Dhaka, August 1 (BDNEWS) – Bangladesh's eminent journalist and founder editor of the Prothom Alo Matiur Rahman won the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award, considered as Asia's most prestigious prize.
The Prothom Alo editor is one of the six individuals, who have dedicated their career to selfless service to people, are this year's recipients of the award for the year 2005.
Highly regarded as Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award celebrates the memory and leadership of Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay.
The six awardees will be formally conferred the Magsaysay Award on August 31 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Each award-winner is to receive a cash prize and will be asked to take part in a series of public lectures at the foundation offices in Manila.
Matiur Rahman has been awarded for journalism, literature and creative communication arts. The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation praised "his wielding the power of the press to crusade against acid throwing to stir Bangladeshis to help its many victims."
About 300 people, many of them young women, are permanently disfigured every year in Bangladesh in attacks often motivated by spite after victims deny the attackers sex, marriage, or suitable dowries.
He is the ninth Bangladeshi, who was honoured with the prestigious award.
Earlier Terunnessa Abdullah for social service in 1978, Founder of BRAC Fazle Hasan Abed in 1980, founder of Grameen Bank Dr. Muhammad Yunus got the award for successful application of Micro-credit theory with Grameen Bank in 1984.
Founder of Gonoshayestha Kendra Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury for community leadership in 1985. Richard William Timm (American in Bangladesh) in 1987, Yasin Mohammad in 1988, Angela Gomes for Community Leadership in 1999. and Abdullah Abu Sayeed for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts in 2004.
A Thai senator, an Indonesian anti-graft campaigner and a journalist who crusaded against acid-throwing attacks on Bangladeshi women are among this year's awardees from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, South Korea, and Thailand.
Senator Jon Ungphakorn was cited by the Philippines-based foundation for "his impassioned insistence as a senator that Thailand respect the rights and attend humanely to the needs of its least advantaged citizens."
Teten Masduki of Indonesia Corruption Watch won the Magsaysay prize for public service for "challenging Indonesians to expose corruption and claim their right to clean government."
Indian physician V. Shanta, a second public service awardee, was honored for "her untiring leadership of the Cancer Institute as a center of excellence and compassion for the study and treatment of cancer in India."
South Korea's Yoon Hye-Ran, founder of the Citizens Opening the World for Welfare, won the award for emergent leadership. She was cited for "her catalytic role in enabling [her hometown] Chenoan's civil society to exercise its social responsibilities dynamically and democratically."
Laotian Sombath Somphone won the award for community leadership. The founder and executive director of the Participatory Development Training Center was recognized for "his hopeful efforts to promote sustainable development in Laos by training and motivating its young people to become a generation of leaders."
"This year's awardees personify the tradition of greatness of spirit in service to the people," said the Foundation's president, Carmencita T. Abella.
"Through their pioneering initiatives, selfless leadership, and passionate concern to advance the common good, they are building better societies in Asia and inspiring many others to do likewise," she said. "The Foundation is privileged to bring this good news from Asia to the world."
There have been 243 awardees in Asia since the Foundation was established in 1957.
BDNEWS/1921 hrs
