KUCHING: Hamzah Hamdani emerged as the winner of ‘Anugerah Khas Bahasa Sastera’ during the ‘Anugerah Sastera Negeri Sarawak’ (ASNS) 2017 presentation ceremony.
The presentation ceremony which was held at Pullman Hotel on Monday night was graced by the Head of State, Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Five other awards, namely ‘Anugerah Sastera Penulis Sarawak Genre Novel’ was won by Dr Idris Boi, ‘Anugerah Sastera Penulis Sarawak Genre Cerpen’ presented to Mohd Ali Salim, ‘Anugerah Sastera Penulis Sarawak Genre Puisi’ won by Pharo Abdul Hakim, ‘Anugerah Sastera Penulis Sarawak Genre Bahasa Iban’ presented to Harry Usup Umbar and ‘Anugerah Sastera Penulis Sarawak Genre Bahasa Cina’ won by Wong Ching Ping.
Speaking during the award ceremony, Taib urged the people to be aware of the importance of preserving ‘sastera’ (literature) for future generations.
“It is time for us to pay attention to the development of literature along with the development of economy and social.
“To sastera activists, I hope they will put more effort into advocating literature to increase the interest among society.
“When you have the time, take the initiative to come to Astana and I will assist,” he said.
Meanwhile, Taib noted that the interest towards sastera nowadays was decreasing and it worried him.
“This situation occurs maybe because of the trend and perception of the people that sastera is no longer interesting to learn.
“This is a common issue for the current era and we must support the efforts taken to increase the number of sastera activists,” he exclaimed.
Also present at the award ceremony were the Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah and Director General of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), Datuk Abdul Adzis Abas.
