KUALA LUMPUR – Former Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) director-general Datuk Firdaus Abdullah, 79, who was also known as a writer and poet, died today.
DBP announced the news through its official Facebook page and expressed its condolences to Firdaus’ family members.
“Members of the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka fraternity express their condolences to the family of Yang Berbahagia Datuk Dr. Firdaus Abdullah who passed away on April 11 2024 corresponding to 2 Syawal 1445.
“May his soul be blessed and placed among the believers. Amen,” read the message.
Besides being a language figure, Firdaus is known for several works including the 1985 poetry collection Prisma Mimpi and the children’s poetry collection Puisi Amira dan Falahi (1986), apart from his short poems published in poetry anthologies and periodicals.
He received his early education at SMK Methodist Sentul, Kuala Lumpur before doing a bachelor of arts in journalism and political science at Northern Illinois University in the United States in 1969.
He also held a masters in communication and international relations from Ohio University and a masters in philosophy and comparative politics and a PhD in political science from Columbia University, US.
In his career, the late Firdaus started as a temporary assistant lecturer at Universiti Malaya’s faculty of economics and administration and served as deputy vice-chancellor for student affairs at the university from 1998 to 2001.
In the private sector, he served as a reporter for Berita Harian and the News Straits Times and as the executive chairman of Utusan Karya Sdn Bhd, while in politics he was appointed twice as a senator starting in 2009. – April 11, 2024