Warm greetings from Malaysia.

It is a great honour to have the opportunity to introduce myself in this newsletter. I am Salasiah Abdul Wahab, born in a state in northern Peninsular Malaysia called Perak, on 1st December 1964. I started my career as a librarian at the Resource Centre, Ministry of International Trade and Industry in 1991. Subsequently, I was posted to various agencies including the Malaysia Nuclear Agency, the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN), the Judicial and Legal Training Institute (ILKAP), and the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) and the National Library of Malaysia (NLM).

During my 29 years in the library field, I have acquired skills and knowledge in Human Resource Development, Research & Development, Resources Development and Digital Library Initiative. On 15th March 2021, I was officially appointed as the Director General of the National Library of Malaysia.

Without a doubt, NLM has come a long journey since it was established in 1966 as a unit within the National Archives of Malaysia and became a full federal department in 1972. As the current Director General who is responsible for overseeing the development of libraries and the library profession in Malaysia, I believe that the NLM has experienced tremendous growth and transformation together with our strong network with the National Library Association of Malaysia and all libraries’ committees in Malaysia.

The strong support by the Government of Malaysia has also helped us shape our profession in line with the current needs. As part of our 2019-2023 Strategic Planning, we are now aiming to strengthen NLM in five areas – Service Transformation, Leadership and Human Capital Development, Infrastructure Empowerment, Research & Policies, and Collaboration Enhancement at the international level.

To stay relevant and visible, NLM is committed to boost reading habits among Malaysians by rolling out initiatives in conjunction with the reading nation aspiration under the 10-year National Reading Decade (DMK) 2021-2030 programme. We also have a long-standing commitment to the pursuit of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Covid-19 pandemic has tested us to the limit and has forced us to relook and re-evaluate our current roles and services. However, it has also enabled us to adapt to new norms and perhaps even embrace accelerated adoption of new technologies. I believe that all the support and encouragement from the library committees in Malaysia, and also the good networking with the ASEAN region and International Associations such as IFLA, will lead to greater cooperation and exchange of ideas for the benefit of the library field.

I hope that everyone will Stay Safe, Stay Productive and Stay Relevant.

Salasiah Abdul Wahab
Director General of the National Library of Malaysia