How do we truly honour a Malaysian who consistently earns international accolades year after year?
By Dato’ Syed Ahmad Idid
Malaysia is blessed with individuals whose intelligence, integrity, and diligence have propelled them to global recognition. From prestigious scholarships to international film awards and literary acclaim, our citizens continue to make us proud.
Does the name Tash Aw sound familiar to you? If it doesn’t, he’s a literary force whose journey began in 2005 with his debut novel, The Harmony Silk Factory.
Born in Taiwan to Malaysian parents, raised in Kuala Lumpur, and now residing in the UK, Tash has become a global literary figure. A La Salle Petaling Jaya alumnus, his father hails from Kota Bharu and his mother from Ipoh.
His accolades include:
• Whitbread First Novel Award
• Commonwealth Writers’ Prize
• Man Booker Prize longlist
His subsequent works — Map of the Invisible World (2009), Five Star Billionaires (2013), We, the Survivors (2019), and now The South (2025) — continue to captivate readers worldwide.
Five Star Billionaires follows five Malaysian Chinese expats as they navigate life in Shanghai, chasing dreams and confronting realities.
The South tells the story of Jay, a Malaysian who moves with his family to manage his grandfather’s orchard. What unfolds after the grandfather’s death is a meditation on identity, legacy, and belonging.
The South was longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, described by the Indian Express as part of a selection that “traces fault lines — personal and political — across war zones, classrooms, frozen fields, city apartments, and intergenerational silences.” It was also named one of Time magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2025.
At the seminar Fiction in a Time of Turbulence at Freie Universität Berlin, Tash was invited to explore how literature can illuminate the roots of socio-political unrest. His insights spanned revolutionary China to rural France.
Recently, Tash travelled to Hangzhou with renowned German theatre director Thomas Ostermeier, who had just staged Hamlet in Shanghai. Tash met with Chinese publishers, and his works have now been translated into multiple languages.
His academic and literary honours include:
• Honorary Doctor of Letters, University of Warwick (2018)
• Visiting Professor, Columbia University
• Judith Ginsberg Fellow, Institute of Ideas and Imagination, Paris (2018/2019)
• Fellow, Royal Society of Literature (2023)
I had the pleasure of meeting Tash at the Royal Lake Club in Kuala Lumpur, at his father’s invitation, Ir Aw Eng Sun. Tash generously offered to host a session for aspiring Malaysian writers — an opportunity we should seize when he next visits Kuala Lumpur.
So, fellow Malaysians, the question remains: Are there more novelists in the making? Budding talents ready to bloom? Or passionate readers waiting to leap?
Let’s celebrate our storytellers. Let’s honour them not just with applause, but with platforms, conversations, and support. Because when one Malaysian shines abroad, the whole nation glows.
WE