My good friend Datuk Seri Azman Ujang, the former head of BERNAMA sent a letter to one News Editor of which I was copied. I'm publishing his letter on my blog, in case his letter does not see the light of day. Here is his letter.
Somalia
Common sense vs good intention
Everyone lauds the good intention of the Putera 1Malaysia Club's humanitarian mission to Somalia but what the organisers of the mission clearly lack is common sense.
And this proved very costly with the killing of Bernama TV cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor during an attack by rebel forces in Mogadishu on Friday. Firstly, the mission went ahead with its trip to Somalia against the advice of our own Foreign Ministry and bringing with it such a large group of media people in tow.
Everyone knows that Somalia has been at war with itself for over 20 years. It's a lawless country run by tribal war-lords with their own armies. Dr. Mohamed Abbas, a former chairman of the Somali community in Malaysia, warned in a letter to this column only a few days ago that " Mogadishu is the most volatile and dangerous city in the world".
If only some home-work had been done before embarking on the mission, then certainly its members would not be so glaringly unprepared by even ignoring the very basic safety precaution of wearing bullet-proof vests.
For a mission to distribute welfare aid such as food in the famine-stricken country, it would have made more sense if such noble intentions be carried out without so much publicity.
The presence of foreign media people in Somalia surely attracted undue attention locally and in a country where death is just around the corner and life is so cheap, the trigger-happy militias would just have another excuse to shoot at targets. Being a former head of Bernama, I particularly mourn the death of my ex-colleague who had shown such exemplary courage in the line of duty.
I met one Somali official who accompanied Noramfaizul's body on the return flight on Sunday and what he told me further drove home the point I'm trying to make above.
He said that on hindsight, it would have been much wiser if the food items to the starving Somalis had been handed over to the United Nations agencies inside Somalia without fuss and publicity.
In other words, Malaysians need to tamper their caring attitude and love for the sufferings of others with common sense.
Azman Ujang
Gombak, Selangor
