Forty-5 and Growing

Forty-5 and growing is a compendium of the diverse and dramatic movements recorded in The Star’s headlines over four and a half decades, This hefty volume reflects that era and provides a glimpse into what happened in Malaysia and the world during that period, set against the backdrop of a popular newspaper as it grew from infancy to adulthood.

 

From The Star editors David Yeoh and M Veera Pandiyan:

 

It seemed like a daunting task when we took on the project to write Forty-5 and growing.

 

The immediate question was: How to fit more than 16,000 front-page stories from 45 years into a 240-page book?

 

By being very selective in paring back the slices of history as recorded in the headlines.

 

The choices were largely made on how memorable the stories were, the impact they had on the country and how they touched people’s lives.

 

In a nutshell, this selection of page ones and accompanying summaries is meant to capture the essence of how The Star reported local and global news as it evolved from a Penang-based daily to Malaysia’s leading English language newspaper.

 

It has been both a challenging and rewarding journey because we have been a part of The Star’s amazing growth for more than three decades.

 

Rediscovering the trove of stories and images – from the tragic and dramatic to the fascinating and bizarre — has been another enriching experience in our career as journalists.

 

While compiling the content, we could not help but admire and respect the newspaper’s past editorial staff and others involved in producing it.

 

This volume is a testimony of how they toiled to produce the daily wrap of news, business, sports, features and entertainment without the aid of today’s digital tools.

 

We hope that Forty-5 and growing provides another vital connection to readers and supporters of The Star as a heart-felt commemoration of what the newspaper has stood for,