KUALA LUMPUR: Veteran newscaster Ras Adiba Radzi has been receiving congratulatory messages on social media as it is learned she has been appointed Dewan Negara senator with the swearing-in ceremony set to take place tomorrow.
While she has yet to openly acknowledge the appointment, she did announce her departure from the world of broadcasting yesterday.
Ras Adiba shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram after her last day of service at NTV7.
The post reads: "I'm leaving you after 34 years. I ate, slept, worked and lived as a wardrobe coordinator, broadcast journalist, sports commentator, producer and news anchor.
"From as far back as 1986 in Jalan Liku, Bangsar, I grew up to become the country's youngest newscaster.
"My heart would sing each time I am on-air or out reporting on the ground, I never tire, it became a passion. My adrenalin would jump up high each time I hear the countdown and when the lights go on.
"This is a sad day, a day that I know would come but not know when. I am a newswoman and I will never stop being one. I bid you farewell dear love and I hope you know how much joy you have brought into my life.
"And tonight at 8pm, May 16 NTV7, I shall remove the lapel microphone from my jacket very gently and the audio piece placed in my ears for the last time.
"My heart bleeds but I know that I have to do this and that I have done what it takes. Thank you TV3 and thank you NTV7, I leave you now, but I will never say goodbye. Perhaps you would miss me too?"
Ras Adiba, who heads the non-governmental organisation (NGO) OKU Sentral, has been wheelchair-bound following injuries on her spine due to an accident in 1995 and from an assault during a robbery attempt six years later.
Since then she has undergone physiotherapy and participated in shooting events including at the 2015 Para Asean Games in Singapore.