YOURS truly used to bump into the late Malay Mail editor-in-chief Datuk Wong Sai Wan during his numerous MCA assignments when he (yours truly) was a rookie reporter at the New Straits Times (NST) in the mid-1990s.
That time, even as he was already a deputy editor with The Star newspaper – a rival paper – Wong, 59, was very humble and accommodating, rendering free flow of reporting tips on how to manage MCA party engagements.
The above are glimpses of the past that yours truly could associate with Wong – and cherish for a lifetime – upon hearing of his demise this morning, after being admitted to Subang Jaya Medical Centre for heart-related issues.
“He came into the hospital at 5.30am and was admitted to the emergency room at 6am. His heart stopped beating,” his son Chee Mun told Malay Mail. “They tried CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on him but they couldn’t revive him.”
As fellow journalists mourn Seremban-born Wong’s loss, The Malaysian Insight CEO-cum-editor Jahabar Sadiq has crafted the following excellent obituary of Wong:
“Received news that veteran journalist Saiwan Wong passed away this morning. He was a larger than life character for some but a staunch friend to most of us.
He spent most of his early years in The Star, first in Seremban and then Petaling Jaya HQ, and then moved on to The Malay Mail as the chief editor.
He was one of the three great journos from the southern states for The Star, the others being Harbhajan Singh who died years ago, and Veera Pandiyan Manickam who’s retired.
I knew them when we all covered the Umno assemblies and these three led, wrote or desked the stories for the paper.
Sai Wan, in his inimitable style, would sidle over and winked for a drink or two ahead of the deluge of stories in the evening.
Once, we even managed to go for a massage across at the Mall before resuming our work. But those days, Umno was strong and we all worked to cover it all. And played for a bit.
We met in KL and other places across Asia and always had time for a drink and chat, being the social animal he was.
Sai Wan was not just a hardworking journo but also an avid golfer, a game he played with so many other journos including the late KP Waran (a NST veteran).
These were the superstars who brought along their golf bag if possible when covering the Prime Ministers on their visits abroad or during global meetings and such here and there.
And turn good and clean copy from the top of their head across phone lines or just typing away on the scene.
Yet he kept time for his family, especially his sister who passed away last month. And the apple of his eye, his daughter.
Thanks for the memories, bro. You are one of a kind and will treasure your friendship and memories for all time.
Enjoy with Hab and KP at the golf links in the sky and say hi to Pak Non (Zainon Ahmad, another towering NST veteran journo) in the great newsroom there.
Rest in peace, Sai Wan.” – May 14, 2021
