Khalidah Adibah binti Amin (born 19 February 1936), known professionally as Adibah Amin, is a Malaysian writer, columnist, teacher, translator and actress.
Biography
Born in
Johor Bahru, she graduated from her English-Medium secondary school and
University of Malaya
The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...
(1957). From 1958 to 1961, she taught Malay and English at the Malay Girls College in
Kuala Lumpur
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. Later she taught at the Language Institute and Alam Shah School, both in Kuala Lumpur and then became the first headmistress of Jalan Kolam Ayer School
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She worked as a journalist for the newspaper ''New Straits Times'' from 1971 to 1984 and later for The Star (Malaysia), ''The Star'' in the 1990s. Adibah is remembered by many English speakers as the author of the column in the New Straits Times which she wrote in the 1970s and 1980s using the pen name
Sri Delima. The columns were republished in book form in 2009.
Literary career
Adibah's writing includes three novels in
Malay: ''Bangsawan Tulen'' ("The True Aristocrat", 1950), ''Seroja Masih di Kolam'' ("The Lotus is still in the Pond", 1972, translated into Japanese in 1986), and ''Tempat Jatuh Lagi Dikenang'' ("We still remember places where we fell", 1985). She has also written more than 200 radio plays and short stories.
Her English novel ''This End of the Rainbow'' was published in 2006.
She collaborated with both ''The Star'' and the ''New Straits Times'' publishing articles on how to speak Malay correctly.
She was also engaged in literary translations from Malay to English: "No Harvest but a Thorn" by
Shahnon Ahmad
Dato' Haji Shahnon bin Ahmad (January 13, 1933 – December 26, 2017) was a Malaysian writer, a National Laureate, and a Member of Parliament. He was awarded with the National Literary Award in 1982. He was also a Professor Emeritus at Unive ...
and "Jungle of Hope" by
Keris Mas
Keris Mas (10 June 1922 – 9 March 1992), born Kamaluddin Muhamad, was a prominent Malaysian literary figure and was one of the founders of the As as '50 literary movement. His numerous contributions to Malay language literature (especially in ...
in addition to the works of poetry by
Usman Awang. She also made appearances in three films: ''Adik Manja'', (1980), ''Hati Bukan Kristal'' (1989), and ''Mat Som'' (1990).
In 2008 Adibah suffered a stroke. Though not paralysed, she is unable to work any more.
Awards
* Best Supporting Actor in the first
Malaysia Film Festival
Malaysia Film Festival (FFM; ms, Festival Filem Malaysia) is an accolade bestowed by the Malaysian ''Entertainment Journalists Association of Malaysia'' for the appreciation and honouring the products of film arts and artists. The formal cere ...
in 1980 for her role in ''Adik Manja''.
* Companion of the
Order of the Crown of Johor
The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Johor ( Malay: ''Darjah Mahkota Johor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an Order of chivalry awarded by the Sultan of Johor. It was first instituted on July 31, 1886.
It is awarded in three classes:
*Knight Grand Co ...
(SMJ) by the
Sultan of Johor
The Sultan of Johor is a hereditary seat and the sovereign ruler of the Malaysian state of Johor. In the past, the sultan held absolute power over the state and was advised by a ''bendahara''. Currently, the role of ''bendahara'' has been take ...
(1983)
*
S.E.A. Write Award, Thailand (1983)
* "Esso-Gapena Prize" for contribution to the development of the literature (1991)
* Outstanding journalist of the country by the Malaysian Union of Journalists (1996)
*
Johore
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime bo ...
Literary Prize (1996)
* Tun Razak Prize for outstanding contribution to the development of education and the establishment of mutual understanding and harmony between the national communities of Malaysia (1998)
* National Translator Prize (2012)
* Special journalistic award of the Press Institute of Malaysia (2013)
[Adibah Amin terima Anugerah Khas MPI-Petronas 2013 - "Utusan Malaysia", 26 April 2014]
* The title of "Outstanding Malaysian Figure" (2014)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amin, Adibah
Malaysian novelists
Malaysian journalists
1936 births
Living people
Malaysian women writers
Malaysian women novelists
Malaysian women journalists
People from Johor
20th-century Malaysian actresses
20th-century Malaysian writers
21st-century Malaysian writers
20th-century novelists
21st-century novelists
20th-century Malaysian women writers
21st-century Malaysian women writers
Companions of the Order of the Crown of Johor