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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Malaysia’s first “angkasawan” (space traveller) will be recognised as a cosmonaut by the Russian space authorities, said Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Datuk Seri Jamaludin Jarjis. [Bernama]
“Some countries might question this, but to me, it is not important. What matters is that the candidate was selected and trained by Russia and the country recognises him as a true cosmonaut,” said Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Jamaludin Jarjis.
He was commenting on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) referring to Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha, one of two Malaysians eligible to make an expedition to the International Space Station (ISS) on a Russian Soyuz rocket on Oct 10, as “space flight participant” on its website.
It’s funny that Bernama is still translating Angkasawan as space traveller instead of cosmonaut.
Cosmonaut, astronaut, can-naut, roti-naut, whatever… Malaysia will have a man in space pretty soon, that’s the fact. I would prefer to call him a space traveller though, nothing wrong with the name, I don’t see anything defaming with it.
Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is set to become the first Malaysian to travel into space.
Sheikh Muszaphar will blast off aboard a Russian-built Soyuz space craft en route to the international space station along with Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and US astronaut Peggy Whitson. They blast off from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on October 10.
I have mix feeling about this… it’s a good thing that Malaysia is sending someone into the space finally, but I don’t really applaud on how it is (going to be) done. I mean, what have Malaysian contributed towards the space project besides funding it? Does Malaysia really benefit anything significant besides having a colourful page in our record book?
In fact I have problems calling Muszaphar an astronaut; for me he is merely a government sponsored space traveller… does that make him an astronaut? I am not sure… I always think astronaut is something special.
Regardless, Sheikh Muszaphar is going to be in Malaysia record book for his achievement. I don’t have any problem with this man in person; the government offered an opportunity, he went for it and got it… kudos for that. I wish him all the best.
I just hope that years after this event, the Angkasawan project could meet its objective of spurring the interest of younger generations into science and technology development, and prove that it is not a money wasting idea.
