Chuan Aun , better known as Jeff Ooi, is a Malaysian IT consultant by profession, blogger, photographer and politician. He is currently the Member of Parliament for Jelutong in the 12th Malaysian Parliament.He is a well known for his criticism of Muslims and Islam in Malaysia...
. However, Ahirudin has stated in a press conference on 23 January 2007 that he has previous engaged Ooi in a "healthy" exchange of words:
"There was name calling (by the blog readers), [Ooi] used his blog space to criticise and I used my column in the [New] Sunday TimesNew Straits TimesThe New Straits Times is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print , having been founded as The Straits Times in 1845, and was reestablished as the "New Straits Times" in 1965. The paper served as Malaysia's only broadsheet format English...
to respond. Had it gone on and on it would've been a healthy debate."
External links
- Rocky's Bru, Ahirudin Attan's blog.