Masked riders
Newspaper delivery will be done come rain, shine or haze.
KUALA LUMPUR: Come rain, shine or bad air, newspaper vendors make sure that The Star gets delivered on time to its readers, every single day.
“Nothing will stop us from delivering newspapers every day, not even rain, sun or haze,” said newspaper agent esan S.K. Muthu after he was presented with an N95 mask by Star Media Group Bhd’s chief executive officer Andreas Vogiatzakis yesterday.
Ganesan, 60, who started distributing newspapers 45 years ago, said that despite the haze, it is still the responsibility of vendors to deliver newspapers on time.
He was among several groups of vendors in Lebuh Ampang who were presented with masks before going on their delivery rounds in the heart of the city.
In Damansara Utama, newspaper agent M. Saravanan, 47, said this was not the first time that masks were given to his vendors.
“It is good that vendors are given some protection from the haze. The Star had done so previously when the country was affected by it,” said Saravanan, who has been in the business for some 30 years.
S. Maruthaveeran, 44, said he was happy to get a mask and was surprised to see Andreas personally handing them out to vendors at about 4.30am.
When met, Andreas said that as a leader in the media industry, the company wanted to ensure its employees and vendors stay healthy and safe in light of the haze.
“We have decided that all our employees, especially those on the ground such as reporters, guards and vendors, take care not to be exposed more than necessary to the current conditions.
“This is to ensure getting the papers to our readers’ doorstep is done as safely as possible under current circumstances,” he said.
The Star began distributing masks to newspaper vendors in Klang Valley last Wednesday, with some 3,000 to be distributed to vendors nationwide by early this week.