S.E.A. WRITE AWARD

Pg Dato SS Dr Haji Mohamad @Zairis MS; the Brunei Darussalam awardee of 2008 SEA Write Award. His book "Rinduku" comprises 50 poems of variety of issues.


Poem reading was part of the prog Majlis Doa Kesyukuran. While other guests enjoying the food, some veterans delivered poems. Haji Jewawi, strong man from Astrawani.



There's a Malay proverb " ke mana tumpahnya kuah kalau tidak ke nasi" meaning whatever done by a family will be followed by their siblings. Pg Dr's daughter following his father's step to become a well known poet.


Something to ponder from sajak and speeches..... the guests - senior go'vt officer, professor, university lecturer and SEA Write Awardee.


Makan time...... everybody enjoyed the food.

Go to Thailand and stay at Oriental Bangkok. You will find suites named after great writers; Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward and James Michener. Suites in the River Wing have also been named after various authors such as Graham Greene, John le Carré and Barbara Cartland, to name a few. During its history, great authors have either stayed in or visited the hotel.

S.E.A. Write Award stands for South East Asian Writers Awards which was established in 1979 to honour leading creative literary talents, poets and writers in the ASEAN region.

The awards are given to a writer from each of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, though not all countries in ASEAN have been represented every year. The award is sometimes given for a specific work by an author, or it could be awarded for lifetime achievement. The types of works that are honored vary, and have included poetry, short stories, novels, plays, folklore and scholarly and religious works.

The ceremonies are held in Bangkok, with a member of the Thai royal family presiding. The ceremonies have featured some notable guest speakers, including Iris Murdoch, Peter Ustinov, Jeffrey Archer, James A. Michener, Gore Vidal, William Golding, Rita Dove and Paul Theroux.

The 2008 Brunei Awardee is Pg Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohammad Pg Hj Abdul Rahman, Deputy Minister of Education, The prestigious award was for his fourth anthology of poems entitled, "Rinduku" comprises of 50 poems which he inspired from the surrounding environment, his personal thoughts and current issues. Initially Pengiran Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohammad published "Rinduku" in 1985 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and to join the SEA Write Award this year, the book was republished under the Language arid Literature Bureau.The event took place in Bangkok handed by Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. This year marks the 30th SEA Writers Awards since its inception in 1979.

Pengiran Dr hoped local writers from all generations get the chance to be in his shoes as it is such an honour to represent the country. He further hoped local writers will be more creative and innovative in their works and their works will be translated into different languages for Asean and other international countries.