Tamar Jalis, Renowned Horror Writer from Beruas, Passes Away
Just mention the name Tamar Jalis, and those who love reading horror stories will surely recognize him! Tamar Jalis is the pen name of a famous horror book author in Malaysia. He is well-known for his writing in the Bercakap Dengan Jin series.
Tamar Jalis was from Beruas, Perak, and was 77 years old, having since retired from writing. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief at a popular magazine publishing company in Malaysia. The novel series Bercakap Dengan Jin was published in Variasari magazine from April 1981 until January 2005. For your information, this is the longest-running horror novel series in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and internationally. In 1980, Variasari magazine reached a circulation of 120,000 copies per month, surpassing the Mastika magazine published by Utusan Melayu. He produced this novel from April 1985 to January 2005, spanning 23 years and 6 months. Research by Prof. Dr. Adnan Nawang estimates that the novel had over a million copies printed, though it was also heavily pirated. The Bercakap Dengan Jin series consists of 63 series, with volumes 222 to 284 from the magazine still yet to be compiled into books. For your information, the Bercakap Dengan Jin series tells stories of ghosts, spirits, and supernatural beings within the life of the Malay community. It showcases socio-culture, psychology, philosophy, traditional tips, traditional medicine, mysticism, religion, martial arts, spirituality, local history, geography, hunting, adventures in Tanah Melayu and Sumatra (Jambi, Kerinchi, Bangkahulu, and Aceh), as well as the expertise in subduing supernatural beings.
The uniqueness of this novel is that it presents true or semi-true stories experienced by the author himself. Tamar Jalis also shared stories about the greatness of his grandfather, named Kulup Muhamad Diah @ Long Mat Piah. It is said that the author wrote this novel at the request of his friend, Datuk Mustafa Ton, who was a publisher/writer for Variasari magazine. The Variasari office was located on Jalan Raja Alang, Kuala Lumpur. Mustafa Ton appointed Ahmad Mahmud as the Editor-in-Chief of Variapop Group, and as a way to increase distribution, the novel was produced and proved to be a success. Tamar Jalis's real name was Ahmad Mahmud or Ahmad @ Mohd. Radzi Mahmud. He was born on September 13, 1940, in Kampung Batu 36, Jalan Sitiawan, Beruas, Perak. He attended the Technical Primary School in Ipoh, specializing in carpentry and construction. Later, he became a Junior Technician at a government department for three months in 1959 and subsequently worked as a railway laborer for KTMB for five days. In early 1960, Ahmad Mahmud switched to working as a manual laborer building power plants in Cameron Highlands.
When he moved to Kuala Lumpur, he shifted his focus to writing and was appointed as an editor for the newspaper Harian Watan from 1977 to 1979. Later, he served as an editor for magazines published by Penerbitan Adabi such as Widya, Aktual, and Rintis in 1980. In 1981, Ahmad Mahmud was appointed as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Variapop Sdn Bhd, which published the magazines Variapop, Variasari, and Famili. On August 26, 2018, Tamar Jalis returned to the mercy of God at 9:30 AM in Kota Damansara.
The funeral prayer was held after the Zohor prayer at Surau Al-Falah, Section 6, Kota Damansara, and he was laid to rest at the Kota Damansara cemetery. Let us recite Al-Fatihah and offer our condolences to his family for their loss.
