She is the first female writer to be conferred the title National Laureate which in Malaysia is officially known as Sasterawan Negara.
After working for fifteen years, she took an early retirement to devote her time writing.
[1] In 1974, Hassan authored Sesayup Jalan, and subsequently published poems, short stories and novels, some of which were translated into French, Spanish, and Russian.
[1][3] In 2013, she became the first Malaysian Sunthorn Phu Poet Laureate when she won the ASEAN Poetry Award.
[3] She received RM60,000 in cash and a sponsorship of RM500,000 to publish 50,000 copies of her works to distribute to libraries, schools and agencies.