‘Mutiara Mahkota: Tengku Abdullah al-Haj’ Won the National Book Award 2018

Kuala Lumpur - The outstanding achievement of Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) in the field of publishing continues to shine as the book 'Mutiara Mahkota: Tengku Abdullah al-Haj' published by UMP Publisher won the National Book Awards 2018 (Best Public Books - Royal Biography Category) in conjunction with the Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair (KLIBF) 2018 recently.

This 269-pages biography which tells the story of The Regent of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah al-Haj ibni Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah al-Musta'in Billah who is also a Chancellor of UMP, was inspired by UMP Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dato' Sri Dr. Daing Nasir Ibrahim. This book was written and designed by Law Lecturer at Faculty of Industrial Management, Mr. Wan Nazrul Helmy Wan Mohd Zain and Senior Designer at Vice-Chancellor's Office, Mr. Azman Md. Diah.

According to Director of UMP Publisher, Associate Professor Dr. Abdul Ghani Awang, UMP always encourage the staff to produce high quality works that are eligible for national and international recognition.

He also added that the success of this biography to outperform other nominations in the Royal Biography Category, shows significant impact of the university ability to explore biographical figures to spur scientific research and publication activities in this university. Furthermore, this is the first time National Book Awards category been introduced.

The 'Mutiara Mahkota: Tengku Abdullah al-Haj' was launched by The Regent of Pahang during the Convocation Royal Dinner in conjunction with the UMP 12th Convocation Ceremony on November 17, 2017. This biography contains six chapters and 158 historical photos of His Majesty and Pahang Sultanate derived from various authoritative sources from within and outside the country.

42 stanza poem composed by Mr. Wan Nazrul Helmy embellish the content of this biography.

Meanwhile for Mr. Wan Nazrul Helmy, it took almost four years to produce this masterpiece through a meticulous research including a personal manuscript reviewed by The Regent of Pahang himself to ensure the accuracy of the displayed facts.

He said, in order to enliven the contents of this book as a 'readable and ubiquitous museum', its narrative framework was structured on the basis of the popular West techniques, called 'zine’.

The National Book Award is an annual event managed by the National Book Development Foundation (YPBN) which received 400 nominations for 48 categories for the 2018 edition. The nominations was evaluated by Professional Panel chaired by Prof. Tan Sri Dr. Abdul Latiff Abu Bakar, Head of Heritage & Civilization School, International Islamic University Malaysia.

The conferment of the award and certificates to the winners was held at Seri Pacific Hotel and was officiated by President and Chief Executive Officer of National Professors Council (MPN), Prof. Datuk Dr. Raduan Che Rose. In attendance at the event were Chairman of YPBN, Haji Hasan Hamzah, Director General of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Datuk Haji Abdul Adzis Abas, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Yusof Noor and Chief Executive Officer of Kumpulan Serba Dinamik Berhad Dato’ Dr. Ir. Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah as the main sponsor of the National Book Awards 2018.