According to The Star, broadcaster Al Jazeera’s interview with former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has just received the “Interview of the Year” award at the Royal Television Society Television Awards 2019 in London.
Remember this interview? Yup, that’s the one!
Source: Malaysia Daily News
The interview titled “Malaysia: Najib Speaks” conducted by journalist Mary Ann Jolley has beaten two other programmes, which are privacy campaigner Max Mosley for Channel 4 and British singer Sir Cliff Richard for ITV.
Here’s what 101 East Al Jazeera tweeted to announce the award they received:
“@AJ101East is thrilled to announce we’ve been awarded Interview of the Year at the prestigious @RTS_media Awards in London. Watch @jolleyma’s interview with former Malaysia PM @NajibRazak here: http://aje.io/najib“
. @AJ101East is thrilled to announce we’ve been awarded Interview of the Year at the prestigious @RTS_media Awards in London. Watch @jolleyma’s interview with former Malaysia PM @NajibRazak here: https://t.co/rgxur7VJKN pic.twitter.com/7Z9sGcVL1M
— 101 East Al Jazeera (@AJ101East) February 28, 2019
According to the Royal Television Society (RTS) jury, the “Malaysia: Najib Speaks” interview stood out for “its courage, tenacity, and sheer unadulterated watchability”.
FYI, RTS was originally founded in 1927 where the society was given its royal title in 1966 with the Prince of Wales becoming its patron in 1997, as reported in Malay Mail.
Source: The Star
“Although the story focused on an issue few would have known about prior to the interview, this did not detract from the viewer’s ability to understand the jaw-dropping venality of the interviewee,” said the RTS jury.
“The jury added that the interviewer’s forensic approach was compelling, her knowledge formidable and her ability to combine persistence with grace quite extraordinary.”
Source: The Straits Times
Al Jazeera’s winning interview was conducted on 26 October 2018 where it showed our former Prime Minister losing his cool when he was confronted with questions relating to the notorious “pink diamond” as well as the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.
When Mary Ann Jolley brought up the 1MDB scandal, he blamed the journalist for being unfair to him. He even told her that he would walk away from the interview if she chooses to continue with the topic.
To jog your memory, here’s the full interview:
Source: YouTube
It was later learnt that Najib had apologised for his behaviour, mentioning that he was worried about his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and both his sons, Norashman and Riza Aziz, who were frequently questioned by the authorities.
“Although the interview went beyond our agreed schedule and beyond the scope which we had agreed on, I was happy to answer, those additional questions,” he said.
Congrats Al Jazeera on winning the “Interview of the Year” award! Tell us what you think of Al Jazeera’s win!
Also read: M’sians Are Calling Out Najib After He Contradicted Source of RM2.6bil in Al Jazeera Interview
