Is it an apology or not? Yeah, I’m nitpicking. Why is there an “if” in the apology when its crystal clear his action has hurt feeling of Malaysians?<\/p>\n
Then, he goes on to apologise for “his failure for not upholding the Malay symbol”, as if he is forced to apologise and not necessarily really meant it. That apology looks like fanning racial sentiment to pit the Malays againsts the other communities.<\/p>\n
Cue the organisations that will come in defence of him and start challenging others.<\/p>\n
Hisham apologises for keris act<\/strong> Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein today apologised for raising the keris “if<\/span><\/strong> it had affected the non-Malays”. He said that he took full responsibility for his actions but gave no guarantee that he would not repeat the keris-waving again during this year’s Umno annual general assembly. “I am sorry if<\/span><\/strong> it had affected the non-Malays,” he told reporters after attending a Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n “I would also like to apologise to the Malays over my failure to uphold the Malay symbol (keris)<\/span><\/strong>,” he added.<\/p>\n The values of the keris is not what has been portrayed by certain factions but the current realities (election results) show otherwise<\/span><\/strong>, he explained. “I’m not a vain and arrogant person and I can accept this. This is also a sad lesson for me but if the politics of today say otherwise, I’ve to accept it,” said Hishammuddin, who is also BN Youth chief.<\/p>\n “The struggles of BN is ultimately more important than myself and we cannot indulge in actions which will frighten other races<\/span><\/strong>,” he added. “This is a realisation that we’ve come to today in our meeting after one-and-a-half months of soul-searching.”<\/p>\n But when asked if keris-waving would be discontinued at this year’s Umno Youth assembly, Hishammuddin replied, “This is not the forum to discuss that.”<\/p>\n However, one reporter from got the minister red-faced when he asked him how he could contest for Umno vice-presidency (as speculated) if he couldn’t defend the keris in Umno Youth. The visibly upset Hishammuddin turned around to the other Youth leaders to ask them if he had failed and laughed off the matter saying, “It’s just a matter of perception.”<\/p>\n Struggles must change<\/strong><\/p>\n Hishammuddin’s keris-raising act has been seen by many as one of the factors in the non-Malays voting away from Barisan Nasional in the March 8 general election. The education minister had raised the keris during the Unmo Youth assemblies for the past three years, claiming that it symbolised Malay supremacy and Umno’s role in defending that. After the youth wing’s annual assembly last year, he had also defended his actions, calling the keris a symbol of strength.<\/p>\n Before the question-and-answer session, he told reporters that after a lot of soul-searching, the youth wings had reached a consensus on some of the reasons for BN’s setback in the elections<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Among the matters discussed, said Hishammuddin, was the question of how the respective movements can defend their parties’ struggles without offending others. “The recent elections revealed that BN’s struggles must change. And this is an awareness understood by the youth sections.”\u00a0 He said that the movements can also no longer rely on rhetoric as they are not a new faction. The education minister also said that there were certain actions people found unacceptable after 50 years<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n “Although, we still won the elections, we’ve heard the people’s voices and learnt some of our weaknesses,” said Hishammuddin. “If we don’t change, we stand to suffer even bigger defeats in the future.”<\/p>\n Bigger role for East Malaysia<\/strong><\/p>\n Besides the “keris” issue, the meeting also discussed the contributions of their East Malaysia counterparts.<\/p>\n “The recent elections have shown that they (East Malaysia) have become the backbone for BN and we need to reposition them more centrally,” said Hishammuddin. “There is a lot for us in the Peninsular to learn from Sabah and Sarawak in terms of racial and religious harmony and how they have proven the strength of BN in their victories.”<\/p>\n Placing them more centrally within the national youth movement should not be viewed as just an extra cabinet post or more oil royalties but also reflective of many East Malaysians’ hopes, said Hishammuddin. The new political realities also present an opportunity for Sabah and Sarawak to play a more vital role in national politics, he added.<\/p>\n Meetings among the component party youth sections will be held every two weeks to discuss ways to revitalize their grassroots support, said the BN youth chief.<\/p>\n MCA pleased<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, MCA Youth chief Liow Tiong Lai said that they were hopeful that the keris-wielding act will end. After the press conference, Liow said that his youth wing was pleased that Hishammuddin had decided to apologise for the matter. “This is an important change,” said Liow, who also described the apology as a brave act.<\/p>\n When asked to comment on MCA president Ong Ka Ting’s statement saying that “ketuanan Melayu” was inappropriate in today’s politics, he said: “MCA as a BN component does not like to play up racial politics.” “But MCA is for multi-racial policies although it’s a communal party. MCA’s ambition is to defend all races because BN defends all races.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Is it an apology or not? Yeah, I’m nitpicking. Why is there an “if” in the apology when its crystal clear his action has hurt feeling of Malaysians? 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\nChan Kok Leong | Apr 25, 08 7:33pm<\/p>\n