Keris turns up at Gerakan Youth meeting too

Keris turns up at Gerakan Youth meeting too
Saturday, 06 October 2007
Beh Lih Yi & Wong Teck Chi (Malaysiakini)

A Gerakan Youth delegate had his colleagues in stitches at the party's annual meeting when he wielded two keris in
parody of Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein.
Kedah’s Heah Tick Lai stunned the crowd halfway through his speech during the debate on the resolutions when
he took out two keris (traditional Malay dagger) made of styrofoam.
Waving them over his head, he however said his purpose of wielding the keris was different from Hishammuddin.
“I wave this pair of keris here not to fight or challenge anyone... I hope next time Hishammuddin will hold and shout
‘unity for all Malaysians’,” he said.
He also ‘warned’ the media not to misinterpret his move or remarks, prompting the laughter and applause
from the delegates.
Heah’s antic was clearly in parody of the Umno Youth chief, who had repeatedly brandished the keris at the
Umno Youth meets, which was criticised by various quarters as an attempt to play up racial sentiment.
It was also attributed as one of the reason in voters’ opinion poll as to why the Chinese community is likely to vote
for the opposition in the next general election - a claim that has been rejected by the Malay-based party.
There were 593 Youth delegates at the Gerakan national delegates’ conference today but only about 90 people
were around during the debate session.
Minister came under fire
Meanwhile, an emotional Negri Sembilan’s delegate Cheow Woon San accused Foreign Minister Syed Hamid
Albar as being the “liar” in a recent interview with BBC’s Hardtalk.
Cheow took exception to the minister’s remarks in the interview that include stating that non-bumiputeras
benefitted more than bumiputeras in terms of receiving government contracts and getting places in university.
“Please assess for yourselves on how true these statements are... our own leaders are liars,” he alleged.
Kelantan’s Lau Suraksakh meanwhile said corruption that occurred under the New Economic Policy was the
biggest reason behind the unresolved poverty problem.
Blaming this on government leaders, he said: “Our elected representatives are only interested in their personal
interest, they have no time to fulfill the people’s hope in them.”
At the end of the two-hour-long debate, seven resolutions ranging from calling for tough action against corruption and the
alarming crime rate were adopted.