Ahmad, Shahnon 1933-

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Ahmad, Shahnon 1933-

PERSONAL:

Born 1933, in Sik, Kedah, Malaysia. Education: Attended university in Australia, B.A., 1971; University of Science, Penang, Malaysia, M.A., 1975.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Penang, Malaysia.

CAREER:

Writer, educator, politician. Islamic Center of Malaysian Science University, former director; University of Science, Penang, Malaysia, former dean, School of Humanities; professor emeritus; former member of parliament.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Named National Laureate, 1982; given honorary knighthood title of "Dato."

WRITINGS:

Rentong (novel), Toko Buku Abbas Bandong (Melaka, Malaysia), 1965, translation published as Rope of Ash, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1979.

Ranjau sepanjang jalan, Utusan Melayu (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1966, translation by Adibah Amin published as No Harvest but a Thorn, Oxford University Press (London, England), 1972.

Protes, Penerbitan Abbas Bandong (Melaka, Malaysia), 1967.

Perdana, Penerbitan Pustaka Nasional (Singapura, Malaysia), 1969.

Srengenge, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1973, published as Srengenge: A Novel from Malaysia, Heinemann Educational Books (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1979.

Sampah, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1974.

Selesai sudah, Heinemann (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1977.

Seluang menodak baung, Heinemann (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1978.

Gubahan novel, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1979.

Debu merah, Teks Publishing (Pulau Pinang, Malaysia), 1980.

The Third Notch and Other Stories, Heinemann Educational Books (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1980.

Al-syiqaq, Teks Publishing (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1985.

Polemik sastera Islam, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1987.

Le Riz, UNESCO (Paris, France), 1987.

Tok guru, Fajar Bakti (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia), 1988.

Tunggul-tunggul gerigis, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1988.

Seketul hati seorang pemimpin, Dewan Bahasa dan Putaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1989.

Sutan Baginda, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1989.

Detik-detik diri di daerah daif, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1991.

Patriarch, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1991.

Sastera sebagai seismograf kehidupan, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1991, published as Literature as a Seismograph of Life, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1994.

Kesasterawanan: kepolitikan, kelaman, kedirian, kemanusiaan, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1992.

Ummi & Abang Syeikhul, Percetakan Yusran (Pulau Pinang, Malaysia), 1992.

Shahnon dengan debu marahnya, Marwilis Publisher (Shah Alam, Malaysia), 1992.

Sastera: pengalaman, ilmu, imaginasi, dan kitarannya, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1994.

Corat-coret berkelongsong, Fajar Bakti (Shah Alam, Malaysia), 1995.

Ibu adalah pentafsir & Sungai: dua buah novella, Fajar Bakti (Shah Alam, Malaysia), 1995.

Pongang sastera: gema karya kreatif dan kesannya terhadap khalayak, Fajar Bakti (Shah Alam, Malaysia), 1995.

Tivi, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1995.

Shahnon Ahmad and Tok Guru: Essays on Malay Literature, Institut Alam dan Tamadun Melayu (Selangor, Malaysia), 1996.

Igauan dan cerita-cerita lain, Fajar Bakti (Shah Alam, Malaysia), 1996.

Shit@pukimak@PM, Pustaka Reka (Kelantan Darul Naim, Malaysia), 1999.

MahaMaha, Pustaka Jiwa Merdeka (Gombak, Malaysia), 1999.

Nurul, anak papa ku, Pustaka Jiwa Merdeka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 1999.

Anjing, Pustaka Anak Sik (Sik, Malaysia), 2001.

Maha haprak, melayu tak akan lupa & Pak Lah, politik belah buluh: sempena 20 tahun pemerintahan ditaktor Seri Mahathir Muhamad, Pustaka Anak Sik (Sik, Malaysia), 2001.

Lamunan puitis: sebuah trilogi, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 2003.

Tonil purbawara, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 2005.

Perjalananku sejauh ini: sebuah autobiografi, Pustaka Shahnonahmad (Pulau Pinang, Malaysia), 2006.

ADAPTATIONS:

Several of Ahmad's works have been turned into films, including the novel Ranjau sepanjang jalan and the short story "Tanjong kelan."

SIDELIGHTS:

Malaysian author Shahnon Ahmad is the author of more than thirty books set in his native country. This body of work deals with topics from the deprivations of rural living and the farming life, as in his early novels Rentong (translated into English as Rope of Ash) and Ranjau sepanjang jalan (translated into English as No Harvest but a Thorn and adapted for a feature film in Malaysia), to satirical political criticism, as in his controversial 1999 best seller, Shit@pukimak@PM. The latter title deals with the controversy between then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his deputy Anwar Ibrahim, who was dismissed from the government and beaten over charges of corruption and sodomy. Ahmad and other Malaysian artists did not so much side with Ibrahim as they strongly disapproved of the way in which the government handled the entire matter. As Ahmad noted to Thomas Fuller of the International Herald Tribune: "There's something abnormal happening in Malaysian politics…. The inspiration for the book is basically from the Anwar case, from injustices, from people crazy for power, crazy for wealth." A best seller in Malaysia, "the story takes place inside a large intestine and uses scatological satire to criticize the prime minister," noted Fuller. The book was also highly scandalous for its use of two expletives in the title, the English word "shit," and the Malaysian slang word "pukimak," for female genitalia. The book is an allegory of the political process in Malaysia, but it also became a cause célèbre for freedom of speech when the ruling party attempted to ban its sale. Writing in the Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia, Khoo Boo Teik concluded, "Whatever one thinks of the novel qua novel, its popularity spoke to its effectiveness as an allegory specific to the political circumstances of the day."