Dr M receives award for his book

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FORMER Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s book Selected Letters to World Leaders was voted the most popular book under the non-fiction category in the Popular-The Star Readers’ Choice Awards.

However, when the awards were presented in August, Dr Mahathir was not available, and a special ceremony was therefore held at his Perdana Leadership Foundation (PLF) office in Putrajaya recently.

Readers’ top choice: Popular Book Co (M) Sdn Bhd marketing manager Alicia Goh (right) presenting the trophy and certificate to Dr Mahathir at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya as Christine Chong looks on.

As nearly two months had passed since the awards presentation, Dr Mahathir had forgotten about the award for the book, co-authored with Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad, which features 71 letters that the former premier wrote to world leaders.

In his brief speech, Dr Mahathir said he was elated to receive the award although he felt there were more letters to world leaders that should have been featured.

“Usually, when an event is held at the PLF, I am invited to give away the prizes. It took me by surprise when I was told that I would be receiving instead of giving away the prize,’’ he said.

Making reference to the book, the former prime minister said there were more important letters to world leaders that were not approved by the government for publication.

“Had I known this, I would have made the letters – some of them written to the Israeli leaders – available for publication when I was the prime minister.

“Although Malaysia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, the letters should have been featured,’’ he said in jest.

Dr Mahathir’s book was picked from a list of 20 fiction and non-fiction titles from English and Malay language categories.

The contest was based on votes submitted by readers nationwide, with the winners selected based on the overall ranking matches of the entire vote.

The authors of the top three books in both the fiction and non-fiction categories were awarded RM1,500 and a trophy, RM1,000 and RM500 respectively. All winners were also presented with a certificate of recognition.

Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd deputy head Christine Chong said the book was a bestseller as soon as it hit the shelves and that the publishing house was going reprinting it.

“Demand is overwhelming as readers are inquisitive to know what the book holds and the contents of the letters to the various world leaders,’’ Chong said.

It is learnt that the title sold well even before it was reviewed in the major newspapers.

Chong said the publishing house was considering a Chinese version in the near future in view of the public interest in it.