I am sorry for wielding the keris - Hisham

Umno Youth Chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein Friday apologised to the Malays and non-Malays for wielding keris two years ago.

Hishammuddin said as a responsible party leader, he should apologise if his action in wielding the "Panca Warisan" keris at the Umno Youth general assembly, contributed to the Barisan Nasional (BN)'s losses in five states in the March 8 general election, according to Bernama.

He said the keris issue was among those being brought up openly at the Barisan Nasional (BN) youth committee meeting to look at the reasons for the BN's dismal performance in the election.

"I told them that I'm responsible for what I've done. If it had affected the performance (of the BN), we cannot run away from the reality."If the issue had affected anyone, I apologise to the non-Malays and the Malays," he told reporters after chairing the three-hour meeting from 3.30pm at the Menara Dato Onn here Friday.

Hishammuddin, who is also Education Minister, said the reality of why the keris was wielded had been manipulated by certain quarters.

"(I apologise) to the non-Malays for making them feel apprehensive about (the keris) symbol, and to the Malays for not being able to defend our symbol of heritage. (The wielding of the keris) is not what it was made out to be," he said.

Hishammuddin however said that as a leader, he would accept the reality if it was true that the keris issue had contributed to the BN's losses.

"I'm not an arrogant person who can't accept reality. This is a sad lesson indeed. But if that's how politics goes, we as a leader should be willing to put the party's interest above self-interest," he said.

Asked whether that would mean that the Panca Warisan keris no longer had any meaning, Hishammuddin said, it was still very meaningful to him as a Malay but not many had come to its defence.

"The keris will not go anywhere," he said, adding that the BN youth chiefs were unanimous in moving forward and concentrate on efforts to regain the people's confidence. Continue here...

(Finally! If only he had said it earlier, before the G.Elections, things might...might have turned out differently. Indeed it is a sad lesson, as he admitted, that it took the loss of five states for him to finally accept the fact that the keris was a contributing factor for the BN's dismal performance. )