The 15th edition of the Popular-The Star Readers' Choice Awards and Popular-BH Anugerah Pilihan Pembaca celebrated Malaysia's literary talents during a prestigious ceremony held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Saturday (April 5).
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00:00Ladies and gentlemen, it's our pleasure to present to you our Reader's Choice Awards 2025.
00:06The 15th edition of the popular The Star Reader's Choice Awards and popular BH Anugerah Pilihan
00:11Pembaca celebrated Malaysia's literary talents during a prestigious ceremony held at the
00:17Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Saturday. The event organized by star media group Berhad and
00:23Berita Harian showcased exceptional literary works in both English and Malay languages.
00:29The awards recognize and honor the creative achievements of Malaysian authors
00:33and their significant contributions to the country's literary landscape.
00:38This celebration is more than just a recognition of literary success. The popular The Star
00:44Reader's Choice Awards and the popular BH Anugerah Pilihan Pembaca serve as an important platform
00:50to showcase outstanding literary works, ensuring that authors are seen, appreciated,
00:57and awarded for their contributions. Together with the star and Berita Harian, we are committed
01:03to supporting and empowering writers as they continue to enrich our literacy landscape.
01:10The event was officiated by Education Deputy Director-General, Policy Sector and Curriculum,
01:16Dr. Rusmini Koo Ahmad, who represented Education Minister Fadlina Siddiq.
01:21Embracing literature in multiple languages strengthens language proficiency, encourages
01:29cultural understanding, and ensures knowledge is accessible to all. Thus, local authors play
01:37a crucial role in this journey and their works capture our nation's rich history, tradition,
01:43and contemporary experiences, allowing readers to explore and connect with their cultural identity.
01:50Each award featured 10 nominees each in the fiction and non-fiction categories in English
01:56and Malay, with nominated authors selected from last year's best-selling titles in popular
02:02bookstores nationwide. The selection process for these prestigious awards uniquely reflects
02:08authentic public sentiment, as winners were determined entirely through reader voting.
02:14Hannah Alkaff's The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette's clinched first place in the fiction
02:19category, while Pahrol Mohamed Joy's Finding Beauty in the Storm topped the non-fiction category.
02:25The top three winners in each category were awarded certificates of recognition,
02:30trophies, and cash prizes. I'm actually feeling a little bit bewildered right now. I'm very happy,
02:36obviously, and I'm very grateful to all the people who voted, all the readers who voted,
02:41but I truly and honestly did not expect to win, and so this was a huge surprise for me,
02:47and I'm just extremely grateful, but also a little bit like it doesn't feel quite real yet,
02:54and maybe it will feel real later on, but right now it's still sinking in. Obviously, I'm very
02:57honored by this. I always felt that this book was amazing because it had to be written.
03:08It is controversial because it's not your regular coffee table book, which people will just put on
03:15the shelf and forget about. This book was written with the specific objective of writing a story
03:22about the edge in parallel with the nation's history. Well, firstly, it's my first book,
03:29so getting nominated itself was a huge surprise, and winning runners-up was fantastic. When you
03:39have people like Hannah Alkaff and some really heavyweights in the nominees, and then winning
03:46with them is really an honor. Also present at the event were Deputy Investment, Trade and
03:52Industry Minister Liu Qintong and Star Media Group Chief Executive Officer Chan Seng Fat.
03:59The popular The Star Readers' Choice Awards was held in conjunction with the popular BH Anugra
04:05Pilihan Pembaca Awards and Malaysia's largest trilingual book fair, Bookfest at Malaysia,
04:11which ends on Sunday.
04:22you