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.
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).
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The gruesome murder of 8-year-old Nurin Jazlin has been the talk of the town lately; the suggestion from some parties to charge her parents with negligence has been poorly responded by the public.
I am perhaps one of the rarities that agree on charging parents with negligence in various cases. I am not directing this idea in particular to Nurin’s parents, but in general sense.
Today there is a news that 4 kids are drowned in a canal near Kepala Batas. These kind of cases happen every once in a while, but never received much media and public attention. Don’t you think that these kinds of accidents could be avoided if the kids are watched more closely by their parents?
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Pig farmers in Malacca have been ordered to get rid of 105,000 swine before September 21, reducing the number of pigs from 153,000 to 48,000. [IHT] Malacca state government has stressed multiple times that it is an environmental decision to cull the pigs and nothing racial… which is only half true in my opinion.
My maternal grandparents were pig farmers, and I have friends and relatives that are still in related business at the moment… I can assure you that it’s not easy to be a pig farmer in Malaysia. Let me share some past stories from what I know…
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Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has revealed his “National Higher Education Strategic Plan Beyond 2020″ on Monday (August 27). His main 3 points are…
1. With immediate effect, greater autonomy for universities the chance to upgrade the institutions and source for funds for projects.
2. Introduction of Apex University – to be identified from the existing 23 public universities – would even be allowed to recruit their own faculty and students. Only the best students will be admitted into the apex universities.
3. Audit assessment committees, comprising experts, will be established to evaluate and rate academic achievements in higher institutions of learning.
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Ministry of Human Resources will set a new rule to prohibit the requirement for Mandarin speakers in job vacancies in order to increase employment opportunities for Malays and Indians, said deputy minister Abdul Rahman Bakar. [Utusan]
Honestly, how often do we see jobs requirement that requires Mandarin speaking ability? You are not likely to find more than 10% of the job vacancies on Star or NST that has the requirement… so what is the big fuss about?
Besides, the Malay papers and the minister should think it in broader way… why do people want to hire Mandarin speakers? Most of the time it’s about profit, profit and profit!!!
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Berita Harian is reporting about Namewee having another song that is insulting Malays. The article titled ‘Lagi lagu Meng Chee hina Melayu’ is referring to Namewee’s earlier song “Kawanku” for having insulting sentiment.
Out of the ~ 4 minute video, this is probably the only controversial excerpt from the song…
Cakap lagi la Cina balik China, kalau semua balik sini bukan Malaysia, saya takut mana kamu pergi cari kerja.. tapi biasalah orang Melayu pun tak suka kerja… semua masuk hutan hidung macam sakai.
Think whatever you like about the phrase, I don’t want to talk about it.
What irritates me is how Berita Harian is trying to raise racial tension among Malaysians. They are doing their best to raise anger from Malays against a fellow Malaysian, a Chinese unfortunately.
As mentioned in my earlier post about Namewee’s saga… I strongly felt that the local press is doing more damage to racial harmony than Namewee himself by publishing irresponsible news articles.
The editors of Berita Harian should be mature enough to know that the article would raise uneasiness to the society, and they still chose to do so. Aren’t these people supposed to be charged under seditious act instead?
Don’t even try to tell me that it’s press freedom or that it’s their responsibility to publish the facts. Namewee’s Negarakuku video is based on facts as well, but it is improper because some facts are not meant to be published.
Facts can be seditious as well… if Namewee is to be charged with seditious act, the Berita Harian editors shouldn’t receive any punishment less than Namewee. As far as I am concerned, Berita Harian is doing much more damage then Namewee’s videos did.
