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A kopitiam icon in Penang Posted: 29 Aug 2011 07:55 PM PDT Kek Seng's famous ice kacang with home-made ice cream from an old recipe using condensed milk. GEORGE TOWN, Aug 30 — This iconic kopitiam in Penang Road was the place families headed for when they wanted to tuck into good Penang hawker food. I remember being brought here many times as a child, when the promise of an ice-kacang dessert with a scoop of their home-made durian ice cream was enough to keep us kids well-behaved for... oh, at least a couple of hours! It's one of those old double-fronted shops which are, sadly and inexorably, disappearing. Along one of the walls are high-backed wooden benches which probably date back to the year dot, and in the centre, mismatched tables and chairs are squeezed in where space permits. From far away you can already smell the tantalising aromas of the different hawker favourites, making your tastebuds water before you even enter. Many of the stalls which front both narrow entrances have been dishing out local Penang favourites for the past umpteen years. The popular Chinese mee java at the kopitiam. Fronting the left of the shop is Ah Hwa's stall, the gorgeous pink of the bunga kantan (ginger bud flower) contrast beautifully with the bunches of bright red chillies, fragrant fresh green mint, yellow strips of pineapple and lettuce, proclaiming the assam laksa that she has been selling there for the past two decades. There's kuey teow t'ng across from her. At the other entrance, Ah Chan displays rows of roast and plain boiled pak cham kai at her chicken rice stall, which she has been running for the last 15 years. Across from her, the lobak stall run by Ah Hong sizzles away as she fries up the prawn fritters, taufu, sausages and other titbits to order. Slightly further in is Ah Lai Popiah (spring rolls) and kueh pie tee ("top hats") stall, and in the side alley, the Chinese mee java has been there for the past couple of decades. It is made from a simple recipe of tomato ketchup and chilli paste cooked in a bit of stock, to which some yellow noodles are added, but is popular nevertheless. Kek Seng Kedai Kopi was started by 65-year-old Tang Peng Guan's father in 1906. "He ran this place for over 60 years," he explained, "and I helped my two older brothers with it after he died in 1965." Tang took over the place in the early '90s, and now also runs the char kuey teow stall. I've mentioned their home-made ice cream; although they also offer chocolate and sweet corn flavours, the durian is probably their most popular, made with fruits from Balik Pulau. According to Tang, they've been making it for nearly 60 years. "It's a simple recipe using condensed milk as its base, which my father created in the 1940s." In those days it required manpower to physically churn the mixture as it sat in a tub of crushed ice. "There were few ice-cream vendors in those days," he continued, "and therefore Kek Seng ice cream was very popular." Served with oval transparent globules of attap chi (palm seeds), creamed sweet corn, soft stewed red beans, over which shaved ice and lashings of condensed milk and rose syrup are spooned, it's another trip down memory lane. They no longer do their equally famous white "heng jin" (almond) jelly — not a bad thing as far as I am concerned, as it certainly wasn't a personal favourite. "Demand just doesn't justify the effort required to make it," he said. "Nowadays, people are not that fond of the strong taste either." Well, I don't blame them! However, they are still serving their popular Penang coffee, thick and fragrant, like they have been doing the past 40 years.  • Kek Seng Kedai Kopi, 382 Penang Road, 10000 Penang (opening hours: 11am-4pm daily).

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Robles stripped of gold as more drama grips Daegu Posted: 29 Aug 2011 08:17 AM PDT DAEGU, South Korea, Aug 29 — Cuban hurdler Dayron Robles was stripped of gold and glory at the world athletics championships today in a twist every bit as dramatic as Usain Bolt's disqualification from the blue riband 100 metres sprint the night before. The muscular world record-holder was disqualified after a physical track tussle in the 110 metres hurdles final with China's Liu Xiang. Dayron Robles (right) makes contact with Liu Xiang as they go over the final hurdle. — Reuters pic Robles bumped Liu in an epic race between the three fastest hurdlers of all time — America's David Oliver finished fifth — and crossed the line first ahead of Jason Richardson. The Chinese protested, and Richardson was awarded gold by the referee. A jury rejected a Cuban counter-appeal, and Richardson held on to gold, with Liu winning silver and Britain's Andy Turner the bronze. Robles left the stadium after his appeal failed without making any comment. "Robles hit me twice, at the ninth hurdle he pulled at me, but it wasn't intentional," former Olympic champion Liu told reporters. "If not for the incident I would be gold medallist. "I am good friends with Robles. What I like is a happy camp — I don't know what to say." Richardson said: "The reaction is bittersweet. I am disappointed to have won on a technicality. I wish that under different circumstances he could keep the medal but rules are rules. "Anything can happen in track and field if you just do your best and stay in your lane." The floodlit drama was exactly what the 13th world championships needed to dispel a gloom that, like the ever-present mist on Daegu's mountains, had lingered around the stadium after the shock of Bolt losing his 100 metres crown. A victim of the one-false-start-and-you're-out rule, Bolt was disqualified last night and his Jamaican understudy Yohan Blake crowned champion in a major anti-climax. Fastest man The world's fastest man took his time responding to the disqualification, waiting around 18 hours to make any statement. When he did respond publicly, Bolt said very little. But what was there to say about a perhaps overly harsh rule that is sure to cause plenty of soul-searching among the sport's highest echelons? "Firstly, I would like to congratulate my teammate Yohan Blake and the other athletes who won the medals," a statement released by Bolt's management team read. "Of course I am extremely disappointed not to have had the chance to defend my title due to the false start. "However, I have to move on now as there is no point to dwell on the past." Allyson Felix will also need to move on as her dreams of completing an unprecedented women's 200m and 400m double at a worlds disappeared when she was beaten in the 400 final by Amantle Montsho. Montsho could not wipe the smile from her face after landing Botswana's first gold at a world championships. "I know Allyson is a good athlete and she is fast . . . I felt when she was coming, but I managed to hold on," Montsho said. Felix was sanguine in defeat. "On the home straight I definitely felt I still had a chance," she said. "I gave it all and tried to move my arms. I cannot be too disappointed with my silver medal. I still have the 200 metres and the relays coming up." Carmelita Jeter put a smile back on the faces of Team USA in the night's last final, racing to gold in the women's 100 metres. She finished in 10.90 seconds, beating Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown by 0.07 seconds, with Trinidadian Kelly-Ann Baptiste third. "I have been working really very, very hard. And today it paid off," Jeter told reporters. "My coach showed me that I was ready to get the gold medal, to stop the Jamaican predominance in the sprint." In field events, Koji Murofushi earned a surprise gold medal in the hammer with a throw of 81.24 metres to give Japan its first title of the championships, while Poland's Pawel Wojciechowski leapt to gold in the pole vault, ahead of Cuban Lazara Borges. Delighted New Zealander Valerie Adams took her third successive women's shot put world title. "I simply smashed it out," she said. — Reuters

Uruguay’s Forlan to leave Atletico for Inter Milan Posted: 29 Aug 2011 07:43 AM PDT Diego Forlan: Hard to say goodbye, but time for rejuvenation. — Reuters pic MADRID, Aug 29 — Diego Forlan is to leave La Liga club Atletico Madrid after four seasons and will join Serie A side Inter Milan, the Uruguay striker announced today. "Farewells are always hard, because it has been four years plus the three at Villarreal and now . . . I will be leaving behind people's kindness, which I will never forget," Forlan said at a news conference in the Spanish capital. "I am looking forward very much to rejuvenating myself; it's all new and it's where you find motivation because the challenges are greater," the former Manchester United and Villarreal player added. "You don't often get a chance to go to Inter at the age of 32 and I hope I can live up to the expectations." — Reuters

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LA gallery showcases photos of rocker Nikki Sixx Posted: 29 Aug 2011 08:02 AM PDT LOS ANGELES, Aug 29 — In March of 2009, when the Annenberg Space for Photography opened in Century City in Los Angeles, the most remarked-upon guest at the gala was David LaChapelle's date, Courtney Love. Nikki Sixx, sobre in this 2010 file photo. — Reuters pic There were thoughts for Love during an unveiling of images last week at the Annenberg — all taken over the past two decades by Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx — when he put up a photo of a homeless woman holding a sign reading, "I'm Not A Bad Girl, I Just Made Bad Decisions". Anyone wondering about the wisdom of the Annenberg's decision to feature the art of Sixx was happily surprised. Not only was his camera work fascinating and its variety a bit dazzling, but the rocker's world view as he answered questions from moderator Kristine McKenna and the audience was compelling. Sixx, 51, said he'd been fascinated by the medium since the late '80s, but his interest didn't truly flower until around the time he got sobre in 2001, after a long series of addictions, including a near-death by overdose, chronicled in his book "The Heroin Diaries". "I'm very passionate about what I wrap my hands around," Sixx said. "The recovery wants me to engage; the addiction made me disengage." What recovery gave one, he added, was that "it allows your heart to soften". He noted that the subjects of his images ranged all over because "my life isn't consistent. My life is chaotic. Rock 'n' roll is chaos." Sixx — who also has a new book and album out, both titled "This Is Gonna Hurt" — alluded not just to his sobriety but to his struggle to show his individuality growing up, starting with a rough upbringing that included a "sorta" homeless delinquent stage. "I was a gnarly little kid, a fighter," he told the crowd. "I try to hold on to that edge. "If you're Bill Gates," he added, individuality "is okay — in the beginning he was (called) a whack job". His pictures, many of them in brooding black-and-white — like a delicate study of a wet street in Prague at 3am. — were often grabbed on the run as he toured. He's asked for a portrait of many a prostitute in the world's capitals, but a certain gentleness emerges in the shots of the homeless — or even of a shy hotel maid who said she was too ugly to photograph. "I said, 'I'm gonna take a picture and show you you're beautiful'." The resulting image did just that. "I'm an emotional terrorist," Sixx said. "If I see you have pain, I'm gonna pull it out of you." Sixx's appearance was part of the Annenberg's "Iris Nights" lecture series and is linked to the gallery's "Beauty Culture" exhibit, which runs through November 27. — Reuters

Beyonce shows off baby bump at VMAs Posted: 28 Aug 2011 06:59 PM PDT Beyonce appeared visibly pregnant on the red carpet at the VMAs yesterday. — Reuters pic LOS ANGELES, Aug 29 — R&B singer Beyonce let pictures tell the story of a baby on the way for her and rapper husband Jay-Z at the MTV Video Music Awards yesterday, appearing before photographers and outlining a baby bump under her long gown. She first appeared before photographers, telling them she had a surprise and outlining a baby bump under her long gown. Then the singer, whose hits include "Beautiful Liar" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," appeared onstage to perform her song "Love On Top," telling the audience to stand up. "I want you to feel the love that's growing inside of me," she said. At the end of her song, she took off her jacket, smiled broadly and rubbed her tummy. In the audience, her husband and rapper Jay-Z was congratulated by his friend and collaborator Kanye West and he gave Beyonce a big wave. A spokeswoman for Beyonce was not immediately available for comment. She and rapper Jay-Z began dating in 2002 and were married in April 2008. For years, her many fans and the media have speculated about whether and when they might have a baby. It appears they won't have to wait much longer. — Reuters

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Italian town mints own money to fight austerity Posted: 29 Aug 2011 07:21 AM PDT Mayor Luca Sellari displays Filettino's own bank currency, the 'Fiorito', at his office in Filettino, 100km east of Rome, August 29, 2011. Filettino, a small town in central Italy, is trying to go independent and mint its own money in protest against government austerity cuts. – Reuters pic ROME, Aug 29 – A small town in central Italy is trying to go independent and mint its own money in protest at government austerity cuts. Filettino, set in rugged hill country around 100km east of Rome, is rebelling against a proposal to merge the governments of towns with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants to save money. Filettino has only around 550 people, but instead of merging with neighbouring Trevi, mayor Luca Sellari is trying to go it alone and set up a "principality" along the lines of the famous republic of San Marino to the north. He has started minting Filettino's own bank currency, the "Fiorito", with his photo on the back, which he says is already being used by the townsfolk. "We aim to achieve real autonomy from Italy and we have the financial resources to do it," Sellari said in an interview on the town's website www.principatodifilettino.com. There was no immediate comment from the central government in Rome. Mayors from all over Italy are up in arms about proposals to cut local government funding and merge small towns as part of a €45.5 billion (RM194.82 billion) austerity plan to balance the country's budget by 2013. Mayors plan a protest in Milan today although media reports say the government is preparing significant changes to the budget, including a substantial dilution of the proposals on local government. – Reuters

Is chocolate good for your heart? It depends Posted: 29 Aug 2011 03:32 AM PDT Chocolates are displayed during a chocolate fair in Barcelona, in this file photo of November 6, 2008. – Reuters pic PARIS, Aug 29 – Chocolate may be good for the heart but cardiologists are not giving you a licence to indulge. New research presented at Europe's biggest medical meeting today suggested chocolate consumption might be associatedwith a one-third reduction in the risk of developing heart disease. Just why there should be such a link was unclear, the European Society of Cardiology congress was told. There has been a string of scientific studies in recentyears showing a potential health benefit from eating chocolate. Dark chocolate, in particular, contains compounds called flavanols thought to be good for the blood system. In an attempt to paint a clearer picture, Oscar Franco and colleagues from the University of Cambridge pooled results from seven studies involving 100,000 people. Five of the studies showed a beneficial link between eating chocolate and cardiovascular health, while two did not. Overall, the findings showed the highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37 per cent reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29 per cent reduction in stroke compared with the lowest levels. Franco said there were limitations with the pooled analysis,which did not differentiate between dark and milk chocolate, and more research was needed to test whether chocolate actually caused better health outcomes or if it was due to some other confounding factor. "Evidence does suggest chocolate might have some heart health benefits but we need to find out why that might be," said Victoria Taylor, of the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved in the research. "If you want to reduce your heart disease risk, there are much better places to start than at the bottom of a box of chocolates." Franco, whose findings were also published online in the British Medical Journal, said while it seemed chocolate had heart benefits, these could easily be outweighed by the unhealthy nature of much confectionery. – Reuters

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Virtual book club brings author into homes Posted: 29 Aug 2011 09:39 AM PDT NEW YORK, Aug 29 — The traditional book club has gone virtual, thanks to technology that spans geographic boundaries and can bring authors into readers' living rooms. Meg Wolitzer gets a kick talking with readers coast to coast. Nine book clubs across the United States took part in an hour-long discussion earlier this month with Meg Wolitzer, the best-selling author of the "The Ten-Year Nap", in what is thought to be the first coast-to-coast virtual book club with multiple participants. "I got a kick out of seeing these women sitting there, in their homes around the country," said Wolitzer, who talked about her latest novel, "The Uncoupling". She admitted that she wasn't sure what to expect during the chat with members of clubs ranging from Austin, Texas, to Indian Harbour Beach in Florida and Lorton, Virginia, and felt a bit like the late chess master Bobby Fischer playing nine games of chess at once. "It was clear that all of these women were passionate and attentive readers," Wolitzer said in an interview. "It was a pretty thoughtful exchange." Using group video-calling from Skype, the club members and moderator Lesley Jane Seymour, editor-in-chief of More magazine, chatted with Wolitzer about the book. The magazine teamed up with Skype to sponsor the event. The book clubs were selected after entering a competition. Wolitzer and Seymour sat before a huge monitor that transmitted a live feed from all the book clubs. Instead of just discussing the book, the club members were able to put questions directly to the author, who then responded. Wolitzer said she found the virtual book club was not all that different from a traditional one, and much less formal than a reading, which she said tended to be "fairly formal events". "I was pleased, and to some extent surprised, by (the women's) openness and honesty," Wolitzer said. "They let me know what they liked, what occasionally made them uncomfortable . . . I really appreciated that they didn't feel shy, and I didn't feel put on the spot." And addressing book clubs' reputation for being as much about wine as words, Wolitzer added, "It was clear that some good food and excellent drinks were being served". The book chat led to an overarching conversation about culture today, the Internet and its effects on children, sexual permissiveness and the future of reading. If there was any downside, Wolitzer referred to a social aspect of traditional book clubs, and the current limits of technology. "It is not advanced enough for someone to reach through the screen from their home in, say Virginia, and hand me a Mojito," she said, referring to the popular cocktail. — Reuters

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Guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt? Posted: 28 Aug 2011 07:19 PM PDT AUG 29 — The arrest of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) for the attempted rape of a maid in New York a few months ago made headlines around the world. The maid, who we now know as Nafissatou Diallo, worked at the Sofitel hotel in New York where she claimed that DSK had tried to rape her in his own room. The prosecution at DSK's arraignment claimed that they had irrefutable forensic evidence that would likely convict DSK and as such the prosecution wanted the court to consider DSK a flight risk and thus not grant him bail. When DSK did eventually get bail (US$1 million (RM3 million) in cash put up by his wife), he was forced to wear an ankle monitoring device to ensure he did not abscond. After DSK's New York arrest a French writer also claimed that DSK had sexually assaulted her in 2002. Diallo initially drew a lot of public sympathy especially from "the maids in Manhattan" who assembled outside the courthouse to support her. However subsequent events called into question the reliability of Diallo's testimony. She had lied before about being gang-raped in her native Guinea in her asylum application in the US. She also had associations with known criminals in New York. The alleged incident took place within nine minutes. DSK is 62 years old and 5ft 7in tall whereas she is 32 years old and 5ft 10in tall. She should have been physically able to fight off any unwanted sexual encounter or at least scream for help if it was not consensual. The prosecution has now dropped its case in New York against DSK because they don't think a jury will believe Diallo's account of what happened to her. Obviously, the so-called irrefutable forensic evidence that no outsider has seen would thus not be able to confirm, on its own, that the incident was non-consensual. Though DSK may be a free man, his reputation is in tatters. It has been a great fall for a man who could easily have been President of France. If it was a political fix, his opponents who dreamt it up have done a great job. The allegations and innuendos will follow him for a long time to come. Though DSK is not guilty of this particular assault, politically he is already seriously damaged goods. Compare this to the sodomy case of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI). I would seriously doubt that the prosecution would ever drop its case even if there was little evidence against him. DSAI will not likely be allowed the same "burden of proof threshold" against him as DSK. The prosecution appears to want to win at all costs. It appears the burden of proof has shifted to DSAI to the extent that he may be found guilty unless he is able to prove his "innocence beyond any doubt". If "reasonable doubt" were to come into play in DSAI's case then the DNA expert witnesses called by the defence certainly have called into question the DNA evidence proffered by the prosecution. The samples taken from Saiful (the person DSAI allegedly sodomised) could not be in such pristine condition if they had been sitting for 56 hours in his rear end. In fact, according to the defence's expert witnesses, they would normally have seriously degraded after 36 hours in anyone's rear end, to the extent that it would make the sample of little value. Of course, the prosecution's contention is that a usable sample of semen DNA had been obtained once from someone's rear in the 1980s under laboratory conditions, after having been there for 65 hours. The defence's expert witnesses have never had this happen to them in their long experience nor have they read of any similar outcome other than that one case proffered by the prosecution. Thus the assertion by the defence is that it can happen, but it is rare and that most of the time, the sample is useless after sitting more than 36 hours in someone's rear end. The defence expert witnesses also called into question the laboratory practices and the way that samples were handled in the case. They questioned the chain of custody of the samples as well as the mislabelling of the samples with incorrect dates. Of course, the prosecution will soon try to discredit the defence's expert witnesses and it remains to be seen if they are successful. However my inquisitive nature got the better of me and I asked my "not-so-expert" children if they could try to explain all this to me in simple terms. My son just graduated in human genetics from UCL and my second daughter graduated from Imperial College last year in biomedical sciences. Though they did try to explain the science to me, I must say that they lost me after explaining the difference between a haploid cell (sperm and ovum) and diploid cell (all the other cells such as skin and hair). Thus I took another route to try to understand by asking certain specific questions. How come you can get DNA from sperm stains on clothes which may be months old but not from someone's rear end after a few days? The answer is basically that the environments are different and the sample in someone's rear end will likely degrade much faster than if left out in the open, to the extent that to get a usable DNA sample is not likely. Is it possible that a sperm sample that has been in someone's rear end for 56 hours to be "pristine" condition? This is highly unlikely as the sample will likely have been degraded after that time. That is not to say that you can't get usable DNA from a degraded sample because it is possible to get DNA even from "denatured" sample (a sample that has changed its molecular structure). It is just that the sample will not likely be "pristine". Thus I would say from a layman's point of view that the defence's experts have certainly created "reasonable doubt" as to the veracity of the prosecution's DNA evidence thus far. The trial still has some way to go and there would be other issues cropping up to determine guilt or innocence. However, because of the perceived political nature of the prosecution, at the end of the day when it comes to DSAI, in the court of public opinion, if he is to be found guilty, it almost has to be beyond any doubt at all. That standard is of course too high and would be an almost impossible feat for the prosecution to achieve. What I would expect though is that the burden of proof still lies with the prosecution. To discharge that burden they really have to bring a case with sufficient evidence, where any reasonable man would find DSAI guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, if a guilty verdict has any chance to be accepted by the public. If they can't, they should drop the case in the spirit of Hari Raya and all sides should seek and give forgiveness and move on in life. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Irene: New York City’s historic hurricane? Posted: 28 Aug 2011 05:42 PM PDT AUG 29 — It's rather fun to be writing my very first column just hours before Hurricane Irene arrives on our doorstep, or to be more accurate, the floor-to-ceiling windows of our 40th-level Upper East Side apartment. It is Saturday afternoon in New York City, but it is certainly not business as normal. Stark notices on the doors of our local supermarket and my favourite neighbourhood shop, Bed, Bath & Beyond, announce its early closure due to Irene; duct tape laces deli-store windows; traffic, composed of mainly yellow taxis with their "available" lights lit up, flows with ease. There have been mandatory evacuations of 370,000 New Yorkers who must leave their low-lying areas by 5pm, cancelled Broadway shows, anticipated storm surges of 11ft and closure of one of the largest transportation systems in the world including NY airports, subways and bridges. You get the idea. A "historic hurricane" is on its way, words used by President Obama in Friday's address to the nation. This is not the first time my family have lived with a threat of a hurricane. And, not wishing to sound too arrogant, we have seen it all before in Houston, Texas, back in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina, mother-of-all hurricanes, reeked havoc in the Southern states. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, we found ourselves hunkering down in our boarded-up house in Houston — baths filled with water, freezer full of supplies, kids asleep in our bedroom — braced for Hurricane Rita. It changed course overnight, and I slept through the whole thing! We did lose a spindly tree in our "backyard." Waves and storm surge pound the boardwalk and the beach at first light as Irene slams into Asbury Park in New Jersey on August 28, 2011. — Reuters pic Every news network here is covering Hurricane Irene. Hurricanes make gripping television viewing. The fear, the danger, the suspense. Americans just love it; "Isn't it the best reality television ever?", an elderly woman housed in a NYC shelter told a reporter earlier this evening. Admittedly, Tom, my husband, and I avidly followed Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of CNN's cute and very charming news reporter Anderson Cooper. In fact, I'm convinced he made his name in the cut-throat news industry through his coverage of this infamous hurricane which registered a Category 3 when it hit and devastated New Orleans, Louisiana. Not that one needs reminding but think: broken levees, W (George W. Bush Junior) on vacation, delayed rescue missions and too many floating bodies; a disaster that left 1,836 dead, embarrassed America and shocked a disbelieving world. I sobbed as the misery unfolded, and later interviewed bewildered Katrina evacuee as they poured into the safety of Houston's Convention Centre for a local radio station. Six years on — almost to the day spookily enough — and the lovely Anderson Cooper is covering Hurricane Irene. In fact, he's now CNN's primary news anchor. I sat in my nightie late last night transfixed by the intensity of his efforts as he battled admirably to talk up this so-called "historic hurricane", one that has gradually been downgraded from a Category 4 (determined by minimum sustained winds of 131mph) to a Category 1 (determined by minimum sustained winds of 74mph). Strangely, I found myself feeling a little sorry for him. Yes, its path is heading straight to The Big Apple, home to eight million people. But it's no Katrina (thank goodness). And, he knows it. For the city that never sleeps, NYC is taking its first nap tonight in a long while. No sirens, ghostlike streets and not one car on Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge which I can see directly across from where I am sitting. NYC's strategic Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have taken every possible precaution against, shall we say, "storm" Irene; I do not think they can afford to do otherwise. So who knows, and may be I am being a cynic. It's 4am on Sunday and Irene has now officially arrived: it's windy and rains continue to rattle and lash the windows. There's a full compliment of security and doormen downstairs on standby. Tom forgot to buy duct tape, but our fridge is packed with food and baths filled with water. Our four children continue to sleep soundly. Sunday we plan to stay indoors and play our favourite boardgame Monopoly — the Malaysian edition. Ha! Such fond memories of our four years there. I imagine our day will probably be like one of those regular afternoons of torrential downpour spent at our old house in Bukit Tunku: darkened rooms, the resounding patter of rain and maybe a power outage. No hurricane, just wet lah... * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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PPSMI: PAS mahu temu Page Posted: 29 Aug 2011 02:27 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 29 Ogos – PAS melahirkan hasrat untuk mengadakan pertemuan dengan pertubuhan bukan kerajaan pendidikan, Page berhubung pendirian pihaknya agar diberi pilihan untuk mengajar subjek Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris dan Bahasa Malaysia. Pengerusi Lajnah Pendidikan PAS Datuk Abu Bakar Chik berkata, parti Islam itu tidak dapat menerima kenyataan Page supaya kerajaan mengembalikan semula dasar Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik Dalam Bahasa Inggeris (PPSMI).. "Kita sebenarnya tidak sama sekali dapat menerima kenyataan ini dan saya minta untuk kita mengadakan pertemuan dengan pihak Page ini, kita mahu dengar daripada mereka apa alasan daripada mereka sebab kita mewakili majoriti rakyat yang tidak mahu kepada PPSMI," kata Abu Bakar dalam satu kenyataan dikeluarkan hari ini. Baru-baru Page berkata pihaknya mahu bertemu dengan Kabinet supaya dapat diadakan pertemuan mengambil langkah untuk mengembalikan semula PPSMI. Abu Bakar berkata kenyataan Presiden Page, Datuk Noor Azimah yang dikatakan mempunyai bukti dan mendapat sokongan lebih 90 peratus ibu bapa berhubung perkara itu dianggap satu perkara yang luar biasa, satu perkara yang baru yang mendatang. "Bagaimana beliau boleh mendakwa bahawa beliau ada bukti dan mendapat sokongan sedangkan rata-rata kajian yang dibuat PPSMI gagal untuk memajukan Bahasa Inggeris di kalangan anak-anak terutama di luar bandar bagi mendepani pendidikan Sains dan Matematik. "Apatah lagi kita boleh mengatakan bahawa keciciran (di kalangan pelajar) telah begitu banyak dan begitu meluas sekali kerana akibat daripada PPSMI ini," katanya. Oleh itu kata Abu Bakar, beliau berharap dapat mengadakan mengadakan pertemuan segera mereka dan mahu mendengar alasan mereka. "Namin begitu, dari segi untuk mendesak kabinet supaya membolehkan (PPSMI dikembalikan) kita menentang sama sekali dalam apa bentuk sekali pun. "Tetapi dengan Page kita mahu mendengar daripada mereka apa alasan yang mereka hendak bawa (kepada Kabinet) tentang perkara ini," ujarnya.

Bekas MD Sime Darby Azhar dilantik CEO MRT Co Posted: 29 Aug 2011 02:18 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 29 Ogos – Bekas Pengarah Urusan Sime Darby Plantation, Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid dilantik Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif MRT Co yang menguruskan projek infrastruktur terbesar negara, yang akan diadakan di Lembah Klang. MRT Co merupakan syarikat kepada Kementerian Kewangan Diperbadankan. Pelantikan itu diumumkan hari ini oleh Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Dalam satu kenyataan hari ini, Program Transformasi Ekonomi berkata Azhar, yang dijadual memulakan tugasnya pada minggu pertama September, akan melaporkan diri kepada Najib sebagai Menteri Kewangan dan Menteri Kewangan Kedua, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah. MRT Co akan menjadi pemilik projek dan aset kepada projek MY Rapid Transit Lembah Klang (KVMRT), berkuat kuasa Khamis ini. Azhar mempunyai rekod cemerlang dalam memberikan hasil dan menguruskan operasi berskala besar, kata Najib. Bahagian perladangan Sime Darby Bhd, yang di bawah kepimpinan dan pengawasan berhemat Azhar antara 2006 dan 2010, telah memperlihatkan hasil dan keuntungan yang baik. Keuntungan operasi bahagian perladangan meningkat 23 peratus kepada RM2.1 bilion dalam tahun kewangan 2009/2010. Laporan Bernama Online menyebut, Najib menambah sebelum memuktamadkan keputusan itu, beliau meminta pendapat Datuk Seri Abu Kassim, Ketua Komisioner Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia dan Datuk Mohd Bakke Salleh, Presiden dan CEO Sime Darby Group. "Kedua-duanya mengesahkan yang Azhar bebas daripada siasatan terhadap kerugian Sime Darby Group ekoran penggunaan lebihan kos dalam operasi tenaga dan utilitnya tahun lepas," kata kenyataan itu memetik Najib sebagai berkata. Projek MRT itu ialah satu-satunya projek infrastruktur terbesar Malaysia dan begitu kompleks dari segi teknikal dan kewangan.

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