Art, Literature And History To Strengthen ASEAN Community Ties
KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (Bernama) -- Regional art, literature and history inherited from the ages by each ASEAN country must be harnessed to strengthen togetherness, enhance cultural cooperation and foster a shared identity.
National Oral Literature Association (Persalina) president, Ninot Aziz said initiatives such as the Kuala Lumpur International Book Festival 2025, which is an annual Malaysian event, could be highlighted as a platform towards the initiative.
This year, Ninot said the book festival, which will be held from May 23 to June 1 at the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre, will introduce several publications that highlight Southeast Asian literature, art and history.
“Hikayat Fandom together with Persalina have actively collected regional oral stories to spark a project that has successfully gathered the works of storytellers and writers from various Southeast Asian countries.
“The anthology is called Penglipur Lara, a Rhapsody of SEA Folklore and will bring together 60 Southeast Asian folk tales that highlight folk tales and related folk tales in the region,” she said when contacted by Bernama.
The elements of art, literature and history are also the main focus for Malaysia as the ASEAN Chairman this year in strengthening the vision of the ASEAN Community 2025.
Malaysia takes over the ASEAN Chairmanship on Jan 1, 2025 from Laos with the theme of Inclusivity and Sustainability, reflecting the country’s aspiration to build a united and prosperous ASEAN.
Ninot said that apart from the anthology, other works that will be brought include the book ‘Kepulauan Melayu Ensiklopedia berilustrated Tamadun Dunia Silam’ and ‘Mutiara Kata Alam Melayu’ which features words of wisdom from regional figures such as Hamka, Jose Rizal and Royal Prof Ungku Aziz and many more.
She said, for this year's event, Persalina is intensifying efforts to collect regional folklore stories by extending invitations and contacting writers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar and Thailand.
"With ASEAN 2025 as a platform to strengthen relations between countries in Southeast Asia, it is important that we continue to support efforts to publish folk tales that show the identity and beauty of the cultural heritage we share," she said.
-- BERNAMA
