Sarawak 10th Literary Award

Zainal Abidin bin Haji Suhaili was announced as the winner of the Sarawak State Literary Award during the Sarawak 10^th Literary Award (ASNS) yesterday (6^th July 2021).

This is the tenth Sarawak Literature Awards to be organised by the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Cawangan Sarawak (DBPCS) since 1994 to recognise writers who have contributed to language and literature in the State.

The event which was held virtually was launched by Assistant Minister of Education and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapaee.

“During the 10th ASNS evaluation period, the Assessing Panel Committee has held two special meetings and special discussions to scrutinize and evaluate the candidate’s work to select eligible recipients of this award,” said Dr Annuar Rapaee, who is also the Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing.

The recipient are:

In 2020, the 10th ASNS Secretariat has received a total of 32 nominations for 10 award categories.

1. Six nominations for Sarawak State Literary Award
2. Six nominations for Special Language and Literature Award
3. Five nominations for Sarawak Writer’s for Novel Genre Award
4. Four nominations for Sarawak Writer’s Literature Poetry Genre Award
5. Four nominations for Sarawak Writer’s literature for Short Story Genre Award
6. Four nominations for Sarawak Writer’s for Critical Essay Genre Award
7. Three nominations for Sarawak Writer’s Drama Script Genre Award
8. One nomination for Sarawak Writers’ Award for the Iban language category
9. Two nominations for Sarawak Writer’s Award for the English language category
10. One nomination for Sarawak Writer’s Award for the Chinese language category

Dr Annuar Rapaee in his speech noted that the nomination for the Sarawak Writers’ Award for the Chinese and English language category were rejected as they did not meet the requirements.

Meanwhile, the Sarawak Writer’s Drama Script Genre Award did not have a qualified candidate to receive the award.

The requirements for the awards are as following;

“Hopefully, through this award recognition, Sarawak writers will continue to strive to produce good quality work that is on par with both domestic and foreign writers,” said Dr Annuar Rapaee in ending his speech.

Besides ASNS, DBPCS has also organised other competitions such as Hadiah Sastera Penulis Sarawak and Anugerah Citra Sekolah Menengah for school students.