KUALA LUMPUR: The Star Media Group has won three top prizes at the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI)-PETRONAS Malaysian Journalism Awards (HKM) 2022.

The event, held at the Majestic Hotel here, saw Malaysian media outlets vying for the country's top journalism awards.

Tung Eng Hwa, content design executive editor, won the Best Frontpage Design award for Majoriti 7 stories "Undi 18-Apa yang generasi muda mahukan", "Harga rumah naik setanding trend kuasa membeli" and "Siap siaga hadapi musim monsun dan risiko banjir. Bersediakah warga kota?" and took home a RM10,000 cash prize.

Sandhya Menon won the A. Samad Ismail Young Journalist award for her articles "Falling further behind", "Cyberbullying: Virtual threats a real danger" and "Teacher's wish list".

For the Excellent Investigative Reporting category, Aliza Shah Muhammad Shah bagged the gold award for her stories "Express dental danger", "A high price to pay" and "Kid's play to get dentist kit" which came with a RM10,000 cash prize.

The Star's multimedia stories team also went home with the silver award for their stories "MULTIMEDIA: Join us in a virtual tour of Melaka", "INTERACTIVE: Arnold's Seven Secret Penang Spots", and "INTERACTIVE: Can Malaysia regain its pre-pandemic tourism mojo?"

The team comprises editors and journalists Dorairaj Nadason, Sim Leoi Leoi, Abdul Razak Ahmad Idris, Ainul Diyana Pfordten Othman, Shaiful Rizwan Mohd Azhar, Ahmad Izzrafiq Alias, Liew Jia Xian, Ragananthini Vethasalam, Sarban Singh Ranjit Singh, Arnold Loh, Siti Fatimah Zainal Abidin, Mohd Syahril Mohd Jamal and Aida Ahmad.

Lastly, journalist Revathi M. Murugappan bagged a silver award and a RM1,500 cash prize for her stories "Preparing for the endgame", "Calling the trauma team!" and "When doctor becomes patient".

In his opening speech, MPI chief executive officer Datuk Dr Chamil Wariya said that PETRONAS had agreed to extend their sponsorship for the awards ceremony for another three years.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim attended the event as the guest of honour.

In his speech, he said: "The freedom of democracy can only be enshrined if there is reasoned discourse.

"I am still of the view that the duty of a reporter is not only to report but to lead, to be an encourager of ideas. We cannot report without value," he said.

He added that the media has a role to play to spread knowledge and urged all to help instil a love of reading, especially among the younger generation.