Said Zahari ( – ) was a Singaporean writer and journalist. He was a former editor-in-chief of the

Malay language Malay ( , ; , Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by Malays (ethnic group), Malays in several islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula on the mainland Asia. The lang ...

newspaper '' Utusan Melayu'', and an advocate of unbiased

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

. Although he resided in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

with his family, he insisted on retaining his Singapore citizenship.

Early life

Said was born in Singapore to Javanese parents. He led a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

s' strike against the takeover of the newspaper by

United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Abbreviation, abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a Conservatism, conservative, Nationalism, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its ince ...

(UMNO). At the time Utusan Melayu, founded by

Yusof Ishak Yusof bin Ishak Al-Haj ( ; 12 August 191023 November 1970) was a Singaporean journalist and civil servant who served as the head of state of Singapore from 1959 to 1970. He initially served as the second Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore b ...

, was a progressive newspaper at the time and not a government propaganda instrument. Also known as ''Pak Said'', he was detained on 2 February 1963 at 4.30 am by the

Singapore Government The government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to consist of the President and the Executive. Executive authority of Singapore is vested in the President but exercised on the advice of the Cabinet le ...

and subsequently held for 17 years without trial. Allegations against him included being a "

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

". He now holds the distinction of being the second longest-serving political detainee in Singapore after

Chia Thye Poh Chia Thye Poh (born 4 April 1941) is a Singaporean former politician. A former member of the Barisan Sosialis, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Jurong SMC between 1963 and 1966. He was the 4th Leader of the Opposition in 1966. A ...

. He was arrested during

Operation Coldstore Operation Coldstore was the code name for a covert anti-communist security operation that took place in Singapore on 2 February 1963, which was then an internally self-governing state within the British Empire. It led to the arrest of 113 peop ...

, a joint Malaysian and Singaporean operation to silence 117 opposition and union leaders under the Internal Security Act. A documentary made by film maker Martyn See about his 17 years as a political prisoner in Singapore was banned by the Board of Film Censors under the Films Act, which prohibit its possession and distribution. In the documentary, Zahari recounts the events that follows his election as chairman of Parti Rakyat Singapura on the night before Operation Coldstore. He details his subsequent detention where he was kept in solitary confinement for long period in poor condition and explicitly threatened with death if he did not choose to confess his alleged crimes and cooperate with the authority. Part of the film shows Zahari conversing with the interviewer in fluent Mandarin, which he was taught during his forced detention without trial by fellow Chinese educated detainees, who were in the majority. In a Singapore government media release highlighting the ban, it was stated that the documentary in question, "gives a distorted and misleading portrayal of Said Zahari's arrest and detention under the Internal Security Act in 1963". He wrote about his experience in two books, ''Dark Clouds at Dawn: a Political Memoir'' (2001) dan ''The Long Nightmare: My 17 Years as a Political Prisoner'' (2007).

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

recognizes Zahari as a former "

prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

Personal life

Said Zahari married Salamah Adul Wahab in 1955. He had 2 sons and 2 daughters. Said Zahari died on 12 April 2016 at 12.30 pm ( UTC+08:00) in Malaysia; his death was announced by his son Norman Said on his

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post.

Legacy

In 2019, the Pusat Sejarah Rakyat launched the Said Zahari Young Journalist of the Year award, which was established to encourage young journalists with a special focus on social justice and human rights issues. Among the winners were Chew Huiyee for “Once sea nomads, now stateless“ (2019), Zaim Aiman Ibrahim for “Pesawah buat benih sendiri untuk lawan kartel padi” (2020), Law Yao Hua for “Cut, Carved and Cleared, When Big Forests Go” (2021) and Liani MK for “Amid Tourism Push, Malaysia Keeps Binational Families Apart” (2022).

Notable works

*''Puisi Dari Penjara'' (Poems From Prison) (1973) *''Meniti Lautan Gelora: Sebuah Memoir Politik'' (Dark Clouds At Dawn: A Political Memoir) (2001) *''Dalam Ribuan Mimpi Gelisah: Memoir'' (The Long Nightmare: My 17 Years As A Political Prisoner) (2006) *''Suara bicara'': Fragment memoir Said Zahari (2016)

References

External links