Hisham apologises for keris act

Apr 25, 08 7:33pm
Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein today apologised for raising the keris “if it had affected the non-Malays”.

He said that he took full responsibility for his actions but gave no guarantees that he would not repeat the keris-waving again during this year’s Umno annual general assembly.

“I am sorry of it had affected the non-Malays,” he told reporters today after attending a BN Youth meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre today.

"I would also like to apologise to the Malays over my failure to uphold the Malay symbol (keris)," he added

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.

Hishammuddin, also the education minister, had raised the keris during the Unmo Youth assemblies for the past three years, claiming that it symbolised the Malay supremacy and Umno’s role in defending that.

However many non-Malays felt that the act was highly racial in nature.