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Monday, July 23, 2007

Remembering Apcet II - who was acting PM then?

Joe Gombak wrote a letter to malaysiakini asking whether our mainstream media knows exactly what aspects of Malaysia's political culture could possibly benefit other countries. Gombak indicated his displeasure, distress and disgust at the rotten state of affair, our failed state.

I find myself agreeing with most of his criticisms. The one that attracted me was his statement:

Our dominant ethnic political party organises mob violence at venues (such as the Apcet II meeting) whenever the occasion suits itself, and unashamedly threatens violence against the ethnic minorities at its AGM (Kerishamudin's ‘keris’-waving and ‘bathe it in blood’ antics courtesy of national television) and not to mention mobilising its youth wing mobs to threaten to burn down a public building belonging to an ethnic minority - the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.

Indeed, indeed, but I wonder whether Gombak has been aware of who was the acting PM when the UMNO thugs went to a KL hotel to wreck violence on an international meet, namely the Apcet II conference on East Timor?

Hint – this was in the mid-1990 and Dr Mahathir was not in the country. The acting PM said of the mob violence which disrupted the Apcet II meeting, forcing its abandonment.

That acting PM said the UMNO disruption of Aptet II:
“Our mission was to stop the conference and we did just that.”

Gombak advised us remember this when you vote.

Yes, thanks - I’ll make sure my de jure (not de facto) vote counts!


Related:
(I had mis-spelt Apcet as Aptet in following posts)

(1)
Aptet II Disgrace - He who cannot be named!
(2)
Who was in charge when Aptet II was attacked by thugs?

6 comments:

  1. Are you indirectly telling us that DSAI is the architect of that shameful act?

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  2. well he was the acting PM during that time, so what do you think?

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  3. oops. sorry i mean he was the DPM that time. (but since the PM was not around, can say he was the acting DPM too lah!)

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  4. Pak Lah is currently in Perth.

    Is Najib the acting PM then? Will he disrupt Wednesday's forum on Islamic State, an issue and debate caused and restarted by him? Hmmmmm?

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  5. Just because he was out of Malaysia for some days doesn't mean he should be let off the hook. After all, he's never condemned or regretted the hooliganism that happened. Dr.M has also been quite critical of alternative & independence movements within the Asean region... Myanmar's Aung San Syu Ki & the East Timor independence movements included.

    Besides, there's something called telephones...

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  6. Anwar Inbrahim?

    Suffice to say that he is a consummate politican.

    While the confines of politics do dictate that even the most honest and pure-hearted politician will be sorely tested to be honest and pure-hearted at all times, to me, Anwar has a lot of thorny questions which many will like to hear him answer.

    And not only related to his role in the Apcet II incident.

    Those who were in Universiti Malaya when Anwar voiced his opinions would have a lot of things to ask him about, for instance.

    Has he changed since then? Has he changed since his years as the powerful blue-eyed boy, successor-designate to Dr M? Have the years in Sg Buloh changed him?

    Some say yes, some say possibly, some say otherwise.

    If Anwar has changed, he has yet to convince me. And to do so, he will first have to admit what he did wrong when he was in power, apologise genuinely and try to make amends wherever possible.

    Will he?

    Of course, no one should forget that Anwar was only Acting PM; Dr M was still PM, out of the country or not.

    ReplyDelete