The Literary Bar in Malaysia

There are a lack of serious writers in Malaysia and National Laureate shares his thoughts in the Star newspaper. Interestingly he thinks that there is no racial bias in awarding the National Laureate when he is the 10th and all ten are Malays.

Sunday October 25, 2009

Raising the literary bar

By ANDREW SIA

Our new National Laureate talks about the need for more serious works and an alternative media.

The malaise of Malay literature starts from schools, Anwar says. “In the school system, we don’t encourage too much serious discussions. It’s about following the format or scheme to answer questions. So when they grow up, there is the lack of a critical mind. ”

After writing for over 40 years, Anwar Ridhwan still believes in quality over quantity.

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