Television station TV3 has claimed back-to-back victories at the HAWANA-DBP Pantun Festival, cementing its status as the competition's dominant force in the traditional Malay verse competition that forms part of Malaysia's premier media industry gathering. The squad, comprising Mohammad Nor Affiq Norshamsudin, Mohd Safwan Sawi, Azrin Md Isa, and Mohamed Hirsham Azmi, successfully defended the inaugural title won last year, underscoring the station's deep commitment to preserving and promoting this integral aspect of Malaysian cultural heritage within the journalism sector.

The triumph was especially significant given the high-profile setting for the award presentation. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim personally handed over prizes at the PICCA Convention Centre @ Butterworth Arena during the main HAWANA 2026 event, with Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, and Bernama chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai witnessing the moment. This calibre of attendance underscores how the pantun competition, while rooted in artistic tradition, has become an integral component of Malaysia's official recognition of journalism and media professionalism.

TV3's victory earned the station RM3,000 in prize money alongside a trophy and participation certificates. Bernama's strong runner-up showing brought RM2,000 in cash winnings, also paired with trophy and certificate recognition. Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) claimed third position with Berita Harian securing fourth place, rounding out a competitive field that ultimately drew eight participating teams across Malaysia's major media organisations. The competitive structure reflects how pantun-writing has transcended its traditional folk roots to become a respected arena for workplace talent development and inter-organisational friendly rivalry.

Beyond team accolades, individual honours underscored the multifaceted nature of the competition's judging criteria. Muhammad Syukri Khairulannuar from Bernama received recognition as Best Pantun Performer, a distinction that acknowledges not merely verse composition but also the delivery, vocal technique, and interpretive artistry essential to pantun presentation. Simultaneously, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) claimed the Best Attire Award, highlighting how the competition celebrates the cultural and religious dimensions of traditional Malay presentation alongside purely literary merit.

The festival itself drew 32 total participants competing across the eight teams, transforming the competition into a genuine showcase of media sector talent. The primary competition took place on May 9 at Panggung Sari, Kompleks Kraf Kuala Lumpur, functioning as one of the lead-up events building anticipation toward the larger HAWANA 2026 celebrations. This timing strategy positions the pantun festival as a cultural warm-up exercise, allowing media practitioners to reconnect with traditional artistic forms before engaging with broader professional development and industry recognition activities.

TV3 team leader Mohammad Nor Affiq reflected on the psychological dimension of leading a defending champion squad, acknowledging the considerable weight attached to retaining a prestigious title. He credited Ahmad Fedtri Yahya, a TV3 host serving as his mentor, with providing crucial encouragement throughout the preparation period. His comments reveal how institutional knowledge and mentorship networks within media organisations play vital roles in sustaining competitive excellence across generations of practitioners, ensuring that championship-standard pantun expertise becomes embedded within organisational culture rather than residing with individual practitioners.

Affiq's gratitude extended beyond his immediate team to encompass family members and broader support networks, highlighting the collaborative emotional labour required to maintain peak performance in artistic competitions. His statement that "efforts of the entire team have finally paid off" suggests months of rigorous preparation, coordinated rehearsals, and mutual encouragement among squad members. For organisations like TV3, such investments in cultural competition participation serve strategic purposes beyond sporting glory—they reinforce internal cohesion, demonstrate commitment to Malaysian cultural preservation, and generate positive publicity within a sector increasingly conscious of media reputation and social responsibility.

Meanwhile, Bernama's runner-up finish sparked determined resolve rather than disappointment. Team leader Muhammad Syukri explicitly positioned the second-place result as motivational fuel for future campaigns, outlining a systematic approach to competitive improvement. His commitment to reviewing weaknesses and strengthening preparations represents the professional mindset increasingly characterising Malaysia's media sector, where competition-driven excellence extends from news reporting into cultural and artistic domains. His invocation of Islamic faith—expressed through "Insya-Allah"—reflects how professional ambition and cultural-religious values interweave within Malaysian media institutions.

The broader HAWANA 2026 framework contextualises the pantun festival within a larger mission centred on media integrity and credibility. Organised by the Ministry of Communications with Bernama as implementing agency, HAWANA represents Malaysia's most comprehensive annual gathering of journalism professionals. The 2026 edition carries the thematic emphasis "Media Integrity Strengthens Credibility," positioning cultural activities like the pantun festival alongside substantive professional discussions about journalism standards, ethical reporting, and media's role in democratic nation-building.

This thematic focus carries particular resonance for Malaysia and broader Southeast Asia, where media environments face mounting pressures from misinformation, polarisation, and declining public trust. By integrating traditional cultural expression into its professional development framework, HAWANA acknowledges that journalistic credibility extends beyond factual accuracy and editorial standards—it encompasses cultural authenticity, respect for heritage, and articulation of shared values. Pantun, as a verse form that has historically served communicative and educational functions, becomes symbolically aligned with journalism's own foundational mission to inform, persuade, and preserve cultural knowledge.

For Malaysian media organisations participating in competitions like HAWANA-DBP Pantun Festival, these events serve multifunctional purposes that extend considerably beyond tourism or cultural preservation rhetoric. They strengthen institutional bonds among practitioners, preserve linguistic sophistication amid technological change, demonstrate organisational commitment to Malaysian cultural values in contexts where English-language dominance threatens traditional forms, and generate internal pride and competitive motivation. TV3's back-to-back championships establish institutional benchmarks that other organisations must acknowledge and address, fostering healthy competitive dynamics that ultimately benefit participating professionals and broader media sector prestige.

The pantun festival's integration into HAWANA also reflects conscious policy-making regarding how media institutions should relate to Malaysian cultural inheritance. Unlike treating traditional arts as peripheral to journalism's core functions, the festival's prominent placement within the National Journalists' Day celebration signals institutional recognition that cultural literacy, linguistic sophistication, and traditional knowledge transmission form essential components of professional media practice. For emerging journalists and media practitioners throughout Malaysia and the region, participation in such competitions normalises the expectation that media professionalism encompasses cultural engagement, positioning journalism not as purely technical information transfer but as a culturally-embedded professional practice grounded in Malaysian identity.