1. Summary of project goals with two sentences.

Puisi Nilai-Nilai Malaysia (PNNM) is a project to encourage Malaysians to share their cultures via a poetic medium. The poems, which are written in our national language, are then collected and published for the public to read.

2. Did other fund-raising efforts contribute to your projects? What were they?

We had obtained some external sponsorships throughout this project:

1. EAGLE Navigator (Grounded Learning (M) Sdn. Bhd.) – Fund
2. Terjemahan Amino – Fund/ Publishing
3. Angkatan Sasterawan Indera Perlis (AKSARA) – Editing

3. Provide details about how your project actually worked. 

1. 16 August – 31 August

Call for Poems. An announcement was made via social media regarding to collect poems for this project.

2. 16 August – 31 August

Initial poem evaluation and editing with a primary focus on content.

3. 4 September

PNNM’s Poem Writing Workshop, lead by Fahd Razy, a multiple-award winning poem writer. Participants are given an extra week for editing.

4. 5 September – 5 October

Poem evaluation and editing by the PNNM team.

5. 6 October – 21 November

Editing by editors from Angkatan Sasterawan Indera Perlis (AKSARA) on content. Editing on format and language was also made during this time.

6. 22 November – 23 December

Desktop Publishing of the book

7. 23 November

Application of International Serialization Book Number (ISBN) and Cataloguing-In-Production (PDP) to Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia (PNM).

8. 20 December

ISBN and PDP approved by Perpustakaan. ISBN was then edited into the book cover. E-ISBN was also applied and approved on this day.

9. 23 December

Online publishing (E-Book) @ https://terjemahanamino.blogspot.com/2021/12/puisi-nilai-nilai-malaysia-e-buku.html

10. 24 December

Physical book printing commences.

11. 27 December – 31 December (?)

Postage to beneficiaries: Libraries and individual writers.

4. Were there unanticipated difficulties? Budget constraints? 

Generally, there was considerable delay in scheduling. The editing by our team dragged longer than expected due to lack of experience; and the professional editors were occupied by their full-time jobs.

There were some difficulties in learning and adhering to the publishing requirements. We learned as we go through the process. This also caused some time delay.

5. Language or cultural barriers? 

None of considerable concern, since participants are people who has interest in writing poems in the national language.

6. What worked well? What didn’t work well? 

The participants greatly enjoyed the Poem Writing Workshop, which was conducted by Fahd Razy. Experienced writers and (especially) new writers expressed their joy of learning the writing process and ideas for they to improve their poems.

Some had light-heartedly joked on why we had not conducted the workshop prior to their poem submissions; In which our team explained, we were prioritizing the contents.

7. How many people benefited or will benefit from your project? Who are these people? 

Directly and quantifiable:

1. 66 writers of various races had contributed and published 123 poems. The writers consist of decorated, experienced, and first-time writers; students, working people, and retirees; youth and old; and from Peninsular and East Malaysia. Each writer is given a complimentary book for their participation.
2. 507 rural libraries that will each receive two books. These libraries serve rural communities and are registered under Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Indirectly and unquantifiable:

1. Whoever that will stumble upon the cultural poems whether in book or e-book form in the future.

8. What is the long-term impact and sustainability of this project? Is there a future for your project?

In the long-term, the book/ e-book, “Puisi Nilai-Nilai Malaysia : Mengabadikan Budaya Malaysia” is a casual read and reference for the public and future generation to learn the various cultures residing within Malaysia.

This project may be repeated…

1. On a similar scale

By finding a sponsor to support this project; e.g. sponsorship, grants, etc. May consider literature-based NGOs or government agencies that focuses on art such as Jabatan Kesenian dan Kebudayaan Negara (JKKN). This is best approach to obtain the best curated contents.

2. On a smaller scale

By the self-publishing approach, i.e. the writers pay publishers to publish their work. However, this approach limits the team’s ability to scrutinize and filter poems due to financial restrictions.

3. Via online e-books only.

Also, with a self-publish approach, but at an even lower financial and time cost due to the simplicity of e-publishing. However, this approach disincentivizes those who may prefer a physical copy of their work.

1. In several paragraphs, address each of the following questions:

1. How does or will your project contribute to happiness? Short-term? Long-term?

In the short-term, this project provided a platform for the 66 writers to share their beautiful cultures to Malaysia, based on their own perspective and experience.

In the long-term, the outcome of this project, which is the book, will provide a casual cultural reference in a poetic form for readers in the rural libraries and the online website (via open-access).

2. Has your project changed the way you think about the world? How has it changed you?

This project had enlightened us that races and cultures are beyond what is displayed on our national identification cards. One race may have further subgroups which are influenced by community, family, and location. Being exposed to the points of similarities and differences of each races/ subgroups had brought more colours on how we perceived people, races, and even the world. We believe by continuously sharing these similarities and differences in our national language, we will pave the path for a better united Malaysia. 

2. Complete this section with a one to two sentence personal statement, suitable for use as a quotation, addressing how and why this project was valuable and what was the most important thing you learned as a result. (Indicate student’s name for quote attribution.)

“I am proud to have been a part of this humble effort to preserve our culture by compiling it into a book for our future generations’ reference.”

– Martha M. D.

“To be a member for this project gave me such an amazing and fascinating experience. Seeing how beautiful they (the participants) arranged their wise words, not only in their artworks, but also during our casual communication gave me a heart-warming experience.”

– Ain Najihah binti Azizan

“Saya sangat teruja dengan pengalaman mengenali penulis dari pelbagai latar belakang yang sekaligus menekankan keterlibatan dan ukhwah sesama kenalan.”

(English translation)

“I was very excited with the experience of knowing writers from various backgrounds which also emphasises the engagement and friendship among acquaintances.” 

– Siti Sarahanim Abu Samah

“Setiap hubungan dan perkenalan dengan para peserta memberikan saya pengalaman langsung yang Malaysia ini kaya dengan warna-warni kebudayaan. Kesemua budaya, perlulah diabadikan untuk bacaan keturunan mendatang.”

(English translation)

“Every communication and acquaintance (made) with each participant gave me a first-hand experience that Malaysia is vibrant in cultural colours. Each of these cultures must be immortalized for our future generations to read.”

– Muhammad Al-Ameen bin Mustafa Kamal