Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam: A Comparative Study of Literary Developments in English

Abstract

This essay maps the development of English language literature in three commonwealth nations in Southeast Asia in the past decade: Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. All three nations have taken different political paths after independence and have separately developed policies on the English language based on localized conditions and on the specific social and political needs of the nation in the postcolonial and globalized context. As a result of the different English language policies in place, the three nations have also developed distinctive scenarios where the local literary production in English is concerned. Of the three nations, only two still produce literary works in English — Singapore and Malaysia. Today, Singapore has one of the most vibrant literary scenes in the region, while Malaysia's literary scene is still in the early stages of revival. Brunei Darussalam on the other hand has barely produced any literary works in English. Since all three nations represent different stages in the evolution of local English language creative writing, a comparison study will raise invaluable reflections on the regional developments and on the production of English language literature in the postcolonial era.