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1. Malaysian
Literature
Panganiban, Erika A.

2. TRIVIA!
 The name "Malaysia" is a combination of
the word "Malay" and the Latin-Greek
suffix "-sia“.
 The word "melayu" in Malay derived from
the Tamil words "malai" and "ur" meaning
"mountain" and "city, land", respectively.
 "Malayadvipa" was the word used by
ancient Indian traders when referring to
the Malay Peninsula

4. Brief History of Malaysia
 A busy seaport for European and Far East
traders for many hundreds of years.
 Starts with the history of Melaka, founded in
the 13th century by a Sumatran prince
 Became the most influential port city in
Southeast Asia
1511
 A Portuguese fleet led by Alfonso de
Albuquerque sailed into Melaka harbor
 He captured the city with canon fire

5. Brief History of Malaysia
1641
 The Dutch captured the city from the Portuguese
 They controlled the spice trade
1819
 British administration replaced the Dutch and established
a trading post in Singapore
 Penang and Melaka – “Straits Settlements”
 The British Administration lasted 138 years.
 The British granted independence to Malaya in 1957 in
Kuala Lumpur.
 Tunku Abdul Rahman – first prime minister of Malaya

7. Government
 A federal constitutional
monarchy
 Currency: Ringgit
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
 Current king
 Head of state and serves in a ceremonial
role
Najib Tun Razak
 The head of government is the prime
minister, presently.

8. Government
 Malaysia has a bicameral parliament, with
a 70-member Senate and a 222-member
House of Representatives. Senators are
elected by state legislatures or appointed
by the king; members of the House are
directly elected by the people.
 General courts, including the Federal
Court, Court of Appeals, high courts,
session courts, etc., hear all types of
cases. A separate division of sharia courts
hears cases pertaining only to Muslims.

9. Did you know?
 About two thirds of Malaysia is covered in
forest, with some forests believed to be 130
million years old.
 Rafflesia genus, the largest flower in the
world, with a maximum of 3 ft.
Malaysia is
the 42nd
most
populated
country.

10. RELIGION

11. Religion
 Malaysia has three main religions: Islam, Buddhism,
and Hinduism.
 practiced in Malaysia is known as Islam Hadhari,
which encourages an open mind, tolerance,
inclusivity, honesty, and hard work.
THE QUR'AN
 the complete book of guidance for mankind

12. “Whosoever performs good deeds, whether male or female,
and is a believer, we shall surely make him live a good life,
and We will certainly reward them for the best of what they
did."(Qur'an, An-Nahl 16:97)

13. ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES
Five Pillars of Islam
1. Shahadah: declaring there is no god except Allah,
and Muhammad is God's Messenger
2. Salat: ritual prayer five times a day
3. Zakat: giving 2.5% of one’s savings to the poor and needy
4. Sawm: fasting and self-control during the holy month
of Ramadan
5. Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime if one is
able

14. History of Literature
 Malaysian literature is typically written in any of the
country’s four main languages: Malay, English,
Chinese, and Tamil.
 It portrays various aspects of Malaysian life.
 Early Malays literature was influenced by Indian
epics, such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
 begins with the coming of Islam in the late 15th
century; no literary works dating from the Hindu
period (4th to late 15th centuries)
have survived

15. History of Literature
 The earliest works of Malaysian literature were
transmitted orally in the absence of writing scripts.
 By the 19th century, written literature occurred.
 Traditional Malay poetry was used for
entertainment and the recording of history and
laws.

16. Three Forms of Traditional Malay Poetry
Mantera
 sacred message of a text; repeated word or
phrase in meditation (e.g “Om”, “Om Namo”)
Pantun
 a traditional oral form of expression
 consists of a quatrain which employs an
abab rhyme scheme
Syair
 can be a narrative poem, a didactic poem, or a
poem used to convey ideas
on religion or philosophy, or even one to
describe historical event

17. Other types:
 Seloka – a poem, similar to pantum
 Madah – rhyming speech; a discourse through
poetry
 Gurindam – poetry that sets to music
Fables in Malaysia:
 Kancil (mouse deer)
- serves as the main character in a number of
stories
- regards as the humble animal in the highest
esteem

18. Famous Writers
Abdullah Abdul Kadir
 a Malayan writer of Indian origin
 most cultured Malay who ever wrote
 one of the greatest innovators in Malay letters
 the father of modern Malay literature
 He wrote Hikayat Abdullah, an autobiography

20. Famous Writers
Ee Tiang Hong
 was a Malayan poet of Chinese ancestry
 wrote poetry in English
 His first book of poetry appeared in 1960

21. Some New Perspectives
Race, language, religion,
birthplace —
the categories do not satisfy;
what do they say of you and me,
the space, the silences between?
Not always negative, I am
more or less than your images,
the truth is always partly,
a few hints here and there.
That's how it is — conceptual
smithereens, in spurts
and starts, a world view,
the twentieth century's, ours.

22. Famous Writers
Usman Awang
 best poet in the Malay language
 did not produce a very large corpus of
poetry, only about 200 of them
 poems are simple, clear, often romantic,
and beautiful
 a master at weaving words into striking
phrases, sentences and verses that are
of exceptional classical beauty and
sometimes appear to be nostalgic and
even escapist.

24. Famous Writers
Huzir Sulaiman
 a Malaysian actor, director and writer
based in Singapore
 One of Malaysia's leading dramatists
 His plays, often charged with dark humor,
political satire, and surrealistic twists, have
won numerous awards and international
recognition

25. Famous Literary Text

26. Terima kasih!

27. References
 http://asianhistory.about.com/od/malaysia/p/malaysia
prof.htm
 http://www.wikiz.info/islam/principles/Principles.htm
 http://www.missionislam.com/discover/basic.htm
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Malaysian_writers
 http://www.softblow.org/eetianghong.html
 http://www.slideshare.net/MariaVeronicaLeeMakaya
n/malaysia-demographics-and-literature