BY DINA MURAD
PETALING JAYA: Much-loved The Star senior editor Soo Ewe Jin (pic) passed away after his fourth battle with cancer.

Star Media Group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai described 57-year-old Soo's passing as "a personal loss."

"I have lost a personal friend, a colleague and one who was always there to hold me and guide me.

"He was the man who edited my weekly column, helping to remove the blemishes and making it look sharp with his linguistic skills. Ewe Jin was also a good partner in supporting the moderation campaign," he said, adding that Soo edited the recently launched Moderation book despite his health.

"Ewe Jin is gone but he will remain with us, in The Star family, forever," he said.

Wong said he met up with Soo last Sunday and that he remained jovial and chatty, saying "it is a stark reminder to us that we must treasure our precious little time with our loved ones and close friends".

Soo, an executive editor, was a Penang Free School old boy. He started his career in The Star in 2000 and served in various positions including Star Online editor, Sunday Star editor and Special Projects editor.

His weekly column, Sunday Starters and its predecessor, Monday Starters had a good following of loyal readers.

During his journalism career, Soo also worked with The National Echo, The Malay Mail, the Institute Of Strategic & International Studies (Isis) Malaysia, The World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia (WWF Malaysia) and The Edge.

Soo, however, considered his years at home as a full-time househusband as the most wonderful milestone of his life.

He was first diagnosed with nasopharyngeal (nose) cancer in 1999. He encountered cancer again in 2006 with a lump in his lymph nodes and suffered from a relapse of nose cancer in March 2011. Soo had his final confrontation with cancer last year.

He leaves behind his wife and fellow journalist Angeline Lim, and two sons, Kevin and Timothy