A. Samad Said | |
|---|---|
 A. Samad Said in 2015 | |
| Native name | عبدالصمد محمد سعيد |
| Born | Abdul Samad bin Mohamed Said (1935-04-09)9 April 1935 (age 89) Durian Tunggal,Malacca,Straits Settlement,British Malaya (nowMalaysia) |
| Occupation | writer |
| Language | Malay, English |
| Nationality | Malaysian |
| Alma mater | Victoria School, Singapore |
| Genre | Novelist, poet |
| Notable awards |
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| Spouse | Salmi Manja |
Abdul Samad bin Mohamed Said (born 9 April 1935)[1][2] is aMalaysian novelist and poet. In May 1976, he was named by Malaysia literature communities and many of the country's linguists as the Pejuang Sastera [Literary Exponent] receiving, within the following decade, the 1979Southeast Asia Write Award and, in 1986, in appreciation of his continuous writings and contributions to the nation's literary heritage, orKesusasteraan Melayu, the title Sasterawan Negara or Malaysian National Laureate.
A native of theMalaccanKampung village of Belimbing Dalam, near the town ofDurian Tunggal, young Abdul Samad completed his primary education during theWorld War II years of 1940–46 atSingapore's Sekolah Melayu Kota Raja (Kota Raja Malay School). During the wartime occupation of Malaya and Singapore by theJapanese Empire, he attended the occupying authorities' Sekolah Jepun school for a brief three-month period. Upon the war's conclusion, he furthered his studies at Singapore'sVictoria School, graduating in 1956 with Senior Cambridge Certificate.[3] Although starting as a clerk in a hospital, he was soon able to achieve his ambition of becoming a full-time writer inUtusan Melayu, WartaTebrau andBerita Harian, authoring numerous poems and short stories in the years to come.
His poem, "The Dead Crow" was translated into English language and was included in the Malaysian lower secondary school English literature curriculum from 2000 to 2009.[4] A survey was done among 360 students and it was found that 10 (2.8%) of the students described the poem as "hardest to understand" of all the poems taught in secondary school.[5]
A.Samad Said wrote in almost all field of literature and creative writing. Two of his notable works are Salina, about a prostitute in Malay pre Independence and Hujan Pagi (translated to English as Morning Post), considered as Malaysia's first magical realism novel. He wrote novel, short stories, poem, essay, drama and article. Among his anthologies areSuara Dari Dinding Dewan (2003) andDirgahayu Dr. Mahathir & Rindu Ibu (2004). His most recent anthology of essays isIlham Di Tepi Tasik (2006). A. Samad Said is also known as Hilmy, Isa Dahmuri, Jamil Kelana, Manja, Mesra and Shamsir.
In 2009, A. Samad Said together with four other literary scholars, campaigned to abolishPPSMI (Teaching of Mathematics and Science in English) in Malaysian secondary schools.[6][7] He believed that such opposition is needed to prevent the degradation of Malay language usage in Malaysia.[8] He also participated in an anti-PPSMI rally near theMalaysia Royal Palace in order to hand over a memorandum to the palace.[9]
He became the co-chairperson forBersih 2.0 rally together withAmbiga Sreenevasan in 2011 in order to support a free and fair elections in Malaysia.[10] He also composed a poem named "Unggun Bersih" (Cleansing fire) where the poem became a subject of police investigation for sedition.[11][12] Disappointed with the lack of electoral reform, he openly supported forBersih 3.0 rally in the following year.[13] During this rally, he composed another two poems which expressed his disappointment when he was not allowed to go toNational Mosque of Malaysia to conduct his prayers and describing a clash between the Bersih 3.0 supporters and authorities guarding theMerdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur.[14] During the2013 Malaysian general elections, he openly supportedPakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition in order to end theBarisan Nasional (BN) rule in Malaysia, believing that PR can deliver on fixing the problems in Malaysian healthcare, education, and democracy systems. He also criticised BN for using racist, vote-buying, and scare-tactics during the election.[15] In Samad Said's opinion,Chin Peng was not a communist terrorist as depicted by Malaysian government but should be regarded as a freedom fighter and be allowed back to Malaysia from exile in Thailand. This is because Chin Peng had fought against the Japanese and British colonial masters before the independence of Malaya.[16] On 13 June 2015, Samad Said joinedDemocratic Action Party (DAP). He described the party as a "truly Malaysian party, which is clean, focused, with a genuine Malaysian dream".[17]
A Samad Said’s wife,Salmi Manja passed away on 26 December 2023, at the age of 86.
Penang :
Commander of theOrder of the Defender of State (DGPN) -Dato' Seri (2017)[18]
Melaka :
Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (DMSM) -Datuk (1996){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)"If you're a communist, you're bad. That's not always the case because Chin Peng was a hero for fighting the Japanese during the emergency. The British gave him a big medal. Later he fought the British because they are colonists. You can't say he's a terrorist. He's a freedom fighter and should be allowed home," said Samad interestingly just a few days before Chin Peng passed away.
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