KUALA LUMPUR: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today expressed his condolences to the family of Perak laureate Dr Mohamed Ghazali Abdul Rashid, better known as Malim Ghozali PK, who died of cancer at the age of 70 yesterday.
While expressing his sympathy for their loss, Al-Sultan Abdullah also said he hopes the family will stay strong in facing the days ahead.
"Mohamed Ghazali's deeds and contributions to the Malay literary world are greatly appreciated and his passing is indeed a huge loss to the country," according to a post on Istana Negara's official Instagram page today.
Mohamed Ghazali was the recipient of the Southeast Asian Writers Award (SEA Write Award) for 2013 and was named Perak laureate in 2014.
His book "Tree of Sorrow" was listed among 160 best novels in the world by the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
Some 22 of his books were also translated into various languages including English and Chinese.
Mohamed Ghazali also won the South Asian Literature Council (Mastera) Literature Prize in the Short Story Book Collection category; recited poems at an international meet in Prague, the Czech Republic; and gave literary lectures in Hannibal, the United States and Paris, France. - Bernama