'Minister' (1967) paid tribute to Malay nationalism. Shahnon published several highly topical 'urban' novels since. The different types of attitude to reality are revealed and demonstrated by its narrative and main characters. In 1965, he made his debut as a novelist, releasing the novel Rentong ('Till Ashes'), a drama of characters taking place in a Malay village. The first works were published in 1950s - he began his writing as an interpreter and a writer of short stories. He did not contest in the 2004 general election which saw PAS losing that seat to Barisan Nasional. In the 1999 general election, he contested in the Parliamentary constituency of Sik (P.13) in which he won.

Shahnon was also a member of opposition political party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia. From that time to his death, he was connected with the University of Science, Malaysia in Penang which included being a professor of literature starting in 1982. In 1968 to 1971, he studied at the Australian National University, Canberra.Īfter his graduation there, he taught at the Sultan Idris Education University in Tanjung Malim, Perak until 1975. After the stint, he worked as a teacher in various schools until 1967. After graduating from the school in 1954, he worked as a teacher in an English school in Kuala Terengganu. He and one sibling of his were able to attend their studies at the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Setar through financial aid provided by the intelligence services as a reward to their father for his services - amidst common fears by most villagers that their children might embrace Christianity if they were educated in such schools at that time.

Srengenge by Shahnon Ahmad