By Nurul Azirah Japin
“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” – Mahatma Ghandi
Captivated by the generous but marvellous quote, Azirah tends to keep the writing profession as her platform to communicate her thought with people.
Born in Keningau, Sabah and later moved to live in a peaceful place in Kundasang, Nurul Azirah Binti Japin, the second child of four siblings, believed that she’s an introvert by nature.
Being excellent in study does not guarantee Azirah to become excellent in talking, but she thinks that there must be a way where she can express her thought clearly.
Holding strongly to Stephen Hawking’s quote “Quiet people have the loudest mind”, Azirah believes that writing is one of the ways to fulfil her aim of being listened to by others without verbally saying out and relaying her ideas.
Azirah describes herself as a shy, quiet and timid person most of the time but can become completely opposite when she encounters something she likes, that include her passion, work, people and also all the things that she highly values.
“In class, I am always the quiet one, but it doesn’t mean that I’m not aware of the surrounding. I’m more an observer myself and only say something when necessary,” she said.
When asked about the reason she chooses journalism, she simply said because it is something that she does alone most of the time (well there is collaborative writing). Writing is the way for her to tell a story without making eye contact with others.
Having parents who are lacking in education also strengthens her desire to succeed in this field because it is like she’s trying to realise her parents’ unfulfilled dreams.
Looking back to the journey she experienced to get into journalism specialisation, she regarded it as “totally not a flowery path where people whom she knows are the same people who had questioned her choice as they claimed that journalism is not a path for her due to her timid personality”.
But she decided to not let it get into her mind as she will just assume that not everyone will understand her as well as her own self.
Being an observer for her has not always been fun as sometimes she can become overthinking over a small matter. Simple thing can be complicated for her due to thinking too much or deeper about it.
As a third year student in her university, Azirah can be said a beginner in her field where there is a still much more to learn to become a journalist, especially in interviewing and writing skills which are essential in this field.
Becoming a journalist for Azirah means that one needs to uphold the truth when reporting and publishing something and must also write in ethical manner as advocated in journalism profession.
When asked about her view on politics, she kept silence for a moment.
“Politic is a time-bomb topic for me, as I can explode anytime when thinking about unethical and unmannered ways of some politicians who keep thinking they are above everyone when what they have is that little power and position. But being a journalist is when you have to be rational and clear in your mind while handling these complex matters.”
Elaborating with enthusiasm, she said it is a journalist’s job to uncover the truth and bring justice when encountered with some evil deeds and keep the society clean and clear with the information provided. Write as it is and there should be no exaggeration.
When asked about the sources that keep her being aware of the situation all the time, she pick Astro Awani as her primary source of information. And when she doesn’t have time for it, she will just watch news on Google News where a variety of news from different publications are found so she can make a comparison and learning at the same time while she is at it.
The book that she has been reading lately is Divine Blessing which is the final sequel of Letter To God by Nor Hafsah Hamid where this book emphasised journey to find our real selves and what kind of person we want to be. This book helps in some ways and we can determine what kind of journalist that we want to become.
The objective of journalism, according to Azirah, is to hold a strong principle and responsibility in relaying the facts to readers and not be manipulated by anyone, because when we start to waver our principle, it’s the start of our regrettable moment that will keep us stuck in it. ***
(This article is written as part of the individual assignment series for Feature Writing class)