PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's recent announcement of allocating RM20 million to three organisations to translate the best of Malay literature into foreign languages and foreign-language works into Malay sparked a lively discussion among Malaysian writers.
The three organisations are Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka (DBP), the Malaysian Institute of Translation and Books (ITBM) and Yayasan Karyawan.
I spoke to some of the Malaysian writers about this. The vast majority of them approved of this government effort.
Senator Professor Datuk Seri Dr Awang Sariyan noted that these three organisations need to develop a single programme so as not to duplicate each other's actions.
DBP as an authoritative and competent body created by an act of Parliament should play a coordinating role.
The famous poet, playwright and theatre practitioner Datuk Che Shamsudin Othman (Dinsman) drew attention to the fact that in the past the problem was not the financial side, but that the leadership of DBP did not know what to do, or the priority tasks for the development of either literature or the Malay language.
So, he expressed hope that the new leadership will make greater efforts to develop more effective measures in this direction.
National laureate Professor Dr Muhammad Haji Salleh described the allocation as a lot of money and said: "Through this project, our literature will be better known abroad, and we will get to know foreign literature better. But, we need to take rigorous steps, select the best books and find appropriate translators to ensure success."
Playwright, theatre director and educator Zakaria Ariffin, noted the timeliness of the prime minister's move, saying that financial problems had caused ITBM to fail in its role as the country's main translation centre.
He said DBP and ITBM should cooperate more closely, using the most of their resources.
I was able to get acquainted with the new chief executive officer of DBP, Dr Hazami Jahari, and discuss with him many problems, including the issue of translations. I got the impression that he is determined to bring a new stream to the activities of the DBP.
In particular, he spoke about plans to revive the Kuala Lumpur International Poetry Readings, which last took place in 2004, and the International Malay Language Council, which has been inactive since 2016.
And, of course, he is full of enthusiasm for the translation project. As a translator, this is especially pleasant for me: this year, DBP is to publish my translation of the Russian classic "Taras Bulba" by Nikolai Gogol.
And, the agreement to publish a translation of another classic "A Hero of Our Time", by Mikhail Lermontov, has just been signed.
For all these efforts, I bid good luck to DBP, ITBM and Yayasan Karyawan on their future plans to boost translation activities.
* The writer, writing from Russia, is a former lecturer of Universiti Malaya
