Saleha binti Abdul Rashid (24 July 1937 – 26 December 2023), better known by her pen name Salmi Manja, was a Malaysian novelist, poet, and journalist. She was among the first Malaysian professional women writers and best known for her 1960 novel ''Hari Mana Bulan Mana'' (What Day What Month).
Femininity, women's issues, and Islam are recurring themes in her work.
Biography
Salmi went to Darul Maarif Arabic-language school and Tong Chai English School in Singapore. In 1956, Salmi attended a writing course offered by the Malay writer
Harun Aminurrashid and became a member of the
ASAS 50 group along with
Usman Awang
Wan Osman Wan Awang, also known by his pen name Usman Awang (, 12 July 1929 – 29 November 2001) was a Malaysian poet, playwright, novelist and Malaysian National Laureate (1983).
Biography
Wan Osman was born into a poor peasant family in ...
.
Before her career as a journalist and writer, Salmi worked as a religious teacher in her former school Darul Maarif during which time she contributed works of
poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
to a number of local magazines. Salmi later became a journalist for ''Semenanjung'' and
Berita Harian
''BH'', previously known as ''Berita Harian'', is a Malay daily newspaper in Malaysia, published by the New Straits Times Press. It was first issued on 1 July 1957. Its Sunday edition, ''BH Ahad'' (formerly ''Berita Minggu''), debuted on 10 ...
.
In April 1958, Salmi married the noted novelist and poet
A. Samad Said and moved from Singapore to join him in Kuala Lumpur. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, she published five other novels and two anthologies of short stories and poems. She continued her career as a journalist, working with Cahaya Lembaga and the Selangor Islamic Women's Association.
Salmi died on 26 December 2023, at the age of 86.
Selected works
Novels
*1960, ''Hari Mana Bulan Mana'' (What Day What Month)
*1968, ''Rindu Hilang Ditapak Tangan''
* ''Sayang Ustazah Sayang'' (A Pity, Ustazah, a Pity)
Collection of short stories
*''Daun-daun Berguguran'' (Fallen Leaves)
See also
*
Adibah Amin
*
Dina Zaman
Dina Zaman is a Kuala Lumpur-based writer and researcher. She is a co-founder oIMAN Research a think tank focusing on socio-political and security matters, and a founding member of thSoutheast Asian Women Peacebuilders
She has written extensively ...
*
Fatimah Busu
*
Khadijah Hashim
Khadijah Hashim (born 20 April 1942 in Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia) is a Malaysian writer, teacher and journalist. She has worked as a teacher and also as a journalist with local newspapers Utusan Melayu (1974–1976) and Berita Harian (1976–1 ...
*
Siti Zainon Ismail
References
{{authority control
1937 births
2023 deaths
20th-century Malaysian poets
Malaysian women novelists
Malaysian women poets
Malaysian people of Malay descent
20th-century Malaysian novelists
21st-century novelists
21st-century Malaysian poets
20th-century Malaysian women writers
21st-century Malaysian women writers