Zainal Rashid Ahmad

Zainal Rashid bin Ahmad (Jawi: ; born 30 June 1967), also known as ZRA, is a journalist and litterateur from Malaysia. He has received 7 journalism and 46 literature awards,

Zainal is known for his works and contribution to contemporary media in Malaysia. Aside from gaining access into Israel and Palestine twice, he also founded the company, Astro FM, and was one of the three key founders of TV Alhijrah, where he was Senior Vice President. Since 2020, he has been focusing on online streaming under the branding ZRA STRIM.

Early life and education Zainal was born on 30 June 1967 to Yom binti Che Din (1942–2022) and Ahmad bin Saman (1933–2004) in Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia. At the age of 17, he moved to Kuala Lumpur and later furthered his studies at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang in 1991 in Creative Writing.

Journalism and writing Zainal gained prominence in literature when his poem "Genderang Perang" (Drums of War) was published in the Dewan Sastera magazine. However, his interest leaned closer towards writing short stories, which he has, up until 2024, published over 300 of. He is known to blend the style of old and modern Malay literature in his literatures. Among his notable works include Al-Kisah (2012), Yang Tercinta (2012), Empunya Hikayat (2014), Hikayat Tanah Jauh (2015), Sekuntum Bunga Neraka (2019), Matinya Saksi yang Lupa Makan Malam (2020), Magis Kota (2015) and Pop Urban (2017).

He also still publishes his collection of poetry works such as Sepi Itu Mati (2016), Orang Sepi Pergi ke Gurun (2017), and Dodoi Buat Kelasi yang Pasrah Pada Hidupnya (2019). He has also written the a few novels including 'Latto Asmiranda ' (2017) and Cinta Merpati Musim Perang (2019). His story titled Cinta Ahmad Mutawakkil (The Love of Ahmad Mutawakkil) was used in the textual antology for literary component (Komsas) for the Malay language subject for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), the Malaysian national examination. A lot of his works were published by Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia (ITBM).

In 1994, Zainal began his journalism work, serving Utusan Group (1994–1996) and Astro (1996–1998), before becoming the Newsroom Manager and Senior Producer for Edisi Siasat on NTV7 (1995–2005). In 2006, he founded Astro FM as CEO and Creative Director with a focus on documentary production, until 2010 when he co-founded TV Alhijrah as Senior Vice President of Production, Marketing, and Media Sales Strategy. He served TV Alhijrah for nine years until 2019, before working on independent journalism under his own ZRA STRIM.

Participation in Global Sumud Flotilla

Zainal boarded the Fair Lady vessel along with five other participants including from Ireland, Mexico, and South Africa. The boat was intercepted by Israeli forces at 4 AM (local time), but was initially allowed to continue sailing after a brief interrogation. At around 9 AM, while around 60 nautical miles away from the Gaza coast and still in international waters, Israeli ships were again seen on the vessel's CCTV, before all communications were cut out, presumably due to signal jamming.

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