Reports by MARTIN CARVALHO, RAHIMY RAHIM and TARRENCE TAN

       PETALING JAYA: National laureate Datuk Dr Ahmad Kamal Abdullah, or known by his pseudonym Kemala (pic), has died at the age of 80 at his son’s house in Damansara here yesterday.

       National Writers Association (Pena) president Dr Mohamad Saleeh Rahamad said his remains were taken to the Surau As Shahabah, in Kota Damansara and buried at the Section 9 Muslim Cemetery after Asar prayer.

       He said Ahmad Kamal had been sick with several chronic illnesses including kidney problem.

       “His contributions were not only in the form of literary writing, literature development and producing new writers, but through the Persatuan Sasterawan Nusantara Melayu Raya (Numera) that he founded.

       He had brought literature to the international level and brought together writers in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Singapore,” added Dr Mohamad Saleeh.

       Ahmad Kamal, who received the National Laureate award in 2012, was with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka from 1968 until he retired in 1996.

       He was active in literary works and started writing poetry since his primary school days.

       His works had been translated into various languages ？？including Chinese, Urdu, French, German, Dutch, Slovenian, Spanish and Serbo-Croatian.