GEORGE TOWN: The New Straits Times Press (NSTP) Penang bureau scooped three prizes at the Green Pinang Awards 2023 here tonight.
The awards, which come under the Penang Green Journalism Awards 2023 category, honours outstanding, in-depth reporting on green, sustainability and environmental matters in Penang, aiming to educate and empower communities with comprehensive knowledge on the vital issues.
New Straits Times Penang bureau chief Audrey Mellanni Dermawan walked away with the excellence award in the Feature Writing (English) category for her series of articles on climate change titled "Underwater in 10 years", "Climate change adaptation: States dragging their feet", and "Signs of Climate Change".
This marked the fifth year in a row that she has won the award.
She has won the same award since 2019.
Berita Harian's Siti Aminah Mohd Yusof walked away with the excellence award in the Feature Writing (Bahasa Melayu) category for her article "Pulau Mutiara mesra basikal" and "Setiap hari berkayuh lebih 30km cari rezeki".
NSTP photographer Muhammad Mikail Ong Abdullah walked away with second prize in the Photojournalism category for his entry "Pulau Mutiara mesra basikal".
The champion in the Photojournalism category was Bernama's Muhammad Zainulariff Ahmad Sarbri while The Star's Lim Beng Tatt came in third.
The prizes were presented by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
Penang Green Council general manager Josephine Tan Mei Ling said they received 31 entries this year.
She said a new category, the Young Journalism award, was introduced this year.
She said the involvement of young journalists in environmentalism is deemed essential for bringing innovation, passion and effective communication to the forefront of environmental reporting.
"Their contributions play a vital role in raising awareness, inspiring action, and shaping the discourse around environmental challenges and solutions.
"Through all this, we hope to encourage journalists to explore the value of the environmental issues in Penang and to produce articles related to nature and sustainable environment in Penang. We wish to encourage our journalist friends to be more concerned on the climate change and adaptation issues too," she told the NST.
In his speech, Chow acknowledged and paid tribute to all those who had worked tirelessly to transform Penang's 2030 Vision into a green state.