your say'The people in charge have to be held accountable. Calling Noramfaizul Mohd Nor a hero does not solve the problem.'

PM: Not the time to play the blame game

Cocomomo: The organisers of the trip are responsible. The employers of Noramfaizul Mohd Nor are equally responsible.

Don't try to handle something you are not capable of doing. Bringing along unprotected persons to such an area is totally irresponsible.

The people in charge have to be held accountable. Calling him a hero does not solve the problem. It is time for our so-called leaders to take responsibility and be held accountable.

Gerard Samuel Vijayan: A person has died because of the desperate need for Umno, Umno Youth and the Putera 1Malaysia Club to get cheap publicity on the international stage.

There are thousands of Malays who live in abject poverty in Malaysia despite 40 years of the Umno devised NEP but they seem to be ignored. Even if Umno wants to be seen to be helping in war-torn countries that are neither safe or stable, do they need to do it in the glare of media publicity?

A coroner's inquest should be ordered to determine the cause of death and whether there was culpable negligence on the part of the organisers. Was proper intelligence done by Wisma Putra and the Defence Ministry before this mercy mission was deployed?

Probably something half-baked which we excel in but now sadly an innocent young man with a promising future dies just because Umno needed a sound bite on the world stage.

Lim Chong Leong: In the case of PM Najib Razak, it is never time to take any blame. Not for Teoh Beng Hock, not for A Kugan, not for Ahmad Sarbani, not for Aminulrasyid Amzah, not for missing jet engines, and certainly not now. Never.

Kumara: When the PM says it is not the time to play the blame game, then you know with 100 percent certainty that Umno is at fault.

AkuMelayu: Nuramfaizul's family accepted his death and doesn't blame anybody. They are not like Teoh Beng Hock's family who still cannot accept his death even after the royal commission found that the political aide had committed suicide.

So you people have no business to play the blame game in Nuramfaizul's death.

Lexicon: Two uncles of the deceased, Abu Bakar Md Yasin and Md Tahir Md Yasin, have said publicly that the organisers were negligent in not ensuring flak jackets and adequate security were provided.

Abu Bakar said the organisers cannot shrug off responsibility and ‘lepas tangan'. So Aku Melayu is lying through his teeth as usual when he says the late Noramfaizul's family have accepted his death.

Who could accept the organisers' self-promotion and irresponsibility?

Asoka: The circumstances that cause the death of Noramfaizul and that of Teoh Beng Hock is entirely different. It is completely wrong and totally irresponsible for AkuMelayu to make the comparison.

Noramfaizul went to a war-torn country and he was fully aware of the dangers. Nobody forced him, whereas Teoh Beng Hock was called to be a witness assisting MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) in their investigation.

They are not suppose to torture their witness.

Ferdtan: We never seem to learn the lesson that we should not do what we are not capable of, or are ill-prepared for; such as to take on such dangerous missions.

All it needs is a needless death to expose the hypocrisy behind the charity adventure - without due care for the safety of their employees or volunteers. This is gross negligence on the part of the organisers - Umno Youth and the media agencies.

Anonymous: For once, I agree with the PM. Surely the aid mission was not a picnic. If one chooses to go for such a mission, be it on volunteer or professional basis, one should know the potential danger in such a hostile place.

We can only offer our condolences to the family of the deceased. May his soul RIP...

Anonymous_40f4: Sending aid to Somalia is one thing, but why is the need to send journalists other than to turn the so-called aid mission into an Umno propaganda? They should do charity at home instead of going to Somalia for cheap publicity.

Black Mamba: It's sheer stupidity to send 54 civilian journalists to a war-torn country to cover news where Malaysia is just a small contributory factor to UN peacekeeping force unless you want publicity for the country for the journalists to be seating ducks for nothing.

If you need to highlight the plight of underprivileged displaced citizens, we have enough news in Malaysia for the journalists to cover to fill up TV3 prime time.

Artchan: Umno is milking the journalist's death for propaganda. For heaven's sake and the family's sake, a life has been lost. And the family doesn't need Umno to exploit the situation.


Slain cameraman's body returned home

Anonymous_3ec6: My heartfelt condolences to the slain journalist who was send to the war zone by Putera 1Malaysia. Food aid for the Somalis can be done through the Red Cross.
How can the dead journalist be a national hero? He was ill-equipped for the task in the war torn zone and he died for nothing - indeed, he is a victim of Umno's ego.

JusticeKini: An untimely and unnecessary death. The organiser Putera 1Malaysia should be fully accountable. In order to ‘bodek' Umno's Najib, the club's head, Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, took a reckless ego trip which resulted in this death.

It is strange a private NGO mission can have the full support of the RMAF (Royal Malaysian Air Force), Bernama, TV3, etc. How about bringing aid to the marginalised Malays and other races who are all languishing right here in Malaysia?

S Vellu: A good man has died, leaving behind a grieving wife, parents and young kids who will never comprehend why their father had to die for Umno's political fancies and cheap publicity.

Questions Abdul Azeez has to answer:

1. Why were there no bulletproof vests for the journalists? Why was there no headgear protection?

2. Why was the aid not channelled through organised agencies such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or the United Nations? Why go to Somalia in the above situation when proper and organised aid bodies could have done this?

3. Why was the vehicle they were travelling in not marked ‘Media' so as to prevent snipers?

The answer: The mission was for cheap publicity.

Abasir: Abdul Azeez should now organise a special expedition to Mogadishu. This time it should be exclusively made up of the entire Umno Youth exco members and Bernama/Utusan Malaysia senior editors.

Of course, they should not bother to wear any protective flak jackets or bullet-proof vests since the prime minister has said that such things don't guarantee any safety anyway.

It is possible that the very sight of our fearless humanitarians, armed only with rations and the Umno flag will strike fear in the hearts of the warring factions.

This is a chance to show Malaysia Boleh and go where angels fear to tread.

'Stay at home': A callous'remark by PM

 

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