Dawson worked for the New Straits Times and Malay Mail before leaving to Canada in 1988. Today, he is one of Canada’s most admired journalists

By Samantha McLeod for Penang Hyperlocal
from Vancouver, Canada

Veteran scribe and filmmaker, Fabian Dawson, who started his career in Malaysia was presented with one of the highest accolades in Canadian journalism on Thurs (Nov 7) in Vancouver.

Dawson, became the first Canadian of Asian origin to be given the prestigious Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognises the careers of senior reporters and editors who have received distinction in their communities for work of long-lasting significance, clarity, fairness and innovation.

“It’s a great honour to get this award and a special privilege to be the first Asian-Canadian recipient,” Dawson said at a glittering ceremony that recognised excellence in journalism in British Columbia.

The Jack Webster Foundation, which adjudicates and bestows the awards said: “Journalist Fabian Dawson’s career has spanned more than four decades in British Columbia and Asia and has had a major impact both in Canada and abroad.”

Dawson began his career as a stringer in Klang for the New Straits Times/Malay Mail and worked in Ipoh, Penang and Kuala Lumpur before immigrating to Canada in 1988.

Settling in Vancouver, he became deputy editor-in-chief of The Province newspaper and was also editor of Vancouverdesi.com, then Canada’s largest South Asian news portal.

Over the past 30 years, his work as an investigative journalist has taken him all over Asia, Europe, North and Central America.

He currently serves as the editorial advisor to the Vancouver-based South Asian Post, Asian Pacific Post and Filipino Post newspapers as well the Market One Media Group and several publications in Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Singapore, Philippines and England.

While this may arguably be the biggest honour of Dawson’s illustrious career, it is far from the first time he has been recognized for journalistic excellence.

In 2004, The Canadian National Newspaper Awards Board of Governors named Dawson as the recipient of 2004 Unsung Hero of Canadian Journalism.

The NNA awards are the highest honours in Canadian newspaper journalism.

He is also a recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, cited as among the top 100 influential South Asians in Vancouver by the Vancouver Sun and was honoured by the Vancouver-based Darpan Magazine and the Chetna Association of Canada for his work within the South Asian media.

In addition, he has been recognised for his contributions by the Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers Society, the Vancouver Fashion Week and the Sikh religious authority in Punjab, India. In 2006, an investigative team led by Dawson won the Daniel Pearl Award for an investigative series, Abandoned Brides: Canada’s Shame, India’s Sorrow, in New York.

The series also bagged the Rolls-Royce journalism award in England, as well as an award from the Society of News Design, and a Webster for best news reporting.

Dawson continues to be a prolific contributor to the world of journalism. He is a regular on TV and radio talk shows and is a frequent guest lecturer and speaker.

Dawson is a much sought-after media commentator on Asian affairs and has been called to speak to Members of Parliament in Canada’s House of Commons on matters pertaining to national security and at international seminars sponsored by organizations like the United Nations.

He also speaks regularly at seminars for Canadian police officers, crown prosecutors and social workers.

Dawson’s work, particularly in India, has also led to the creation of four documentary films and a made-for-TV movie.

Currently, Dawson acts as a strategic consultant for several global companies, while also working on a Netflix series based on his investigative journalism.