KUALA LUMPUR: Veteran journalist Muharyani Othman will be missed by many of her former colleagues and friends for her loudness, jokes, liveliness and many other positive traits.
Muharyani, fondly known as Yani, died of cancer while receiving treatment at the National Cancer Institute in Putrajaya today (March 1). She was 68.
She was buried at the USJ22 Subang Jaya Muslim cemetery.
She spent close to 30 years with the New Straits Times and was editor at the Woman's Desk and City Extra.
In 2007, she joined Bernama as a sub-editor on its English Desk.
She was the National Press Club vice-president and former Malaysian Women Journalists Association president from 2007 to 2016.
Muharyani's former colleague at the NST Women's Desk, Putri Juneita Johari shared on Facebook the last time they spent together with several friends on Oct 17 last year.
Murharyani paid for lunch as she said there was no other time where she could treat all them to a meal.
Later, the two women chatted in the car during their journey to Bangsar.
"We wanted to chat some more and wanted to find a coffee place but Yani said she had to go. Before she got out of the car, she turned around, looked at me, you know that searching full on look?
"And then she said, 'I love you Juneita. Life is precious. No point to hold grudges or hold onto anger. We have not wronged each other, right?'
"I answered, 'Of course not, Yani. We may have irritated each other, but we never fought right? I hope you will forgive me if I had made any mistake or hurt your feelings?'
"And Yani said in that typical Yani tone, 'Ya! Ya! What is there to forgive? Love you!'. She got out of the car, closed the door and walked to the pavement.
"As I drove off, she turned around and waved. That was the last time I saw her. Oct 17, 2022," Putri Juneita wrote.
Former NST Ipoh bureau chief Jerry Francis said they had both worked together in the late 1970s.
He remembered her as a jovial person who loved to crack jokes, sociable and never feared any assignment.
"I was covering security operations near the border area and at one time she was sent to relieve me. Despite the danger, she bravely covered the assignment. She was adventurous and up for anything," he added.
Francis said he last met Muharyani during the last Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations in Ipoh.
He said Muharyani would always call him to go over to her house for the festivities and his grandchildren enjoyed her company, jokes, laughter and food.
"She would prepare beef and chicken rendang. We will miss her and her cooking. She was someone who mixes with everyone, regardless of race or religion," he said.
NST sub-editor Lakshmi Natarajan said Murharyani was a livewire everywhere she went.
"One thing I will never forget is her laughter. The whole office could hear her," she said.
NST photographer Amirudin Sahib described Muharyani as someone who spoke her mind, but was kind-hearted and never harboured ill feelings towards anyone.
"She was a dedicated, disciplined journalist who was focused on her work. If you make mistakes, she was not afraid to tell you off. She was respected for her honesty as she always wanted the best.
"She was always very well prepared for her assignments. She would want to know who was the assigned photographer and during my assignments with her, she would offer me picture ideas," he said.