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LOCAL writers have called for a commemorative day to be introduced and symposiums organised that would put the spotlight on their works and the craft of writing. The suggestions were made during the Pantaran Sastera dialogue session yesterday at the Balai Sarmayuda of the Language and Literature Bureau, which was organised by the bureau. Writers present at the session also brought up the topic of intellectual property rights and urged for the works of local authors to be copyrighted and the distribution controlled and monitored. The Pantaran Sastera, translated literally as Literary Platform, allows local writers and poets to share, as well as promote, their knowledge and expertise with fellow authors. Dr Mataim Bakar, director of the language and literature bureau, also urged other writers and poets to attend the Pantaran Sastera and present their problems and opinions. In this way, their concerns and stance can be made known not only to the bureau's staff but also to their litera

SAUDARA! Tangisanmu, adalah tangisan kami juga sama-samalah kita meneguk sedu. Kami tahu, Saudara-saudara adalah bangsa waja (bukan kembang yang mudah layu) walau dalam derita namun, tidak pernah menyerah. [ Brothers, your cries are ours too. Together we taste sadness. We know, you are steel-strong nation not a flower-nation that easily droops. Even in sorrow, you never surrender. ] The poem above was written after Tsunami had just hit Aceh and some part of North Sumatra, by Adi Rumi, a respected senior poet of Brunei Darussalam. He read it at a gathering of Indonesian and Bruneian writers. The poem was published, together with dozens of other Tsunami-related themes, in memorial volume entitled Episode Tsunami: Peringatan Ilahi , by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei. In Indonesia, the book is on sale for Rp 250,000 ($42) — a stiff price for a book of literature in Indonesia.From the lyrics above, it is clear to us that in terms of format, theme, and style, most Bruneian works of literat