Arena Wati


Muhammad Dahlan Abdul Baing , whose pseudonym was Arena Wati, was a Malaysian writer. He was declared as the Malaysian National Laureate in 1988. His writings were in the Malay language. He also known as Duta Muda dan Patria.

Life

He was born in Jeneponto, Makassar, Dutch East Indies. Arena received his early education in Dutch schools, Hollands Indische School, before the outbreak of World War II. During World War II, at the age of 18, Arena Wati became a seaman. His experience in this field improve his skills in writing and produce a good novel. He completed his secondary education at Makassar in 1953. After graduating from school, Arena Wati became a journalist and work with publishing company in Singapore, and then to Johor Bahru and Brunei. During this period, he has become a citizen of Malaysia and between 1962 and 1974, and later served as the editor of Pustaka Antara. Most of the work of Arena Wati based on academic, imaginative, thought-provoking and scathing criticism and venomous.
He was married with six children. He died of lung cancer. He was buried at the Bukit Kiara Muslim cemetery.

Works

Arena Wati's works often focus on the struggles of the poor and the disadvantaged. His work "Sandera" is widely viewed as one of the finest Malaysian novels. His first novel is a story of three cruises in 1959 where his published in Singapore.
His numerous awards included:-