A Malay take on anti-Japanese resistance

Japanese troops fighting in a Malayan city street on Jan 31, 1942. The ensuing occupation was opposed by local resistance fighters of all races, Tajuddin writes in his novel. Photo: Public domain

As a run-up to our 60th Merdeka Day in August, this is the fourth of a fortnightly 10-part series of articles on Malaysian novels in English, Writing The Nation.

Malays writing and publishing in English have always played a significant role in the local literary scene, but until recently most have preferred to write poems, plays, short stories, memoirs, and sociopolitical commentaries. As a result, English-language novels by Malay authors came relatively late to the scene.