Biography of Keris Mas

LIFETIME

Kamaluddin Muhamad was born on 10th June 1922 in Kampung Ketari, Bentong , Pahang and he is well known as Keris Mas throughout Malaysian writers as he was a Malaysian literary figure. Keris Mas poured his heart to the large scale contributions to Malay Language literature especially in the short story form and because of that he became Malaysia`s first National Laureate in 1981.

He gets his first education at the Malay School in his village. Then he continued his education at Tawalib school in Sumatra and went to the Muallimin Al-Islamiah College. Keris Mas was an active person. He joined the Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya based in Pahang and was involved in its branch in Singapore where he held the Information Officer post. Besides that, he also worked with Melayu Raya , Warta Negara and Utusan Melayu newspapers. Mastika magazine and Utusan Zaman were also got his touch.

In December 1956 , he joined the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka as an editor before retired on 10 June 1977. After his retirement, he continued to be a Resident Writer at the University of Malaya and Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Keris Mas died on 9 March 1992 from a heart attack at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital at 3 p.m and he was buried at the Bukit Kiara Muslim cemetary.

WORKS

Since his main contribution was in short stories, he had written about 60 short stories by the end of 1960s. Here is the example of his work.

1. Wasiat Orang Bangsawan ( The Last Will and Testament of a Nobleman), published in Suluh    Malaya magazine( The Malayan Torch) in 1946.

2. Antology Mekar dan Segar ( Rise and Shine) 1959.

3. Antology Dua Zaman (Two Eras) 1963.

4.Antology Patah Tumbuh (What Is Lost Returns) 1973.

5. Antology Menunggu Ratu Adil ,1984.

6. Antology Angin Pulau , 1985.

7. Antology Dongeng Merdeka  , 1985.

Keris Mas also the author of four novels with the lively characters and themes that addressing about social injustice.

1. Pahlawan Rimba Malaya (Hero of the Malayan Jungle) (1946)

2. Korban Kesuciannya (His Holy Sacrifice) (1949)

3. Saudagar Besar dari Kuala Lumpur (The Big-Time Merchant From Kuala Lumpur) (1983)

4. Rimba Harapan (The Jungle of Hope) (1983).


TRANSLATED VERSIONS INTO ENGLISH

1.Misguided  ( 1967 ) translated by Nesamalar Chitravelu

2.Fallen ( 1968 ) translated by Fadzillah Amin

3. They Do Not Understand  ( 1969 ) translated ny Adibah Amin

4.Stubborn (1981 ) translated by Harry Aveling

5. Jungle of Hope ( 1990 ) translated by Adibah Amin

AWARDS

1. Pejuang Sastera award , 1976 by 3rd Pime Minister , Malaysia Tun Hussein Onn.

2. Sasterawan Negara award , 1981.

3 . Conferred an honorary doctorate in literature , 1989 , Universiti Sains Malaysia.