Jumaat, 18 Januari 2013

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Food that delights the eye and tongue

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:45 PM PST

Inside Renoma Cafe Gallery: note the animal head on a human form on the back of the Renoma chair. — Pictures by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — The Garden Landscape — an obvious nod to chef Heston Blumenthal's Garden Salad — is a great introduction to Chef Alven Tan's food.

It's as if the vegetables are sprouting up from the dark porcini soil. There are heirloom orange, white and purple carrots, Romanesco cauliflower and tomatoes, all from Holland, with green leaves fringing them, and a poached egg in the centre sprinkled with a little chilli.

Garden Landscape: a salad with heirloom baby carrot, heritage tomato, asparagus, porcini soil and soft-poached organic egg.

Cured Muscovy Duck Breast Salad.

The vegetables are sweet and crunchy. There is more crunch and flavour from the buttery porcini soil which the chef de cuisine made with mixed nuts, charcoal bun, charcoal powder and porcini mushrooms dehydrated and pounded, then with butter and sugar added. Altogether it was superb.

It is obvious that colours and textures are a large part of what the food at Renoma Café Gallery in Kuala Lumpur is all about.

We were also wowed by the luscious, glistening slices of house-cured French Barbary duck breast in the Cured Muscovy Duck Breast Salad. It's duck breast that had been air-dried for two weeks after dehydrating it with pink salt. It was so delicious.

There was the merest hint of bunga kantan or ginger flower, yuzu zest and white wine vinegar in the lovely dressing for the salad.

Our lunch might seem to have centred on duck, but we didn't mind. I was again floored by the Smoked Duck Tea that came next. Making a good consommé demands the consummate skill of a chef.

Smoked Duck Tea: a consomme of smoked duck, wood ear mushrooms, water chestnut and pan-seared gooseliver.

Alven rose to the occasion with a sublime consommé, that wafted up a stirring aroma as it was served. I loved it for its intense, complex flavours, the perfectly done foie gras in it that had a "ping" to the bite. Some finely chopped waterchestnut, and strips of wood ear fungus and a green pea, together with a sous-vide egg in the centre, completed it. Now the egg should be eaten whole and separately; do not let it cloud this divine consommé.

The RCG Signature Burger was pure sin. What else would you call 250 grams of grass-fed beef striploin patty with no flour or egg fillers, with the pate-like duck rillettes in the centre and the pan-seared foie gras at the bottom?

RCG Signature Burger with Pan-seared Foie Gras, Muscovy Duck Rillets, Sambal Terasi Mayo.

Confit of Muscovy Duck Leg.

Crispy leek and salad in the burger and fries with a sambal terasi mayo dip made of chilli, belacan, shallots, coconut and mayo were just the side attractions. While it all tasted rich and good, I would have liked it even better if the bottom half of the burger bun was thicker and didn't become a little soggy.

The Confit of Muscovy Duck Leg was flawless. The crispy skin with the aroma of duck fat fell away at the bite. The preparation for the duck confit took two days; the chef finally slow cooking it in duck fat for three hours. He served the duck confit sitting in an apricot and mustard sauce, with sautéed cocktail potatoes, caramelized onions, mushrooms and baby vegetables.

If you want a soup, the Forest Mushroom Veloute is a must. Black trumpet, oyster, porcini and chanterelle mushrooms are simmered for hours in a vegetable stock, blended and finished with porcini cream. It's a soup packed with flavour, its body derived from just mushrooms.

The Pavlova with passionfruit sauce, mixed berries and toasted almond: lightly sweet, unusual for a meringue.

The Slow-braised Grain-fed Beef Cheek is what the chef recommends too, as well as Coq Au Vin, Foie Gras and Black Truffle Capellini, and the wonderful Sea Urchin Tofu, among others.

Dessert was Pavlova with passionfruit sauce, mixed berries and toasted almond. It was lightly sweet, unusual for a meringue. The Orange Crème Brulee was exquisite. Breaking through the thin crackle of burnt sugar at the top, I tasted the most delicate custard with a citrusy lift from orange zest.

The Renoma Café Gallery in Kuala Lumpur is the second one in the world after Paris. It encompasses art, fashion, furniture, and now food. It was a natural progression for stylist, fashion designer and scenographer Maurice Renoma who opened the first Renoma Café Gallery in Paris in 2001.

Renoma's edgy, quirky artworks are on the wall, and on chairs designed by him, in his signature colours of red and black. His favourite theme seems to be animal heads dressed in elegant and casual outfits.

The Renoma Café Gallery here can accommodate 450 people, with the main dining area downstairs, the Salon Lounge on the mezzanine floor sofa seating, dart machines and a pool table. A plush private room here seats 15 for dining, with a minimum spend of RM5,000.

It's not expensive dining at Renoma Café Gallery. The Cured Muscovy Duck Salad was just RM26, Smoked Duck Tea RM20, RCG Signature Burger RM58, Confit of Muscovy Duck Leg RM38 and Pavlova RM14. A three-course set lunch is RM39. The Garden Landscape was one of the courses in a set lunch.

It's pork-free.

It is located at 510 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, tel: 03-2143 9919

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Man Utd broadens palette with Japanese paint sponsorship

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 07:00 AM PST

Manchester United claims to have more than 650 million followers around the world. — Reuters pic

LONDON, Jan 18 — Manchester United signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Japanese paint maker Kansai today, proving the English soccer club's global fan base gives it an appeal stretching way beyond consumer brands.

Not surprisingly, Kansai is the first official paint partner signed up by United, 19 times English champions and nicknamed "The Red Devils".

The deal shows how top European clubs can use their international fan base to secure partnerships with a broad range of companies.

United has become adept at looking beyond the obvious categories when it comes to signing up sponsors. Last year, for example, it did a sponsorship deal with Yanmar, a Japanese company which makes boat engines.

United, listed on the New York Stock Exchange last year, claims to have more than 650 million followers around the world.

The English Premier League has a large global television audience and United's profile in Japan has been boosted by its signing of Japanese international Shinji Kagawa in 2012.

Presenting the new sponsor at the Old Trafford stadium, United Commercial Director Richard Arnold said the Premier League leaders and the Japanese company both prized "growth, investment in people and innovation".

"Manchester United's global network of fans and sponsors will help to raise the profile of the Kansai brand," he added.

Kansai Paint President Yuzo Kawamori said the company shared United's ambition of beating the competition internationally.

"Kansai's partnership with Manchester United is a further demonstration of Kansai's desire to become a global leader in the coatings industry," Kawamori said.

Soccer teams are seeking to maximise their commercial income as new rules to ensure they curb their losses take effect.

United signed two separate sponsorship deals in China earlier this week. —Reuters

Chong Wei: Advantage of rest reason for win over Hu Yun

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 06:59 AM PST

Chong Wei held a 5-1 record on Jan O Jorgensen in their five previous meetings. – File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 – World number one badminton player Datuk Lee Chong Wei said the easy win he recorded over Hu Yun at the quarter final competition of the 2013 Malaysian Open Super Series Badminton Championship was due to the advantage of a one day rest he had.

The 30-year-old player easily beat Hun Yun 21-12 and 21-9 in 24 minutes.

"Everyone knows I did not play yesterday after my opponent, Boonsak Ponsana withdrew as he was not healthy. Hu Yun also gave less competition today," he told reporters after the match at Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil, here, today.

Commenting on the semi-final match against Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark tomorrow, Chong Wei who was hunting his ninth title at the championship, said he must be alert as the player had a strong fighting spirit.

Jan O Jorgensen advanced after beating another national player Liew Daren 19-21, 21-13 and 21-17 in 62 minutes.

Chong Wei held a 5-1 record on Jan O Jorgensen in their five previous meetings. – Bernama

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

Women like their men tall, but not too tall

Posted: 17 Jan 2013 03:29 PM PST

The world's tallest man, Sultan Kosen, poses next to school children at an event in London September 16, 2009. — Reuters pic

PARIS, Jan 18 — A new study on heterosexual couples, reportedly the first of its kind, found that when it comes to height preferences, both genders prefer a man to be taller than his female partner, but not too much taller.

Researchers from Groningen University in the Netherlands analyzed data based on the Millennium Cohort Study of parents of almost 19,000 babies born in the UK in 2000. They found that in more than nine out of ten couples, the man was taller than the woman. Differences in height were on average about 14cm.

A previous 1980 study of US and UK couples found that in only one out of 720 couples was the female taller than the male. Because women are on average shorter than men, chance predicts that the occurrence of couples in which the female is taller is two out of 100, 14 times higher than the findings observed in that study, wrote the Dutch researchers.

But researchers note that while women prefer tall men, they do not want them too tall. Couples in which the male was more than 25cm taller than the woman were rarer than expected by chance. Interestingly, women preferred larger height differences than men, but tall women and short men preferred smaller height differences, while short women and tall men preferred larger differences.

The findings were published yesterday in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) One.

Past research has also found that taller men are more likely to be married and tend to have more children than shorter men. — AFP/Relaxnews

Antarctica and a llama for UK queen in jubilee year

Posted: 17 Jan 2013 03:24 PM PST

Queen Elizabeth records her Christmas message from Buckingham Palace in London December 7, 2012. — Reuters pic

LONDON, Jan 18 — A piece of Antarctica named after her, a baby llama, tea from Sri Lanka and her own set of Olympic medals were just some of the gifts given to Britain's Queen Elizabeth during her 2012 diamond jubilee year.

Foreign leaders, emissaries, luxury goods businesses and members of the public gave the British monarch a treasure trove of gifts from jewels given by the Emir of Kuwait to a wind chime from a nursery school near her Sandringham estate, according to a list released by Buckingham Palace.

The list documents more than 140 gifts given to the queen in honour of her 60 years on the throne from world leaders such as US President Barack Obama (1950s Tiffany & Co silver compact) to the president of Sri Lanka (a portrait and a special box of tea).

Unsolicited gifts included 436 books, 235 CDs and DVDs, 81 pieces of embroidery or knitting — including a tea cosy of the queen with her corgis — 78 portraits of the queen, 40 digital photograph books, 28 wall hangings or bunting, 19 tea towels and nine jigsaws.

Other gifts included honorary ownership of a baby llama and adoption of a baby Asian elephant.

Her husband Prince Philip also received a number of gifts over the period including Swarovski binoculars, a wooden cigar box from the King of Jordan, a "Highland Gentleman" made from biscuits, beer and a large gold sword in a leather box

Buckingham Palace release a list every year detailing gifts received by the queen and the royal family, although a separate list is released for heir-to-the-throne Charles and his children. — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

Schwarzenegger takes a ‘Stand’ in new film, with cue from Eastwood

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 06:10 AM PST

Cast member Arnold Schwarzenegger attends the premiere of the film "The Last Stand" in Los Angeles, California January 14, 2013. — Reuters pic

LOS ANGELES, Jan 18 — Arnold Schwarzenegger, taking inspiration from his idol, Clint Eastwood, returns to the big screen today in the action film "The Last Stand," his first starring role since he took a seven-year break from moviemaking to serve as California governor.

In a departure from his typical superhuman roles, Schwarzenegger plays a retired Los Angeles policeman forced to protect a tiny border town from a notorious drug kingpin. The 65-year-old former bodybuilder looks every bit his age and admits in the film feeling "old" as h e takes a ribbing from some of his significantly younger deputies.

As he embarks on a movie comeback in, which he will star in three films over the next 12 months, Schwarzenegger is embracing his age rather than trying to relive his glory days as an action star.

He is taking his cue from the 82-year-old Eastwood - the gun-toting former macho "Dirty Harry" star who eased into more senior roles, winning plaudits for movies like last year's "The Trouble with the Curve," and "Million Dollar Baby" in 2004, for, which he was nominated for a best-actor Oscar and won for best director.

Schwarzenegger said he was inspired by Eastwood in the 1993 film "In the Line of Fire," where Eastwood's character, a Secret Service agent, is short of breath after running alongside the president's limousine.

"I thought that was so cool," Schwarzenegger told Reuters TV recently. "I remember how smart it was to acknowledge that because it took the curse off. No one was trying to say, 'Isn't he too old for this job?' That's what I tried to do in this film since (Eastwood) is a big idol of mine and I always like to learn from him."

Schwarzenegger said he felt great physically, but that reality had set in. "I'm not a 30-year-old action hero anymore," he said. "I'm now 65 years old, but I'm still doing action movies. I acknowledge that it's a different ballgame now. I'm an older guy."

In "Last Stand," Schwarzenegger said he agreed to play the part of Sheriff Ray Owens because "it was kind of a traditional Schwarzenegger action movie" with "big blow-ups, a great story, good drama, fight scenes and action from the beginning to the end."

Schwarzenegger began his transformation to an aging action star in the 2010 film "The Expendables" and its 2012 sequel where he played an aging movie star in an ensemble cast that included Sylvester Stallone and other older stars.

"I was very pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction," said Schwarzenegger, who was Republican governor of California from 2003 to 2011.

'I-DARE-YOU ATTITUDE'

Critics have mostly embraced Schwarzenegger's return with "Last Stand," despite the film's modest budget. Film critic Marshall Fine called it "shamelessly entertaining," while The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy wrote that Schwarzenegger "still conveys the old self-confident, humorous I-dare-you attitude towards his adversaries."

An older, wiser Schwarzenegger chose to play vintage roles in his other upcoming films as well. In September, he teams up again with Stallone in "The Tomb," where they play aging inmates who plot a prison escape. Next January, Schwarzenegger will star in "Ten," playing what the film's director, David Ayer, called "a broken old drug warrior."

In an interview with Reuters, Ayer said his No. 1 goal in working with Schwarzenegger was "transformation." The director said he studied every frame of Schwarzenegger's films, noting that most of the actor's filmography had "a very specific tone, almost jocular in a sense, where it is not necessarily a psychologically realistic portrayal of a man or a character."

"You look at all these performances, and the question is, have these characters been treated as something he can transform himself?" Ayer said. "I probably asked him to do things he wasn't asked before. I knew I could take him someplace new. Some of these scenes required real, heavy lifting."

In the end, Ayer believes moviegoers will be "blindsided" by what they see of Schwarzenegger on screen.

Yet even as Schwarzenegger attempts to widen his range as an actor, he is not leaving behind the genre films that made him famous.

That means going back to some of his popular franchises of the past, including a new "Conan the Barbarian" film that is expected to go into production later this year and a sequel to the 1988 action comedy "Twins" to be called "Triplets."

"It's important I pick projects that the fans, that the audiences like to see," he said.

He already has another big fan in his friend Stallone, who talked him into acting in the two "Expendables" films.

"What is the definition of a star? Someone who people will wait three hours in the rain to see," Stallone said. "And people still have their umbrellas out for him." — Reuters

Colorado movie theater where massacre occurred reopens

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 06:01 AM PST

A man with a boy wearing a Batman jacket arrive at the movie theatre where 12 people were killed in a shooting rampage at a Batman film last July in Aurora, Colorado January 17, 2013. — Reuters pic

AURORA, Jan 17 — The suburban Denver movie theatre where 12 people were killed in a shooting rampage at a Batman film last summer reopened yesterday for a private "night of remembrance" and a screening of "The Hobbit" for survivors and others connected to the tragedy.

The event, held just shy of six months after the massacre, was not heavily attended despite a personal welcome from Colorado's governor and offers of free movie passes and popcorn.

The owners of the theatre, Cinemark USA, had invited some 2,000 guests, mostly moviegoers who lived through the shooting and relatives of those killed, along with police, fire fighters and other emergency personnel who responded to the crime scene.

But a crowd numbering no more than several hundred people, including members of the media, turned out for the event, greeted by dignitaries including Governor John Hickenlooper, the mayor of Aurora, Steve Hogan, Cinemark USA's chief executive, Tim Warner, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Denver, Samuel Aquila.

Some of the attendees embraced one another as they arrived at the revamped multiplex, and vendors walked through the lobby offering guests free candy, buttered popcorn and soft drinks.

But in a letter to Cinemark, families of nine murder victims took offense at the offer to tour "the very theatre where our loved ones lay dead on the floor for over 15 hours."

"We would give anything to wipe the carnage of that night out of our minds' eye," the letter said. "Thank you for reminding us how your quest for profits has blinded your leadership and made you so callous as to be oblivious to our mental anguish."

A spokeswoman for Cinemark declined to comment.

Among the survivors who attended the event yesterday evening was Jansen Young, 21, whose boyfriend, Navy veteran Jonathan Blunk, died shielding her from harm.

'GUARDIAN ANGEL'

Young, who was unhurt in the shooting, referred to Blunk as "my guardian angel." She recalled how he pushed her to the floor at the first sound of gunshots and covered her body with his. He was 26.

"I heard his last few breaths," she said, adding that she was overcome by emotion as she sat again in the old Theater 9, which Cinemark has renamed "Auditorium I — Extreme Digital Cinema."

"It was so hard. I didn't expect to go in there and cry," she said before "The Hobbit" was shown.

The theatre will offer free movie passes to the public at large from today through Sunday. The 16-screen multiplex, rechristened the Century Aurora, will then close and reopen for good on January 25

It had been shuttered since July 20, when a gunman opened fire during a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises," killing 12 and wounding dozens of others. Former graduate student James Holmes is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder.

Hickenlooper told attendees that reopening the theater was a sign of a return to normalcy in the city of 325,000. "We need to make sure we don't allow evil to triumph over good," he said.

Hogan issued a video statement before the reopening, calling it "part of a healing process." He said three-quarters of Aurora citizens who responded to an online survey conducted by the city requesting input on the future of the multiplex site said they wanted the theater to reopen.

Cinemark is the third-largest movie exhibitor in the United States, according to a company profile.

The Texas-based theater chain reported a 1 per cent year-over-year dip in revenue to US$636.6 million (RM1.92 billion) in the third quarter of 2012, the time frame when the shooting occurred.

Cinemark has refrained from commenting publicly about the massacre. Some victims have sued the chain over the rampage, charging that the theatre should have had more security because it was aware of previous crimes in or near the multiplex.

In a court filing seeking dismissal of the lawsuits, Cinemark denied it was aware of other crimes at the theatre, but even if true, "such an event would be insufficient to make a madman's mass murder foreseeable." — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

John Powers, author who wrote about growing up Catholic, dies

Posted: 17 Jan 2013 09:49 PM PST

LOS ANGELES, Jan 18 — John Powers, a US author and motivational speaker who wrote about his experiences growing up Catholic in Chicago including the novel "Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?" has died, his family said yesterday.

Powers, 67, died late Wednesday of natural causes at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, his daughter Jacey Powers said.

A product of a working-class neighbourhood, Powers wrote what he called humorous social portraits in columns to novels, a musical based on "Black Patent Leather Shoes" and more recently wrote and performed one-man shows.

"He cherished every moment and lived with tremendous passion and motivated others to do the same," Jacey Powers said.

Powers lived the last 25 years in Lake Geneva, spending almost all of his time writing on the front porch, she said.

"He had just finished rewriting his one-man show and wanted to put it up," Jacey Powers said. "(He) was always looking for new ways to reinvent himself and to find the next challenge and to live life better."

A self-described "horrible" student at a Catholic high school — his motivational speaking website says he graduated in the bottom 3 per cent of his class — he liked to say he was the only student in school history to fail music appreciation.

Powers went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Loyola University Chicago, and a master's and doctorate from Northwestern University and became a college professor himself for six years.

Other books by Powers include "The Last Catholic in America" and "The Unoriginal Sinner and the Ice-Cream God."

Visitation and services are planned for Sunday at The Chapel on the Hill in Lake Geneva.

Powers is survived by his wife, JaNelle Powers, and daughters Jacey Powers and Joy Powers. — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Sharifah Zohra Jabeen, I challenge you to a debate!

Posted: 17 Jan 2013 04:04 PM PST

JAN 18 — You were way out of your depth. It was obviously clear. And that was the reason why you had to pull the microphone away from KS Bawani when she was speaking.

But you definitely had no awareness of this, I'm sure. You thought you were all that in your sophisticated-looking pantsuit and fancy title of President of Suara Wanita.

Trying to go for a SW1M? Try not to sink instead!

You were at a university, Universiti Utara Malaysia, an institution of learning where people go to (where most of them are actually legally adults) obtain an education.

You were a part of a panel at a forum. A panel forum, which I'm very sure, had an objective to bring forth discourse and intellectual discussion, and to share that with the students.

The forum, which was titled "Seiringkah Mahasiswa dan Politik", had given the panellists a chance to speak, and also had a session that was open to the floor, a chance for the students to speak.

If the panellists were allowed to share their thoughts and opinions, then by all means, the members of the floor should be given that chance too. It is a forum anyway.

What right did you have to stop a person from speaking? What right did you have to pull the microphone away from someone when she is speaking?

Is it because you are older? And this is considering the fact that you said to Bawani that she had to learn to respect her elders.

Respecting elders doesn't mean blindly following what they say. Respecting elders is also feeling the responsibility to correct them when they are wrong and heading down the wrong path.

Or did you feel you had a right to pull the microphone away because you thought it was your forum? And, to you, this meant that only you had a right to an opinion?

I really felt that you were just scared. You were scared because suddenly, there was this young girl dressed casually in a long sleeved T-shirt and jeans who could articulate better than you.

I think you felt threatened because this young girl was sharing opinions that were so well thought out and clear that the rest of the attendees might just have been persuaded by her.

Probably the desperation that you felt was so intense that you couldn't do anything else but force her to keep quiet by pulling the microphone away from her so no one could hear her.

You were a big bully. You didn't even have the decency to let her finish speaking and then counter her opinions with your own. But then again, you didn't have much to say.

You just ranted along about how those who didn't like the state Malaysia is in to leave the country. Come on! How stupid do you think people are?

And what is it with the animal analogy? I don't even want to comment on that one! Basically, you didn't even have quality rebuttals for Bawani. You just bullied her away from the microphone.

So here's the deal. Let this column be an open call to you, Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin, President of SW1M.

I want to challenge you to an open debate, on a topic of your own choosing.

I believe that I am a very fair and open-minded person. I can accept a lot of different opinions, and agree to disagree, with many people. I'm a good listener too.

So don't be afraid. I promise I won't pull the microphone away from you and instead will let you speak your thoughts, because that is what matured people do.

And when it's my turn to speak, you better listen, listen, listen!

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

KPI for Bangsa Malaysia

Posted: 17 Jan 2013 03:56 PM PST

JAN 18 — I was at a friend's wedding banquet recently. I should add, a Chinese wedding banquet.

Naturally, I was placed at the table for vegetarians. As I was walking towards my table, I realised what exotic animals must feel like when we gawk at them in zoos.

At my table sat a few Chinese couples, perhaps with cholesterol problems. We exchanged small pleasantries before they went back to their private conversations.

It is wonderful to be underestimated sometimes. Even better when people think you don't understand what they are saying. The couple next to me said this in my presence, "Wah… uu huana lai ciak cipeng ah. Ee bo kia tio liak meh? Cheng pek bo cincia che lo." (Wah, a Malay here. Isn't he afraid he'll be caught by those wearing white skullcaps? There are many of them nowadays.)

I leaned sideways and whispered back: "Mai kia. Ee lang be liak wa ce-lang. Ai liak tiok liak kaliau lang. Lan kalio khun laibin lokap ki-me lo." (Don't worry, they cannot arrest me alone. They'll have to arrest all of you for being accomplices too. We can all spend the night in jail.)

Their eyes went very round for a moment, then disappeared as they broke into laughter. Funny how they accepted me into their clique after that little ice breaker.

More than 50 years after independence, we still behave as if we are the only people living in this country. It's amazing really, what imagination, ignorance, and years of systemic segregation can produce. Instead of assimilation and fostering racial camaraderie of our future generation, we separate them by even refusing to let them share the same playground and canteen in schools.

It makes you wonder why we even bother ourselves with the National Service, the 1 Malaysia, Malaysian Malaysia slogans when we institutionalise and participate in an education system that promotes segregation to keep the status quo.

The sceptics and opponents to such an idea will argue that we need communal schools because the national schools are found wanting in many areas. They will also highlight the fact that the right to a communal education is enshrined and protected in our Constitution without which will inevitably lead to the extinction of their culture.

Yes, to a certain extent they could be right, but isn't it amazing to see where their priorities are? Also amazing is the naive belief that this separation could logically, and rationally, go on forever without bearing any national repercussions and effects. If only they realise the futility in remaining within their racial cocoon, they will want to push for a unified education system instead of opposing one not only for the sake of Malaysia, but the future of their children as well.

The argument that we need separate schools to preserve a certain culture certainly does not hold water. You can always teach culture, extra languages without having separate schools. Do it in the afternoon, weekends if necessary. Give cultural lessons and languages taught enough importance when awarding students overall grades in school, or as an important criteria before awarding scholarships and entrance to tertiary centres.

I may be wrong but what better way to preserve your culture than to teach it to others?

Get the Malay and Indian boys to learn Mandarin, the Chinese Tamil apart from the mandatory Malay and English language in schools. Start with a few states first and roll it out in stages after a while and watch how multinational companies fight to set up shop within our shores and woo our young generation into their midst.

Can you imagine how valuable our graduates can potentially be? The minimum wage would appear silly compared to this. If only we recognise the talent now, and tap into our diverse culture, we would be a force to be reckoned with.

The days of "'you and your race, me and mine" is nearing extinction thanks to globalisation and the borderless world concept. The sooner Malaysians come to terms with it, the better.

Some say let us cross the bridge when we get there. I say build the damn bridge now.

There will always be opposition to such a big move but the government must take a tough stand on this. They have after all done it before whether it was vis a vis PPSMI, Lynas, purchasing of submarines, they have refused to bow to popular demands, citing national interest at the heart of their decisions.

So why bend over when it comes to creating one school for all? Political survival at play?

"Malaysians are not ready for it yet" is the common answer when we know none of the political parties will ever be ready.

Since the responsibility lies squarely on the rakyat's shoulders (as always), I hope to see the formation of an NGO for a start, to create awareness among Malaysians and dispel any misconceptions they have regarding a single-school system. As the number of Malaysians who support this venture grows, political parties across the divide will have to reinvent themselves to stay relevant with current trends and times.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in outlining the challenges to achieve vision 2020, has listed the creation of a Malaysian race as the No. 1 challenge.

I wonder if and when the government will hire consultants and form a KPI on that?

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

Petronas saman Perwaja Steel

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 01:26 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 18 Jan — Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) memfailkan saman terhadap Perwaja Steel Sdn Bhd kerana kegagalan syarikat pengeluar keluli itu menjelaskan bayaran bagi gas yang dibekalkan ke lojinya di di Kemaman, Terengganu.

Writ saman dan pernyataan tuntutan itu difailkan di Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur (Bahagian Dagang) pada 14 Jan, oleh Tetuan Kadir, Andri & Partners.

Dalam pernyataan tuntutannya, Petronas menuntut RM146.139 juta sehingga 31 Dis 2012, faedah berjumlah RM10.313 juta sehingga 10 Jan tahun ini selain faedah, kos dan relif lain yang difikirkan sesuai oleh mahkamah. — Bernama

Langkah kurangkan tar dan nikotin dalam rokok dilaksana pertengahan tahun — Liow

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 01:01 AM PST

Langkah kurangkan tar dan nikotin dalam rokok dilaksana pertengahan tahun — Liow

Menteri Kesihatan Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai memberitahu langkah mengurangkan kandungan tar dan nikotin dalam rokok akan dilaksanakan mulai pertengahan tahun ini. — Gambar AFP

SEREMBAN, 18 Jan — Langkah mengurangkan kandungan tar dan nikotin dalam rokok akan dilaksanakan mulai pertengahan tahun ini bagi mengatasi penyakit berpunca daripada bahan tembakau, kata Menteri Kesihatan Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

Beliau berkata perkara ini telah dibincang bersama syarikat pengeluar tembakau dan ia dijangka dilaksanakan Jun ini selepas pengumuman dibuat pada Mei.

"Ia akan dilakukan secara berperingkat dalam tempoh yang kita akan tetapkan nanti. Cadangan ini turut dibuat bagi menyasar usaha kerajaan mengurangkan tabiat merokok di kalangan rakyat," katanya kepada pemberita pada majlis pelancaran pogram Magnum Cares 2013 di Pusat Hemodialisis Mawar di sini hari ini.

Menerusi program itu, 31 rumah kebajikan kanak-kanak dan orang-orang tua termasuk pusat hemodialisis menerima sumbangan berjumlah RM76,000 daripada Magnum Cares.

Liow berkata kementeriannya juga meminta syarikat tembakau mendaftar setiap jenama rokok keluaran mereka bagi memenuhi piawaian Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia, seperti menyatakan kandungan tar dan nikotin dalam rokok mereka.

"Langkah pengurangan dibuat secara berperingkat sebagai contoh, daripada 20mg tar kepada 15mg seterusnya 10mg dan pengurangan kandungan ini kita akan umumkan Mei nanti," katanya.

Mengenai rawatan hemodialisis, beliau berkata dari tempoh 2001 hingga 2012, kerajaan memperuntukkan RM216.5 juta dalam bentuk subsidi rawatan hemodialisis kepada badan bukan kerajaan.

"Untuk tahun 2012 sahaja, kerajaan membelanjakan RM21 juta untuk 3,209 pesakit di 114 pusat dialisis, sementara 57 badan bukan kerajaan telah mendapat bantuan tersebut," katanya. — Bernama

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Jumaat, 18 Januari 2013