THIS year’s George Town Literary Festival (GTLF 2018) delved in the theme of ‘The State of Freedom’ which resonates with the people of Malaysia as the nation achieved the impossible by removing a corrupt government in the true spirit of democracy without shedding a drop of blood.
The keynote address was given by the eminent Datuk Anwar Fazal, the prolific Penang-based writer and human rights, interfaith relations and peace advocate. Out of 100 writers, GTLF 2018 features 65 Malaysian and Malaysian-born writers, performers, artists and thinkers.
“GTLF holds the distinction of being Penang’s only literary festival and the largest in Malaysia. Famous writers have written about Penang over the different eras but it is the stories that have come out of this landscape, spurred out of the imaginations and pens of writers that resonate with us. The one Penang story that deeply resonates in the heart of all who call Penang home is the story of Penang as the land of the free,” Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said, in his speech, as the Guest of Honour for GTLF 2018.
“As a state, Penang has always championed freedom. This festival was known as one of the last bastions of freedom of speech and expression in the country,” he added.
Also present were state exco for Tourism Development, Heritage, Arts & Culture Yeoh Soon Hin, British High Commissioner of Malaysia Vicki Treadell, Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) CEO Ashwin Gunasekeran and GTLF 2018 director Bernice Chauly.
Story by Victor Seow
Pix by Alissala Thian