Contest attracts 25 students
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The inaugural New Straits Times (NST) Heard The News Junior Journalists Challenge, held yesterday, was attended by 25 students from four different secondary schools in Shah Alam. The event, which marked the beginning of the inaugural competition, saw participants read out NST articles in a news presenter style, earning points for creativity, diction, grammar, and style.
Shrilaxmi Harenath Rao, a Form Three student from SMK Bukit Jelutong, was crowned the winner, while Sanjanaah Mages Varan and Qaseh Nazatul Nabila Mohd Ridzuan, both from SMK TTDI Jaya, secured second and third place, respectively. Each of the winners received a trophy, certificate, and hamper. Shrilaxmi, 15, expressed that the competition provided an engaging learning experience, while Sanjanaah expressed her newfound interest in media-related study pathways.
Qaseh Nazatul Nabila expressed her hope that the program would be expanded to more schools across the nation. The panel of judges comprised NST associate editor (Content and Digital) Najmuddin Najib, NST Life & Times and Sunday Vibes editor Intan Maizura Ahmad Kamal, and assistant news editor Amalina Kamal. Najmuddin highlighted that the event aimed to make learning English enjoyable and allow students to demonstrate their speaking and presentation abilities.
The competition, organized in conjunction with NST's 181st anniversary, was held with the cooperation of the Petaling Perdana Education Office and sponsored by Nestle. The initiative, supported by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, encourages public speaking skills and could potentially pave the way for students to pursue journalism in the future.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
