Language Bureau Aims To Publish 100 Titles A Year

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam - In a bid to help keep Bahasa Melayu (Malay language) alive, the Language and Literature Bureau (DBP) is striving to publish at least 100 book titles a year.

Publishing books is one way to preserve Bahasa Melayu alive, said Hjh Aminah Hj Momin, acting director of the bureau.

"The more books we (in the bureau) publish in Malay, the more the language will stay alive," Hjh Aminah told The Brunei Times on the sidelines of a memorandum of understanding (Moll) signing ceremony.

Since 1965 to date, the bureau has published more than 900 titles. But it has set a target of coining up with at least 100 new titles every year, said Hjh Aminah. In this respect, the acting director encourages Bruneian authors to send in their manuscripts to the bureau.

"If the public sends us a good book, we can publish it," she said.

Budding authors could also participate in the short story, poetry and novel writing competitions that the bureau hosts regularly, she added.

She added that Bruneian youths should be encouraged to mad books in the Malay medium as it would help "preserve the language".

Apart from promoting the use of the Malay language among nationals, Hjh Aminah said four children's books in Mandarin would also be showcased in the upcoming Shanghai expo.

"These books were written by Bruneians, telling stories about the Bruneian culture. Aside from disseminating (books in) Bahasa Melayu, we also want to promote our culture to the outside world," she said.

"Recently, we printed more than 5,000 copies of a cooking book," said Hjh Aminah, noting that cooking books written by Bruneians have been the most popular among readers in Brunei.

The book deal signing yesterday was the first for this year held between the Language and Literature Bureau and 13 Bruneian authors. The deals involve the publieation of 16 titles.

The titles have been categorised into four types of books: Children's, generic, literature and research, and reference books.

Language officer Hjh Rasiah Hj Tuah said that 500 copies will be published for each category, except for children's books which will see 2,000 copies in print.

Hj Abd Aziz Hj Tuah, 47, who wrote a book titled "Sa.b.a!" told The Brunei Times that this was his third time to publish a book with the bureau. Previously, the Bruneian author had published seven short stories.

"I want to show everyone that Bruneians are creative too. Writing is a medium for me to share with people what I feel," he said.

The author added, "The current generation (is lucky) because they missed out on living in poverty.. Because when people are poor, it creates a social imbalance. My target is to inspire youngsters about life and about giving".

He said that through his stories, he wanted to portray trivial matters in society by creating backgrounds, conflicts and characters. "I do not have conclusions in my stories because I want people to think for themselves."

Hj Abd Aziz said his main challenge as an author was being accountable for everything he wrote.

"I do not write anything steamy in my stories because if people do not like it, I will be accountable for it. So I practise self-censorship when I am writing," he said.

Another Bruneian author who signed the MoU yesterday was Sharyanty Hj Md Shard who will be publishing a book for the first time.

"(The book) is actually my thesis when I was at Universiti Brunei Darussalam. It is a short story about social, politics, economics and developments in Brunei," she said.

Sharyanty, who works as a writer for the bureau, said she wanted the public to know that the bureau was capable of publishing "good books".

Asked how she felt about publishing her first book, she said, "I feel happy, and I hope more authors in Brunei will be encouraged to write more so the country can showcase its ability in writing skills".

Signing the MoU on behalf of the Language and Literature Bureau was Acting Director Hjh Misnah.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times (Rachel Thien)

Source: http://www.brudirect.com
Picture: http://liandcy.wordpress.com

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