Selamat Tinggal Pak Samad
I DON"T KNOW THE MAN. Know-off him? - sure. Never had the pleasure to meet the great Pak A Samad Ismail. Tan Sri. But some of his children, I've met, and proud to call them friends. Children are a man's greatest assets they say, and in this respect they didn't disappoint. One of whom is exactly my age, a boy whom I ran into when we ran through the same circles once, and the other two sisters I met through the local blogging fraternity. I believe a younger sister was a classmate of my own sister too. My condolences to each of you.
A certain sadness washed over me when I first heard the news. When I think of him, I think of his conviction, his bravery. His incarceration: the first time by the British, from 1951 to 1953. A founding member of Singapore's PAP with his then coalition partner, Lee Kuan Yew.
If he hadn't had a falling out with LKY, or the pull of journalism too strong (he left for KL in '59 to head Berita Harian, and later NST), he might have been, at the very least, LKY's second-in-command. Who's to know?
Many years on, his adopted country Malaysia also chose to incarcerate him, sans trial. That's why the I.S.A. is an abomination. An affront to civilized society, an affront to our Maker. All you have to do is look at the gentle soul called Pak Samad - merengkok in that hell hole for seven - SEVEN!- ('76-'81) bloody years and you know deep in your skin-and-bones that the I.S.A. isn't - wasn't - never-ever-gonna-be - right.
All in all he spent almost a whole decade behind prison walls, forcibly separated from his beloved family; from his children who were small at the time. No, this isn't quite so true. It's the I.S.A. after all, where the rules are arbitrary. He could, I suppose, have cut a deal, cop out, admit (falsely), sign-whatever - but he knew better. It must've pained him to see the family suffer . . . because frail as some might think he was, Pak Samad had bags of steely resolve. He put conviction and belief above all else. A testament to his strength.
Thank you for showing us the true meaning of patriotism, and what it means to love our country.
Selamat tinggal Pak Samad.
Al- Fatehah...
10 comments:
Here's a legend that has been in our midst and no one in authority has taken steps to recognise the fact.
Allahyarham Pak Samad may have left us but he is not forgotten, well said in the words of Haris Ibrahim of The People's Parliament blog.
The rakyat should forever remember this great man and be aware of his contributions to our nation building.
May God bless his soul and may he rest in peace.
Pak Samad. True nationalsit, patriot and hero of Malaysia.
semoga rohnya dicucuri rahmat! dia adalah pejuang! salam kunjung! salam ramadhan!
brother,
thank you..
God bless
kak ena, kak ton, kak olin, abang med, kamal, kak azah, lalin and nina dan cucu-cicit Bapak..
Al Fatihah
Pak Samad is truly a legend and Malaysia has lost one of its illustrious citizen.
Semoga ALLAH mencucuri rahmat ke atas rohnya.
Bro' Eric,
Thanks for leaving your kind thoughts. Damn right, Sir. That man was the DEFINITION of Nationalist, Patriot and Hero! That's how I wish Malaysians will remember him by...
Haifz,
Terima kasih kerana meluang masa meninggal komentar. Salam ramadhan kembali!
Kak Nuraina,
I think he's blessed with the Greatest Assets. He will be remembered, Sis.
Waletandy,
I tried searching your profile to no avail. Thanks for the kind words.
Kulitpisang,
Thanks for honoring Pak Samad on my blog. Appreciate it very much.
Alfatehah.
May his soul be blessed amongst His loved ones. Ameen.
Nice piece you have here bro...
It has nothing to do with Chinese. It has to do with malays versus the world.
So what if all Chinese left Malaysia, malays still have to compete with the rest of world. Malays can still be "conquered" by foreigners. You cannot escape competition.
Malays still have to learn how to live and work with the rest of world since Malaysia is a "small" country and has to trade with China and India.
Why do Chinese want to conquer and control Malaysia? It is so small. Chinese wants to be global competitor. We do not want to be "Jaguh" Kampung.
The choice lay with malays. Learn to compete or suffer the consequences. That is the universal value of the world.
Really?
So what about UK lands in the Peninsula? What was that called Tanah UK?
And what about the 4 northern states that belonged to Thailand, that the Sultan groveled to the UK to take back? Tanah Thai?
And previous to that all the lands owned by Portugal and Holland? Tanah Portugal and Holland?
And how about the fiefdom of Raja Brooke in Borneo? Tanah Brooke?
Each state may have had its own Sultan and government but that does not = Malaysia!
If Malaysia was your own land to control then how come we had to have independence? I suppose Umno teach you that you have to declare independence from yourself?
Stupidest thing I ever heard!
You should go study Malaysia history, real Malaysia history not that doctored Umno garbage!
True enough, Article 153 of the 1957 Federal Constitution does provide for the special position of malays, natives of Sabah and Sarawak, and other marginalised groups.
However, what this special position means is open for debate.
Some believe it merely meant socio-economic position, one that changes dynamically and hence can be renegotiated.
Further, pre-independence documents - the Cobbold Commission Report, the Federation of Malaya Constitutional Proposals and the Reid Commission Report - reveal that this position was meant to be temporary.
The "special right" of malays was therefore understood not as a God-given mark, but recognition of socio-economic status until such a time this could be elevated.
ISA could not destroy Pak Samad. Similarly ISA would only make RPK, Theresa KOK and others STRONGER.
UMNO is imploding with each passing day. Its TOOLFACE is all over the place.
Hope yours and PR's is on an even keel, HIGHSIDE at all times!
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