PETALING JAYA (May 24, 2007): Three journalists of theSun won top awards given by the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) in Hongkong late Wednesday.

A first-time entrant for the prestigious awards – Asia’s equivalent of the Pulitzer prize – theSun came out tops for Excellence in Opinion Writing and Excellence in Public Service Journalism against major regional publications in the category for local newspapers or small magazines published in English.

The first award, for Excellence in Opinion Writing, was for a series of six commentaries written by assistant news editor Jacqueline Ann Surin, who writes a fortnightly column, Shape of a Pocket, published in the eXtra! section on Thursdays.

Surin beat an entry from the Far Eastern Economic Review’s series of commentaries on Singapore, which received an honorary mention.

theSun’s second win of the night, for Public Service Journalism, was for the story "Low Cost Palace" by the Special Reporting and Investigations team of deputy editor R. Nadeswaran and deputy news editor Terence Fernandez.

The report was an expose on the lavish mansion constructed, without local authority permission, by Port Klang assemblyman and former Klang councillor Datuk Zakaria Md Deros.

Meanwhile, Off The Edge (OTE), a magazine under the Nexnews group which publishes The Edge, The Edge Financial Daily and theSun, won an honorary mention for Excellence in Feature Photography featuring the work of senior writer Danny Lim, "Ronggeng Revolusioner".

theSun editor Chong Cheng Hai and OTE editor Jason Tan received the awards on behalf of their publications at the SOPA gala dinner in Hongkong.

The citation for Surin read: "Brave opinion writer. Jacqueline Ann Surin’s essays examine the cracks in Malaysia’s facade of moderation. Clearly, non-Muslims, ethnic minorities and women are facing new challenges to their liberties. Surin examines them in unstinting fashion, from a perspective that is quite personal and therefore very powerful."

Surin said she was thrilled to receive the award and thanked colleagues, family and friends for their support. "Good journalism does not exist in a vacuum. This award does not just recognise my work as a journalist, it also acknowledges the environment theSun editors have created to encourage good journalism to happen."

The award citation for Nadeswaran and Fernandez read: "Fresh, ambitious reporting that made an impact on political cronyism. A tenacious piece of investigative journalism in a country where it can be difficult to do this kind of reporting."

Fernandez dedicated the award to the many unsung heroes, including contacts, who put themselves on the line so that theSun could tell the story.

"These people could not sit idly while all these wrongdoings were going on by a person who had taken an oath to uphold the law," he said. Speaking from Copenhagen, Denmark where he is on assignment, Nadeswaran said it was hard to imagine that a simple gathering of old boys at his alma mater led to the story. "I thank my friends for tipping us off," he said.

"The whole episode put the appointment of public servants under the microscope and compelled the powers-that-be to be more cautious when selecting a people’s representative."

Group Editor-in-Chief of theSun and The Edge Ho Kay Tat said: "The awards are a credit not only to those who won, but also a recognition of the journalism we as a group stand for.

"Journalism is a public service and we try to do our best to serve the public interest in the face of many constraints and challenges.

"What makes winning the awards more amazing is that just a few years ago, theSun was on the verge of shutting down because of years of losses, and now, our journalists are getting international recognition."

"Not bad for a free newspaper that some in the industry still sneer at," he added.

The annual SOPA awards, which began in 1999, attracted a record number of more than 500 entries this year.

The awards are divided into three categories: regional newspapers, large magazines and wire services published in English, local newspapers or small magazines (English) and Chinese language publications.

Winners this year in the first category included giants in the region – Time Asia, South China Morning Post, International Herald Tribune, The Straits Times (Singapore) and Business Week.