PETALING JAYA: One of Malaysia’s longest-serving journalists, Subramaniam Harihar (pic), passed away yesterday at the age of 79.
Despite being in ill-health during his sunset years, his passion for news never faded as he continued to keep readers up to date at The Star’s online desk.
Known fondly as Maniam to his friends and colleagues, Subramaniam began his career at The Malayan Times in 1960 at the age of 17 before moving to UPI.
He subsequently took up a position at the Associated Press, where he eventually rose through the ranks to become a regional bureau chief.
Subramaniam retired from full-time work in the early 1990s and joined The Star as a sub-editor with StarBiz.
In the late 1990s, he developed an interest in digital media and requested a transfer to the online desk, where he stayed for over 20 years.
For those who knew him, Subramaniam was a walking encyclopaedia of knowledge who always told the best stories gleaned from his years on the beat during the formative years of Malaysia.
“He always told the best stories about Tunku Abdul Rahman,” said Vasantha Ganesan, the daughter of his second eldest sister and fellow journalist.
“Not only could he tell stories about press conferences, he could even mimic them,” she said.
Star Media Group chief content officer Esther Ng said Maniam was a diligent worker and would report to work early.
“He was a kind and friendly person who always had something nice to say to those around him. He will be missed,” she said.
Star Media Group advisor Datuk Wong Chun Wai said Subramaniam had journalism in his blood.
“When the Japanese Red Army stormed into the AIA building at Jalan Ampang in 1975, holding 50 hostages including US and Swedish diplomats, Maniam was in the thick of action.
“During the three-day siege, he never left his office for home, running up and down from the scene. These were the days before the Internet.
“I listened in awe and appreciated all these anecdotes, which I knew would be valuable to me in my work. He was a very good and patient teacher,” he said.
Datuk Wong Sulong, former group editor of The Star, described him as “a great mentor to the younger generations of journalists”.
“He was a journalist’s journalist because of his experience in different fields,” he said, while praising Subramaniam for his total devotion to his late wife as he stood by her as she battled leukaemia for two decades.
StarBiz editor Jagdev Singh Sidhu remembers Subramaniam as an articulate journalist.
“I loved spending time listening to his recollections of the early days of Malaysia. He had a wealth of information,” he said.
Former journalist Datuk Kalimullah Hassan recalls Subramaniam’s discipline in managing his health.
“The foreign correspondents used to meet up every Friday in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the only vegetarian, did not smoke and only drank Coke.
“Always good-natured, he had heart surgery about 30 years ago. His first comment when some of us visited him was: ‘You fellows drink, smoke and eat meat. I don’t. I cannot understand why it’s me here,” he said.
Subramaniam’s funeral will be held at noon today at Loke Yew crematorium. Cortege leaves No.1, Jalan SS1/1B Petaling Jaya at 11am on the same day.
