Boy scout saves president's life [Maldives]

news.com.au ^ | 8th January 2008 | Mel Gunasekera

[naturalman1975]

A QUICK-thinking boy scout has thwarted an assassination bid against the president of the Maldives.

Officials said Mohamed Murshid, 20, tried to plunge a knife into President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's stomach, but Asia's longest serving president was unhurt thanks to Mahamed Jaisham, 15, who wrestled with the attacker before he was detained.

[Socratic]

“...physically strong, mentally alert and morally straight.”

[naturalman1975]

Of interest?

[Tax-chick]

Boy Scouts ping!

[Tax-chick]

I’m sure it will be ... although the Maldives is a dreadfully oppressive place, it’s still good to prevent assassinations.

[naturalman1975]

Oh yes - it’s not the boy’s choice where he was born.

He did what a Scout should do.

[jnygrl]

I’m just thinking how incredibly weak, both physically and morally, that twenty year-old man is to be overcome by a fifteen year-old. Bravo to the Scout!

[NavVet]

Mitt Romney quickly issued a press release criticizing the Boy Scouts of the Maldives for not allowing openly homosexual men to be Scout Masters.

(Well, that’s what he did in Mass. anyway.)

[SandRat]

Scout are always ready to help.

[Greg F]

I’m just thinking how incredibly weak, both physically and morally, that twenty year-old man is to be overcome by a fifteen year-old. Bravo to the Scout!
__________________________

Remember that when one of your boys is 15 years old and can do one armed pushups after running 5 miles! Teenage boys are pretty tough even if they look scrawny.

[MacDorcha]

That’ll look good on his badge sash.

[marktwain]

“I’m just thinking how incredibly weak, both physically and morally, that twenty year-old man is to be overcome by a fifteen year-old. Bravo to the Scout!”

The Scout doesn’t have to be physically stronger. Just strong enough to slow the attack until help arrives, which was probably in seconds. Grab the knife hand with both his, hold on for a couple of seconds.

[hellbender]

Here's the motive for the attempted assassination:

[President] Gayoom, who has ruled the islands since 1978, responded to the bombing by ordering a tough crackdown on what he considers to be Islamic extremism. The measures include bans on women wearing the full veil and foreign preachers, as well as unlicensed Muslim prayer groups.

[Scoutmaster]

Support Scouting worldwide! Give to the World Scout Foundation.

A Scout's uniform in Maldives.

Here's The Scout Association of Maldives' Scout Oath:

On my honour I promise that I will do my best, to do my duty to God and my country, to help other people at all times and to obey the Scout Law.

And the Maldives' Scout Law:

• A Scout's honour is to be trusted

• A Scout is loyal

• A Scout's duty is to be useful and to help others

• A Scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other Scout

• A Scout is courteous

• A Scout is a friend to animals

• A Scout obeys orders of his parents, patrol leaders or Scoutmaster without question

• A Scout smiles and whistles under all difficulties

• A Scout is thrifty

• A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed

Tax-chick: I have a Maldives patch from the 2007 World Scout Jamboree. When/if I put my hands on it, I'll send it to you for your upcoming Blue & Gold banquet. If given after telling this story, it could be a nice award for one of your and Mr. Tax-chick's Scouts who has excelled during the year.

[bert]

Scout oath.... Mentally awake

[Tax-chick]

I think it would be really need to have a “saved the President” patch for one of the boys!

I love seeing the Scout Oath from different countries. My favorite part of this one is “smiles and whistles under all difficulties”!

[RonF]

Oath and Law of Scouting in the Maldives:

Scout Oath:

On my honour I promise that I will do my best, to do my duty to God and my country, to help other people at all times and to obey the Scout Law.

Scout Law:

A Scout’s honour is to be trusted
A Scout is loyal
A Scout’s duty is to be useful and to help others
A Scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other Scout
A Scout is courteous
A Scout is a friend to animals
A Scout obeys orders of his parents, patrol leaders or Scoutmaster without question
A Scout smiles and whistles under all difficulties
A Scout is thrifty
A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed

[RonF]

Those phrases are not part of the Scout Oath in the Maldives, nor in the Scout Oath of most countries.

And in the BSA, it’s “mentally awake”, not “mentally alert”.

[Scoutmaster]

"I love seeing the Scout Oath from different countries."

According to the World Organization of the Scout Movement:

"For an Scouting organization to be a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, the members must have a Scout Promise and Scout Law that reflect THREE THINGS "in language appropriate to the culture and civilization of each National Scout Organization and approved by the World Organization."

• Duty to God

• Duty to others

• Duty to self

As for smiling and whistling, they were Point 8 of Baden-Powell's original Scout Law. From Scouting for Boys, 1908 edition:

"A SCOUT SMILES AND WHISTLES under all circumstances. When he gets an order he should obey it cheerily and readily, not in a slow, hang-dog sort of way. Scouts never grouse at hardships, nor whine at each other, nor swear when put out. When you just miss a train, or some one treads on your favourite corn---not that a scout ought to have such things as corns--- or under any annoying circumstances, you should force yourself to smile at once, and then whistle a tune, and you will be all right. A scout goes about with a smile on and whistling. It cheers him and cheers other people, especially in time of danger, for he keeps it up then all the same. The punishment for swearing or bad language is for each offence a mug of cold water to be poured down the offender's sleeve by the other scouts."

WOSM still has smiling and whistling under all difficulties as one of the ten suggested points of an organization's Scout Law.

One of the most moving events at the Sunrise Ceremony to celebrate the Centenary of Scouting at the 2007 World Scout Jamboree was when the Chief Scout of the U.K. asked all 43,000 Scouts and Scouters from 160+ countries to stand, to give his or her organization's Scout sign, and to simultaneously say the Scout Oath of his or her country, using the native language. While you were saying your Oath and pledging yourself to another century of Scouting, you could hear dozens of other Scout Oaths and languages, and sense thousands of other Scouts around you rededicating themselves to Scouting.

"I think it would be really need to have a “saved the President” patch for one of the boys!"

Great. I'll look for it and any other International Scouting goodies that may serve as awards or door prizes.

[Tax-chick]

Very interesting. I think we have a reprint of the original Scout Handbook around here (Der Prinz really digs Lord Baden-Powell :-), but I haven't read it.

When he gets an order he should obey it cheerily and readily, not in a slow, hang-dog sort of way. Scouts never grouse at hardships, nor whine at each other, nor swear when put out.

Huh. We need to work harder on this with our batch of Scouts - maybe I'll make a poster!