A Malaysian journalist has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation 2019 Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award.
According to a report by The Star Online, the award is among the highest journalism awards given in Canada, and by becoming a recipient, Fabian Dawson became the first ever Asian to receive it.
Born and raised in Malaysia, Dawson went to Canada in 1988 to work. He was attached to local dailies New Straits Times, Malay Mail and Malaysian Business before that.
Speaking to The Star Online, Dawson said he is humbled and honoured to be conferred the award.
"I guess it’s fitting that I am in Malaysia as this news breaks, the birthplace of my journalism career," he said.
Among Dawson’s most notable piece of reporting he did in his more than four decades journalist career was the story regarding the murder of Jaswinder (Jassi) Sidhu, which he broke in 2000.
Dawson, who has worked as the deputy editor-in-chief of The Province newspaper in Vancouver and editor of Vancouverdesi.com, had won numerous Canadian and American newspaper awards, including the Daniel Pearl Award for an investigative series, 'Abandoned Brides: Canada's Shame, India's Sorrow', in 2006.
What can we say, congratulations, Dawson! You deserve it!