Mohamed Latiff Mohamed

Mohamed Latiff Mohamed was born in Singapore on 20 March 1950. He was educated at Guillemard Malay School, followed by Tun Seri Lanang Secondary School and Kaki Bukit Secondary School.[1] He first started writing at the age of 16, and his poem Kepincangan (“Handicaps”) was published in the school magazine.[2] He also published his first short story Ani cintamu masih usang (“Ani, your love is still outdated”) in the entertainment magazine Bintang dan lagu.[2] After his secondary education, Mohamed Latiff studied at the Teachers Training College and taught at several primary and secondary schools before moving to Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore (CDIS) to design course materials for the Malay-language secondary curriculum.[2] He retired in 1999 to focus on writing full-time.[2]

Mohamed Latiff is married to Jamaliah Mohamed Noor. They have two sons, Khairil and Haikel.[2] His elder son is based in Melbourne and he has one granddaughter.[3]

Mohamed Latiff notes that "[o]ne should not simply write about 'beautiful' things, but should seek to correct the wrongs that one sees in society."[4] His poems tackle the social issues facing the Malay community in Singapore and he strongly believes in the power of literature to combat against racial discrimination in Singapore.[5] This has led to friend and fellow Malay writer S.N. Masuri calling Mohamed Latiff a "poet of protest" and "an angry young man."[2] His poetry collection Segumpal api selingkar pelangi: puisi-puisi pilihan 1967–1977 (translated as A Crackle of Flames. A Circle of Rainbows: Selected Poems 1967-1977) features gruesome imagery such as blood and pus to convey the harsh realities of discrimination and mistreatment of the poor, especially the Malay community.[2] In spite of his work attempting to highlight the oppression of the Malay community, he is also critical of the community's pace of progress in keeping up with globalisation.[1]

Mohamed Latiff is also the author of nine novels and short story collections, including Batas Langit (1996) and Ziarah Cinta (1998) which have been translated into English as Confrontation (2013) and The Widower (2015) respectively. His novels depict the struggles of the Malay community in post-independence Singapore.[3] His novel Dalam keasingan, which used symbolic characters and a style that was more akin to poetry, was adapted into a stage play by Teater Ekamatra in 1990.[2] His short story collection Nostalgia yang hilang: cerpen-cerpen pilihan 1982–2002 (2004) was recently translated into English by Nazry Bahrawi.

Mohamed Latiff is an active and longstanding member of Angkatan Sasterawan '50 (Asas '50) where he helps to develop Malay literature and culture, protect the rights of its members while introducing innovations in literature.[1] He was awarded the Anugerah Munsyi Abdullah award for his contributions to creative writing.[1]

Mohamed Latiff is a three-time Singapore Literature Prize winner, winning twice for poetry (2004 and 2008) and once for a short story collection (2006).[2] He received the Cultural Medallion in 2013 for his contributions to Singaporean Malay literature.

• 1998: Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award.
• 1999: Malay Literary Award consolation prize for Batas langit (Malay Language Council of Singapore).
• 2002: Southeast Asian (SEA) Write award.
• 2003: Tun Seri Lanang Award (Malay Language Council of Singapore, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts).
• 2004: Singapore Literature Prize for Bagiku sepilah sudah (poetry collection).
• 2006: Singapore Literature Prize for Nostalgia yang hilang (short-story collection).
• 2008: Singapore Literature Prize for Bila rama-rama patah sayapnya (poetry collection).
• 2009: National Arts Council Special Recognition Award.
• 2013: Cultural Medallion [2]