The writer at the Parliament’s press room in 1994 with her seniors Wong Chun Wai, Leanne Goh and Nizam Isa.

       TWENTY nine years ago on this date – June 27, 1992 – the page one photo story in The Star read “The World, Our Oysters”. It had my name on it and a photo credit to Bonnie Yap, The Star’s only female photographer then. We were both jubilant to earn our first front page bylines together.

       Almost three decades on, I still have that article, along with my Star tag, reporter’s call card and copies of my published articles during my two years with “the people’s paper”.

       Talk about being sentimental! I hold dear to the memories of my first job at The Star. It was also my husband’s (then coursemate) first job upon graduation.

       We were both students of Universiti Malaya’s Writing Department (now renamed Media Studies Department) between 1989-1992. In our second year, we had illustrious journalist and writer A. Samad Ismail, fondly known as Pak Samad, as our guest lecturer who further piqued my interest in journalism.

       As soon as my final results were out – with a first class honours – I confidently put in one job application. I grew up reading The Star and dreamt of seeing my name in the paper.

       That dream came true in mid-June 1992 when I walked into The Star head office in Section 13, Petaling Jaya as a cadet reporter.

       The Star gave me many “firsts” - my first news report published two days after I joined and my first byline on page 14 (June 24 1992). Before the month was up, thanks to Bonnie’s photo, I earned my first front page byline with “The World, Our Oysters” report, and my first paycheck too.

       As a cadet reporter assigned to the News Desk under the leadership of Chua Yew Kay, I covered almost everything under the sun. I somehow escaped “crime” and “courts” beats.

       My husband Cheong joined The Star a few weeks after me. But his career at The Star was short-lived. He won a scholarship to study Portuguese language in Lisbon. He left The Star for Portugal and subsequently joined the foreign service.

       My two years with The Star were a blast. At some points, my work began to feel like a fairy tale - meeting queens and prince (including Miss Universe 1992, Michelle Mclean of Namibia and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, who became the first Arab, the first Muslim and the first royalty in space in 1985).

       I was star-struck many times coming face-to-face with Hong Kong celebrities, including Alan Tam, the late Anita Mui and Simon Yam. They were often in Malaysia for performances and charity events. (Ironically, I met more Hong Kong celebrities in my two-year stint with The Star in Malaysia than during my entire stay in Hong Kong between 2008-2010).

       Work certainly did not feel like work when I was assigned to watch concerts and performances for free and write about them afterwards; getting paid extra for article contributions to Galaxie (The Star’s entertainment magazine then) was such a bonus. Of course the real bonus was the year-end ex-gratia payouts that The Star was known for and which I managed to enjoy.

       An assignment to cover a Deepavali open house hosted by then Indian High Commissioner R.S. Rathore in October 1992 gave me my first glimpse into diplomatic lifestyle. I had no inkling I would be getting into it myself years later. As a trailing spouse, I had the opportunity to travel and serve in the United States, Russia, Hong Kong, Ghana and Hungary.

       Back then in my early 20s, I hardly had the chance to travel, let alone fly in an aeroplane till The Star sent me to Penang in 1992 to do a feature on anti-narcotics campaign in schools. In early 1993, I flew in a military aircraft with the guys to Haadyai, Thailand, to report on the 12th Thai-Malaysia Air Exercise. That same year, I treated myself to a trip to London and Moscow with a group of women journalists.

       I eventually landed on the education beat. Under the leadership of Education Editor Leanne Goh, the team had a successful drive on The Star’s Caring Schools Campaign around the country.

       I continued reporting general news, had my share of Parliament duties and was roped in for special reports including a 6-part Power Crisis story in 1993 and the Financial Report for two years in a row. It was good training as The Star strived to train its news reporters to be all-rounders.

       Happiness is also sharing a byline with my boss - my name appeared with Chua’s in the Umno general assembly 1993 coverage. While Cheong and I were never partners in crime, we shared a front-page joint byline (with five others) on Sept 11, 1992 in reporting the collapse of a flat under construction in Cheras.

       I enjoyed cordial working relations with colleagues and bosses, besides members of other media organisations. We went on trips together, near and far. A few also attended my wedding dinner after I left The Star. Many of my seniors and contemporaries have since moved up or moved on and sadly, a handful passed on too.

       As The Star turns 50 this year, I revel in having been a tiny part of the paper that has continued to be a staple in many households for half a century. For its worldwide reach online today, it deserves the apt tribute “The Star, Our World”.

       Lim Bee Ling was a reporter with The Star between 1992-1994.