Pak Samad Was A Man Of Many Talents
September 04, 2008 23:12 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 (Bernama) — Tan Sri A. Samad Ismail, who died Thursday of a lung infection at the age of 84, was much more than an outstanding journalist.
He was a well-known literary figure, an advocate of Bahasa Malaysia, a political activist, a trade unionist, a champion of human rights, a freedom fighter….
In short, he was a man of many talents.
Samad, fondly known as “Pak Samad” among journalists, started his career in journalism as a cub reporter with Utusan Melayu at the aged of 16 after completing his Senior Cambridge education.
He had the privilege of having been tutored in journalism by none other than prominent journalist and literary figure Abdul Rahim Kajai — the father of Malay journalism.
Samad rose to become editor of Berita Malai, a merger of Utusan Melayu and Warta Melayu, in his 20’s during the Japanese Occupation in the 1940’s following the sudden death of Abdul Rahim.
Also, during the Japanese Occupation, he underwent political baptism under firebrand journalist Ibrahim Yaakob and his Kesatuan Melayu Muda, and became involved in the Indonesian independence struggle. He was a gun-runner for the Indonesian freedom fighters.
Samad also involved himself with the struggle for Malaya’s independence and became the founding member of the Malay Nationalist Party.
In 1946, after the Japanese Occupation, he returned to Utusan Melayu, in Singapore then, and moved up the ranks to become deputy editor seven years later.
However, in 1951 he was imprisoned by the British colonial administration in Singapore without being brought to trail for alleged Communist activities. He was released in 1953.
After his release, Samad joined Lee Kuan Yew (former Singapore prime minister and currently minister mentor) to form the People’s Action Party (PAP), and drafted the party constitution and manifesto. He left the party in 1957.
In the same year, he was sent to Indonesia as Utusan Melayu’s correspondent following a tiff with Yusoff Ishak, the company’s managing editor and editor-in-chief, and missed the birth of independent Malaya on Aug 31 despite having been one of the prominent freedom fighters.
In Indonesia, he was well-received by his Indonesian comrades, including Adam Malik (former Indonesian vice-president). He was there for eight months before returning to Singapore and joining The Straits Times.
He then became the de facto editor of its new Malay language newspaper, Berita Harian, in 1958, and moved to the newspaper’s editorial office in Kuala Lumpur.
In 1972, Samad, who was then the deputy editor-in-chief of the New Straits Times Group, spearheaded the move to transfer the ownership of the New Straits Times’ Malaysian operation into Malaysian hands.
An obsessive reader, Samad was also the champion of Malay literature and culture, and was a prime mover in the setting up of the Angkatan Sasterawan ’50 (ASAS 50), a literary movement campaigning for Malay rights and freedom in the 1950’s.
He was also instrumental in the setting up of the National Writers Association of Malaysia or Pena, and helped to establish the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, the institute of language and literature, in 1956.
Despite his hectic life as a journalist, Samad was able to pen 11 novels, four books on journalism and writing and two anthologies of short stories, among others. His novels include “Patah Sayap, Terbang Jua” and “Tembok Tidak Tinggi”, which portray the experiences in his life before and during the Japanese Occupation and when he was in jail.
Through his writing, he helped to liberate the Malay mindset and caused it to agitate for independence from colonialisation.
For his literary works, Samad was awarded the “Hadiah Pejuang Sastera Malaysia” (Literary Champion of Malaysia Prize) by the Malaysian government in 1976.
In 1988, he received the first “Tokoh Wartawan Negara” (National Journalism Laureate) award organised by the Malaysian Press Institute.
In 1994, Samad was named winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts.
Samad used to be held under the Internal Security Act for five years from 1976 for allegedly conspiring to subvert the Malaysian and Singaporean governments.
When Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister in 1981, Samad was released from detention.
Six months after his release from detention, he was appointed the advisor of The Star’s Bahasa Malaysia section and, in November 1982, was appointed the editorial advisor of the New Straits Times.
Having retired in 1988 after 48 years in journalism, Samad never remained idle. He continued to write and read and became a reference for issues on journalism and Malaysian independence.
In 2000, a book on him titled “A. Samad Ismail: Journalism and Politics” compiled by Cheah Boon Kheng, which consists of articles on him written by his late wife, Puan Sri Hamidah Hassan, a former reporter, and his friends including the late Tan Sri Melan Abdullah, was launched.
Samad, born on April 18, 1924 in Singapore, was the eighth of 16 children of Javanese couple Ismail Shairazi and Aida Abdul Majid.
His father, who was headmaster of a Malay school in Singapore, was also a writer and had contributed articles in Malay to local newspapers.
Samad had 10 children. Two of his daughters, Maria and Nuraina, are ex- journalists who now run their own blogs.
— BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=357256
From: OldVic in the previous OVA Forum
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MM Lee sends condolence message to son of late Malaysian journalist Samad Ismail
By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 07 September 2008 1957 hrs
SINGAPORE: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has described the late Malaysian writer Samad Ismail, who passed away on September 4, as able and shrewd, with an innate ability to accept changed realities.
In a condolence letter to Mr Samad's son, Mr Lee said that though both he and Mr Samad had parted company politically, personally they were friends.
Mr Lee said he first met the Singapore-born ex-journalist in 1953 at a detention camp on St John's Island, while acting for him as his lawyer.
Mr Samad had then been detained under Emergency Regulations, and as his lawyer, Mr Lee said he knew from the Special Branch evidence that Mr Samad was a communist who had led the Malay section of the Anti-British League.
After Mr Samad's release from detention, Mr Lee invited him and fellow detainee – former Singapore president Devan Nair – to join in talks which led to the formation of the People's Action Party.
Mr Samad moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1957. Mr Lee said both men never met again after the political parting of ways between the pro- and non-Communists in the PAP.
But when Mr Samad signalled he wanted to visit Singapore to see his family, Mr Lee said he recommended that Singapore lift the entry ban against Mr Samad.
The late journalist later wrote an objective piece describing the progress he had seen among the Singapore Malays.
– CNA/ir
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporel…
From: OldVic in the previous OVA Forum
Dr Discount tends to the heartlands
Thu, May 14, 2009
The Straits Times
PATIENTS pack the Block 203 Toa Payoh North Clinic and Surgery from the moment it opens its doors at 8.30am and closes them at 9pm.
It is often standing-room only because its resident physician, Dr Koh Sek Khoon, 48, has been charging far less than his counterparts since he set up his practice 18 years ago.
During this downturn, he is handing out even steeper discounts.
'Times are tough, so I don't mind charging less, if only to help tide patients over,' says Dr Koh. 'Sometimes, I don't charge for kids with coughs and colds because they fall sick so often it can be a burden for the parents.'
The doctor has disregarded the Singapore Medical Association's fee guidelines from the time they were introduced in 1987 to their withdrawal in 2007. They stipulated that a simple short consultation lasting about 10 minutes should cost $20 to $30.
Dr Koh's consultation fees start at $8, and rarely exceed $10. A poll of five patients leaving his clinic showed they typically paid less than $20 – inclusive of medication.
He says his experience over the years helps him identify those experiencing hardship. For the past six months, he has also been investing more time talking to patients depressed by the recession.
Patient C.K. Yeo, 65, who recently lost his job as a canteen cleaner, emerged with a bill of $15 for consultation and medication for his flu, which is $10 less than what he would pay elsewhere. 'He knows I have no income,' says Mr Yeo. 'Even though I didn't say anything, he could tell.'
More foreign workers – mostly from Myanmar and the Philippines – from nearby industrial estates are also visiting Dr Koh's clinic. They now account for 20 per cent of his patients.
'They have cultural and adjustment problems, and now, during the recession, they also have financial problems,' says Dr Koh. 'As a doctor, I want to be one who can hopefully make them well – but definitely not make them poor.'
Affluent customers who had previously gone to clinics in the Orchard area are also turning up. In total, the clinic has seen a 20 per cent jump in patient numbers since last October.
'We used to see about a hundred patients a day,' says clinic receptionist Doreen Chow, 59, who has worked with Dr Koh for 15 years. 'But now, there are so many that we have to turn patients away at closing time.'
A Christian and a member of nearby Zion Church, Dr Koh attributes the way he runs his clinic to his religious beliefs and his kampung childhood.
The middle child of seven born to a hawker father and housewife mother grew up in Potong Pasir and attended Victoria School. 'Growing up in a kampung really makes you appreciate being part of a community. There are so many different kinds of people, but somehow, everyone gets along,' says the fluent speaker of Teochew, Hokkien and Cantonese.
He was the only one in his family to make it through medical school.
'I believe that being a doctor is a calling, not a job. It is not about dollars and cents. As long as I have met my bottom line, I am fine for the month,' says the doctor who drives a Volvo and lives in a semi-detached house in Thomson.
With six days of his week dedicated to healing the sick, the doctor admits that he does not spend as much time as he would like with his homemaker wife and their 13-year-old daughter.
'But my wife is extremely understanding. She likes to joke that my real address is my clinic in Toa Payoh,' says Dr Koh.
His dedication does not go unappreciated. 'He truly cares for us,' says Madam Catherine Ong, 80, a housewife whose family has been going to Dr Koh's clinic for the past 16 years. 'He is always patient, always careful, even if the patients are difficult.'
Toa Payoh housewife Chua Siew Lan, 48, adds: 'He remembers my entire family, knows us by name, and I trust him.'
Dr Koh hopes the deepening recession that has seen his patient numbers surge will bring out the best in his peers, as it has in him.
'I would like to believe that all doctors have some altruistic blood in their veins,' he says.
'I am sure that there are many others like me – I am no hero. I am just a human being who finds meaning through helping sick people.'
esoh@sph.com.sg
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Dispensing encouraging words with medicine
DR KOH SEK KHOON, 48, has been operating Toa Payoh North Clinic and Surgery, located at Block 203, Toa Payoh North, #01-1111, for the past 18 years.
Since he started out, he has been charging less than most other doctors, a practice the National University of Singapore medical graduate says stems from his humble background and his Christian beliefs.
Since the recession began, he has seen a 20 per cent surge in patients, including more hardship cases. He has also started giving out steeper discounts, and sometimes does not charge for children or the elderly.
Dr Koh, who works 12-hour days six days a week, also tries to spend more time with patients to find out more about their situations, and dispenses words of encouragement along with medicine.
http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapor…