Nursing advocate, veteran journalist bestowed with lifetime achievement award

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 (Bernama) -- Putra Intelek International College (PIIC), a member of the Intellect EduConsult Group (IEG), has bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award on nursing advocate Dame Matron Dr Ramziah Ahmad and veteran journalist Govindnair K. Mathavanair.

IEG Group chief executive officer Dr Barathan Muniyandy said the senate along with the senior management decided to honour Dr Ramziah and Govindnair in recognition of the life-long dedicated service they have rendered to the nation in their respective fields.

In a statement, he said Dr Ramziah, 69, has provided stellar performance as a practitioner and advocate of the nursing profession for nearly five decades.

“Dame Matron Dr Ramziah, who is the immediate past President of the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation based in London is the first Malaysian woman to be bestowed with the prestigious title of 'Dame' by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom,” he said.

Meanhwile, Govindnair, 71, the Special Projects Editor at the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), has spent over 50 years of his career contributing to journalism in the country by way of reporting, writing, editing and training.

The announcement and presentation of the awards were made at the 10th convocation cum graduation ceremony held at the Midlands Convention Centre in Shah Alam on Dec 10, with a thousand attendees including prominent dignitaries, graduates and their family members.

Dr Ramziah is a UK-certified professional trainer who has unflinchingly proven her mettle in elevating the status of nursing practice over five decades and winning numerous accolades locally and around the world.

She holds a PhD in Complementary Medicine and has held several roles as a trainer, national researcher as well as ward management consultant in the Ministry of Health and leadership roles in nurses associations at the state, national and international levels for 22 years.

Govindnair, who writes under the pen name M. Govind Nair has served with Bernama, the Malaysian Business, Malaysian Industry and Business Today magazines, as well as The Sun newspaper.

Much of his journalistic life has been with Bernama, where he moved up the editorial ladder from a stringer in Ipoh to become the assistant chief sub-editor of the English Desk at the headquarters in Kuala Lumpur over a period of 22 years before opting for early retirement to try his hand in the other media outlets.

He had served as secretary of the Bernama Employees Union and president of the Bernama Staff Club for a number of years, the secretary of the National Press Club (NPC) for several years, and helped to organise talks and courses for the members and other journalists, including in Sabah and Sarawak.

Govindnair returned to Bernama in 2004 on contract as a sub-editor and moved on to become the chief sub-editor for English Desk, before being appointed to the newly-created post of Special Projects Editor two years ago.

Dr Barathan said PIIC has been bestowing the Lifetime Achievement Award since 2004.

Some of the previous recipients of the award include Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, Datuk Seri Dr Michael Chong, Datuk Dr Choong Tuck Yew, Dr Amurugam Saminathan and Datuk Teo Heng Hua.

-- BERNAMA