Sharing his 20 years of experience as a reporter, veteran journalist K.C. Jong remembers the good things and the bad things of being part of the press. Regardless of the experiences, the thrill that he got from it was what drove him further.
Reflecting on two decades of reporting
The octogenarian swirls his bowl of ice kacang as he recalls the past when he was an agile reporter in the media industry. Eighty-three-year-old veteran journalist K.C. Jong was filled with enthusiasm as he talked about the good ol’ days of being a reporter in the ‘60s, up until the ‘80s. The decades may not seem to be far apart from today, but are steep in difference as the world of the media develops throughout.
His foray into media stemmed from the curiosity of seeing his friends contributing to a local Chinese daily in 1964.
“I applied for the job to be a reporter for the Sarawak Vanguard. I had to meet the manager and the editor for interviews. When I got accepted, I went to a bookshop in Padungan and purchased two books about how to become a reporter, how to write news and how to conduct interviews.”
Equipped with the basic knowledge of a reporter, Jong started his first job in the field on January 2, 1965. Six months later, he joined his second company, the Sarawak Express, where he worked for just over three years. His last Chinese daily experience was at See Hua Daily News, where he served for several years as its Chief Reporter.
Jong’s final appointment before he retired in 1984 was at the Borneo Bulletin, an English newspaper where he garnered numerous writing experiences.
“I worked there for more than 10 years.”
With his ability to report in both English and Chinese, Jong shared that writing in Chinese was definitely easier for him because the reporting is normally straightforward.
“Working at the Borneo Bulletin, where the editor was Australian, I had to adopt a certain style of writing.”
According to the retiree, English dailies in those days generally preferred exclusive and interesting stories.
“So when I was with them, I learned a lot, even in taking news photos. Throughout those years, I managed to improve myself.”
In those years, Jong recalled that while reporting for Chinese dailies, he had to handwrite the stories. If a reporter’s handwriting was deemed unreadable by the editors, they would have to rewrite them. Meanwhile, at the Borneo Bulletin, he typed his stories on a typewriter.
“Once the editor finishes editing the news, he sends it to a person who arranges it for the newspaper. For Chinese newspapers, this person must find each character individually and arrange them on the page to be printed. Experienced workers are faster, but newcomers tend to be slower,” he said.
Experience in the field
Having been in the news industry for 20 years, Jong remembered being assigned to numerous interesting functions. Among the many events he covered, some gave him the thrills and excitement of being a journalist. Those were the ones that kept him on his feet — always on standby, always running, or riding his motorbike with speed.
“Be alert, be fast, be curious,” he would say. Those are the important elements of being a journalist.
“It’s all about writing exclusive news or being able to report on a significant occasion that gives me the thrill each time.”
On one occasion, Jong recalled flying in a helicopter to Sarikei during the sinking of the M.V. Pulau Kidjang, a popular ship that travels between Kuching and Sarikei.
“The ship sank at the mouth of the Rejang River, in the waters of Tanjung Jerijeh, about 3.5 nautical miles from West Sarikei in 1973. During the helicopter ride over, the bad weather caused a turbulent ride, which made me motion sick.”
According to Jong, he vomited due to motion sickness and was teased by the reporters who went to the site that day.
Another incident that is etched in his memory from his reporting days is the 1979 Tasik Biru bus tragedy in Bau, where a bus carrying students and teachers plunged into the lake.
“I rushed over and saw a line of dead bodies on the ground. The casualties of the accident were one teacher and 29 students. But by then, I was already used to seeing corpses and taking photos of them.”
Sharing further, Jong remembered the first time he saw a corpse at Pangkalan Batu.
“The sight made me feel horrible afterwards. I went back to my motorbike and vomited. I couldn’t eat for a few days. Each time I closed my eyes, I would re-imagine the sight.”
As he reminisced through his days as a journalist, his mind wandered to a night on May 13, 1969, when he had returned home from the office late at 10pm. Routinely, he would listen to Radio Malaysia.
“That night, I heard the announcer announcing that the country is now in a state of emergency and that the Sarawak general election is cancelled.”
His reporter’s senses tingle — he recollects the event vividly.
“I returned to my office — See Hua Daily News — immediately, saw my editor, and we listened to the radio together. I then wrote the story for him to publish the following day. It came out half a page, with big writings stating that the country is now in a state of emergency.”
The next day, Jong revealed that the Special Branch officers visited his office while he was at a function.
“They were looking for me as they were not informed about the emergency and the cancellation of the election. Fortunately, I had a recording of the radio announcements. They thought I was causing trouble. To me, that was the greatest exclusive I got as no other newspaper reported the announcement that day.”
Though retired, mind remains alert
Unfortunately, the thrills of being a reporter were bogged down by his challenge with a bad migraine. Despite treatments in Singapore, Jong was unable to focus on his writing as each time he tried to concentrate, he would experience migraine. Because of that, he retired early in 1984.
Nevertheless, his mind never rests. Once a journalist, forever a journalist — his curious mind continues to wander.
“Whenever I see something that I know would be a good story, I would call my old friends to get them to cover or write about it.”
During his retirement, he worked as an administrator. At night, he would do some translating work for Bernama News. His translation works, he said, had gone on until recent years. During those years also, he had spent his time writing over 20 books about Sarawak history.
Asked what are the differences between media back then and today, Jong said today, journalists have it easier with just our phones, “we could record, take photos and even write the news, and immediately submit it over.”
“Last time, we would have to memorise the main points and use our shorthand skills to write down the important things. However, reporting remains the same,” he added.
Sharing his inspiring story to the press on World Press Freedom Day brings significant motivation to me. As he sips onto his ice kacang, Jong describes being part of the press as like a rabbit — moving around really fast to catch the next, best and most interesting, exclusive news.
Tips on How to Improve in Journalism
By K.C. Jong
- Learn the basic knowledge of writing a news article; know the 6W1H technique of drafting questions, with sharp points while also ensuring it’s interesting and precise.
- Try not to do what others are doing — look for a good angle to explore.
- Act fast, think fast and be curious.
- Write with care and know how to use the correct words to convey information so they don’t create any negative feelings or bring legal problems.
- Anything can be exclusive — something small but hasn’t been written yet can also be an exclusive item.
- Be a journalist with sharp eyes, good hearing, good nose and fast legs.
