KUCHING, Oct 3: Kelabit author Dato Medan Abdullah handed over 30 copies of his “Poems from the Jungle Boy” book to be placed in the library at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus.
The books were handed over to Swinburne Sarawak Pro Vice Chancellor and chief executive officer Prof Lau Hieng Ho at the latter’s office here today.
Swinburne Sarawak in a statement today said the books symbolised joint efforts by Medan and the university to promote the use of English among students.
“Written mainly in English, with a few in Bahasa Malaysia and his ethnic dialect Kelabit, Dato Medan believes the book proves that it is possible for locals to write books and compose poems in English, which is not their mother tongue. He would like more Sarawakians to learn and be able to speak the language and even write in it,” it said.
For the record, one of Medan’s poems titled ‘Two Paths’ has attracted international attention in China and has been translated into classical Chinese and adopted as a corporate poem by a Chinese company.
The poem “Two Paths” is Medan’s version, with a twist, of Robert Frost’s famous poem, “The Road Less Taken”.
The statement further said in writing his poems mainly in English, Medan expressed his hopes that the book will encourage young Malaysians, especially Sarawakians, to have a global outlook as well as to appreciate the use of English as a language of inquiry and knowledge, in addition to it being an highly effective language for international communication and interaction.
— DayakDaily
