MIRI: Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) recently received 30 copies of a book of poems penned by the Group Chief Executive Officer of Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd, Dato Muhammad Medan Abdullah.
He paid the university a visit to hand over copies of the ‘Poems from the Jungle Boy’, which he had written under the pen name Maya Green.
The presentation of the books to the Curtin Malaysia Library, the largest among libraries at private institutions of higher learning in Malaysia in terms of online and print titles, was part of Bintulu Port Holding Bhd’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative focused on education.
Acting Chief Operating Officer Associate Professor Pieter Willem Pottas and Acting Head of Library Nora Hii Siaw Fong received the books from him.
Also present were Head of Group Corporate Services Maslihah Tioh and other executives of Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad, and members of Curtin Malaysia’s senior leadership team.
Written mainly in English, with a few sections in Bahasa Malaysia and Medan’s ethnic dialect Kelabit, the book includes a poem titled ‘Two Paths’ that has attracted international attention in China and has been translated into classical Chinese and adopted as a corporate poem by a Chinese company.
The poem is Medan’s take of Robert Frost’s famous poem ‘The Road Less Taken’.
Noting Medan’s interest in Sarawak’s cultural heritage, Pottas highlighted the Borneo Studies unit being taught at Curtin Malaysia, which will be expanded into a full-fledged academic programme in the near future.
He invited Medan to contribute his vast knowledge and expertise to the programme, as well as to courses in media studies, journalism and creative writing.
Pottas also updated Medan on Curtin Malaysia’s newly-established South China Sea Research Hub where there is considerable potential for collaboration between the university and Bintulu Port Holdings.
