“KAJAI Award. That’s Malaysia’s most coveted journalism prize! It’s widely considered the Holy Grail for all members of the press,” exclaims my friend while showing me his submission. A senior writer with more than 20 years of hard-hitting investigative journalism under his belt, he has set his sights on the prized accolade for a large part of his working life.
The prestigious Kajai Award was introduced for the first time in 1982 and since then only 27 outstanding members of the Malaysian press have laid claim to the Kajai Journalist title. Apart from the prestige attached to the award, winners also receive RM30,000 cash, a certificate and trophy from the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI).
The first Kajai Award winner in 1982 was Datuk Rosnah Majid who was, at that time, working for Utusan Malaysia. Since then, the award had been monopolised by writers from Malay medium newspapers until 2014, that is, when a team from the New Straits Times, comprising news editor Farrah Naz Karim, journalist Aliza Shah Muhammad Shah and associate editor Haris Hussain made history by becoming the first English medium journalists to bag the Kajai Award.
The trio highlighted the ways contaminated mining water was channelled into Selangor rivers. Their ground-breaking report also demonstrated clearly how the polluted runoff eventually reached two million unsuspecting residents.
Spurred on by their success, Farrah and Aliza continued to work tirelessly. The duo received just rewards when they were once again announced Kajai Award winners in 2015. The feat secured their names in history as the only journalists to successfully win the country’s most coveted award in journalism for two consecutive years. Their second winning story involved a hard hitting expose on bauxite mining in Kuantan that led to the imposition of a moratorium by the Federal Government.
Curious to learn more about the person whom this distinguished award is named after, I head off to the Kedah State Library for an afternoon of research.
EDUCATION IN MECCA
Born Abdul Rahim Haji Salim in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur in 1894, he only adopted the name Kajai in his later years to honour his father’s hometown, Kampung Kajai in West Sumatra. Kajai received his early education at the Setapak Malay School and passed his Standard Five examinations, the highest level achievable, with flying colours in 1905.
Kajai’s excellent academic results qualified him for a full scholarship to further his studies at a Government English school in Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, his conservative parents had reservations about colonial-styled education. Instead, they decided to personally finance their son’s education in the Holy Land. This decision was partially influenced by the fact that Kajai’s father was already running a successful business catering to the needs of pilgrims performing the Haj. While in Mecca, Kajai learnt Arabic and religious studies.
Upon his return to Malaya in 1909, Kajai worked as a typesetter at the Government Printing Office in Kuala Lumpur. He remained there for three and a half years before heading south to Singapore to take up the same position at the Malaya Publishing House (MPH).
It was during his tenure in Singapore that Kajai met his future wife. Family life gave him a different perspective on life and he started to feel the inadequacies of being a mere typesetter. Kajai began to harbour an ambition to further his studies and move up the career ladder. As a result, he returned to Kuala Lumpur in 1913 and took up a job as an apprentice draughtsman attached to a building engineer before going on to become a probationary draughtsman at the Kuala Lumpur Survey Office.
RETURN TO THE HOLY LAND
Kajai was dealt a bad hand just when he was settling down to his new job. His father passed away late in 1913 and he was forced to return to Mecca to look after his sister as well as help manage his late father’s business. Kajai was compelled to remain in the Middle East longer than planned when the First World War broke out on July 28, 1914. The incident closed down most of the world’s major shipping routes.
Life in Saudi Arabia was difficult at that time and Kajai spent most of his time reading the local newspapers to keep abreast of key events happening in the Middle East. The Battle of Jarrab, a proxy battle of World War I between the British-supported Saudis and the Ottoman-supported Rashidis, and the Treaty of Darin, a pact between United Kingdom and Nejd ruler Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, captured Kajai’s imagination and opened his eyes to the importance of journalism in shaping public opinion.
Kajai only managed to return home when the sea routes gradually reopened towards the tail end of the war. His arrival home in 1917 coincided with the proliferation of more than a dozen new Malay periodicals across the Malay Peninsula. Kajai worked hard and attended courses to improve his writing skills with the aim of becoming an accomplished journalist.
Finally, in January 1925, his dream came true when he was hired by Mohd Yunus Abdul Hamid who ran a Penang-based weekly newspaper called Sinar Zaman. Mohd Yunus capitalised on Kajai’s Middle Eastern contacts by sending him back to Mecca to serve as Sinar Zaman’s correspondent.
KAJAI ADDED TO NAME
In 1927, Kajai returned to Kuala Lumpur to work as a specialist writer for a weekly newspaper called Saudara, which was headed by Syed Sheikh Syed Ahmad Al-Hadi. It was during that time that Kajai realised that he would not be returning to the Middle East and decided to add Kajai to his name to remember his father and his business in Mecca that had supported him during his early formative years.
Thanks to his diligence and dedicated work ethics, Kajai was speedily promoted to assistant editor on April 5, 1930. Four months later, he once again climbed the career ladder to become editor. During his leisure hours, Kajai produced three volumes of Hikayat Dzul-Ruhain, which contained reproductions of Syed Sheikh’s published work.
Kajai didn’t rest on his laurels despite his series of successes. He continued searching for opportunities to improve himself. He joined Majlis when the new Malay language newspaper was established on Dec 17, 1931. Kajai not only served as editor but also worked tirelessly with the rank and file of the company in a bid to turn Majlis into a more prestigious daily published newspaper. Unfortunately, he failed in his bid and Majlis remained as a newspaper that was published only twice a week.
JOINING WARTA MALAYA
Disappointed, Kajai left Majlis in search of greener pastures. On Jan 1, 1935 he became part of the editorial team for Warta Malaya, a daily printed entirely in Jawi script belonging to the Alsagoffs, a wealthy Arab family in Singapore. The lively Malay newspaper scene in Malaya at that time was financed and controlled primarily by the non-Malay-Arabs, Malay-Arabs and Jawi Peranakans.
Shifting my attention to several articles chronicling the development of local newspapers in the early part of the 20th century, I finally get to see what the front page of Warta Malaya looked like. Warta Malaya was the first of the independent Malay dailies of the 1930s. Its first issue was published on Jan 1, 1930. Enjoying the largest circulation, Warta Malaya dominated the Malay newspaper scene and was also the first to receive overseas subscriptions.
Published by the Anglo-Asiatic Press located in Singapore’s North Bridge Road, Warta Malaya’s success prompted the formation of two companion periodicals. One was the Sunday paper, Warta Ahad, which first came out on May 5, 1935. The other was a pictorial weekly, Warta Jenaka, which appeared the following year. Kajai was heavily involved in both these new periodicals and the additional workload prompted him to move down to Singapore.
Among Kajai’s peers at Warta Malaya were men who would become prominent in post-war Malay politics. Its first editor was Onn Ja’afar, a Malay nationalist who went on to found the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) political party, and Yusof Ishak, who later became Singapore’s first president. After three years as editor of Warta Malaya, Onn was succeeded in 1933 by Syed Alwi Syed Sheikh Al-Hadi, who was in turn replaced the following year by the newspaper’s proprietor, Syed Hussein Ali Alsagoff.
The independently-owned Warta Malaya filled the need for a Malay daily to voice concern for the lack of progress for the Malays. It sought to raise awareness among the Malays of important world news by carrying the latest telegraphic reports of events happening in Muslim countries. Warta Malaya was the first Malay newspaper to subscribe directly to world news agencies.
The paper’s content, written by Kajai and his peers, focused on issues that affected the rights of the Malays such as higher education, political rights and the lack of government support for the Malay economy. Warta Malaya became an important voice on Malay affairs and established itself as the champion of Malay interests when its editorials unabashedly criticised colonial policies that affected the Malays adversely.
FIERCE COMPETITION
Despite Warta Malaya’s success in engaging its readers in diverse economic, social and political issues, the daily ceased publication in 1941 when it could no longer compete with Utusan Melayu, the first Malay-owned newspaper. The rapidly expanding Utusan Melayu absorbed a substantial number of key employees from Warta Malaya, including Kajai. He became part of the editorial team for Utusan Melayu and two of its companion periodicals, Utusan Zaman and monthly magazine, Mustika (later renamed as Mastika).
The arrival of the Second World War and the looming threat from Japanese troops advancing down the Malay Peninsula at a rapid pace made Kajai decide to return to his family in Kuala Lumpur. The journey was very dangerous and the chaotic situation at various road blocks hampered his progress significantly. Kajai left Singapore on Dec 20, 1941 but only reached his destination on Jan 11, 1942, just two days before the Japanese Imperial army tanks rumbled into the city.
As soon as the situation in Kuala Lumpur began showing signs of normality, Kajai proposed and received approval to produce a Malay language newspaper. Perubahan Baru was published in March 1942 using paper sponsored by the Japanese propaganda department, Gun Senden Han. Once Perubahan Baru was on a steady ground, Kajai set his sights once again on Singapore, where he successfully started Berita Malai on Jan 1, 1943.
FATHER OF MALAY JOURNALISM
Kajai was once quoted as saying that he was the pioneer journalist in Malaya during the Second World War and many who came after worked under him and received his guidance. This fact, together with his numerous contributions prior to the Japanese Occupation, cements Kajai’s place in history as the Father of Malay Journalism.
The ideas that flowed from his pen often highlighted the plight of the Malays. Kajai’s critical inclinations and his aims to uplift and unify the nationalistic spirit of the Malays changed the character of the Malay press in Malaya permanently. He was also an active member of several organisations like the Singapore Malay Union, Selangor Malay Organisation and Pahang Malay Federation.
Kajai fell ill in August 1942 and his health continued to deteriorate until his untimely demise on Dec 5, 1943. His death, at a relatively young age of 48, was a great loss for Malay journalism and nationalism. To this day, Kajai remains a literary giant who hasn’t only dedicated more than half of his life time reporting on stories pertinent to the lives of his readers, but was also a prolific novelist with more than 50 titles to his name.
As I take a final look at some of Kajai’s novels, I can’t help but reflect upon the generations who have benefitted greatly from his narratives which promote both mutual respect as well as tolerance. These moral values are just as relevant today in our society as they were during the pioneering days of Abdul Rahim Kajai.