Prof. Dr. Asiah Sajri is one of the 4 judges in the Jasmina Awards jury panel. Describing herself as having literary writing in her blood since her childhood, her presence as a judge is truly a wonderful addition to the panel.
She is very grateful and excited to be included as one of the judges for the Jasmina Awards. “It gives me the opportunity to peek into the hearts and minds of the writers.” She expressed that the experience of becoming a judge provides an excitement in looking into the written works thoroughly and examining each word, prose and sentence. This is what she describes as the exciting part and advantage of being a judge in such a platform.
Dr Asiah notes that the reason why she chose to take part as a judge is because of the independent nature of the Jasmina Awards. She explains that in this particular platform, the writers are not bounded by any terms and conditions. There is a sense of freedom for the writers to express anything and everything that they want to. She believes that poetry is the medium of honesty, which is why she values the aspect above the most. “You don’t write poetry because others want you to write the poetry about something. You write poetry because of the strong knowledge, information, attitude and feelings inside you about something that you have to express.”
When asked what she expects from the submissions, she says that poetry is a something that carries the emotion of the writer. She is excited to see works that show the feelings, hopes and dreams of the writers portrayed in the stories and poems they produce. Having participants living through the age before and after Malaysia’s Independence, she would like to see stories that show the emotions that come from the transitions in their lives.
Dr Asiah believes that many people 60 and above are people who, if not highly educated, literate. They have the ability to write and think along with the luxury of time and space to write. It is important for the older writers as they will be able to occupy the time that they have with creating stories and poetry using the abilities and experiences that are within them. “Certainly, they can easily express their knowledge, attitude, information and feelings through poetry.”
Being a judge for the Jasmina Awards, she feels that the opportunity to still be able to use her skills, knowledge and abilities in literature to contribute to such a platform is meaningful to her. She is honoured and excited that the Jasmina Awards has given her the chance to use her talents to peeking into the stories and poetry of others.