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China the new battleground for coffee brands Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:11 AM PDT Coffee consumption is expected to rise sharply in the coming years, given that the Chinese associate it with a trendy Western lifestyle. — AFP pic NEW YORK, Oct 21 — China has become the new battleground for premium coffee brands, reported WARC market information service's website Thursday. Major coffee brand owners such as Nestle, Starbucks and Mondelez International are looking to tap China's fast-growing number of coffee drinking consumers. Nestle's Nespresso upped the ante this year by launching special Nespresso machines designed in partnership with luxury retailer Shanghai Tang to commemorate the year of the dragon. American coffee giant Starbucks is also planning to introduce its Verismo single-serve machine in China next year. The coffee chain added that it intends to have 1,500 stores in China by 2015, measured against approximately 650 at present. "We have an extremely ambitious development plan in China," said Belinda Wong, president of Starbucks China told BloombergBusinessweek. "China has been designated as our second home market outside of the United States. We believe China will become our largest market outside of the US by 2014." Some of Starbucks's coffee chain rivals in China include Costa Coffee, South Korean-owned bakery chains Paris Baguette and Tous Les Jours, as well as Hong Kong's Pacific Coffee. Another player in the coffee business, Mondelez International -- which controls the Tassimo brand, is considering entering the single-serve coffee market in China. "In cities like Shanghai and Beijing, a coffee shop culture is developing and there's a fertile ground for single-serve," said Hubert Weber, president of its coffee division. According to China Daily Thursday, China's coffee consumption in 2010 was estimated to be 25,000 tons, as opposed to more than one million tons for tea. This figure is expected to rise sharply in the coming years, given that the Chinese associate it with a trendy Western lifestyle. "In China, coffee is more like a symbol of Western affluence, friendship and a bridge in connecting the people," Raymond Tong, CEO of Pacific Coffee, the second-largest coffee chain in Hong Kong after Starbucks, told the daily. London-based research company Euromonitor International, which estimated total turnover of China's market for coffee shops to be 3.5 billion yuan ($558 million) last year, expects coffee sales to triple to 10 billion yuan by 2016. In addition, the Chinese are expected to become more sophisticated when it comes to drinking coffee, switching from instant coffee to freshly brewed coffee. — AFP-Relaxnews

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Sunderland grab derby draw thanks to late Ba own goal Posted: 21 Oct 2012 09:16 AM PDT Demba Ba (second right) watches in horror the own goal that cost Newcastle United full points. — Reuters pic LONDON, Oct 21 — Sunderland and Newcastle United fought out a thrilling 1-1 draw in the Tyne-Wear derby today, with Newcastle scoring at the right end after three minutes and at the wrong end five minutes from time as the points were shared. Yohan Cabaye scored after three minutes to give the visitors the lead at the Stadium of Light before Newcastle were reduced to 10 men after 25 minutes when Cheick Tiote was sent off for a rash kick at Sunderland's Steven Fletcher. Sunderland grabbed a point when John O'Shea met Sebastian Larsson's freekick with a powerful header that deflected into the net off the face of United striker Demba Ba. The result left both teams in mid-table, with Newcastle in 11th place on 10 points from eight games and Sunderland 14th on eight with a match in hand. Bottom club Queens Park Rangers were facing fourth-placed Everton at Loftus Road in a 1500 GMT kickoff. — Reuters

Venus wins in Luxembourg to end title drought Posted: 21 Oct 2012 09:11 AM PDT LUXEMBOURG, Oct 21 — Venus Williams proved today she was still a force to be reckoned with after a two-year battle with injuries and illness as she downed Romania's Monica Niculescu 6-2 6-3 to win the Luxembourg Open title. The result ended a torrid year and a 31-month barren run for the 32-year-old American, who failed to get past the second round of any of the three majors she competed in in 2012. While victory in a low-key tournament in Luxembourg might not rate as a landmark win for a woman who has won seven grand slam singles titles, the American looked visibly delighted to get back into the winner's circle for the first time since being diagnosed in 2011 with the auto-immune, fatigue-inducing illness Sjogren's Syndrome. — Reuters

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Chelsea Clinton steps up to fight diarrhoea deaths in Nigeria Posted: 21 Oct 2012 08:35 AM PDT Chelsea Clinton speaks at the closing forum of the Clinton Global Initiative 2012 in New York, September 25, 2012. The CGI was created by former US President Bill Clinton in 2005 to gather global leaders to discuss solutions to the world's problems. — Reuters file pic CHICAGO, Oct 21 — Chelsea Clinton is taking on the discomforting issue of diarrhoea, throwing her family's philanthropic heft behind a sweeping effort in Nigeria to prevent the deaths of one million mothers and children each year from preventable causes, including 100,000 deaths from diarrhoea. The 32-year-old daughter of President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton joined Nigerian officials, the prime minister of Norway and other leaders this week in promoting expanded access to zinc and oral rehydration solutions or ORS, a treatment that could prevent more than 90 per cent of diarrhoea-related deaths in the country. "It is unconscionable that in the 21st century, children still die of diarrhoea," Clinton told Reuters in an exclusive interview by phone from Abuja, Nigeria. The ORS and zinc work in Nigeria is in coordination with the Clinton Health Access Initiative or CHAI, on whose board Clinton serves. She has stepped up her public role in the family's global philanthropic efforts and in July took a six-day tour of Africa with her father, who founded the William J. Clinton Foundation in 2001. Chelsea Clinton with dad Bill listening to a speaker on the final day of the CGI. — Reuters file pic The goal of the initiative in Nigeria was to help drive down the cost of high-quality ORS and zinc treatments and increase awareness for them, said Clinton, a doctoral candidate in international relations at the University of Oxford. Fewer than 2 per cent of children in Nigeria have access to the treatment recommended by the World Health Organisation. Increasing the number of children with access to the therapy to 80 per cent by 2015 would help prevent an estimated 220,000 deaths in Nigeria. "I would like to see us make real, measurable progress here in Nigeria and in the other countries where we are working on ORS zinc," said Clinton, including Uganda and parts of India, as part of the Clinton Health Access Initiative's push to improve access to essential medicines for children. "For me, it's not complicated. We know what works and we should be doing more of it. And when we don't know what works, we should be innovating and spending time and energy on designing these solutions to solve problems that haven't been solved yet," said Clinton. "That is what I love about the work CHAI does and the work of the foundation more broadly." Bringing companies on board As part of its push, CHAI was meeting with companies such as Unilever, which has big distribution networks in Nigeria, to get the message out on ORS zinc, Clinton said. The hope is to increase demand for the treatment and drive down costs, which should put the price of a single dose of the treatment at about US$0.50. CHAI began working in Nigeria in 2007 with efforts in the Niger Delta to bolster the region's HIV/AIDS infrastructure, which has helped increase paediatric HIV testing by 350 per cent, and resulted in a 70 per cent increase in paediatric access to powerful antiretroviral drugs. Clinton conceded that diarrhoea treatment was something many people would rather not talk about. "It makes them feel squeamish," she said, adding: "It's important that we shine a light on these problems and then get to the business of solving them." Clinton said it was hard to know just how much of her interest in charitable work had been influenced by the careers of her powerful parents, but in a way, it did not much matter. "I couldn't imagine not doing work like this," she said. "I define success in my life by how much of a difference have I made in a given day, whether that is being a good wife to my husband, a good daughter to my parents, a good friend to my friends, or helping push forward our work at CHAI or the Alliance for a Healthier Generation or any other facet of the foundation. "I couldn't imagine it any other way, and I don't want to." — Reuters

Asian thirst drives demand for €2.5k cognac Posted: 21 Oct 2012 05:48 AM PDT An employee holds a glass of cognac at the Remy Martin distillery in Cognac, Southwestern France. — Reuters pic COGNAC, France, Oct 21 — So fine are the hand-made crystal decanters used for Remy Martin's €2,500 (RM9,931) Louis XIII cognac that workers don silk gloves to fill them with the caramel-coloured liquor, to avoid leaving scratches or smudgy fingerprints.  It is the finishing touch for a deluxe elixir made from a blend of 1,200 kinds of "eau de vie" brandy aged for decades in century-old oak casks cloaked in a black fungus that feeds on the "angels' share" of alcohol evaporating through the wood.  As overall cognac sales have recovered from the 2008/09 downturn, discerning Chinese looking for an aspirational tipple are causing a surge in shipments of Louis XIII and other deluxe spirits.  The trend is good news for Remy Martin, which is much more focused than its rivals on high-end brands, and suggests that a slowdown in China's overall economic growth rate may not dampen the country's appetite for some luxury goods, even if some sectors have sounded warnings.  "The very high end is doing very well and is growing in Asia and all our markets. There is a very strong appetite in Asia for recognised quality," Remy Martin Chief Executive Patrick Piana told Reuters in an interview.  Robust demand for pricey brandies is encouraging parent group Remy Cointreau despite a sharp slowdown in sales growth in the last three months as Asian wholesalers use up stocks built up earlier in the year.  High-end brands were the fastest-growing category of cognac sold in 2011 in volume terms, growing 18.2 per cent for XO, or "Extra Old", blends where the youngest eau de vie in the mix has been aged for at least six years.  Rising deluxe sales led to a 16.9 per cent jump in the retail value of global cognac shipments in 2011 to US$8.5 billion (RM26 billion), as volumes rose a lesser 6.5 per cent to 12.2 million 9-bottle cases, according to International Wine and Spirits Research.  Analysts are asking whether Asian demand for luxury goods overall will stay strong. But high-end spirits are a bright spot, with wealthy Chinese more likely to postpone big ticket items like a new Jaguar than cut back on the fancy drinks.  "Remy Cointreau has strong organic growth prospects stemming from demand for deluxe cognac in China," said Trevor Stirling, an analyst with research firm Bernstein.  A distiller is seen at the Remy Martin distillery in Cognac, southwestern France. — Reuters pic Among the four houses making 97 per cent of the cognac France exports each year, Remy Martin has the most premium brands, focused mainly on VSOP and above. The youngest eau de vie in the "Very Superior Old Pale" blend is aged at least four years.  Piana predicted that robust Asian demand would tempt cognac houses to step up new product offerings in the high-end market, which offers tempting profit margins.  "Competition will intensify. I want that to happen because a competitive market is a dynamic market," he said.  The United States is the biggest cognac market by volume but is led by the least expensive VS, or "Very Special", grade where brandy is aged for as little as two years.  China's preference for older qualities from VSOP upwards has made it the top market for high-end cognacs, worth around US$3 billion in 2011. Cognac shipments to China rose by 21.7 per cent in volume last year but their retail value jumped 34 per cent.  Voracious Fungus For China's up-and-coming millionaires, much of the appeal of a rare cognac like Louis XIII, first created in 1874, lies in its complex, almost ritualistic production process.  Remy Martin claims to use the highest-quality grapes grown in the Grande Champagne cognac territory in western France and the youngest eau de vie in the mix is at least 40 years old.  The spirit is aged in specially crafted century-old casks known as "tierçons" made from oak from the forests of the surrounding Limousin region. The voracious black fungus that creeps over the barrels, walls and many nearby buildings feeding off the wafting cognac vapour only adds to the mystique.  A bottle of cognac sits on an oak cask in a cellar where cognac is aged at the Remy Martin distillery in Cognac, southwestern France. — Reuters pic The number of buyers of Louis XIII, which sells for an average price of €2,500 a bottle, is a closely guarded secret, as are the levels of Remy's eau de vie stocks.  Those wanting to purchase limited-edition aged cognacs, like the three-litre Jeroboam variety, form waiting lists just like fashionistas do for some designer handbags.  Asia accounts for 60 per cent of sales at Remy Martin and its top market is China, where it commands the No. 3 spot in volume terms behind Hennessy, owned by LVMH and Diageo , and Martell, owned by Pernod Ricard.  Chinese businessmen out on the town often mix VSOP with soda, fruit juice or green tea. As they climb the social ladder, they move to XO categories which tend to be drunk during formal dinners and given as gifts for the Chinese New Year.  While the Louis XIII brand is a leader for now in the luxury sector, and has a tight network of dedicated retailers and promotion partners, it faces competition from Richard Hennessy and L'Or de Jean Martell, which are priced around the same level.  To try and stay on top of the growing thirst for prestige products Remy has launched a China-exclusive XO product called Centaure aimed at young, cosmopolitan consumers.  It has also introduced Club de Remy Martin, priced 30 percent above its VSOP, and 1898 Creation Fine Champagne, priced at three times more than its XO, already around €120-€160. — Reuters

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Brazil’s emerging middle class stars in hit soap opera Posted: 21 Oct 2012 07:32 AM PDT Globo TV's "Avenida Brasil" breaks new ground by turning the spotlight on the millions of Brazilians now making up the so-called C class. — All rights reserved. RIO DE JANEIRO, — Loud, coarse, but hard-working and supportive, the fictional denizens of a Rio suburb hold a mirror up to Brazil's emerging middle class in a wildly popular soap opera. Brazilian telenovelas have traditionally depicted the melodramas of the elite, but Globo TV's "Avenida Brasil" breaks new ground by turning the spotlight on the millions of Brazilians now making up the so-called C class. Rising prosperity in the emerging regional powerhouse and social programs introduced by former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have pulled some 40 million people out of grinding poverty over the past decade. Now the increasingly prosperous C class, partly made up of former slum dwellers, makes up nearly 50 percent of the country's 194 million people. "It was a great idea to base the show on the emerging middle class," said sociologist Geraldo Tadeu, of Rio's University Research Institute. "This is a reflection of the new Brazil, of the families who made it, acquiring money but not necessarily good manners." An estimated 38 million Brazilians tune into the show every evening at 9pm, with millions commenting on its every twist and turn via Twitter and other social media. Rio taxi drivers have even been known to watch while driving. According to the Ibope polling institute, the show -- which debuted in March and ends Friday -- reached its highest 49-point rating ever and a 76 percent market share on Monday. "Avenida Brasil" fever even forced President Dilma Rousseff to reschedule a Sao Paulo campaign rally in support of a candidate in the upcoming mayoral election so that it would not coincide with the show's last episode. The plot revolves around the quest for revenge by young Nina, who as a child was abandoned in a Rio garbage dump by her evil stepmother Carminha and her boyfriend Max, after they rob Nina's father Genesio and push him to his death. Years later, Nina returns and gets a job as a cook in the suburban mansion of Tufao, a rich and cuckolded former football star who is now married to Carminha. Other characters include ignorant members of the nouveaux riche notorious for their poor taste and bad Portuguese. But "Avenida Brasil" also includes entrepreneurs, hard-working people still struggling to move up, and fun-loving, beer-drinking Rio suburbanites, fond of eating rice and black beans and reading gossip magazines. "It is an emerging class, which consumes and is proud of itself. This is very important," Mauro Alencar, an expert on Brazilian teledrama, told Globo News in a recent interview. The name of the show refers to the main avenue which links the city centre with the northern Rio suburbs, where the fictional Divino neighbourhood is located. The residents all know each other, they meet in the one and only bar and they shop in a store owned by the president of the local soccer club. The characters say they lead humble lives of which they are proud, but Divino is a long way from Rio's periphery, where hundreds of thousands of people still live in slums riven with drug violence. Brazil is now the world's sixth largest economy and will host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics in a sign of its growing global presence, but economic growth has slowed in the last year and a half. — AFP-Relaxnews

Wheelchair-bound Bertolucci says filming is ‘like therapy’ Posted: 21 Oct 2012 03:07 AM PDT Italian film director Bernardo Bertolucci at the photocall for 'Io e Te' (Me and You) on October 18, 2012 in Rome. — AFP pic ROME, Oct 21 — Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, the man behind "Last Tango in Paris" and "The Last Emperor", said on Thursday that filming was "like therapy" after the release of his first film in a decade. The director, who has been in a wheelchair after some unexplained health problems, said he had "started filming again but also started living again". His film "Io e Te" ("Me and You"), a drama film about a teenage boy and his drug addict stepsister, was premiered at the Cannes film festival this year. "I fear you will have more films of mine soon," the 71-year-old said. "Io e Te" will go on general release initially in Italy next week. The film is based on a short novel by acclaimed Italian writer Niccolo Ammaniti. Bertolucci's last film "The Dreamers", an erotic drama set in Paris in the 1960s starring Michael Pitt and Eva Green, was released in 2003. Bertolucci also spoke about the difficulties for wheelchair users in the Italian capital, saying Rome had become "a forbidden city" for him. "I cannot go around with an electric wheelchair," he said, blaming pavements that are badly maintained and often taken up by illegally parked cars. He also said he once had to be physically carried by some passers-by to go up to the mayor's office in Rome to attend a marriage. "When we asked us if there was a ramp, they looked at us like we were aliens," said Bertolucci, describing the experience as "humiliating". Bertolucci recently sent an open letter to Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno about the problems. — AFP-Relaxnews

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MB Selangor gesa pembangkang hentikan kelirukan rakyat Posted: 21 Oct 2012 01:45 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 21 Okt — Menteri Besar (MB) Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim menggesa pembangkang di negeri Selangor berhenti daripada terus memutar belit isu paras air di Empangan Sungai Selangor. Dalam kenyataan kepada The Malaysian Insider, Abdul Khalid berkata dia berpuas hati dengan peningkatan takungan air di empangan tersebut yang meningkat kepada 55.43% iaitu sebanyak 127.49 juta meter padu setakat ini sekaligus membidas dakwaan seperti yang dilaporkan Utusan yang mengatakan takungan menyusut kira-kira 40% daripada jumlah 235 juta meter padu. "Saya berpuashati dengan peningkatan takungan air di Empangan Sungai Selangor yang telah meningkat kepada 55.43% iaitu sebanyak 127.49 juta meter padu setakat hari ini," kata Abdul Khalid (gambar). MB Selangor tersebut juga memuji pihak pegawai dan kakitangan Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (LUAS) yang bekerja keras dalam memantau status empangan untuk memastikan ia berada pada paras memuaskan dan mampu memenuhi keperluan pengguna. "Kerajaan Selangor sedar dengan usaha-usaha pihak  tidak bertanggungjawab yang sengaja menimbulkan ketakutan kepada rakyat Selangor dan penduduk Lembah Klang kononnya bakal berdepan  krisis air ekoran penurunan paras air di empangan. "Saya mengesa semua ahli politik terutamanya pihak pembangkang di Selangor supaya berhenti membuat kenyataan-kenyataan mengelirukan mengenai isu air termasuk kedudukan paras takungan di empangan," tambah Abdul Khalid lagi. Pembangkang di Selangor terutamanya Umno menerusi akhbar rasmi mereka Utusan sebelum ini menimbulkan kebimbangan paras air di empangan tersebut dan mengesyorkan Projek Loji Rawatan Air Langat 2 (Langat 2) dilihat sebagai jalan penyelesaian untuk mengelakkan daripada krisis air daripada berlaku. Dalam laporan tersebut, Utusan mendakwa sekiranya berlaku krisis air di Selangor ia akan mengakibatkan bekalan sebanyak 60 peratus air yang telah diproses bagi keperluan penduduk Lembah Klang iaitu Shah Alam, Klang, Petaling Jaya dan Kuala Lumpur serta 40 peratus kepada penduduk di kawasan Rawang akan terjejas teruk. Abdul Khalid dalam kenyataannya juga menegaskan, segala usaha oleh pihak pembangkang di Selangor tidak akan menjejaskan komitmen kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat di Selangor untuk untuk menyelesaikan penyusunan semula industri perkhidmatan air yang masih terbantut di samping  meneruskan pemberian air percuma 20 meter padu setiap bulan selaras dengan agenda Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor (MES).

Bekas KPN nafi sidang media pendedahan kes Altantuya di Bangkok Posted: 21 Oct 2012 01:38 AM PDT SHAH ALAM, 21 Okt — Bekas Ketua Polis NegaraTan Sri Musa Hassan telah menafikan beliau dakwaan beliau akan bercakap kepada wartawan di Bangkok esok tentang kes pembunuhan warga Mongolia, Altantuya Shaariibuu dan merasa hairan dengan spekulasi tentang aktivitinya. Kelab Koresponden Asing Thailand (FCCT) telah meletakkan notis tentang sidang media tersebut akan tetapi mengatakan ia bukanlah aktiviti kelab akan tetapi dianjurkan oleh pihak lain. "Saya terperanjat apabila mendengar berita ini. Saya tahu tentang ini pun apabila ada wartawan menghubungi saya semalam. Mana ada, saya masih di sini (Malaysia)," kata Musa (gambar) kepada The Malaysian Insider. Acara tersebut bertajuk "Pendedahan baru dalam pembunuhan Altantuya" dijadualkan pada pukul 11 pagi waktu Bangkok dan diadakan enam tahun selepas gadis tersebut diletupkan dengan bahan letupan oleh dua orang anggota pengiring keselamatan Malaysia di Shah Alam. Kedua-dua anggota polis tersebut telah didapati bersalah dan dijatuhkan hukuman akan tetapi kedua-duanya telah merayu hukuman mati yang dijatuhkan. "Saya tak faham mengapa semenjak dua menjak ni saya sering menjadi sasaran pelbagai spekulasi," "Saya harap pihak-pihak tidak bertanggungjawab ini berhenti menganggu saya," tambah bekas ketua polis yang bersara pada tahun 2012 selepas kontraknya tamat. Secara kebetulan, kedua-dua anggota Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK) yang dijatuhkan hukuman mati itu akan didengar rayuannya pada 31 Oktober dan 1 November. Inspektor Azilah Hadri, 34, dan Koperal Sirul Azhar, 39, dijatuhi hukuman mati oleh Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam pada 9 April 2009, setelah didapati bersalah membunuh Altantuya di Mukim Bukit Raja antara 9.45 malam 18 Oktober 2006 dan 9.45 malam hari berikutnya. Penganalisis Abdul Razak Baginda, 50 yang turut didakwa bersama kedua-dua anggota UTK itu dibebaskan oleh Mahkamah Tinggi pada 31 Oktober dengan alasan tiada prima facie terhadapnya.

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Ancaman tak berair dan banjir Posted: 20 Oct 2012 03:40 PM PDT 21 Okt — Kira-kira 10 hari sebelum rencana ini ditulis tersiar berita dan gambar kolam takungan air di kawasan Sabak Benam diancam kekurangan air dan ia memungkin kawasan berkenaan akan putus bekalan air. Lalu kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Selangor ditempelak betapa ia berdegil menolak pelan Langat-2 yang dirancang sebagai persediaan bekalan air yang secukupnya bagi  Lembah Kelang khususnya  dan Selangor amnya untuk beberapa dekat  akan datang bahkan untuk sekurun lagi. Orang  ramai cuba dibimbangkan betapa Selangor bukan sekadar diancam bekalan air yang dirawat, bahkan kekurangan bekalan air termasuk yang tidak dirawat. Sedang kerajaan Selangor mendapat nasihat dari pakarnya betapa pesat pun pertumbuhan kemajuan pembangunan dan pertambahan penduduk di negeri itu tidak diancam krisis air tanpa projek Langat-2 kiranya pelan rawatan air dibuat mengikut sistem yang betul. Bagi Pakatan Rakyat sistem bekalan air itu yang mesti  dibetulkan nescaya ia dapat menyelamatkan dana negeri  dari meneruskan pelan Langat-2. Untuk menjelaskan isu pertikaian air itu kepada umum maka TV1 mengadakan perbincangan mengenainya oleh orang-orang dirasakan tahu atas masalah itu.  Tetapi sesi perbincangan itu tidak membawa pakar dari Selangor bagi memberi pandangan kedua atas isu itu.  Maka penjelasan pihak sebelah samalah dengan perbicaraan tanpa pembelaan oleh pihak yang dituduh. Penjelasan itu seperti  tidak memberi penjelasan saja. Penjelasan Menteri Besar Selangor atas amaran kekurangan  air   di sekitar Sabak Bernam itu cuba diatasi dengan sistem menabur benih hujan di angkara yang diharapkan agar ada hujan lebat dan sementara itu ia akan  menyiasat punca kekurangan air itu. Dua tiga hari selepas itu tersiar berita bahawa ancaman air itu kerana  ban di sungai yang menyalurkan air itu pecah. Makan semua pihak yang terbabit  dikerah turun padang bagi membaiki kerosakan. Di tengah kebimbangan orang akan ancaman krisis bekalan air itu keluar pula  amaran beberapa kawasan  di Selangor mungkin berdepan dengan ancam banjir dan orang ramai mesti bersedia untuk dipindahkan. Dalam masa seminggu  saja rakyat Selangor diancam dua  kebimbangan berhubung air.  Kebimbangan pertama putus bekalan dan kebimbangan banjir iaitu berlebihan  air. Air tak ada pun  susah dan   air banyak pun susah. Dalam masa sepuluh hari selepas berita susutan air di takungan Sabak Bernam itu lima enam hari Lembah Kelang disirami hujan yang  amat lebat. Sehari sebelum artikel ini  ditulis hujan di Kuala Lumpur  turun dari pagi hingga ke petang. Dalam hujan lebat itu saya pergi ke Hulu Langat,  sepanjang jalan hujan. Sudah beberapa hari pagi hujan, petang pun hujan. Apakah memang sekarang musim hujan atau ia hasil semaian benih hujan  di awan angkasa Selangor. Tetapi saya menunggu berita tentang kekurangan air di takungan Sabak Bernam itu. Tiada yang menyiarkan air masih kurang atau kembali penuh. Tetapi kekurangan itu bukan kerana negeri itu benar-benar diancam krisis air, tetapi ia  disebabkan ban sungai yang pecah. Apakah ancaman air di Selangor itu palsu atau hakikat, tunggu PRU 13. Kalau Putrajaya jatuh, maka kita akan tahu, ia benar anacaman atau tidak. Jika  ia benar ancaman kerajaan baru akan menentukan apakah Langat-2 akan diteruskan atau sistsem bekalan akan  disempurnakan. Tetapi, kalau tiada perubahan dalam PRU 13, BN akan  mengatakan Langat-2 adalah jawapan atas isu itu. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Ikon - yang konvensional dan tidak konvensional Posted: 20 Oct 2012 03:40 PM PDT 21 Okt — Pelbagai respon yang saya terima kesan tulisan tentang Datuk M.Nasir di keluaran yang lalu. Ada yang bersetuju dan ada juga yang mempersoalkan. Saya terima apa saja pandangan dengan hati yang terbuka. Seperti yang saya bualkan dengan seorang sahabat yang juga peminat M.Nasir yang baginya M.Nasir tetap seorang insan yang hebat terutama dari segi muzik dan susunannya. Saya tidak mempersoalkan tentang itu. Yang saya persoalkan adalah tentang "roots" dan susur galur muzik yang diperjuangkannya. Apabila bercerita tentang "roots" muzik, saya rasa itu penting untuk kita faham tentang hala dan genre yang kita bawakan. Pertama kali ke studio Luncai Emas di awal tahun 90an dulu bergaul dan mengenal insan seni bernama M.Nasir sambil membelek-belek koleksi piring hitam artis-artis barat miliknya saya tahu kita punya citarasa yang sama dalam muzik dan kefahamannya. Beliau juga membesar dengan lagu Dylan, Al Stewart, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Cat Steven, Earth Wind and Fire antaranya. Itu lah yang saya maksudkan dengan "roots". Begitu juga tentang kefahamannya tentang hakikat dan kejiwaan. Dan perkara paling penting bagi saya jika kita seorang singer-songwriter, bikinlah lagu untuk buat orang berfikir! Itu satu tanggungjawab bagi seorang pengkarya bergantung pada tahap kefahaman mereka. Jika Amy, Jamal atau Saleem itu tidak ada dalam fikiran saya pun sebab mereka bagi saya hanya duduk dalam genre komersial sejak dari awal karier, begitu juga Ramli Sarip, beliau seorang penyanyi rock, bukan folk singer song-writer. Sudahnya sahabat saya itu menyatakan , " M.Nasir sudah tua bro!", dan kami pun ketawa di suatu petang yang nyaman itu. Roger Waters pun sudah tua juga, pun masih maintan rugged. Sting pun begitu juga...Mengapa perlu menjadi "poyo" jika kita sudah solid? Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sehingga akhir hayat kekal dengan idealisma dan apa yang diperjuangkannya sehingga dunia mengkaguminya. Perjalanan yang paling menarik bagi seorang pengkarya adalah seperti yang John Lennon lakukan, dari konvensional kepada tidak konvensional. Berbeza pula dengan M.Nasir yang mana perjalanan seninya dari tidak konvensional kepada konvensional. Satu hal yang harus diakui juga ramai kenalan saya , mereka ini adalah peminat yang membesar dengan lagu-lagu M.Nasir. Di usia yang hampir mencecah separuh abad ini kami membicarakan tentang topik dan isu tersebut dalam ruang yang lebih matang dan terbuka. Saya tidak punya apa kepentingan dalam menyuarakan pendapat dan saya tidak ada hal juga jika M.Nasir itu seorang jutawan hasil penat-lelahnya berjuang dalam dunia muzik dan industrinya, cuma seperti yang saya ralat, beliau seolah mengambus lorong yang telah beliau bina sejak awal berkarya dulu. Pentingnya bukan untuk beliau, tapi generasi yang akan datang. Tapi apalah yang nak dikisahkannya sangat pun? Saya akui M.Nasir adalah satu watak menarik dari spesis yang "rare" untuk ditemui. Hebat kerana mampu melepasi ruang mainstream dan lagu-lagunya yang bermesej itu diterima ramai. Juga beliau tahu apa ramuan yang masyarakat Melayu suka . Seperkara juga tentang pengetahuan beliau tentang hakikat, kefahaman dan sifat keterbukaannya. Banyak perkara yang saya setuju yang mana bagi saya jika kita boleh membezakan antara ilmu usul dan ilmu hukum, kita mampu bermuzakarah dalam ruang yang lebih terbuka dan bukan semua manusia akan faham tentang perkara itu. Lagu "Tanya Sama Itu Hud-Hud" yang diciptanya yang mana liriknya adalah pengaruh dari kitab Penyair dan ahli sufi Farid ud-Din Attar yang judulnya "The Conference of the Birds", atau dalam versi Indonesianya "Musyawarah Burung" adalah antara lagu komersial terbaik yang pernah diciptanya yang berjaya menembusi pasaran komersial sehingga menang Anugerah Juara Lagu tahun 1994. Itulah klimaks pencapaiannya sebagai seorang penyanyi dan komposer. "The Conference of the Birds" adalah karangan penyair dan pujangga kelahiran Persia Barat Farid ud-Din Attar, atau nama sebenarnya Abu Hamid bin Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( lahir tahun 1120 dan meninggal pada tahun 1230 ) yang terhebat. Hebat kerana pengisian dan gubahan bahasa yang indah serta jalan ceritanya yang berkisar tentang perjalanan nafsu dan diri kita sendiri sehinggalah ke titiknya, untuk sebuah permulaan dalam mengenal diri. Saya salut M.Nasir kerana berjaya membuka minda dan mengenengahkan kepada masyarakat tentang perkara-perkara serius yang melibatkan kejiwaan. Berbalik tentang hal komersial, itu jugalah yang terjadi kepada penyanyi folk Indonesia Gombloh yang juga akur dengan kehendak mainstream di awal tahun 80an dulu. Beliau gagal mempertahankan idealismanya dalam berkarya. Pun walaupun karyanya laku di pasaran komersial , Gombloh masih lagi hidup dengan watak bohemian dan menyatu dengan golongan marhaen dan gelandangan sehingga ke akhirnya. Masih rabak sehinga ke akhir hayatnya. Begitu juga dengan Bob Dylan yang poyo dengan album Saved nya di tahun 80 dulu. Saya hanya mendengar Dylan melalui album pertamanya "Bob Dylan" (1962) sehingga album "Street Legal" (1978). Suaranya bila sudah semakin tua semakin sengau dan kurang dari segi intonasi. Memang tak sedap langsung! M.Nasir juga dalam keadaan usianya yang semakin ke depan, dari segi suara dan intonasinya sudah tidak sama seperti di zaman Kembara dan album-album solonya yang terdahulu. Tanpa Loloq, kata M.Nasir beliau telah patah sebelah sayapnya. Pun setiap manusia hadir ke dunia dalam bentuk dan acuannya yang tersendiri. Kerana kita juga akan pulang tanpa teman dan meninggalkan apa saja yang baharu sifatnya. Jadi bagi saya itu bukanlah penyebabnya. Saya tidak akan bandingkan M.Nasir dengan seniman hebat dunia yang bernaung di bawah label Real World milik Peter Gabriel seperti Nusrat Fateh ( Pakistan ) mahupun Salif Keita ( Mali ) atau dengan Iwan Fals sekalipun, tapi untuk negara kita yang serba-serbinya lemah gemalai ini, alangkah baiknya jika kita memiliki seorang ikon yang rugged, berilmu dan rebel seperti Bob Marley, Lennon, Bono antaranya. Masyarakat kita sudah lama lemas dalam ayat-ayat cinta yang layu dan penuh rindu-dendam. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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