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Bautista joins Gresini after Simoncelli’s death Posted: 09 Nov 2011 07:48 AM PST LONDON, Nov 9 — Spaniard Alvaro Bautista will ride for Honda Gresini in 2012 with the MotoGP team still mourning the death of Italian Marco Simoncelli in a crash last month, they said today. Bautista (picture), 26, joins from Suzuki, who he started racing for in the 2010 season, as replacement for Japanese rider Hiroshi Aoyama who is moving to the World Superbike championship. The Spaniard finished 13th in the 2011 championship, with his best finish being fifth at the British Grand Prix in June. "I am very sad to be leaving Suzuki after the two great years that I have had here," Bautista said on his team's website. "It has been a great team to work in and I have learnt a lot of things from everyone in the team. "It was a fantastic experience working with an English/Japanese team and we have become like a big family, except we have never had any arguments and no-one falls out with each other. "I want to thank everybody personally for the last two years, sometimes it has been difficult, but nobody ever gave up and I felt like I always had their full support and commitment." Honda Gresini rider Simoncelli, 24, died after a crash at the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang and while they are still recovering from the tragedy team chief Fausto Gresini said he was pleased to have Bautista on board for next season. "I am particularly satisfied that Alvaro Bautista will ride a Honda RC213V in the colours of Team San Carlo Honda Gresini next year," Gresini told the team website http://www.gresiniracing.com. "He is a very fast rider and I also hold him in high regard for his personality and pleasant nature. "I am sure that he will integrate swiftly into our group and that we will enjoy some pleasant experiences together in the future." — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Djokovic hits bonus jackpot in Paris Posted: 09 Nov 2011 07:33 AM PST Djokovic would have pocketed US$2 million if he had not skipped the Shanghai Masters due to injury. — Reuters pic PARIS, Nov 9 — Novak Djokovic pocketed a $1.6-million (RM5 million) bonus just for turning up on court today before making light of recent shoulder pains to beat Croatian Ivan Dodig 6-4 6-3 in the second round of the Paris Masters. An ATP rule designed to entice top players to take part in top events states that as world number one, Djokovic is entitled to a US$2 million bonus if the plays in all eight Masters tournaments. The bonus drops to US$1.6 million if he misses one — and to nothing if he misses two. Having skipped the Shanghai Masters through injury, the Serbian suffered a recurrence of a shoulder problem in his semi-final defeat in Basel against Japan's Kei Nishikori last week. At Bercy, Djokovic, who has won three grand slams and five Masters title this year, struggled at times against world number 39 Dodig, but served strongly throughout and took his chances when it mattered to book his place in the third round. A break in the 10th game was enough for him to take the lead and another in the sixth game of the second helped him wrap it up. Earlier, second seed Andy Murray started his campaign in ruthless fashion with the Briton easing past France's Jeremy Chardy 6-2 6-4 to reach the third round. World number three Murray, who withdrew from the Basel tournament because of injury, had little difficulty with Chardy after racing into a 4-0 lead in the opening set. He then broke in the fifth game of the second set to secure a 17th consecutive win and set up a meeting with 13th seed Andy Roddick in the next round. Murray completed a stunning hat-trick of titles in as many weeks on the Asian swing of the ATP tour after winning the Shanghai Masters on October 16. He also won in Bangkok and Tokyo. Serbian Janko Tipsarevic kept his slim hopes of making it to the ATP World Tour finals alive when the 11th seed thrashed American Alex Bogomolov Jr 6-1 6-0 to reach the third round. Tipsarevic, who needs to win the title if he is to grab one of the three remaining spots for the November 20-27 event at the O2 in London, will next face Czech Tomas Berdych. The fifth-seeded Berdych will qualify if he reaches the quarter-finals at Bercy or if American Mardy Fish, seeded seven, loses to German Florian Mayer later today. Fourth seed David Ferrer, who has already qualified for the World Tour finals, was barely bothered in a 6-4 6-4 win over French qualifier Nicolas Mahut. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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A Minute With: Mickey Rourke talking ‘Immortals’ Posted: 09 Nov 2011 06:09 AM PST LOS ANGELES, Nov 9 – Mickey Rourke, known for years as a Hollywood bad boy, was perhaps the perfect choice to portray a bad boy of Greek mythology, brutal King Hyperion, in the 3D action movie "Immortals" opening in theatres on Friday. Directed by Tarsem Singh, the movie sees Rourke's evil king on a murderous mission to vanquish both humankind and the Gods of Olympus. But he meets his match in a young stone mason named Theseus (Henry Cavill) who wants to avenge his mother's death. With the help of an Oracle (Freida Pinto) Theseus learns that it is also his destiny to stop Hyperion and save mankind. Rourke (picture) spoke about the film, overcoming his bad boy reputation and his beloved chihuahuas. Q: King Hyperion is physically imposing and wears intricate face masks that almost look like weapons themselves. Was it a challenge wearing all that gear? A: "There was a lot of stuff to put on. The shoes were 12 pounds (5.4 kgs) – apiece. It took three wardrobe assistants to put on each little piece of paraphernalia because it was all layered." Q: How was the shoot itself? A: "I had just had bicep surgery in Heidelberg, Germany. I tore my bicep and the operation didn't work. Three weeks after the operation I lost my whole tendon, then the movie started. We shot during a sort of rehabilitation period for me so I wasn't really able to do much." Q: Did getting a best actor Oscar nomination in 2009 for "The Wrestler" change things for you in Hollywood? A: "Probably to a degree. The reputation I had for 20 years about being difficult and unprofessional is always going to stay. A lot of it was true, but I'm not really that way anymore. I am my own man, and I'm never going to just march to anybody's beat. But I was out of work for 12 years because of the mistakes I made. I don't blame anybody else but myself. I can't make the same mistakes again. I'd be foolish. Those years out of work were a terrible, lonely, pathetic, desperate time." Q: Now that you have this new lease on your career, how can you sustain it so you don't lose it again? A: "Well, it's a younger generation of directors and producers that I'm working with. Its not all the people that I (upset) so terribly. Most of those are out of the business or retired, thank God. The young filmmakers are fearless. (Darren) Arnonofsky, (Robert) Rodriguez, Tarsem (Singh), they don't care what people said about me 20 years ago." Q: You're known for your love of chihuahuas – your 18-year-old Loki passed away just days before the 2009 Oscar ceremony. How's life without her? A: "I'm never going to be over her. You have that 18 and a-half year relationship. It's the longest I've had with anyone, with anything. When they wanted to give me a star on Hollywood Boulevard, I said 'I'll take it if they can put Loki's name there too.' They said 'no,' so I said 'no. If I can't have Loki's name there, I don't want my name there'." Q: Your next project is a screenplay you wrote called "The Beautiful Game," the real story of Gareth Thomas, the Welsh rugby star who announced he was gay. Where are you at with that? A: "I've been training for six months physically and will train another six, then take three months to work on the Welsh accent. Hopefully by the end of March we can shoot in Wales." Q: From a professional boxing career to starring in movies about wrestling and now rugby – you really gravitate towards sports, don't you? A: "That's what I love the most and that's what I miss the most. When you get to an age where you're getting too old to play sports or you can't play like you used to, it's a terrible feeling. You feel like you're slowly decaying. This will be the last time that I'm going to be able to get it up – one last time to get physical – at a point where I could still be respectable." Q: What do you want your legacy to be? A: "I don't want one. When I'm dead and gone, I won't care what they say about me." – Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Hundreds of thousands pay tribute to Indian singer Posted: 09 Nov 2011 03:30 AM PST Mourners follow the body of India's folk singer Bhupen Hazarika during his funeral procession on the outskirts of Guwahati in the northeastern state of Assam November 9, 2011. Hundreds of thousands of mourners, including Bollywood stars and politicians, gathered on Wednesday for the cremation of one of India's most famous folk singers, Hazarika, who helped popularise the culture of the country's remote northeast. – Reuters pic GUWAHATI, Nov 9 – Hundreds of thousands of mourners, including Bollywood stars and politicians, gathered today for the cremation of one of India's most famous folk singers, Bhupen Hazarika, who helped popularise the culture of the country's remote northeast. Known for portraying the social life of Assam and speaking for the poor, the 85-year-old Hazarika was a poet, composer, singer, author and film-maker. "In Dr Hazarika's sad demise, India has lost one of its most gifted artists," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a statement. Hazarika died in Mumbai on Saturday. Thousands of his admirers broke into tears while slogans of "Bhupen da amor houk" (May brother Bhupen be immortal) rang in the air as his body was carried through the city to be cremated on an open pyre. More than half-a-million people have visited the stadium where he often played and where his body had been kept since Monday. Born in 1926 in Assam, he got a PhD from Columbia University and played across Europe, the United States and Asia. Famous for his baritone voice and heart-rending lyrics, Hazarika helped to bring his northeastern homeland to the attention of the rest of India and beyond. Music lovers called him the Bard of the Brahmaputra, a river that runs through Assam. He also contested unsuccessfully national elections in 2004 as a candidate for the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. – Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Tense reconciliation begins with Libya’s Saharan tribes Posted: 09 Nov 2011 03:37 AM PST Tuareg elders sit in Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Obari town November 3, 2011. Meeting in a compound that used to be Muammar Gaddafi's private retreat outside the desert town of Obari, Zintan fighters and a civil and military delegation from the capital of Tripoli are here to make sure the revolution has fully arrived. – Reuters pic OBARI, Nov 9 – "Let us all speak frankly, the Tuareg were with Gaddafi," the revolutionary fighter spat across the table. Ali Aghali, a Tuareg tribesman, calmly pulled his hands out from under his turquoise robe and placed them on the table. He made sure that the fighter had finished speaking. "We are not Gaddafi supporters. Everyone was with Gaddafi before the war, we have left him," he said smiling with his eyes, his mouth covered by a pastel yellow head scarf. The fighter, from the northwestern Libyan town of Zintan, interrupted: "They were." Meeting in a compound that used to be Muammar Gaddafi's private retreat outside the desert town of Obari, Zintan fighters and a civil and military delegation from the capital of Tripoli are here to make sure the revolution has fully arrived. Tensions are running high. Many Tuareg nomad tribes, who roam the southern Sahara desert spanning the borders of Libya and its neighbours, backed Gaddafi late into the war. The Arab fighters of Zintan, on the other hand, pride themselves on the speed at which they turned on Gaddafi. Zintan brigades came here to fight loyalists of the late Libyan leader in June and some have stayed behind, saying they intend to disarm the Tuareg, mediate disputes and reconcile the region with the interim government in the north, the National Transitional Council (NTC). Many look upon the nomads with suspicion. "I've been sent from the Ministry of Defence to sort it out here," said one commander, accusing the Tuareg of fighting for Gaddafi and raping women in the northern cities of Misrata and Zawiya, where bloody battles raged during the civil war. "I will fix it. We are from Zintan and we are real revolutionaries. We need to stay in control here," he added. RECONCILIATION The NTC faces the huge task of reconciling groups all over the country now that Gaddafi is gone after 42 years, and has sent delegations to sensitive areas around the country. In towns around Libya, locals say people have been killed in raids by former rebel brigades seeking revenge against men they believed had fought on Gaddafi's side. There are fears of regional violence, especially in the previous Gaddafi stronghold towns of Sirte, Bani Walid and Sabha, only 200km from Obari. This region was one of the last bastions of Gaddafi in Libya and was only fully taken over by forces loyal to the NTC a month after he was toppled. Many Tuareg backed Gaddafi because he supported their rebellion against the governments of Mali and Niger – where there are large populations of Tuareg – in the 1970s and later allowed more than 100,000 to settle in southern Libya. The tribes are important to regional security because the Tuareg have huge influence in the vast, empty desert expanses which are often exploited by drug traffickers and Islamist militants as a safe haven for their operations. Porous borders, discontent and availability of arms make this region one of the potential hot spots to present an armed challenge to the interim government. BAD PRESS The Tuareg say they are the victims of bad press, named as Gaddafi mercenaries because he used black Africans to fight in the north and accused of giving shelter to Gaddafi's family and his loyalists, a claim that many in the north uphold, including the prime minister of the interim government. "There are still a lot of Gaddafi supporters in the desert, most are black people who speak Arabic. They thought if Gaddafi fell they would become slaves again. Life was very difficult before Gaddafi for them," said Aghali, who has come to meet the Zintani fighters and discuss what will happen next. "But most Tuareg are not supporters of Gaddafi, we saw a lot of planes bringing mercenaries from African countries to fight in the north (during the war)," he said. Aghali spent most of his life living just outside Gaddafi's walled villa and as a child used to play in the fields on which the compound was built in 1990. He went into the actual compound for the first time only a few days ago, and now he sits drinking tea at the dining room table, surrounded by Gaddafi's expensive glassware. "Most Gaddafi supporters (here) are staying in their houses and a lot try to join the revolution. Now, slowly, life will become good," he said. The Tuareg tribesmen are a blur of flowing robes in Gaddafi's living room as they discuss their qualms with the country's new rulers. Although the region does have second and third generation Zintani inhabitants, many of the fighters came during the war and act like an occupying force – armed to the hilt and patrolling the streets in convoys. A Tuareg man was recently shot dead by a Zintani, but few are willing to speak of details and mediations are held behind closed doors – tribal feuds can spiral into further violence, they say. "One man was walking in the street and revolutionaries shot him," said Ahmed Matu, a Tuareg mediator from Obari, a town of around 400,000 people filled with impoverished migrants, many of them Tuareg from Mali, Niger and Chad. Outside, the sprinklers had been turned back on and Matu sits in a room full of chandeliers. Most of the cabinets are empty – the villa was clearly rarely used but is now covered in revolutionary graffiti and guarded by fighters in pickup trucks. UNDERLYING TENSION At a college in central Obari, the NTC Tripoli delegation has come to hold a "town hall" style meeting with around 200 Tuareg elders and some of the Zintani fighters. "I should care about Libya, not only my village or myself," a representative of the NTC said over a microphone. "A doctor from Obari is the same as a doctor from Tripoli or Benghazi," he added, to the crowd's cheers. Both the Zintanis and the Tuareg want to give the impression that progress is being made and laugh and joke together, but the mood becomes tense at times. Tuareg were given the chance to express their grievances. One man said that he had cars stolen and another demanded that imprisoned Tuareg who fought for Gaddafi in Zintan would be released. An NTC military commander said the prisoners would be released after the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha this week, but from the depths of a crowd of Zintanis one fighter shouted out, "They have blood on their hands. The Tuareg signed an agreement with Gaddafi." The room erupted with shouting as the Tuareg tried to refute the claim, desperate to appear to be cooperating. The Tuareg fear reprisals and during the meeting tribesmen try to portray themselves as victims too. "We got nothing from Gaddafi," one elder cried to roars of applause. In towns around Libya, locals say people had been killed in raids by former rebel brigades seeking revenge against men they believed had fought on Gaddafi's side. AFRAID OF A SPARK Members of the NTC Tripoli delegation make some progress but still leave feeling battered and exhausted. "We'll have to come back," said a member of the military delegation. "First we need to solve the personal dispute then we need to put the people here on the right course. We need to get all the guns. We need to open the schools. Because you know the revolution came later here. Some of the southern villagers do not even know that there was a revolution," he sighed. Mossa Elkony, a Tuareg representative to the NTC, says the war has left "psychological wounds that demand a focus on reconciliation." "I hope that Tuareg can restore confidence that has been lost. Unfortunately, they have been involved in this war," he said, just before boarding a military transport aircraft back to the capital. "This makes haters against the Tuareg. We are afraid of a spark. We need to get rid of it at the beginning because it could become a roaring fire." – Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Kids with depressed dads have more behaviour issues Posted: 09 Nov 2011 01:08 AM PST NEW YORK, Nov 9 — Children whose fathers are depressed are more likely to have emotional and behavioural problems than those whose fathers aren't, according to a US study of more than 20,000 families. The issue is especially important at a time when many parents are out of work and struggling to support their families, while others are returning from Afghanistan and Iraq with emotional wounds, said study author Michael Weitzman, at the New York University School of Medicine. Though depression in mothers had long been associated with an increase in problems for children, this is one of the first times the connection with depressed fathers has been studied on such a large scale, he added. "In the big picture of caring about our children and trying to do whatever is best to help them achieve the highest potential . . . clearly fathers are not regularly thought of," Weitzman said. The findings, published in Pediatrics, also showed that children were most likely to have problems when both parents suffered from depression. Weitzman and his colleagues used data from a national study that included home interviews with 21,993 families, all of which had a child between the ages of five and 17, and both a mother and father living at home. At each interview, either the mother or the father answered questions about depression symptoms in both parents, as well as how much trouble children had getting along with their parents or other children, and behaviour at home and at school. Eleven per cent of children with a depressed father had problems at home or at school, and 19 per cent had problems if their mother was depressed. If both parents had depression, as many as one in four children struggled emotionally and behaviourally. When neither parent had depression symptoms — the case in nearly nine in 10 families — only 6 per cent had emotional and behavioural problems. Weitzman and his colleagues said the study doesn't prove that parents' moods rub off on their children. For example, parents could be more prone to depression if their children have those problems. But it still seemed likely that having a depressed parent had consequences for children, they said. Other researchers agreed. "Parents who are depressed tend to engage less with their children, tend to display less positive behaviours, and display more harsh, negative and critical behaviors," said Jeremy Pettit, a psychologist from Florida International University in Miami, who was not involved with the study. He added that while there was no clear evidence that treating depression in parents would cut down on depression in children, recognising the condition when it was there and seeking out treatment for it was the best possible approach. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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MAS: Raja Nong Chik cabar Sekretariat Kg Baru kemuka bukti Posted: 09 Nov 2011 02:40 AM PST KUALA LUMPUR, 9 Nov – Sekretariat Pembangunan Kampung Baru dicabar mengemukakan bukti bahawa Lembaga Pentadbir Pertanian Penempatan (MAS) Kampung Baru di bawah bidang kuasa kerajaan Selangor. "Dia akan keluarkan bukti? Keluarkanlah...," kata Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin kepada pemberita hari ini. Beliau mengulas kenyataan Pengerusi sekretariat itu Ahmad Zambri As'ad Khuzami bahawa mereka mempunyai bukti Mas masih berada di bawah bidang kuasa kerajaan negeri Selangor. Dalam laporan The Malaysian Insider pagi tadi, Sekretariat Pembangunan Kampung Baru menolak kenyataan Raja Nong Chik Sabtu lalu menegaskan bahawa kerajaan negeri Selangor tidak mempunyai kuasa ke atas MAS Kampung Baru. Ahmad Zambri berkata, Kampung Baru secara fizikalnya terletak di bawah Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur. Namun begitu, katanya, peruntukan dalam Enakmen Tanah Petempatan Pertanian Melayu 1950 menyatakan MAS tertakluk kepada bidang kuasa negeri Selangor. "Bekas Ahli Parlimen Titiwangsa, Datuk Astaman Aziz  pernah membangkitkan persoalan berkaitan undang-undang ini di Parlimen pada 27 Jun 2006, dan pada masa itu, jawapan yang diterima daripada Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz menyatakan, Jabatan Peguam Negara sendiri mengesahkan bahawa Peraturan Penempatan Pertanian Melayu 1951, Warta Negeri Selangor No.50/1951 masih lagi berkuat kuasa sehingga hari ini. "Seksyen 6(1) Akta Perlembagaan (Pindaan) 1974, Akta A 2006 menyatakan bahawa mana-mana undang-undang bertulis yang berkuat kuasa di Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur hendaklah terus berkuat kuasa dalam wilayah terbabit sehinggalah undang-undang itu dimansuhkan, dipinda atau digantikan oleh undang-undang bertulis lain yang diluluskan oleh Parlimen," katanya yang mempertahankan tindakannya. Sabtu lalu, Raja Nong Chik berkata, Menteri Besar Selangor tidak punya kuasa merombak kepimpinan tertinggi MAS Kampung Baru. Mengulas lanjut, Raja Nong Chik berkata MAS dipengerusikan Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur yang secara langsung berada di bawah bidang kuasa kementeriannya. "...macam mana dia kata Selangor ada kuasa? Sedangkan ia adalah bidang tugas kerajaan pusat di bawah Kementerian Wilayah Persekutuan. Dari segi kuasa merombak keanggotaan lembaga itu juga terletak di bawah kerajaan persekutuan," katanya dipetik Bernama Online. Raja Nong Chik juga menyifatkan isu itu sengaja ditimbulkan bagi tujuan politik. "Sebelum ini saya pernah tegaskan bahawa hasrat kerajaan untuk membangunkan kawasan itu (Kampung Baru) tiada kaitan dengan politik. Niat kita baik untuk membantu pewaris dan pemilik tanah di Kampung Baru memajukan kawasan mereka tapi dengan keizinan mereka," katanya. Isu Mas timbul susulan kenyataan Ahmad Zambri pada hujung bulan lepas yang mendakwa rombakan Mas akan dilakukan atas kuasa yang ada pada Menteri Besar Selangor. Bagaimanapun dalam kenyataan balasnya, Raja Nong Chik dilapor berkata kerajaan Selangor tidak berhak campur tangan dalam pentadbiran Mas kerana badan itu terletak di bawah bidang kuasa kerajaan pusat. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Mufti Pahang: Sokong, terbabit hubungan sejenis boleh bawa murtad Posted: 09 Nov 2011 02:37 AM PST PEKAN, 9 Nov – Mufti Pahang Datuk Abdul Rahman Osman berkata sebarang kegiatan songsang yang bertentangan dengan agama Islam terutama membabitkan hubungan sejenis boleh menjurus seseorang muslim itu kepada murtad. Beliau berkata hubungan sejenis atau songsang amat ditegah dalam Islam kerana ia membawa kepada pupusnya manusia sejagat. "Kegiatan bertentangan dengan agama membawa seseorang itu kepada murtad," katanya kepada pemberita di sini mengulas penganjuran Seksualiti Merdeka 2011 yang dikecam dan mendapat bantahan meluas pelbagai pihak termasuk wakil-wakil agama di dalam negara. Dipetik Bernama Online, beliau menasihatkan umat Islam menghindari perilaku songsang. Malah, katanya menyokong program sedemikian pun dilarang sama sekali. "Hubungan sejenis tidak dibenarkan Islam dan di Pahang ini tidak mahu adanya kumpulan lelaki yang menolak perempuan dan sebaliknya," tambah beliau. Abdul Rahman menasihatkan semua pihak termasuk ibu bapa menjaga anak-anak daripada terlibat dengan perkara-perkara yang boleh memesongkan akidah. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Malaysian goals: Score them, keep them Posted: 08 Nov 2011 04:12 PM PST NOV 9 — Following the setback that our national team suffered against Singapore in the World Cup 2014 qualifiers in July, I was asked this question — how crucial is the defence of the SEA Games gold medal in football to Malaysia's long-term goal of returning to the top tier of Asian football? Before I give a response to the above, let me update everyone on what has transpired in the SEA Games so far. The football competition started last Thursday with Vietnam defeating the Philippines 3-1 in the opening match. The surprise package so far has been the East Timorese. They have beaten both Brunei and the Philippines by the same 2-1 scoreline to be in the running for the runners-up spot in Group B, behind expected group winners Vietnam. The other contender in that group is Myanmar, who have beaten Laos and drawn with Vietnam so far. On Monday, Malaysia opened their account in the competition, in the first Group A encounter, with a scoreless draw against Singapore. It was a mind-numbing match for the most part, though Malaysian captain Baddrol Bakhtiar did provide some excitement thanks to his dangerous freekicks. Malaysia next face Thailand, at 5pm (Malaysian time) today. Back to the question at hand, here is how I see it.  As recently as two years ago, most Malaysians had given up on their national footballers achieving anything at the regional level, let alone across the continent. Winning fosters hope, however, and winning twice simply raises that hope to greater heights. At the same time, it also creates wishful thinking among some of the older fans for a return to the glory days of Malaysian football. And that's what happened when K. Rajagobal's U-23 squad triumphed over all in the last SEA Games held in Laos back in December 2009. Then, with many of the same young men plus some fresh faces, he led the team again as Malaysia defeated Indonesia to win the AFF Suzuki Cup last December. The Harimau Malaysia, as the team is nicknamed, was feted by the whole nation and the promise of a new era in Malaysian football was heralded by the media, football officials, the fraternity of ex-football players, Malaysians from all walks of life and even the government, of course. We even got a public holiday because of that AFF Suzuki Cup victory. Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, Mohd Safee Sali, Safiq Rahim, S. Kunalan and goalie Khairul Fahmi were among the young national players who became household names in all the excitement that followed. As a Malaysian, and more importantly, as someone who watched Malaysia at the peak of their football fortunes — from the1970s to the early 1980s — this was the closest to the return of the glory years I had felt in the past quarter of a century. Stadiums were filled to the max and a national fervour united the people of all races and ages better than any government propaganda message could possibly achieve. Everyone agreed that it was time for Malaysia to be feared once again in the game regionally, even if not across the whole continent, yet. Fast forward 11 months and we are now well into the football competition of the 26th SEA Games in Palembang, Indonesia. Under coach Ong Kim Swee, the team has the opportunity to make it three in a row in the Asean region. Ong has started to groom the next generation of footballers after some players from the previous SEA Games squad moved up with coach Rajagobal to the senior squad. There is a positive feeling about the camp as the U-23 squad, missing up to 10 regulars, still had a good run in the VFF Cup hosted by the Vietnam Football Federation in Hanoi last month. Despite playing with some players who were even under-19, Malaysia lost only one game and that too, to a side from outside the region — 1-3 to Uzbekistan. We then drew 1-1 against the home nation and defeated Myanmar 2-1, to end in third position in the competition. However, there are three words that hang over the fortunes of Malaysia in the SEA Games 2011 "group of death". Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore stand in their way while Cambodia completes Group A. From the highs of the past 24 months, the general feeling now among many Malaysian football fans and even pundits is that this U-23 squad has nothing to prove as defending champions. It is understood that the competition will prove to be tough for our young men, and getting past the group stage will be achievement enough. That is not to say it would be acceptable to lose. There is just a realisation that we are in a new era in Malaysian football on the international stage. There is a sense of pride no matter what the result, as long as the team plays well and prove their worth. Gone are the days of fearing the team will lose to Asian minnows like the Philippines or being unable to recognise, let alone name, a single player in the squad. The wait of more than 25 years for the return of our football pride has taught us patience and even the setback of losing to neighbours Singapore in the Fifa World Cup Asian qualifying second round in July has not really dampened the hope of the nation. Besides that, there is a tangible feeling of fresh young talents emerging, showcasing their best in the domestic league, and even taking their chances on the international scene, be it in Indonesia (Safee) or in Europe (Wan Zack Wan Haikal had a stint in the Slovakian First Division, but was not picked for the SEA Games due to injury). It is indeed going to be a long journey but the passion that the events of the past two years has planted in the hearts of the youths — besides their exposure to great football from Europe week-in-week-out — has given this writer a sense of comfort that we are definitely on the right track. It is only a matter of when, and not if, we will ever be back in the top tier of Asian football. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Why can’t we just let everyone be fabulous? Posted: 08 Nov 2011 03:35 PM PST NOV 9 — If metaphors became literal, I imagine most of us would be standing in broken glass. Stones scattered amongst the bewildered faces, people unable to understand how they became the targets. By the nature of our inherent imperfections, we are ill-qualified to pass judgement on other people. But we do it anyway. It is easier by far to destroy than to build. Easier to find fault than perfection. Easier to sit around and gripe than to move to either remove the source of our woes or to grasp, instead, something that gives us joy. Take the recent passing of Apple icon Steve Jobs. Not long after his death, articles decrying the hero worship surrounding him appeared. "So-and-so is the real saviour/icon/messiah/next top model, not Steve Jobs!" If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that every single one of those people behind said articles will never come within a mile of greatness. Not because they vilified Steve Jobs, but because they expended so much effort into doing so. There is a big difference between critiquing an effort or creative work and making a personal attack. Only the meanest of souls find joy in shredding a person into pieces. It takes a lot of energy to revile and hate. The people who aspire to higher things simply do not have the time. Look at the artists. The statesmen. The visionaries. One thing they had in common was a desire to do something bigger than themselves. This desire consumed so much of their efforts it made no sense to spend even an hour of their time mocking another human being. Not that a few of them didn't indulge in some of that but history does not remember them for their personal attacks. So I put this question to the legion of personal attack junkies: Lu takde kerja ke? (Don't you have anything (better) to do?) It is hard for me to believe politicians are busy people when they spend so much time reviling movements like Seksualiti Merdeka. The economy is troubled, our education system is broken, crime and poverty are still problems and they're more concerned about Ali wanting to bonk Abu. Whatever morality is, I find it hard to equate it with injustice, intolerance and cruelty. The argument from supposed guardians of morality (and what's between my legs, it seems) is that their acting like nosy, virgin biddies is in God's name. Who made them God? Is there some commandment somewhere declaring "You shall disallow any men who like men from being fabulous; Kimora Lee owns the patent on that"? To quote from the book Ecclesiastes: "No one can tell us what will happen after we are gone." I object to anyone trying to save my soul as no one has as yet furnished me proof of my future destination after death. Yes, I believe in God but I consider it a personal flaw requiring too much effort to remedy. Like my flat nose, crooked teeth and my scary obsession with Alan Rickman. Over the years, all of those flaws — including my belief in God despite the fervent efforts of atheists —are just part of what makes me, me. At the end of the day, when I see God I hope that I will have more to say than "I threw stones at people from my glass house. Well, everyone was doing it!" * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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