KOTA KINABALU: From a quiet corner of Sandakan town to the national literary stage, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Mohammad Azmir Misnani is proving that even the softest voices can echo powerfully.
And Azmir does this through what he does best, his writing.
Through a debut short story collection, compiled in a book titled Kelopak Mawar (Rose Petals), Azmir explores deep emotional and psychological themes.
The book will soon be published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) Sabah after earning top honours in the 2025 AdiKarya Penulis Muda competition.
Azmir, a final-year student from the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Heritage, grew up in Batu Sapi, a town better known for its fishing villages than for fiction writers.
Yet his collection of stories, written with haunting beauty and psychiatric insight, impressed the jury with its honesty and bravery.
“These stories speak for the ones who suffer in silence. Kelopak Mawar was written for all those whose voices go unheard, those struggling with inner battles no one else sees,” Azmir said, referring to the book’s inspiration.
What makes Kelopak Mawar especially impactful is how it delicately uses elements from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as metaphors, creating symbolic characters who reflect different emotional conditions.
“The stories do not diagnose, they resonate. They are not medical, they are mirrors,” he said.
Azmir added that the collection was also a form of personal healing: “I wanted the stories to offer a kind of companionship. When people read them, I hope they’ll feel seen. Maybe even comforted. Because sometimes, literature listens when people won’t.”
UMS lecturer Dr Yusliza Mohd Yusof, who mentored Azmir throughout the AdiKarya programme, described the manuscript as “poetically brave and unapologetically raw.”
“This is the kind of youth literature Malaysia needs, relevant, sensitive, and aesthetically mature. Azmir’s work has the potential to spark a much-needed conversation about mental health among young people,” she said.
Azmir is among four UMS student winners selected by DBP Sabah for publication this year under the AdiKarya Penulis Muda initiative, which is aimed at nurturing the next generation of literary voices in East Malaysia.
For Azmir, this journey from campus writer to soon-to-be published author is more than a personal milestone, it is a message.
“You don’t have to be loud to be heard. You just have to be honest,” he said.
And with Kelopak Mawar now blooming into the hands of readers, Azmir’s words, once kept quiet, are finally finding their way into hearts nationwide.
