Muhammad Dahlan Abdul Baing (or Andi Mohammad Dahlan Andi Buyung) (30 July 1925 – 25 January 2009), whose pseudonym was Arena Wati, was a Malaysian writer. He was declared as the

Malaysian National Laureate Malaysian National Laureate (''Malay'': Sasterawan Negara) are individuals who were awarded the Laureate for their contributions to Malay literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for ...

in 1988. His writings were in the

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...

. He also known as Duta Muda dan Patria.

Life

He was born in Jeneponto,

Makassar Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

(now

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

). Arena received his early education in Dutch schools, Hollands Indische School, before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During World War II, at the age of 18, Arena Wati became a seaman. His experience in this field improve his skills in writing and produce a good novel. He completed his secondary education at Makassar in 1953. After graduating from school, Arena Wati became a journalist and work with publishing company in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, and then to

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru (), colloquially referred to as JB, is the capital city of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is located at the southern end of Peninsular Malaysia,along the north bank of the Straits of Johor, opposite of the city-state Singapore. T ...

and

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

. During this period, he has become a citizen of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and between 1962 and 1974, and later served as the editor of Pustaka Antara. Most of the work of Arena Wati based on academic, imaginative, thought-provoking and scathing criticism and venomous. He was married with six children. He died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

. He was buried at the Bukit Kiara Muslim cemetery.

Works

Arena Wati's works often focus on the struggles of the poor and the disadvantaged. His work "Sandera" is widely viewed as one of the finest Malaysian novels. His first novel is a story of three cruises (Kisah Tiga Kapal) in 1959 where his published in Singapore. * Lingkaran (1962), * Sandera (1971), * Rontok (1980), * Eno (1985), * Syair Pangeran Syarif (1989), * Syair Pangeran Syarif Hasyim Al-Qudsi (1989), * Syair Perang Cina Di Monterado (1989), * Burung Badai (1990), * Turina (1991), * Citra (1991), * Memoir Arena Wati Enda Gulingku (1991), * Ombak Samudera(1992), * Meniti Kala (1993), * Panrita (1993), * Sudara (1994), * Mevrouw Toga (1995), * Begawan (1996), * Koleksi Terpilih Arena Wati (1996), * Sukma Angin (1999), * Getar-Getir Maya Kumpulan Cerpen (2000), * Trilogi Busa (2002), * Armageddon (2004), * Kutukan Dari Langit (2004), * Langkah Pertama Kumpulan Cerpen Awal 1954-1959 (2004), * 7 Tegak Bersama (2005), * Warna Sukma Usia Muda (2005), * Cakra Waruga (2006).

Awards

His numerous awards included:- * South East Asia Literary award - the SEA Write Award, an award presented by the

King of Thailand The monarchy of Thailand (whose monarch is referred to as the king of Thailand; th, พระมหากษัตริย์ไทย, or historically, king of Siam; th, พระมหากษัตริย์สยาม) refers to the c ...

, and his 1988 investiture as the National Laureate. * Anugerah Sasterawan Negara (1987). * Sukma Angin (1999) won the Literature Prize Perdana Malaysia 1998/99 * Sastera Majlis Sastera Asia Tenggara (

Mastera Literary Award Mastera Literary Award is a regional prize awarded since 1999 for the best prose and poetic works, as well as for literary criticism in Malay of the writers of the South-East Asian countries. The founder of the award is the Southeast Asian Literat ...

) 2003.

References

* "National Laureate Arena Wati Dies", Bernama News Agency, 25 January 2009
A Makasar man; his works live on
Malaysian writers Malaysian novelists 2009 deaths 1925 births People from Makassar Malaysian people of Indonesian descent Malaysian Muslims Indonesian emigrants to Malaysia S.E.A. Write Award winners Naturalised citizens of Malaysia Malaysian National Laureates {{Malaysia-bio-stub