ZORRO SALUTES the SUN'S FAB FOUR

The Sun, the Edge and Off the Edge are must reads for me....daily, weekly and monthly respectively.

It has been my pleasure and a great thrill learning that my long-time beer-buddy together with his Sun-buddy Terence Fernendez won Certificate of Excellence for Public Service Journalism. It was a pleasure being introduced to Terence at the Australian Envoy's Media Nite do. I admire their doggedness, perseverance, fearlessness in the tackling of issues that few journalist choose to take.

Jacqueline Ann Surin I came to know when she was in the University of Malaya and had already then acquired a reputation as a debater and a person with deep convictions. I followed Jacq when she was with the Star and now look forward to her columns. This is her second award this year.

I have not met Danny, but will one of these days....maybe at the National Press Club.

To you Four, more power to you and may the force be with you.

Some background on SAPO and citations:

SOPA ANNOUNCES 2007 EDITORIAL
EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS

Hong Kong (May 23, 2007) - The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) announced today the winners of its 2006 awards for Editorial Excellence. Winners were selected for 17 categories for English language media and Chinese language media. In its eighth year, the SOPA Editorial awards received a record high of 508 entries from leading publications across the region. The 93 judges comprised respected journalists, editors and academics from top national and regional media and top universities based in Asia.

"The bar of editorial excellence continues be pushed to new heights and the winners should feel proud of their outstanding achievement and contributions in the field of journalism," said Alan Lammin, SOPA Chairperson.

"We had a remarkably strong collection of winning entries this year, which shows that the dramatic increase in the overall number of submissions for SOPA Awards is being accompanied by a commensurate rise in overall quality," said SOPA Director of Judges David Plott, from the University of Hong Kong's Journalism and Media Studies C

Group B
Excellence in Public Service Journalism

Award : R Nadeswaran & Terrence Fernendez : The Sun (Low Cost Palace)
The Sun : 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.

13. Excellence in Opinion Writing.

Group B
Award : The Sun (Surin's Opinion Series)
The Sun : 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. Ms. Surin examines them in unstinting fashion, from a perspective that is quite personal and therefore very powerful.

5. Excellence in Feature Photography

Group B
Honorable Mention : Danny Lim: Off the Edge (Ronggeng Revolusioner