This doesn’t look right!
The Twitter account of a political party faced backlash from netizens after they ignorantly posted a comment about a Malaysian laureate who has contributed a lot to our literature.
He is none other than Dato’ Seri Abdul Samad bin Mohamed Said, or better known as A. Samad Said, our national poet and novelist. You’d probably remember his famous poem, The Dead Crow, that we studied in lower secondary during English Literature.
Source: Berita Harian
The Twitter account named Parti Cinta Malaysia (Love Malaysia Party) is an independent political party, and they probably didn’t realise just how much A. Samad Said has done to elevate Malaysia culture as they posted a rather ignorant comment on their social media followed by a photo of the man himself. The comment reads,
“(He is) paid RM5,000 every month for his whole life but civil servants – who have been working for more than 30 years – don’t get anything.”
You can take a look at the post below:
Dibayar RM 5K tiap2 bulan untuk seumur hidup. Ramai pejawat Kerajaan kerja 30 tahu pun tak dapat apa apa. pic.twitter.com/0AYINAFudi
— Parti Cinta Malaysia (@Huan2U) June 26, 2019
Obviously, after the post went viral on Twitter, netizens were quick to defend A. Samad Said following the comment made by Parti Cinta Malaysia.
They pointed out that he is, in fact, one of the most respected writers in Malaysia, and if anything, they actually feel that RM5,000 is too little of a payment. Well, we couldn’t agree more!
Source: Twitter
One netizen even went to the extent of comparing him to J.K Rowling and dubbed him the Malaysian J.K Rowling. But, she quickly retracted her statement because she said that A. Samad Said’s legacy goes beyond Rowling’s works.
Ain’t that the truth!
Source: Twitter
Another netizen commented that it’s not easy to become a laureate, and praised A. Samad Said for his ability to write poetry with content.
On top of that, several other Malaysians defended the man saying that he has contributed to our literature for more than 30 years. They reckoned that he should be respected as his works will outlast him by generations, as it did for Shakespeare and Robert Frost.
Source: Twitter
Following that, one person said that the RM5,000 is merely an appreciation for the masterpieces which he has created. He also said that A. Samad Said is a very humble man.
In fact, Perodua once gave him a car but A. Samad Said returned the car and continued to use public transportation. He is an inspiration!
Source: Twitter
That said, we sure do hope that the Twitter account’s administrator does their research next time before posting an insensitive comment about our legendary writer/poet.
On that note, we are glad that all Malaysians banded together to defend the honour and dignity of our national treasure, A. Samad Said.
What’s your take on this issue? Let us know in the comments below!
Also read: Agong Wins Netizens’ Hearts By Going Out Of His Way To Help An Accident Victim in Putrajaya
