The former group chief editor of New Straits Times Press Bhd (NSTP) is understood to have breathed his last at Hospital Sultan Idris Shah in Serdang today.

He was reportedly hospitalised there last month for a lung infection and had been battling Influenza A in the intensive care unit, Berita Harian reported.

He will be laid to rest at the Sungai Sekamat Muslim cemetery in Kajang tomorrow morning.

Hishamuddin joined the news industry in 1979 as a cadet reporter before moving up the ranks and eventually becoming NSTP group chief editor.

He was also Berita Harian’s group editor from 2003 to 2006, and sports editor before that. He had also served as an adviser for Astro Arena and Astro Awani.

He was a columnist for FMT’s Bahasa Melayu department from July 2023, writing on politics and Malaysian football, with the latter remaining close to his heart even after leaving the sports beat.

Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said the journalism fraternity has lost a towering icon with Hishamuddin’s passing.

“Throughout Hishamuddin’s life, he made immense contributions to the development of the media industry and was regarded as one of its most respected leaders,” Fahmi said in a post on X.

He also extended his deepest condolences to Hishamuddin’s family.

“May his soul be blessed with divine mercy, forgiven of all sins, and granted a place among the righteous,” he said.