BUTTERWORTH, A part-time RTM cameraman from Penang, on assignment to cover an event, had his day take a tragic turn as he became a news headline after being shot in the left shoulder during a shooting incident in 2016.
Following the incident on the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway near here, Mohamad Amirul Amin Mohamed Amir, who has served in RTM for 15 years, has been hospitalised more than five times due to heart attacks.
The 36-year-old is one of the three Tabung Kasih@HAWANA recipients in Penang who are dealing with medical conditions.
‘Last May, I was getting ready to join the 2024 National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA) celebration in Sarawak. Unfortunately, two days before I was due to leave, I suffered a heart attack and was admitted to Penang Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.
‘Even though I am only a part-time cameraman, I am grateful and deeply moved by the assistance extended to me by the HAWANA team,’ Mohamad Amirul Amin told Bernama after receiving the donation from Tabung Kasih@HAWANA today.
The in
cident at 7.15 pm on Dec 1, 2016, claimed the lives of three men, including businessman Datuk Ong Teik Kwang, 32, and left five others, including Mohamad Amirul Amin, injured by stray bullets fired by Ong’s bodyguard.
Mohamad Amirul Amin, who was on his way to the Penang Pesta site in Sungai Nibong with a fellow journalist, suffered a left shoulder injury as a result of the incident.
Earlier, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who was on a one-day visit to the state, handed over donations from Tabung Kasih@HAWANA to three media practitioners in Penang.
He also presented the National Film Development Corporation’s (Finas) Ziarah Seni MADANI aid to veteran singer Rocky Din, whose real name is Mohd Hashim Sharif, 75.
Also present were Bernama chief executive officer Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin and editor-in-chief, Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, as well as Finas CEO Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib.
Apart from Mohamad Amirul Amin, Sin Chew Daily newspaper journalist Chew Sin Chye, 62, who suffers from heart disease, and f
ormer AlaiOli reporter Santhiah Arokiasamy, 74, who has been battling heart disease since 2005, also received donations from Tabung Kasih@HAWANA.
In addition to cash donations, they also received goods from Syarikat Pakaian Hari-Hari and Aeon Big.
Meanwhile, Fahmi said that today’s recipients are among 110 media practitioners who have benefited from Tabung Kasih @HAWANA since the initiative was introduced in April last year.
‘InshaAllah, we will expedite our efforts to provide swift assistance to members of the media and we will establish a mechanism to engage with Malaysian media clubs to identify and address the welfare needs of our media friends,’ he said.
Fahmi also expressed hope that the strong bonds among media clubs in the country would reap benefits from Tabung Kasih@Hawana.
Tabung Kasih@HAWANA, established in conjunction with the HAWANA 2023 celebration, aims to support journalists and media personnel, whether still in service, retired, elderly, or in need of assistance.
It is an initiative by
the Ministry of Communications implemented through Bernama.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency