Eduardo (right) presenting the sets of books to Nafisah in the presence of FBPC’s chairperson Edna Encarmacion.
KUCHING: The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and Filipino Businessmen and Professional Caucus (FBPC) donated a set of books to Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia (PNM) or Malaysian National Library at its main office in Kuala Lumpur.
Philippines ambassador to Malaysia, J Eduardo Malaya and FBPC chair Edna Encarnacion handed over copies of Jose Rizal’s ‘Noli Me Tangere’ and ‘El Filibusterismo’, and award-winning novels: F Sionil Jose’s ‘Viajero’, Jessica Hagedorn’s ‘Dogeaters’ and Miguel Syjuco’s ‘Ilustrado’.
Part of the donation were books on the rich heritage of Muslim Filipinos notably ‘Children of the Ever Changing Moon’; a collection of essays by Muslim Filipino writers edited by Gutierrez Mangansakan III; and ‘Masjid/Mosque Architecture: Jewels of Philippine Islamic Faith’ on Muslim architecture.
PNM director-general Nafisah Ahmad said the donation of books was “timely”.
“It will form part of the library’s exhibit on noted Asean works from April to June in line with Malaysia’s Asean chairmanship this year,” she said.
Eduardo also donated copies of three books he wrote or edited – ‘So Help Me God: the Presidents of the Philippines and their Inaugural Addresses’; ‘Frontlines of Diplomacy: Conversations with Philippine Ambassadors’, an oral history of 37 Philippine ambassadors and three diplomatic spouses; and ‘Philippines-Malaysia Agreements (1964-2014): Cornerstones of a Partnership, a compendium of Philippine-Malaysia agreements’.
The ambassador cited the signing of the memorandum of agreement on Culture and Heritage Cooperation between Malaysia and the Philippines during the visit of President Benigno S Aquino III to Kuala Lumpur in February 2014, and he looked forward to further joint projects.
PNM under the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism and Culture is undertaking management of its resources, developing its collections of Malaysian and international-related publications.