Interview with Pak Samad

Our office was noisy; everyone was frantically doing their work when I received a call on my mobile.

“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me. You’re busy?” she asked.
It was from Mas, a close friend whom I’ve known since I was 12, we went to high school together, skipped Saturday extracurricular activities and when she went off for college, I was left behind to do some soul searching.

“Kind of…what’s up?”

“Do you have any idea who I can interview and get more information for my assignment?” Mas was looking for an individual whom she can interview for her final exam. I sipped my coffee when one familiar name pops into my head.

“How about A. Samad Said?” I asked.

“Yes but how do I contact him?”

A few phone calls to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (The Institute of Language and Literature) in Kuala Lumpur, I managed to schedule an interview with Pak Samad.

A. Samad Said or fondly known as Pak Samad to his fans is a Malaysian writer/poet whose works has inspired a lot of other writers including yours truly. He started off as a clerk then an editor in various local newspapers which includes The New Straits Times. He writes in different genre such as poetry, novels and essays. Meeting him was a good opportunity to get to know him as a writer.

We met him in Starbucks on a Saturday afternoon. We instantly saw him from far through his long, white beard and fragile looks. As we sit down, Mas pulled out her questionnaire to show to him and Pak Samad asks us if there are a lot of questions for him. Mas smiled, said only a few but we’re interested to know his opinions on certain things. Questions were asked, pretty much all of it related to his work and he asked me if I would like to add anything to the questionnaire.

“What inspires you?” “Where do you get all those brilliant ideas from?” I asked with a million thoughts running through my head.

“Two things” he said. “Read; read the newspapers, school books, story books, encyclopedias, biographies, magazines even comic books. You need to read to expand your mind. It doesn’t have to be a particular genre; it can be any type of readable materials. It helps to have more knowledge, not just certain knowledge but all sorts of knowledge. Just because you’re reading comic books, it doesn’t mean you’re not gaining any knowledge. You’re most likely to get inspired to become an artist from reading comics.”

“Second; go outside and watch people go by. From watching them, you can see how people move around. Their body language, facial expression tells you something; every person you see has a different story to tell.”

He signed the questionnaire and we ended our 45 minutes session by taking photos, thanking him as he rushed for his next appointment. Probably rushed to inspire others with the same words.

We went home feeling very much inspired; inspired to write, read and hopefully, we will inspire others too.

Do you have anyone who inspires you on daily basis?