English: I first met Oscar when he entered front-line politics in Newport as the Newport city councillor for the Victoria ward, quite some years ago now. At that time, he really blazed a trail as a Muslim councillor, and, thankfully, since then, other members of the community have followed his example. I have no doubt that his presence, his visibility on the authority were instrumental in those other members of the local ethnic minority communities' understanding that they too could represent Newport on the city council. It encouraged them to get involved in front-line politics in different parties, and it's so good to see the diversity of representation that we have on Newport City Council today. I know many of them would recognise the debt of gratitude that they owe to Oscar in those terms. Of course, as an Assembly Member and a Member of the Senedd, Oscar again showed members of our ethnic minority communities in Wales that they could aspire to representation and representative politics in our Assembly at that level, in our Parliament, as it now is. Whenever I saw Oscar at local events in Newport, he would raise issues of importance to our diverse communities. He was very consistent in that. Obviously, he was interested in lots of other matters as well, but he was always conscious of his role as understanding those communities, his continuing relationship and links with them, and the responsibility in particular that it gave him to understand those matters and to raise them whenever possible and appropriate. He never shied away from that responsibility. But he was also very keen on international links, not just with Pakistan, but worldwide. He would often discuss with me how we forged those links locally as well as at a Wales level. When I had an involvement with the Assembly branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Oscar was always keen to understand the business that we were involved in at any particular time, and to put forward ideas as to how we could widen the role that we were playing and the links that we were forging, and the international aspects of Wales and the Assembly in general. But in terms of lobbying conversations with Oscar, as others have mentioned, I well remember his passion for cricket, because when I was Minister for sport I was incessantly lobbied by Oscar about Wales having its own cricket side, and all the advantages that that would bring, and when I pointed out some of the potential difficulties, he wasn't really alive to those at all - he was so passionate about cricket and Wales forging a more distinctive identity. In fact, Oscar played for our Assembly cricket team, because we did play a few matches over the years, and we played one, in fact, at Sophia Gardens, and Oscar took part. I think he bowled leg spin, as I recall, and he was certainly a keen bowler, and he was keen to regale me of his cricketing exploits in younger years, when his abilities were even greater than they were on that occasion at Sophia Gardens. So, I think, again, as others have said, we remember Oscar as a real character. He was a Labour Party member at one stage. He went to other political parties. In some ways he perhaps was bigger than membership of any political family. He was a real character, but I know that, in whatever party Oscar was at a particular time, he was very, very proud as a front-line political representative, both on Newport City Council and in the Assembly and then Senedd. Our thoughts are very much with his family on this very sad day.
Welsh: Cyfarfûm ag Oscar gyntaf pan ymunodd â gwleidyddiaeth rheng flaen yng Nghasnewydd yn gynghorydd dinas Casnewydd ar gyfer ward Victoria, gryn flynyddoedd yn ôl bellach. Bryd hynny, roedd mewn gwirionedd yn braenaru'r tir fel cynghorydd Mwslimaidd, a, diolch byth, ers hynny, mae aelodau eraill o'r gymuned wedi dilyn ei esiampl. Nid oes gennyf amheuaeth nad oedd ei bresenoldeb, ei amlygrwydd ar yr awdurdod yn allweddol yn nealltwriaeth yr aelodau eraill hynny o'r cymunedau lleiafrifoedd ethnig lleol y gallen nhw hefyd gynrychioli Casnewydd ar gyngor y ddinas. Roedd yn anogaeth iddyn nhw gymryd rhan mewn gwleidyddiaeth rheng flaen mewn gwahanol bleidiau, a hyfrydwch yw gweld y gynrychiolaeth amrywiol sydd gennym ni ar Gyngor Dinas Casnewydd heddiw. Gwn y byddai llawer ohonyn nhw yn cydnabod pa mor ddyledus y maen nhw i Oscar yn hynny o beth. Wrth gwrs, fel Aelod Cynulliad ac aelod o'r Senedd, unwaith eto, dangosodd Oscar i aelodau o'n cymunedau lleiafrifol ethnig yng Nghymru y gallent ymgyrraedd at gynrychiolaeth a gwleidyddiaeth gynrychioliadol yn ein Cynulliad ar y lefel honno, yn ein Senedd ni, fel y mae yn awr. Pryd bynnag y gwelais Oscar mewn digwyddiadau lleol yng Nghasnewydd, byddai'n codi materion o bwys i'n cymunedau amrywiol. Roedd yn gyson iawn yn hynny. Yn amlwg, roedd ganddo ddiddordeb mewn llawer o faterion eraill hefyd, ond roedd bob amser yn ymwybodol o'i swyddogaeth o ran deall y cymunedau hynny, ei berthynas barhaus a'i gysylltiadau â nhw, a'r cyfrifoldeb yn benodol a roddai hynny iddo i ddeall y materion hynny ac i'w codi pryd bynnag y bo hynny'n bosib ac yn briodol. Ni wnaeth erioed osgoi'r cyfrifoldeb hwnnw. Ond roedd hefyd yn frwd iawn dros gysylltiadau rhyngwladol, nid yn unig gyda Phacistan, ond ledled y byd. Byddai'n aml yn trafod gyda mi sut yr ydym wedi meithrin y cysylltiadau hynny'n lleol yn ogystal ag ar lefel Cymru. Pan oeddwn yn ymwneud â changen y Cynulliad o Gymdeithas Seneddol y Gymanwlad, roedd Oscar bob amser yn awyddus i ddeall y materion yr oeddem yn ymwneud â nhw ar unrhyw adeg benodol, ac i gyflwyno syniadau ynghylch sut y gallem ni ehangu ein swyddogaeth a'r cysylltiadau yr oeddem yn eu creu, a'r agweddau rhyngwladol ar Gymru a'r Cynulliad yn gyffredinol. Ond o ran sgyrsiau lobïo gydag Oscar, fel y mae eraill wedi sôn, cofiaf yn dda am ei angerdd dros griced, oherwydd pan oeddwn yn Weinidog chwaraeon cefais fy lobïo'n ddi-baid gan Oscar ynglŷn â Chymru'n cael ei thîm criced ei hun, a'r holl fanteision a fyddai'n deillio o hynny, a phan nodais rai o'r anawsterau posib, ni roddodd fawr o goel ar y rheini o gwbl - roedd mor angerddol ynghylch criced a Chymru'n creu hunaniaeth fwy nodedig. Yn wir, chwaraeodd Oscar ar ran ein tîm criced yn y Cynulliad, oherwydd cawsom ychydig o gemau dros y blynyddoedd, a buom yn chwarae un, mewn gwirionedd, yng Ngerddi Soffia, a chymerodd Oscar ran. Rwy'n credu ei fod yn droellfowliwr llaw dde, fel y cofiaf, ac roedd yn sicr yn fowliwr brwd, ac roedd yn awyddus i fy ngoleuo am gampau criced ei ieuenctid, pan oedd ei alluoedd hyd yn oed yn fwy nag yr oeddent ar yr achlysur hwnnw yng Ngerddi Soffia. Felly, rwy'n credu, unwaith eto, fel y mae eraill wedi'i ddweud, rydym yn cofio Oscar fel cymeriad go iawn. Roedd yn aelod o'r Blaid Lafur ar un adeg. Aeth i bleidiau gwleidyddol eraill. Mewn rhai ffyrdd efallai ei fod yn fwy nag aelodaeth o unrhyw deulu gwleidyddol. Roedd yn gymeriad go iawn, ond gwn, ym mha blaid bynnag yr oedd Oscar ar adeg benodol, ei fod yn falch iawn, iawn fel cynrychiolydd gwleidyddol rheng flaen, ar Gyngor Dinas Casnewydd ac yn y Cynulliad ac yna yn y Senedd. Rydym yn cofio am ei deulu yn anad dim ar y diwrnod trist iawn hwn.