By Sheeda Fathil
KLANG, Sept 12 — Nine local writers were recognised as the main winners at the prestigious Hadiah Sastera Selangor (HSS) 2025 ceremony held at Wyndham Acmar here last night.
The event, celebrating its 10th anniversary, was attended by more than 100 guests, including prominent literary figures.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari officiated the event, which was also attended by National Journalism Laureate Tan Sri Johan Jaafar, and Media Selangor Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Mohamed Fareed Mohamed Ashaaree.
Covering works published between 2022 and 2024, the top winners in the short story, poetry, and essay categories each received RM6,000 in cash, while 27 other writers received RM1,500 each in recognition of their contribution, bringing the total prize money to RM94,500.
The HSS was first introduced by Amirudin during his tenure as state executive councillor for youth, sports, culture and entrepreneurship in 2015.
Winning literary works are published through Selangorkini’s weekly newspaper and portal, and compiled annually into the Si Pena anthology, which is launched at the following year’s awards ceremony.
Since 2021, the publication of works has expanded to include Dewan Sastera (by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka), the cultural journal Svara, and the social media platform Tukang Puisi.
This year’s evaluations were carried out by a panel of nine judges chaired by prominent author and playwright Faisal Tehrani.
The main winners in each category are as follows:
Short story
2022: Matinya Sepasang Anjing Jadian by Zainal Rashid Ahmad (Dewan Sastera)
2023: Enuresis by Nurimas SN (SelangorKini)
2024: Tivi Rafah by Lokman Hakim (SelangorKini)
Poetry
2022: Klise Encik Ben by Nasser Mikraj (SelangorKini)
2023: Parabellum by Ariff Mustaffa Hamzah (SelangorKini)
2024: Malam dan Matahari by Ariff Mustaffa Hamzah (SelangorKini)
Essay
2022: Mencari Makna Umpanan Kemaafan Lewat Karya Sastera by Qurratul Ain (SelangorKini)
2023: Melayu Desa Melayu Kota by Johan Radzi (SelangorKini)
2024: Semuanya Telah Diungkapkan by Qurratul Ain (SelangorKini)
