MALAYSIA
History of Literature
 Malaysian literature is typically written in any of the country’s four main languages: Malay,
English, Chinese, and Tamil. - Tamil is an official language of the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and
Singapore, and spoken primarily in India.
 It portrays various aspects of Malaysian life.
 Early Malay literature was primarily influenced by Indian epics such as the Mahabharata and the
Ramayana, which later included other traditions that now form the Malay literary heritage style
of writing, such as the Hikayat Mara Karma, Hikayat Panca Tanderan, and Hikayat Gul Bakawali,
which were delivered orally through generations.
 Malay literature effectively begins with the coming of Islām in the late 15th century; no literary
works dating from the Hindu period (4th to late 15th centuries) have survived. Malay literature
can be divided into two types: that written in classical Malay, the written language of Malayspeaking Muslim communities scattered along all of Southeast Asia's coasts from the 15th century
but focused primarily on the straits of Malacca; and that written in modern Malaysian Malay,
which began to replace classical Malay in Malaya around 1920.
 By the 19th century, written literature occurred. - Oral literature on the Malay peninsula had been
replaced by written literature by the 19th century. The adoption of Islam to the Peninsula in the
15th century, as well as the development of the Jawi script, were credited with this. This tradition
was influenced by both prior oral traditions and Middle Eastern Islamic literature. Works during
this time ranged from theological literature and legal digests, to romances, moral anecdotes,
popular tales of Islamic prophets and even animal tales, which were written in a number of styles
ranging from religious to the Hikayat form.
 Traditional Malay poetry was used for entertainment and the recording of history and laws.
Religious Groups of Malaysia
Malaysia a meeting ground of cultures and religions for thousands of years. Because of this, nearly all the
major world religions have a longstanding notable presence in Malaysia today. For instance, 19.8%
identify as Buddhist, 9.2% identify as Hindu, and 6.3% identify with traditional Chinese religions (such as
Confucianism and Taoism).
Religious Pluralism and the State
The religious pluralism of Malaysia means that religious identity is often an important aspect of an
individual, especially due to the association between ethnic and religious identity.
Islam in Malaysia
• Islam was first introduced to the region of present-day Malaysia by Arab and Indian traders and
merchants from the 10th century through to the 15th century.
• Today, nearly two-thirds of Malaysia’s population (61.3%) identify as Muslim. Most are Sunni and follow
the Shafi’i school of thought and law.
Buddhism in Malaysia
• Both Buddhism and Hinduism were introduced to Malaysia over two millennia ago by Indian traders.
• Buddhism also spread to the northern part of the Malay Peninsula from Thailand. For many centuries
after, both religions heavily influenced Malaysian society, arts, culture and governance.
• Immigrants from China and Sri Lanka during British colonial rule brought a resurgence of Buddhism back
to Malaysia in the late 19th through to the 20th century. Today, Buddhism is the second most identified
religion (19.8%).
Christianity in Malaysia
• Christianity was first introduced to the Malay Archipelago by Arab, Persian and Turkish Christian traders
from the 7th century.
• Catholicism was introduced by Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century, while Dutch colonists
introduced Protestantism in the 17th century.
• Protestant missions from various denominations flourished during British colonial rule from the 19th
century. The 20th century saw the introduction of non-denominational and evangelical churches.
Malaysian Folklore
Malaysian folk tales include a vast variety of forms such as myths, legends, fables, etc. The main
influences on Malaysian folk tales have been Indian, Javanese and middle eastern folk tales. Many
Indian epics have been translated into Malay since ancient time including the Sanskrit epics of
Ramayana and Mahabharata, which are the basis of the Malaysian art of Wayang Kulit. Besides,
Indian epics, the Javanese epic of Panji has also influenced Malay literature and plays a major part
in enriching Malaysian folk tales.
Malaysian folk tales are usually centred around romance between princes and princesses, kings
and queens, or heroes and their damsels. Until today, numerous royal courts exist in Malaysia and
supplied the basis of many folk stories. For example, folk tales like Puteri Lindungan Bulan and
Raja Bersiong have always been associated with the Sultanate of Kedah, and the story of Puteri
Limau Purut has been associated with the Sultanate of Perak. Due to the nature of migration in
the region, some of the popular Malaysian folk tales may also arrived from other part of Malay
archipelago.
Crocodile and Mouse Deer
Sang Kancil was a clever mouse deer. Whenever he was in a bad situation, he always played a
clever trick to escape. In this story, Sang Kancil outwitted Sang Buaya, a big, bad crocodile, who wanted
to eat him.
There were many trees where Sang Kancil’s lived along the river, so he never had trouble finding food.
There were always lots of leaves. He spent his time running and jumping and looking into the river.
Sang Buaya, the big bad crocodile, lived in the river with other crocodiles. They were always waiting to
catch Sang Kancil for dinner. One day when Sang Buaya was walking along the river, he saw some delicious
fruit on the trees on the other side the river.
Sang Kancil wanted to taste the tasty-looking fruit because he was a little tired of eating leaves. He tried
to think of a way to cross the river, but he had to be careful. He didn’t want to be caught and eaten by
Sang Buaya. He needed to trick Sang Buaya.
Sang Kancil suddenly had an idea He called out to the crocodile, “Sang Buaya! Sang Buaya!” Sang Buaya
slowly came out of the water and asked Sang Kancil why he was shouting his name. He asked Sang Kancil,
“Aren’t you afraid I will eat you?” Then he opened his big mouth very wide to scare Sang Kancil. Sang
Kancil said, “Of course, I am afraid of you, but the king wants me to do something. He is having a big feast
with lots of food, and he is inviting everyone, including you and all the other crocodiles. But first, I have
to count all of you. He needs to know how many of you will come. Please line up across the river, so I can
walk across your heads and count all of you.”
Sang Buaya was excited and left to tell the other crocodiles about the feast with all the good food. Soon,
they came and made a line across the river. Sang Kancil said, “Promise not to eat me because I can’t report
to the king how many of you are coming. They promised not to eat him.
Sang Kancil stepped on Sang Buaya’s head and counted one. Then he stepped on the next one and said,
“Two.”
He stepped on each crocodile, counting each one, and finally reached the other side of the river. Then he
said to Sang Buaya, ”Thank you for helping me to cross the river to my new home.”
Sang Buaya was shocked and angry. He shouted at Sang Kancil, “You tricked us! There is no feast, is there?”
All of the crocodiles looked at Sang Buaya angrily. They were angry because he let Sang Kancil trick all of
them.
Sang Kancil loved his new home on the other side of the river because he had a lot of tasty food to eat.
Poor Sang Buaya was not so lucky. After that, none of the other crocodiles ever talked to him again.
Kancil (kahn-chill) = Mouse-deer;
Jambu air (jahm-boo ah-yer) = Water Apple;
Sang Buaya = the word “buaya” is Malay for crocodile. “Sang”, stand alone, has no real meaning, and is
used in reference to an animal.
Moral Lesson:
The moral values that we can get from this story are we have to be brave to survive in this world because
if not, the world will leave us behind. Other than that, we have to find a solution to any problem that we
have because every problem in this world will have a solution. But not to trick because being tricky can
hurt others. It’s not good. Like in the story the other crocodiles get mad to Sang Buaya because he let Sang
Kancil to trick them and no one ever talk to him. Even Sang Kancil don`t hurt Sang Buaya physically he hurt
him emotionally and mentally.
Malay Authors and their Famous Works
For centuries authors have been among the world's most important people, helping chronicle
history and keep us entertained with one of the earliest forms of storytelling. Whether they're
known for fiction, non-fiction, poetry or even technical writing, the famous Malaysian authors
have kept that tradition alive by writing renowned works that have been praised around the
world.

Tash Aw
Tash Aw, whose full name is Aw Ta-Shi (Chinese: 歐大旭; pinyin: Ōu Dàxù; born 4.10.1971) is
a Malaysian writer living in London. Like many Malaysians, he had a multilingual upbringing,
speaking Chinese and Cantonese at home, and Malay and English at school. His first novel, The
Harmony Silk Factory, was published in 2005. It was longlisted for the 2005 Man Booker Prize and
won the 2005 Whitbread Book Awards First Novel Award as well as the 2005 Commonwealth
Writers Prize for Best First Novel (Asia Pacific region).
Born in Taiwan to Malaysian parents, Tash Aw grew up in Kuala Lumpur before moving to England in
his teens. He studied law at the University of Cambridge and University of Warwick, 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, he became a celebrity in Malaysia and Singapore, and is now one of
the most respected literary figures in Southeast Asia.
- Map of the Invisible World (2009)
- Five Star Billionaire (2013)
- The Face: Strangers on a Pier (2016)

Kamalia Hasni
Kamalia Hasni, better known as Malie, is an emerging Malaysian poet who graduated with a
master’s degree in Occupational Psychology from the University of Nottingham. Her first poetry
book called An Ocean of Grey was published in 2018 that touches on the pain and aftermath of a
love that promised an infinity but ended too soon. In 2020, she released another collection of
poetry and prose called A Wave of Dreams, a continuation of her first book that explores the
theme of healing and the empowering discovery of self-love.
Both her poetry books were published under her own publishing company, Meraki Press. The idea
of building her own publishing house along with two of her friends was influenced by their hope
to educate the Malaysian community and nurture a love for the English language. She is currently
the Digital Marketing Manager of her own company and is currently living in the UK.
- An Ocean of Grey
- A Wave of Dreams
Literary Reading of Malaysia
Malay Poetic Forms
The Malay oral and literary culture in Singapore is commonly associated with three
traditional Malay poetic forms: pantun (rhyming quatrains), syair (narrative poetic form)
and gurindam (verses of moral instruction). These expressions are used to convey ideas and
life lessons.
Traditional Malay poetic forms usually focus on subjects that are didactic in nature, while
contemporary Singaporean Malay poetry focuses on social themes such as cultural identity,
urban living and traditional ways of life. The use of these themes evokes a sense of
belonging and communion amongst those creating and reading these poetic forms, and
makes Malay poetry an important form of social expression and identity marker for the
Malay community. Contemporary Singaporean Malay poetry has also evolved to take on
free modern verse forms called puisi (generic term for poetry) and sajak (literary
composition in verse).
Traditional Malay poetic forms are also featured in Malay films. The discourse of lovers, for
instance, has expressed lyrically through songs structured as pantun or gurindam verses in
films. One of the more famous songs with gurindam verses emerging from the industry
was Gurindam Jiwa, from the soundtrack of the movie with the same name, composed by
Wandly Yazid in 1964. It remains a popular song today, and is performed at cultural events.
Three Forms of Traditional Malay Poetry

Pantun
is a Malay oral poetic form used to express intricate ideas and emotions. Most often a poem
in a single quatrain made up of two complete couplets. In Malay, the pantun is a quatrain,
rhyming ABAB
The following is an example of the pantun:

pagi ni hati saya bagai kotak
My heart is like a box at primary
kotak tanpa barang dan bunyi
A box that is soundless or nothing
hari ni awal saya tulis sajak
As I wrote my poem this early
World shall be bright and inspiring
cahaya ilham menerangi bumi
Syair
- is a form of traditional Malay poetry that is made up of four-line stanzas or quatrains. The
syair can be a narrative poem, a didactic poem, a poem used to convey ideas on religion or
philosophy, or even one to describe a historical event. The syair conveys a continuous idea
from one stanza to the next, maintains a unity of idea from the first line to the last line in each
stanza, and each stanza is rhymed a-a-a-a-a.
The following is an example of the syair:
Wahai muda, kenali dirimu,
Ialah perahu tamsil tubuhmu,
Tiadalah berapa lama hidupmu,
Ke akhirat jua kekal diammu.

Oh! Young man, knowing you
Is like a boat, aren`t you?
Living the best out of you
And hereafter, you are you!
Gurindam
- is a type of irregular verse forms of traditional Malay poetry. It is a combination of two clauses
where the relative clause forms a line and is thus linked to the second line, or the main clause.
Although Gurindam looks similar with Syair which also have the same rhyme at the end of
each stanza, it differs in the sense that it completes the message within the same stanza while
Syair unfolding the message in several stanzas. The first line of gurindam is known
as syarat (condition) and the second line is jawab (answer).
The following is an example of the gurindam:
Kurang fikir, kurang siasat,
Tentu dirimu, kelak tersesat.
Fikir dahulu sebelum berkata,
Supaya terelak silang-sengketa.
Less Tactic, Less thought
As you know, you lost
Mind your words, as you sought
For less dispute, you`ll elute.