| Salmi Manja | |
| Pseudonym: | Salmi Manja Melati Desa Rashidah Salleh |
| Birth Name: | Saleha binti Abdul Rashid |
| Birth Date: | 24 July 1937 |
| Birth Place: | Singapore, Straits Settlements |
| Death Place: | Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia |
| Occupation: | Novelist, poet, journalist |
| Language: | Malay |
| Notableworks: | Hari Mana Bulan Mana Sayang Ustazah Sayang |
Saleha binti Abdul Rashid (24 July 1937 – 26 December 2023), better known by her pen name Salmi Manja, was a Malaysian novelist, poet, and journalist. She was among the first Malaysian professional women writers and best known for her 1960 novel Hari Mana Bulan Mana (What Day What Month).[1] Femininity, women's issues, and Islam are recurring themes in her work.
Salmi went to Darul Maarif Arabic-language school and Tong Chai English School in Singapore. In 1956, Salmi attended a writing course offered by the Malay writer Harun Aminurrashid and became a member of the ASAS 50 group along with Usman Awang.
Before her career as a journalist and writer, Salmi worked as a religious teacher in her former school Darul Maarif during which time she contributed works of poetry to a number of local magazines. Salmi later became a journalist for Semenanjung and Berita Harian.[2]
In April 1958, Salmi married the noted novelist and poet A. Samad Said and moved from Singapore to join him in Kuala Lumpur.[3] Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, she published five other novels and two anthologies of short stories and poems. She continued her career as a journalist, working with Cahaya Lembaga and the Selangor Islamic Women's Association.
Salmi died on 26 December 2023, at the age of 86.[4]