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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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Super quick snack for a lazy Sunday afternoon Posted: 06 Dec 2012 04:33 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — I get pleasure from having people over to the house, relaxing and catching up. During moments like these, I prefer to serve something simple yet mouth-watering, so I can entertain them and not spend my time slaving in the kitchen. Something easy to eat and equally easy to prepare would be ideal… I'm not thinking laksa or curries, more of something you can pop into your mouth, something like fried wantons. As they're extremely easy to prepare as you do not even need to marinade the minced meat. This is because minced meat has a larger surface area, so the sauces you combine with the minced meat will marinade it well in an instant. Wantons, unlike Italian ravioli, which are only eaten boiled, are simply irresistible when fried. In the supermarket, you'll come across two types of wanton skin; be sure to buy the thicker wanton skin as these don't split when deep-fried. They are great served with a glass of white wine on a lazy Sunday afternoon in the company of good friends. Fried wantons Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Serves 8 500g pork belly, chopped well with a cleaver 200g tiger prawns, shells removed and cut into small pieces 1 sprig of spring onions, finely sliced 1 egg white, lightly beaten 2 teaspoons sesame oil 1/2 teaspoon salt, adjust according to taste 2 dashes of black pepper 1 packet thick wanton skins Oil for deep frying 1. In a clean bowl, mix chopped pork, prawns, spring onions, egg white, sesame oil, salt and pepper. 2. Leave the mixture to marinade for 10 minutes. 3. Using a clean teaspoon, dish out 1 teaspoon pork mixture per wanton skin. 4. Taking the ends of all four corners of the wanton skin with your fingertips, bring it over the top of the pork mixture and seal it by pressing it tightly. 5. Meanwhile, heat about 2inches of oil in a pan. 6. Once bubbles are formed in the oil, drop one piece of wrapped wanton at a time into the oil. 7. Pat excess oil from the wanton with a paper towel. 8. Serve immediately. For more recipes, go to www.chopstickdiner.com

Thomas Keller launches luxury gourmet gift sets Posted: 06 Dec 2012 05:02 AM PST The French Laundry Sparkling Wine and Caviar Experience. — All rights reserved NEW YORK, Dec 6 — Have US$1,000 (RM3,047) kicking around and looking for gift ideas for the foodie gourmand in your life? Thomas Keller has launched luxury gift sets for the holiday season that include a sparkling wine and caviar box set and a truffle risotto kit that replicates the same meal from Per Se. Of the trio of gift sets on offer, The French Laundry Sparkling Wine & Caviar Gift Set is, perhaps, the most luxurious, with a price tag of US$1,000. The box contains a bottle of Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc Chardonnay-based Brut sparkling wine; a two-ounce serving of Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar; two mother of pearl caviar spoons; and a French Laundry buckwheat blini mix which requires the addition of milk, heavy cream and eggs. For the black truffle lover, Keller has also developed a black truffle risotto kit from Per Se. With the exception of butter and onions, the kit comes with all the ingredients needed to replicate the dish from his New York outpost. Inside the engraved wooden box, recipients will find three ounces of black truffle from Provence; an engraved wooden truffle shaver; Carnaroli rice from Northern Italy - considered the 'king of rice'; organic white truffle-infused extra virgin olive oil; grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, Battenkill Farms' heavy cream, Per Se chicken stock and a recipe card. The risotto kit is priced at US$850. And for the sweet tooth in your life, there's also a US$260 chocolate tart kit from his famous Bouchon Bakery that comes with a tart shell mix; 70 per cent dark Guittard chocolate coins; Tahitian vanilla bean; a Bouchon oven mitt; and a 500 ml bottle of Meyer Family Port wine. Orders must be placed by December 15. Shipments are only available in the US, with the exception of New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia due to shipping laws. Meanwhile, last month New York's Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert likewise launched his own line of premium caviar in time for the holiday season. An eight-ounce tin is priced at US$1,050. — AFP-Relaxnews

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Liverpool, Steaua and Stuttgart advance Posted: 06 Dec 2012 03:16 PM PST SK Rapid Wien's goalkeeper Lukas Koenigshofer (left) fights for the ball against FC Metalist's Jonathan Christaldo during their Europa League match. — Reuters pic  LONDON, Dec 7 — Five-times European champions Liverpool survived a late scare to move into the last 32 of the Europa League with a 1-0 win over Italian side Udinese yesterday. The Premier League club were joined by compatriots Tottenham Hotspur, former European champions Steaua Bucharest, VfB Stuttgart and Basel as the last five clubs through to the knockout stages. Inter Milan, already qualified, were astonishingly held to a 2-2 draw at home by Azerbaijan's Nefti Baku. Tottenham Hotspur's Clint Dempsey (centre) celebrates after scoring a goal against Panathinaikos during their Europa League match. — Reuters pic  Nineteen-year-old Marko Livaja twice put the Serie A side ahead but Rashad Sadygov cancelled out the first goal and Chilean Nicolas Canales snatched a point with an 88th-minute header. Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson's first strike of the season after 23 minutes helped Liverpool to leapfrog Group A leaders Anzhi Makhachkala, though Antonio Di Natale blazed a good chance over the bar with the last kick of the game. Udinese played the last 11 minutes with 10 men after Giovanni Pasquale's dismissal and Di Natale could have eliminated Liverpool altogether but he wasted a great late chance as Anzhi lost 3-1 at Young Boys in Berne. Liverpool, Anzhi and Young Boys all finished on 10 points but the Russians' better record over the Swiss club in a three-way head-to-head took them into the knockout stages along with the English group winners. "We were in a difficult group with good teams," said Liverpool manager Brendan Rogers. "But the mentality of the team was very strong and our desire and belief was very strong. We won and that is good for our future." Steaua's 10 men held Copenhagen 1-1 to progress as Group E winners on 11 points with Stuttgart in second on eight and level with the Danes but the Germans progressed owing to a better head-to-head record. Sparta Prague's Leony Kweuke (left) fights for the ball with Athletic Bilbao's Aymeric Laporte during their Europa League match. — Reuters pic  Steaua were reduced to 10 men in the 49th minute when Cristian Tanase was sent off but took the lead through Raul Rusescu after 72 minutes, with Copenhagen exploiting their advantage only late on but to no avail. Tottenham beat Panathinaikos 3-1 to take the final Group J slot behind winners Lazio who breezed to a 4-1 win at Maribor. Emmanuel Adebayor put Spurs ahead and Clint Dempsey and Jermain Defoe grabbed late goals to seal a convincing victory. Basel's 0-0 draw at Group G's top club Racing Genk ensured that Hungary's Fehervar, whose match at Sporting was postponed to Friday due to a waterlogged pitch, went out. Holders Atletico Madrid, already assured of last-32 action, lost 1-0 to Viktoria Plzen to finish second by a point in Group B behind the Czechs. Girondins Bordeaux won the battle for top spot over Newcastle United in Group D, the French club running out 2-0 victors to reach 13 points with the Premier League side on nine. In Group C, Fenerbahce had already made sure of top place ahead of Borussia Moenchengladbach while in Group F Ukraine's Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, 4-0 winners over AIK Solna, had secured first place ahead of Napoli, who lost 3-1 at home to PSV Eindhoven but still advanced. European champions Chelsea, knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday, head the eight teams who failed to qualify from Europe's top-tier competition this week and will make up the 32 in the draw on December 20. — Reuters

Minister dismisses Turkey GP funding hopes Posted: 06 Dec 2012 07:56 AM PST ISTANBUL, Dec 6 — Turkey's sports minister has poured cold water on race organisers' hopes that the government would provide funds to secure the return of the Turkish Grand Prix to the Formula One calendar next season. The sport's governing body announced yesterday that an unidentified European race had been pencilled in for July 21, subject to the agreement of national bodies, to bring the calendar up to 20 races. Turkish race organisers have said staging the grand prix would depend on whether the government made funds available. Local media reported the Istanbul track operator as saying the government would provide US$13.5 million (RM41 million) in funding. But Sports Minister Suat Kilic told reporters today the race was purely a matter for the private sector. "If it wants to, the private sector can bring Formula One," Kilic was quoted as saying by the Dogan news agency. "But there is no question of us paying the cost of the rights which have been proposed to a private company to bring Formula One." The Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED) said on its website (http://www.tosfed.org) that the grand prix — last held in 2011 before being dropped after a disagreement over hosting fees — had been discussed at a meeting of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in Istanbul. "We in TOSFED are making every effort so that Formula One races, which have been held seven times in our country until now, can be held at our Istanbul Park track...(in 2013) and in future years," chairman Demire Berberoglu said in a statement. Berberoglu said an agreement had been reached between circuit operator Vural Ak and Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, but the government also had to play a part. "Everybody knows that what is needed for its presence in the Formula One race calendar for 2013 and following years is a guarantee and approval of the required budget at the government level," said Berberoglu. "This will develop according to the prime minister's decision." Kilic said the government had previously assisted in bringing Formula One to Turkey, making a "sacrifice" in order to boost the sport. "Our government paid US$13.5 million a year to the organisers for five years for the rights. In exchange for that, all the income went to the organisers, so the state did not get any benefit from it," he said. The Istanbul Circuit, on the Asian side of the city, was highly regarded by teams and drivers for its challenging layout but the race failed to attract much local interest. Its reinstatement next season would plug a gap left by the postponement to 2014 of a Grand Prix of America that was due to be held in New Jersey. — Reuters

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Minister dismisses Turkey GP funding hopes Posted: 06 Dec 2012 07:56 AM PST ISTANBUL, Dec 6 — Turkey's sports minister has poured cold water on race organisers' hopes that the government would provide funds to secure the return of the Turkish Grand Prix to the Formula One calendar next season. The sport's governing body announced yesterday that an unidentified European race had been pencilled in for July 21, subject to the agreement of national bodies, to bring the calendar up to 20 races. Turkish race organisers have said staging the grand prix would depend on whether the government made funds available. Local media reported the Istanbul track operator as saying the government would provide US$13.5 million (RM41 million) in funding. But Sports Minister Suat Kilic told reporters today the race was purely a matter for the private sector. "If it wants to, the private sector can bring Formula One," Kilic was quoted as saying by the Dogan news agency. "But there is no question of us paying the cost of the rights which have been proposed to a private company to bring Formula One." The Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED) said on its website (http://www.tosfed.org) that the grand prix — last held in 2011 before being dropped after a disagreement over hosting fees — had been discussed at a meeting of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in Istanbul. "We in TOSFED are making every effort so that Formula One races, which have been held seven times in our country until now, can be held at our Istanbul Park track...(in 2013) and in future years," chairman Demire Berberoglu said in a statement. Berberoglu said an agreement had been reached between circuit operator Vural Ak and Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, but the government also had to play a part. "Everybody knows that what is needed for its presence in the Formula One race calendar for 2013 and following years is a guarantee and approval of the required budget at the government level," said Berberoglu. "This will develop according to the prime minister's decision." Kilic said the government had previously assisted in bringing Formula One to Turkey, making a "sacrifice" in order to boost the sport. "Our government paid US$13.5 million a year to the organisers for five years for the rights. In exchange for that, all the income went to the organisers, so the state did not get any benefit from it," he said. The Istanbul Circuit, on the Asian side of the city, was highly regarded by teams and drivers for its challenging layout but the race failed to attract much local interest. Its reinstatement next season would plug a gap left by the postponement to 2014 of a Grand Prix of America that was due to be held in New Jersey. — Reuters

Bosnia gives Islamist 18 years for gun attack on US embassy Posted: 06 Dec 2012 07:48 AM PST SARAJEVO, Dec 6 — Bosnia's state court sentenced an Islamist radical to 18 years in prison today for a gun attack on the US embassy and said the country faced a growing terrorist threat. The court found Mevlid Jasarevic, a 24-year-old originally from neighbouring Serbia, guilty of organising and committing a terrorist act, said judge Branko Peric, who presided over the panel of judges. Emrah Fojnica and Munib Ahmetspahic, indicted with helping Jasarevic organise a terrorist group in northeast Bosnia, were freed for lack of evidence, Peric said. "Never before in its history has Bosnia faced such forms of terrorism," Peric said, explaining the lengthy prison term given Jasarevic. The maximum sentence for acts of terrorism in the former Yugoslav republic is 20 years. Jasarevic spent 50 minutes in plain sight firing from an automatic rifle at the US embassy in Sarajevo in October last year, seriously wounding a police officer before he was hit by a police sharpshooter and arrested. The court said Jasarevic had plotted the attack in Gornja Maoca village, known for its adherence to the strict Wahhabi branch of Islam, and had got hold of a large amount of weapons, ammunition and other military equipment. In a homemade video filmed just before the attack, Jasarevic said he would target the US embassy because Americans "have launched a fight against Islam and Muslims across the world". "If there was no Gornja Maoca, there would be no Jasarevic," Peric said, warning that terrorism has become a serious problem in the Balkan country. The sentence given Jasarevic was the heaviest handed down by the state court, which has convicted 12 people of conspiring or organising terrorist attacks since it was created in 2002. The wars of the 1990s, when federal Yugoslavia fell apart, sharpened the sense of religious identity of some in the Balkans, fuelled since by poverty. The majority of the 100,000 people killed in Bosnia's 1992-95 war were Muslims. Gunman boycotts trial verdict Neither Jasarevic nor other two defendants attended the pronouncement of the verdict. His lawyer said he would appeal against the sentence, while the prosecutor announced an appeal against the court's ruling to release the two other men. Throughout the trial, the three defendants, dressed in long Wahhabi robes and caps, refused to stand when the judges entered the courtroom. Jasarevic described the court as "worthless before Allah" and said last week his conviction would do nothing to stop anyone from launching similar attacks. "This is not the message only to the court but also to the state, and must be taken seriously," Peric said. Most Bosnian Muslims, also known as Bosniaks, practice a moderate form of Islam. But analysts say recent years have seen a rise in the number of home-grown Islamists, many raised abroad and radicalised to fight for global causes unrelated to Bosnia. Jasarevic was born in the southwest Serbian town of Novi Pazar but lived for a number of years in Austria, where he spent time in prison for robbery. — Reuters

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Australian scientists develop coconut-tasting pineapple Posted: 06 Dec 2012 05:57 AM PST Australian researchers have developed coconut-tasting pineapples that are also sweet and juicy. – shutterstock.com SYDNEY, Dec 6 – Australian researchers are working on a new breed of pineapple – one that is not only sweet and juicy but which has the added tropical taste of coconut. In what is thought to be a world first, the Department of Agriculture in Queensland state is in the final stages of developing the new variety of the fruit, to be known as the AusFestival pineapple. "Taste tests tell us that AusFestival is a winner – it has this lovely coconut flavour, which you won't find in any other pineapple in Australia," horticulturalist Garth Senewski told the ABC in comments aired yesterday. "It's sweet, low acid, very juicy." Senewski, who could not be reached for comment, said the researchers did not initially intend to create a pineapple that tasted like coconut. "When we're doing the breeding, we're not actually looking for a coconut-flavoured pineapple or any other particular flavour," he said. "We're looking for a nice flavoured pineapple. We're looking for a variety that is sweet, low acid and aromatic." The Department of Agriculture confirmed the development but said anyone hoping for a "pina colada" pineapple will have to wait as it will be two years before the first trees are planted commercially. – AFP/Relaxnews

Social media may be a weapon against childhood obesity Posted: 06 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST In a new scientific statement, American health experts call for more research into how social media can help fight childhood obesity. – Picture courtesy of ©bikeriderlondon/Shutterstock.com WASHINGTON, Dec 6 – Social media may be untapped potential when it comes to helping kids battle obesity, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). In a new scientific statement published in the journal Circulation, the group calls for more research into how to incorporate social media into programs fighting childhood obesity. However, the AHA acknowledges that current research on social media intervention has been mixed and that social media is also linked with a few drawbacks. "Teenagers are texting and using Facebook and other social media as their primary communication with their peers, and we need to find out what factors can be incorporated into social media that will increase the effectiveness of these interventions to initiate and maintain weight loss in kids and adolescents," says Jennifer S. Li, lead author, in an AHA press release. Yet, while the statement notes that children are drawn to social media, preferring texting over paper journals, Li and her team note that social media also plays a role in cyber bullying, sexting, and privacy issues. "Doctors need to understand digital technology better so that they can offer guidance to patients and their families on avoiding such issues, and will be aware of any such problems that occur," she says. The report was published December 3 online and will appear in the January 15 issue of the journal Circulation. According to a recent US survey of 13- to 17-year-olds by Common Sense Media, nine out of 10 teens have used social media, and more than half (51 per cent) use it daily. – Reuters Development of the new Galaxy S IV could be aimed for release by as early as April. – Reuters pic

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What the devil? Royal Opera stages Meyerbeer rarity Posted: 06 Dec 2012 05:36 AM PST This undated handout photograph released by the Royal Opera House, shows Canadian bass-baritone John Relyea singing the role of Bertram in ROH's production of Giacomo Meyerbeer's rarely-performed grand opera Robert le Diable in London December 06, 2012. — Reuters pic LONDON, Dec 6 — The audience at London's Royal Opera House is in for a big surprise on Thursday night. They will witness German composer Giacomo Meyerbeer's 1831 grand opera "Robert le Diable" (Robert the Devil), a work so rarely performed that virtually no one has seen it, let alone sung it or played it. In fact, the last time Britain's prestigious Royal Opera House put on the epic work was in 1890, by which time it had fallen out of favour, never to recover fully. "I think the piece still works today," said Laurent Pelly, the French director with the Herculean task of staging a work that turned Meyerbeer into a superstar when it premiered in Paris nearly two centuries ago. "I hope they will be taken by the story and the music and the singers," he told Reuters backstage on the eve of opening night. "It's a huge piece." The chorus is 80-strong, there are 10 dancers, and the principal singers face roles among the most demanding in opera. Adding to the stress was a last-minute casting change for the key role of Isabelle, which was to have been performed by American soprano Jennifer Rowley in her Royal Opera debut until she was replaced less than a week before the premiere. "It was a musical problem," Pelly explained. "We were doing five weeks and in the end it was not possible to do, so it was very important to find somebody else," he added, speaking in English. Italian Patrizia Ciofi was brought in with the advantage that she had worked with Pelly before and, crucially, was one of the few sopranos who had previously performed Robert le Diable. "Three days is very short of course, but I know Patrizia," Pelly said. Ciofi will sing the first four performances (Dec. 6, 9, 12 and 15) and Russian soprano Sofia Fomina will take over for the final two shows on Dec. 18 and 21. Paris triumph When Meyerbeer started work on Robert le Diable, he set out to create a hit. Pelly likens the opera to a Hollywood blockbuster, light on subtlety but rich in action, special effects, stirring music and melodrama. Set in the times of knights, jousting and chivalry, the story follows Robert's quest for the hand of Isabelle and his dangerous dance with the devil, and contains the once notorious scene of nuns' ghosts dancing provocatively by their tombs. The effect on audiences in 1831 was sensational. They fell in love with the opera, which quickly became a favourite around the world and was deemed a masterpiece by Frederic Chopin. Degas captured it in paint and, according to Pelly, its influences can be traced to popular works by composers including Bizet, Offenbach and Gounod. Why it had fallen from grace by the 20th century is not clear. "During the 19th century a lot of composers were inspired by Robert le Diable and by Meyerbeer, and 60 or 70 years after it seemed very old fashioned, there were too many performances and everybody knew it," said Pelly. "I think the opera-goer wanted to forget it." Other factors included the expense of staging such a large work, the emerging talents of Wagner and Verdi and its running time of over four hours. Except for Sunday's matinee, there are, unusually, plenty of tickets left on the Royal Opera website. Some experts link its decline to Wagner, who was heavily influenced by Meyerbeer early on but turned on the composer and sought to disassociate himself from him. — Reuters

Indie group fun. scoops Grammy nominations Posted: 06 Dec 2012 03:35 AM PST Indie group fun. scoops Grammy nominations Ruess performs with Janelle Monae during the Grammy Nominations Concert in Nashville, Tennessee December 5, 2012. – Reuters pic NASHVILLE, Dec 6 – It was all 'fun.' yesterday as the New York indie pop band with the oddly-spelled name picked up no fewer than six Grammy nominations in its breakout year. During a gala nomination ceremony in country music's hometown of Nashville, fun. found itself in the running for best album ("Some Nights") and best record (the morose hipster drinking anthem "We Are Young"). It also picked up nominations for best song, best new artist, best pop duo/group performance and best pop vocal album ahead of the February 10 awards presentation in Los Angeles. Asked in a livestreamed backstage interview how they'd celebrate, the trio fronted by Nate Ruess — which earlier played "We Are Young" for the Bridgestone Arena crowd — gave a jovial one-word response: "Drink." Rap artist Frank Ocean scored four nominations, for best album (the critically acclaimed "Channel Orange"), record of the year ("Thinkin Bout You"), best new artist and best urban contemporary album. Ocean caused a stir in the macho and sometimes homophobic realm of hip hop when he revealed in a Tumblr blog prior to the release of "Channel Orange" that he had been involved in a gay relationship. The Grammys are the premier music industry awards in the United States, with no fewer than 81 categories ranging from pop and country to jazz, gospel, Latino and world music. Winners are determined by voting among members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Also vying for best album are three-time Grammy winners The Black Keys for "El Camino," British rock-folk group Mumford & Sons for "Babel" and rocker Jack White for "Blunderbuss." Record of the year contenders also include the Black Keys' "Lonely Boy," Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)," Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" and Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." Swift co-hosted the nominations—televised live on CBS—alongside hip-hop statesman LL Cool J. Passing mention was given late in the broadcast to the death earlier in the day of jazz maestro Dave Brubeck, of "Take Five" fame. Last year's Grammys were dominated by British soul songstress Adele, who collected six awards, including album of the year for "21"—only the second woman in Grammy history to collect so many awards in a single go. Nominated for best song this year were British balladeer Ed Sheeran's "The A Team," Miguel's "Adorn," Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" and Clarkson's "Stronger," alongside "We Are Young." Both Gotye, born in Belgium and based in Australia, and Jepsen, from Canada, were fixtures on American pop radio this summer, with their singles enjoying heavy rotation along with fun. and Maroon 5. Failing to get any nominations in major Grammy categories were veterans Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Lionel Richie, R & B diva Rihanna, teen idol Justin Bieber and Brit boy band One Dimension. Nominees for best world music album included Mali's Amadou & Mariam for "Folila," South Africa's Hugh Masekela for "Jabulani" and Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar for "The Living Room Sessions Part One." Up for best Latin pop album were "Independiente" by Ricardo Arjona, "Ilusion" from Fonseca, Kany Garcia's self-titled outing, Jesse Y Joy's "Con Quien Se Queda El Perro?" and Juanes' "MTV Unplugged Deluxe Edition." – Reuters pic

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Book Talk: At base camp on the climb to conquer corruption Posted: 06 Dec 2012 04:18 AM PST LONDON, Dec 6 – Frank Vogl, who co-founded the anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) in 1993, believes campaigners have reached base camp in their fight to end the abuse of public office for private gain. TI has offices in more than 100 countries and its annual rankings of clean government are widely used by investment analysts to help gauge political risk. But the almost daily disclosures of rigged elections and corporate bribery across the globe shows why Vogl, a former journalist and senior World Bank official who lives in Washington, is quick to admit there is an Everest yet to climb. Vogl spoke about his new book "Waging War on Corruption" during a visit to London. Q: Are you winning the fight against corruption? A: "I don't say we're winning, but we've come a long way in 20 years. Polls around the world show that many people view corruption as their single-biggest concern. The Arab Spring showed an enormous level of frustration by ordinary people with the humiliation they suffer every day as a result of corruption and extortion, and a willingness to go out on the streets and do something about it." Q: Is corruption a price worth paying to ensure political stability in friendly countries? A: "In an earlier era, you could have perhaps made that case. Today, thanks to the Internet and social media ordinary citizens everywhere are far better informed than ever before. You don't secure peace and stability in a country if the broad public has no confidence in the leadership and institutions of government. Whether it's in China or Russia – or more unstable countries like Afghanistan or Iraq or Pakistan – public awareness of corruption is something governments have to address. If they run totally fraudulent elections or continue to put in place gangsters to run institutions, then over time you will have far greater instability." Q: What lessons are to be learned from Egypt? A: "What is difficult for Western powers, especially the United States, is to find partners in highly unstable countries. Or they stick with them for too long. President (Hosni) Mubarak is a very good example. For a long time he was important for peace and security in the Middle East. But he lost so much credibility at home that the US was seen almost as a co-conspirator against the people of Egypt, which today makes it very hard for the US to restore a strategic relationship with Egypt." Q: Is corruption in business on the rise? A: "There is no way of knowing. It's far easier to move money round the world swiftly and illicitly. But there are now more laws in place that criminalise foreign bribe-paying by corporations than ever before. There are more prosecutions and investigations. The fines being paid are higher. And the number of companies that have developed training and compliance programmes to try to adhere to ant-bribery laws is greater than ever before. There is also far more media attention on the issue. And from 2014 oil and gas and mining companies in the United States will have to publicly list all their royalty payments to host governments. A similar law will come into effect in Europe. So through greater transparency you are going to start to reduce the level of illicit payments." Q: What about the wealth amassed by officials in some African oil-producing countries? A: "As I said, we have a long way to go. Transparency International France and another NGO asked the French courts to order the state to investigate the illicit investments that the leaders of three west African countries had in France. The French government contested this, but the investigations have gone forward. But it's incredibly difficult because the French, the British and others have very strong security interests in wanting to maintain supplies of minerals and oil and gas." Q: So governments are saying in effect that corruption is a price worth paying? A: "It's very short-sighted. If we can bribe people to guarantee our security of supply, others can too. If we are going to turn a blind eye to the illicit trade in diamonds, for example, it isn't going to help the stability and security of southern Africa. The fundamental debate about this in the UK is over. People 'get it' and see where the longer-term interest lies. But a lot of defence and oil contracts are still a very murky area. And there is a lot of money being laundered that the authorities, for one reason or another, have decided not to clamp down on." Q: Which countries stand out as winning and losing the fight against corruption? A: "Take a country like Georgia. The fact that they recently had a contested election, which the opposition won, is a good indicator of a significant effort at reform. There are very close correlations between the levels of perceived corruption, human rights abuse, press freedom and the strength of democratic institutions. But we also see backsliding. We all rejoiced at the intentions of a new government in Kenya after President (Daniel arap) Moi. But today there's probably greater corruption in Kenya than before." Q: The chief of staff of former Brazilian president Lula was recently jailed for corruption. How significant is that? A: "The investment community should be paying close attention to what is happening in Brazil. You have got very important changes in public procurement and freedom-of-information laws that are making it harder to use bribes to get government contracts; you've had the prosecution and sentencing of top politicians that, five years ago, would never have happened. Why? Part of the reason is that after two decades of economic policy reform and the modernisation of the economy you have an increasingly influential entrepreneurial middle class that understands that their business success is best achieved in clean markets." Q: Has TI come under attack for its campaigning? A: "Whether it be in Zimbabwe or Sri Lanka or Venezuela, people leading anti-corruption movements – and not just Transparency International – are facing continuous threats by the police. Our office in Sri Lanka has been bombed, the head of the office was kidnapped and there have been repeated death threats against members of staff. The level of threats has increased in many countries, including in Russia, and that is a direct result of the increasing success of these groups. If they were not successful or effective, the governments wouldn't care. We have citizens' help lines to report corruption in 55 countries. Thousands of people are lodging complaints, and that is testing many governments. Even lower-level officials are suddenly being challenged. So we're entering a much more dangerous period for the leaders of civil society." – Reuters

UK celebrates 20 years of literary bad sex Posted: 05 Dec 2012 03:52 PM PST LONDON, Dec 6 — Canadian author Nancy Huston was on Tuesday awarded what has been dubbed Britain's "most dreaded literary prize" for penning the most cringeworthy erotic description of 2012. After the so-called "mummy porn" phenomenon gripped the literary world — with erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey" topping international best-seller lists — eight writers were on the shortlist in the not-so-prestigious Bad Sex in Fiction Award's 20th year. Paris-based Huston claimed the dubious honour with her book "Infrared", becoming only the third female winner of the prize. The 59-year-old did not attend the ceremony at London's In And Out Club, but sent an acceptance message. "I hope this prize will incite thousands of British women to take close-up photos of their lovers' bodies in all states of array and disarray," she said. Others on the shortlist included Paul Mason, who offended judges by comparing his lustful hero to "a forlorn circus rider" in debut novel "Rare Earth", and Nicola Barker for describing a lover in her novel "The Yips" as a "hungry finch" in an orchard. Despite widespread calls on social networking sites for it to be added to the shortlist, EL James's sado-masochistic romance "Fifty Shades" was not in the running, as the prize does not cover "expressly erotic literature". "The purpose of the prize is to draw attention to the crude, badly written, often perfunctory use of redundant passages of sexual description in the modern novel, and to discourage it," said the Literary Review magazine, which runs the award. "Literary Review is proud to continue its gentle chastisement of the worst excesses of the literary novel." Octogenarian US author Tom Wolfe was up for the prize for a second time with "Back to Blood", a tale of race and sex in Miami. It is also not the first time that Nicholas Coleridge and Craig Raine — shortlisted for "The Adventuress" and "The Divine Comedy" respectively — have found themselves in the running. The other books on the shortlist were "Noughties" by Ben Masters and "The Quiddity of Will Self" by Sam Mills. The judges said they had given lengthy consideration to the first adult novel by Harry Potter author JK Rowling, "The Casual Vacancy", but eventually decided "the book's sins were venal compared with the competition". Former Literary Review editor Auberon Waugh, son of the late novelist Evelyn Waugh, founded the prize in 1993 because he believed authors were encouraged to write sex scenes by their publishers to boost book sales. — AFP/Relaxnews

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Selangor belum putuskan pengerusi JK Khas isu Batu Caves, kata exco Posted: 06 Dec 2012 02:18 AM PST SHAH ALAM, 6 Dis — Exco kerajaan negeri Selangor Ronnie Liu menyatakan menteri besar (MB) Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim belum lagi membuat keputusan muktamad bagi melantik pengerusi jawatankuasa khas untuk menyelesaikan pembinaan kondominium kontroversi di Batu Caves. Menurut Ronnie, senarai calon telah pun dikenalpasti tetapi cuma ia hanya belum diumumkan sahaja lagi oleh MB. "Ya, senarai calon sudah ada. Cuma belum diumumkan sahaja lagi," kata beliau. Apabila ditanya mengapa mengambil masa terlalu lama, beliau menjelaskan ia bertujuan mengelak perkara sama berulang apabila bekas ketua pengarah (KP) Lembaga Pembangunan Perindustrian Malaysia (MIDA) Datuk N Sadasivan menolak tawaran kerajaan negeri untuk mempengerusikan jawatankuasa tersebut sebelum ini. "MB perlu membuat pengesahan dan meneliti beberapa perkara terlebih dahulu. "Kalau boleh beliau (Abdul Khalid) tidak mahu kesilapan sama berulang selepas Sadasivan menolak tawaran sebelum ini," kata Ahli Dewan undangan negeri (Adun) Pandamaran. Ronnie (gambar) juga berkata "arahan pemberhentian kerja" yang diberikan sebelum ini masih dijalankan dan akan diteruskan sehingga keputusan diperoleh daripada jawatankuasa yang ditubuhkan itu. Pada 14 November lalu, Sadasivan menolak jawatan sebagai pengerusi jawatankuasa daripada kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat (PR)itu tanpa memberikan sebarang alasan. "Ya saya terima tawaran itu. Tapi saya telah menolaknya. "Buat ketika ini saya tidak boleh komen. Terima kasih," kata Sadasivan. Isu pembinaan kondominium 29 tingkat tersebut mendapat perhatian umum, malahan pada Perayaan Deepavali yang lalu, perdana menteri (PM) Datuk Seri Najib telah membuat pengumuman bahawa kerajaan pimpinannya akan membatalkan projek Dolomite Park Avenue berhampiran pusat keagamaan masyarakat Hindu di Batu Caves jika kembali memerintah Selangor selepas pilihan raya umum (PRU) ke-13. Pada 30 Oktober lalu, kerajaan negeri Selangor memberikan arahan untuk menghentikan pembinaan kondominium 29 tingkat di Batu Caves serta melantik badan penyiasat bebas. Projek kondominium Dolomite Park Avenue yang dibangunkan oleh Dolomite Properties Sdn Bhd, adalah isu sensitif kerana projek tersebut berhampiran dengan Batu Caves, tempat keagamaan penganut Hindu kira-kira 1.7 juta orang di kawasan bandar di Selangor.

Ambiga dakwa pihak membencinya gunakan isu sensitif untuk serang peribadi Posted: 06 Dec 2012 02:12 AM PST KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Dis — Pengerusi bersama Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih) Datuk Ambiga Sreneevesan berkata pihak yang menyerang beliau dalam isu Bersih, bukan disebabkan apa yang diperjuangkannya, tetapi kerana isu bangsa dan agama. "Saya boleh kata, yang mereka menggunakan isu agama dan bangsa untuk menyerang saya, bukan apa yang saya perjuangkan. "Saya fikir orang ramai akan marah kepada mereka sekiranya mereka menyerang seorang Sasterawan Negara," kata Ambiga (gambar) semasa soal jawab dalam inkuiri mengenai keganasan yang berlaku pada 28 April semasa perhimpunan Bersih 3.0 yang diadili oleh Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (Suhakam), sambil merujuk kepada seorang lagi pengerusi bersama Bersih, Datuk A Samad Said. Ambiga mendakwa, pada 6 April 2012 Ketua Wira Pertubuhan Peribumi Perkasa (Perkasa), yang mewakili sayap pemuda pertubuhan tersebut, Irwan Fahmi berkata bahawa dirinya akan menyerang habis-habisan terhadap Ambiga kerana Anti-Christ kepada orang Islam. "Irwan telah membuat kenyataan bahawa beliau akan menyerang saya habis-habisan dengan mengatakan saya adalah Anti-Christ kepada orang Islam, kerana menyokong hak LGBT dan hak untuk orang Islam murtad. "Untuk terus kekal Islam, beliau berkata kepada wartawan pada tarikh tersebut supaya tidak ke Bersih kerana pemimpinnya adalah pengkhianat bangsa dan agama," kata Ambiga membacakan kenyataan Irwan. Ambiga juga berkata terdapat satu perhimpunan mengecam beliau di Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) sambil melaungkan slogan "Tolak Ambiga, Tolak LGBT", serta laungan-laungan menuduh beliau sebagai anti-Islam. "Ini sama sekali tidak benar. Saya bukan anti-Islam," kata Ambiga lagi. Ambiga juga mendakwa provokasi seperti senaman punggung, menjual burger daging lembu di hadapan rumahnya dan membuka tapak warung di hadapan rumahnya adalah satu provokasi jahat untuk menghina dirinya. "Saya tak pasti apa yang dilakukan oleh mereka ini sudah diambil tindakan," kata Ambiga lagi. Pada Mei lalu, kira-kira 10 askar bersara membuat senaman punggung pagi tadi dalam protes kedua yang dilakukan di luar rumah Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan di Bukit Damansara untuk membantah perhimpunan Bersih pada 28 April lalu. Ahli-ahli Persatuan Veteran Tentera Malaysia (PVTM) melakukan senaman punggung itu sebagai protes terhadap pengerusi Bersih yang mereka dakwa sebagai "musuh" negara. "Kami tentera veteran ada hak untuk membantah 'musuh' yang cuba cemarkan nama negara," presiden PVTM Datuk Mohd Ali Baharom berkata. Apabila Ambiga berjumpa dengan veteran askar di luar rumahnya, mereka memberikan poster yang ditulis "tolak Ambiga Anwar" kepadanya, yang merujuk kepada Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Di poster itu juga terdapat lukisan seorang lelaki berpakaian kuning, iaitu warna rasmi Bersih, dengan seluarnya terbuka dan punggungnya terdedah di bawah perkataan "perusuh haram Bersih 3.0". Perhimpunan 28 April menyaksikan ribuan peserta berkumpul di enam lokasi berasingan sebelum bergerak menuju ke Dataran Merdeka pada mulanya aman bertukar ganas apabila Ambiga mengarahkan peserta untuk bersurai. Panel inkuiri diketuai Naib Pengerusi Suhakam Datuk Dr Khaw Lake Tee dan dibantu dengan ahli suruhanjaya Prof Datuk Dr Mahmood Zuhdi Abdul Majid and Detta Same, untuk menyiasat punca keganasan yang berlaku pada 28 April lalu. Inkuiri seterusnya akan diberitahu oleh para panel pada tarikh yang akan ditentukan kemudian.

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If you hate football, stop reading (Part 1) Posted: 05 Dec 2012 03:36 PM PST DEC 6 — Malaysia are two two-legged match-ups away from retaining the ASEAN football title. The right to lord over the rest in the island region for another two years may continue if we are triumphant on December 22.  It is insignificant to note in current climes that Malaysia is joint 5th in an 11-team mini-table for ASEAN, and it is probably unworthy of mentioning that Malaysia is 163th in the global ranking of 207 teams.  Four hard matches away from keeping the title and many are going to play up a victory beyond reason. I'm not here about to beat down Malaysian football. That is disrespectful. More than that, it is akin to double-footed tackling my own acute cruciate ligament (ACL) to spite myself. However, I want to talk about how much better it can be. Our value, our strength, our sense of national pride will flow if at the end of a World Cup Finals' group match our players exchange handshakes with other professionals with mutual respect. That's national pride, right on the pitch. The Harimaus (Tigers) laughing and jibing with their opponents — after a hard-fought contest. Having a Malaysian lift the World Cup trophy would be worth 15 self-immolations; but in professional sports to develop the game enough to compete correctly at the highest level is value enough for our players and supporters, win or lose. To belong in the list your SkySports presenter on a Sunday late kick-off would categorise as a "proper football playing nation", when a Malaysian left-back emerges from the tunnel at Anfield.  Malaysian football would have arrived and standing proud. So when Brazil plays Malaysia, it is a football match not market strategy. It was the case before the J-League when Brazil played Japan in the '80s, however no mad Brazil team would consider a Japan match today a formality. This is where Malaysia must head in football, since so many of us play it, an exponential number watch it and a minority of us divorced over it. However, the observations below are applicable to any popular sport here, which by definition a professional sport. If enough people like it then, hockey and badminton, for instance, there has to be enough TV and stadium tickets to professionalise it. How do we get there? As in everything else, it is about process. Denying process and running roughshod over ideas is a Malaysian malaise still wrecking sports. Sports is education The anatomy of a left-swung, goal-bound volley from the edge of the penalty box after five crisp passes begins a long time ago. Probably in a patch on Rusila or Silam. It is a long road to great. How many of us had football coaches at primary level who knew what they were doing? My brother taught me how to kick, and I was shooting with my right inside for years, since that is how he taught me to kick. Result: I had accuracy but no power. One day I saw one senior player tell his favourite junior that you have to strike through with your laces to get more power. Eureka, eavesdropping changed my universe! Without enough junior-level coaches with adequate number of pitches and minimum level of kit, all your impressionable and Premier-football loving kids are going to be "middle-schoolers trying to write mid-term papers on Columbus using crayons, referring to TV manuals." Using a general education parallelism, if there not enough grammar teachers for seven-year-olds and those children are promoted along, hoping a Nobel Prize winner for literature would save them at 17 is wishful thinking.   They fall behind even to impoverished areas in the globe like Africa and South America.  Technique is not inherited. A child of two geniuses won't be able to speak any language if he is kept isolated in a cage for his first six years, even after and despite his genes. Hundreds of thousands of Malaysian children so wanting to be footballers are being failed by the lack of process. They never had a chance. In all the local universities I have been involved with in the past, the local kids are without exemption bullied on the football pitches by foreign students. Though the talent might be equally distributed, many of these kids who come to Malaysia for a better education actually received basic football education at home. Therefore, our kids can buy all the Chelsea and Manchester United tops they want, but if no one knowledgeable teaches them to how trap and pass the ball, and then later to redirect and make runs, then the less gifted will always bully our kids on a football pitch. Which brings us to the few dedicated sports schools expected to produce our great footballers. Giving a small group of lads football education, though belated, in their teenage years will develop them, but it fails on two grounds; they will maul the other local teams and the system is reliant on the assumption that the small group picked are the best to benefit from the programme. What guarantee is there that the 0.01 per cent chosen from all football playing lads in the country will be the real stars of the future? What if statistics slap administrators in the face and suggest that the best you may have might be in the pool of 99.99 per cent, and never groomed? Train many or bring in clairvoyants as your selectors to know which 12-year-old is the "one"? Surely better having 1,000 well-drilled primary school coaches rather than 10 top senior school coaches. Resulting in 1,000 schools capable of playing in their respective zones in an orderly manner, producing competitive football of the level necessary at the players' age-groups — everyone benefits. If there are 100,000 students having learned their trade properly and plying it in difficult matches for six years in primary schools, then Malaysia would have identified over that period 100 players capable of taking their game a level higher and 10 from them exceptional. And if the football god's decide, a Messi or Ronaldo from the 10. Even if Malaysia prefers to rely on the club system to develop young players, the net has to be wide enough and large enough so that the pool is not small. Playing in the mist A story to tell the affect. There was a lad who was fantastic with the ball and dribbled aplenty, with lethal shooting. But he never understood the offside trap. When we played in a minor league, he'd be a headless chicken. The coach was equally clueless, so the gifted lad would stand and get increasingly frustrated as opposing defenders laughed at his ignorance. He tried to imagine what the offside trap meant, which then made him look dafter. Over time he gave up league-playing and only kicked about with the lads at the local park, 15 against 15 players knocking themselves silly and that failed player ghosting past the many and scoring since there are no linesmen. He is not the only one. Even if I ask most people on how many opponents you have to have after you when a ball is played to you in order to beat the offside trap, the usual answer would be one. Actually, the answer is two; it is the last man and the goalkeeper. If for some reason the goalkeeper is ahead of play, then just being before the last defender will not keep you onside. I had to go to referee school at the KL Football Association to learn that. That is why the education element of sports coupled with the application of the learning in a considerable number of matches as players develop is critical. Without that, talking about the next two issues, the commercial element of football and imbuing professionalism all over football, would be futile. So that will be the next column. Still, winning is winning, and any trophy won gives impetus for improvements and progress. So, good luck to the Malaysian team about to host the Thais at home on Sunday. * Part 2: Football as a business and a professional operation. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Rentak sumbang perhimpunan agung Umno Posted: 05 Dec 2012 03:20 PM PST 6 DIS — Pau yang tak menyengat Perhimpunan Agung Umno senantiasa dinanti-nantikan kerana ia menjadi agenda nasional dan mendapat liputan meluas. Tidak seperti Perhimpunan Tahunan parti lain, tumpuan media adalah selektif mengikut selera tuan-tuan politik bagi memenuhi keperluan mereka. Namun begitu liputan berlebihan boleh "overkill" dari sudut komen yang melampau dengan pujian yang meleleh menyebabkan kita jadi muak. Najib bukan lagi penyelamat Di atas senarai pelakon utama ialah tidak lain tidak bukan Presiden Umno yang imejnya dicemari dengan berbagai isu sejak dia mula muncul jadi Presiden dan PM. Bermula dari isu Scorpene sejak beliau menjadi Menteri Pertahanan hinggalah kepada pembunuhan Altantuya, semuanya menjadi mimpi ngeri bagi Najib. Lebih ngeri ialah isteri Presiden Umno itu yang sering dianggap sebagai bebanan yang ditanggung oleh Umno. Najib cuba menangkis semua imej buruk ini, walaupun dia mahu dikenali sebagai PM 1 Malaysia tetapi permasalahan yang melingkari dirinya lebih sensasi dari segala program tranformasinya. Najib berdiri di pentas perhimpunan Umno tempoh hari dengan membawa semua bebanan bagasi tentang dirinya dan isterinya walaupun media longkang arus perdana cuba meringankan imej itu. Najib hambar Medan perhimpunan sebesar dewan PWTC itu adalah cukup baik untuk seseorang menampilkan dirinya sebagai pemimpin parti Melayu No. 1 di Malaysia malah di dunia. Semangat ahli parti Melayu terbesar itu juga perlu diberi suntikan pada pertemuan itu kerana mereka dibelasah kiri kanan oleh rakyat yang dah mula bosan dengan pemimpin dan wakil rakyat Umno. Persepsi di bawah cukup jelas dan diterjemahkan dalam peti-peti undi PRU ke 12 baru-baru ini. Najib tidak bersembunyi dalam hal ini malah berulang kali menyebut dalam ucapannya tentang "Kekhilafan Umno" dan merayu jangan dihukum dalam PRU ke 13 nanti.  Seorang wanita yang bertweeter dengan saya dari penyokong Umno turut menyambut seruan Najib dengan mengatakan "hukuman tlh ditunai dengan tumbangnya beberapa negeri kepada pr. Apakah itu x cukup lg Yb? Umno selalu cuba baiki keadaan". Suasana yang cuba ditimbulkan oleh Najib dalam perhimpunan Umno ialah suasana menagih simpati dengan mengaku salah. Ini tidak baik pada saat Umno dicederakan dan suasana perhimpunan 3 hari itu menambahkan lagi garam pada luka orang-orang Umno. Seoalah-olah tidak cukup dengan luka lembu ketua wanitanya, Najib pula bernada pasif. Para pemerhati melihatnya sebagai nada seorang pemimpin yang sudah hilang daya juangnya. Kenyataan Najib mengiyakan tanggapan rakyat yang selama ini menganggap pembangkang memfitnah Umno dan Najib, rentak Najib cukup sumbang pada hari itu. Deepak muncul Nama Deepak sebelum ini dikaitkan dengan isu PI Bala di mana dia telah memberi sejumlah besar wang untuk PI Bala menukar kenyataan bersumpahnya yang mengaitkan penglibatan Najib dan Rosmah dalam kes pembunuhan Altantuya. Depaak muncul pada saat-saat kritikal Najib mahu memulihkan imejnya yang "suci" di hadapan perhimpunan Umno. Deepak mengakui "menolong" Rosmah dan apabila isu Altantuya mendapat tekanan dari PR, Deepak seolah mahu selamatkan dirinya dengan membuat pengakuan awal. Rentak Najib semakin sumbang dan plot semakin menarik. Ketiak Umno busuk Wee Ka Siong dari MCA memperkenalkan perkataan ketiak busuk bagi menggambarkan keadaan sesetengah bekas pemimpin kuat Umno yang dah keluar Umno. Dia merujuk kepada Datuk Seri Rahman Mydin bekas Pengerusi Dewan Perniagaan Melayu dan Dewan Perniagaan Bersama Malaysia. Dalam nada kecewa, WKS kata bila dah cerai barulah kata busuk segala-galanya, ketiak pun busuk. WKS lupa bikan sahaja DS Rahman Mydin tapi Lajim Ukim dan Tamrin Ghafar serta Kadir Syeikh Fadhil juga dah tinggal Umno. Mungkin betul juga kata WKS, ketiak Umno memang busuk dan hapak. Rakyat tidak peduli Dalam masa serangan bertubi-tubi ditujukan pada DSAI dan PAS serta DAP, perhimpunan kebangkitan rakyat di Johor menyaksikan puluhan ribu rakyat membanjiri Batu Pahat mendengar amanat pemimpin PR. Johor yang menjadi kubu Umno seolah-olah isyarat kepada berakhirnya dominasi Umno. Pada saat tepukan hambar dan pekikan sumbang perwakilan Umno menguasai dewan PWTC, rakyat sudah tidak peduli kerana mereka mahukan politik baru. Mereka tidak ada pilihan melainkan bersama PR dalam membawa gelombang baru ini. Parahnya Umno kali ini bukan kepalang, sudikah rakyat menyambut rayuan Najib sedangkan Najib sendiri kali ini teramat sumbanglah retoriknya. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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