University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) alumni Emeritus Professor Malachi Edwin Vethamani’s book of poems entitled Malachin Testament: Malaysian Poems won the Best English Language Book at the inaugural Anugerah Buku Malaysia 2020 awards.
Organised by the Malaysian Book Publishers Association (MABOPA) in conjunction with the Kuala Lumpur World Book Capital 2020 programme, the awards ceremony comprised 14 categories including Best English Language Book, Best Literature Book (Bahasa Malaysia), Best Book Translation and Best Children/Teen Book. The awards ceremony took place online on 21 April 2021 during which Professor Vethamani was presented with the prestigious award.
Malachin Testament: Malaysian Poems is published by Maya Press and features English poems written by more than 50 established and emerging local poets including Wong Phui Nam, Muhammad Haji Salleh, Shirley Geok-Li Lim, Melizarani Selva and Jamal Raslan.
Anugerah Buku Malaysia is a recognition given to Malaysian publications that showcase high quality of work in various categories.
The evaluation and selection of the books is carried out directly by publishing companies registered with MABOPA. MABOPA was established on 14 January 1969 with approximately 200 publishers. This association is regarded as an important entity in the Malaysian publishing industry.
“I’m very happy and honoured that Malachin Testament: Malaysian Poems has emerged the winner in this category. I wish to thank the jury and all who voted for my book. I am thankful to Maya Press for publishing this collection of poems. There are very few publishers who want to publish poetry,” said Professor Vethamani.
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For media enquiries please contact: Josephine Dionisappu, PR and Communications Manager University of Nottingham Malaysia at josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham is a research-intensive university with a proud heritage, consistently ranked among the world's top 100. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our 44,000 students - Nottingham was named both Sports and International University of the Year in the 2019 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, was awarded gold in the TEF 2017 and features in the top 20 of all three major UK rankings. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement. We are ranked eighth for research power in the UK according to REF 2014. We have six beacons of research excellence helping to transform lives and change the world; we are also a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally.
Posted on 6th May 2021