Haji Bujang bin Haji Matnor and Dr Haji Morsidi bin Haji Muhamad along with a representative of the late Haji Abdul Hamid bin Haji Tamat left the country yesterday to receive the prestigious Southeast Asia (SEA) Write Award in Bangkok, Thailand.
Haji Abdul Hamid will receive the award for 2019, Haji Bujang for 2020 and Dr Haji Morsidi for 2021.
The late Haji Abdul Hamid is being recognised for his work Kumpulan Puisi Mata Hati II under the pen name Salmi Mesra.
Meanwhile, Haji Bujang is receiving the award for his novel Angin Koperasi, which he wrote under a pen name, and Dr Haji Morsidi for Kumpulan Sajak Sungai, LAUT dan KiTA under the name Morsidi MH.
Language and Literature Bureau (DBP) Acting Director Suip bin Haji Abdul Wahab and two other officers who are Secretary and Chief Secretariat of the SEA Write Award for Brunei Darussalam are accompanying the writers to the award ceremony. The SEA Write Award was established to recognise and honour literary excellence in the ASEAN region, and have been presented annually for the last four decades.
However, they were put on hold from 2019 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sultanate was first invited to send writers to receive the awards in 1986 and up until 2021, 36 local writers have been honoured with the prestigious award.
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, through the DBP, takes the responsibility as the SEA Write Award Secretariat for Brunei Darussalam. Awardee nominations are selected by a panel who assesses the works based on the criteria set by the organiser in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Sultanate was invited to send its nominated awardee for 2019, 2020 and 2021 to the ceremony taking place tomorrow at the Dusidalai Hall, Chitralada Garden, Dusit Palace. Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya will grace the award ceremony and present the awards. – Lyna Mohamad
