A new version of Lingam video has been released; the extra 10 seconds at the end of the video shows that Ahmad Fairuz’s name was mentioned… it’s difficult to determine if it was VK Lingam who mentioned AF’s name though.
Prime Minister and UMNO president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi opened the UMNO General Assembly on Wednesday (Nov 7) at the Putra World Trade Centre. The following is the full text of his opening address [TheStar]…
STRENGTHENING CONFIDENCE – VENTURING INTO A NEW ERA
Alhamdulillah, with God’s will, we are convene for the 58th UMNO General Assembly.
2. Our assembly this year takes place in the glow of the 50th Merdeka celebrations. This is also our first assembly for the next 50 years. Beginning the first national elections, UMNO, as part of the Alliance and subsequently Barisan Nasional, has formed the national government based on the principle of power sharing. It also spearheaded the drive towards independence.
3. The Malayan Government, considered to be lacking in experience, faced myriad challenges. Twelve years after independence, the nation was riven by racial riots that threatened its survival. Thanks to mutual understanding and a strong spirit of cooperation, we overcame this test. That dark time in our history became a valuable lesson that taught us the need to strengthen our unity.
4. In the aftermath of this tragedy, the Government introduced three major measures. First, the Rukun Negara was introduced as a national ideology to ensure national unity and safeguard the integrity of the nation. Second, the New Economic Policy was designed to develop our economy based on fair and equitable growth. Finally, the Barisan Nasional was introduced as an effective and inclusive political vehicle. The implementation of these three measures has brought success, guaranteed our survival and brought us the prosperity that we enjoy to this day.
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Keris can’t kill; a person with the keris can.
I accept that keris is a cultural symbol for Malays, for Malaysia in fact. Some people might not be aware, but we are seeing the keris almost everyday everywhere… with our Yang di-Pertuan Agong carrying it in his photo. There is nothing wrong with keris.
The issue lies in the person who carries the keris, and the agenda behind it.
UMNO youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein has made a decent statement at the 2007 general assembly that the kissing and hoisting of the keris symbolises the protection given to not only the Malays but also to other races in the country. [Bernama]
It could be a genuine statement, or probably just a PR stunt… but it doesn’t erase the fact that the ‘keris protect all Malaysians” ideology was not what he managed to portray when he played with his keris for the past couple of years.
I can’t blame too much on Hishammuddin though; it was a trend for UMNO youth to raise racial sentiment. Mahathir, Najib, Anwar etc. had all been criticized for their radical gimmick when they were in their early political days.
All these people need to build their network and support to move up the political rank… Hishammuddin won’t be the last person to play with sensitive issues in UMNO assembly.
Some Malaysians might not be happy about what Hishammuddin did, but there is nothing much to do against it besides ranting online or in coffee shops. Hishammuddin will march forward in his political career regardless of how we feel… we have to move on as well regardless of how he feels.
We have often heard about suggestion for heavier penalties and punishment for rapists, particular on child rapists.
Puteri UMNO has raised the suggestion again (castration and death etc.) during the general assembly. I do understand the rage of the delegates, I share the same sentiment once in a while… but there are a few reasons why the penalties cannot be too severe.
One of the major reasons is to protect the life of the victim. It is cruel to be raped, but it is still better to stay alive than to be dead. If a convicted rapist would have to face castration or death penalty; he could resort to killing the victim once and for all… since that the punishment for raping is nothing less than killing.
The recent cases of Nurin and Preeshena suggested that the rapists are killers regardless, but do mind that there are hundreds and thousands of other sexual assault cases that didn’t get as much attention by the press… and the victims have managed to stay alive.
There will be arguments that the mental torture could be as close to death for the victims; I can understand that… but as long as the victims are still alive, they will have their chances to overcome the nightmare and carry on with their life.
There might be room for more severe punishment to rapist (extra jail terms perhaps), but the law would have it limits. We have to resolve to other solutions to fight sex crimes.
I read a news yesterday, about a 9-year-old Indian girl being sexually assaulted and murdered… I actually wrote something about that, but deleted it, because I was not sure what to write…
It’s simply unimaginable what kind of human could do that to young children. With Nurin’s tragedy still ringing in our mind, here it comes another brutal fatality… it is saddening, and horrifying.
I want to think that the police are doing their best to solve these cases. I don’t want to blame the cops too much because I believe that there are genuine officers in Malaysia that are fighting crimes to their best… but their best is not enough at the moment.
I am not sure what can we do to prevent these cases from happening again. Parents should obviously pay more attention to children safety, but I am not sure if it is enough. I am feeling really pessimistic about our rising crime rate.
The government should think of something… forget about multimillion projects, forget about sending man to space. What’s the point of these achievements if we can’t even keep our streets safe?
Hope that the victim could rest in peace; my condolence for her parents and family.
I have mentioned a few times that I am supportive of the NEP’s ideology, but not the implementation. Quite often we see that a few Malays are reaping the rewards while most of the others that really need NEP are neglected.
An article from AFP that shares similar point of view…
Nearly four decades of controversial positive-discrimination policies were supposed to lift Muslim Malays like fisherman Maskan Mohamad out of poverty.
But despite the programme, which has alienated the nation’s ethnic Chinese and Indian citizens, Maskan’s family have empty bellies and little hope as they struggle to survive on a handful of dollars a day.
“All I know is how to fish. My family are all fisherman and even my children are fishermen because we cannot hope for anything more,” says the 62-year-old, who earns about 400 ringgit a month (119 dollars).
ONLY if you are an UMNO member…
At the Umno General Assembly next week, party members registered as voters with the Election Commission (EC), will stand to win prizes totalling RM5.25 million.
Umno executive secretary Datuk Husainay Hashim told Bernama this today.
He also said that Umno members who had registered with the EC would also receive membership cards. Umno had issued 2.8 million membership cards and would deliver them to those who had registered with the EC tomorrow, he said.
“For Umno members who have yet to register, we will provide the facility for them to do so during the assembly and the membership card will be made for them,” he said. [Bernama]
If PAS or DAP are doing this… UMNO will yell that it is money politic. However, since that it is UMNO that is doing it… I guess it is ok, right?
A bizarre news…
A woman carefully packed her son’s severed fingertip in ice and rushed it to the hospital hoping that doctors would be able to re-attach it.
However, a hospital staff took one look at it and decided it could not be re-attached. He then flushed the digit down the toilet.
A flabbergasted Zuraiza Omar has lodged a police report on the incident and is claiming that Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital was negligent.
Zuraiza’s son, Muhamad Shaeidil Amir, 11, was injured on Friday when he accidentally sliced off the tip of his left forefinger while cutting off the top of a coconut with a parang at his home in Kampung Batu Menunggul, Air Putih, Pendang. [NST]
It’s not wrong if the hospital couldn’t attach the fingertip back to where it is supposed to be… but what on earth were they thinking when they flushed it down the toilet?
Hospital’s negligent? Probably… but what was the mum doing by letting an 11-year-old kid playing with a heavy knife? That is an obvious parenting negligent.
I felt sorry for the boy.