KUALA LUMPUR: Berita Harian’s 60th anniversary celebrations, which kicked-off on July 1, entered another exciting phase today with the unveiling of a special Light Rail Transit (LRT) train with new livery featuring the distinctive themes of the Malay paper.
Prasarana Malaysia Bhd rolled out the six-coach train, which made its maiden journey this morning in commemoration of Berita Harian's six decades in the news industry.
The train’s vibrant red exterior – one of the daily’s corporate colours – makes the vehicle unmissable, even from a great distance.
The coaches’ interiors, meanwhile, are dominated by a solid white background with details and accents that promote Berita Harian.
All handgrips, for instance, feature the mastheads of the paper’s multiple segments: BH Skor, BH Didik, Aura, Ibrah, Joran and hip!
Information panels that line the walls and overhead sections feature striking illustrations from Berita Harian’s history, as it evolved since its establishment in 1957, the year of Malaysia’s independence.
In the sixty years it has been in business, the newspaper has stamped its mark on Malaysia as a successful, informative and people-centric source of local news.
Present to send-off the newly-bedecked train on its first journey was Berita Harian group editor Datuk Mahfar Ali and more than a dozen Berita Harian executives.
The train travelled from the Ampang LRT station to the Sentul LRT station and back.
“This exercise is part of our campaign to celebrate our 60th year. It started on July 1 and will run until the end of the year.
“We want to showcase how the newspaper has gone through six decades, the same as the country as an independent nation,” Mahfar said, adding that this is the first time the paper has ‘taken a ride’ on an LRT train.
Another highlight of the maiden journey of the Berita Harian-themed LRT train was its driver – 21-year-old Nur Aina Asmida Jamaluddin.
A woman piloting heavy machinery such as an LRT train is a rare sight; what more, someone so young.
Nur Aina told the New Straits Times that she was proud to be at the helm of the train, especially since it was to celebrate Berita Harian’s anniversary.
“I am honoured to drive the train for Berita Harian’s anniversary. The decorations are interesting, especially because the train is painted red,” she said.
