Muhyiddin: Writers play important role in nation building

Literary writers play an important role in helping build Malaysia into a developed and prosperous nation, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin said on Tuesday in his speech before handing out prizes for the winners of the ITBM-PENA-BH poem, short story and novel competition at his official residence here at Sri Satria, Putrajaya.

"Nation building is not solely reliant on material progress but must also be in tandem with the development of the rakyat's maturity of thought and the development of national identity, and one of those means is through literature," he said.

"Literature is one of the best ways to shape the thinking of society."

Muhyiddin said that writers, through their work, are those who are able to call on people to share their hopes and aspirations for the country.

He said that literary competitions would give birth to young writers that would expand Malaysia's literary field.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin stressed that literary writers have always been with the government.

"The close ties and cooperation between literary writers and the government in realising the country's national mission is the culmination of our efforts to build our civilisation," he said.

"If there are parties who claim that the literary writers are on that side and that the country's leaders are on this side, it is a false accusation," he said.

While he did not expressly mention any political entities, "that side" is believed to be referring to opposition while "this side", the government.

"We know that writing is not just about writing but it indirectly records history, events, and encapsulates the nation's culture, a clash of creative ideas and facts that inform the uninformed.

Literature, he said, is considered to be the mirror that enables people, especially the young, to learn from the mistakes of the past.