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Rise of the Red Beanbag Posted: 03 Sep 2012 04:39 PM PDT The interior of The Red Beanbag located at Solaris Dutamas. — Pictures by CK Lim KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 — Fancy having the Odd Cod for dinner? Maybe you prefer a quick bite of the Lamb-orghini, or the gastro-romance of Salmon & Delilah? My suggestions for our evening meal have left my friend dumbfounded, but I assure him the food itself would not be quite as… odd. Unusual names aside, there is good eating to be had at one of the most unassuming all-day cafes in town. Beanies begin It all started with New Year's Day. For our first meal this year, my friends decided brunch at this caféthat almost no one had heard of was the way to go. Trying out new and untested dining places is a lot like life — there will be plenty of hits and misses.  Still, what better spirit to ring in a fresh year than with optimism and hope? Between bouts of gossip and raucous laughter, we managed to take in an enormous amount of food. We passed around a bowl of Japanese mushroom consommé, each taking a few spoonfuls of the wholesome clear broth. There were plenty of eggs on the table — from Hollandaise-covered poached eggs with asparagus, mushrooms & smoked salmon to a hearty dish of baked eggs with lamb bratwurst, sun-dried tomatoes, potatoes & cheese — and thick slices of crusty bread to mop up all the yolky goodness. From skyscraper-high stacks of fluffy pancakes drenched in maple syrup to burgers stuffed to the point of spilling with Portobello mushroom, buffalo mozzarella, rocket and tomatoes, we still cried out for more and more. And of course, there was their classic French toast to end our search (had we been searching) for the ultimate French toast — fluffy and golden, topped with an addictive layer of toasted shaved almonds. We had found the perfect toast. As we sank back gratefully into our cushioned seats and patted full bellies, our orders of espresso and caffè latte arrived without much fanfare. We nursed our coffees and thanked Lady Luck for such a fortuitous beginning to a year of good eating and drinking. We may not have heard of The Red Beanbag before, but we foresaw, even without a crystal ball, many return visits in the months to come. (Left) RBB's Specialty Baked Eggs (with lamb bratwurst, sun-dried tomatoes, potatoes, cheese and crusty bread); (right) Eggs Atlantic v2.0 (poached eggs with Hollandaise, asparagus, mushrooms & smoked salmon, served on French toast). The brunchy bunch These days, The Red Beanbag is one of the hottest spots in town for brunch, especially during the weekends. Miraculously, the Oz-style café managed to arrive at this without losing any of their warm, casual atmosphere or kooky charm. Even when my friends and I have to wait for a table, we are always greeted with friendly smiles and heartfelt apologies by the ever-patient staff. Some of their all-day breakfast standards like the classic French toast have become brunch must-haves. Others, such as their Eggs Atlantic, have been updated with an improved version 2.0 (using French toast instead of plain sliced bread). Much of this success has got to do with resident head chef Ryan Cheah who is always hard at work tweaking his recipes and analysing customer feedback to come out with new menus. The 26-year-old had previously worked at two of the top five Malaysian restaurants (the Miele Guide 2011/2012). Under the supervision of different chefs and learning diversely different cuisines (Japanese, French, German and Malaysian), Chef Ryan developed his own style that is put to practice at The Red Beanbag. It's not only brunch that the Red Beanies (as the staff of the café  call themselves, as do its most fervent admirers) excel in, though. Chef Ryan and his kitchen crew have recently launched their latest dinner menu. (Left) The Leeky Duck (smoked duck breast, served with leek & duck broth on a bed of spaghettini); (right) Fowl Luck (roasted chicken thigh with herbed potatoes, mushrooms, olives & mushroom gravy). My dining companion and I decided on a poultry affair: He tried the Leeky Duck, which featured tender slices of smoked duck breast, served with leek & duck broth on a bed of spaghettini, while I feasted on the guffaw-worthy Fowl Luck, a satisfying assembly of roasted chicken thigh with herbed potatoes, mushrooms, olives & mushroom gravy. Two thumbs up! Global goes local Consider this newly converted Red Beanie hooked: I return on subsequent visits with different friends to try practically every item on their dinner menu, one quirkily-named dish at a time. My best friend and I had dinner here before her work-related move to South Africa. My Don Scallopino (seaweed risotto served with seared scallops & seafood) felt like fine comfort food; while she had the My Crustacean Cousin (tiger prawns, scallops and pipi shellfish served with freshly pressed tagliolini). Tasting both dishes, she observed it wouldn't only be local food that she would be missing once she leaves Malaysia for the next couple of years. Chef Ryan Cheah slicing smoked duck breast I share this little anecdote the next time I have a chance to chat with Chef Ryan, which brings an amused, but pleased, smile to his face. He tells me he believes that food does not have to be purely Malaysian in order to be local. "When I first picked up French cuisine, it was with a Japanese twist to it. That caused me to want to learn pure Japanese cuisine next. "After that, I realised the important thing is to use the freshest and most sustainable ingredients rather than simply the most expensive stuff. "The challenge lies in learning how to best use them and to match the different flavours and textures." Starting from scratch Chef Ryan has a tattoo of The Red Beanbag logo on his right forearm and I've always been curious about it. Apparently, he had it done before the café even opened. What if restaurant was unsuccessful? Wouldn't the tattoo be a frightful (and permanent) reminder of his failure? "Not really. I don't believe in absolute failure," he replied. "Let's say, I needed 10 out of 10 points to learn how to start a kitchen from scratch. Even if it didn't work out, I would not have to start at zero with my next venture, but maybe at four, or five points? I would have earned some points and learned something." The young chef obviously believes in putting in his best with any endeavour, and his philosophy serves as an inspiration for the rest of his crew and the Red Beanies. Back to basics As my friends and I wind down our evening by sharing a generous slice of Red Velvet cake and a Nutty Professor (thick chocolate mousse with nuts served in an espresso cup, topped with cappuccino-like froth), we get philosophical too and wonder what a suitable motto for the Red Beanies might be. One suggests, "Eat lots of good food. Then good coffee. Repeat."  Not a bad idea. How about another caffè latte, then, fellow Red Beanies?   (Left) My Crustacean Cousin (tiger prawns, scallops and pipi served with freshly pressed tagliolini); (right) Tale of an Ox (slow-cooked oxtail with carrot purée, mash and sautéed broccoli). The Red Beanbag Lot A4-1-8, Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-6211 5116. Open Tue – Fri 10:00am – 10:00pm; Sat & Sun 9:30am – 10:00pm; closed Mondays. Website: http://www.facebook.com/theredbeanbag/ * Kenny is a happy Red Beanie; how about you? Read more of his musings at http://lifeforbeginners.com

McDonald’s set to open first location in Siberia Posted: 03 Sep 2012 04:16 PM PDT Employees serve clients in a McDonald's restaurant on Pushkin square in Moscow on February 1, 2010. — AFP pic MOSCOW, Sept 4 — Russia is set to be the site of a turf war between Western fast food chains, with news that McDonald's plans to open the first of 10 outposts in Siberia. According to English-language site The Voice of Russia, the largest fast food chain in the world is about to break ground on its first restaurant in the biggest city in Central Siberia, Krasnoyarsk, at a price tag of $130 million rubles (RM13 million). The restaurant will have a drive-thru service, along with separate facilities for children and a banquet hall. The arrival of the Golden Arches is poised to up the ante and present a major challenge to Subway and KFC, the only two global fast food chains operating in Siberia. Recently, KFC announced plans to open 300 outlets in Russia by 2015. That means doubling its presence in the country and building 30 to 40 restaurants a year. According to The Voice of Russia, there are currently 324 McDonald's locations in non-Siberian Western Russia. Other West Siberian sites which are being eyed as possible McDonald's locations include Novosibirsk, Barnaul, Tomsk and Novokuznetsk. — AFP-Relaxnews Employees serve clients in a McDonald's restaurant on Pushkin square in Moscow on February 1, 2010. — AFP pic

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Oscar race underway as Phoenix, Hoffman wow Venice Posted: 03 Sep 2012 07:34 AM PDT VENICE, Sept 3 — Venice traditionally fires the starting gun in the long movie awards season, and as the world's oldest film festival reaches the halfway point three actors have set Hollywood tongues wagging with memorable performances. Michael Shannon as a serial hitman, Philip Seymour Hoffman as a cult leader modelled on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and Joaquin Phoenix playing the tortured, volatile protege are already in the frame around six months before the Oscars. The buzz surrounding their portrayals has helped lift spirits in Venice, celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, although incoming director Alberto Barbera may be concerned by the lack of A-list stars on the red carpet. Celebrity wattage is almost as important to a film festival as the quality of the movies, as it attracts the world's media and reminds the showbusiness world why notoriously expensive Venice still matters in a calendar crammed with rival events. As the 11-day cinema showcase on the Lido waterfront reaches the midway point today, the heaviest hitter on all levels has been "The Master". Joaquin Phoenix (left) and "The Master" co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman front the media, September 1, 2012. — Reuters pic Director Paul Thomas Anderson's first film since the acclaimed "There Will Be Blood" in 2007, it combines controversy — the movie centres on the early days of Scientology — and acting pedigree in the form of Hoffman and Phoenix. The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy called it "a bold, challenging, brilliantly acted drama that is a must for serious audiences". Not every critic liked it, but most agreed the two central actors were at the peak of their powers, with Hoffman as the domineering, exploitive Lancaster Dodd and Phoenix his hard-drinking, troubled acolyte. Essentially a love story set against the background of Hubbard's founding of the Church of Scientology in the 1950s, few would be surprised to see them nominated for awards. The GoldDerby website, which previews showbusiness honours, has made "The Master" a favourite for a best picture Oscar, Anderson is frontrunner for best director, and Hoffman and Phoenix are in the top five for best actor. Too few stars? Both actors were in Venice, where Phoenix's behaviour was erratic and he was barely articulate at a press briefing. But another big title, Terrence Malick's "To the Wonder", launched without its reclusive director and most prominent stars. The impressionistic, poetic portrayal of a couple in love told with virtually no dialogue was praised and panned in equal measure, but with Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem and Rachel McAdams all absent, its world premiere was low-key. Turn the clock back 15 months, and Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain all graced the red carpet in Cannes for Malick's 2011 movie, "The Tree of Life". Barbera has managed to attract rising stars such as former Disney teen idol Zac Efron, who appeared in the farming saga "At Any Price", and Selena Gomez who is expected in Venice to promote "Spring Breakers" on Wednesday. But without top names, and movies that jolted audiences in the way war dramas "Redacted" and "The Hurt Locker" or sex addiction story "Shamed" did in recent years, Venice stumbled. "So far there have been a few peaks, like 'The Master', which is brilliantly acted, and outside of competition Spike Lee's documentary on Michael Jackson," said Maria Giulia Minetti, a journalist for Italian daily La Stampa. "But overall it's a subdued festival, there's not much money around and maybe cinema right now lacks punch," added the veteran of 32 Venice festivals. Both "The Master" and "To the Wonder" are in the 18-film competition in Venice, but outside the main lineup, several movies caught the eyes of the critics. "The Iceman" is a re-telling of the true life story of American hitman Richard Kuklinski, who killed more than 100 people before his capture and imprisonment. The towering actor Shannon won warm praise for a performance that evoked sympathy as much as revulsion, and Winona Ryder also impressed as his wife. Lee's "Bad 25", a two-hour film about the making of Jackson's seminal 1987 album, may have bordered on hagiography and focused purely on the music, but it reinforced the belief of many that the late "King of Pop" fully deserved his moniker. There have been more than 20 female directors unveiling movies in Venice this year, an unusually high number, including Indian film maker Mira Nair with her out-of-competition 9/11 movie "The Reluctant Fundamentalist". Israel's Rama Burshtein brought her own ultra-Orthodox Jewish community to the big screen in "Fill the Void". And Haifaa Al Mansour, Saudi Arabia's first female director, presented "Wadjda", about a young girl seeking to break down barriers faced by females in Saudi society. The "Arab Spring" uprisings found expression in films "Witness: Libya" and "Winter of Discontent", from Egypt, while the economic crisis made its way into movies like "To the Wonder" and "At Any Price". — Reuters

Female Saudi film director breaks taboos in Venice Posted: 03 Sep 2012 05:05 AM PDT Bicycle made for change: In Venice, with Haifaa al-Mansour and Waad Mohammed, who plays 10-year-old "Wadjda", who bucks the veiled society. — Reuters pic VENICE, Sept 3 — Saudi Arabia's first female director has made her debut at the Venice film festival, exploring the limitations placed on women in the conservative Islamic kingdom through the tale of a strong-willed 10-year-old girl living in Riyadh. The film, which the director says is the first to have been entirely shot in Saudi Arabia, follows the everyday life of young Wadjda and her attempts to circumvent restrictions and break social barriers — both at school and at home. Constantly scolded for not wearing a veil, listening to pop music and not hiding in front of men, Wadjda uses guile to get her way. When she sees a green bicycle for sale that would allow her to race against a male friend, she concocts a plan to raise the money needed to buy it in spite of her mother's opposition — respectable girls do not cycle in Saudi Arabia. She ends up learning verses from the Quran by heart to enrol in a religious competition at school, hoping to win the cash prize that would pay for the bike, and in the process pretends to have become the model pious girl her teachers want her to be. Director Haifaa Al Mansour said "Wadjda" aimed to portray the segregation of women in Saudi Arabia, where they held a lower legal status to men, were banned from driving, and needed a male guardian's permission to work, travel or open a bank account. "It's easy to say it's a difficult, conservative place for a woman and do nothing about it, but we need to push forward and hope we can help make it a more relaxed and tolerant society," she said after her film premiered in Venice, speaking to reporters in English. She pointed to signs of change in Saudi society, and said the younger generations were challenging rigid customs and slowly pushing the boundaries of what was considered acceptable. Under King Abdullah, the Saudi government has pushed for women to have better education and work opportunities and allowed them to vote in future municipal elections, the only public polls held in the kingdom. "It's opening up, there is a huge opportunity for women now," Al Mansour said, noting that Saudi Arabia entered female athletes for the first time ever at the London Olympics this summer. "It is not like before, although I can't say it's like heaven. Society won't just accept it, people will put pressure on women to stay home, but we have to fight." Al Mansour spoke of the difficulties she faced filming in Riyadh, despite having obtained permission from authorities to do so. She occasionally had to hide in a van in some of the more conservative areas where locals disapproved of a female film-maker mixing with men on set, and at times had to direct her male actors via walkie-talkie. Her film, which is not in the main competition in Venice, may have a limited audience in her own country, where cinemas are illegal. But producers said they hoped to distribute it on DVDs and TV channels. — Reuters

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Russia’s far east – a bridge to Asia, or to nowhere? Posted: 03 Sep 2012 08:41 AM PDT Vladivostok mayor Igor Pushkaryov speaks during an interview on the newly built bridge across the Golden Horn bay in Russia's far-eastern port of Vladivostok August 9, 2012. Vladimir Lenin's vision of developing Russia's far east would not be out of place in President Vladimir Putin's talking points for the Asia-Pacific summit he is hosting this week in the Pacific port of Vladivostok. – Reuters pic VLADIVOSTOK, Sept 3 – Vladimir Lenin's vision of developing Russia's far east would not be out of place in President Vladimir Putin's talking points for the Asia-Pacific summit he is hosting this week in the Pacific port of Vladivostok. "We will propose that capital from developed countries construct a super-highway between London, Moscow, Vladivostok and Beijing," said the plan, endorsed in 1922 by the Soviet revolutionary leader. "We will tell them that it will open up the untold riches of Siberia." Ninety years on, the Kremlin has redecorated Russia's window on the east in the hope of improving its image in the eyes of investors from the world's fastest-growing region, and reviving its flagging popularity among hard-pressed locals. Tsarist Russia completed a 9,300-km (5,800-mile) rail line to Vladivostok in record time, only to fall to the Bolsheviks a year later. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was inspired to develop the city by a visit to San Francisco, another Pacific city on a bay, in 1959. Now, Russia has pumped US$21 billion (RM65.27 billion) into its eastern seaboard to attract investors, tourists and gamblers from Asia, and persuade locals to halt the drift away from a city that, for all the grand designs, remains largely isolated from the rest of the world's largest country. Putin, 59, underscored a strategic pivot away from crisis-hit Europe to the rising economies of the Pacific rim by creating a government department for developing Russia's far east after his return to the Kremlin for a third term in May. But in Vladivostok, a city of 600,000 where the clocks run seven hours ahead of Moscow, the injection of capital has done little to lift the low regard in which many locals hold the leader who has dominated Russia since 2000. Although the city – whose name translates as 'Ruler of the East' – has received a makeover, with a new airport, bridges and highway intersections, residents say inflated contracts were won by insiders and the money would have been better spent on social services and housing. "I don't associate it with Putin. They took ages to get round to building the bridge," said 28-year-old biologist Yevgeny Skorkin, joining thousands of people on a mass stroll last month over the new bridge across the Zolotoi Rog (Golden Horn) inlet that opens up a vista across the city's port and the ships of Russia's Pacific Fleet in the harbour. 'CENTRE OF THE WORLD' Local artists fantasised at the start of the last century about a bridge that would connect two remote districts of Vladivostok, but the project remained a dream until Putin found US$500 million in the budget to build it. "Only now are we starting to live. We are creating a European city. The centre of the world is here!" enthused Vladivostok's mayor, Igor Pushkaryov, in a conversation with this reporter on the bridge, just as fog started to roll in. The centre of Vladivostok is quiet of an evening, but is at least well lit – in contrast to the murk of the 1990s when the city was plagued by power cuts. Laser cannons mounted atop the bridge pylons play against the night sky. But the foreign eateries and cafes that dot cities in Russia's European heartland, like McDonalds and Starbucks, are nowhere to be seen. Eyeing a second term, the 37-year-old former businessman hopes that the attention of Russia's leaders will not fade after the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit this weekend: "We really want this relationship to continue. We are happy people – we did it!" Such positive sentiments are not shared by all. "Nobody experiences particularly warm emotions," regional lawmaker Artyom Samsonov says of his fellow easterners' attitude towards Putin, who in a national television question-and-answer show in 2007 promised new investments to halt the depopulation of the Primorye region as people sought work elsewhere. Five years after Putin's volley of promises, the young, educated people of Vladivostok are still leaving, while the city can boast another trophy of regional development – a second bridge built at a cost of US$1 billion. Leaders will sweep in their limousines across the world's biggest cable-stayed bridge – its pylons nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower in Paris – to the summit venue on Russky Island. They will be put up at a newly-built university campus, with some delegates sleeping in student dormitories. "You start to think, how much did they spend on this bridge and who, at the end of the day, needs it?" said Samsonov, a 37-year-old opposition activist. "There is no relationship between the costs and the benefits." THE RIGHT TO RIGHT-HAND DRIVE Samsonov's civic initiative was among the first to organise protests against the crisis measures launched by Putin during the economic slump of 2009 that included imposing punitive tariffs on imports of second-hand foreign cars. The step helped save state car maker AvtoVAZ from collapse, but infuriated many locals who had supplemented their incomes by bringing in used, right-hand-drive cars from Japan. They took to the streets. "The authorities were absent in Vladivostok for a number of hours," recalls regional parliamentary deputy Vladimir Bespalov, an opposition communist. "Police chiefs, regional administrators, the mayor – none was able to deal with several thousand people who were ready to destroy, wreck and overturn," he said. "The city was on the brink of chaos." Putin dispatched elite OMON riot police from Moscow to put down the protests, and paid with a loss of public support in last December's parliamentary election, when his ruling party – dominant elsewhere – placed third. Even in Russia's tightly controlled electoral system, Putin fell short of an outright regional majority in the presidential election in March. He polled 48 per cent in Primorye, far below his national tally of 64 per cent. Konstantin Bovdik, a qualified Chinese teacher, long ago gave up his career in education and made good money – 60,000 roubles (RM5,912) per month – working on the Zolotoi Rog bridge. Now the 34-year-old could lose his job. "Well, this is it. The bridge is built. The summit will end. And we feel the economic crisis breathing hard down our necks," said the tanned anti-corrosion specialist, wearing a blue boiler suit and orange hard hat as he shouldered two three-metre steel beams. "All the money goes back to Moscow, and then gets pumped out to London," he said. "They steal everything and then hit us over the head with coshes ... This is a police state." Primorye Governor Vladimir Miklushevsky, appointed this year to run the region of two million people after his predecessor was fired amid a slew of corruption allegations, said the authorities needed to work to restore public trust. "There is a general lack of confidence among the people in the authorities. Power needs to be more open," said the 44-year-old engineer, a native of Yekaterinburg originally brought in to run the new university on Russky Island. Former governor Sergei Darkin has, meanwhile, landed a job in Moscow as Russia's deputy minister for regional development. "It's spitting in the face of the masses," says Alexander Latkin, the 65-year-old director of the city's Institute of International Business and Economics. CHINA SYNDROME With the Soviet collapse of 1991 a fading memory, fears that a rising China might colonise and eventually annex the east are scoffed at by local experts – even if Moscow occasionally plays up the perceived threat to Russia's territorial integrity. "We still face the task of defending our far eastern territory from excessive expansion by citizens of bordering states," Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev intoned at a Cabinet meeting last month after returning from a trip to Vladivostok, where he opened the Russky Island bridge to traffic. "There are fewer Chinese here than there were 10 years ago," replied sinologist Viktor Larin, adding that low-paid jobs were now being taken by migrant labourers from former-Soviet Central Asia and nearby North Korea. The Chinatowns of Russia's far east had all but disappeared, he said, as migrants were lured home by economic growth rates more than twice as high as Russia's. The contrast on each side of the border is stark, the Chinese territories booming and drawing in ever more workers while the Russian Far East struggles with the drift westwards. China's more than 1.3 billion population needs Russia's Siberian and far eastern natural resources, the oil, the minerals and timber timber, and "it's cheaper to buy them than to fight for them," said Larin. "They don't need to settle here." Fears China might occupy swathes of Russia's eastern territory were, he said, a "collective, subconscious myth". Russia has nothing to fear by opening up the east – maybe this time it will succeed, according to Primorye's first post-Soviet governor Vladimir Kuznetsov, who went on to serve as Russia's consul general in San Francisco. "Vladivostok was founded as a window to the Asian world. Then there was revolution, civil war, Soviet rule. When I became governor my chief task was to open up the city. It was the second attempt – and it didn't work out," said Kuznetsov, now a tutor at the Far Eastern Federal University on Russky Island. "Now, we have a third chance – the APEC forum." – Reuters

Mixed martial arts thrill new fight fans in Manila Posted: 03 Sep 2012 03:13 AM PDT File photo shows Rocky Lee from Taiwan celebrating the defeat of Florian Garel (R) from France during their Pacific Rim Organised Fighting's PRO Fighting 5 MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) match in Taipei July 17, 2011. MMA is a fusion of fight styles that melds the stunning strikes of boxing and muay thai, the sleek submissions of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the devastating power of wrestling. Now sanctioned in more than 40 US states, the sport is experiencing explosive growth in viewership and participation. – Reuters pic MANILA, Sept 3 – Indelibly linked with the 'Thrilla in Manila', where Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier laid their bitter boxing rivalry to rest some 37 years ago, the Araneta Coliseum welcomed "the future of fighting" on Friday in the Philippines' biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) event. A tied, yellowing banner marking the date of that brutal battle in 1975 reminded fans of the Araneta's place in boxing history, but most of the 16,500 people packed into the domed venue were not even born when Ali met Frazier in that last great clash of heavyweight titans. While the full contact sport of MMA has gone from strength to strength over the last 10 years, boxing, and the heavyweight division in particular, has fallen on hard times. Years of greed and self interest, and a lack of direction from the alphabet soup of governing bodies, has brought the once proud sport to its knees. Only a handful of superstars such as the Philippines' own Manny Pacquiao stand between boxing and sporting irrelevance. Victor Cui, the CEO of Asia's biggest MMA promotion ONE Fighting Championship, said one of the keys to success was figuring out what the current generation of fight fans want. Sitting at the edge of the cage, as South Korean Kim Soo-chul rained elbows and punches down on home hope Kevin Belington, Cui said part of boxing's demise lay in its "old school" approach. "Manny Pacquiao walks on water here, but the days of people buying tickets and being happy just to see two people fight are long gone," he said. "Where MMA has succeeded is recognising the overlap between sport and entertainment. Whether it's MMA or the Olympics or football, you have to entertain, and sports that don't do that are going to wither and die." Nodding to the five star generals and the heads of major Philippine banks and corporations watching the action from the VIP section, Cui said the 'one size fits all' approach to hosting live events was out of date. "From those fans up there with the beer and the cheapest tickets, to the VIPs who walk down the red carpet and enjoy a glass of wine before the fights, I have to make sure I deliver to each and every one of them," he added. 'THE FUTURE OF FIGHTING' While boxing continues to bank on diehard fans shelling out for a main event and lacklustre undercard on pay per view, MMA has taken to the Internet to open up new revenue streams and tries to give better value for money by stacking fight cards. Through reality television shows and the canny utilisation of social media, MMA has also become much more accessible than boxing, helping fans connect with fighters and building brand loyalty. But while boxing has always been considered the gentlemanly form of fighting, the raw violence and lack of regulation in the early years of MMA saw it shunned and scrapping for survival. Only after evolving from bare-knuckle brawls in underground carparks to highly-regulated bouts between professional athletes has MMA become the mainstream money-spinner it is today. Alvin Aguilar, who helped bring MMA out of the shadows in the Philippines with his URCC promotion, said fans were frustrated by boxing – the unscrupulous promoters and overpaid fighters – and were increasingly turning to MMA. The gloves are smaller, a steel cage stands in place of a ring, and a fighter's fists are not his only weapon. Knees, feet and elbows are used to gain victory, as are an array of grappling submissions. Just like boxing, however, bodies are broken, blood splashes on the canvas and fans pay good money to watch. Barely audible above the roar as local fighter Eric Kelly smashed Jens Pulver to the ground, Aguilar said his countrymen had a long-standing love affair with combat sport. "There's no such thing as a Filipino man who has never been in a fist fight," he said. "But boxing these days, it doesn't do much to entertain fans outside of the fight itself. "MMA entertains. For my first event I expected 500 people to come, but 5,000 showed up. I keep saying it, the next Manny Pacquiao is going to come from MMA." There was much to entertain the fans on Friday. American Phil Baroni, the self-proclaimed 'New York Bad Ass', strode to the cage giving one-fingered salutes to the crowd. They cheered him harder. The crowd roared when two Korean ring girls danced to the K-pop smash 'Gangnam Style', and went wild when a delirious photographer jumped up on the cage to join them. Sitting in the front row, 24-year-old Arthur Navarro was loving every minute. "I'm too young to know about Ali versus Frazier, but boxing is not enough for me," he said. "The MMA is fast and all action. It's the future of fighting." – Reuters

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Anwar pertahan pengibaran bendera Sang Saka Malaya Posted: 03 Sep 2012 02:17 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 3 Sept — Ketua pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hari ini mempertahankan tindakan beberapa pemuda yang mengibarkan Sang Saka Malaya dan bukan bendera kebangsaan, Jalur Gemilang, semasa malam ambang Kemerdekaan baru-baru ini. Anwar Ibrahim: "Sang Saka (Malaya) diperkenalkan oleh pejuang-pejuang bangsa.". — Foto Saw Siow Feng Ketua umum PKR berpendapat bahawa Sang Saka Malaya merupakan sebahagian dari sejarah negara. Pemimpin dari Barisan Nasional (BN) telah menuduh Pakatan Rakyat (PR) cuba untuk menukar bendera kebangsaan, di mana PR menafikan. "Sang Saka (Malaya), mengikut interpretasi anak muda, haruslah diperkenalkan kerana ini juga salah satu bendera yang diperkenalkan oleh pejuang-pejuang bangsa," kata Anwar kepada wartawan. "Apa salahnya generasi muda mengetahui tentang sejarah, tentang Sang Saka?" Dia juga berkata bendera Umno juga nama asalnya ialah Sang Saka Bangsa. Seorang blogger telah mengaku mengibarkan bendera "alternatif" di Dataran Merdeka pada Khamis lalu, tetapi berkata mahu memperkenalkan kepada awam tentang sejarah negara. MENYUSUL LAGI

Hishamuddin Rais: Sang Saka Malaya warna bendera Nusantara, turut digunakan Umno Posted: 03 Sep 2012 02:10 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 3 Sept — Jurucakap Gabungan Janji, Hishamuddin Rais, hari ini mempertahankan bendera Sang Saka Malaya yang dikibarkan oleh sekumpulan anak muda pada malam ambang Kemerdekaan di Dataran Merdeka malam Khamis lalu. Menurut beliau yang juga pengarah filem itu, Sang Saka Malaya adalah warna bendera kepulauan Nusantara yang meliputi Indonesia, Singapura dan Malaysia. "Sang Saka adalah sejarah bangsa, dari zaman kerajaan Langsakuka, Gangga Negara, Sri Vijaya inilah warnanya," kata beliau ketika dihubungi oleh The Malaysian Insider sebentar tadi. "Merah putih adalah motif nusantara. "Motif Melayu Raya, kerana itu bendera Umno, PAS, Singapura dan Indonesia semuanya menggunakan Sang Saka." Hishamuddin Rais: "Tanya Khairy Jamaluddin, dia senyap kerana dia tahu sejarah Sang Saka." Gabungan Janji dianggotai oleh 47 NGO dan bertanggungjawab menganjurkan perhimpunan Janji Demokrasi pada malam ambang Kemerdekaan malam Khamis lalu yang menyaksikan lebih 5,000 orang menyertai perhimpunan tersebut dengan memakai baju bewarna kuning. Ketika ditanya tentang mengapa sehingga ada anak muda yang sanggup mengibarkan bendera alternatif, Hishamuddin yang juga bekas aktivis mahasiswa 1970an berkata, Jalur Gemilang yang digunapakai sebagai bendera Malaysia hari ini telah dilihat sebagai milik peribadi perdana menteri (PM), Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan isterinya, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor dan ini mendorong segelintir anak muda membencinya. "Kerana mereka melihat Jalur Gemilang sebagai miliki peribadi Najib dan Rosmah," katanya. "Mereka benci Najib dan Rosmah maka mereka juga membenci simbol dan ikon yang berkait rapat dengan Najib dan Rosmah, katanya lagi." Jalur Gemilang di atas bendera Umno. Hishamuddin mendakwa pada tahun 2006, bendera Umno di nobat sebagai Sang Saka Bangsa. Menurut pengarah filem "Dari Jemapoh Ke Manchestee" itu lagi, pada tahun 2006, Khairy Jamaluddin yang kini ketua pemuda Umno mencadangkan agar bendera Umno dinamakan Sang Saka Bangsa. "Tahun 2006, bendera Umno di nobat sebagai Sang Saka Bangsa," kata Hishamuddin lagi. "Sila tanya pemuda Umno kerana mereka yang mencadangkan nama ini. "Tanya Khairy Jamaluddin, dia senyap kerana dia tahu sejarah Sang Saka," katanya lagi. Sempena Perasmian Perhimpunan Agung Umno 2006 yang berlangsung di Dewan Merdeka, PWTC, presiden Umno pada ketika itu, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, secara rasmi mengiktiraf nama bendera Umno sebagai "Sang Saka Bangsa". Individu yang bertanggungjawab mengibarkan bendera alternatif ketika himpunan Gabungan Janji pada malam sambutan ambang Kemerdekaan telah membuat pengakuan dan merasakan bendera alternatif yang di bawa pihaknya layak dikibarkan atas nilai sejarah yang terdapat pada bendera berkenaan. Melalui blog www.singaselatan.blogspot.com miliknya, individu berkenaan mengakui dia dan rakannya bertanggungjawab membuat dan mengibarkan bendera tersebut, namun menafikan daripada mewakili mana-mana parti politik kerajaan mahupun pembangkang. "Kami tidak mewakili mana-mana parti politik dari kerajaan mahupun pembangkang, kami mewakili golongan Anak Muda yang ingin menonjolkan kebenaran dan sejarah yang cuba ditenggelamkan oleh pihak yang bertanggungjawab, jauh sekali bermotif untuk menukar jalur gemilang kepada sang saka Malaya, kerana sang saka Malaya yang ditukarkan kepada jalur gemilang hari ini," jelasnya melalui entri di blognya itu. Cancelor Universiti Kolej Damansara Utama (KDU), Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Kim, mempersoalkan tindakan pihak-pihak tertentu yang mengibarkan bendera alternatif ketika himpunan Gabungan Janji pada malam sambutan ambang Kemerdekaan di Dataran Merdeka malam Khamis lalu. Menurut pakar sejarah itu, bendera "Jalur Gemilang" telah diterima oleh majoriti rakyat negara ini semenjak tahun 1957. "Kenapa baru sekarang nak timbulkan soal bendera merah putih?" katanya ketika dihubungi oleh The Malaysian Insider pagi tadi. "Bendera yang ada kaitan dengan satu negara, diputuskan oleh majoriti rakyat. "Bendera yang digunakan sekarang sudah diterima oleh rakyat semenjak tahun 1957."

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Tweet dan pertahan Putrajaya? Posted: 02 Sep 2012 04:47 PM PDT 3 SEPT — Sambutan ulang tahun ke-55 kemerdekaan negara pada kali ini diisi pelbagai insiden yang mengundang pelbagai reaksi dalam kalangan masyarakat yang sudah tidak boleh lagi diperkotak-katikkan. Saya secara peribadi tidak kisah apabila rata-rata pengacara stesen radio Tamil melaungkan slogan muluk "1 Malaysia" sepanjang siang dan malam. Akan tetapi, apa yang benar-benar menyakitkan telinga dan hati saya sejak sekitar dua minggu lalu adalah apabila mereka asyik membuat kenyataan "Malaysia terdiri daripada tiga kaum iaitu Melayu, Cina dan India". Malah, salah sebuah lagu "1 Malaysia" yang berkumandang hampir setiap hari menerusi MinnalFM (Tamil) memuatkan lirik yang jika diterjemahkan bermaksud "tiga kaum berganding bahu membentuk 1 Malaysia". Rekod yang dicipta ini menimbulkan pelbagai tanda tanya. Apakah salah kalau kita melabel semua pihak terbabit dalam perkara ini sebagai orang bodoh? Atau mungkinkah sebenarnya ada perancangan berbentuk perang saraf untuk menjatuhkan Kerajaan Barisan Nasional pimpinan (Perdana Menteri tercinta) Datuk Seri Najib Razak secara senyap dari dalam? Apabila isu mengenai "Malaysia terdiri daripada tiga kaum iaitu Melayu, Cina dan India" saya paparkan menerusi Facebook pada 30 Ogos 2012, ramai rakan-rakan dan kenalan tampil memberikan pandangan. Ranjit Singh yang berasal dari Pulau Pinang dan kini bertugas di Miri mengakui bahawa "perkara seperti inilah yang menyebabkan kawan-kawan dari Sabah dan Sarawak sentiasa 'terasa' bukan sebahagian daripada Malaysia". "Tidak hairanlah, rakan-rakan yang terdiri daripada etnik Iban, Bidayuh, Kadazan dan sebagainya sentiasa rasa tersisih walaupun dikatakan 'bank' oleh pemimpin dari Semenanjung Malaysia! Bukan sahaja pengacara radio tetapi keseluruhan warga Malaysia termasuk pemimpin negara perlu sedar bahawa komposisi kaum di Malaysia tidak hanya terdiri daripada Melayu, Cina dan India," katanya. Sehingga saat makalah ini ditulis, tiada sebarang reaksi atau pandangan daripada pihak terbabit, walaupun beberapa rakan dari stesen radio itu saya tandakan (tag) pada komen di Facebook. Bagaimanapun, hasil pemerhatian saya, mulai 31 Ogos, pengacara stesen radio berkenaan sudah mula menggunakan frasa "pelbagai kaum" menggantikan "tiga kaum iaitu Melayu, Cina India". Alhamdulillah. Saya percaya penggunaan "Alhamdulillah" (Bahasa Arab) di atas tidak akan dipolitikkan mana-mana pihak. Tambahan pula, sambutan Hari Kemerdekaan kali ini membuktikan bahawa rakyat "1 Malaysia" tanpa mengira kaum dan agama memang sudah menggunakan frasa Bahasa Arab itu secara meluas untuk meluahkan rasa syukur. Saya mendapat tahu akan perkara yang sangat menggembirakan ini menerusi kempen tweet #merdeka55 yang dipelopori (Menteri Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan tercinta) Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim. Penyair terkenal, Pyanhabib memberi reaksi terhadap salah satu bahan di Pameran Kartun Zunar. Utusan Online (31 Ogos 2012) melaporkan bahawa sebanyak 3.6 juta tweet dihantar dalam masa sejam sahaja semasa acara "Himpunan Merdeka 55: Janji Ditepati" di Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil. Khabarnya kempen itu bakal tercatat dalam "The Malaysia Book of Records" dan sijil rasmi akan disampaikan pada 16 September di Sarawak sempena sambutan Hari Malaysia. Berbalik pada frasa "Alhamdullilah" (dalam konteks Bahasa Arab, bukan dalam konteks mana-mana agama), kempen Twitter itu membuktikan ia sudah digunakan secara meluas oleh pelbagai kaum/agama di Malaysia. Misalnya, "Alhamdulillah, wa syukurillah.kami sayang Malaysia. Terima kasih dgn kepimpinan @NajibRazak. Sambut #merdeka55 dgn amannya. @HishammuddinH2O" dihantar menerusi Twitter pada masa — malah saat — yang sama oleh Tan Chor Khai, Mansor Nor dan Nadaraja. Laman PoliTweet melaporkan bahawa mesej yang sama dihantar sejumlah 111 pengguna Twitter. Pendedahan juga dilakukan pelbagai pihak mengenai kemungkinan rekod yang dicipta itu mengandung unsur penipuan. Namun, saya mahu bersangka baik terhadap menteri tercinta dan konco-konconya. Apa yang penting adalah bahawa mulai 31 Ogos 2012, rakyat Malaysia tanpa mengira kaum dan agama bebas menggunakan frasa "Alhamdulillah" tanpa dilabel cuba mempersenda mana-mana kaum atau agama. Sambutan di Bukit Jalil pada 31 Ogos juga sebenarnya memberi pengiktirafan terhadap sambutan oleh Rakyat di sekitar Dataran Merdeka pada 30 Ogos.  Hal ini amat nyata apabila Perdana Menteri tercinta dalam ucapannya di Bukit Jalil dilaporkan membandingkan perhimpunan anjuran Kerajaan Barisan Nasional dengan perhimpunan Janji Demokrasi anjuran Rakyat di Dataran Merdeka. Sebaik sahaja perbandingan dilakukan, maka sudah terbukti ada unsur "pengiktirafan" dan "rasa bimbang". Bernama melaporkan 150 ribu orang menyertai acara di Bukit Jalil; sementara 10 ribu orang dilaporkan menyertai acara di sekitar Dataran Merdeka pada malam sebelumnya. Media alternatif melaporkan menteri tercinta mengumumkan bahawa majlis di Bukit Jalil "berjaya menghimpunkan 10,128 orang dengan catatan 3,611,323 tweet dalam masa sejam di antara jam 8.15 malam ke 9.15 malam". Sejumlah 111 pengguna didapati menghantar tweet yang sama. Saya bukanlah pengguna Twitter tegar. Namun, apabila terbukti — dan ada keraguan yang munasabah — bahawa ada unsur "penipuan" dalam penghantaran tweet berkenaan, apakah rekod yang dicipta itu masih sah?  Kumpulan Sasterawan Kavyan (Kavyan) pernah menganjurkan acara "Baca Cerpen Kavyan" sempena Sambutan Kemerdekaan 2003 dan berjaya mencatat rekod dalam "The Malaysia Book of Records" berikutan pembacaan cerpen-cerpen secara berterusan selama 96 jam 32 minit. Kalaulah kini tiba-tiba kempen tweet yang meragukan dan disyaki mengandungi unsur penipuan (oleh orang dalam yang mahu sabotaj Perdana Menteri tercinta?) turut diiktiraf sebagai suatu rekod yang sah, maka betapa memalukan dan betapa suatu penghinaan bagi sekian ramai pemegang rekod yang sah dalam "The Malaysia Book of Records". Dalam pada itu, ketika berucap merasmikan Persidangan Perwakilan Umno Bahagian Putrajaya pada 1 September, Perdana Menteri tercinta @ pengerusi Barisan Nasional @ presiden Umno dilaporkan "mahu barisan kepimpinan dan ahli Umno serta BN berganding bahu bagi membentuk 'sekatan politik' terhadap impian pakatan pembangkang yang mahu menduduki Putrajaya menerusi Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-13". "Kalau mereka ada slogan 'Roda to Putrajaya', kita nak sekat mereka jangan sampai ke Putrajaya. ... Ini kerana mereka tidak layak duduk (memerintah) Putrajaya sebab kita yang membangunkannya," tegasnya seperti dilaporkan di Utusan Online. Perdana Menteri juga dilaporkan berkata, pakatan pembangkang sebenarnya tidak mampu memerintah negara dan mencipta kemajuan demi kemajuan dan kejayaan demi kejayaan seperti yang dilakukan oleh Umno dan BN sejak 55 tahun lalu. Sebagai seorang pengamal media dan perunding media, saya dapat melihat betapa BN sedang menggali kubur sendiri (atau melakukan sabotaj dari dalam) melalui pelbagai tindakan "kurang bijak" (baca: bodoh) sejak belakangan ini. Nampaknya ada golongan politikus tertentu yang terlupa bahawa mereka yang memegang kuasa pemerintahan dalam kerajaan sebenarnya diundi oleh rakyat. Apabila mereka sudah diberi kuasa oleh rakyat, tidak bermakna kuasa itu menjadi milik mutlak mereka. Tidak hairanlah Zunar sentiasa tidak kering idea untuk melukis kartun kritikan politik! Pameran Kartun Zunar yang berlangsung di Galeri Shah Alam sehingga 9 September membuktikan hakikat ini. Kalaulah politikus "sedar diri", tidak akan ada politikus yang mendabik dada mengatakan mereka yang membangunkan itu dan ini. Bukankah itu tugas mereka selepas menerima "sedekah" berbentuk undi daripada rakyat? Biarlah rakyat yang menentukan siapa menduduki Putrajaya selepas Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-13. Sementara itu, semoga politikus tidak terus membuat kenyataan-kenyataan atau kempen Twitter yang "memperbodohkan" atau "memperlekehkan" kuasa rakyat. * Uthaya Sankar SB adalah perunding media dan penulis sepenuh masa. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

When you can never be good enough Posted: 02 Sep 2012 04:28 PM PDT SEPT 3 — It was 3am and I couldn't sleep. I was staring at the fresh, empty Word document I started half an hour ago, my eyes locked on the cursor, its rhythmic blinking waiting — asking — for the first letters to be typed in so that the words can finally give form to the maelstrom of thoughts that has been keeping me awake. And despite all the things going through my mind, I didn't know what the first words should be. Being a writer seems easy. At the end of the day every literate individual can write: string a few sentences together in a coherent manner and there you go, you've written something. You're a writer. And every day we see a piece of writing in the newspaper or magazine or online, where the language is simple and we think, oh yes, I could've written that, just simple everyday words and nothing bombastic. How hard can it be? It can be impossible, sometimes. That's what I thought five minutes later. Despite years of practise, and maybe even years to come of doing this for a living, sometimes the words just won't come. It used to be easy, or at least I thought it was. I vividly remember the time in secondary school when we had an English writing competition as part of the school's English week, and I remember sitting there, dotting the last full stop in my article with half the allotted hour still to go. And I remember how easy it was to decide that I had time for another article, they did say we could write as many as we wanted, and so I did, and so I won both the first and second prizes for that competition. I remember the 15-year-old me going home with those two plastic trophies, thinking, writing isn't that hard. I remember what it was like to be vain and proud, when I didn't know any better. But over the years I did eventually know better. Like many, I grew up and grew out of youthful arrogance and read more and eventually found out the truth about writing: it's hard. It's easy to throw down random words together and make a sentence that isn't absolute gibberish. But presenting a wholesome, well thought-out idea in a coherent, cohesive manner, making people understand, making them see through your eyes? Not always. Sometimes you have a wonderful idea, a beautiful story in your mind that screams for words to be written, typed, so that it would not pass into oblivion, forgotten. Then you type it out, and when you read it, you're disappointed. It's nothing like you imagined, and reading it you feel like you wasted your time, like you could — and should — have done better. An idea wasted, you thought. I've been there countless times. Crystallising my thoughts is always the first, the biggest challenge. And translating the abstract ideas, along with the bits and chunks of emotions and feelings that came with them, is one hurdle that I don't always get past. Maybe I'm just too green, not enough years under my belt, maybe it gets easier with experience, eh? When I told an editor just that recently, she said to me: "I believe writing should never be easy or else we will be just hacks." And that nugget of wisdom fascinated me once I got over the despair it brought. What happened to "practice makes perfect"? Why is writing different from many other skills that people learn and practise every day, that they can look forward to mastering one fine day, when it becomes second nature, almost reflex? It doesn't seem fair, but maybe in a way it is. I think writing is so difficult for most writers because we know what's out there. Writers must read a lot, and like professionals who gain knowledge reading about their field, writers gain awareness of quality as they read more and more. The quality of the very best in the business is unbelievable — the first time I read a Stephen King novel I was blown away at how vividly this man could paint a story in my head, and it was then that my dream of writing a novel died, for how could I ever hope to tell a story like he did? Like any of the greats do? The truth is that there are so many better writers out there weaving beautiful tapestries with words that astound in their simplistic elegance. Once we've seen what they can do, it's a perpetual shadow hanging over our heads, a sinister little voice telling us how that latest piece should've been much better, how we could've done much better. We're never good enough, because not even our personal magnum opus can compare, and that little voice takes delight in reminding us of our unworthiness. Stephen King once said: "The scariest moment is always just before you start." Lately I found myself understanding. That moment before I type in my first words, that moment with the empty screen is staring back at me, pleading for me to begin, is scary. Because at that moment, the expectations and pressure and memories of the brilliance of the greats come rushing in, and at that moment I grow afraid of my own words, afraid that I would be disappointed with what I would read when it's all done. Afraid that I'm not good enough. But we can't live in fear forever, can we? Of course I'm not good enough, I never will be. Because whatever it is that we do, as we improve we'll always set a higher bar, a higher standard to reach for. The moment we think we are good enough is the moment we stop learning, stop growing — we become hacks. And I owe that editor a big thanks for that little reminder. At 3.15am, I took a deep breath and started typing. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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