Ahirudin bin Attan,[1][2] (born December 20, 1961[2]) also known as Rocky Bru,[1] is a Malaysian blogger, journalist and former editor of several New Straits Times Press (NSTP) publications, including the Business Times, The Malay Mail and The Sunday Mail. He currently runs a blog, dubbed Rocky's Bru, and resides in Kuala Lumpur.
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Ahirudin's first foray into journalism was as a journalist for the Business Times in 1985, after graduating from Institut Teknologi MARA (now Universiti Teknologi MARA). In 1992, he served as the group's London correspondent and would later furthered his studies in Cardiff in 1993, taking up a course in Advanced Journalism.[3] Ahirudin was appointed Editor of the Business Times in 1997 and remained so until he was appointed Acting Editor of The Malay Mail on 16 October 2001. He was further reappointed as the Executive Editor of both the Malay Mail and Sunday Mail on 1 May 2004, following a restructuring in the paper's news desk.[3][4]
On 13 February 2006, Ahirudin resigned from his editorial position as the newspaper was revamped to cater to younger readerships. Ahirudin further departed from the New Straits Times Press on May 2006, amid speculation that included a "run-in with the present head honchos in the organization."[1] Ahirudin has worked with the NSTP for 21 years.
Ahirudin was the President of the National Press Club from 2003 to March 31, 2007, succeeded by Mokhtar Hussain, his brother,[3][5] and remains as its adviser until March 2009. He is also an Editorial Consultant, and columnist.
In May 2006, Ahirudin started Rocky's Bru,[6] a Blogger.com-based blog centered primarily on journalism, mass media and politics.
Ahirudin's blog has garnered sufficient attention by the NSTP that it was blocked from NSTP offices and branches nationwide within two weeks after the blog was formed,[7] and has prompted the group to launch a lawsuit against him, alongside blogger Jeff Ooi, on 11 January 2007, for libel.[8][9][10] As of March 2008, the suit is in progress.
On April 6, 2007, Ahirudin was appointed the President of the National Bloggers Alliance, a newly formed group aimed at protecting the rights of Malaysian bloggers and promoting responsible blogging.[11][12]
Ahirudin has developed a relatively healthy friendship with Jeff Ooi. However, Ahirudin has stated in a press conference on 23 January 2007 that he has previous engaged Ooi in a "healthy" exchange of words:
"There was name calling (by the blog readers), [Ooi] used his blog space to criticise and I used my column in the [New] Sunday Times to respond. Had it gone on and on it would've been a healthy debate."[13]