Credit : Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's X
IPOH, October 25, 2026 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has instructed his officers to extend immediate assistance to two journalists from Bernama and the New Straits Times (NST) who were injured when their car was hit by a lorry in Ipoh early on Sunday while they were on their way to an assignment in Bagan Datuk.
In a post shared on X on Sunday afternoon, Anwar wrote in Malay that he had received news of “dua rakan media, Nur Afiradina Arshad dan Zahratulhayat Md Arif daripada BERNAMA dan New Straits Times (NST)”, who were involved in an accident while travelling to cover a programme in Bagan Datuk early that morning.
“Saya juga telah mengarahkan pegawai saya untuk menghulurkan bantuan segera yang diperlukan kepada kedua-duanya,” he wrote, meaning that he had directed his officers to provide whatever immediate help the two journalists needed. The Prime Minister also prayed that their treatment would go smoothly, that they would make a good and speedy recovery, and that their families would be given strength in facing the ordeal. The post carried a photograph of the overturned car lying on its side on the road at night, with a fire and rescue vehicle in the background.
Car rear-ended at traffic lights
According to Bernama, as reported by Astro Awani, the accident is believed to have happened at about 6am on Jalan Menglembu in Ipoh. Bernama journalist Nur Afiradina Arshad, 34, was driving a Perodua Bezza with NST journalist Zahratulhayat Mat Arif, 37, as her passenger when the car was hit from behind by a lorry.
Zahratulhayat told Bernama that the car had stopped at a traffic light when the lorry crashed into it without warning. “Our car spun several times before overturning. Afiradina managed to get out, but I was trapped in the front passenger seat. I got out with the help of members of the public and police who were at the scene,” she said. She added that she was fine and had escaped serious injury, suffering cuts to both hands and bruising and swelling on her right cheek.
The NST reported that the impact sent the lorry skidding into bushes on the shoulder of the opposite lane. Both journalists were taken to Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (HRPB) in Ipoh. Zahratulhayat was treated as an outpatient and has since been discharged, while Afiradina remains under observation in the hospital’s yellow zone after vomiting and sustaining injuries to her right arm.
Ipoh district police chief ACP Muhammad Najib Hamzah confirmed the accident when contacted by Bernama, but said further details were still under investigation.
On their way to cover Zahid’s programme
The two journalists were travelling from Ipoh to Bagan Datuk to cover the launch of the Bagan Datuk District Sultan Nazrin Shah Bridge Run at the Bagan Datuk night market site, which was scheduled to begin at 8.30am. The event was officiated by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister and the Member of Parliament for Bagan Datuk.
Ahmad Zahid also shared his concern on Facebook, saying he was saddened to hear that two media friends from Bernama and NST had been involved in an accident on their way to cover the programme. “I have been informed that both of them are now receiving treatment and that one of them is still at Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun. God willing, let us all pray that both of them recover quickly and return to good health,” he said.
Source : Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s X (https://x.com/anwaribrahim/status/2114217272722210864), with additional reporting from Bernama via Astro Awani, the New Straits Times, Buletin TV3 and Harian Metro.
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