Malaysia marks 50 years as nation

Thousands of people have been attending huge celebrations in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, to mark 50 years of nationhood.

Dancers and drummers paraded through Merdeka Square, or Independence Square, to celebrate independence from Britain, which came on 31 August 1957.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi used an anniversary speech to urge people to unify as a nation.

“We must ensure that no region or community is left behind,” he said.

“We will hold true to the concept of justice and fairness for all citizens.”

The celebrations come at a time when debate is growing about what it means to be Malaysian in the ethnically diverse nation, correspondents say.

Military on parade

Some 60,000 people gathered on Thursday evening to watch scenes of the nation’s last 50 years projected on to the capital’s skyscrapers.

Royal Malaysian Air Force MiG-29 fighters fly in formation over the historic Merdeka Square
Malaysia’s air force joined the celebrations

Fireworks lit up the sky and the national flag was raised to mark the end of British colonial rule on the Malay peninsula.

Friday’s celebrations featured a fly-past by the Royal Malaysian Air Force, as well as displays from the police cavalry and tracker dog units.

Several foreign dignitaries attended the celebrations, including Britain’s Prince Andrew. Prime ministers from Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia were all present.

Dramatic changes

The BBC’s Asia correspondent, Andrew Harding, says Malaysia has changed dramatically since 1957.

Political stability and years of ambitious development have transformed the economy.

There are concerns that Malaysia’s authoritarian brand of democracy is being challenged by an increasingly conservative form of Islam, with Sharia courts overriding the country’s secular constitution, he says.

But the general mood in Malaysia seems to be one of optimism as this nation reflects on half-a-century of upheavals and progress, our correspondent adds.

Storms’ effects weigh on Midwest

It could take electric utilities days to restore power to all customers left in the dark by this week’s storms, officials said.
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A large tree lies across a small car in Chicago, Illinois, after strong storms and heavy rain.

Power was restored by Saturday morning to more than half a million customers in Illinois, but about 120,000 ComEd customers in northern Illinois remained without electricity, said ComEd spokesman Joe Trost.

The storms in Illinois were responsible for at least one death, a man struck by a wind-toppled tree, officials said. In addition, an autopsy was planned on a man found lying in more than 2 feet of water in his basement in suburban Inverness.

Powerful storms rolling through the Upper Midwest over most of the past week caused disastrous floods from southeastern Minnesota to Ohio that were blamed for at least 17 other deaths. Video Watch cats being rescued in Ohio »

Rain had mostly stopped falling Saturday in northern Illinois as a line of storms moved eastward and southward, but flooding was still a danger for hundreds of thousands of people who live near swollen creeks and rivers.

“There’s still a chance of rainfall, but we’re not expecting as much and the potential for flash flooding is going away,” said Casey Sullivan, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The flood alert level for northern Lake County was raised to red, the highest, as the Fox River approached 50-year levels, with flooding possible this weekend when water from rain-drenched Wisconsin arrives

In Dyer, Indiana, southeast of Chicago, Illinois, authorities evacuated St. Margaret Mercy Hospital as water seeped into the building from a nearby creek. About 70 patients were being moved out, spokeswoman Maria Ramos said.

Police and firefighters went door to door in Dyer telling people to leave.

In southern Michigan, more than 100,000 customers were without power Saturday, utilities said. Powerful storms a day earlier spawned at least one tornado that destroyed several homes and barns in Fenton, and minor injuries were reported.

Three to five tornadoes may have hit southeastern Michigan, the weather service said. The region also had flooded highways and fallen power lines and trees.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator R. David Paulison surveyed damage Friday in Rushford, Minnesota, especially hard hit by this week’s flooding. Mayor Les Ladewig said about half of Rushford’s 760 homes were damaged, including 248 that were destroyed and 91 with serious damage.

About 1,500 homes were damaged around Minnesota. Paulison said FEMA recovery centers should be running early next week in the three counties where President Bush declared disasters Thursday.

Paulison also visited Wisconsin, where flooding destroyed 44 homes and damaged more than 1,400, most of them in the southwestern part of the state. Photo See images of flooding from all over »

In DeKalb, Illinois, 50 miles west of Chicago, the Kishwaukee River reached near-record levels, spilling over its 15-foot levees, flooding residential areas and blocking roads.

About 600 residents of DeKalb and nearby Sycamore were displaced, said DeKalb City Manager Mark Biernacki. Northern Illinois University’s flooded DeKalb campus was closed.
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Some flooding occurred in the area around Prospect Heights, six miles north of O’Hare International Airport west of Chicago.

“The river is so quiet for so many years,” Mark Bednarowicz, 57, said as he filled sandbags for his home. “For everybody it’s a shock it (flooding) happens. … Everybody’s scared.”