Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

---

Federer beats Ferrer to reach London final Posted: 26 Nov 2011 07:58 AM PST Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts after winning his singles semi-final tennis match against David Ferrer of Spain at the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London on November 26, 2011. ― Reuters pic LONDON, Nov 26 ― Defending champion Roger Federer overcame some dogged resistance by Spain's David Ferrer to reach the final of the ATP World Tour Finals today, winning 7-5 6-3 at the O2 Arena. The Swiss, bidding for a record sixth title at the Tour finale, needed the best part of an hour to take the opening set off one of the most tenacious competitors in tennis, but was untroubled after breaking through early in the second. Federer will face the winner of the other semi-final between French powerhouse Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Czech Tomas Berdych in tomorrow's final. Should he win the title he would pocket the US$1.63 million (RM5.21 million) jackpot for an undefeated champion. Ferrer went into the match with a 0-11 record against the 16-times grand slam champion and though he kept pace with the Swiss in the first set there was a feeling that he was merely staving off the inevitable. The Spaniard had a glimmer of a chance at 4-5 in the opening set when Federer eventually held serve after five deuces, although he never had to save a set point. Federer then played a brilliant point to reach 15-40 on the Ferrer serve in the next game and he converted his second point when his opponent went wide with a forehand. He served out the set with ease and then pounced right at the start of the second set to take complete control. That single break proved enough as he completed a routine victory in one hour 25 minutes. Victory also meant that Federer will end the year as world number three, moving back above Britain's Andy Murray who withdrew from the tournament with a groin strain. ― Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Stoke pile more misery on Blackburn and Kean Posted: 26 Nov 2011 06:39 AM PST LONDON, Nov 26 — Stoke City brushed aside Premier League strugglers Blackburn Rovers 3-1 in today's lunchtime kickoff to increase the pressure on under-fire manager Steve Kean.  Defeat left Rovers rooted in the bottom two and they could drop to the basement later if Wigan win at Sunderland (1500).  Kean, the subject of protests from Rovers fans who want him out of Ewood Park, signed a revised deal this week — albeit without a change in the length of his contract — in a show of support from the club's Indian owners Venky's.  His side, with just one win from 13 games, were well beaten at the Britannia stadium, falling behind on 28 minutes when Rory Delap glanced in Jermaine Pennant's free kick.  Argentine Mauro Formica missed a great chance to level soon after the restart but completely missed his kick just a metre out.  Stoke doubled their lead on 58 minutes when Glenn Whelan's blast from the edge of the box took a deflection to beat goalkeeper Paul Robinson.  Peter Crouch made it 3-0 with a fine left-foot finish 18 minutes from time before Spaniard Ruben Rochina fired home a late consolation.  Leaders Manchester City are not in action until tomorrow when they travel to Liverpool (1600). Second-placed Manchester United can close the gap to two points if they beat Newcastle at Old Trafford later today (1500). — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Features

---

China state TV teaches good manners to golf fans Posted: 26 Nov 2011 12:38 AM PST Omega Mission Hills World Cup in Hainan Island, China. — AFP pic HAINAN, Nov 26 — China's government-run television network CCTV has been broadcasting public information films to coincide with this week's golf World Cup in Hainan, to instruct fans on how to behave on the links. The etiquette campaign tells spectators to stop chatting, taking photos, to switch off their phones and stay within the ropes at the November 23-27 event, staged at the five-star Missions Hills golf complex in south China. "A month prior to this event, we approached the government to shoot a short film showing the golf etiquette expected to be shown by spectators," said Mission Hills vice-chairman Tenniel Chu. "The Government was very supportive. The film has been shown regularly on terrestrial TV channels to teach the Chinese golf fans the do's and don'ts on the golf course ahead of the event," he added. And it seems the master class in manners is working at the World Cup, claims Chu, a son of the late "Chinese father of Golf," Hong Kong tycoon David Chu, who died in August. "We had over 20,000 fans on the first day of the World Cup. I walked a few holes on the first morning and I did not hear one phone go off. It was good to see the sophistication and maturity of the spectators," he said. Chinese fans are notoriously restless and noisy at sporting events. World number three Lee Westwood was annoyed with fans taking photos as he teed off and his caddy tried to wrestle a camera from one fan. And a loud clearing of throat by one fan during a tee off caused world number two Rory McIlroy and his caddy to shake their heads and laugh in disbelief. The Chu family has close influential government ties and is credited with bringing major events to China and helping swell Chinese golf fans from 50,000 in the mid-90s to over 3 million and growing in 2011. Ahead of the Beijing 2008 Games, the Chinese government embarked on massive campaign to brush up the public's behaviour as the world's eyes turned on China. — AFP-Relaxnews Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

‘Password’ tops the list of worst passwords for 2011 Posted: 25 Nov 2011 07:16 PM PST LONDON, Nov 26 — These days there are so many sites and accounts you need to log into that it is hard to think of new, unique passwords. So often, when it comes down to creating a new password people either use the same password over and over again or create easy to remember passwords (or both). According to password management application maker SplashID, some of the most commonly used passwords for 2011 are "password," "123456," "12345678," "qwerty," "abc123" and "monkey." Keep your online accounts safe by choosing hard-to-guess passwords. — Picture courtesy of shutterstock.com Many of these passwords keep re-appearing in the list of common passwords year after year, signalling that people either can't be bothered to change their passwords or don't understand the importance of keeping their online identities safe.  "If you're one of those people who thought it was clever to use "password" as your password, it's time to wisen up and make a change. Switching the "o" to a zero to make it 'passw0rd'? Not much better," advised SplashID. By using simple numerical passwords or short common words as your password, you're making it easy for computers or cybercriminals to break into your accounts. "Hackers can easily break into many accounts just by repeatedly trying common passwords," warned SplashID CEO Morgan Slain. "Even though people are encouraged to select secure, strong passwords, many people continue to choose weak, easy-to-guess ones, placing themselves at risk from fraud and identity theft." Slain added, "[w]hat you don't want is a password that is easily guessable. If you have a password that is short or common or a word in the dictionary, it's like leaving your door open for identity thieves." Microsoft advises that the keys to creating strong passwords are "length and complexity" on its Safety and Security Center website. Lifehacker suggests using multi-word phrases with spaces — which are much easier to remember — to make your passwords more secure (rather than using a more risky six-character-only password). Want to know how long it would take a desktop computer to crack your password? Test it withhttp://howsecureismypassword.net/. SplashID identified the most commonly used passwords list for 2011 by trawling through files "containing millions of stolen passwords" that were posted online by hackers. The top 25 most commonly used passwords for 2011 according to SplashID: 1. password 2. 123456 3. 12345678 4. qwerty 5. abc123 6. monkey 7. 1234567 8. letmein 9. trustno1 10. dragon 11. baseball 12. 111111 13. iloveyou 14. master 15. sunshine 16. ashley 17. bailey 18. passw0rd 19. shadow 20. 123123 21. 654321 22. superman 23. qazwsx 24. michael 25. football — AFP-Relaxnews Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Features To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

---

Michelle Williams talks Marilyn, Matilda and musicals Posted: 25 Nov 2011 05:45 PM PST LOS ANGELES, Nov 26 — Michelle Williams takes on the iconic role of Marilyn Monroe in the indie film "My Week with Marilyn." Currently in cinemas, the film is based on Colin Clark's book of the same name and chronicles his time spent working with Monroe while she was in England shooting the romantic comedy "The Prince and the Showgirl" in 1956. Williams sat down with Reuters to talk about portraying Monroe, the film, shooting her current role of Glinda the good witch in Sam Raimi's "Oz: The Great and Powerful" and her six-year-old daughter Matilda with late actor Heath Ledger. Williams, who portrays Marilyn Monroe in the film 'My Week With Marilyn', poses at a screening of the movie during AFI Fest 2011 in Hollywood on November 6, 2011. — Reuters pic Q: Did you have an awareness of Marilyn Monroe and her star power when you were younger? A: "I was interested in her, but then I kind of lost track of her over the last 10 years or so. I had a poster of her up in my room. It wasn't a picture of her as the icon, it was a picture of her looking like an ordinary joyful girl. So I definitely had some kind of connection. (Working on this film) reignited whatever initial, sort of, attraction I had to her when I was a teenager." Q: Did you do your own singing in the film? A: "Yes and my mother is going to be so excited when she sees this. She always wanted me to sing and dance. I had so much fun doing that!" Q: So doing a musical could be in the cards for you? A: "I would love to. What's so liberating about singing and dancing is that it turns your head off. You coast on this wave of muscle memory. You literally can't think while you're performing. There's a kind of transcendence to it. I think maybe that's why Marilyn was so especially talented at it. Her singing and dancing are unparalleled and her musical numbers are just breathtaking." Q: The film used many of the same locations in shooting "Prince and the Showgirl." Did that add to the production? A: "There was a lot of synchronicity. We shot in the actual Parkside house (that Marilyn lived in). My dressing room at Pinewood was Marilyn's actual dressing room. That was so special. The stage where she shot that song and dance number was the stage where I shot mine. So many of the props in our movie were in the original 'Prince and the Showgirl' movie." Q: Did it ever feel ghostly? A: "Well, it's all energy. And it's what you make of it. I like to make things out of nothing! (laughs) I like to spin things out of thin air, so that stuff works for me." Q: Did you wear wigs for the part, or grow out your hair? A: "I wore wigs, but I had to keep my hair really bleached underneath because it would show through the wigs. My eyebrows had to be dark and they were reshaped. You go through so many grotesque phases making movies (laughs). I never really feel quite like myself. I just feel like a mutant — always halfway in between some other person and myself. I don't know what belongs to me and what doesn't!" Q: After filming ended was it hard to let go of Marilyn? A: "I think when you work in a way that really gets under your skin, it's not an easy break. You make a little extra room for these people that you play and then they leave. You're left with this hollow space. I wish I could play her again." Q: Does your daughter Matilda come to set? A: "She comes with me everywhere." Q: How do you balance getting into character and then going home at the end of the day to be a mom? A: "What works for me is to have a commute from where we live to where I work. So that in the morning, I leave the house behind and walk clean and fresh into my professional life. And then the same thing on the way home. I find that a 20- or 30-minute commute makes a kind of passageway for me that I need." Q: You're currently shooting "Oz," playing Glinda. Matilda must love coming to that set. A: "It's the best thing professionally that's happened to us. It has brought her on board my work in a way that wasn't possible in a movie like 'Marilyn' or 'Blue Valentine.' On those, there was no space for a kid to come visit and be a kid. (With 'Oz') she comes every single day after school because it's like a playground. She says, 'There's only one good witch and it's my mom.' She's very excited about it." Q: It's interesting that you said the project was the best thing to happen professionally to "us" not "me." A: "Definitely. Every choice that I make is about how it's going to affect our life -- where it films, how long it is, what else is going on in her year, what's the last job I did, how much time I've had off in between, how much time we had to really deeply connect and how long can we sustain a period of time where I'm working. So when 'Oz' came along, it was very clear to me that it was the right decision for us." — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

‘Mousetrap’ play enters 60th year with plan to expand Posted: 25 Nov 2011 05:22 PM PST LONDON, Nov 26 — The big mystery may be why it hasn't happened before, but Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" — the longest-running show in the world — will finally tour Britain in 2012 to mark its 60th birthday. The play's diamond jubilee falls on November 25, 2012, and yesterday as it enters its 60th year, organisers announced a series of events to celebrate the landmark. Yesterday's performance was the 24,587th, yet for all its popularity, the show's producer said he wanted more. "I'm very conscious that although we've had good houses for 60 years, the amount of people who've seen the show in London is about the same as a single show of 'Downton Abbey'," said Stephen Waley-Cohen, referring to the hit British drama on ITV which attracts up to 10 million viewers per episode. He added that other plays had enjoyed a new lease of life when they toured outside London. "I've been aware that tours of many shows have enhanced their performance in London if they have been done to very high standards, most recently 'Yes, Prime Minister' and 'Mamma Mia!'," Waley-Cohen told Reuters. "I believe a high-quality tour done as a major event will be good for London as well as for the 60 cities it visits." The murder mystery began life as a radio play broadcast in 1947 which was then turned by its author into a short story and later into a full play. Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim starred in the original 1952 production at The Ambassadors Theatre, and actors ever since have repeated his curtain speech urging audiences to keep the identity of the murderer to themselves. Asked to explain the secret of "The Mousetrap's" success, Waley-Cohen replied: "No one really knows, but I think it's two main things. One is the play is really good storytelling — it grabs your attention and holds your attention. "It's (also) got contemporary resonances in child abuse and a young woman who may or may not be what she seems to be, a young man who may or may not be what he seems to be, the sinister foreigner. "They may sound like caricatures, but Agatha Christie was much cleverer as a writer than that." As part of the 60th celebrations, "The Mousetrap" will tour Britain for the first time starting in September 2012 at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. It is expected to visit most of the country's main regional theatres during its run of up to 60 weeks and each star actor will perform for 12 weeks. Mousetrap Productions has licensed 60 productions of the play worldwide, and several countries will be seeing it for the first time. Mousetrap Theatre Projects, a leading theatre education charity, will also run a new writing project at 60 primary schools across London at which pupils will write their own short mysteries. A charity fee of 60 pence (RM3) per ticket will also be introduced to benefit charities working with young people and the arts. Waley-Cohen said "The Mousetrap", like many other top West End productions, has survived the financial crisis relatively well. West End box-office receipts hit a record high of £512 million in 2010, and he expected "somewhere close" to that figure in 2011. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Books

---

Jack Kerouac’s ‘lost novel’ published Posted: 26 Nov 2011 12:46 AM PST 'The Sea is My Brother: The Lost Novel' by Jack Kerouac published by Penguin. — AFP pic NEW YORK, Nov 26 — The first book from iconic American writer Jack Kerouac, which went unpublished and considered "lost" in his lifetime, was finally published on Thursday.  The original 158-page handwritten manuscript was Kerouac's first novel, begun when the writer — most famous for his free-wheeling trip across America captured in "On The Road" — kept a journal of life at sea as a merchant marine, in 1942, when he was just 20 years old.  "The Sea is My Brother: The Lost Novel," published by Penguin Classics, showcases a young Kerouac's gritty talent, which would later bloom during the late 1950s "beat" movement.  He died in 1969 at age 47 from an internal hemorrhage caused after many years of heavy drinking.  The newly-published novel follows the character of Wesley Martin, a man Kerouac said "loved the sea with a strange, lonely love; the sea is his brother and sentences. "He goes down," according to Penguin.  In notes found for the book, Kerouac envisioned the characters as "the vanishing American, the big free by, the American Indian, the last of the pioneers, the last of the hoboes," Penguin said.  The book is, in Kerouac's words, about a "man's simple revolt from society as it is, with the inequalities, frustration, and self-inflicted agonies." — AFP-Relaxnews Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Books To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

---

Maal Hijrah: Najib, Muhyiddin gesa umat Islam mulakan lembaran baru Posted: 26 Nov 2011 03:30 AM PST KUALA LUMPUR, 26 Nov — Datuk Seri Najib Razak berkata umat Islam harus berani melakukan penghijrahan dan transformasi di dalam negara bagi memastikan bangsa tidak ketinggalan.  Perdana Menteri (gambar) berkata penghijrahan dengan melaksanakan agenda transformasi negara menerusi beberapa pelan tindakan yang kukuh, meletakkan Malaysia di landasan tepat dalam pelbagai bidang terutama ekonomi.  "Penghijrahan besar yang kita lakukan apabila memperkenalkan Program Transformasi Ekonomi (ETP) menjadikan negara terus aktif dan berdaya saing walaupun berdepan dengan krisis ekonomi global yang semakin mencabar," katanya dalam perutusan Maal Hijrah 1433H yang akan disambut esok.  Dipetik Bernama Online, Najib berkata bagi tahun ini, sejak Januari sehingga September, kadar pertumbuhan purata dicatatkan negara ialah 5.1 peratus manakala kadar pertumbuhan bagi suku ketiga tahun ini ialah sekitar 5.8 peratus.  Katanya agenda penghijrahan ekonomi dan pembangunan negara selama ini telah membuktikan falsafah kesederhanaan dan keseimbangan adalah satu pencapaian hebat dan mesej dakwah Islamiah yang besar di tahap global.  "Sama ada di peringkat Asia mahupun dunia, kita juga konsisten menyarankan pembentukan pergerakan kesederhanaan di peringkat global, hakikatnya kita telah merujuk kepada semangat ajaran al-Quran dan as-Sunah," katanya.  Sementara itu, Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dalam perutusannya mengingatkan seluruh umat Islam di negara ini memulakan lembaran baru 1433 Hijrah dengan iltizam yang jitu untuk memperkukuh dan mempertingkatkan ilmu serta keupayaan dalam setiap tugas dan tanggungjawab yang diamanahkan, agar dapat melaksana transformasi dan pembaharuan dengan cekap dan efektif.  Beliau berkata susulan itu, hasil daripada sesuatu tugas dan pekerjaan yang dilaksanakan akan menjadi lebih baik, berkualiti, produktif di samping menjana manfaat sepenuhnya kepada diri, keluarga dan masyarakat.  "Saya juga percaya dan yakin transformasi konsep hijrah ini sesuai dijadikan model dan panduan dalam masyarakat majmuk di Malaysia ini, khususnya dalam usaha kita bekerjasama bagi memperkasakan kekayaan ekonomi dan memakmurkan kesejahteraan serta menguatkan lagi kesepakatan rakyat di negara yang kita cintakan ini," katanya.  Muhyiddin berkata hijrah memerlukan pengorbanan yang besar dalam melaksana perubahan bagi mencapai sesuatu yang lebih baik dan cemerlang.  "Oleh itu, di dalam konteks globalisasi hari ini, setiap dari kita dituntut menanam sikap ingin melaksana pembaharuan dan kemajuan dengan semangat dan azam yang tinggi berlandaskan prinsip dan syariat Islam," katanya.  Sambutan Maal Hijrah Peringkat Kebangsaan Tahun 1433 Hijrah/2011 Masehi adalah bertemakan "Persefahaman Asas Perpaduan Ummah". Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Najib: Ahli Umno kena terbuka terima calon boleh menang Posted: 26 Nov 2011 03:26 AM PST KUALA LUMPUR, 26 Nov — Datuk Seri Najib Razak berkata calon boleh menang mestilah seseorang yang boleh diterima majoriti pengundi dalam masyarakat tempatan serta jentera parti.  Perdana Menteri berkata sekiranya jentera parti menolak, seseorang yang ada kebolehan atau mempunyai rekod kerja yang baik pun pada akhirnya tidak akan berjaya, seterusnya parti akan kalah dan kehilangan kuasa.  "Kalau kita sebagai anggota parti tidak ada sikap yang terbuka dan kita tekankan orang tu (calon itu) mesti merupakan calon yang ikut hierarki (parti) tapi calon kita itu tak mungkin berjaya, calon kita akan gagal," katanya kepada Bernama semasa wawancara khas menjelang Perhimpunan Agung Umno 2011, hari ini.  Dipetik Bernama Online, Presiden Umno itu menegaskan pentingnya semua pihak dalam parti memahami maksud calon boleh menang yang mahu ditonjolkan semasa pilihan raya.  "Kalau tidak, sukar nak mencapai kejayaan. Kalau calon boleh menang  tu ditampilkan dalam kelompok dalam bahagian tanpa mengambil kira kehendak pengundi teramai, calon itu pun tak akan berjaya," kata Najib.  Beliau mengakui adalah sukar untuk memuaskan hati semua pihak, terutama di peringkat bahagian Umno.  Tetapi menurutnya, "rumusan calon boleh menang itu adalah supaya setiap kerusi yang ditandingi mempunyai peluang terbaik untuk menang."  Bagaimanapun katanya, proses pemilihan calon belum muktamad dan penilaian akan dibuat bukan sahaja secara subjektif tetapi juga objektif.  "Ini yang paling penting sekali, bukanlah orang yang kita sukai secara peribadi tetapi orang yang boleh diterima sebahagian besar pengundi dalam kawasan berkenaan. Itulah yang mesti kita lakukan," katanya.  Katanya soal menentukan calon ini adalah satu perkara yang sangat mencabar dan sukar dilakukan dan mustahil parti dapat memuaskan semua orang.  "Mengikut pengalaman saya 35 tahun dalam politik, tak pernah berlaku dalam pilihan raya (calon yang dipilih memuaskan hati semua orang).  "Tapi apapun yang dibuat parti, keputusan parti, pada kesudahannya kita kena terimalah, sebagai orang parti keputusan parti walaupun keputusan itu tidak mengikut selera atau kehendak kita," katanya.  Najib (gambar) berkata, banyak juga peristiwa di mana beliau melihat orang yang setia kepada parti, walaupun keputusan parti tidak disenanginya tetapi menerimanya dan akhirnya calon akan menang.  "Sebaliknya kalau dia terus menentang, dia nak kata apa nak jadi-jadilah, aku nak menentang. Jadi maknanya dia tak setia pada parti dan calon itu kalah dan maknanya parti akan kalah. Dia patut sedar bila parti kalah makna kita akan kehilangan kuasa," katanya.  Najib juga mengakui bahawa di peringkat bahagian pun, anggota parti tidak sependapat mengenai calon terbaik di kalangan mereka dan apa yang harus ada ialah disiplin parti.  "Maknanya bila sampai pada masanya (pemilihan calon), keputusan itu perlu diterima, disokong dan terus dipertahankan oleh setiap ahli parti," katanya.  Katanya, kriteria pemilihan calon ini difikirkan wajar berikutan keputusan pada pilihan raya umum 2008 yang menyaksikan Barisan Nasional dan Umno tewas di lima buah negeri dan perlu menjadi pengajaran yang tidak harus dilupakan.  Menggunakan analogi semangat dan perjuangan skuad Harimau Muda yang menggondol pingat emas pada Sukan SEA Ke-26 di Jakarta-Palembang baru-baru ini, walaupun menghadapi cabaran sengit, beliau berkata Umno juga perlu mempunyai ketahanan mental dan fizikal dalam menghadapi pilihan raya.  "Kalau kita ada kekuatan mental dan kita ada jiwa yang kental, kita boleh berdepan dengan persekitaran yang sangat mencabar walaupun pihak musuh membuat apa jua tekanan terhadap kita termasuk tekanan psikologi dan emosi.  "Kalau kita kental dari segi kekuatan minda kita, dan semangat kita pun kukuh, maka sudah terbukti seperti analogi Harimau Muda itu, kita boleh mengatasi keadaan yang sangat berat menekan kita, mencengkam kita, walaupun gelanggang tidak sama rata seperti di Jakarta, tapi pasukan kita akhirnya berjaya juga," katanya.  Mengenai pengundi muda, beliau berkata sudah terbukti dalam pilihan raya kecil sejak dua tahun yang lepas, biasanya majoriti golongan itu menyokong Umno.  "Bererti sudah terbukti bahawa tidak semestinya orang muda bersikap 'anti-establishment' (anti kerajaan) dan tidak menyokong parti kerajaan iaitu parti BN, mereka akan menilai, siapakah yang lebih memahami kehendak dan naluri mereka sebagai orang muda," katanya. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

---

Hurray for Harimau Muda! Posted: 25 Nov 2011 04:18 PM PST NOV 26 — It was a sweet, sweet Monday night for all Malaysians as our football team managed to defend our gold medal at this year's edition of the SEA Games, in the final match against the host nation in front of an estimated crowd of 100,000 crowd — more than 95 per cent of whom were opposition fans. Definitely not an easy feat, especially for such a young team. We've seen this happen many times before in Malaysian football — promising young national team wins a title or medal, resulting in a huge wave of optimism amongst Malaysians, only for said team to then burn out spectacularly because of money, gifts and complacency. But as an ardent fan and follower of football in general, such pessimism has got a healthy potential to be proven wrong by this bunch of talented young footballers simply by virtue of the way they set out to play football. After watching all the matches involving our gold-winning team at this SEA Games, with the unfortunate exception of our group stage win over eventual silver medal winners and home team Indonesia because of work commitments, it really does seem that this is a team built on solid football foundation, namely a team built from the back, with an emphasis on defending properly and keeping possession of the ball. No matter how the games turned out, one thing remained constant in the team's performances, which is stout defending. Our opening game draw against Singapore might have been called a yawn-fest by observers everywhere, but what really struck me then was how disciplined our defence was, keeping their defensive shape very well and cutting out whatever potential threats that the Singaporean players might have to offer, and also at how hard the midfield worked to shield our defence, which is something I very rarely see in our national teams of late. We've even got an honest-to-goodness defensive midfielder who seems to be rather good at doing the sweeping up job in this fella called Gurusamy. It's a name that you won't find lauded in the newspapers after matches because we still love our attacking players the best, but in my humble opinion he is very much an integral part to how the team plays. It's an unglamorous job, breaking up attacks and stealing balls from the opposition, but without someone who can do this dirty job efficiently without getting booked, a team's midfield can be easily overrun. And in Guru and his 17-year-old substitute Nazmi, who may not be as good in the tackle as Guru is but seemingly possesses a passing range that's already quite impressive for someone so young, we have two quite able players in a position that's fast becoming crucial in the modern game. Just look at how important Claude Makalele was to Chelsea and lately Scott Parker to my beloved Tottenham Hotspur and England as examples of how underrated yet crucial this particular position is to make their particular teams click. When you combine that with the rock-solid back four, especially in the two central defenders, and the team's confident star goalkeeper Apek (who still flaps sometimes when it comes to crosses and corners, but I'm sure he can work on this part of his game), then you have a very solid bedrock on which an attractive attacking team can be built on. Looking at the Harimau Muda team for this SEA Games, it's wonderful to see us finally embracing a more modern and tactical football philosophy compared to the recent past in which you sometimes do wonder whether the players were even briefed on tactical formations, let alone set-piece tricks and basic defensive tactics like keeping a defensive shape and holding a defensive line. Or maybe they were briefed, but they just never had enough football brains or was never trained enough to embrace a football culture where such things are considered very important. Not this time though, as this set of players seems to have been raised on the importance of playing as a team and doing their respective jobs in the most disciplined manner, which I hope the players will take to heart well until the end of their playing days. This is basically why I believe that the boys and men in this young team have a much better chance of keeping their feet on the ground compared to all the promising young men in the previous teams that we, as a nation, have put our hopes on. Of course there is always a chance that this bunch will also burn out spectacularly as well, but by stressing on the importance of the team above and beyond star players and egos, we've at least taken the right first step in nurturing a healthy football mindset for the future. Congratulations Harimau Muda! * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

An eye-opener for newly-crowned champs Posted: 25 Nov 2011 04:06 PM PST NOV 26 — The match against Syria in the Olympic qualifier on Wednesday was for all intents and purposes a good thing, coming as soon as it did for our returning SEA Games football champions, the Malaysian Under-23 team. The game ultimately showed that the gap between our Tigers and the countries of West Asia is not as wide as previously thought. Despite the circumstances and the situation that the team were placed under last Monday in Jakarta, before and after winning the gold medal, it would still be fair to reassess the team with the latest result at hand. No player must ever be satisfied with, nor give excuses for, the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Syria but instead should aim to achieve the best. Still, I have to tip my hat to U-23 squad coach Ong Kim Swee and his players for a job well done in Jakarta. They won very much against the odds having been placed in the "group of death" to begin with. Congratulations are especially in order for our first successful defending of the SEA Games football gold in 32 years. The last and only other time such a feat was achieved by Malaysia was in 1979, in Jakarta too, after having won the gold two years before, in Kuala Lumpur. Indonesia's Ferdinan Sinaga (in red) fights for the ball with Nazmi (centre) as team mate Muslim Ahmad goes to ground during the SEA Games football final at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on November 21, 2011. — Reuters pic The target must now be set for the SEA Games of 2013. This is so that any programme to produce the next generation of players will place added pressure on the current crop to step up and improve, or be replaced. In addition to the existing players from the national squad who happen to be Under-23, the team led by Kim Swee showcased a few fresh faces who have proven their ability to even play at the senior level. It should be noted that on Monday, for nearly an hour, Muhd Nazmi Faiz Mansor, 17, was playing in an attacking midfield position rather than in his usual place as a holding midfielder. And during that hour, he seemed uncomfortable in this position. However, after K. Gurusamy was replaced, Nazmi was able to return to his original and more capable position and we began to launch more attacks. These young players should join Amar Rohidan in the middle of the senior team with Safiq Rahim given the task of an attacking midfielder. Credit also goes to the indomitable "back five" comprising goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi and defenders Mahali Jasuli, Muslim Ahmad, Fadhli Shas and Asraruddin Putra for having the right chemistry and understanding with each other. Our gold medal in Jakarta can be regarded as being built on this defensive cornerstone. Congratulations go out to Kim Swee for being a coach who successfully overcame several challenges to win and, in effect, defend our SEA Games gold medal achievement of 2009. By this achievement, he has also positioned himself as the favourite to take over Datuk K. Rajagobal as coach of the senior national squad. This brings about a dilemma for FAM as both coaches have shown the ability to handle the youth team and taken them to an age group championship at the regional level. So, do we have the calibre of coaches to replace these two SEA Games-winning coaches? Where previously the answer to Rajagobal's replacement as U-23 coach was obviously Kim Swee, the question now remains if we have already identified the latter's replacement instead? The relevant people at FAM and the Sports Ministry must understand that for the sake of the development of football in our country, the development of coaches is also very important. Finally, congratulations to Zainal Abidin Ismail Rawop and Razip for their 100 per cent bias when commentating on Malaysia's matches during this SEA Games gold medal run in Indonesia. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com