Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has claimed that literature exponents in the country are on the same page with the government, denying that they are in the “other direction”.

“If there are parties who allege that writers are on the other side, but country leaders are on this side, it is a false allegation,” Muhyiddin said during a writing competition prize-giving ceremony at his official Seri Satria residence in Putrajaya today.

National laureate A Samad Said has been a prominent critic of the government over the past few years, being an active member of the Bersih movement for clean and fair elections.

"I want to stress here that writers still play an important role to build Malaysia to become a developed and peaceful country," Muhyiddin said.

"The close cooperation between government and writers will be the peak of the national mission to build a legacy of culture."

Muhyiddin also announced a RM5 million allocation for the Translation and Books Institute of Malaysia (ITBM) after it achieved its target of publishing 240 works using the RM5 million given by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in 2011.

He also handed out prizes worth RM15,000 to winners of the novel, essay and poetry writing competitions organised by Berita Harian , ITBM and Pena.