Najib's quiet diplomacy

"...(Malaysia) achieved what pressure from far more powerful nations had failed to accomplish". 

Getting the job done. People who know Capt Nik know that he's not one to easily praise anyone or anything (bikes, included). So I sat up when I read his salute to Najib Razak over the PM's brokering for MH17. This was before Sahur time (I usually have sahur just before 5am) and I was reading hard between the lines to see if Xr Rider isn't being sarcastic!

This morning the New York Times talked about the deal by the Najib for the return of the bodies and black box and safe passage the international team. I'm not sure what our clever commentators out there would have to say and honestly, I don't give a tutt anymore. They are not going to agree that against the apparent US/NATO agenda to use the MH17 to isolate Russia, Najib has done rather well by all of us. *

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Capt Nik's FB posting:

Xr Rider

10 hours ago · Edited

A Proud and Sad Event.

Well Done PM Najib. You pulled it off. Quiet Diplomacy did it.
They trust Malaysia.   
No one can ever imagine the difficulties in dealing with forces at war in a country so far away.
SALUTE.

ALHAMDULILLAH. 

Cick to enlarge; go to Xr Rider to read the comments

NST's sms alert on NYT's write-up:

RM0 NST 22/07: MH17: New York Times praises PM Najib for brokering deal to recover black boxes, remains of victims and secure safe access to crash site

The NYT article:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcement that his government had reached an agreement with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, for the transfer of the bodies and so-called black boxes from Flight 17 to Malaysian representatives there, apparently achieved what pressure from far more powerful nations had failed to accomplish.

... If all participants honor the deal, it would be a diplomatic success for Malaysia. Mr. Najib said that at times over the past few days he had wanted to be more outspoken about events in Ukraine, “but sometimes, we must work quietly in the service of a better outcome.” 

The agreement is the result of an unusual spate of diplomacy by Mr. Najib, who held a series of secret telephone calls with Mr. Borodai. A person with a detailed knowledge of the negotiations said that Mr. Borodai concluded that he would only release the bodies and black boxes to Malaysia, although Malaysia would then transfer the bodies to the Netherlands and make the black boxes available for an international investigation. 

The backdrop for the negotiations was a slowly growing criticism within Malaysia, including by some in the political opposition, that Mr. Najib did not appear to be more publicly critical of the separatists or Russia. - Read the article H E R E 

*p.s. Quietly, our Foreign Minister Anifah Aman left for Kiev the other day to ensure that the deal happens. Some of us were supposed to have a buka puasa with him this evening and are extremely happy and proud that he had stood us up! Godspeed!!  

Malaysia has lost her first woman doctor

Tan Sri Dr Salma binte Ismail, the first Malay woman doctor, passed away at 6.15pm Sunday 20 July 2014 of old age. She was 95. 

She entered the King Edward College of Medicine (subsequently known as the University of Malaya and then University of Singapore) in 1936 but graduated only in 1947 as her studies were interrupted by the Japanese occupation of Singapore during the Second World War in 1942-1945.

Her determination to become a doctor superceded the norms of the times when it was unheard of for a single Malay girl to journey from her hometown AlorStar by boat to Singapore. Even the Second World War did not deter her from eventually finishing the course once the Japanese surrendered, taking 11 years in all to complete. Subsequently, she specialized in midwifery in Dublin in 1957 and returned to Alor Star where she was also the Royal Midwife to the late Sultanah of Kedah.

During her medical studies she met her future husband, Datuk Dr Abu Bakar Ibrahim (subsequently Director, Institute of Medical Research), also from Alor Star who graduated in 1951, by which time the medical school was known as University of Malaya. They returned to Alor Star and married in early 1950. Their first-born  (Tan Sri  Dr Ridzwan Bakar) was born in December of that year, to be followed by three other children subsequently.

When her husband was transferred to Kuala Lumpur to serve as the Medical Superintendant of Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, Dr Salma became one of the first Malay private practitioner in the country to open a private clinic in 1967 – Klinik Salma, which is existent till today. She retired from private practice at the ripe age of 82.

She was awarded the BCK (Bintang Cemerlang Kedah, 1957) and DPMK (Dato Paduka Mahkota Kedah, 1996) by the present Sultan of Kedah. In 1997, she was made a Tan Sri with the conferment of the Panglima Setia Mahkota by His Majesty the Yang Di Pertuan Agong.

Throughout  her career,she had been active in social work, among which were the Higher Education Advisory Council, Governing Board of Tunku Kurshiah College, President of Private Practitioners Association of KL and President of the Pan-Pacific Southeast Asia Womens Association.

As a woman and a doctor, she lives by the principle: “Have confidence in yourself, be honest, do not talk bad about others and give help to those who need it”.

Bru's notes: Our salam takziah to our dear friend Dr Ridzwan Bakar and family. May Allah bless her soul. Alfatehah.

Why I won't fly with Singapore Airlines ever again

Updated: This guy is among many who won't fly SIA any more  

Singapore Airlines apologises for 'insensitive' social media posts following MH17 disaster after public backlash 

• Singapore Airlines wrote on Facebook and Twitter that its planes do not fly across Ukrainian airspace 
• The posts were made right after reports that MH17 had been shot down 
• Singapore Airlines' lack of initial condolences led to public cries of outrage 
• The airliner has since apologised and said the posts were issued as a response to customers' requests 

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and LILLIAN RADULOVA

PUBLISHED: 12:50 GMT, 19 July 2014 | UPDATED: 01:11 GMT, 20 July 2014

Source: dailymail.uk

p.s. Just so we know who are neighbours down south really are. I hope HRH Sultan Johor and TMJ will cut ties with their Singapork friend Peter Lim. Khazanah Nasional should review all contracts with the Singaporeans. This is beyond kiasu; they were lying through their teeth! It was pure malicious. 

Updated:
A reader sent me the screenshots of the SIA's so-called "response to customers' requests" ..

Save your MAS and Najib-bashing for another time, please

There's a time for everything. This is a time to be united for this nation and for its people and the leaders as we all mourn for the MH17's fallen and their loved ones. This is when we hold hands to condemn the perpetrators and those trying to poke their dirty fingers into our national orifices. It is not the time for your cheap shots at the national carrier or the civil servants and their ministers, and we surely don't need to listen to your whining about how clever you are compared with the Prime Minister.  

I'm not surprised if the likes of Yuki Tan churn out their rotten comment and filth (read other Yuki-like responses at h e r e, courtesy of The Unspinners) or if the CNN twist and turn facts to make their lords look good and us bad, but I expect better from clever bloggers like some of my own good friends.  

They should let the professionals do what they are trained for or just STFU!

Some Malaysians letting their blind
hatred for the PM get the better of them

p.s. Even Jahabar Saddiq and TMI know what kind of time this is ... Read his piece Stop blaming Malaysia Airlines for Downed MH17