Malaysian Literature: An Overview,Challenges and Current Status Quo

1.0. Abdullah Bin Abdul Kadir 1.1. Biography  Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir or more widely known as Munshi Abdullah was born in 1796 AD in Kampung Masjid or Kampung Pali (Rosnani, 48). Touted as the father of modern Malay literature, Abdullah was the youngest of four siblings; of which he is the only one to survive to adulthood. He is the great-grandson of Shaykh Abdul Kadir, an Arab from Yemen and a teacher of religion and language (Rosnani, 48). His father grew up in Mecca and received proper education in Qur’anic studies, Arabic and Tamil Language, Arithmetic and ended up being a merchant trading sundry goods. His father settled in Lobok Kepong and later Sungai Besi; becoming a Khatib. Furthermore, in the later stages of Abdullah’s father’s life, he become an expert in Malay language and wrote petitions and compositions to the Malays Sultans (Rosnani, 49). Thus, it can be concluded that Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir came from a knowledgeable family. His early childhood was plagued by

One of the most critically acclaimed dramatists in Southeast Asia, and a 2007 Yale World Fellow, Huzir Sulaiman writes for theatre, film, television and newspapers, and is a consultant on public policy issues for the arts and heritage sectors. Huzir was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was educated at Princeton University. He now lives in Singapore, where he is a co-founder and Joint Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre. His plays are frequently performed in Malaysia and Singapore and have been presented in Tokyo, Berlin, New York, and London. His work is collected in Eight Plays (Silverfish Books) and his plays - 14 to date - are studied in universities in the region. They range from Atomic Jaya (1998), a classic satire on what would happen if Malaysia decided to construct an atomic bomb, to Cogito (a commission of the 2007 Singapore Arts Festival), a lyrical exploration of grief, memory, and what it means to be human. Wide Angle, his fortnightly column in Malaysia’s

Lloyd Fernando was born in Kandy, Sri Lanka in 1926, and migrated to Singapore with his family in 1938. After obtaining his PhD in Literature in English from Leeds University, he served as Head of the English Department at the University of Malaya from 1967 to 1978, then took an early retirement at 52 to study Law in London. Fernando was admitted as Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1980, at the age of 54. Fernando is best known in the literary world for his novel Scorpion Orchid . His other novel,  Green is the Colour , also explores the issues of identity and cultures in a multi-ethnic society. For his contribution to the University of Malaya, he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus in 2005. Fernando passed away in 2008, leaving behind his wife, Marie, two daughters and four grandchildren major works: green is the colour This reprint of the novel by Lloyd Fernando is about racial and religious tolerance set against the shadow of the 1969

Posts dubbed with the "Malaysian Literature Scholars" heading are profiles of leading scholarly  figures which specializes on Malaysian Literature, especially that of English Literature. As such are relevant to this blog as scholarly works of these scholars shall be featured and discussed in this blog in the future. So why not get to know them before we discuss about their critic and observations of Malaysian literature? Mohammad A. Quayum is Professor of English at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), and Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law at Flinders University, Australia. He was a Visiting Professor of English and Asian Studies at the State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University) in 2003-04. His previous affiliations include University Putra Malaysia (1996-2003), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (1993-96), University of Dhaka, Bangladesh (1992-93) and University of Chittagong, Banglade

Name: Lee Kok Liang Year of Birth: 1921 Year of Death: 1992 Profession: Lawyer, Former member of the Penang State Assembly, Writer Famous Works include Mutes in the Sun and other stories  (1963), Return to Malaya  (1944), Death is a Ceremony and other short stories (1992) and Flowers in the Sky (1981). The late Lee Kok Liang was one of the most prominent English short story writer in South East Asia. Born in Alor Star, Kedah in  pre-independence Malaya, Lee's father was in his description, a stern follower of the British raj whilst his mother a fourth-generation Straits-Chinese and a sarong-woman with a mixture of Siamese, Chinese and Malay culture. In retrospect, his lineage oozes that of the multi-cultural fusion that Malaysia is known for and as such is what makes his writings so enjoyable and unique. Added to that his distinctive curriculum vitae of being educated in the Malaya's Chinese, Japanese and Malay schooling system of the 1930s and 1940s, Lee seem

Born in Medan, Sumatra, as Sybil Daly, the daughter of Joseph Daly and Beatrice Mathilda Martin,she was a Eurasian, a devout Catholic, a vegetarian and spoke fluent Cantonese.  She married Dr A C Kathigasu in St John's church (now cathedral) in Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur. Initially there had been a religious objection from her parents as he was a Hindu. However, with agreement from his father he changed his name and religion on 4 January 1919 in order for the wedding to take place. His new (Catholic) name was Abdon Clement (A C) Kathigasu. They were married on 7 January 1919 in St John’s Church, Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur. Sybil's first child was a son born on 26 August 1919, but due to major problems at birth, died after only 19 hours. He was named Michael after Sybil's elder brother who was born in Taiping on 12th November 1892 and was killed in Gallipoli on 10th July 1915 as a member of the British Army.  The devastating blow of baby Michael's death led to

Name: Aw Ta-Shi ( 歐大旭) Born 1971 in Taipei Tash Aw grew up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia before moving to England to study law at Jesus College, Cambridge and at the University of Warwick and then moved to London to write. After graduating he worked at a number of jobs, including as a lawyer for four years whilst writing his debut novel, which he completed during the creative writing course at the University of East Anglia.  Based on royalties as well as prizes, Aw is the most successful Malaysian writer of recent years. Following the announcement of the Booker longlist, the Whitbread Award and his Commonwealth Writers' Prize award, he became a celebrity in Malaysia and Singapore, and is now one of the most respected literary figures in Southeast Asia. Major Works: THE HARMONY SILK FACTORY(2005) Set in Malaysia in the 1930s and 40s, with the rumbling of the Second World War in the background and the Japanese about to invade, 'The Harmony Silk Factory' i

Malaysian Literature in English or MLIE are classified as sectional literature within the realms of the country and as such proves to be a hindrance for its flourish. Admittedly, the list featured in the previous post are compiled by information gathered from the internet thus nothing de facto (nor de jure) can be inferred from it. However, the dearth of MLIE are pretty apparent as the biggest resource in the world (ie the internet) can only come up but with a few mentions of MLIE. It is a pity writers such as Tan Twan Eng, a world renown writer or a prominent local novelist such as K.S. Maniam could garner even the highest literary award in the world but would never get the same level of approval from their own home turf due to the secondary status Malaysian Literature in English commands. Objectively speaking, haven't writers such as K.S. Maniam with literary classics such as In a Far Country  (1993) and Between Lives  (2003) contributed a great sum towards the enrichment of Ma

TAN TWAN ENG (NOVELS) Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2012 and also the winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize as well as the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Tan Twan Eng is one of the most prominent novelist in Asia, let alone Malaysia. Born in Penang in 1972 and lived in various places in Malaysia as a child, Tan studied law at the University of London and is a practicing advocate and solicitor at one of Kuala Lumpur's prominent law firms until he left his post to become a full-time writer. He has a first dan ranking in aikido and lives in Cape Town, South Africa Major literary works: The Gift of Rain Tan's first novel, it is published in 2007 by Myrmidon Books in the UK and by Weinstein Books in the US the following year. The story  is set in  Penang  in the years leading up to and during the  Japanese occupation of Malaya  in  World War II .  It concerns Philip Hutton, of mixed Chinese-English heritage, and his relationship with Endo-San,

Name: Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Gender: Male Year of Birth: 1796 Year of Death: 1854(aged 57 years old) Place of Birth: Kampung Pali, Malacca Place of Death: Jeddah Occupation: Author, translator, teacher(Munshi), functionary, scribe, copyist. Abdullah Abdul Kadir or more commonly known as Munshi Abdullah was a Malayan writer of Tamil and Yemen descent. Born in Kampung Pali, Malacca, Abdullah was the youngest of five sons and the only one who reaches adulthood as all of his siblings died in infancy. His early childhood was plagued by him being sick most of the time and as such led to his parents taking great care of him. Furthermore, he was taken care of by various individuals besides his parents as it was customary in Malay society at that time to exert such practices with a child that is deemed to have low body immunity. Abdullah despises such acts though, later describing it as stupid in his work, Hikayat Abdullah. He later became a Munshi, a title bestow