EX-NST EDITOR WARAN DIES AT 60
He was a great pressman with a largerthan-life character and an even bigger heart
KUALA LUMPUR
“JEFFREY Ramayah… stop calling here. You’re dead!” boomed the voice before the hotline to Parliament was slammed down.
It was a relatively regular thing to hear in the New Straits Times newsroom. It would be late at night and the hotline would be ringing incessantly. It was one of those phones which you didn’t need to dial — just pick it up and the other side would ring.
Veteran NST journalist Jeffrey used to cover Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara sittings for the paper. He had died some time before, and it was a private joke among NST journos that Jeffrey was still on the beat, ringing up the desk with updates at odd hours of the night.
But no one liked to joke about it more than K.P. Waran. His booming voice would carry easily to all the corners of the newsroom, even at normal conversational level. To hear him utter (to others, shout) these words may well have been shocking, at first.
But this was Waran, or K.P., to us. Our executive editor, leader to all, mentor and friend to many. Those who didn’t know him would likely think him an abrasive character. And they could be forgiven for thinking so.
But those of us who knew him knew full well that behind that loud, seemingly fierce, crude façade, lay a larger-than-life person with an even bigger heart, one who truly cared for his reporters and colleagues, a true leader who would fight tooth and nail for his people, come what may.
At a job where the stress can tear someone apart, he brought just the right amount of mirth and mischief to defuse any situation.
That’s not to say he was easy to please when it came to work. Like any consummate journo, Waran demanded the best from his reporters. He was used to giving his best, being passionate about his work.
He was strict, but only because he wanted his people to be the best they could be. There was never a time when he would be unbearably strict, as he seemed to know when to push to get better results and when to encourage.
Many learned from him. Many became better journalists because of him.
Sadly, Malaysia has lost a great pressman. Waran’s wife, Sheila Singam, announced his passing yesterday morning, after months of bravely battling cancer.
Waran joined the NST in 1982 as a reporter, rising through the ranks to become executive editor before leaving in 2008.
He won the Malaysian Journalist of the Year award twice and was a correspondent in numerous war zones, including Cambodia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Sri Lanka and East Timor.
During his colourful career as a journalist, he wrote enlightening articles and commentaries on the local political scene, foreign affairs and a wide range of issues.
He had columns dedicated to the diplomatic scene as well as to individuals who have had a positive impact on society.
Apart from journalism, Waran was passionate about two things in particular: golf and sailing. He found as much time to pursue both these passions, despite his busy schedule and, perhaps, because of the stress of work.
Sailing, especially, seemed to get him going. He took part in many regattas and loved to talk about his adventures with the sea rushing beneath him and the wind in his face.
But while journalism, golf and sailing were his passions, there was nothing more important to him than his family. Passion turned to devotion when it came to Sheila, his two daughters and his godchildren.
If talking about sailing gave him that little twinkle in the eye, there was an absolutely blinding sparkle when he spoke about daughters Joanna and Stephanie. They could do no wrong, such was the love and pride he felt for them. And they loved him just as much.
It was a testimony to his character and the impact that he had on everyone around him that mere minutes after Sheila informed everyone about Waran’s death, tributes began pouring in from ex-colleagues and friends.
Media Prima Bhd news and editorial operations executive director Mustapha Kamil said Waran made significant contributions to the NST.
“On behalf of the New Straits Times Press, I would like to convey our heartfelt condolences to the family of the late Mr K.P. Waran on his demise.
“K.P., as he was known to many of us, served the newsroom as a journalist for the most part of his life, and contributed significantly to operations of the newspaper.
“He will forever be remembered,” he said in a statement yesterday.
On Facebook, The Malaysian Insight editor and chief executive Jahabar Sadiq said Waran was always larger than life.
“A born raconteur and a fine gentleman easy with the smile and easier with the laugh.
“There were as many lessons in journalism as there was about life from the man with the shaggy beard and boisterous banter and laughter booming across the newsroom.”
Former NST journalist Hasnah Abd Rahman said Waran’s death was a big loss to journalism, and that he was a caring and compassionate person.
“While in NST, I was pregnant with my second son... and I met with an accident during my fifth month of pregnancy.
“While I was in the maternity ward, I heard a loud voice telling the nurse, ‘I don’t care, I have to see if she is all right’.
“And so walked in my colleague K.P. Waran. Rest in peace, my dear friend. Journalism has lost a gem.”
The wake service for Waran, which began yesterday, will continue tonight at No. 3 Jalan Rimba Riang 9/15, The Residency Kota Damansara at 8.30pm.
The funeral service will be held tomorrow at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Lorong Utara Kecil, Petaling Jaya, at 11am.