CNA's reporting of Southeast Asia's oldest civilisation wins SOPA award
An aerial view of the temple sites at the Bujang Valley Archaeological Museum. (Photo: Bujang Valley Archaeological Museum)
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SINGAPORE: A deep dive into the remains of Southeast Asia’s oldest civilisation and a retired researcher’s call for young archaeologists to continue uncovering its history, won CNA an accolade at the Society of Publishers Asia (SOPA) 2024 Awards on Thursday (Jun 20).
The article - Kedah has Southeast Asia's oldest civilisation and archaeologists barely know its complete history – by correspondent Aqil Haziq Mahmud won the regional award for Excellence in Arts and Culture Reporting.
It edged out other finalist entries by The Japan Times, which took home an honourable mention, and Frontier Myanmar.
The category honours work that “demonstrates high standards of reporting and writing” in fine arts and cultural topics.
The CNA feature delved into the significance of the Bujang Valley in the Malaysian state of Kedah, and the researcher who dedicated 14 years to studying it and uncovering its deep history.
Judges commented that the winning CNA piece was a “fascinating look at an important but underreported archaeological site in Malaysia that draws its history from the country, Southeast Asia and beyond”.
“The reporter explains the challenges of recruiting a new generation of archaeologists and researchers, as well as fundraising, to continue the work,” the judges added.
Professor Mokhtar Saidin, who worked at the Sungai Batu archaeological site in the area from 2007 to 2021, told CNA about his landmark discovery – his team uncovered evidence of a thriving iron export industry dating as far back as 788 BC.
This is much older than the famous monuments of Borobudur (8th century) in Indonesia and Angkor Wat (12th century) in Cambodia, making Sungai Batu and the larger Bujang Valley complex it is part of the oldest civilisation in Southeast Asia.
Professor Mokhtar, who has since retired, also told CNA about his desire for the next generation to take on the mantle of uncovering the rich history of the area.
Bujang Valley is believed to have occupied an area as big as 1,000 sq km on Malaysia’s west coast, stretching from northern Penang to Kedah and possibly eastwards to as far as the current border with Thailand.
Since more than a century ago, researchers who worked on the valley have dug up evidence of Hindu-Buddhist temples, iron smelting sites and ancient relics.
Accompanying the article were photographs by CNA visual journalist Fadza Ishak, giving readers a closer look at these artefacts and the remains of an iron smelting facility and other infrastructure that supported this once-thriving civilisation.
SOPA is a Hong Kong-based non-profit organisation dedicated to pursuing excellence in journalism. Its awards recognise outstanding works of journalism over the past year in the Asia-Pacific region.
Other winners this year include the South China Morning Post and Rappler.
South China Morning Post took home a regional award for Excellence in Photography for its story about how dams in China have affected livelihoods in Cambodia.
Rappler was recognised with the Carlos Tejada Award for Excellence in Investigative Reporting in the regional category for its investigation uncovering how diplomats exploit cheap labour.
