THE SILENT MAJORITY CAN'T AFFORD TO BE SILENT ANYMORE
SPEAK OUT AND VOICE YOUR OPINION
National laureate A Samad Said believes that Malaysians
chose to keep their mouths shut, doing nothing; then 'don’t blame the
government. Blame yourself'.
Walk into
the National Museum and head into the “Malaysia Now” Exhibit at Gallery D and
you will see him among the nation’s literary greats. National laureate A Samad
Said, a dimunitive man with a larger than life persona and much revered by
Malaysian.
Conversation
with him is a surreal experience, more so when he ordered a hot chocolate with
an impish smile, dashing the notion that all serious literary people drink
coffee – black.
At 76 years old, Pak
Samad has the kind of zen persona that makes even his most vitriolic statements
sound like poetry. It does then seem odd that he should co-chair the Bersih
coalition.
So how
did this quiet, unassuming man get involved in one of the biggest
demonstrations the country has seen?
Those
who saw the photos or who were at the walk in July 2011 are likely to remember
for a long time to come, the sight of him walking barefooted to the palace to
deliver a memorandum after having lost his slippers in the foray of the
demonstration.
After so many years of quiet, why now at this age, did he decide to lend
his voice and be a part of such a rally?
A native
of Belimbing Dalam, a villager near Durian Tunggal in Malacca, Pak Samad
received his early education during the second World War years at Sekolah
Melayu Kota Raja (Kota Raja Malay School) in Singapore.
When the
war was over, he continued his education at Singapore’s Victoria School and
went on to work as a clerk in a hospital.
Pak Samad
confessed that he had always wanted to be a writer. He began an unsuspecting
career in 1954 by writing short stories, poems, features, dramas, novels and
even diaries.
Later, he
would get a job with Utusan Zaman in Singapore and other well-known Malay
language magazines like Mastika and Remaja. He added that the reason why he
wanted to write to much was so that he could chronicle everything he saw as
sincerely as possible as seen through his eyes.
His
calling as a writer was cemented in the years of 1957 and 1968 when a novel he
had written won the consolation prize in a writing competition organised by
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
The novel
was Salina. Salina was the story of a woman who, due to poverty, finds work in
the Singapore’s red light district of the 1950s.
Salina
the novel, is today touted as a literary masterpiece, moving in its portrayal
of humanity.
Much ugliness in Malaysia
When
asked if Pak Samad personally knew a woman like Salina, he proffered that he
knew and met many women like her. Salina, he said, was a composition of
characters he had met.
“When I
was in Singapore in the 1950s, I lived in places like Lorong Lalat before
moving to Rangoon road. Both these areas and the surrounding ones like Johor
Road and Deskar Road were red light districts.
“The
rooms and houses were cheap, so that’s where I stayed,” he smiled.
“It was
during this time that I got to know a few waitresses and sex workers. I would
say that the character of Salina was a combination of these women I met.”
Salina
took Pak Samad to greater heights and his writing career flourished.
As the
years began to roll out, he realised that settling to recording and writing
what he saw wasn’t enough.
Leaning forward in his chair, he said: “Here there were so many ugly
things happening in front of me. I would see unfairness, intimidation, fraud
and this moved me a step ahead from what I was used to.
“I saw that after 54 years of independence, we have come to point zero
again. We have become racial when we want to
win votes.
“I think there’s something wrong somewhere if, after five decades, a
nation cannot stand on solid ground; I think it has failed.
“This is why I decide to walk, as you asked me. I wanted to do more than
just write about what I saw.”
‘We need sincere leaders’
Pak Samad
has his own idea of what it would take for the country to thrive as she should.
It’s a
big idea, but he put it simply when he said, “We need sincere leaders with a
vision and with a real project in mind to galvanise a nation. We don’t have
that right now.”
He added
that having said that, it would only be fair to exclude Tunku Abdul Rahman from
the equation.
“Tunku
Abdul Rahman was the beginner… who started things.
“Tun
Abdul Razak may have had a vision but this didn’t quite turn out because he was too pro-Malay.
“After
that, everything became rojak… because things became messy; you don’t come to
the ideal to have a nation which is now symbolised by a motto – 1Malaysia.
That’s what it is – 1Malaysia is just a motto,
an advertisement.”
At this
point, Pak Samad opened his eyes wide in mock annoyance, then quickly breaks
into a smile and laughing heartily he asked, “Do I look angry? I’m not angry. I
just act angrily.
“My wife
always reminds me to be careful about what I say and write. But I know that whatever
I write, there will be repercussions. I have always said that poems are
weapons. I even have an anthology out called Puisi Itu Senjata but people don’t
read it.”
But Pak
Samad’s sense of reassurance is settled in the fact that Malaysians are
beginning to voice their thoughts.
He said
he believed that the younger generation is making an impact in some of the
changes being witnessed. The “old people” he has discounted because they
already know who to vote for.
‘Don’t blame the government’
Pak Samad
is hopeful that this will eventually bring about the balance which is needed
for democracy.
He said that this equilibrium will end what the government is doing by giving abrupt citizenship to immigrants just to
make sure they vote for Barisan Nasional.
Why
should someone who has just been here for three or five years be given the
power to determine the country’s rule is a question he posed.
He
said there were millions of other genuine rakyat who are not been given that
chance.
“I will come back to the same thing again and again. I’m afraid that
Malaysians won’t do their bit.
“If you keep your mouth shut doing nothing, don’t blame the government.
Blame yourself,” he stated.
Perhaps
it is this dogged determination which he says is part of his personality that
has kept him doing what he has all this time.
To those
who are not familiar with Pak Samad, fiery is not how one would describe him.
But make no mistake that he is.
He
doesn’t suffer fools gladly but is still very compassionate about the rights of
Malaysians and there isn’t an iota of doubt that this is a man who is in love
with his country.
He laughs
at his repetitive self and says he knows he sometimes sounds like a broken
record.
‘I am still same person’
But he
doesn’t mind, of course, because someone has to say something. And at the risk
of getting into trouble for it, he is completely at peace with it being him.
Acknowledging
that he is in the twilight of his life, Pak Samad expressed a desire to see
Malaysia become an example of a new country – harmonious, rich, fair,
respectful and dominant in a way that her voice will be internationally
respected.
“Some
people have told me that I have changed as a person. But I know I am still the
same. I do what I do, say what I say and write what I write because I don’t
want to die uselessly.
“I
want to be able to die knowing that I did something for my country, even if
it’s a small part, to bring about the change I hope to see in my lifetime.”
