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Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today called on the youth to condemn violence and any fragmentation of human kind.
He said youth should have the capacity to realise the futility and destructiveness of terrorism despite the difficult political circumstances or personal traumas that they faced.
At the same time, the younger generation should integrate with a multicultural society to respect religious diversity and believe in democracy and dialogue.
"One thing we all know and agree is that no religion or culture advocates violence to another. Let me also make it clear that no cause or political antecedent can justify acts of terrorism.
"Terrorism and violence cannot be justified under any circumstances," he said in his opening speech at the International Conference on Youth and Terrorism here.
His speech was delivered by Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
Also present were Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, his deputy Datuk Tan Lian Hoe and deputy Youth and Sports minister Wee Jeck Seng.
Najib said it was also important for the youth to address the misconceptions and prejudices which arise in the discourse of terrorism, apart from finding the roots to the scourge.
There was also a need to analyse factors why young men and women were easily brainwashed into becoming sacrifical lambs and becoming suicide bombers.
"We are urged on a daily basis by mass media which associate terrorism with religious fundamentalism. It creates a perception that religion promotes terrorists and suicide bombers.
"Our own acquaintances further create a picture where we only see our sorrow and despair, and are not able to see beyond it, what exactly is the root cause of terror," he added.
Najib suggested that to make the world a better place, youth must be guided by their conscience, where things which are immoral, regardless of the cause, must never be justified.
"Secondly, in the pursuit of knowledge, never forget wisdom. In this information age, the stress on acquiring knowlegde has been emphasised and rightly so. Nevertheless, knowledge without wisdom is like a powerful car without the capacity to steer," he said.
He said it was important for the youth to develop empathy and have an open mind in addressing terrorism, and to strive for unity in the multi-cultural society.
"Finally, we need courage. Let us not fool ourselves, most of the world would vehemently oppose those that try to live by such principles. Under such circumstances, living by the above would only be possible if we have both fortitude and resourcefulness," he added.
The two-day conference was attended by 224 participants from 24 countries.
7:07pm UPDATE: DAP chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh was confronted by a group of Selangor Umno Youth members at the Parliament tower block this afternoon but this soon culminated in a shouting match and a scuffle that led MP for Segambut Lim Lip Eng to having his shirt tugged.
The group had been waiting at the parliament tower for Karpal and as soon as he arrived they surrounded him and started heckling him over his warning to Pemuda Umno yesterday.
He accused Umno Youth of having sent him two bullets while debating the Royal Address.
"Where did the celaka Pemuda Umno fellows get the bullets?" he had asked while pronouncing himself not afraid.
The drama started when Karpal was confronted by the 22-member group comprising Selangor Umno Youth members as the MP was making his way into the parliament's tower block at 2.45pm.
The group had been waiting for Karpal since 1.30pm.Noticing the veteran politician, the group surrounded the wheelchair-bound Karpal and demanded that he apologise for remarks made against Umno Youth in the House on yesterday.
However, Karpal refused to recant his allegation that the wing had sent bullets in the mail to him recently, as well as using the term “celaka” (damn) to berate the movement.
Pakatan Rakyat MPs - Fong Kui Loon (DAP-Bukit Bintang), N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai) and Lim Lip Eng (DAP-Segambut), who just came back from lunch, went to Karpal’s aid after being informed by parliament staff of the incident.
They claimed they were roughed up by the mob, with their bodies pushed and shoved by several Umno members. "One even pulled my tie. At one point, I nearly fell into the fountain," Lim claimed.
However, the trio manage to wheel Karpal into the House, while the Umno Youth group continued to heckle and shout at them.
Moments later, Liew Chin Tong (DAP-Bukit Bendera) tried to cool down the situation but he was greeted by more shouts.
"Who are you? Go away," shouted several members of the mob. . Karpal's son, Gobind Singh (DAP-Puchong), who sprinted to his father's aid, traded verbal blows with the group. At one point, Gobind and a member of the mob had to be restrained by their respective members to prevent fisticuffs.
The situation improved after BN Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) chief Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing appeared and urged the group to disperse.
"Please go back and respect the House. We can't have such incidents happening here," he told them.
Gombak Umno Youth chief Megat Zulkarnain Omardin, who was part of the mob, told reporters that they are Umno members “willing to die defending the party.”
"He (Karpal) must stop insulting the Rulers and the Malays," he said. “Our patience is running out.”
Karpal immediately took up the matter in Chambers and demanded to know how the group made it into the compound.
"What security is the House providing?" he asked speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, who promised to investigate and assured members that everything was done to protect them.
"I am disabled but not intimidated by this. The police were there and they just watched," Karpal claimed.
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said not agreeing with Karpal was not an excuse to get physical with him. "We must come up with a ruling that all parliamentarians must be protected," he said.
Later, at a Press conference at the Parliament lobby, Karpal remained defiant despite the scare. “I maybe in a wheelchair but I will not be cowed or intimidated by anyone,” the MP dubbed the Tiger of Jelutong said.
The Press conference was also attended by Pakatan Rakyat leaders and members. Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and DAP parliamentary leader, Lim Kit Siang were at Karpal's side.
The MP for Bukit Gelugor also declared he would not apologise for the terms he had used while debating the Royal Address yesterday.
“There is no question of apology," he said. "They abused and threatened me and insisted I apologise. I said that was out and told them back off. They were becoming menacing and they looked like they were ready to hit me."
Karpal likened the group antics as to that of brazen gangsters. “As an MP, I have duties which I will carry out without fear,” he said.
Karpal also criticised parliament security. “Each time we start the sitting, there is a motion by the Home Minister to ensure that members have safe passage to parliament and are safe from any disturbances while here. How could they allow them to enter the parliament compound? Where is the security?” he asked.
Despite the incident, Karpal did not lose his sense of humour. “Singh is King. I should be paid royalty for promoting the movie (the Bollywood movie). I will share the royalty with you all (looking at the press),” he quipped.
Karpal had twice referred to the title of the movie in passing as a way of reinforcing his credentials as a fearless man.
Opposition leader, Anwar said he was disappointed with the uncultured behaviour of the Umno Youth members. “I demand fast action from the authorities that MPs are safe and their security assured,” he said.
Lim said this was the first time the Parliament history that such an incident had occurred. “It is shameful and outrageous. It is in violation of parliament sanctity. This shows how ugly Malaysian politics have become,” he said.
Lim called on Umno Youth Chief Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein and Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to publicly apologise for this outrage.
7:07pm UPDATE: DAP chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh was confronted by a group of Selangor Umno Youth members at the Parliament tower block this afternoon but this soon culminated in a shouting match and a scuffle that led MP for Segambut Lim Lip Eng to having his shirt tugged.
The group had been waiting at the parliament tower for Karpal and as soon as he arrived they surrounded him and started heckling him over his warning to Pemuda Umno yesterday.
He accused Umno Youth of having sent him two bullets while debating the Royal Address.
"Where did the celaka Pemuda Umno fellows get the bullets?" he had asked while pronouncing himself not afraid.
The drama started when Karpal was confronted by the 22-member group comprising Selangor Umno Youth members as the MP was making his way into the parliament's tower block at 2.45pm.
The group had been waiting for Karpal since 1.30pm.Noticing the veteran politician, the group surrounded the wheelchair-bound Karpal and demanded that he apologise for remarks made against Umno Youth in the House on yesterday.
However, Karpal refused to recant his allegation that the wing had sent bullets in the mail to him recently, as well as using the term “celaka” (damn) to berate the movement.
Pakatan Rakyat MPs - Fong Kui Loon (DAP-Bukit Bintang), N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai) and Lim Lip Eng (DAP-Segambut), who just came back from lunch, went to Karpal’s aid after being informed by parliament staff of the incident.
They claimed they were roughed up by the mob, with their bodies pushed and shoved by several Umno members. "One even pulled my tie. At one point, I nearly fell into the fountain," Lim claimed.
However, the trio manage to wheel Karpal into the House, while the Umno Youth group continued to heckle and shout at them.
Moments later, Liew Chin Tong (DAP-Bukit Bendera) tried to cool down the situation but he was greeted by more shouts.
"Who are you? Go away," shouted several members of the mob. . Karpal's son, Gobind Singh (DAP-Puchong), who sprinted to his father's aid, traded verbal blows with the group. At one point, Gobind and a member of the mob had to be restrained by their respective members to prevent fisticuffs.
The situation improved after BN Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) chief Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing appeared and urged the group to disperse.
"Please go back and respect the House. We can't have such incidents happening here," he told them.
Gombak Umno Youth chief Megat Zulkarnain Omardin, who was part of the mob, told reporters that they are Umno members “willing to die defending the party.”
"He (Karpal) must stop insulting the Rulers and the Malays," he said. “Our patience is running out.”
Karpal immediately took up the matter in Chambers and demanded to know how the group made it into the compound.
"What security is the House providing?" he asked speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, who promised to investigate and assured members that everything was done to protect them.
"I am disabled but not intimidated by this. The police were there and they just watched," Karpal claimed.
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said not agreeing with Karpal was not an excuse to get physical with him. "We must come up with a ruling that all parliamentarians must be protected," he said.
Later, at a Press conference at the Parliament lobby, Karpal remained defiant despite the scare. “I maybe in a wheelchair but I will not be cowed or intimidated by anyone,” the MP dubbed the Tiger of Jelutong said.
The Press conference was also attended by Pakatan Rakyat leaders and members. Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and DAP parliamentary leader, Lim Kit Siang were at Karpal's side.
The MP for Bukit Gelugor also declared he would not apologise for the terms he had used while debating the Royal Address yesterday.
“There is no question of apology," he said. "They abused and threatened me and insisted I apologise. I said that was out and told them back off. They were becoming menacing and they looked like they were ready to hit me."
Karpal likened the group antics as to that of brazen gangsters. “As an MP, I have duties which I will carry out without fear,” he said.
Karpal also criticised parliament security. “Each time we start the sitting, there is a motion by the Home Minister to ensure that members have safe passage to parliament and are safe from any disturbances while here. How could they allow them to enter the parliament compound? Where is the security?” he asked.
Despite the incident, Karpal did not lose his sense of humour. “Singh is King. I should be paid royalty for promoting the movie (the Bollywood movie). I will share the royalty with you all (looking at the press),” he quipped.
Karpal had twice referred to the title of the movie in passing as a way of reinforcing his credentials as a fearless man.
Opposition leader, Anwar said he was disappointed with the uncultured behaviour of the Umno Youth members. “I demand fast action from the authorities that MPs are safe and their security assured,” he said.
Lim said this was the first time the Parliament history that such an incident had occurred. “It is shameful and outrageous. It is in violation of parliament sanctity. This shows how ugly Malaysian politics have become,” he said.
Lim called on Umno Youth Chief Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein and Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to publicly apologise for this outrage.
As the second generation of UMNO leaders, Hishamuddin Hussein and Mukhriz Mahathir qualified for the party election, the existing Prime Minister’s son-in-law has yet to follow suit.
Khairy Jamaluddin, once dubbed the golden boy of UMNO, is facing a different tune.
“He will make it, but it is tough to be in his shoes nowadays,” said a long time supporter of the UMNO vice-chief.
Khairy, or popularly known as KJ said the supporter, is being blamed for all the problems and the not-so-right decision made by his father-in-law.
“This is not fair. But how can he counter these allegations without putting his father-in-law in a bad light,” he added.
A political secretary, commenting on the nomination trend in the youth movement, said that Mukhriz was nominated not due to him as a person but as an alternative to the present leadership.
“He is nominated and chosen due to the wish of UMNO Youth members who wanted change. Mukhriz is there at the right place and at the right time,” he added.
The question now is will KJ pull out from the race if the number of his nominations is far behind compared to Mukhriz?
“Mukhriz and KJ has this bad blood between them. It is a proxy fight – Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi) and Dr Mahathir (Mohamad). And I don’t think that KJ will back out as he has too much to lose,” said a political observer.
He believed it would be a do-or-die battle for KJ, and the UMNO Youth vice-chief would take all the necessary moves to ensure he has the sufficient number of nominations to contest.
“The second phase, the voting, will be a different scenario,” he added.
On Khir Toyo, many believed that the former Selangor Mentri Besar had made the wrong decision in contesting for the Youth top post.
“If he stick with the supreme council member he can easily win. But to contest for the chief post is a mistake, as he had lost a rich state to the opposition,” said the political observer.
He said Khir’s decision to relinquish the Selangor UMNO liaison committee chairman is seen has admittance of guilt and that would be used in campaign against him.
The fourth candidate, Zahidi Zainul Abidin, who had received a single nomination has yet to make any impact.
“He is acting out of spite nothing more and nothing less,” he added. – OCT 14, 2008
Gerakan has offered its Youth wing as guinea pig to experiment with the proposed merger of all Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties into a single multiracial party.
Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said today that with Gerakans multiracial identity, the partys Youth wing could be a suitable platform for the experiment and to spearhead the concept.
He also urged the Youth wing to open its door wider to Malaysians of all races.
“We can offer ourselves and set an example for other BN component parties to be guinea pigs for this multiracial experiment.
“Lets see how it works out,” he told reporters after opening the Wanita and Youth delegates conference at Menara PGRM here.
Dr Koh also proposed that the BN work out a mechanism to sort out the organisational structure at the grassroot levels if it were to work towards a single multiracial party. He said the time was ripe for all BN component parties to re-look at this proposal which he had once made 23 years ago.
This could include amending the coalitions constitution if necessary.
He believed that such concept is workable but should not be carried out in haste, in order to avoid unnecessary problems such as splits and conflicts within the BN.
“We have to do it step by step.
“For instance, we need to look at the organisational structure at the grassroot levels. How we find a mechanism that could enable members of the component leaders to vote for a leader,” he said.
On the proposed extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of grassroot members to discuss the partys position in the governing coalition following its dismal performance in the March 8 general election, Dr Koh said he agreed to it but it is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
This was because the top priority for all members at this moment should be on restrenghtening an rebuilding the party.
“Besides, we need to work with other component parties to address the more pressing issues that are affecting all races, such as the economic problems, corruption, environment and religion,” he said.
Dr Koh also said taht Gerakan would support the religious reform agenda mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
“We will work together with the prime minister in his efforts to find workable and acceptable solutions to these issues,” he said.
Yesterday, Abdullah said he would carry out a few reforms, including those on religious conversion and inter-marriages, before he steps down in March next year.
Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin, who has offered himself for the wing’s top post, has promised to close ranks among the youth wings of all the Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties if he wins in the party polls next March.
“Whoever takes over a Umno Youth chief also take over as BN Youth chief. The first thing for the future Umno Youth chief to do is to see how we can close ranks within the BN and make sure that we cooperata as a structure that can move together,” he told reporters after the opening of the Gerakan Youth and Wanita delegates conference here today.
Asked on the proposal by Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon in his opening address that all BN component parties merge and become a single entity, Khairy said the intention behind the suggestion was to strengthen the BN.
He said Umno was open to discuss any ideas for the sake of the party and the idea should not be dismissed.
“The main thing is we must be open-minded because we are talking about the future, new political landscape and I think if we don’t have an open mind then we are not showing the rakyat, voters, that we are serious in embracing the changes that had happened over the last six months,” he said.
Khairy said all the BN component parties could discuss the suggestion and the mechanism during the BN Convention to be held in February next year.
Khairy said Gerakan and the People’s Progresive Party (PPP) could become models for a multiracial party identity. Meanwhile, PPP Youth chief senator T.
Murugiah, who is Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said a single multiracial party could happen but it would take a long time.
Lim Si Pin has been elected the Gerakan Youth chief. He was the first person to contest and win the post. Previously, the wing's youth chiefs were elected unopposed.
The son of party supremo Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik garnered 242 votes to beat his opponents, Kedah youth chief Tan Keng Lian and Negri Sembilan youth chief Chai Tek Loong. Tan managed to get 115 votes while Chai received 105. There were seven spoilt votes. Si Pin was hoisted on the shoulders of his supporters after news leaked about 2pm that he had won.
