"We have lost an icon"

Affectionately referred to by his media colleagues as 'Pak Non', the Consultant Editor of The Sun newspaper succumbed to liver cancer at 2.25pm Wednesday at the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital in Kota Baharu after being admitted to the intensive care unit, yesterday.

Zainon, 70, who was born in Semeling, Lembah Bujang, Kedah in 1942, left behind wife Hasnah Abdullah, 65, four children and 14 grandchildren.

A History graduate who obtained his masters degree in International Relations from University Malaya, he started his career as a teacher before venturing into journalism, 35 years ago.

He joined The New Straits Times newspaper in 1978 and was promoted to Group Assistant Editor in 1997 before becoming its Consultant Editor in 2001 and the following year joined The Sun as its Chief Editor.

Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) CEO Datuk Chamil Wariya described him as a true journalist whose passion for journalism preceded over other more ambitious aspirations.

"He was a critical social observer because he could not only appraise the facts of an issue perceptively where others might have missed, but also had the ability to translate what they implied accurately," he told Bernama here.

Chamil further recalled Zainon as a "very humble man, very down to earth" and a great joker who never failed to make him laugh.

"He knew how to interact with his readers and understood them, as in his column on current and political issues, 'What they say' in The Sun, and he did not shy away from stating his points where necessary," according to him.

Chamil said Zainon was with them in advocating the formation of the Malaysian Media Council, a body that monitors the media industry in the country.

Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) general manager Datuk Yong Soo Heong who was also involved in the formation of the media council had always noted Zainon's audacity in upholding the media's role.

"Pak Zainon always fought tooth and nail for the independence of the media while maintaining his wit and humour," he said adding that he always admired Zainon's work as he was a master story teller.

"His mastery with words often had the effect of transporting one to the scene of the story," he said. Meanwhile, The Star's Executive Director/Group Chief Editor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai described Zainon as a very open minded person, definitely a true Malaysian and highly regarded among journalists.

"His proficiency in English and ability to communicate in Tamil and Tagalog made him an early journalist in Malaysia who covered the civil war in Mindanao a long time ago; now we missed somebody who could tell us about what really happened in Lahad Datu," he said.

Wong said Zainon had been looking forward to covering the upcoming 13th General Election.

"Today was a very emotional day for me because he is one of the decent men in my life. I never knew he had liver cancer because he looked perfectly healthy," he said adding that he first met Zainon in 1990.

Meanwhile, National Press Club president Mokhtar Hussain said Zainon never disappointed anyone who invited him to give talks on journalism.

"He is a true journalist, a role model to young journalists in the country," he said.

Zainon won the Media Personality Award in 2010, studied Press Management at the Thomson Foundation in London and was a fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tuft University, Boston, United States of America.