{{notability|1=Biographies|date=May 2026}} {{Short description|Malaysian journalist}} {{Infobox person | name = June Wong Har Leng | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1959|06|29}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | known_for = Group chief editor of The Star | occupation = Journalist }} '''June Wong Har Leng''' (born June 29, 1959) is a veteran Malaysian journalist and former group chief editor at top Malaysian daily The Star. Known as '''June Wong''', she first joined the company as an intern in 1977 and as of 2026 is still writing fortnightly columns for the paper.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Toh |first=Terence |date=2019-06-07 |title=June Wong's book titled 'So Aunty, So What? And Some More' launched |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/06/07/june-wong-so-aunty-so-what-and-some-more-launched |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Star |language=en}}</ref>
Along with the late Datuk Ng Poh Tip and National Journalism Laureate Adibah Amin, she was one of the first female editors to reach the top positions in Malaysian journalism.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-11-21 |title=Chun Wai and June Wong move up the ladder at The Star |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2013/11/21/chun-wai-and-june-wong-move-up-the-ladder-at-the-star |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Star |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zve4QA7bLZ8 |title=StarLive: "Women of Influence" Part 4 |date=2014-03-31 |last=The Star |access-date=2026-05-06 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
Her popular column ''So Aunty, So What?'' was compiled into a best-selling book in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=‘Aunty’ Wong launches book {{!}} #AsiaNewsNetwork |url=https://elevenmyanmar.com/news/aunty-wong-launches-book-asianewsnetwork |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=Eleven Media Group Co., Ltd |language=en|last=Terrence Toh}}</ref>
== Early life and education ==
She was born on June 29, 1959 to police officer Wong Heck Ming and housewife Mary Magdalene Wong Yoot Ho. One of five children, she grew up in Kuala Lumpur when her father was assigned to work at the police headquarters there.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June H. L. |date=2024-10-16 |title=Recalling Dad’s incredible life |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/so-aunty-so-what/2024/10/16/recalling-dads-incredible-life |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Star |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June H. L. |date=2025-08-20 |title=Recalling mother for the last time |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/so-aunty-so-what/2025/08/20/recalling-mother-for-the-last-time |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Star |language=en}}</ref>
Her father was a Special Branch officer who carried out undercover work in Labis and Segamat, Johor, specifically targeting communist threats during the Emergency. Her mother had worked as an interpreter in Johor during interrogations of captured communists, which is how the couple met. He eventually retired as an assistant commissioner of police. Her siblings include actor/director Claire Wong.<ref>{{Cite web |title=YTL Community - Rebooting our racial quotas |url=http://www.ytlcommunity.com/shownews.asp?newsID=3263 |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=YTL Community - Rebooting our racial quotas |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June H.L. |date=2015-08-13 |title=When words don’t mean a thing in a competitive world |url=https://www.koreaherald.com/article/623704 |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Korea Herald |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-08-06 |title=Playwrights Claire Wong and Huzir Sulaiman weave WWII life with Covid-19 grief in Escape To Batam |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/playwrights-claire-wong-and-huzir-sulaiman-weave-wwii-life-with-covid-19-grief-in-escape-to-batam |access-date=2026-05-05 |work=The Straits Times |language=en |issn=0585-3923|last=Clement Yong}}</ref>
She attended Assunta Convent and did her sixth form at nearby La Salle PJ. She then went on to study history at the University of Malaya, graduating in 1981.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June H. L. |date=2024-04-17 |title=There was nun like her |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/so-aunty-so-what/2024/04/17/there-was-nun-like-her |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Star |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences |date=Jan 14, 2026 |title=Bachelor of Arts, 1981 |url=https://fass.um.edu.my/bachelor-of-arts-1981}}</ref>
== Career ==
Wong first interned at ''The Star'' in 1977 and joined the newspaper full time as a cadet reporter in the early 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Iwan Shu |date=2016-09-08 |title=Merekalah satu-satunya.... - Rencana {{!}} mStar |url=https://www.mstar.com.my/lain-lain/rencana/2016/09/08/datuk-seri-wong-chun-wai |access-date=2026-05-20 |website=www.mstar.com.my |language=en}}</ref> Initially covering courts and parliament, she was one of the reporters involved in covering the news of Ops Lalang, which was an authoritarian crackdown under the regime of prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. On October 27, 1987, 106 individuals were detained under the Internal Security Act. Soon after three newspapers - ''The Star'', Sin Chew Jit Poh and ''Watan'' - had their operating licences revoked.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Are the fortunes of The Star falling? |url=https://kinibiz.com/story/issues/30092/are-the-fortunes-of-the-star-falling.html |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=KINIBIZ |language=en-US|last=Barrock|first=Jose}}</ref>
Wong rose to be a pioneering editor of ''The Star's'' features and Metro sections. In 2011, she edited the archival coffee table book ''Hotshots: 40 Years of Great News Images'', which depicted visual highlights of the ''The Star's'' first 40 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hotshots: 40 Years of Great News Images |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13279316-hotshots |access-date=2026-05-06 |website=Goodreads |language=en}}</ref> She was named Group chief Editor in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-11-21 |title=Chun Wai and June Wong move up the ladder at The Star |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2013/11/21/chun-wai-and-june-wong-move-up-the-ladder-at-the-star |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Star |language=en|last=Julianne D’Souza}}</ref> She was in that role when Malaysia was thrust in the global spotlight due to the disappearance of flight MH370 on March 8, 2014.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRlkWkeXAqk |title=Timeline Suthichai Yoon Interview June Wong,Editor in chief The Star Malaysia |date=2014-04-21 |last=Timeline Suthichai |access-date=2026-05-06 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
Later, she took over as Chief Operating Officer for Content Development.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Julianne D'Souza |date=2014-05-06 |title=Revamp At Star Top Management |url=https://www.starmediagroup.my/revamp-at-star-top-management/ |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=Star Media Group Berhad |language=en-US}}</ref>
On March 25, 2015, Wong won the Golden Globe Tigers Award for Female Leadership in the journalism industry in Malaysia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-03-25 |title=COO Kumpulan Media Star Terima Anugerah - Semasa {{!}} mStar |url=https://www.mstar.com.my/lokal/semasa/2015/03/25/june-wong-anugerah |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=www.mstar.com.my |language=en|last=Siti Nuraina}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-03-25 |title=The Star's June Wong receives award |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/03/25/june-wong-wins-award |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Star |language=en|last=Patrick Lee}}</ref>
She is known for her column ''So Aunty, So What?'', which first appeared on March 1, 2012, and which as of 2026, still appears fortnightly in ''The Star''. Wong’s March 29, 2012 article “From sexy to saggy” explains the inspiration for the phrase that would come to be associated with her.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Iwan Shu & Azlan Shoaib |date=2019-06-08 |title=Perjalanan lebih 40 tahun dalam dunia kewartawanan {{!}} mStar |url=https://www.mstar.com.my/lokal/semasa/2019/06/08/buku-june-wong |access-date=2026-05-08 |website=www.mstar.com.my |language=en}}</ref>
She wrote on a wide range of topics ranging from family life, press freedom, domestic and international politics. These includes her mixed feelings about Mahathir<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June H. L. |title=Dr M doesn’t love me after all |url=https://asianews.network/dr-m-doesnt-love-me-after-all/ |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=asianews.network |language=en-US}}</ref>, a call for the severing of ties with North Korea<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June |date=2017-03-20 |title=Time for ASEAN to sever ties with Pyongyang |url=https://www.koreaherald.com/article/1268970 |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Korea Herald |language=en}}</ref>, a critique of the cabinet of Muhyiddin Yassin<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June HL |date=2020-03-10 |title=The good, the bad and the unknown |url=https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/514064 |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=Malaysiakini}}</ref>, the trial of Rosmah Mansor<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June HL |date=2022-09-07 |title=COMMENT {{!}} Why there is no saving Rosmah |url=https://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/634862 |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=Malaysiakini}}</ref>, the death of activist Kamal Bamadhaj<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June H. L. |date=2025-11-12 |title=Remembering a Malaysian hero |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/so-aunty-so-what/2025/11/12/remembering-a-malaysian-hero |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Star |language=en}}</ref> and the film adaptation of Tan Twan Eng's book The Garden Of Evening Mists.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Author Tan Twan Eng, delighted with film adaptation of 'The Garden of Evening Mists', praises strong acting |url=https://www.optionstheedge.com/topic/people/author-tan-twan-eng-delighted-film-adaptation-garden-evening-mists-praises-strong |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=www.optionstheedge.com |language=en}}</ref>
Her column was syndicated in many countries such as Singapore<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wong |first=June H.L. |date=2021-11-18 |title=The Timah whiskey controversy and the true defenders of multiracial Malaysia: Star columnist |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/the-timah-whiskey-controversy-and-the-true-defenders-of-multiracial-malaysia-star-columnist |access-date=2026-05-05 |work=The Straits Times |language=en |issn=0585-3923}}</ref>, India<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June H.L. |date=2018-11-05 |title=Why are Asians so quiet about Khashoggi affair? |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/why-are-asians-so-quiet-about-khashoggi-affair-1502704780.html |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Statesman |language=en}}</ref>, Bangladesh<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June H.L. |title=Asia's chase for gold at the Olympics is on {{!}} The Daily Star |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/op-ed/politics/asias-chase-gold-the-olympics-1271896 |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=www.thedailystar.net |language=en}}</ref>, Vietnam<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June H.L. |title=Sexist politicians are a universal pain |url=https://vietnamnews.vn/world/347322/sexist-politicians-are-a-universal-pain.html |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=vietnamnews.vn |language=en}}</ref>, Myanmar<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June H.L. |title=‘Aunty’ Wong launches book {{!}} #AsiaNewsNetwork |url=https://elevenmyanmar.com/news/aunty-wong-launches-book-asianewsnetwork |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=Eleven Media Group Co., Ltd |language=en}}</ref> and South Korea.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=June H.L. |date=2018-11-04 |title=Silenced like lambs |url=https://www.koreaherald.com/article/1828398 |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Korea Herald |language=en}}</ref>
Upon her retirement from ''The Star'' in June, 2019, the column was compiled into a book, which was launched by former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Toh |first=Terence |date=2019-06-07 |title=June Wong's book titled 'So Aunty, So What? And Some More' launched |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/06/07/june-wong-so-aunty-so-what-and-some-more-launched |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=The Star |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaTpam6UkKI |title=Journalist’s career in The Star culminates in 'So Aunty, So What? And Some More' book |date=2019-06-07 |last=The Star |access-date=2026-05-05 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
== References == <references responsive="1"></references> {{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, June}} Category:Malaysian journalists Category:Malaysian women journalists Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:People from Kuala Lumpur Category:Malaysian people of Chinese descent