Leave Pak Samad alone, urge national laureates
A group of national laureates has decried what they say is the oppression against another national laureate, A Samad Said, for his poem on Bersih 2.0, which they say is against the principles of democracy and want the investigation to be dropped.
A group of national laureates has decried what they say is the "oppression" against another national laureate A Samad Said for his poem on Bersih 2.0, which they say is against the principles of democracy and want the investigation to be dropped.
Last week the police had called Samad to give a statement over his poem titled “ Unggun Bersih ”, part of which he had recited during a Bersih 2.0 event, in a nationwide crackdown on activists and supporters of the election watchdog.
“In a country such as Malaysia, freedom of expression and creative works is guaranteed by democracy. In our view Samad (
with beard
) only used his artistic talents to disclose the rakyat’s views and interpretation of current issues in relation to the country’s electoral process,” said the group.
Pak Samad, as he is popularly known, is being investigated under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 27(5) of the Police Act 1967 which is related to unlawful assembly.
In a statement last week, national laureates Shahnon Ahmad, Muhammad Salleh, Noordin Hassan and Anwar Ridhwan also called for the release of those arrested ahead of the rally planned for July 9.
Samad (
right
), a celebrated Malay poet and novelist, is no stranger to protest rallies, being one of the big names who joined the March 2009 mass gathering to protest the government’s policy on the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI).
He was honoured as a national laureate, or Sasterawan Negara , in 1985.
The group urged for Unggun Bersih to be regarded as “contextual poetry” reflecting the current political landscape.
“It is one of a writer’s roles to move the pulse of life of a community into his work, or disclose the various forms of manifestation or action deemed appropriate by an author.
“We hope the community, writers, and artists will be given the freedom to speak and explore their art, because it is a reflection of a mature culture and society,” they said.
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