TAMIL-LANGUAGE daily Tamil Murasu will get a new editor from Apr 1 as part of SPH Media’s leadership and succession planning.

T Raja Segar, 61, the Hindu Endowments Board’s (HEB) chief executive and former Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda) CEO, will take on the top job at the paper.

He will take over from the current editor, Jawharilal Rajendran, 66, who will continue as the paper’s consulting editor and oversee special projects.

Raja is a familiar figure in the local Indian community.

As HEB’s CEO since July 2017, Raja has managed all centralised functions supporting the four Hindu temples managed by the board in Singapore and a halfway house, the HEB-Ashram.

Before his role at the HEB, he was the director of strategic planning and coordination in the Singapore Institute of Technology from November 2015 to July 2017, and Sinda CEO from December 2009 to June 2014.

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He had been assistant vice-president at MediaCorp, where he launched Vasantham Central – a local television station catering to the Indian population in Singapore – in January 2000.

He also had various stints over the years, including with MediaCorp TV12, MINDEF’s Centre for Management Development, the Institute of Technical Education and taught Economics at Nanyang Polytechnic.

Raja called joining Tamil Murasu a “great opportunity and privilege” to serve the Tamil community here.

“I hope the experience from my previous jobs and friendships forged within the community will help me to positively contribute to the development of Tamil Murasu on all media platforms,” he said.

Outgoing editor Rajendran has had a 43-year career in journalism, beginning in 1981 when he joined The Straits Times as a journalist. He later moved to The New Paper in 1991, and held various supervisory positions in his 15 years there.

He was appointed as Tamil Murasu’s deputy editor in 2006 and its editor in 2010.

In 2008, Rajendran helped launch Tabla!, a weekly English newspaper for the wider Indian community.

He also oversaw the brand refresh of the 89-year-old Tamil Murasu and its website, which now sees 900,000 visits a month.

Rajendran also led the launch of the publication’s mobile app in October 2023.

Rajendran said: “I am grateful to have served as Tamil Murasu Editor and thank all my colleagues for their immeasurable help and support through the years.”

Wong Wei Kong, editor-in-chief of SPH Media’s English/Malay/Tamil Media Group, said Tamil Murasu, as the only Tamil newspaper in Singapore, is an important voice for the Tamil community.

He thanked Rajendran for his dedication and contributions to the newsroom and its digital transformation over the last 18 years.

“Over the years, Tamil Murasu has continued to keep the community informed and engaged. Raja’s strong community roots and experience will be instrumental in helping to shape Tamil Murasu’s editorial direction and engagement of the young audience,” said Wong. THE STRAITS TIMES