monkeys with tarter sauce™: News and politics

Croc Shows are IN!!

Sat, 01 Jul 2006 06:14:26 GMT

Croc Cayman Clogs. (Once)Ugly, big and funky yet comfortable clog.

The bulky clog with a strap along the heel and holes across the top and around the toes is winning consumers over with its versatility and comfort. Food service and factory workers, hair stylists and hospital personnel buy them for comfort. Boaters and swimmers buy them for function. And some just think they're fun.

I once look at them as some extremely ugly shoes sold in hospitals for elder generation but lately, I'ev been seeing many people, especially foreigners and tourist here wearing them almost everywhere they go. This of course incluse their daily routine of touring all the places in inner city and even shopping malls.

I have just realised that I do walk a lot in a day. Go to school, coming back, having to stand and wait for buses and etc etc. My current school shoes are not really that comfortable and I tend to get leg cramps at night and it hurts everyday. I might get bone and knee problem in future. Now its a great thing to do by buying one of these weird boot-like clogs. They are not made of moods like Dutch's but rubber and very comfortable. It's a bout time someone comes out with this idea. Even my current casual shoes kills me after an extreme long walk. I have no trainers and only one pair of Adidas.

Reasons to get one!(at least)

They come in colors!

1.) Really soft, super comfortable, molds to your feet
2.) Barely there, weighing only 6 ounces
3.) Vented so air passes through, keeping feet cool
4.) Non-marking slip-resistant soles*
5.) Bacteria and odor resistant
6.) Ultra-hip Italian styling
7.) Port holes allow water and sand to pass through
8.) Can be sterilized in water and bleach
9.) Easy maintenance, just wipe clean
10.) Orthotic molded foot bed for ultimate comfort and support

Even for wedding!

*just like a performance tire, when the treads become worn, their slip-resistant nature will be compromised. That¹s when you know it¹s time to treat your feet to a new pair.

Now I just regret not having one when I was in Egypt. And now I will bug my parents to get one, not for me but each of the whole family members!

Tech Banned in the Classroom

Tue, 16 May 2006 08:55:41 GMT

As usual when tech gadget comes in handy, miss usage would be enormously helpful. In Malaysia the Ministry of Education's new guideline several years ago banned mobile phones usage by students in school. What I've seen in recent news in some Parish school was just another cliché story going on.

In my school, like any other government school, cell phones are banned and illegal. It is mandatory and if anyone break the law and bring the phone to school, it will be confiscate. The irony of this case is that many students still brings their mobile phone and as a need and necessity to one’s life. I recall posting a blog about in the new millennium, each human who owns a mobile phone will go mad once if they forgot of left it back at home and willingly to get it back although they reached their workplace.

The number one concern in the ministry is miss usage of the phones in school. For example, students will eventually text message their friends during exam hours to ask for questions. This happens all the time in big exams like in SPM (O-level) and etc. Most usually got away with it and some might get caught.

Funny thing happened during my Biology exam was a boy who sat behind was moved to sit in front of me because of the teacher’s inkling of him. I believe the teacher saw he was either trying to copy and getting answers or letting others copy him. Then after another teacher replaced the first one, suddenly “it’s a final countdown” true tone breaks the silence in the class. Everyone got shocked and while the teacher sarcastically tries to look at everyone, again the tone came out loud for the second time. Funny, but that’s truth.

It’s very obvious that phones are missed used almost everywhere for the sake of not pleasure but the laziness of students. Students these days are so lazy to study (that would include my self) hate studying because learning method is even worse because teachers have to co-op with syllabus.

Asian syllabus of course, that originated thousand of years from China. The exams as old as Shang dynasty required student to pass exam to become a government officer. This has brought down even to Malaysia as education system is exam orientated plus with the old British vernacular education system. Locally, student are very stressed with must have A’s required by most parents and tend to struggle badly. Tuition classes, private lessons attended by students at night are life saver for many who could not catch up in school. However to some others, chose to give up easily and just get whatever results they got.

It is a dream for many students, to have a slightly more fun and different way of learning. In a way, for instant, more communication rather than teachers stand up in front of the blackboard trying to teach while many students sleep at the back. Black and white boring textbooks replaced by illustrated and colourful textbooks. Classes should be more entertaining than it is now. Until today, it will just be some dreams.

Back to the phone issue, I my self brings my mobile phone to school almost everyday. It is a need since sometimes I need to make important phone call to my mum etc. It is an absolute necessity to almost every one, even students. Who knows what accident or emergency would happen because no one could predict the future. What if there is no public telephone around? And not many people like to bring coins around in their empty pocket. And shit happens. Nowadays, I have to be more careful not to get caught. Confiscated items will only be returned a month later excluding holidays and weekends. I have no time to wait for that.

In conclusion, technology has made me mad too!

Fire Starts at Petronas Towers in Malaysia

Fri, 04 Nov 2005 17:59:26 GMT

By VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press Writer

Fire in a movie complex in Malaysia's iconic Petronas Twin Towers late Friday night triggered panic among patrons who fled screaming and coughing in the thick, acrid smoke, witnesses said. There were no reports of injuries.

Hundreds of people rushed out of several theaters on the third floor of the Suria KLCC shopping mall in the twin towers a little before midnight after the dark gray smoke engulfed hallways, foyers and the cinemas, they said.

"It was really terrible. People were running helter-skelter. We were choking and coughing and it's a miracle there was no stampede," said Minati Panda, a Kuala Lumpur resident who was watching a movie with her husband when the incident occurred.

The glass-and-steel Petronas Twin Towers, once the world's tallest before being upstaged by a building in Taiwan, are located in downtown Kuala Lumpur and are Malaysia's most famous landmark, symbolizing the country's economic progress.

The 1,483-foot buildings, which house only offices and a shopping mall, were largely empty because of the late hour and the only people affected appeared to be moviegoers and some diners in a few restaurants, according to Panda and other witnesses.

Panda said the movie she was watching had just started when someone opened the theater door, letting in a rush of smoke.

Panicked people then ran into the hallway, where the visibility was near zero, said Panda. People were running out from other theaters as well, she said.

No flames were visible, she said, adding that there was a pervasive burning smell.

From the theaters, people ran down one working escalator to the exits and assembled outside amid announcements over the public address system urging them to stay calm, she said. Fire trucks arrived about 20 minutes later and onlookers could see smoke inside the building.

"From the outside it looked like fog," she said, adding that there was a lot of activity but no sign that the fire was burning out of control.

One of the towers is occupied by Petronas, Malaysia's national oil company, and also has the office of former Prime Minister Mahahtir Mohamad, now a Petronas adviser. The other tower has offices of various government and private organizations including multinational companies.

Rosa Park, Civil Rights Heroine Died

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 09:47:43 GMT

Civil Rights Pioneer Rosa Parks Dies at 92

" I am leaving this legacy to all of you . . . to bring peace, justice, equality, love, and a fullfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die-the dream of freedom and peace". -Rosa Parks

By BREE FOWLER, Associated Press Writer

Nearly 50 years ago, Rosa Parks made a simple decision that sparked a revolution. When a white man demanded she give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus, the then 42-year-old seamstress said no.

At the time, she couldn't have known it would secure her a revered place in American history. But her one small act of defiance galvanized a generation of activists, including a young Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and earned her the title "mother of the civil rights movement."

Mrs. Parks died Monday evening at her home of natural causes, with close friends by her side, said Gregory Reed, an attorney who represented her for the past 15 years. She was 92.

Monique Reynolds, 37, a native of Montgomery, Ala., called Mrs. Parks an inspiration who had lived to see the changes brought about by the civil rights movement.

"Martin Luther King never saw this, Malcolm X never saw this," said Reynolds, who now lives in Detroit. "She was able to see this and enjoy it."

In 1955, Jim Crow laws in place since the post-Civil War Reconstruction required separation of the races in buses, restaurants and public accommodations throughout the South, while legally sanctioned racial discrimination kept blacks out of many jobs and neighborhoods in the North.

Mrs. Parks, an active member of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was riding on a city bus Dec. 1, 1955, when a white man demanded her seat.

She refused, despite rules requiring blacks to yield their seats to whites. Two black Montgomery women had been arrested earlier that year on the same charge, but Mrs. Parks was jailed. She also was fined $14.

U.S. Rep John Conyers, in whose office Mrs. Parks worked for more than 20 years, remembered the civil rights leader as someone whose impact on the world was immeasurable, but who never sought the limelight.

"Everybody wanted to explain Rosa Parks and wanted to teach Rosa Parks, but Rosa Parks wasn't very interested in that," he said. "She wanted them to understand the government and to understand their rights and the Constitution that people are still trying to perfect today."

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said he felt a personal tie to the civil rights icon: "She stood up by sitting down. I'm only standing here because of her."

Speaking in 1992, Mrs. Parks said history too often maintains "that my feet were hurting and I didn't know why I refused to stand up when they told me. But the real reason of my not standing up was I felt that I had a right to be treated as any other passenger. We had endured that kind of treatment for too long."

Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system organized by a then little-known Baptist minister, the Rev. King, who later earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.

"At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this," she said 30 years later. "It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in."

The Montgomery bus boycott, which came one year after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark declaration that separate schools for blacks and whites were "inherently unequal," marked the start of the modern civil rights movement.

The movement culminated in the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act, which banned racial discrimination in public accommodations.

After taking her public stand for civil rights, Mrs. Parks had trouble finding work in Alabama. Amid threats and harassment, she and her husband, Raymond, moved to Detroit in 1957. She worked as an aide in Conyers' Detroit office from 1965 until retiring Sept. 30, 1988. Raymond Parks died in 1977.

Mrs. Parks said upon retiring from her job with Conyers that she wanted to devote more time to the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. The institute, incorporated in 1987, is devoted to developing leadership among Detroit's young people and initiating them into the struggle for civil rights.

"Rosa Parks: My Story," was published in February 1992. In 1994 she brought out "Quiet Strength: The Faith, the Hope and the Heart of a Woman Who Changed a Nation," and in 1996 a collection of letters called "Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue With Today's Youth."

She was among the civil rights leaders who addressed the Million Man March in October 1995.

In 1996, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to civilians making outstanding contributions to American life. In 1999, she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Mrs. Parks received dozens of other awards, ranging from induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor to an NAACP Image Award for her 1999 appearance on CBS' "Touched by an Angel."

She was born Rosa Louise McCauley on Feb. 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Ala. Family illness interrupted her high school education, but after she married Raymond Parks in 1932, he encouraged her and she earned a diploma in 1934. He also inspired her to become involved in the NAACP.

Mrs. Parks was a beloved aunt to 13 nieces and nephews.

"She wasn't the mother of the civil rights movement to me," Susan McCauley, one of her nieces, said last year. "She was the woman I wanted to become."

Her later years were not without difficult moments. In 1994, her home was invaded by a 28-year-old man who beat her and took $53. She was treated at a hospital and released. The man, Joseph Skipper, pleaded guilty, blaming the crime on his drug problem.

Mrs. Parks rarely was seen in public after 2001, when she canceled a meeting with President Bush. In court papers filed in September 2004 in connection with her lawsuit over the rap group OutKast's song "Rosa Parks," her lawyers said she had dementia.

After losing the OutKast lawsuit, Reed, her attorney, said Mrs. Parks "has once again suffered the pains of exploitation." A later suit against OutKast's record company was settled out of court.

In 2002, her landlord threatened to evict her from her high-rise apartment in downtown Detroit after her caregivers missed rental payments. Riverfront Associates decided in October 2004 to let her live there rent-free permanently.

Looking back in 1988, Mrs. Parks said she worried that black young people took legal equality for granted.

Older blacks, she said "have tried to shield young people from what we have suffered. And in so doing, we seem to have a more complacent attitude.

"We must double and redouble our efforts to try to say to our youth, to try to give them an inspiration, an incentive and the will to study our heritage and to know what it means to be black in America today."

At a celebration in her honor that same year, she said: "I am leaving this legacy to all of you ... to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die — the dream of freedom and peace."

___

Associated Press Writer JoAnne Viviano contributed to this report from Detroit.

Full Coverage: Rosa Parks

News Stories

Rosa Parks, 92, Founding Symbol of Civil Rights Movement, Dies at The New York Times (reg. req'd), Oct 25
Rosa Parks, civil rights heroine, is dead at Detroit Free Press, Oct 25
Parks' quiet courage helped change the world at Montgomery Advertiser, Oct 25
Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks dies at Detroit News, Oct 25

Feature Articles

Comments After the Death of Rosa Parks AP via Yahoo! News, Oct 25
A Bus Ride Jolted Nation's Conscience at The Washington Post (reg. req'd), Oct 25

Courtesy of Yahoo! News

In Loving Memory 1940-2005

Fri, 21 Oct 2005 15:02:01 GMT

The skies were overcast, almost a reflection of the sombre mood of the people who came to pay their last respect to the late (allahyarhamah) Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood. Everywhere nationwide rains keep pouring heavily like mourn and sorrow of everyone who was deeply touched with her last goodbye. It’s almost 40 hours since The First Lady of Malaysia passed away peacefully with husband, the Prime Minister himself together with all family members by her side.

Even during her last hours, Datin Paduka Seri Endon's thoughts were of the people and her family. “Take care of everybody and the family,” she advised her husband Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and family members gathered round her bedside.

Who would expect this strong lady to leave us so soon? We all can see our self that the First Lady was very strong fighting the grave-illness and she always smiles and she was by the Prime Minister’s side most of the time and they both can be seen holding hands firmly all the time when they were together. I don’t think we can see George W. Bush and Laura and Tony Blair and Cherrie were holding each others’ hand all the time. The couple were happily married for over 40 years. These days we hardly see anyone that could have such strong partnership and bond not more than few years. Divorce are too common and becoming a norm in our eastern tradition. Prime Minister has proven that true love does last until the last breath of his wife.

It was after midnight in Los Angeles but when Endon picked up Jane Ritikos, a reporter’s call and they talked for almost an hour.

Before their conversation ended, Endon, who was undergoing follow-up treatment for breast cancer, suggested meet with Jane when she returned. “So you will understand and know me better,” she said.

She had known that many people thought she was unapproachable.

A day before Abdullah’s swearing-in as Prime Minister, Jane’s colleague and herself went to see Endon at the Deputy Prime Minister’s residence in Putrajaya.

She opened the door herself, immaculately attired in a cheongsam-style dress.

It was the fasting month but she, a charming host, served them Milo.

She was soft-spoken, even saying “tak apa, tak apa,” (never mind, never mind) when Jane’s colleague turned up late. He had been held up by the strict security check at the guardhouse.

She struck Jane as a private yet warm person. She was candid when talking about gossip about her health, her husband and her relationship with other people.

Endon, who asked people to call her simply Kak Endon (elder sister Endon), was one of a pair of twin daughters born to businessman Datuk Mahmood Ambak and Datin Mariam Abdullah on Dec 24, 1940.

She had nine other siblings and she received her early education at St Mary’s Secondary Girl’s School in Kuala Lumpur.

Endon worked as a stenographer at the Public Services Department (then known as the Federal Establishment Office) and later retiring in 1965 to be a stay-at-home mother to her children Nori and Kamaluddin.

She met Abdullah “across the table”; they worked in the same office. Theirs was an office romance and in those days she only dressed in kebaya or batik at the insistence of her strict father.

On their first date, Abdullah drove Endon in his Mini to a Quran recital. It was when he translated the Quran to her that she knew he was the one she would marry.

Her strict upbringing had made her a quiet person and she contrasted herself to her late twin, Noraini (who also died of breast cancer), who was more of an extrovert.

“They called my twin ‘Sunshine’ and me ‘Moon-glow’,” she said.

In the office, she did not talk to many people and was nicknamed “The Iceberg”.

“He (Abdullah) was always talking to people while I was very private, hardly talking to anyone. The rest of the officers used to ask him: 'How did you manage to talk to The Iceberg, we couldn’t get through her',” she had said.

But when she talked about her passion, her family, her husband and her friends, I could see her twin in her.

She took pride in her beautiful home, which she had painstakingly decorated with items she had collected over 20 years, and took time to show each one.

Her home reflected Endon herself and her appreciation of things beautiful. Instead of paying high prices at art galleries, she had bought many items in flea markets around the world for a song. She had then polished and framed them, turning them into beautiful expensive-looking items.

Endon said she liked being with good friends and family. At home, she played soothing music and practised qi gong. These and eating healthy food were part of her strategy to cope with her illness.

She had undergone a radical mastectomy on April 17, 2002.

Never one to complain, Endon, 64, never gave up fighting since she was diagnosed with the illness about three years ago.

She said she had never given up hope and was determined to fight the illness. She certainly fought the battle well.

“My children will never see a tear from me,” she had said of her determination to overcome cancer. “I have to be strong. I have to be strong for my husband, too.”

Endon loved to be with close friends and they used to hold dance sessions regularly.

“You must have good friends,” she said.

And she could also sing. Many people who heard her sing at charity events were struck by her superb voice.

She had planned to do more to help causes that she was passionate about, like promoting the Kebaya, Batik and Songket and reviving the Mak Yong and Wayang Kulit.

“I want to do all I can, with my limitations,” she had said, adding that she hoped people would understand that she could not turn up for every event with her husband. Her doctors had advised her not to be in a crowd.

After she was diagnosed with the disease, she went public about her cancer and undertook many projects to help breast cancer patients, believing that they should be motivated to feel good about themselves.

She must have been disappointed when she wasn't able to show up for the “Walk With Pride” charity event in aid of cancer co-organised by Penyayang (a charity organization which she was the appointed chairman) and attended by Cherie Blair, wife of the British Prime Minister, on July 31. By then, she was under treatment again.

Endon called herself her husband’s number one fan, but it is evident that the feeling is mutual.

The couple’s deep affection and love for one another is well known.

For example, during the interview at her residence, Abdullah came home briefly at about 5pm. I noticed the huge smile on her face when he called out “Yoohoo” to her. He then gave her a hug and a peck on the cheek.

As he left, she said this was their ritual when they met, whether it was after a day in the office or when she returned from her treatment overseas.

She said she would always check what Abdullah was wearing before he left the house for functions, as she felt that the way a politician dressed would reflect on the wife.

It had always been customary, almost a ritual, for Endon to help Pak Lah dress for the party's most important event each year.

Clearing his throat, the Prime Minister paused as he looked for an appropriate word to describe his wife.

Then, he broke into a smile, pleased with himself for the quick mental search.

“The word is stoic. It must be the Japanese blood in her. She told me that she was ready to undergo chemotherapy despite the difficulties and discomfort ahead,” the Prime Minister told his listeners.

The family was told by her doctors at the St John's Medical Centre in Los Angeles that she had to undergo radiation and physiotherapy, which was crucial after the surgery.

She had undergone a radical mastectomy on April 17, 2002.

Never one to complain, Endon, 64, never gave up fighting since she was diagnosed with the illness about three years ago.

She said she had never given up hope and was determined to fight the illness. She certainly fought the battle well.

On Oct 2, she returned home hoping to celebrate Hari Raya (Eid ul-Fitr) with her family and the people but was admitted to Putrajaya Hospital for observation as she was physically weak following the chemotherapy and long flight from the United States.

Yesterday morning, Endon passed away, with Abdullah, her two children, Kamaluddin and Nori, and family members by her side at Seri Perdana, the official residence of the Prime Minister.

After 15 days at the hospital, Endon had been brought home on Tuesday to enable her family members and close friends to be with her.

Her sister Rahmah Mahmood said Endon demonstrated her caring attitude until she breathed her last, constantly reminding Pak Lah and her sisters to look after the family.

“With Endon, it was never about herself but her family and the people. Her life had always been about being concerned for the welfare of others, even until her last breath.

“In the final moments, she kept asking about family members, always showing her care and love. Her last reminder to us was to take care of everybody. I promised her that I will do it myself,” she said.

Fighting to control her tears yesterday morning, Rahmah described Endon as her sister, best friend and a mother and said she had lost someone very dear in the family.

She was very meaningful to others through the years. Although she was only the First Lady for less than two years, as the Prime Minister was appointed after the retirement of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on 31st October 2003, she has done many great charitable jobs. She had participated and contributed many charitable activities for the unfortunate especially unwell and ill children everywhere. She was also a big supporter to art and crafts work. She promote local traditional heritage to foreigners in everyway possible. Without her, batik, songket and other traditional heritage would disappear through time.

A great person with fine and dear personalities and touched many hearts. She was very low profile and sweet. Although many would think she is just one arrogant rich lady but she is actually very nice, polite and calm to everyone else, even to strangers. She has fought well yet God loves her more than anyone else including her own sweet husband, the Prime Minister himself.

Farewell Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood. May Allah bless you and place you together with the soleha.

Al-Fatihah and condolences

Thu, 20 Oct 2005 09:57:40 GMT

Nation

Thursday October 20, 2005

PM's wife dies after bout with breast cancer

From The Star Newsdesk

Click here for photo gallery

PUTRAJAYA: The Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Endon Mahmood died at 7.55 am today at the Prime Minister's official residence here after fighting a long battle with cancer.

Endon, 64, breathed her last about 18 days after returning from treatment for breast cancer in Los Angeles, United States.

She is survived by two children.

Thousands of Malaysians started paying their last respects at Seri Perdana, the prime minister's official residence, from 11am.

VIPs and foreign dignitaries started to pay their last respects at at 9.30 am.

Among the earliest to arrive were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar.

Endon's remains will be brought to the Putrajaya Mosque for funeral prayers during Asar, before being laid to rest at the Muslim burial grounds at Precinct 20, Putrajaya.

Abdullah and his son Kamaluddin,daughter Nori, daughter and son-in-laws, Azrene Abdullah and Khairy Jamaluddin respectively, the premier's four grandchildren who are Kamaluddin's children, were by Endon's side before she breathed her last.

Endon's mother Datin Mariam Abdullah was also present.

As a mark of respect, several Cabinet Ministers including Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Information Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir cancelled all their official functions.

Among others, the official launch of the national jersey for the SEA Games, scheduled to be officiated by the deputy premier, was called off.

News of Endon's sudden death at the break of dawn shocked the nation, with Malaysians from all walks of life mourning the loss of the premier's wife.

Reflecting the atmosphere of grief and sorrow, the weather in the Klang Valley also greeted the day with gloom.

Radio and television stations switched to low gear by broadcasting songs which depicted the sombre mood and verses from the holy Quran.

Muslim radio deejays also called on listeners to offer the Al-Fatihah verse to Endon.

Senior government officers, including secretaries general and directors general, based in Putrajaya also rushed to Seri Perdana to pay their last respects.

Members of the public started converging on Seri Perdana ahead of visiting hours at 11 am.

Also present were Minister of Agriculture and AgroBased Industry Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, Minister of Higher Education Datuk Dr Mohd Shafie Salleh and former Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Musa Hitam.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor were seen arriving at Seri Perdana at about 10.30 am.

Shortly after, the Prime Minister, who appeared in blue Malay traditional dress, was seen receiving visitors who came to pay their last respects at the premier's official residence.

Abdullah, who appeared composed at first, could not hold back his tears when several visitors expressed their heartfelt condolences by lending their shoulders to the bereaved premier.

He was later seen conversing with Najib and Syed Hamid.

According to one of his aides, Abdullah who was by his wife's side, appeared calm when Endon breathed her last.

Immediately, the premier began making preparations for her burial.

At the Parliament building, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib announced Endon's death at the start of today's sitting at 10 am before adjourning the meeting to Monday.

Here are some immediate reactions:

MIC President Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu
The demise of Datin Seri Endon Mahmood is a great loss to the Prime Minister and all Malaysians and we are saddened by her death. She is a very fine lady, very polished, polite and pleasant, and always had a soft heart for the poor.

She had on several occasions organised and raised funds for the poor. As chairman of Bakti, she has led the organisation well by providing foodstuff for the needy and poor.

In all my conversations with her she has demonstrated her kindness and respectfulness.

Backbenchers Club Chairman Datuk Shahrir Samad
She was the pillar of support for the Prime Minister. It must have been a huge impact on him.

We, MPs, are very saddened by her death.

PAS secretary - general Kamaruddin Jaffar
We hope the Prime Minister and his family will take her passing as a fate from God. On behalf of PAS, I extend my condelonces to them.

PAS youth chief Salahuddin Ayub
On behalf of the leadership and members of PAS Youth central committee, I would like to extend my condolences to the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the passing of his wife.

We believe her passing is a great loss to the country and we pray that Abdullah and his family will be strong and patient in facing this test.

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang
It has come as a shock because we believed she was recovering. In the short period as First Lady, she has managed to establish a fond place in the hearts of Malaysians because of her kindness, humility, consideration and courage fighting the killer disease.

She did not give up without a battle and for encouraging other women who are suffering from breast cancer.

Former first lady Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali
I received the sad news early in the morning through the short messaging system (SMS). I felt so sad when I heard the news as I have known Allahyarham for a long time, as friend and also colleague in Bakti.

I am really saddened by her death and I regret the fact that I could not visit her while she was in the hospital.

Endon's death - which comes less than two months after she and Abdullah marked their 40th wedding anniversary - is the biggest personal blow to the Malaysian leader since he took office in October 2003 following the retirement of his predecessor, longtime leader Mahathir Mohamad, the AP meanwhile reported.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said Abdullah has accepted his wife's death, even though the family was surprised when Endon's condition worsened suddenly early Thursday.

"He was very calm, he is very religious, he has come to terms with it,'' Najib said.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai were among foreign dignitaries flying in for Endon's funeral later Thursday.

Thousands of people filed past Endon's body, which lay in state wrapped in white linen on a table while Muslim clerics recited verses from the Quran.

Abdullah, Malaysia's fifth prime minister since the country achieved independence from Britain in 1957, had been married to Endon since Sept. 4, 1965.

Abdullah has often called Endon his "No. 1 supporter.''

When his mother died of natural causes in February 2004, Abdullah telephoned Endon in the United States, where she was undergoing treatment.

She later told reporters that he said: "I've lost my mother and I don't want to lose you too.''

Endon was respected for her humble, unassuming personality.

She was popularly referred to as "Kak Endon,'' or "Elder Sister Endon.''

Abdullah and Endon often showed public displays of affection, including hugs and kisses on each other's cheeks.

Endon discovered she had cancer in 2002 after her twin sister, Noraini, was earlier diagnosed with the disease. Noraini died in 2003.

Endon had a breast removed and traveled to the United States regularly for treatment.

She returned to Malaysia from Los Angeles on Oct. 1 after five rounds of chemotherapy since July.

Agus Yusuff, a political scientist at the National University of Malaysia, expressed confidence that Abdullah would "not let his personal loss affect his responsibilities.''

"He has been mentally prepared for Endon's death for some time,'' Agus said.

"He will bounce back and carry out his work as prime minister with his usual zest.''

Endon met Abdullah while both were working at the Public Services Department in the 1960s. Since retiring in 1976, she has mainly been involved in charity work, and has spearheaded efforts to assist children in North Korea, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo.

Endon has insisted she was never passionate about politics, and that she had to "slowly accept it'' when Abdullah became much busier after he was elected a member of Parliament in 1978.

"I must be supportive and understanding of his duties,'' Endon told The Star in a 2003 interview.

"I always compliment him. He will always phone when he is away and we always tell each other we love each other.''

Endon had been deeply involved in awareness programs for breast cancer, the main cause of illness-related fatalities for Malaysian women.

She has said she refused to feel sorry for herself, and felt fortunate she could obtain the best medical treatment.