KUALA LUMPUR: Veteran journalist and former politician Datuk Rosnah Abd Majid, 71, passed away at her sister’s residence in Teluk Bahang, Penang, at 9.30 this morning.
Her passing was confirmed by her sister, Mariam Abd Majid, when contacted by Bernama, today.
“It was known that she had been suffering from kidney-related complications, and underwent a kidney transplant in China in 2001. Her remains are currently in Penang, and will be laid to rest in Kuala Lumpur,” Mariam said.
Born in 1953 in Sungai Pial, Merbuk, Kedah, Rosnah was an Economics graduate from Universiti Malaya. She had a distinguished career, spending 20 years at Utusan Malaysia, where she became the first recipient of the prestigious Kajai Award, in 1984.
In addition to her journalism career, Rosnah served as a state assemblywoman for the Tanjung Dawai constituency, winning the seat in the 1999 General Election after defeating a PAS candidate. She also held the position of Kedah Wanita UMNO Liaison Committee chief for the 2000/2003 term.
In 2007, Rosnah was appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Communication and Modern Languages at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), a role she held for a year.
Meanwhile, Norzahizan Ismail, a friend of the deceased, said that Rosnah had suffered a fall in the bathroom prior to her passing.
“I was informed that Rosnah had flown to Penang three days ago to visit her sister, who had been admitted to Penang Hospital due to a heart condition,” Norzahizan said.
In addition to her role as an assemblywoman, Rosnah also served as a member of the Kedah State Executive Council from 1999 to 2004.
She ventured into the business world in 2004, joining the Florida-based company EBM for two years, before founding her own consulting firm, Ramwell Sdn Bhd, in 2007. Ramwell specialises in government affairs, strategic planning, and communications.
In 1985-1986, she was awarded the Journalise en Europe fellowship by the European Union, to study journalism in Paris.
Rosnah was also the first Malaysian female journalist, and the first from a vernacular newspaper to receive the prestigious Nieman Fellowship for journalists at Harvard University (1988-1989).
