Penros Press Northern Ireland, publisher for well-known Penang human rights lawyer and poet Cecil Rajendra (above) has queried why he has been "sidelined" from this year's George Town Literary Festival (GTLF).

Penros said it was "difficult to understand" why Rajendra was marginalised despite his track record in championing fundamental freedoms through his writings and legal work.

"Also, he is a true-blue Penangite. He was born in George Town," said the publisher in a statement, adding that the poet was being excluded from a premier literary festival happening on his doorstep.

Penros Press was the publisher for Rajendra's 27th collection of poems entitled Extremists and Other Deviants which focusses on climate change, political madness and religious extremism.

Organisers of this year's festival had said it would celebrate "our most diverse voices" and "the many states of freedoms we live in," Penros Press said.

This year's festival will see 50 over writers including emerging writers and those from the LGBT community. The event will take place this weekend in Penang.

"However, this Penang human rights lawyer and poet is not among them," said Penros Press.

"Rajendra has been writing poems and essays on fundamental freedoms and liberties since the 1960s".

"He has long been acknowledged as one of the most fearless and powerful poets in the Third World," claimed Penros Press.

"His poems on freedom of expression, women's rights, freedom of assembly, the rights of indigenous people, freedom of religion, detention without trial have appeared in countless international human rights publications," added the publisher.

These publications include Amnesty International (in the UK, US and Australia), the ICJ Review (Geneva), Aliran (Malaysia), LeReveil (France), Sechaba (South Africa), People Against Dominations (Hong Kong), Dare to Dream (US) and From The Republic of Conscience (Australia and the UK).

In 2004, Cecil was presented with the first Malaysian Lifetime Humanitarian Award for his human right works and inspirational poetry while in 2012, he received a human rights award from Suhakam, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission.

In 2015, he was declared a "Living Heritage Treasure" by the Penang Heritage Trust in recognition of his human rights activism and poetry.

'Full prerogative'

In a statement issued today, GTLF director Bernice Chauly said the festival has always given a platform for Malaysian writers and this year would feature 65 Malaysian and Malaysian-born writers, performers, artists and thinkers.

“Cecil Rajendra was invited in 2013 to participate in the festival but he pulled out one week before the festival. 

"In 2016, he was invited again and performed a music and poetry event called 'Fathers and Sons' with his son Yasunari, along with A Samad Said and his son, Az Samad, to great success.

“The curation and programming of GTLF is the full prerogative of its curatorial team comprising three co-curators and the festival director.

“George Town Literary Festival stands by the process of selecting its participants in creating a world-class event that celebrates world literature in the spirit of exchange and discourse and love for the word,” said Chauly.