Malaysian publishing house promotes Taiwan literature to Malay readers

Kuala Lumpur, June 20 (CNA) A project manager at a publishing house in Malaysia said Saturday that he hopes to introduce literature from Taiwan to more Malay readers, following its first Malay-language translation of a work by author Wu Ming-yi (吳明益).

The translated work, "The Stolen Bicycle" (單車失竊記), was made possible through the efforts of IBDE's Abdullah Hussaini, who said he hopes the Malay edition will help more Malay readers discover the diversity of Taiwanese literature and deepen literary exchanges between Taiwan and Malaysia.

In an interview with CNA, Abdullah said IBDE has previously translated works from Arabic, French, German and English into Malay, but introducing a full-length Taiwanese novel to Malay readers remained a new venture for his publishing firm.

The book was featured at this year's Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair (KLIBF), held from May 29 to June 7.

Originally published in Chinese in 2015, the novel tells the story of a man searching for his missing father and a lost bicycle, while weaving together stories of memory and reality across China, Myanmar, Japan and Taiwan. It also explores the wartime experiences and historical wounds of Taiwan's different communities.

Abdullah said he first heard about Wu about 10 years ago and was introduced to his works again by friends in the Malaysian Chinese literary circle three years ago.

He later attended Wu's talk at the George Town Literary Festival in Penang, where he began reading his works and was particularly impressed by "The Stolen Bicycle."

Abdullah said he felt a personal connection with the book, and that many of its themes also resonated with Malaysian social experiences.

During the interview, he thanked the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia for helping him reach out to Wu, saying he hopes to continue working with the office to promote other Taiwanese works in Malaysia.

Lee Hao Jie (李浩傑), a translator of works from Chinese to Malay, including "Journey to the West" (西遊記), said the biggest challenge in bringing Taiwanese works into the Malay market is not language, but adapting cultural references.

Many Chinese-language works contain historical contexts, place names and cultural references, and the key challenge for translators is how to preserve the spirit of the original while enabling Malay readers to understand and relate to the text, Lee said.

Translators serve not only as converters of text but also as bridges between languages and cultures, he added.