Jakarta, IO – Marga T, a popular Indonesian romantic novelist, died at the age of 80. She reportedly breathed her last in Australia, Thursday (17/8).
The news of Marga’s passing was first posted by the Instagram account of Gramedia Pustaka Utama, her publisher.
“The world of literacy is grieving. One of Indonesia’s most prolific writers, Marga T, has passed away,” wrote @bukugpu, Saturday (19/8).
Born Intan Margaretha Harjamulia on January 27, 1943, Marga T has written dozens of bestselling novels and hundreds of short stories since 1969.
According to Tempo, several of her well-known romantic novels adapted into the big screen include Karmila (1973), The Badai Pasti Berlalu (1974) and Bukan Impian Semusim (1976).
Marga T’s last work is a memoir titled ‘If Only’ and a collection of short stories titled “Kenangan Manis Takkan Pernah Habis”. In 2015, Marga T was awarded a cultural award by the Indonesian Education and Culture Ministry as the Pioneer of Indonesian Popular Literature.
Apart from writing, Marga T was also a doctor. She graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, Trisakti University, Jakarta. Some of her works were based on her experience in the medical worls. These include ‘Karmila’ and ‘Badai Pasti Berlalu’ which tell the lives of medical students.
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Marga T was known as a hard worker. She could spend hours writing. This gave her works rich perspectives. She also often expressed her anxiety through writing. One of them was about an Indonesian-Chinese woman raped during the May 1998 riots.
She narrated her empathy through a work titled Sekuntum Nozomi which was published in five series from 2002-06. (un)