Sastera Alam dalam Alam Sastera book launch draws 180 at Akademi Jawi webinar
A webinar to launch Sastera Alam dalam Alam Sastera, a new book by Ir. Dr. Zaini Ujang, drew 180 participants on 5 July 2026.
Source: Akademi Jawi Malaysia · July 29, 2026 at 10:59 PM · AI-assisted report
Single-source
KUALA LUMPUR, 30 JULY 2026 —
A webinar to launch Sastera Alam dalam Alam Sastera, a new book by Ir. Dr. Zaini Ujang, drew 180 participants on 5 July 2026.
Market Impact
The session, moderated by Rebecca Ilham and featuring three panellists, was held to discuss the book and the concept of eco-literature in Malay writing. Panellists highlighted the need to place environmental themes at the centre of literary works rather than using nature as mere background.
Ir. Dr. Zaini Ujang, Emeritus Professor Dato’ Seri Ir. Dr. Zaini Ujang, said the book was timed to coincide with the fifth Syarahan Keris Mas lecture by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, which recognises interdisciplinary contributions. He told the audience that eco-literature treats nature as the primary subject, not a decorative element. “In most works, the environment is a setting or a symbol,” he said. “This book makes it the focus of moral inquiry.”
Dr. Norhayati Ab Rahman, Associate Professor at the Academy of Malay Studies, Universiti Malaya, praised the book’s design but said its physical structure could be refined. She noted that while Malay literature has long used nature symbolically—citing Sri Rahayu Mohd Yusop’s Bima Sakti Menari and Keris Mas’s Saudagar Besar dari Kuala Lumpur—this work insists on putting ecology at the centre. “Nature is no longer an ornament,” she said.
“It becomes the lens through which we read human responsibility.”
Dr. Wan Izar Haizan, the book’s editor and a senior official at the Ministry of Economy, emphasised the need for actionable next steps. “Most books on climate end with diagnosis,” he said. “This one asks, ‘What next?’ We need narratives that tell young activists what to do tomorrow, not just what to fear today.”
Ir. Dr. Zaini Ujang, a former secretary-general of the Environment and Water Ministry, said the book distils hydrology and climate science into accessible prose. “You don’t need a degree to grasp the urgency,” he said. “But you do need literature to feel it.”
The launch follows a 2010 young adult novel, Bumi Lestari, which won second place in the Hadiah Sastera Kumpulan Utusan but received limited attention. Ir. Dr. Zaini Ujang hopes the new book will revive discussion on environmental themes in Malay literature.
Related: Kuala Lumpur