Star Media Group’s Esther Ng elected as incoming ANN chairman

Outgoing ANN chairman Mahfuz Anam (left) with Star Media Group chief content officer Datin Paduka Esther Ng, who has been elected as incoming ANN chairman.

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia — Star Media Group chief content officer Datin Paduka Esther Ng has been elected as the incoming chairman of the Asia News Network (ANN).

She will assume the post from outgoing chairman Mahfuz Anam, with her term beginning on Jan 1 next year.

This marks the third time a woman has been appointed as the ANN chairman.

“I intend to tell stories differently. Times have changed and there are modern ways of storytelling now.

“We have to showcase Asia at the forefront,” Ng said on the sidelines of the ANN 25th anniversary summit here on Thursday (Sept 5).

She also said that women, climate, and issues concerning the younger generation were close to her heart.

Ng expressed gratitude to Mahfuz for helming ANN during a difficult time.

“He helmed it for three years due to the pandemic. He was a calming factor for all of us.

“The pandemic itself was a crisis and out of the blue, we found ANN at a crossroads where we had to find our own fundings at some point. We started something and my job is to continue,” said Ng.

Ng was unanimously elected as the ANN chairman during its board meeting on Thursday.

Mahfuz said Ng’s election marked a transition from an elder to a younger leader.

On ANN, Mahfuz said they had decided to launch an Asia Dialogue program featuring dialogues between Asian think leaders and business and political leaders.

“We will bring in voices from our own countries to share their thoughts with the rest of Asia.

“It will have political and intellectual leaders as well as musicians, writers, and more extraordinary people who reside in our countries to voice their views to the rest of Asia,” he said.

Other projects in the pipeline include recognizing young changemakers in Asia.

He also said ANN has the task of projecting Asia to the rest of the world.

“We are known for our magnificent achievements, mostly through the Western media. ANN is a platform that tells Asian stories through Asian newspapers to the rest of the world,” he said.

Mahfuz added that the media scene has evolved with the rise of social media and various digital platforms.

He also expressed gratitude to Star Media Group and Sin Chew Daily for organizing the event.

ANN is the leading regional alliance of news titles striving to bring the region closer, through an active sharing of editorial content on happenings in the region.

The network’s members hail from the 10 Southeast Asian economies as well as several other locations in East and South Asia.

Apart from Malaysia, other media outlets are from Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam.

Bernama chairman and Star advisor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai congratulated Ng on her appointment.

“This is most timely as Malaysia will assume the post of chairmanship of Asean next year.

“With Ng at the helm, we hope she will provide a greater voice on the role of Asean.

“Asean media outlets make up the core members of ANN.”

Wong said he was proud that a Malaysian journalist would be heading ANN.

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