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Tuck into a serious bowl of noodles Posted: 05 Aug 2011 05:59 PM PDT The Shio ramen had all the right flavours... yum. KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 — It can get a little confusing deciding which ramen you want to have at the newly-opened Hokkaido Ramen Santouka in the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.  There is the Shio or salt flavour, Miso, Kara Miso (with chilli) and Shoyu ramen. I was recommended Shio, which turned out to be good.  We were at a preview of the offerings at this ramen shop, a day before it opened at the new Tokyo Street. It's an enclave of Japanese restaurants, cafes, crockery shop, bonsai shop, Japanese tea shop and even a Daiso, the RM5 shop.  The soup for my ramen is a milky white, and as in all the other soups, it has been made with pork bones, and simmered for 20 hours, with vegetables, kelp, dried fish and other ingredients added. For the Shio flavour, the topping is finely sliced leek, a pickled plum, wood ear fungus, bamboo shoot and the much prized one, a piece or two of Japanese cha shu or barbecued pork. I wish there is more, as the pork (from the back rib) has both lean and fat in a yummy ratio.  The slivered bamboo shoots were crunchy and sweet, the pickled plum had a kick. The soup is just warm, never hot, and it says in the menu it's suitable for everyone, including children and the elderly. I like it that the noodles are almost al dente, and in my second time there after a sneak preview the week before, the soup was perfect with its salt balance.  The gyoza was just perfect... crispy on the outside and full of flavour. You can have the ramen in small, regular and large sizes, and on this occasion I shared a large bowl with a friend, and the portion was just nice. We had a plate of gyoza, and these were superb, the almost paper-thin skin fried till crispy outside, and spilling out a delicate minced chicken filling.  At the preview last week, we also had its signature dish, the Tokusen Toroniku. This is roasted premium pork cheek, which was tender, moist and so scrumptious. It's not a cut of meat you would find easily in our markets, and this probably accounted for why it wasn't available the next time I was there. The delicious Tokusen Toroniku or roasted premium pork cheek. The Komi Tamago with its still runny egg yolk was perfect. We also tasted Komi Tamago or boiled flavoured egg. This was so smooth and had a half runny yolk which tasted great. There was the Caesar Salad, which had croutons, parmesan cheese and a half-boiled egg in it.  On the menu too is Tori Karaage, a well-fried, crispy chicken served with a slice of lemon and mayonnaise. This would appeal to the younger set. There are also set meals of ramen and fried rice combined, or ramen with grilled salmon and sushi, among others, from RM29 to RM35.  The ramen is priced at RM22.50 for small, RM25 for regular and RM29 for a large bowl.  Hokkaido Ramen Santouka has a certain pedigree, starting in Asahikawa in Hokkaido in 1988 with only nine seats and one item on its menu — the Shio Ramen. It grew so popular that it's now a franchise, with ramen shops all over Japan, the US, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore.  Hokkaido Ramen Santouka (Tel: 03-2143 8878) is located on the 6th floor of the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, in the midst of Tokyo Street, which has a huge red and glitzy signboard showing the way.  The luscious Kyoho grape ice-cream from Kindori. We looked for dessert after Hokkaido Ramen Santouka and found Kindori Japanese Ice-cream across the aisle.  You choose the blast frozen fruit you want in your ice-cream and it's blended for you. There are Kyoho grapes, strawberries, raspberries, kiwi fruit, among others. Mine was grape and the purplish ice-cream (RM8.90) was thick, creamy, lightly sweet, with the subtle flavour of grapes. I loved it. You can have more than one flavour in a cup.  We sat down at the En Ginza Café  where I had a cappuccino, with a Hello Kitty traced in chocolate powder on the milk foam. Hello Kitty on your cappucino... how whimsical. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

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India expects great things from Sehwag’s return Posted: 05 Aug 2011 06:33 AM PDT MUMBAI, Aug 5 — Former India players are united in their belief that Virender Sehwag's return from injury will stabilise the team's fragile batting order and lift morale in the remaining two tests against a dominant England. The dashing opener has been sidelined since undergoing shoulder surgery in May, keeping the 32-year-old out of the tour of the West Indies and India's first two tests against England. India, 2-0 down in the four-match series, had looked nothing like the world's number one-ranked team in the Lord's and Trent Bridge tests but that could change with the return of the explosive right-hander, according to Anshuman Gaekwad. "It is almost going to be like a new series. To have Sehwag (picture) and (Gautam) Gambhir back... It will give a lot of confidence to the team," the former India international and coach told Reuters. Sehwag's opening partner Gambhir injured his elbow while fielding at Lord's and missed the 319-run defeat at Trent Bridge but is likely to return to the starting lineup for the third test beginning on August 10 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The injuries to the top order forced India to tinker with the batting lineup, placing Rahul Dravid in a makeshift opener's role and Vangipurappu Laxman up the order at number three. "In a test match, it is of utmost necessity to have a good start. Their return will be a big relief for the captain and the team," emphasised the former India opener, who played 40 test matches from 1975-85. Sehwag has 22 hundreds in 87 test appearances but it his strike rate of almost 82 runs per 100 deliveries that make him one of the most intimidating batsmen in cricket. Former captain Ajit Wadekar said Sehwag's return would ease the pressure on India's "Big Three" — Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Laxman. "Sehwag coming back itself is enough to boost the morale of the team. We never had a solid opening partnership in the series," Wadekar, the former chief of national selectors, said by phone. "If our openers do their bit, batsmen down the order will start gaining in confidence." Sehwag's audacious strokeplay might be the ideal counter-attacking ploy the team needed to recover from the heavy defeats and avoid a two-clear test series defeat that would enable England to leapfrog India at the top of the rankings. "The opposition bowlers also get disheartened by Sehwag's presence," the 70-year-old Wadekar said. India will play a two-day tour game against Northamptonshire starting today and it will be Sehwag's only chance to acclimatise himself to the conditions before the third test starts on August 10. "I don't know how much practise he will get. He has been out for so long after the injury. Hope he acclimatises quickly with the conditions there," Wadekar, who led India to series victories in West Indies and England in 1971, said. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly also doubted whether Sehwag had enough time to get match fit. "It has to be seen whether the dynamic opener has had enough cricket or whether the Northants game is enough to get him ready for Birmingham," Ganguly wrote in a column which was published in the Hindustan Times yesterday. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

Arsenal face Udinese in Champions League qualifiers Posted: 05 Aug 2011 03:43 AM PDT NYON (Switzerland), Aug 5 — Bayern Munich, whose Allianz arena will stage this year's Champions League final, breathed a sigh of relief when they were drawn against modest FC Zurich in the final qualifying round today. Arsenal will face Serie A outfit Udinese, a draw which looks tough on paper but may not be so tricky in reality against a club who have sold their two most important players and will not have played a competitive match beforehand. Four-times European champions Bayern and Arsenal were spared the long trip to Russia to face Rubin Kazan, a task which fell to France's Olympique Lyon. Former European champions Benfica must play Twente Enschede and Spain's Villarreal were pitted against Odense of Denmark in the so-called "league" side of the draw, featuring non-champions from Europe's strongest domestic championships. "That is an achievable and interesting task," Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes told the Bavarian club's website (http://www.fcbayern.t-home.de). We have an excellent chance to qualify for the group stage. Avoiding Rubin meant we will not have any complicated travelling to do." Bayern were plunged into the qualifying stage when they could finish only third in the Bundesliga last season, a performance which cost Louis van Gaal his job as coach. Failing to qualify for the group stage would be unthinkable for Germany's biggest club, especially in a year when they are hosting the final. FC Zurich, who beat AC Milan 1-0 away in a group stage match two years ago, beat Standard Liege in the third qualifying round but have made a terrible start to the Swiss League, losing all three games so far. Udinese general manager Franco Collavini did not appear to hold much hope of preventing Arsenal reaching the group stage for the 15th consecutive season and said his team were concentrating on their Serie A debut on August 28. "It's a very difficult match against one of the most important clubs in Europe," said Collavini, whose club have sold winger Alexis Sanchez to Barcelona and midfielder Gokhan Inler to Napoli. "We are working to complete our squad for the end of August. It's important to have the opportunity to play a club like Arsenal." Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will not be in the dugout for the first leg after his outburst in their last-16 defeat by Barcelona last season resulted in a one-match ban. The first legs will be played on August 16/17 with the returns one week later. Of the sides to won their domestic championships FC Copenhagen, who last year reached the last 16, were drawn against Viktoria Plzen from the Czech Republic while former European Cup runners-up Malmo will play Croatia's Dinamo Zagreb, who last qualified in 1999/00. Five places are reserved for the champions from lower-ranked nations in the group stage. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

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Experts grow mouse sperm to help with human infertility Posted: 05 Aug 2011 08:06 AM PDT Baby mice born from sperm produced from stem cells are seen in this handout photo taken by Kyoto University professor Michinori Saito on November 8, 2010, and released to Reuters on August 5, 2011. — Reuters/Michinori Saitou-Kyoto University pic HONG KONG, Aug 5 — Researchers in Japan used embryonic stem cells to grow healthy mouse sperm on laboratory dishes, a development that could help treat human infertility, they said today. The finding, published in the journal Cell, marks a step forward for using stem cells for regenerative medicine. Stem cells are the body's master cells and source of all cells and tissues. Because they can grow into different types of cells and multiply, experts hope to harness them to treat diseases and disorders, including cancer and diabetes. Scientists at Kyoto University removed stem cells from mouse embryos and managed to coax them into a type of precursor cell known to grow into either mouse eggs or sperm. They then transplanted these cells into the testes of infertile male mice — which apparently went on to produce healthy sperm. "The sperm were removed directly from the testes and fertilized with eggs (on laboratory dishes)," said lead author Mitinori Saitou, a professor at Kyoto University's department of anatomy and cell biology. "After insemination, we made two set of embryos and these were transferred into the uterus of the foster mother and they derived healthy mice (that went on to reproduce normally)." Possible to grow human sperm The experiment showed scientists how they can prepare precursor cells to eventually grow into sperm or egg. "We have huge materials to work with now and . . . we can accelerate our study into the cause of human infertility," Saitou told Reuters by telephone. Saitou's team believes it may be possible to use adult human stem cells to grow human sperm. "We can possibly use this knowledge to induce human primordial germ cells (cells that grow into eggs or sperm)," he said. More work was needed, he said, because of the gulf between animal and human research. For the moment, the team was trying to repeat their feat by producing mouse eggs using stem cells, he said. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

Experts study what parasites eat to find ways to kill them Posted: 05 Aug 2011 08:00 AM PDT HONG KONG, Aug 5 — Researchers in Australia are working on a technique that will allow them to starve to death parasites that are proving harder to destroy using existing drugs. The parasite they used in the study was the leishmania, which is transmitted by the bite of the phlebotomine sandfly. After a period of incubation, the parasite causes huge skin sores, fever and anaemia, and damages the spleen and liver. It affects 12 million people worldwide and has become more resistant to current drugs. The scientists exposed the parasite to a large variety of food sources. Using highly sensitive equipment, they tracked how these nutrients were broken down and absorbed into the bodies of the parasites. "Using this technique we found that Leishmania parasites are very dependent on the use of sugars for energy and growth," wrote lead author Malcolm McConville, a biochemistry and molecular biology professor at the University of Melbourne. "This was surprising as previous studies suggested that these parasites may be able to use a range of other nutrients for growth (such as amino acids and fats). "They are therefore far more picky than we thought and therefore more vulnerable to therapeutic attack," he wrote in reply to questions from Reuters. The team is hoping to use this food source as a way in to attack the parasite, which blights much of the Americas, Middle East and parts of Asia. "We are interested in seeing whether we can develop new drugs that inhibit parasite sugar metabolism. These drugs would not only prevent parasites from growing and infecting new tissues, but would also make them vulnerable to host immune response," McConville added. "The latter effect is important as Leishmania parasites can often induce a long-term chronic infection that is very difficult to clear with current drugs. There is therefore a need to develop new drugs." By observing how pathogens behave and thrive, scientists can explore ways to disrupt these processes to kill them. For example, there are certain anti-flu drugs to block viruses from entering and infecting human cells, and other drugs to stop newly-replicated flu viruses being released from infected cells. In this experiment, McConville and colleagues observed what parasites ate, so they could seek ways to kill them by starving them of the very nutrients they need. "It is directly applicable to looking at metabolism in other pathogens. For example, we are currently using it to investigate metabolism of the malarial parasite," McConville said. The study was published in the current issue of the international Journal of Biological Chemistry. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

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Designer Michael Kors to marry in New York Posted: 05 Aug 2011 08:52 AM PDT NEW YORK, Aug 5 — Will "Project Runway" be staging a gay wedding episode soon? Michael Kors, a top designer and one of the long-running TV fashion show's judges, said he plans to marry his partner, Lance LePere, now that gay marriage is legal in New York state. "Lance and I are very excited to finally be able to have the opportunity to marry in our home state after many years together," Kors, a Long Island native, said in a statement. "We have no plans for a major party, but we will be getting married privately," Kors, 51, added. Kors and LePere were seen at City Hall in New York getting a marriage licence yesterday, according to media reports. The two met in 1990 when LePere began working at the company as an intern. Kors is only the latest public figure to announce plans to marry a same sex partner. Neil Patrick Harris recently reiterated that he and partner David Burtka, parents of 10-month-old twins, had been engaged for several years and would marry, though he said no definite plans had been made as to a date or location. Harris also has said the wedding would be low-key and private. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

Too early to talk Oscar? Not for Dominic Cooper Posted: 05 Aug 2011 01:36 AM PDT NEW YORK, Aug 5 — It's still very early. In fact, it's not yet awards season in Hollywood, but already movie fans might have their first bona fide contender for this year's best actor Oscar. Briton Dominic Cooper gives what critics are calling a brilliant performance in dual roles of the brutal, sadistic Uday Hussein — the son of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein — and his emotionally conflicted body double, Latif Yahia, in new movie "The Devil's Double." Cooper poses for photographers at the British premiere of 'The Devil's Double' in London on August 1, 2011. — Reuters pic His role in the film, which hit theatres in New York and Los Angeles last Friday and expands around the United States in coming weeks, scored Cooper a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival when it premiered there earlier this year. Add to that bit of bravura that Cooper is coming off an acclaimed performance in 2009's "An Education" and is currently showing versatility in this summer's big-budget "Captain America: The First Avenger," and it all has Hollywood buzzing. Cooper can feel the heat. He told Reuters he is now "getting really exciting meetings with really exciting directors who I want to work with... it's a shift." He remembers Sundance as being "almost terrifying, the idea of people seeing the work," then said he was relieved because the audience "believed the illusion, that it is the same guy playing two parts, which was always going to be the problematic dilemma of the film." In fact, Cooper is really playing three roles — Uday, Latif and Latif playing Uday to fill-in as a body double for the feared son of the late Iraqi dictator, who lived in a decadent world of designer suits and was surrounded by violence and torture. Uday Hussein was killed by US troops in a gun battle following the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Latif lived to write a book upon which the film, which is more a gangster drama than Iraq truth tale, is loosely based. Latif was a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war who was recruited to be Uday's body double. He had no choice in the matter. It was either that or death, beatings or violence to his family — or all three. Despite his own moral convictions, Latif is forced to comply with Uday's tortures, rapes, drug use and pornographic debauchery. He is conflicted in his new job, as he takes audiences on a journey into Uday's surreal world. To portray the dual roles, Cooper said he concentrated on physical gestures, vocal tones, syntax and speech patterns. He made up a very high-pitched signature laugh for Hussein. He watched some video footage of Uday. "There is not much of it, but when you do it's scary. There is this very hideous man, emanating bad vibes," Cooper said. The lack of time to shoot the relatively low-budget (RM45 million) movie meant Cooper was forced to switch characters quickly on the set. When both were together in one scene, a stand-in would read the dialogue, so he did not have another actor's reaction from which to work. In some scenes, Cooper wore an earpiece to hear the performance he had just given. "I would ask if I could do Uday first, because he was the driving force and he was the one that took up a huge amount of energy," Cooper said. While the movie has received mixed-to-positive reviews and comparisons to other character-driven gangster films, such as the 1983 version of "Scarface" starring Al Pacino, the praise for Cooper has been nearly unanimous. "Playing both the sombre Latif and the hysterical Uday is a stunt, but it is also a tour de force," wrote the New York Times' A.O. Scott. Cooper seems humbled by all the attention, but also refreshingly frank when talking about his chances for possible Oscar glory in early 2012. Most actors say they do not to think about awards, but Cooper said it's hard to avoid it. "Any actor that says they don't actually, occasionally do some ridiculous speech in their head at some point in their lives — while they are on the toilet or some other ridiculous circumstance — would be lying," he said. "It's part of your ambition and desire to have your work noticed, I suppose, but I don't sit mulling it over, the fact that it is even being mentioned is wonderful." — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

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PAS Selangor dakwa pernah tangkap ‘sindiket’ agih warga asing MyKad Posted: 05 Aug 2011 02:48 AM PDT SHAH ALAM, 5 Ogos — Isu warga asing diberi MyKad untuk dijadikan pengundi sah terus hangat diperkatakan dengan yang terbaru hari ini, PAS Selangor mendakwa pihaknya pernah menangkap "sindiket" mengeluarkan kad pengenalan, namun belum ada hasil siasatan daripada polis. Setiausaha PAS Selangor Mohd Khairuddin Othman berkata, dalam dua kejadian berasingan di Paya Jaras, Subang antara Januari dan Februari lalu, pihaknya berjaya menahan kumpulan "sindiket" dipercayai dari luar Selangor yang mengagihkan MyKad kepada rakyat asing, dipercayai Indonesia dan Kemboja. "Ya, kita telah berjaya membuat dua tangkapan awal tahun ini di Paya Jaras dan ketika itu 'tuan rumah' sedang mengagihkan kad pengenalan dan borang kad pengenalan kepada warga asing. "Kita sudah membuat laporan polis tetapi sehingga kini masih tiada jawapan," katanya pada sidang media di pusat khidmat Ahli Parlimen Shah Alam di sini pagi ini. Tambah beliau, pihaknya sendiri telah menyerahkan kumpulan "sindiket" itu kepada polis untuk tindakan susulan. Jelas Khairuddin, butiran MyKad itu boleh dibaca melalui pembaca kad memori, namun semakan di sistem Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) menunjukkan mereka pemastautin tetap. "Kita tidak pertikai ada yang layak dapat IC (kad pengenalan). Tetapi bila jumpa dalam web JPN (berbeza), itu yang timbul persoalan besar," katanya. Sementara itu, Timbalan Pesuruhjaya PAS Selangor Khalid Samad pula berkata, kes tersebut mengingatkannya kepada kes di Sabah apabila Barisan Nasional (BN) berjaya menguasai negeri itu. "Semua yang terlibat mengaku ceritakan apa dilakukan BN. Jadi, ia bukan mustahil (di Semenanjung) lebih-lebih lagi pemberian IC memang tidak telus," katanya yang menyifatkan insiden tersebut seperti "retak kecil atas seketul bongkah ais." Ahli Parlimen Shah Alam itu berkata pihaknya telah berjaya mengesan seramai 1,108 pemilik pemastautin tetap yang telah didaftarkan sebagai pengundi. Malah tegas Khalid, Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) tidak menafikan perkara itu. "Sudah jelas daftar pemilih SPR bercelaru, sebab itu kita telah dedahkan mengenai pengundi yang mempunyai dua kad pengenalan sama dan kita telah menemui SPR pada 22 Julai lalu dan perkara ini tidak dinafikan (SPR), yang mana mereka kata ia dalam proses membersihkan daftar pemilih. "Kemudian kita juga telah dedahkan bagaimana pemilik kad pengenalan merah (pemastautin tetap) boleh berada dalam senarai daftar pemilih, kita di Selangor ada 1,108 nama yang telah kita kesan yang mana pemilik kad pengenalan merah terdapat dalam daftar pemilih," katanya. Justeru beliau mempersoalkan bagaimana pemilik pemastautin tetap boleh didaftarkan sebagai pengundi sedangkan JPN belum lagi mengemas kini data agensi itu. "SPR kata data SPR dihubungkan dengan data JPN, SPR kata data mereka belum dikemas kini, tapi kalau belum dikemas kini macam mana kad pengenalan merah berada dalam daftar pemilih. "SPR dan JPN jangan berdolak-dalik, sekarang telah berlaku banyak percanggahan, keraguan dalam soal daftar pemilih," katanya. Tambah Khalid, dalam semakan terbaru semalam, beliau pelik bagaimana nama dalam daftar pemilih tiada rekod dalam sistem data JPN. "Selain kita juga telah kenal pasti bagaimana satu kad pengenalan kosong berada dalam data JPN tetapi dalam data SPR sudah lengkap dengan nama, dalam kad pengenalan kosong itu hanya ada nombor . . . tiada nama tapi dalam data SPR ia sudah lengkap," katanya. Isu daftar pemilih menjadi hangat baru-baru ini ekoran pendedahan mengenai pertukaran status kewarganeraan pemastautin tetap menjadi warganegara dalam tempoh yang singkat dan ia mendapat bantahan hebat daripada kepimpinan Pakatan Rakyat. Bagaimanapun perkara itu dinafikan oleh JPN dan SPR. Berikutan pendedahan itu, Pakatan Rakyat mahu sidang tergempar Parlimen bagi membahaskan isu kewujudan pengundi kalangan rakyat asing yang diberikan taraf kewarganegaraan Malaysia. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

MP PAS bimbang isu Jais akan burukkan lagi hubungan kaum Posted: 05 Aug 2011 02:36 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 5 Ogos — Seorang pemimpin pusat PAS bimbang kontroversi terbaru melibatkan Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Jais) ekoran serbuan ke atas gereja akan memburukkan lagi hubungan antara kaum dan agama di negara ini yang sudah pun agak "dingin". Pengerusi Lajnah Perpaduan Nasional PAS pusat Dr Mujahid Yusuf Rawa (gambar) berkata, semua pihak wajar mengelak daripada membuat kenyataan provokatif mengenai isu terbaru Jais menyerbu majlis makan malam muhibah Gereja Methodist Damansara Utama yang didakwa kononnya bertujuan memurtadkan orang Melayu. Beliau yang juga Ahli Parlimen Parit Buntar berkata, ia perlu bagi menghormati bulan Ramadan daripada bercakap bohong dan menimbulkan fitnah. Dalam satu kenyataan hari ini, Muhajid berkata, "kegagalan kerajaan menangani isu kalimah Allah tempoh hari berpotensi menimbulkan satu polemik baru pula." "Semua pihak turut bimbang dengan adanya pulak pihak yang ingin ambil kesempatan untuk kepentingan politik sempit mereka. Memburukkan lagi situasi ialah apabila media diperalatkan untuk menimbulkan provokasi dari kenyataan puak rasis dan fanatik agama," kata ahli jawatankuasa kerja PAS pusat ini. Malam kelmarin, kira-kira 30 anggota pihak berkuasa Jais dan polis memasuki premis Gereja Methodist Damansara Utama dekat Petaling Jaya pada pukul 10 malam semasa satu majlis makan malan muhibbah diadakan. Majlis itu dihadiri antara 100 hingga 120 orang dari pelbagai kaum yang turut dihadiri 15 orang Melayu Islam. Setelah menerima kritikan hebat, Exco Kerajaan Negeri Selangor Datuk Dr Hasan Ali menjelaskan bahawa serbuan itu dibuat kerana pihak Jais menerima maklumat ada usaha mahu memurtadkan umat Islam. Namun sehingga kini, tidak dapat disahihkan apa bukti yang diterima pihak berkuasa terbabit. Ekoran itu, Mujahid yang juga Pengerusi Jaringan Antara Agama Asia Tenggara turut menyeru Jais untuk memberikan penjelasan secara jujur motif tindakan mereka kerana ini melibatkan premis ibadat agama Kristian yang mesti dihormati. "Ada beberapa isu yang perlu diberi penjelasan. Atas alasan apakah serbuan dibuat? Adakah waran dikeluarkan? Apakah sebenarnya berlaku dalam gereja tersebut? "Kekaburan tindakan dan penjelasan yang tidak memuaskan hanya akan memberi ruang hubungan antara agama semakin meruncing dan sekali gus menimbulkan ketegangan kaum," tambah beliau. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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Have you ‘played’ the news today? Posted: 04 Aug 2011 05:00 PM PDT AUG 5 — I always thought I was all hip and up to date with the latest in all things media, and I made sure I bragged about it to my students and everyone else too. Then, during a lecture one day, a small and scrawny student of mine raised his hand and asked if I enjoyed playing computer games. "Zan, what do you think of computer games?" he asked while adjusting his spectacles. "Ha! Video games are for people who can't do the real thing but just like to fantasise that they can!" I laughed. I was obviously poking fun at scrawny nerds in front of TV screens pretending to be hot shot English Premier League football players or mutant super heroes who save the day. "Have you heard of news games?" he went on. "News what?" "News games, sir. It's computer games that are based on news and current affairs." Apparently, there is a new medium for journalism and it's actually video games. Basically, you get your news from playing a game instead of the newspaper. This is very interesting because it is a perfect example of how journalism (or the media in general) has adapted to suit the modern-day audience. When newspapers first came about a gajillion years ago, the characteristics of the readers were that they enjoyed analysing news and understanding it better. Newspapers allowed this because readers could take their time reading and digesting the news by picking up the newspaper whenever and for however long they wanted. Then, when broadcast news emerged, the characteristic of the viewers and listeners were different because it was the start of the consumption of "instant news." Those who turned to broadcast wanted news that was quick and had more impact, with audio and visuals to assist in the consumption. Today, the development of games to present the news is obviously a reflection of how the public these days aren't satisfied with just knowing the news. It doesn't just end with consumption. What people want is to actually feel and experience the news based on the few pioneering news games that exist today. Many of these news games offer the "players" the opportunity to put themselves in the situation of whatever news that is currently happening. Take for example, "Inside Disaster", a news game developed soon after the tragedy that is the massive Haiti earthquake (insidedisaster.com). Very similar to role-playing games, it offers "players" the opportunity to experience the tragedy from several viewpoints: the journalist's, the aid-worker's or the survivor's. Then there is "Play the News", which allows "players" to predict what is going to happen in the future after knowing the latest news (playthenews.com). The game allows "players" to express their opinions by deciding what should happen, or, to make predictions by expressing what they think will really happen. Another deeply engaging news game is "Play Spent", which highlights the global economic depression that is going on (playspent.org). "Players" of the game are to navigate through different economical and financial situations such as looking for a job, buying health insurance, or renting a house, etc. At the end of the month, it shows if you've managed to make it or not. And, of course, surviving without being in financial ruins is the challenge of the game. So it's obvious that today people no longer want to just read the news or view the news. It is so passé now to meet someone and say "Have you heard the news today?" Instead, today's opening remarks between people when something big happens would more likely be "Hey, have you played the news today?" * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

Between fictitious and true unity Posted: 04 Aug 2011 04:55 PM PDT AUG 5 — There is a strong emphasis on unity in Malaysia. It is easy to rationalise why this is so. The country has been diverse from the very beginning of its modern history. Each group largely lives differently. While difference and diversity can be sources of strength, it is also a source of conflict. Some believe that race relations nowadays are worse than they were in yesteryears, but the worst race riot of the country happened in Kuala Lumpur in May 1963. Another big race riot happened in Singapore in July 1964. Conflict between the races was part of the reason why Singapore was expelled from the federation in 1965. Those conflicts have left behind a deep scar in Malaysian society, even as many Malaysians today never witnessed a race riot first-hand. These old fears are becoming irrelevant but it is still part of what describes our society. So entrenched is the fear of history repeating itself that many are mindful of the tiniest possibility of a race riot. To the mindful and those who are trapped in the 1960s and 1970s still, they believe in the narrative of unity. They believe in unity being the answer to Malaysian divisiveness. As the wisdom goes, if everybody is united, there would be no reason to quarrel with each other. Nobody would say anything hurtful to the collective ethnic consciousness. In a united Malaysia, everybody would laugh together while waving the Jalur Gemilang happily. On the surface, the unity narrative is appealing. The ideal provides a stark contrast to the chaotic Malaysia of the 1960s and the period of time after that. Yet, scratch the skin and it will reveal a rotten core. Their particular unity narrative ignores differing viewpoints. At best, it considers differing positions as being foreign. "It is not part of our culture," so the typical response goes. Malaysians holding differing ideals are accused of having their minds colonised by outsiders. Imagine in these times of globalisation, one still talks of neo-colonialism. One has to be either paranoid or stuck in time. When differing viewpoints become too intellectually challenging for the simple narrative, threats are issued. When there is nowhere to go within the realm of pure reasons, talk of feelings. File a police report when feelings are hurt. In the unity narrative, one is not supposed to hurt anyone else's feelings. And some fly the flag because the government demands so. The government even threatened to do something to remedy the failure to fly a piece of cloth back in 2006. In Ipoh in 2010, businesses had to fly the Jalur Gemilang if business owners wanted to renew their licences. One can see how pretentious that unity is. See how it belligerently pushes aside liberty. It seeks monotony. It rejects colours. It is either you are with us, or against us. Unity is not mutually exclusive of liberty, of course. In fact, true unity can only come up under a free environment, where every person is free. It will be hard to achieve unity under such a set-up because individuals in a free society will have differences but if ever dialogue and understanding overcome the differences, then everybody will unite of their own free will. That is the route to true unity. It is tough but it is the unity that is sincere. The proponents of unity who are trapped in the 1960s possibly know this. They probably realise the tough road to true unity. Too cowardly to trust in individual effort to bridge the gap perhaps, they choose the ersatz version. That version of unity is one that is shown only because there is a big stick somewhere, waiting to be taken out if someone dares to say, no, I am different. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

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