ON MALAYSIAN LITERATURE

                WAITING FOR THE PLANE

Each of us is waiting for the plane

And will be called to departure hall

As we become passengers

On a moving airplane  

We may be shaken by clouds  

Or debating with heavy rain

While at other time we feel secured

And  lulled into  slumber

Forgetting  to read the weather.

Since life is a journey

We must get our tickets ready

Valid documents for valid entry

The rest is up to

possibilities

Since we are on a journey

We will board the plane of destiny

inevitably

MENUNGGU PESAWAT

Setiap kita adalah penunggu pesawat

Harus bersedia di balai berangkat

Kita pun menjadi penumpang

Pesawat yang terbang

Sering juga dihentak awan

Atau berdebat dengan hujan lebat

Namun biasanya kita selesa

Dan mudah terlena

Terlupa membaca cuaca.

Kerana hidup adalah perjalanan

Kita  harus bersedia dengan tiket

Dan dokumen pengenalan

Selebihnya berserah

kepada kemungkinan

Kerana kita adalah musafir

Diterbangkan pesawat takdir

Tanpa mungkir

 Reading poetry for the program Jundai Nusantata

8.11.2025 at Panggung Anniversary, Taman Botani, Kuala Lumpur.

ZURINAH HASSAN is the first female writer to be awarded National Literature Award (Anugerah Sastera Negara) in 2015. It is the highest recognition by the government of Malaysia for creative writers, carrying the tittle of Sasterawan Negara or National Laureate.  She is also a recipient of the Southeast Asia Writing Award (SEA Write Award) in 2004.

Zurinah Hassan was born in Alor Setar, Kedah in 1949. She received her early education in Kedah before continuing her studies at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, from which from which she obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree majoring in comparative literature.  She worked as Information Officer and took optional early retirement to pursue her passion in creative writing, at the same time pursued higher degrees . She obtained Master of Arts from Universiti Putra Malaysia, and  Ph.D from Universiti Malaya in 2008.

Zurinah writes in various genres. To date, she has produced collections of

poetry, collections of short stories, a novel,  and memoirs. Zurinah has won writing prizes at national level, such as Hadiah Sastera Perdana  the Utusan Group Literary Prize, the National Library Book Prize,  the Islamic Short Story Prize.

Zurinah’s work has been translated into several languages, for example her collection of poetry  Menghadap ke Pelabuhan has been published with translations in English, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and French.

She has been appointed  by several universities, including as Research Fellow by University of Malaya and Adjunct Professor by  Universiti Malaysia Perlis.

A LUXURY CAR.

I  walked the road with a heavy load

Keeping pace with the life race

.I tripped and slipped and lost my grip

My basketful of labour spilled on a parked car.

spontaneously I heard a shout, angry and loud

The owner of the luxury  car shouting at me

Are you blind that this car was hit

You may have scratched and dented it

The angry voice directed me

to clean the mess and get away immediately

I almost fell,  humiliated and embarrass

As passers by were looking with interest.

But I did not let it be a burden

Just forget the incidents, leave it where it happen

They are just gravels and small stones

in this uneasy road of my own

But today I remembered the incident

As we are busy with the state election

my husband and I getting ready to the polling station

Just as I closed the door and gate

A car has come to wait

the driver got out and bowed politely

Father, mother,  I will drive you to the voting centre.

So we got in, without much thinking

To do our duty and come home early

 In the car he kept telling us

I am contesting the election

 Vote for me , don't choose other person .

I remember at that instance

This is the owner of the luxury car

Who insulted and humiliated me

During the last term.

 WHEN NATURE CRIES

I have spoken out

when they injured the hills

and wounded  the trees  

Where I learn to write poetry  

But they said

I must learn to face reality

This is the age of industry

We cannot avoid deforestation

We need more houses

for the growing population

May be they are right

but it breaks my heart

as they sit to calculate their profit

the wind is jumping on the roof

Water attacking villages and  coasts

Its my people who suffer the most

Let the poor cling to lifeboats

or drift with the mud and tide

we need stylish houses

For the country’s  images and pride

Let the earth be sad and desparate

The country does not need romantic poets.