TAMIL SHORT STORY CONTEST SHOWCASES TALENT, BOOSTS LITERARY GROWTH - TEO

KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 (Bernama) -- The Tamil Short Story Writing Contest 2025 serves as an important platform to showcase the talents of both new and experienced writers, said Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.

She said the contest, jointly organised by Minnal FM and the Malaysian Tamil Writers’ Association, also contributes to the development of the growing local Tamil literary ecosystem.

“Selected works will be translated into other languages in collaboration with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, enabling these stories to reach a wider, multi-ethnic and multilingual audience,” she said at the prize presentation ceremony here today.

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Also present were National FM manager and representative of the director of the Radio Programme Division at the Department of Broadcasting Malaysia, Salbiah Mohd Sharif, Minnal FM manager S. Rohiny and Malaysian Tamil Writers’ Association chairman P. Mohanan.

The winners of the contest were R. Dharisyan, who claimed first place with a RM3,000 cash prize, followed by M. Kartigesan in second place (RM2,000) and P. Athyletchumy in third place (RM1,000).

Teo also presented a contribution of RM20,000 to the Malaysian Tamil Writers’ Association to support the promotion of the Tamil language and literature.

The allocation, channelled through the Deputy Minister’s fund, will be used to print 2,000 copies of a short story compilation from the contest, to be distributed to Tamil schools nationwide.

“We hope this contribution will inspire the emergence of more young and talented writers through their creative works,” she said.

The deputy minister added that the association, in partnership with the National Library of Malaysia, will organise a special seminar on May 10, focusing on writing for children and teenagers.

“Such initiatives are vital to fostering a creative and resourceful younger generation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Teo congratulated Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) for debuting on Triton Digital’s Global Streaming Rankers for March 2025, ranking 30th worldwide.

She described this as an international acknowledgement and placed RTM among the world’s leading digital audio broadcasters, alongside renowned networks from the United States, Europe and Latin America.

According to Teo, the Global Streaming Rankers, published monthly by Triton Digital, is a global benchmark for excellence in digital audio content and streaming performance.

“RTM’s inclusion not only highlights the consistent quality of its content but also its strong listener engagement and its ability to stay relevant in the fast-changing digital environment.

“I am confident this achievement is a direct result of the ministry’s strategic digital transformation efforts through initiatives such as RTMKlik, which now offers access to 36 radio stations, including two streaming channels,” she said.

-- BERNAMA