Clarity of purpose!

MALACCA: Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, the BernamaTV cameraman killed in Somalia last month, will be the first recipient of the state award for bravery, the Bintang Gagah Perkasa in conjunction with the 73rd birthday of Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob tomorrow. The award was created in 1978.

steadyaku47 comment: 

First my apologies to the family of Noramfaizul Mohd Nor. I mean no disrespect to him or to his family….but I would like to ask the Malacca state government this : How are the recipient of this Bintang Gagah Perkasa chosen? I presume it would be for bravery. Now tell me when did Noramfaizul showed any bravery?

When he joined Bernama? No he did not.

When he chose to accompany Putera 1Malaysia Club to Somalia? No he did not.

Did he show any bravery from the time he was hit by sniper fire to the time of his death? I do not think he had time to do so.

So pray tell me when did Noramfaizul showed any bravery to deserve this Bintang Gagah Perkasa?

This award is an insult to Noramfaizul because all it does is to glorify his death as an act of bravery when his death was in fact totally unnecessary. 

• It is height of irresponsibility and folly for Putera 1Malaysia Club to send Noramfaizul into Somalia without proper training and equipment. 
  
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• Noramfaizul was not protected with even a bullet-proof vest or helmet. 
  
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• The vehicle carrying Noramfaizul did not carry any signage identifying them as Media.

Noramfaizul’s death was totally unnecessary and the fault lies totally with 1Malaysia Putera Club…and they think bestowing the Bintang Gagah Perkasa posthumously on Noramfaizul will make him a hero and give credit to 1Malaysia Putera Club for giving Noramfaizul the opportunity to die a Hero? 

No it does not make Noramfaizul into a hero nor must we allow this occasion to overshadow the need for 1Malaysia Putera Club to take full responsibility for what happened! 

The truth is simply this: Noramfaizul died for no other reason then the fact that an irresponsible and self serving so called aid agency in the form of 1Malaysia Putera Club wanted to use Noramfaizul's expertise as a cameraman to further the political career of its president  Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim.Full stop!


Azeez if you are prepared to take praise as it come after your return from that Gaza trip (see video below) ...then also take responsibility for what you do wrong - as in the death of Noramfaizul in Somalia! You owe Noramfaizul and his family nothing less and nothing more! 


In closing I once again ask for forgiveness from the family of Noramfaizul if by the posting of this article I have somehow over shadowed any memories he has left behind of his life. Maaf. 

What a waste of life!

Meanwhile, in response to the Malaysian Press Institute’s proposal for a special course to prepare journalists for assignments in war zones, Bernama quoted Dr Latiff as saying that the ministry welcomed any form of cooperation with MPI.


“We cannot fight fate. If it’s meant to be, it will be, but the least we can do is go (to the war zones) with proper equipment and preparation.” The proposal came about following the death of BernamaTV cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, 39, while on a humanitarian mission with Putera 1Malaysia Club to Mogadishu, Somalia.

Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad.

What kind of bull shit is this Deputy Defence Minister trying to put over us? So now the death of Bernama TV Cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor is FATE?

“Shots were fired at the government truck that was accompanying their vehicle, Noramfaizul who was sitting by the door was hit by a stray bullet which pierced his lungs. Another cameraman, Aji Siregar Mazlan, also suffered injuries”.

No Mr Deputy Defence Minister I do not agree with you. The ambush itself is fate – nothing could have prevented it from happening. But what happened before and after the ambush is not fate – it is preparation. 

Was this unfortunate cameraman ever provided with survival training and safety guidelines when operating in war ravaged Somalia? If he had been then those safety instructions would have saved his life!

Putera 1Malaysia Club should have understood that terrorists consider cameraman “soft targets” to be used as political pawns for their own advantage – far easier to take a cameraman as hostage or to kill than to go after armed soldiers, diplomats or CEO’surrounded by armed bodyguards in armoured vehicles.

Reuters have a policy that states that no journalists or cameraman can go to a conflict zone without state-of-the –art training such as offered by British military specialists!

When this cameraman made that commitment to do front-line coverage for Putera 1 Malaysia’s club it is their responsibility to reduce the risk to Noramfaizul by ensuring safety issues were taken care of. It is a disgrace, if not criminal for them to send Noramfaizul into harm’s way without proper training, protective gear or clear guidelines as to how far he could go into danger zones in pursuit of a photograph to be used for political propaganda!

The Club President Azeez should be ashamed of himself! It is his  obligation to provide the best available training, equipment, insurance and counseling and to protect the exposed cameraman from all the dangers in a war ravaged zone before Noramfaizul even got onto the plane to Somalia.

At a minimum bulletproof vests and armoured vehicles  should have been provided – money and time should not have been a factor to not do so! No video is worth getting killed for ! Not even if it was to advance the political ambitions of this Azeez guy