Television station TV3 has cemented its dominance in traditional Malay poetry performance by securing back-to-back victories at the HAWANA-DBP Pantun Festival, defending the championship title it first won in the inaugural competition. The four-member team—comprising Mohammad Nor Affiq Norshamsudin, Mohd Safwan Sawi, Azrin Md Isa, and Mohamed Hirsham Azmi—emerged triumphant at the event held in conjunction with Malaysia's National Journalists' Day 2026 celebrations in Butterworth. Their win represents a significant achievement in a competition that draws Malaysia's top broadcasting and news organisations, underscoring the broadcaster's commitment to preserving and celebrating traditional Malaysian cultural forms within the modern media landscape.

The competition itself reflects a broader institutional effort to integrate classical Malay traditions into contemporary professional settings. Pantun, the centuries-old form of Malay verse featuring intricate rhyme schemes and indirect storytelling techniques, has historically occupied an important place in Malaysian cultural expression. By formalising it as a competitive event within the journalism community, organisers have created a platform that honours this heritage whilst engaging practitioners of the modern media industry. The festival's emphasis on pantun performance among journalists serves as both a cultural celebration and a professional development opportunity, demonstrating how traditional arts remain vibrant within institutional contexts.

The prize ceremony itself carried considerable symbolic weight, with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim presenting the awards at the main HAWANA 2026 event hosted at the PICCA Convention Centre @ Butterworth Arena. The presence of Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, and Bernama chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai underscored the official recognition accorded to the competition. Such high-level attendance signals that pantun performance and cultural expression are viewed as integral to Malaysia's national discourse, particularly within media institutions tasked with shaping public narratives.

TV3's victory yielded tangible rewards including RM3,000 in prize money, a trophy, and participation certificates. Runner-up Bernama received RM2,000 along with similar recognition. Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) secured third place, whilst Berita Harian finished fourth among eight participating teams. These results showcase the competitive standards maintained throughout Malaysia's major media organisations, with each institution bringing substantial resources and talent to the competition. The spread of winners across different media platforms reflects healthy competition within the journalism sector and demonstrates that excellence in traditional cultural forms is not confined to any single broadcaster.

Beyond the team competition, individual accolades highlighted exceptional performances. Bernama representative Muhammad Syukri Khairulannuar earned recognition as Best Pantun Performer, a distinction that acknowledges not merely technical proficiency but also the artistry and emotional depth required to master pantun composition and delivery. Separately, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) team captured the Best Attire Award, suggesting that the festival valued not only performance quality but also the cultural and ceremonial dimensions of presentation. Such multi-category recognition encourages participation across different dimensions of the competition.

The festival drew a total of 32 participants across eight teams, with the competitive event held at Panggung Sari, Kompleks Kraf Kuala Lumpur on May 9 as part of the broader HAWANA 2026 celebrations. The timing and venue placement positioned the pantun competition as a significant curtain-raiser for the main HAWANA festivities, suggesting its importance to the overall programming. HAWANA itself, organised by the Ministry of Communications with Bernama as implementing agency, operates under the theme 'Media Integrity Strengthens Credibility'—a thematic framework that contextualises the pantun festival within broader conversations about professional standards and public trust in Malaysian media institutions.

TV3 team leader Mohammad Nor Affiq reflected on the pressures and rewards of defending a championship title. He candidly acknowledged that leading the team in its quest to retain the previous year's crown had initially felt daunting, but he credited encouragement from his mentor and TV3 host Ahmad Fedtri Yahya for providing the motivation necessary to undertake the challenge. Such mentorship dynamics illustrate how excellence in traditional cultural forms within institutional settings often depends on the cultivation of relationships between experienced practitioners and emerging talent. Affiq's gratitude extended beyond his immediate team, encompassing family members and supporters whose continuous encouragement had sustained the group through what must have been an intensive preparation process.

Bernama's runner-up finish, whilst disappointing, generated constructive determination rather than resignation. Team leader Muhammad Syukri framed the second-place result as a learning opportunity and catalyst for enhanced preparation in future editions. His commitment to conducting thorough reviews of performance weaknesses and strengthening preparation methodologies suggests that the competition functions not merely as a one-time contest but as part of an ongoing professional development cycle within Malaysian media institutions. The emphasis on systematic improvement reflects professional standards associated with journalism whilst maintaining focus on cultural excellence.

The HAWANA grand finale, as the largest gathering of media practitioners in Malaysia, serves to recognise journalist contributions and professionalism in nation-building. Within this context, the pantun festival occupies a distinctive niche—it celebrates professional identity through engagement with traditional cultural forms rather than contemporary news techniques. This approach acknowledges that Malaysian journalism is situated within a specific cultural context and that professional excellence encompasses not merely technical competence but also cultural literacy and artistic appreciation. The festival thereby positions journalists not merely as information intermediaries but as custodians of broader Malaysian cultural heritage.

For Malaysian audiences, the HAWANA-DBP Pantun Festival represents an encouraging intersection of tradition and modernity, demonstrating that classical cultural forms retain institutional vitality and can command serious competitive engagement from major media organisations. The festival's growth and the calibre of participation suggests that pantun appreciation extends well beyond historical or nostalgic contexts into contemporary professional spheres. For Southeast Asia more broadly, Malaysia's formalisation of pantun competition within journalism institutions offers a model for how regional nations might institutionalise traditional cultural forms within modern professional settings, ensuring their transmission to successive generations whilst maintaining authentic artistic standards.