Saturday, April 25, 2009

Passing of a journalism Guru


Al-Fatihah

I lost my journalism sifu and a good friend today.

M.A.Razman @ Rattan Singh, a long-serving journalist in the New Straits Times Press Group, did not wake up this morning. According to friends, he passed away in his sleep....peacefully.

I first came to know Razman when I joined the Pre-Entry Editorial Training Scheme (PETs) in 1988. He was the journalism facilitator for the NST group.

Razman was a no-nonsense teacher. It was easy for him to lose his temper, but he was equally quick to make up for it.

Razman was also a keen hockey player. He played hockey for the NST team until the day he retired. Upon his retirement, coached the Victoria Institution Under-18 hockey.

It was under Razman's tutelage that the NSTP managed to produce many renowned journalists. I can't name them here as the list will be too long.

Semoga rohnya dicucuri rahmat dan di tempatkan di syurga Firdausi seperti yang dijanjikan kepada hamba-hambNya yang soleh.

Al-Fatihah

p.s. This picture was taken after the NST editorial team, of which Razman was captain, won the NSTP inter-department hockey tournament. I can't remember what year it was. Razman is standing second from left.

16 comments:

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Innalillah.. Ucapan takziah kepada Salmiah and family. Al-Fatihah untuk allahyarham; semoga rohnya ditempatkan bersama roh orang2 yg beriman. Amin.

Anonymous said...

Salam Takziah buat keluarga Razman. Semoga arwah digolongkan dikalangan para solehin. Al-fatehah. - Kam

Juhaidi Yean Abdullah said...

Sdr Ashraf

When i saw this photo last night, one thousand images rushed through my brain. I tried, but couldnt capture one single moment as new images kept popping up in my head. It was like watching a movie but ffwd 32X.

This photo was taken in 1989 - 20 years ago.We had just completed our pre-editorial training scheme (PETS) with the NST. I was the Class Monitor and you were my closest sidekick. In this photo, i see 3 other PETS - Jahabar Sadique (now with Reuters TV), Baidura (Bank Negara) and Suraya Al-Attas (still with NST?).

PETS was the brainchild of Datuk Ahmad A. Talib (then News Editor of NST). Besides Razman, other trainers included Mary Chandipillai (NST Training Dept) and Nash (ex-BH News Editor, now with Malaysiakini).

Indeed, Razman was a good teacher. More importantly, he was a good man. Fierce but friendly. A disciplinarian but kind hearted. Given his tutelage, many of us were given the knowledge, skills and tools to make our journey into the world of journalism a worthwhile experience. Some of us are still writing, others have moved on but the journalistic instincts will always be with us. Thank you Razman - we salute you and grief your departure.

I was with another PETS - Sdr Habhajan (now editor with Malaysian Reserve) visiting Razman's family at his Bukit Damansara residence prior to his burial yesterday. In his house were family members and friends - Malays, Sikhs, Indians, Chinese and even half Malay-half Chinese like me. There i also met old colleagues: Hanim Melan and husband Johan, Au Fong Yee, Lam Seng Fatt and few others. It struck me that we were actually individuals in one big family connected by our writing profession.

In this photo, i see our seniors: Datuk Nazri Abdullah (i met him by chance 2-3 years ago when he was about to get married to a Kelantanese lady from my kampung), Zainul Arifin (a popular columnist with NST), Yusof Taib (now businessman/entrepreneur), Bilveer (where the hell are you, bro?) and the ever lovable Muharyani (my laughing partner). John, a legend in NST like Razman, has also passed away some years back.

Bro, thanks for posting this photo. It brought alive memories and nostalgia. If this photo can gather 10-15 people - or even more - i'll be more than happy to host everybody at kelantan Delights Restaurant!

Anonymous said...

Al-Fatihah buat Razman dan salam takziah buat keluarganya.

M.A. Razman taught me well when I was enrolled in the Pets 3 programme in 1990. He was a gem of an individual.

Undoubtedly one of if not the best journalism trainer there was.

I doubt I would be where I am today without the guidance, advise and teachings of this man.

I will miss him.

Harris Iskandar Taib

Anonymous said...

Takziah & Al-Fatihah

I received a SMS yesterday from one of our buddies but were not able to join the rest in paying our last respects since I was outstation.

We shall always remember what Allahyarham Razman had taught us on journalism in particular and life in general.

Semoga Allah SWT mencucuri rahmat ke atas rohnya. Amin.

Idzan Ismail said...

Alfatihah

Kak Sal, Bobo and Bro, I am sorry for your loss.
Ratan and I go back long ways. He was in UPI, I was in Bernama.
Then we were in Bernama and both left for other papers.
We always bring our kids to the office, my eldest being several years younger than Bobo.
Now our grandkid play in the same park.

Sivaraman said...

Thanks for this posting Ashraf. Sure brings back memories. When I was with BH, the late Razman and I played for the NSTP hockey team. He was the left back, I was the right back, Citizen Nades was the goalkeeper and Dato Tg Sharifuddin was centre foward. If I remember correctly, you were in the team too at one point Ashraf. We played hard and had so much fun (especially the sessions after the game!). I dropped by the house quite early last Saturday to pay my last respects. Met Shiv and Randhir Singh there.May Razman rest in peace.

Anonymous said...

Folks!
I'm sad to hear of Razman's passing. Was not able to make it to either the cemetery or the house though I was alerted by Jahabar.
He was a good man.

KH

Rantong said...

Salam takziah..

View Profile: Rantong™

Kak Teh said...

Al- Fatehah dan salam takziah kepada Salmiah sekeluarga daripada Zaharah dan Hulaimi.

mohd yusof taib said...

Sdr Ashraf,

Bro, why put that picture la. It brings back good old memories la. It kinda make me sad just to think of the many good memorable days at Jln Riong. Life was so fun back then to be writing for NST. No blogs, no on line news portal and we know our pieces were read by thousands. The bond between journalists and editors were so strong then. But things were so different now. Gosh how i miss the many moments in Balai Berita.
And Jhaidi, thank you for your piece.Pleased to know your Kelantan Delights is even more delightful after shifting from KLCC though i have to admit belum sempat pergi makan kat sana lagi. Honestly my taste bud is very much confined to Johor Delights la.
Lastly, AlFatihah to Allahyarham Razman. He was a good man and friend. May Allah Bless him.

mohd yusof taib said...

Sdr Ashraf,

Bro, why put that picture la. It brings back good old memories la. It kinda make me sad just to think of the many good memorable days at Jln Riong. Life was so fun back then to be writing for NST. No blogs, no on line news portal and we know our pieces were read by thousands. The bond between journalists and editors were so strong then. But things were so different now. Gosh how i miss the many moments in Balai Berita.
And Jhaidi, thank you for your piece.Pleased to know your Kelantan Delights is even more delightful after shifting from KLCC though i have to admit belum sempat pergi makan kat sana lagi. Honestly my taste bud is very much confined to Johor Delights la.
Lastly, AlFatihah to Allahyarham Razman. He was a good man and friend. May Allah Bless him.

Unknown said...

Dear Ashraf,

Thank you for remembering my father.

He did many things but was especially proud of PETS and his students.

Rgds

Razali Razman
(aka Bobo)

D'Rimba said...

Salam...........

Anonymous said...

O indeed he was a jounalism Guru! I just discovered this news of his passing and I am quite saddened by it. I was in PETs training in 1993. As a teacher, he imparted real and useful skills to do our jobs effectively. I remember well, he had such a wealth of experiences to share. He was honest. He gave his insights with no sugar coating, sometimes even with no happy endings. He was sometimes even wistful and lethally stinging in his rebukes but I would like to think that they were all constructive. I wished we had more time with him. My deepest condolences to his family.
Jennifer Choy

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