Umno deputy permanent chairperson Badruddin Amiruddin said there is no need for him to apologise for merely reminding people of the lessons from the May 13, 1969 riots in his speech on Sept 24 at the Umno general assembly.

He explained that he was merely "reminding" all Malaysians of the repercussions of disregarding history should they be complacent and forget the basis on which peace and harmony were built in this country.

Waving a book on the May 13 riots at the Umno assembly, Badruddin had warned other races that questioning Malay rights was akin to stirring a hornet's nest .

"I have nothing to apologise for. In waving the book, I was not threatening anybody. I was just trying to get them to read it," he said when met at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

"Is it wrong to remind ourselves when it is for our own good? In raising up the May 13 book, I was not ordering anybody but telling them that they should read the book. It was not an incitement to conflict but to read the book so as not to forget," he added.

Just as it seemed as if he were about to make a concession for the harshness of his 'reminder', Badruddin said that was merely his style of presentation which was chosen in order to motivate people to act.

Complacent Malays

"Maybe there was something in the manner of my delivery, but that is merely delivery. I can present things in a soft way, but in an assembly, one has to be spirited. To move people you have to be spirited," said the politician, who is a crowd favourite among Umno audiences on account of his rhetoric.

If there was any particular group he was targetting, it was those bumiputeras and Malays who had become complacent with their comforts, said Badruddin, who is also Jerai MP.

"My speech was in the context of an Umno general assembly targetting those bumiputeras and Malays so that they realise that whatever 'success' has been achieved is still far from satisfactory. This is on account of the Malays' own failure," he said

"In my speech I did not touch at all on the Chinese or Indians. The focus of my speech was on the bumiputeras and Malays so that they do not neglect (their responsibilities), that they do not fall asleep, that they do not forget. There are still our fellow Malays in the villages who need help," he added.

The young and 'extremists'

Badruddin also said that his reminder was for the younger generations so that they do not question the position of Islam, Malay supremacy and other issues that had been mutually agreed by the major races and enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

"Sometimes the younger generations do not understand the struggles of the past generations. When they do not understand and do not read, that's when they say things that are offensive to other people," he added.

On Umno Youth exco member Pirdaus Ismail's suggestion that his comments were aimed at Chinese chauvinists within and outside the DAP, Badruddin added that he was merely reminding potential "extremists" of the consequences. He did not elaborate.

"My targets are those who question our constitution. They will feel slighted by my comments. We all know who those people are who question such things," he said.