JM Sali

Jamaluddin Muhammad Sali, popularly known as J.M. Sali (b.1939), worked in the fields of journalism, broadcasting, translation and creative writing for nearly 60 years. He is the author of more than 50 books and a recipient of the Cultural Medallion. Born in Erawanchery, India, Sali had a passion for writing from an early age. He published his first short story in 1955, in a children's magazine called Kannan. In 1959, while still an undergraduate, he had his children’s novel published in the same magazine. After completing  his master's degree at Madras Presidency College, he was invited by G Sarangapani, the editor of Tamil Murasu, to work for the daily. Thus, Sali came to Singapore in 1964 and worked as an assistant editor in the newspaper till 1971. 

Then he returned to Tamil Nadu and joined the weekly magazine Ananda Vikatan as an assistant editor till 1981. He then became editor-in-chief of a youth magazine called Mayan, but only briefly. He came back to Singapore in 1983 and rejoined Tamil Murasu. However, he left the newspaper the same year to join the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation as a news editor, and stayed there for 17 years, retiring in 2000. During this period, he served as a member of the advisory panel for Singa, the Ministry of Culture's literary journal, for three years. After retirement, he worked as a part-time translation teacher in the Civil Service College and as a part-time interpreter in the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau till 2012. From 2004 to 2012, he served as an editorial board member of Nadi magazine, a publication of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS). Throughout these years, he continued to write short stories, novels, plays, and articles, which were published in various anthologies. In a literary journey of more than half a century, Sali has published more than 50 literary works. He has been honoured with various awards, including the prestigious Cultural Medallion (2012) and the Southeast Asian Write Award (2015). Some of his works have been included in the curricula of various educational institutions in Singapore and abroad. 



For more information
Lee, Jian Xuan. “Tamil writer-translator J.M> Sali wins 2015 S.E.A Write Award for Singapore,” The Straits Times, 11 December, 2015. https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/tamil-writer-translator-jm-sali-wins-2015-sea-write-award-for-singapore 
” J.M. Sali.” Off Stage, 12 October 2016. https://www.esplanade.com/offstage/arts/j-m-sali
Koh, Tommy, Timothy Auger and Jimmy Yap. Singapore: The Encyclopedia. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2007

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The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.