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Hadi is a Kuala Lumpur-based journalist, but that’s just half of the story
The Journalist
Hadi started out his journalism career at BenarNews, a Washington D.C. based news agency which covers security, counter-terrorism and politics over Southeast Asia. There he extensively covered the historic 2018 Malaysian General Election, conflicts on the South China Sea, as well as the shocking murder-assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Kuala Lumpur airport in 2017.
Since then he contributes to Bloomberg reporting of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal from the Kuala Lumpur courthouse, as well as to CNN, Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, and Turkey’s TRT World.
Sundance Film Festival 2020
At the premier of “Assassins” with director Ryan White, composer Blake Neely and producer Jessica Hargreaves.
His coverage of the Kim Jong-nam murder trial in 2017 led to a collaboration with American documentarians and filmmakers, Ryan White and Jessica Hargreaves for the production of “Assassins” which detailed the murder-assassination of the North Korean heir from the moment that lead up to his murder up until the very end.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2020 and was picked up by Magnolia Pictures for distribution.
The Photographer
Aside from writing, Hadi combined his lifelong interest in photography with his journalistic access to capture Malaysian historical moments.
From daily press conferences of the short-lived Pakatan Harapan government, to the pomp and grandeur of the Malaysian monarchy, the courthouse antics of politicians caught in corruption trials, to the dramatic Bersih rallies on the streets of Kuala Lumpur as well as the intense Rohingya protests at the gates of the Burmese embassy, Hadi tries to be there with his trusty Olympus camera.
The Videographer
Prior to his jump into journalism, Hadi spent close to a decade as a filmmaker for several advertising houses, producing contents that are played on cinema screens, television as well as YouTube and digital billboards all over Malaysia.
Now no longer making ads, Hadi channels the skills he honed over the years to produce documentary and news videos for a variety of outlets including Reuters, BenarNews, Singapore’s Channel News Asia and UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity.
![What Led To Mahathir's Downfall & Muhyiddin's Rise In Malaysia? | Insight | Full Episode](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1590014291173-T9GJHDMRMNC6Z1N4O672/image-asset.jpeg)
![What happened to Malaysia's Vision 2020? | Insight | Full Episode](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1590014654790-LP3H0CUPFYJDTDJP2OVM/image-asset.jpeg)
![Mohammed Bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1590014476749-ABXVKCR3KFG6C6A6V0G1/image-asset.jpeg)
![Differences Aside Episode 1](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1590046125056-SX4O6FJYV6JLFY4HYMMX/image-asset.jpeg)
![Belum Rainforest Resort](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1435382992684-33PCMGAR92S46JW5ANH2/image-asset.png)
![Red Bull - I+ Energy With No Limits](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1435383063338-7K9MZR2K1VYM2J33R3BF/image-asset.png)
![Red Bull Malaysia - Office](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1435383296310-HEPFNXXN6NR8A1Q1ER5B/image-asset.png)
![Monsoon Cup 2013 - Opening](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1435644371300-C8NX3QFKRX95Z5ZRBG8F/image-asset.png)
![PETRONAS Planting Tomorrow: Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1435383355863-K396WE91SJ1MPO894AGD/image-asset.png)
![Maybank - Compilation of Thank You videos](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1435383397234-WVUDY62TLFGI5ID0G486/image-asset.png)
![Liga Layar 2013](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1435645418241-UEU5ZIK34OYCUB3IUVGW/image-asset.png)
![Razak School of Government](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1436253039232-3DUBIJ8B1H24EK729Z0E/image-asset.png)
![PKR Smartphone App](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/558d2239e4b07400f1fc7001/1436851108094-XH9DJMU0JGHT25ZXMS11/image-asset.png)
The Fixer
With his knowledge of Malaysia as well as his wide network of contacts, Hadi had assisted many foreign news and filmmaking teams in their coverage of topics in the country.
From CNN reporters covering court trials, a Dutch TV team investigating a cold case murder, to a British indie filmmakers covering the underground Skinhead and Punk subculture in Malaysia, Hadi had provided them access, logistics, and assistance throughout their project.