Importance Of Local Literature

“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become…
C. S. Lewis
In this ever developing world, education particularly literature education plays as a fundamental necessity for each and every one of us in order to constantly be abreast and equipped with wider range of knowledge regarding the aspects of life and have the access to other cultural background to produce millennials who are not only resourceful and competent, but also who possess high moral standards so that they have the ability to function more effectively in the future. In correlation of the National Education
The significance of such texts selection enable students to discover further about the culture of one’s country since Malaysia is multicultural and multiracial. Nevertheless, over the years we can see that the texts that are used across local schools include more non-local literary texts than the local ones. For example, the poems In the Midst of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin and Nature by H.D. Carberry. An addressable issue that we can see is most students will have difficulties in relating the cultural context and relevance as foreign texts are used. Hence, it is advisable to promote our own local literature which allows students to have a more progressive and pragmatic view of the world as well as being more culturally relevant to them. Literature should be the connectors in educating youth about their rich literary heritage and traditions. Banks (2001, as cited in Zakaria and Mohd Hashim, n.d) states that it is a must for learners to understand the wholeness of experiences of ethnics and cultural groups in accordance to the multicultural curriculum. Other than that, this particular exposure can benefit students whereby they can develop their own school of thoughts as they are entitled to their own way of thinking. Having a firm justification and freedom in voicing out their opinions in relevance to sensitive issues in real life situation such as racism, prejudice and discrimination are amongst the essential outcomes that are attainable for students in Malaysia. Zakaria and Hashim (n.d) also emphasized on the importance of being open–minded in accepting the existence of other cultural groups in their big community. If these aspects are absent in KBSM English literature textbooks, our students do not have the chances to understand the wholeness of experiences of ethnics and cultural groups in Malaysia and at the same time to see the beauty of it. So, representation of realities is