Bernama a family to me, says Yong

In an emotional farewell speech, retired general manager Datuk Yong Soo Heong paid tribute to Bernama after serving 40 years in the organization he regards as a family.

“The family spirit means no one is left behind or forgotten, no family is perfect, we argue but family is family...

“Through Bernama I have a better life, got to know more people,” he said at a farewell-do organized by Bernama to capped his illustrious career from 1974 to 2014 at Wisma Bernama today.

Yong recalled that  he sometimes come across people who told him that he was familiar to them.

“I’ll be scratching my head in the toilet trying to figure out who the person I met in the car park was,” he said.

He also spoke of the time when former General Manager Datuk Syed Jamil  Jaafar, then the editor-in-chief,  asked him  to interview then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the Prime Minister’s office at Jalan Datuk Onn.

Not wanting to be late and take chances of the heavy traffic, he got an Indian guy on motorcycle in Setapak to take him to the Prime Minister’s Office.

“The only road that he knew was Jalan Kuching and when we passed through Jalan Kenny, he took his time admiring the big bungalows in the area.

“I was of course worried and pestered him to rush me to the Prime Minister’s office.

“We arrived on time but I forgot to claim the RM50 which I paid the man,” he quipped.

One of the saddest moment in his illustrious career was after the 2008 general elections when a state leader insisted Bernama came out with an apology letter over a misreporting.

Yong wrote the letter but did not expect the state leader to go to town with the letter inferring how incompetent a government agency was.

Despite the unpleasant episode, Yong said he mostly had great feelings throughout his career.

He thanked his seniors including former news editor Musa Scully, now NAM News Network (NNN) director, who was among those who turned up for the farewell party.

“He gave me a follow-up to find out why the price of fish went up,” Yong recalled of an assignment Musa gave him early in his career.

“Can you imagine the bewilderment I was in…for three hours, I sweated trying to find out why the price had gone up,” he said.

Yong also remembered the time when he was a sports reporter covering the Pestabola Merdeka, the grand football tournament of yesteryears.

After a dinner at the Royal Selangor Golf Club, he followed sports editor Tai Sing Onn home to his just-bought house at Old Klang Road, each carrying a Tiger beer glass.

He did not know why they were carrying the glasses, which accidently dropped along the way and cut Tai’s hand.

But the late Tai remained cheerful and exclaimed “Merry Christmas” when he reached home.

“I didn’t know why he mentioned Christmas when the Pestabola Merdeka was held in August,” he said. 
Speaking to journalists later, Yong said  Bernama employees including reporters should be open to criticisms from their respective department heads to be relevant as a respected official news source.
He said each criticism is aimed at bringing changes for the better not only to the agency, but also to the employees of the organization.
"In the world of journalism, for example, 'deadline' is very important and sometimes the pressure experienced by the seniors is very strong. 
Therefore, in a journalism career, we must be prepared to accept criticisms, as otherwise how are we to learn.
"So, a warning by a senior must be taken with an open mind so that we can perform any task better," he said.

FotoBERNAMA

Yong reminded employees in the news agency to endeavour to show their best performance and safeguard the reputation of the organisation.
"If we were a journalist, we must not become a 'consumer' of news written by others, but rather that we must endeavor to do something so that more people read and see our news," he said.
Yong, who retired in October, said that if the matter was adhered to by every journalist, it would be beneficial and make the organisation more renowned.
"This is a very important matter. When we often seek to give our best performance, when we are offered tougher assignments in the future, we can do them with excellence and perfection," he said.
Yong joined BERNAMA as a cadet reporter in 1974 before becoming Assistant Editor in 1993, editor in 1997 and Executive Editor of Economic News Service in 2004.
He was later promoted to Editor-in-Chief for six years from March 1, 2007 to March 14, 2013, and General Manager on 1 Jan 2013.
--BERNAMA