National laureate A Samad Said has been called a "DAP tool" after he cut down Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's praise of silat practitioners' willingness to defend his administration.

"Samad Said has been used by DAP to come up with a statement that the art of Malay self-defence - silat - is only a form of heritage for show," said National Silat Association (Pesaka) secretary-general Megat Zulkarnain Omardin today.

"He has been used by DAP. When he said that, it seems he has angered many.

"The statement is a huge insult to the art of silat because he said the age of silat was in the past," he said at a press conference in Kompleks Lincah Mahaguru Omardin (KLMO) in Batu Caves.

Samad, who recently joined DAP, was commenting on Najib's speech at a silat gathering on Saturday, in which the prime minister was alluding to the show of support for his administration during the red shirts rally on Sept 16 organised by Pesaka.

Najib had been facing calls from both sides of the political divide to step down over the 1MDB scandal and his handling of the country's economy, and a similar call made in the run-up to the Bersih 4 rally on Aug 29 and 30, had provoked a counter-rally by pro-Najib supporters.

The national laureate, fondly known as Pak Samad, said one needn't use silat to defend the country any more, unlike in the old days.

He said this show of power with the use of silat was more a "manifestation of Malay fears".

'It was Malays who bought Samad's poetry books'

Megat Zulkarnain said that Samad's statement will rally the Malays because they would see it as a slap in their face.

"If we say people no longer read poems, will he (Samad) get angry? He should remember that it was the Malays who bought his poetry books, not DAP.

"So if he insults silat, which is akin to Malay clothing, it means he (Samad) has opened the space for Malays to rise up after feeling 'challenged' by DAP's statement," he said.

He added that Samad's statement is proof that DAP, which he said tried to ban silat in Pulau Pinang, is using the laureate as its ‘front liner’.

"If Lim Kit Siang recall when he was the DAP youth chief then, he knows what happened in front of Datuk Harun's (former Selangor Menteri Besar) house. when all silat practitioners assembled and the ones who were worried the most were DAP; (if) he's still sane enough to remember the incident.
"Same case as Lim Guan Eng who tried to ban silat in Penang, but when the silat community stood up, he changed his decision. He knows that silat has a huge influence. Now, they are trying to use Pak Samad to stir the wrath of the people," he said.

Megat Zulkarnain also invited Samad ( photo ) and other DAP members to see the silat performance themselves and evaluate whether it is still practical as the country's official martial arts.

"We can arrange for 10 young men to show them silat moves, which is said to be irrelevant, on condition that he brings DAP youths to see it too.

"Don't disturb our culture and don't blame Malays who stood up and expressed their feelings," he said.

Pesaka will pay for all damage claims

Megat also said that the NGO will pay Alam Flora RM38,000 and all damage claims for the Sept 16 rally.

"We will pay for everything, as we have paid Alam Flora RM38,000.

"Anyone who makes claims (for damages) to us, we will pay," he said.

However Megat said Pesaka has yet to be served with a claim from Seri Pacific Hotel, which reportedly suffered losses and had their toilet door and bowl damaged by rally-goers.

"We have yet to get a notice from the hotel. All claims will be taken care of," he said.