Sabtu, 31 Ogos 2013

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

The “cool” Lingau soup (Lotus soup with red dates)

Posted: 31 Aug 2013 07:10 PM PDT

BY ELAINE HO
September 01, 2013
Latest Update: September 01, 2013 02:02 pm

IA soup that is 'cool' in nature, though cooked lotus root is slightly 'warm'. - Photo courtesy of Chopstick Diner, September 1, 2013.t is always a bonus when great-tasting food happens to be beneficial for our health as well. Who wouldn't love to tuck into some delicious "medicine"? This soup is one such example- warm and tasty, with that added health boost.

The lotus root, which is the main ingredient of this soup, has a pleasantly sweet flavour that when combined with the sweet red dates, makes this soup such a delight. They are "cool" in nature, though cooked lotus root is slightly "warm".

Lotus root is said to be related to the channels of the spleen, stomach and heart, and hence these parts of your body will benefit from their consumption. The cool nature of raw lotus root allows it to clear away heat and cool the blood, helping to dissipate blood stasis.

It is also a conventional haemostatic agent, and can be used for thirst and fever in febrile diseases to treat restlessness, nose-bleeding and strangury of the heat type, a condition of slow and painful spasmodic discharge of the urine drop by drop.

On the other hand, cooked lotus root can strengthen the spleen and promote the functional activity of the stomach, replenish blood, promote tissue regeneration and arrest diarrhoea.

It is not only the roots of the lotus that is beneficial to our health. Lotus node, when parched, can arrest bleeding and dissipate blood stasis. Hence, they are used to shorten bleeding and blood coagulation at times.

The decoction of lotus node, when taken orally, can check upward adverse flow of "qi" and regulate the middle "jiao", in accordance with traditional Chinese medicine. Besides that, lotus seeds are well known for their nourishing and sedative properties.

The leaves, the pod of the seeds and the stem of the lotus plant have hemostatic and astringent properties, causing contraction and preventing excess blood loss. When added into the soup, their nutrients will merge with the sweet-tasting liquid and enhance them.

You can eat the leaves, but some people prefer not to as it has a slimy taste in the soup. It also contains a lot of carbohydrate. When it comes to complementing its flavours, I find it best to cut the leaves thinly before deep-frying them. This allows the flavours to be concentrated in thin little crunches, perfect to give you small doses of its delectable tastes without overwhelming your taste buds.

It is best to enjoy this soup during the cool weather. Its warmth does wonders in heating your body from the inside. The delicate sweetness that accompanies it is a palate-pleaser as well. So, I suggest you take advantage of the pleasant flavours and enjoy the benefits it comes with.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1.5 hours
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1kg pork bones, with meat intact
2 tubes lotus root, skin removed and sliced thinly
10 large store bought dried red dates, soaked in water for 10 minutes
1 dried store bought cuttlefish, soaked in water for 10 minutes
1.5 litre water
salt, adjust according to taste
handful of spring onions, finely chopped

How to cook:

1. Boil pork bones in water for about 10 minutes. Discard water and impurities. Remove cooked pork bones and rewash the pot.
2. Using the same pot, pour in 1 litre of water and boil over high heat.
3. Add cooked pork bones, dried cuttlefish, red dates and lotus root.
4. Boil over low heat for 1.5 hours.
5. Add salt.
6. Sprinkle with spring onions before serving.

- www.chopstickdiner.com, September 1, 2013.

The “cool” Lingau soup (Lotus soup with red dates)

Posted: 31 Aug 2013 07:10 PM PDT

BY ELAINE HO
September 01, 2013
Latest Update: September 01, 2013 02:02 pm

On the other hand, cooked lotus root can strengthen the spleen and promote the functional activity of the stomach, replenish blood, promote tissue regeneration and arrest diarrhoea.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1.5 hours
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1kg pork bones, with meat intact
2 tubes lotus root, skin removed and sliced thinly
10 large store bought dried red dates, soaked in water for 10 minutes
1 dried store bought cuttlefish, soaked in water for 10 minutes
1.5 litre water
salt, adjust according to taste
handful of spring onions, finely chopped

How to cook:

- www.chopstickdiner.com, September 1, 2013.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Ancelotti not frustrated by Bale transfer saga

Posted: 31 Aug 2013 08:45 AM PDT

August 31, 2013

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has said he is not frustrated by the delay in sealing Gareth Bale's transfer and is focused on preparing for Sunday's La Liga match at home the Athletic Bilbao.

Confirmation of Bale's big-money move to Spain from Tottenham Hotspur has appeared imminent for several days and Spanish sports dailies Marca and As reported it could come later today, with the Wales international's presentation at the Bernabeu to follow Monday.

At a pre-training news conference, Ancelotti said he did not want to talk about the transfer market but was later drawn into responding to a question about whether the Bale saga was as frustrating for him as it has been for the media.

"I am working with my players every day, my mind is not on players who are not here because we have to work," the Italian said.

"For me absolutely it's not frustrating," he added. "I am happy to train with these players, if another one comes I will be happy the same.

"Everyone knows Bale, he is a fantastic player. Everyone knows this. I don't know how long he will be a Tottenham player but today he is a Tottenham player." – Reuters, August 31, 2013.

Negredo helps nervy Man City edge past Hull

Posted: 31 Aug 2013 07:31 AM PDT

August 31, 2013
Latest Update: September 01, 2013 06:31 am

Alvaro Negredo came off the bench to score for the second successive game as Manchester City edged to a 2-0 win at home to promoted Hull City in the Premier League today.

With memories of last weekend's 3-2 defeat to another promoted outfit Cardiff City still fresh, City again looked edgy in defence and lacking inspiration in attack before Negredo found the net.

The Spaniard was brought on at halftime and 20 minutes later brought relief to the home fans inside the Etihad Stadium when he clinically headed home a Pablo Zabaleta cross from the right.

Yaya Toure added an undeserved gloss to the scoreline with a fantastic curling freekick from 20 metres in the 90th minute to give City six points from their opening three games, three more than Saturday's opponents.

City's performance, however, suggests there are still creases to iron out for Manuel Pellegrini's side.

The pre-match talk was about their ability to defend set-pieces with the form of keeper Joe Hart under the microscope.

City would have hoped that their defensive shortcomings, ruthlessly exposed by Cardiff last weekend, would have been alleviated by the return from injury of Matija Nastasic at centre back.

Yet the uncertainty at the heart of their back four, still shorn of injured captain Vincent Kompany's steadying influence, was exposed within seven minutes.

Sone Aluko needed the faintest of sidesteps to bypass Joleon Lescott, Kompany's stand-in, to open up an acre of space in front of him, but after bearing down on Hart, he scuffed his shot and it trickled past the post.

The visitors then had the ball in the net four minutes later, but it was ruled out for offside.

Danny Graham was allowed to loiter unattended, but had strayed marginally beyond City's defensive line when the ball was tossed into the box and his sliding finish counted for nothing.

Lescott had a header tipped over by Hull keeper Allan McGregor but apart from that the home team's play lacked adventure.

Negredo was brought on as a substitute for the third successive game at the interval and should have found the net two minutes later, but mis-timed a header and sent it well wide of goal.

With City looking clean out of inspiration, the Spaniard made amends midway through the second half.

The former Sevilla striker showed the penalty area instincts that persuaded City to spend 20 million pounds in the close season, when he got on the end of a fantastic cross from Zabaleta and headed down into the net.

The goal-glut that City fans may have expected to follow did not materialise and in the end it was more a question of whether the hosts would hold on than extend their fragile advantage until Toure finished the game off.

With a similar finish to his effort against Newcastle United in their opening match, he curled the ball into the top corner, leaving the keeper stranded.

City go second in the table behind Chelsea, who were in European Super Cup action yesterday.

Tomorrow, third placed Liverpool take on Manchester United at Anfield and fourth placed Tottenham Hotspur travel to Arsenal in the North London derby. - Reuters, August 31, 2013.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger’s music drama one step closer to fruition

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 07:37 PM PDT

August 31, 2013
Latest Update: August 31, 2013 06:37 pm

In the works for three years, the project by Martin Scorsese (pic) and Mick Jagger has been suffering delays because of their busy schedules.

But this summer has seen the project taking shape. In June, the actor Bobby Cannavale was announced as the main star. Now it is Brian Koppelman's and David Levien's turn to join in – the recruitment of these two showrunners is a good sign that the show will air on HBO.

The writers of Ocean's 13 and Players (starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake) were chosen to become the showrunners if HBO approves the pilot episode, a positive sign for the future of that show.

The duo will be rewriting the pilot script by Terrence Winter, who had joined the project along the way. The story follows producer Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale), in charge of hunting new talents for a major music label based in New York. Through the eyes of this cocaine addict hero, the audience will dive into year 1977 which proved decisive for the music industry as it saw the rise of punk and disco music as well as the very first hours of hip hop music.

Just as he did for Boardwalk Empire, Martin Scorsese will direct the pilot episode. Filming is set to take place in 2014. - AFP Relaxnews, August 31, 2013.

Paul Giamatti to play a cop in 1980s Miami for FX

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 06:45 PM PDT

August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 30, 2013 05:45 pm

The actor will play the title role in "Hoke," a TV series based on the detective novels of Charles Willeford, FX has announced.

Though previously known for his film roles, Paul Giamatti is increasingly present on television lately. After starring in TV movies for HBO and appearing in "Downton Abbey", the actor will star in a new pilot as Hoke Moseley, a divorced, broke Miami police officer with a complex about his weight and his false teeth.

The character was created by Charles Willeford as the protagonist of the crime novels "Miami Blues," "New Hope For the Dead," "Sideswipe" and "The Way We Die Now."

The books offer a biting and ironic look at the Miami crime scene of the 1980s.

The first novel in the Hoke Moseley series inspired a 1990 film adaptation starring Fred Word in the role of the policeman, along with Alec Baldwin.

The upcoming TV adaptation of the series is expected to fully embrace the black humor of the original novels, published in the US between 1984 and 1988. Scott Frank, the screenwriter behind "Minority Report," will write and direct the new pilot, on which shooting is expected to begin in Florida at the end of this year. – AFP/Relaxnews, August 23, 2013.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

A window into Egyptian general’s past in small American town

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 09:20 PM PDT

August 31, 2013
Latest Update: August 31, 2013 08:20 pm

A huge posters of Egypt's army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in downtown Cairo. Reuters pic, August 31, 2013. Unlike today's ubiquitous images of General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in crisp uniform decorated with medals, the US Army War College yearbook shows the officer who would one day seize power in Egypt smiling at a party in a small Pennsylvania town, looking relaxed in a yellow polo shirt.

There is a picture of Sisi visiting a US Civil War battleground and another of his family taken at a Halloween party they attended, with his wife and daughter grinning next to a woman dressed like the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra.

The yearbook from the Class of 2006 is tucked away in the War College library in Carlisle. Its images offer a reminder that not that long ago, the army chief who now effectively rules Egypt spent an academic year on a military fellowship in the more peaceful surroundings of small-town America.

In Carlisle, Sisi made an impression at the local mosque and at the college itself as a serious student whose writings reflected an awareness that ensuring democracy in the Middle East might be fraught with difficulties.

Since the July 3 ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, discussion of limited American influence on Egypt's military has focused on the $1.3 billion in military aid that the United States pours into the country.

But advocates of international fellowship programs say that cultural ties forged in places like Carlisle are perhaps more important in building lasting relations between the United States and Egypt.

Despite conflict with the Obama administration over his crackdown on supporters of Morsi, Sisi keeps in regular contact with Washington. He has held an astonishing 16 calls with US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel since Morsi was toppled last month.

"I'll bet this total immersion in the West that he had for the better part of a year... is contributing to the fact that communications lines are open," said Major General Anthony Cucolo, the War College's commandant.

Sisi ignored warnings from Hagel and others before Morsi's ouster and, again rebuffing calls for restraint, sent in security forces on August 14 to smash protest camps set up by Morsi's supporters.

At least 900 people, including 100 soldiers and police, have been killed in the past week in the crackdown on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, the bloodiest civil unrest in Egypt's modern history.

"Our ability to influence the outcome in Egypt is limited," Hagel acknowledged. "All nations are limited in their influence in another nation's internal issues."

On a dry-erase board in a War College seminar room, instructions like "No Rank" and "Keep an Open Mind" are scribbled in blue ink – part of an effort to promote open, informal dialogue among US officers and those from other countries.

The college hosts nearly 80 international fellows each year, a number that has doubled since Sisi studied there. They come from nations such as Pakistan and India, as well as from traditional allies like Canada and Britain, to study with officers from across America's armed forces and civilians from the State Department and other US agencies.

This year, Egypt sent one officer to the United States for language training before Morsi's ouster. But the number of Egyptian military personnel participating in all US exchanges through the International Military Education and Training Programme fell sharply to 22 from 53 from 2011 to 2012, according to State Department data.

In 2006, Sisi appeared more reserved than many other fellows in class discussions, perhaps cautious by nature – or wary that his comments might come back to haunt him.

"(It wasn't) because he didn't know what he thought. I think he was aware that everything you can say can be repeated," said Sherifa Zuhur, a former professor of Sisi's, who led a class on the Middle East.

Faculty adviser Steve Gerras described him as "serious and quiet" – even at outside events, like when he attended a gathering to watch the Super Bowl at Gerras' home.

Those who knew Sisi during his US fellowship describe someone who, at the height of Iraq's post-invasion civil war, deeply questioned perceived US assumptions about how democracy would unfold there.

In comments foreshadowing the current crisis gripping Egypt, Sisi, in his research project, wrote that emerging democracies would likely have a stronger religious cast than in the West.

"History has shown that in the first ten years of a new democracy, conflict is likely to occur either externally or internally as the new democracy matures," he wrote.

"Simply changing the political systems from autocratic rule to democratic rule will not be enough to build a new democracy," he wrote.

Some of Sisi's writings seem ironic today, given that he led the overthrow of an avowedly Islamist, but popularly elected, leader. Critics of Mursi's leadership say he failed to build an inclusive government and did not govern democratically.

In his research, Sisi pointed to the 2006 Palestinian election victory of Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, and advocated that "legitimately elected parties be given the opportunity to govern."

"The world cannot demand democracy in the Middle East, yet denounce what it looks like because a less than pro-Western party legitimately assumes office," he wrote.

Sisi had requested that his research project not be publicly disclosed. But it has circulated widely, something that Cucolo, the college commandant, said he regretted.

Sisi lived on a picturesque street in Carlisle's historic center with American flags draped from front porches.

His former home, which has a porch swing and a hanging basket of flowers, is a short walk from a local college that Sisi's son attended, and a short drive from the mosque often frequented by Muslim fellows at the War College and their families.

Sisi is warmly remembered there as a devout man who sometimes led prayers.

"He used to pray with us. Now he is a big guy," said worshipper Abdul Majid Ayud.

Carlisle wasn't Sisi's first experience in the United States. In 1981, he took an infantry basic training course at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Frank Phillips, a retired US Army officer who befriended Sisi there, says Sisi served as an imam for the Muslim students on the course.

"He was religious, but not fanatical," said Phillips, describing him as a "strong patriot."

One day, Sisi accompanied the American to look for an engagement ring in Columbus, Georgia. When Phillips put the ring on layaway – a practice not generally known in Egypt – Sisi offered to help him pay for it so he could take it home right away.

Phillips gently declined, but deeply appreciated the offer. "He's a solid guy," Phillips said.

People who knew Sisi during his time in the United States generally declined to take a position on Egypt's political turmoil. But Phillips says he takes comfort in believing that Sisi will do what is right for Egypt, and likely weigh US views because of his experiences in America.

"Is he more predisposed now to consider the US view of things? I'd say yes," Phillips said.

Sisi's name is inscribed along with others from the Class of 2006 on a bronze-colored plaque that dominates a wall of Root Hall, the War College's main building.

But the college's top honour still awaits him. Inside is a "Hall of Fame" with portraits of fellowship graduates who, like Sisi, went on to lead their respective militaries.

General Tibor Benko, who became chief of the general staff of Hungary's armed forces, is the most recent inductee and, as such, his portrait is larger, positioned at the centre of dozens of others hailing from Germany, Italy and elsewhere.

Although the ultimate decision on whether to include Sisi is up to the US ambassador to Egypt and senior Army officials, Cucolo said the slow process toward Sisi's induction would begin to advance.

"He meets the criteria and I will be moving forward with the process at some point here," Cucolo said. "What's going on right now isn't affecting my opinion about that." - Reuters, August 31, 2013.

Gut, not gluttony makes ex-smokers gain weight

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 06:52 PM PDT

August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 31, 2013 06:10 pm

Nervous nibbles alone do not explain the weight that people tend to gain when they give up smoking, Swiss researchers said Thursday, turning the spotlight instead on a bacterial shift in the intestines.

Studies have shown that quitting smoking leads to an average weight gain of four to five kilogrammes (nine to 11 pounds) in the first year. But according to researchers at Zurich University Hospital, former smokers who bulk up may not be eating more than before they kissed their cigarettes goodbye.

Noting that even people who cut back on calorie intake after quitting smoking tend to gain weight, Professor Gerhard Rogler said he and his colleagues had discovered another potential explanation: a change in the composition of the intestinal flora among smokers who kick the habit.

Their study, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and published in peer-reviewed scientific journal PLoS One, found that when a person stops smoking, the diversity of bacterial strains in their intestines shifts.

It more resembles the gut flora found in people with obesity. Both recent non-smokers and obese people tend to have more of two bacteria types, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, Rogler told AFP.

These germs are believed to use energy more efficiently and break down otherwise indigestible fibres - and as a result, more of what the person eats is transformed into fat rather than excreted as waste.

The researchers studied the genetic profile of intestinal bacteria found in faecal samples provided by 20 volunteers over nine weeks.

The participants comprised five non-smokers, five smokers and 10 people who had quit smoking one week after the study began.

Little difference was seen in the bacterial biodiversity among the persistent smokers and non-smokers. But among those who had just given up smoking, there was a clear shift towards more Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, the study showed.

Over the study period, the people who had quit smoking also gained an average of 2.2 kilos (4.8 pounds), even though they insisted that their eating and drinking habits were unchanged.

"Under the same living conditions, they gained weight after the cessation of smoking, and they showed a change in the microbiota," Rogler said.

While researchers have yet to prove a clear connection between the two developments, he pointed out that a number of other studies have also showed a link between intestinal bacteria and weight gain.

On Wednesday, a study published in the journal Nature found that individuals with low bacterial "richness" in their intestines were more prone to obesity and associated diseases such as diabetes, heart and cholesterol problems.

Six bacterial species appear to play a key role in promoting this diversity. Rogler said that more research was needed to answer the many questions that arise from such discoveries.

But he said it was clear we should pay more attention to how the environment influences gut functions.

"Nobody believed the people who stopped smoking and said they weren't eating more but still gained weight. Perhaps we simply should be more willing to believe what people tell us," he said. - AFP/Relaxnews, August 30, 2013.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

Air: Umno didakwa layan Singapura lebih baik dari negeri Pakatan

Posted: 31 Aug 2013 02:52 AM PDT

August 31, 2013

Ahli Parlimen DAP Bukit Mertajam, Steven Sim Chee Keong berkata, ini ekoran cadangan Timbalan Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan, Datuk Ahmad Bashah Md. Hanafiah agar laluan air Sungai Muda ke dalam sempadan Pulau Pinang disekat jika kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang enggan membayar negeri Kedah bagi mengambil air mentah dari sungai tersebut.

Umno, dakwa Steven, sentiasa mengambil pendekatan zaman pra-Merdeka ini terhadap negeri-negeri Pakatan Rakyat, terutamanya melalui sabotaj urusan air di Selangor dan di Kelantan sekaligus menyebabkan penderita rakyat di negeri-negeri tersebut.

"Apa yang paling mengecewakan ialah, Johor melayan Singapura lebih baik dari Umno melayan negeri-negeri PR," katanya.

Johor telah sekian lama menjual air mentah pada harga yang teramat murah kepada Singapura dan kemudiannya membeli balik air yang telah dirawat dengan harga yang jauh lebih tinggi daripada negara jiran tersebut.

Walaupun negara sudah 56 tahun selepas Merdeka dan 50 tahun selepas terbentuknya negara tercinta Malaysia, bagi beliau, Umno masih berlagak macam "tiada Malaysia".

Baru-baru ini, Adun Bakar Bata dari Umno, Ahmad Bashah Md. Hanafiah merangkap Senator dan juga Timbalan Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan mencadangkan laluan air Sungai Muda ke dalam sempadan Pulau Pinang disekat jika kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang enggan membayar negeri Kedah bagi mengambil air mentah dari sungai tersebut.

Perkara ini telah diulang-ulang tetapi Umno masih tidak faham bahawa Pulau Pinang mempunyai hak riparian (riparian water rights) untuk mengambil air dari Sungai Muda yang melalui sempadan negeri secara semulajadi.

Demi semangat perpaduan nasional, Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang Lim Guan Eng juga telah meminta untuk berjumpa dengan Menteri Besr Kedah Mukhriz Mahathir bagi membincangkan perkara ini.

"Cadangan oleh Ahmad Bashah menunjukkan bahawa Umno masih terperangkap dalam mentaliti sebelum Merdeka," dakwa Steven.

Pertama sekali, katanya, Ahmad Bashah gagal menunjukkan sebarang semangat perpaduan antara dua negeri berjiran yang bernaung di bawah satu bendera Malaysia.

Keduanya, beliau berlagak seperti penjajah kerana hanya penjajah akan merompak hak rakyat dan mengeksploitasi sumber semula jadi mereka.

Justeru, sempena 31 Ogos, Hari Kemerdekaan dan 16 September Hari Malaysia, beliau menyeru Umno, terutamanya kerajaan negeri Kedah supaya menegakkan semangat kemerdekaan dan jangan berlagak macam penjajah mengenakan tuntutan yang tidak munasabah terhadap rakyat Pulau Pinang.

Putrajaya pertahan Syabas, gesa kerajaan Selangor beri kerjasama

Posted: 31 Aug 2013 02:18 AM PDT

OLEH MUZLIZA MUSTAFA
August 31, 2013

Putrajaya menggesa supaya kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat (PR) negeri Selangor bekerjasama dalam menangani masalah gangguan air yang melanda sekitar Lembah Klang daripada menyalahkan Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas).

Timbalan Menteri Tenaga, Teknologi Hijau dan Air Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid mempertahankan Syabas serta berpuas hati dengan langkah berjaga-jaga yang diambil untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut.

"Saya berpuas hati dengna tindakan yang diambil syarikat konsesi air Syabas dalam memberitahu orang ramai terhadap tumpahan minyak dan gangguan air.

"Semua orang bekerja dengan baik untuk mengatasinya. Ini bukan masa cari salah. Saya tidak mahu bercakap tentang politik, mari bekerjasama malah semalam setiausaha negeri juga berada disini untuk memeriksa keadaan," kata beliau.

Kenyataan Mahdzir dibuat selepas Exco Pelancongan, Hal Ehwal Pengguna dan Alam Sekitar, Elizabeth Wong membidas Syabas kerana cuba mewujudkan rasa panik di kalangan orang ramai dengan mengatakan berlakunya "krisis air".

Mahdzir berkata loji pemprosesan air Kuala Langat telah kembali ke normal dan akan kembali pulih secara berperingkat dalam tempoh lima hari.

Hari ini beliau juga telah melawat Loji Rawatan Air Sungai Selangor Fasa 1 (SSP1) di Bestari Jaya.

Menurutnya lagi, tumpahan minyak tersebut berjaya disekat dan dialihkan daripada memasuki loji.

Bagaimanapun, sebagai langkah berjaga-jaga, contoh air akan diambil setiap dua jam untuk diuji bagi mengelak sebarang pencemaran, selain perangkap "oil boom" juga dipasang daripada memasuki loji.

Mengenai punca tumpahan minyak, Mahdzir mengesahkan perkara sama seperti Wong, dimana ia berpunca daripada bengkel lori berhampiran sungai.

"Pihak berwajib perlu mengambil tindakan ke atas pesalah tersebut," katanya.

Mahdzir kemudiaan membidas kerajaan negeri Selangor kerana enggan untuk melaksanakan projek Langat 2 sebagai alasan berlaku masalah gangguan air tersebut.

"Loji ini adalah sumber kepada pengguna di Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor. Sebab itu kita perlukan projek Langat 2 supaya pengguna air tidak terjejas," kata beliau.

Daerah yang terjejas adalah sekitar Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, Klang/Shah Alam, Gombak, Hulu Selangor, Kuala Langat dan Kuala Selangor.

Dalam pada itu, Pembantu Pengurus Jabatan Komunikasi Korporat dan Hal Ehwal Awam Syabas, Priscilla Alfred berkata niat syarikat konsesi tersebut adalah untuk memberi ingatan serta agar mereka mengetahui tentang krisis air atau masalah yang mungkin melanda mereka.

"1 juta pengguna bukan angka kecil. Kami bukan cuba untuk wujudkan panik tapi hanya mahu memberitahu orang ramai tentang apa yang berlaku dan kami sampaikan situasi tersebut.

"Pada masa sama berharap mereka dapat menguruskan dengan baik apabila gangguan air berlaku," terang beliau.

Awal hari ini, Wong membidas Syabas kerana "mewujudkan panik dikalangan orang awam" ekoran tumpahan minyak di Sungai Selangor yang menyebabkan gangguan air besar-besaran di Lembah Klang.

Beliau berkata Syabas tidak perlu mengeluarkan kenyataan yang menyebabkan orang ramai panik, malah punca tumpahan minyak tersebut juga tidak benar seperti yang dikatakan.

Beliau berkata empat loji yang ditutup sebelum sudah beroperasi semula pada jam 4 pagi tadi dan mula merawat sepenuhnya pada jam 6 pagi.

"Simpanan air sudah penuh," kata beliau sebaik Syabas semalam mengaktifkan pelan kecemasan ekoran tumpahan minyak tersebut.

Wong berkata Syabas tersalah beri maklumat kepada orang ramai tentang perkara tersebut.

"Adakah ini gangguan air? Ya. Adakah tumpahan itu teruk? Ya. Adakah ia krisis? Tidak. Kerana kita sudah mula menanganinya sejak petang semalam," kata Wong kepada The Malaysian Insider.

Bengkel tersebut telah pun ditutup selepas diberikan notis arahan, malah Wong juga berkata tindakan undang-undang bakal dikenakan ke atas pihak tidak bertanggungjawab tersebut.

"Sepatutnya bengkel tersebut menyimpan minyak dalam tong, tapi sebaliknya yang berlaku... ia menyebabkan minyak tersebut mengalir dan masuk ke dalam sungai," tambah beliau lagi.

Menurut Wong lagi, semua minyak telah dikeluarkan daripada sungai dan bekalan air akan pulih secara berperingkat bergantung kepada lokasi kawasan yang terjejas akibat gangguan bekalan air.

"Semua minyak telah dikeluarkan, bekalan air yang terganggu akan pulih berperingkat.

"Kalau jauh lokasi dengan loji mungkin memakan masa sedikit, tapi kalau hampir mungkin akan cepat dapat air semula," ujarnya lagi. – 31 Ogos, 2013.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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Agenda kemerdekaan yang belum terselesai

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 06:03 PM PDT

August 31, 2013
Latest Update: August 31, 2013 05:03 pm

Zairil Khir Johari is a chocolate purveyor, chicken rice enthusiast and noodle lover. When he's not preoccupied with any of the above, he is also a politician.

Selama 56 tahun, rakyat Malaysia tanpa gagal menyambut satu perayaan yang cukup besar maknanya. Perayaan yang mengingatkan kita betapa berharganya nikmat hidup dalam keadaan bebas daripada cengkaman penjajah.

Dalam pada itu, umum juga menyedari bahawa penghayatan sambutan kemerdekaan bukan sekadar menggantungkan bendera kecil di kenderaan masing-masing, berdiri tegak di dalam pawagam semasa lagu Negaraku dimainkan atau berhimpun menunggu percikan bunga api pada detik 12 tengah malam.

Sebaliknya, kemerdekaan adalah sesuatu usaha pembinaan negara bangsa yang berterusan. Kemerdekaan bererti bahawa setiap anggota masyarakat memiliki hak dan tanggungjawab bersama untuk menentukan corak dan masa depan negara ini.

Kemerdekaan bererti bahawa pilihan rakyat menjadi pilihan keramat. Kemerdekaan bererti bahawa setiap insan yang bergelar rakyat dimartabatkan dengan kehidupan yang bermaruah dan peluang untuk menikmati berkongsi kekayaan negara ini.

Namun, walaupun sudah lebih setengah abad kemerdekaan, rakyat makin hidup dalam ketakutan dengan kadar jenayah yang kian meningkat. Hak demokratik pula tercabul apabila pilihan rakyat yang lantang dalam pilihan raya umum tidak berjaya diterjemahkan kepada realiti.

Kesenjangan pendapatan pula makin melebar sehingga negara kita mencatat Pekali Gini (Gini Coefficient) yang tertinggi di Asia Tenggara dan antara yang tertinggi di Asia. Begitu gentingnya jurang antara yang kaya dan miskin, akibat kerangka ekonomi kapitalis kroni yang menguntungkan segelintir elit serta kerabat mereka, sementara 40% rakyat terbawah terpaksa hidup dengan pendapatan purata RM1,500 sebulan seisi rumah.

Yang paling teruk, keharmonian dan kesepaduan antara kaum dan agama makin terancam. Saban hari media arus perdana menyajikan rakyat dengan sentimen-sentimen ekstremis perkauman dan agama, seolah-olah kebencian itu merupakan sifat fitrah masyarakat kita.

Apakah yang sudah terjadi dengan matlamat Bangsa Malaysia? Harapan mulia yang pernah diimpikan kini lemas diselubungi dendam kesumat gara-gara politik sempit dan pemimpin dangkal.

Justeru, kita memerlukan pembaharuan yang ketara dalam kancah politik negara kita. Politik lama – politik perkauman dan agama, politik kebencian dan ketakutan – sudah jelas gagal dan perlu dibelakangi.

Yang diperlukan adalah keazaman politik baru, iaitu politik bertunjangkan dasar, yang menggalakkan perdebatan serta berjiwa besar. Sekiranya pemimpin politik kita sanggup melakukan perubahan ini, nescaya matlamat Bangsa Malaysia boleh dicapai.

Kita juga memerlukan kerangka ekonomi baru yang mampu mengagihkan kekayaan dengan lebih saksama. Bantuan sosial, pendidikan dan juga ekonomi harus diberikan – tetapi kepada mereka yang perlu dan bukan kepada mereka yang bergelar kroni. Ini tidak akan tercapai selagi sistem ekonomi berdasarkan perkauman tidak dapat diganti dengan sistem yang menyasarkan golongan yang paling memerlukan bantuan tanpa mengira kaum dan agama.

Akhir sekali, kunci kepada pembinaan Bangsa Malaysia terletak dalam sistem pendidikan. Pada masa kini, sistem pendidikan yang seharusnya menyatukan rakyat tampaknya semakin jauh daripada sasarannya. Menurut laporan awal Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia 2013 – 2025, enrolmen murid bukan Melayu di Sekolah Kebangsaan hanya 6% manakala enrolmen murid bukan Cina di Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) mencapai 12%.

Statistik ini seolah-olah menyatakan SJKC lebih bersifat "kebangsaan" berbanding SK dari segi komposisi kaum. Sudah tentu, ia juga menonjolkan kegagalan kerajaan untuk menjadikan jurusan Sekolah Kebangsaan sebagai pilihan utama masyarakat.

Oleh itu, sudah tiba masanya kita memikirkan kembali bagaimana untuk mengembalikan fungsi pendidikan sebagai pemudahcara perpaduan nasional tanpa mengabaikan kepentingan mana-mana pihak.

Bagi saya, satu-satunya cara adalah melalui proses disentralisasi dalam sistem pendidikan. Saya percaya, kita harus mengagihkan tanggungjawab dan peranan utama dalam pendidikan kepada pihak-pihak berkepentingan (stakeholders), yakni ibu bapa, guru-guru, murid-murid serta masyarakat tempatan.

Sejauh mana yang mungkin, campurtangan politik harus dielakkan. Ini kerana secara lazimnya politik itu menjadi punca segala masalah, sepertimana yang sudah berulang kali kita alami sepanjang sejarah kita (memori yang paling segar kes PPSMI yang dilaksanakan semata-mata untuk memenuhi kehendak seorang pemimpin).

Sesudah 56 tahun bergelar Merdeka, besar harapan saya agar 56 tahun yang akan datang tidak akan menampakkan kegagalan impian dan harapan nenek moyang kita yang telah banyak berkorban demi mewariskan negara yang megah, maju dan saksama.

Maka, janganlah kita sia-siakan usaha mereka. Sebaliknya, marilah kita meneruskan agenda kemerdekaan dengan mengukuhkan lagi batu asas kenegaraan kita dan mendirikan rangka ekonomi, siasah dan pendidikan yang teguh bagi penjalinan Bangsa Malaysia pada suatu hari kelak. - 31 Ogos, 2013.

* Ini adalah pandangan peribadi penulis.

Big ties for big teams, a promising weekend in the EPL

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT

August 31, 2013
Latest Update: August 30, 2013 07:44 pm

As a player, Shebby Singh won everything there was to win in Malaysia football, and represented the country on the international stage.

Well, I see we still don't use indicators when we drive over here. But it is nice to be home, albeit for an uncertain length of time.

More importantly, however, it feels good to be back and I certainly look forward to a weekend of much football drama and action.

Yes, these days, it is the drama that preempts the action as we get our fill of football news online, on TV, radio and through mobile updates.

But ultimately, we want to watch every single minute of action that is played out on our TV screens and we will get our fair share of some big-time clashes this weekend in week three of the English Premier League (EPL).

Big games indeed with Liverpool at least beginning to look like they could well return to at least playing the game the right way.

The Reds are at home to Manchester United, who certainly look to be applying the "new manager" syndrome of players wanting to impress. Ok, perhaps Wayne Rooney was trying to impress his, allegedly, future boss last Monday.

Quite perhaps the best football will be played at Anfield. Or at least Brendan Rodgers will get his team passing the ball well and the Red Devils on the other hand can pass it better than most.

At the other end of the football entertainment scale, we will see Sam Allardyce's West Ham United play Stoke City in a match that will be truly challenging to watch. These two teams have applied the same philosophy over the years but Stoke City, under Mark Hughes, are now trying to revolutionise their style of play. Instead of clattering people in the air, they now clatter them on the ground.

Still, Rome wasn't built in a day and Robert Huth will never wake up one morning and think he is Franz Beckenbauer.

The Citizens (of Manchester) went to Wales last Sunday and got deported - and by two countries at that - but it could be the Hull City Tigers applying for migration as Manuel Pellegrini will not want another taste of the chilli this weekend. I just hope this does not turn into a massacre for my mate Faruk's sake.

However, the "biggest" of big matches this weekend will involve Tottenham Hotspur getting their act together at another North London club. Yes, it is Arsenal, the club with the "most under pressure" manager in English football this season.

The Gunners have the home ground advantage, but they are taking on a Spurs side who still think they have another six weeks before the season starts.

The continuing arrival of some very good players even now is not going to make life easy for Spurs fans. The last two league games has been like watching a bunch of individuals trying desperately to pronounce each other's names never mind play as a unit. The positives though is watching the arrivals and feeling good about the potential.

We just hope the potential is realised in the shortest possible time unlike Stewart Downing.

By the way, in a chat with my Wingman, we discussed players who play better international football than domestic league football. Obviously, this conversation was sparked by the injury to Arsenal's Lukas Podolski.

He is simply brilliant when he puts on his national strip but Cologne, on more than one occasion, and Bayern Munich would still scratch their heads on the Poldi syndrome.

Darren Anderton never let England down as he somehow miraculously never was injured when major international tournaments came around.

Perhaps, at home we have the opposite scenario in Kelantan skipper, Badri Radzi (aka Piya), who can thread the ball through the eye of a needle for the East Coast outfit but somehow does not look good in our national colours. Go figure.

Know anyone else? - August 31, 2013.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Jumaat, 30 Ogos 2013

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Spenders Spurs drawn with sellers Anzhi in Europa League

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 07:10 AM PDT

August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 31, 2013 06:10 am

Tottenham Hotspur, who have splurged over 65 million pounds (about RM320 million) on new talent, were today drawn in the same Europa League group as Anzhi Makhachkala, the Russian club who have been selling off their players.

Anzhi put their entire first team squad up for sale after their billionaire owner cut the club's budget, triggering an exodus of expensively acquired players.

Group K opponents Spurs, who had been linked with Anzhi's Brazilian playmaker Willian before he joined Chelsea instead along with the Russian club's Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, have brought in several new faces.

Tottenham have already broken their transfer record twice with the signings of Spain striker Roberto Soldado and Brazil midfielder Paulinho amid media reports that their Wales forward Gareth Bale will join Real Madrid in a world record deal.

The draw for the group stage of Europe's second-tier club competition also featured Cypriot side APOEL, who have replaced Fenerbahce, and Norway's Tromso, reinstated in place of Besiktas after the Turkish clubs lost appeals against match-fixing bans.

APOEL feature in Group F with France's Bordeaux, Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt and Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv, while Tromso are in Tottenham's group along with Moldovan outfit Sheriff.

Former European champions PSV Eindhoven were drawn in Group B alongside Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb, Ukraine's Chornomorets Odessa and Bulgaria's Ludogorets.

Sevilla, who won back-to-back UEFA Cups - the predecessor to the Europa League - in 2006 and 2007 will face Germany's Freiburg, Portugal's Estoril and Czech side Liberec in Group H.

Holders Chelsea and last season's runners-up Benfica are competing in the Champions League.

There are 48 clubs across 12 groups. Group winners and runners-up advance to the knockout stage where they will be joined by eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage. The final will staged in Turin, Italy, in May. - August 30, 2013.

Transfer system is robbery, says Platini

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 02:36 AM PDT

August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 30, 2013 07:56 pm

UEFA president Michel Platini (pic) today called for a sweeping reform of the transfer system, describing the current system as a form of robbery and saying the transfer window was too long.

Platini said there were too many people vying to take a slice of commission from players' transfers and also said players were to blame for not respecting contracts.

His comments came amid the ongoing saga of Gareth Bale's possible move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid for 100 million euros and at the end of a European transfer window which critics say has dragged on for too long.

"I think transfers are robbery," the former France captain told a media conference.

"Today, the player is more a product than a player and that irks me because there is a whole lot of people trying to make this player make money in order to earn commissions, we should think about that and try to find something more healthy.

"Players are not free and they don't even belong to clubs, they belong to financial holdings, companies or people.

"I don't think it is right. I believe this is important and this is new in the world of football," he added. "We are looking into that, working on it, I agree maybe this window is too big, too long."

Platini said that UEFA were looking at a possible reform of the transfer system and were aware that FIFPro, the world player's union, wanted sweeping reforms.

Platini pointed out that in his own playing days, players had gone on strike for the right to leave their clubs at the end of their contract.

But nowadays, he said players failed to respect their contracts, often refusing to play or train to try and force a move elsewhere.

"I belong to the generation who went on strike so players could leave at the end of the contract," he added.

"Players went on strike to be free.... now I see they sign contracts, they don't play because they want to leave again... there is something unhealthy about that.

"Robbery may be too tough a word, but when you sign a contract you should respect it and that's what I wanted to say... We need a re-think of the whole transfer system."

He added that inflated transfer fees had always been a source of debate.

"We have been asking ourselves the same question for 30 years as to the morality of the money involved in transfers," he said.

"People asked these questions when Diego Maradona was transferred for 30 million, or Zinedine Zidane for 60 million." - Reuters, August 30, 2013.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

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Gut, not gluttony makes quitting smokers gain weight

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 06:52 PM PDT

August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 30, 2013 05:52 pm