National laureate A Samad Said has sarcastically referred to criticisms of his membership in DAP as rightfully the advice of  ‘gatekeepers of paradise’.

 

Responding to university lecturer Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) president Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman’s criticisms, Samad said he prefers to forge his own path to heaven.

“I respect them (Abdullah and Ridhuan) for being the gatekeepers of paradise.

 

“I respect that they are the gatekeepers, but I also have other ways to go to heaven,” he said after a breaking of fast ceremony organised by electoral reform coalition Bersih last night.

He added he chose DAP because he believes the party fights for all Malaysians.

 

In reports by Umno-owned media, Ridhuan had ticked Samad off for not choosing to join PAS, and had instead joined Umno’s arch rival DAP.

 

Ridhuan even dispensed advice for Samad that in politics, one has to be sure to choose a medium that leads to paradise.

Zaik: DAP not for Muslims

 

Meanwhile Abdullah also advised the DAP newbie on Isma's website.

He had reminded the poet to think of dying while siding for a good cause, rather than joining DAP.

 

He argued DAP does not follow the righteous path and instead is adrift in the secular-liberal way of life, which he claimed leads Muslims to act without taking into account if something is permissible or forbidden.

 

Samad in response said he was willing to give his best to DAP because it is a party that contributes to all and transcends boundaries.

 

"I signed up as a DAP member because I believe the party fights for all Malaysians and not just for certain sections (of society). That is why I am willing to contribute, to give what I can.

 

"I am thinking of the bigger picture," he said.