By Brandon Wong
KUCHING, March 13: Local photographer Edwin Ong Wee Kee has made Sibu proud by winning the grand prize of the Hamdan International Photography Award (HIPA) 2019.
Competing in the HOPE category, Ong, who is a MPSA (Master of The Photographic Society of America), went home USD120,000 richer.
He told reporters here that he had only expected to win the 5th prize.
Held in Dubai, HIPA announced the grand prize winner of this year’s photographic competition yesterday (March 12). The first prize went to Fanny Octavianus of Indonesia.
Born in Sibu, Ong, 45, has been a Photographic Society of America (PSA) member since 2014.
He received his PPSA (Proficiency of The Photographic Society of America) in 2015, moved up a notch to EPSA (Excellence of The Photographic Society of America) a year later and capped it with MPSA in 2017.
HIPA is a global photography award introduced in 2011. It is supported by the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan Rashid Mohammed al Maktoum. — DayakDaily
