KUCHING: An International Translation Conference, organised by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) in collaboration with the Malaysian Translators Association, will be held here on August 19.
The event will be officiated by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, said DBP Sarawak Director, Abang Haliman Abang Julai.
He added that an engagement session is being planned to enable language and literature practitioners to air views and suggestions on how to further advance DBP, especially DBP Sarawak branch.
“Currently, the proposal is to hold this after the Hari Raya celebration in April,” he said during a courtesy visit to a DBP board member, Datuk Dr Jeniri Amir, who is also the Sarawak Tribune and Suara Sarawak‘s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), here yesterday.
Abang Haliman also highlighted that DBP Sarawak’s book, ‘Lada Hitam Permata Sarawak‘, produced during a DBP Sarawak workshop, has been nominated to be listed at the Beijing Book Fair.
Additionally, DBP Sarawak is implementing a programme focused on language mapping, particularly ecolinguistics, to study the scope and origin of languages in Sarawak.
“We have started a pilot project in Sematan, and another programme that we will hold is the Language and Literature Journey (Kembara Bahasa dan Sastera).
“The Language and Literature Journey will start in April, with one group departing from Kuching, and another from Limbang. We will meet in Sibu and hold several events.
“This is one of our efforts to make language and literature activities more prominent in Sarawak, which until now might not have been very visible,” he said.
He added that the journey will also feature the Carnival Intellect, a series of events centered on intellectual language and literature, to be held in Mukah, Limbang and Sibu.
Besides that, he said that DBP Sarawak continues to work on promoting local cultures and preserving indigenous languages through publications such as the Borneo Literature Bureau (BLB).
