DBP director-general Abang Sallehuddin Abang Shokeran disagreed with prominent novelist and social critic Faisal Tehrani, who said the increasingly religious themes of Malay literature over the decades had become a stumbling block to realising the national culture.

Sallehuddin said some Islamic-themed books the body has published over the years have done well in terms of sales, although he admitted there were books that had not been well received.

“This is only true for some works, which when we read them we feel annoyed and uncomfortable. But if we present or write about positive or attractive themes about Islam, then who wouldn’t want to read those?” he said during a recent interview at FMT’s office.

Sallehuddin said there was a commercial reason for DBP to be involved in religious topics, although the body is tasked with improving the literary aspects of the Malay language.

“That is just the reality, we have to look at market demand,” he said.

During a recent speech at a seminar on literature in Langkawi, Faisal said the national language agenda had strayed from its original path.

The academic shared a story of an ethnic Indian student who told him that he found reading Malay literature uncomfortable as it was replete with religious overtones and “laced with Arabic terminology”.

“How would Malays feel if they are made to read school textbooks filled with elements of Hinduism?” asked Faisal, whose seven books remain banned by the Malaysian government.