August 1950. Keris Mas was one of the 19 founding members (comprising teachers and journalists) of the movement, which includes Usman Awang, Abdul Samad Ismail, Masuri SN and others. With the motto Seni Untuk Masyarakat (The Arts for the People), it was inspired by the Indonesian writers movement, Angkatan 45, and has been described as a watershed moment for the development of Malay literature in the region. Seen as an angry young men movement, it championed several aims: To free Malay society from those elements of its culture which was obstructing or negating the pursuit of modernity and progress; To advance the intellectual awareness of the rakyat (Malay masses) towards the ideals of social justice, prosperity, peace and harmony; To foster Malay nationalism; and To refine and promote the Malay language as the lingua franca of Malaya. To that end, members employed a realist style in their writing, deliberately going against established genres that they felt were too preoccupied with stylistics and the trivial aspects of human life, thus not reflecting the reality of human life. Keris Mas himself described the movement as follows: "In the field of literature, the proponents of ASAS 50 adopted a new breathe of style, employing a mode of language that is fresh, departing from the preceding genre of writers, propounding the themes of societal awareness, politics and culture with the aim of revitalising the spirit of freedom, the spirit of independence of a people (bangsa) of its own unique sense of honour and identity, upholding justice and combating oppression. .... We criticised societal backwardness and those whom we regard as the instruments responsible for the birth of such backwardness. We criticised colonialism and its instruments, that is, the elite class, those whose consciousness have been frozen by the influence of feudalism and myths, and superstition that has been enmeshed with religion." It is still a registered body until today. Its motto however has since developed to "Seni Bina Manusia" or "Literature develops humanity". Its primary philosophy however still maintains. ASAS 50 has also since developed its youth wing to develop and nurture budding talents. Today, its youth wing is led by highly motivated individuals who each is developing their own identity, approach, and style towards the Malay literature, language and culture. Awards In 1976, he was given the Pejuang Sastera (Literary Pioneer) award by the third Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Hussein Onn. In