Cultural and political relations between Malay(sian) writers and their Indonesian counterparts, 1950–1965

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the historical processes of Malaya-Indonesia literary links and networks in 1950–1965. The focus is on how Malay writers, most of whom were political activists and journalists as well, sought inspiration from Indonesia in their creative processes as a part of the struggle for the Malayan independence. As a preliminary study, this paper is limited to showing the links the Malay writers built with their Indonesian counterparts, and how these links affected and were affected by the political relations between the two countries, especially during the “Confrontation” era in 1963–1965.