THE Penang government will continue to support the George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) as it has grown into one of the world’s leading literary festivals and is now an important attraction for the many men and women of letters in the Southeast Asian region, says Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
He said GTLF remains the only festival in Southeast Asia to take home the Literary Festival Award at the London Book Fair. It is now in its ninth edition, which began on Nov 21 and would end tomorrow.
“Over the years, people have been travelling far and wide to be here, to be part of the festival,” Chow said in his speech at the opening of the GTLF 2019 at The Loft 29 at Church Street Ghaut today.
“And this year, we are proud to host over a hundred talented literary personalities from all over the world while showcasing Penang as the place which offers the perfect environment for the world’s brightest literary minds to gather and exchange knowledge.
“This is the only festival in the country which features lectures, conversations, discussions and readings as its main offerings. GLTF is one of Penang’s arts and culture assets.”
He said earlier this year, GTF hosted a successful symposium on the history of Penang and through the symposium, they discovered multiple surprising facts and stories about Penang.
“We found out that Penang had made its appearance in the Western media since the early 1900s, and even Hollywood celebrities like Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth were known to have been in love with Penang,” Chow added.
He also expressed his delight that Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka would collaborate with Penang to make the 10th GTLF even better next year.
Among those present were state Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee (Petach) chairman Yeoh Soon Hin, Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau chief executive officer Ashwin Gunasekeran, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka director Datuk Abang Sallehuddin Abg Shokeran and GTLF 2019 co-directors Pauline Fan and Sharaad Kuttan.
Abang Sallehuddin, who represented Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik as the latter had a last minute urgent matter to attend to, said Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka would actively promote reading habit among Malaysians next year.
He said reading campaigns would be held to encourage Malaysians to read an average of 30 books each per year by 10 years, from the current 15 according to a survey. South Koreans, he said, read an average of over 50 books each per year.
Yeoh said the GTLF is the longest-running and largest literary festival in Malaysia, which also saw a special session last Thursday which brought NGOs, activists and writers together to discuss the future of Penang.
“We have so many vibrant events and offerings all year round in Penang, that it is no surprise that this city has such a strong international appeal.”
Ashwin later presented a book as a souvenir each to Chow, Yeoh and Abang Sallehuddin.
Malaysian author Ho Sok Fong, 49, was pleasantly surprised when her second book, titled “Lake Like a Mirror”, was picked by the organisers to be given to Chow.
Published in Chinese in 2014, the book, containing a collection of nine short stories on women’s life experiences in Malaysia, has been translated into English for release this year. It also won Natascha Bruce the PEN Present Award for Translator.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi
Video by Chan Kok Kuan