Bernama chairman Ras Adiba receives PMW award with 'Datuk' title

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 -- Malaysian National News Agency (BERNAMA) chairman Senator Ras Adiba Mohd Radzi was today awarded the Darjah Kebesaran Pangkat Ketiga Panglima Mahkota Wilayah (PMW), which carries the title “Datuk”.

Ras Adiba, 52, was among 81 recipients of the PMW, which is one of the awards, honours and medals conferred by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah in conjunction with the 2021 Federal Territory Day celebration today.

The national paralympic athlete described the award as a big honour for herself and the persons with disabilities (PwDs) community. 

“Receiving this award has motivated me further to keep championing and empowering the PwD community and needy groups.

“This is an award that I truly appreciate as it is a blessing and a recognition for the PwD community,” she said. 

"I am grateful to Allah SWT, and a big thank you goes out to everyone, especially family and friends who have always been supportive and prayed for me,” she told Bernama. 

Ras Adiba was appointed Bernama chairman on Nov 23 on a three-year tenure. 

In addition to being the first woman to hold the position, the veteran television personality is also the president of OKU Sentral, a non-governmental organisation championing the rights of PwD. 

Meanwhile, Bernama chief executive officer Datuk Mokhtar Hussain said the award conferred to Ras Adiba was yet another honour given to the broadcasting and news industry, in addition to being a personal recognition of her struggles for the PwD community. 

“Heartiest congratulations to Senator Ras Adiba and I hope this recognition will motivate her further to lead Bernama towards being a more dynamic and successful organisation in the future,” he said.  

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Deaf Sports Association (MSDeaf), in a Twitter post, also congratulated Ras Adiba on receiving the award. 

In conjunction with FT Day, a total of 335 individuals received awards, honours and medals.

Six were awarded the Seri Utama Mahkota Wilayah (SUMW) which carries the title Datuk Seri Utama, the Seri Mahkota Wilayah (SMW), which comes with the title Datuk Seri (24 recipients); PMW (81 recipients); Johan Mahkota Wilayah (JMW) (49 recipients), Kesatria Mahkota Wilayah (KMW) (76 recipients), Ahli Mahkota Wilayah (AMW) (31 recipients) while 68 more received the Pingat Pangkuan Mahkota Wilayah (PPW).

-- BERNAMA