Ahad, 10 Mac 2013

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Chelsea fight back to cause more hurt for United

Posted: 10 Mar 2013 04:18 PM PDT

March 11, 2013

Manchester United's Nani is challenged by Chelsea's Frank Lampard (left) for the ball. — Reuters picMANCHESTER, March 11 — Holders Chelsea inflicted more pain on Manchester United when they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 in a fluctuating and dramatic FA Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford yesterday.

The hosts, knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid on Tuesday after a controversial red card for Nani, took a fifth-minute lead through Javier Hernandez and soon doubled it with a Wayne Rooney free kick.

Just when the Premier League leaders had started to smell a Wembley date and some comfort after a horrible week, Chelsea made a double substitution count and pulled one back on 59 minutes through Eden Hazard before Ramires levelled on 68.

Chelsea had a golden chance to win the game in the dying seconds but United keeper David de Gea brilliantly stuck out a foot to divert Juan Mata's powerful effort, leaving the Londoners disappointed that they had not snatched victory.

"We deserved to win, the first half we made two mistakes, we conceded two goals but after we had some good chances in the counter-attack and in the second half we were on top of them," Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez told a news conference.

There is no date yet for the replay as Chelsea have a Europa League last-16 second leg to play against Steaua Bucharest this week but when they do meet again it will be amid fresh tension between Benitez and United counterpart Alex Ferguson.

The Spaniard accused the Scot of failing to shake hands with him before the match.

"I was waiting at the beginning ... I have education because I know a lot of people are watching so I know what you have to do," he said.

Ferguson, who did not give a post-match news conference, made no comment on the matter but admitted his side were fortunate not to lose.

"We're lucky to still be in the Cup," he told MUTV. "We just ran out of legs and Chelsea were far the better team in the second half.

"But I can't be critical of my side because the running they had to do on Tuesday night, against a really top side in Real Madrid, had its bearing on today's result, no doubt about that."

The day's other quarter-final will also be replayed after Championship (second division) Millwall and Blackburn Rovers played out a 0-0 draw. Manchester City will play United or Chelsea in the last four and Wigan Athletic meet Millwall or Blackburn.

Swift rewards

Still smarting from their cruel Champions League exit, United sought to quickly soothe the pain and started the match fired up for the task at a chilly Old Trafford.

They struck twice within the first 11 minutes, Hernandez opening the scoring when midfielder Michael Carrick's long ball over the top found his head and he nodded the ball neatly over stranded keeper Petr Cech.

The Mexican poacher has now scored in six of his last seven games against Chelsea, who have been the most successful team in the FA Cup in recent years having won it four times in the last six seasons.

Ferguson's men doubled their lead six minutes later after winger Nani was fouled by Victor Moses to win a free kick just outside the area on the left.

Rooney, who faced media speculation over his future when he was dropped to the bench for the Real Madrid game, stepped up to swing the ball over the top of everyone and into the far corner.

Chelsea, who suffered their own European troubles this week with a 1-0 defeat by Steaua Bucharest in the first leg of their last-16 tie, offered little in terms of attack in the first half while United looked dangerous whenever they went forward.

But that all changed in the second half with Benitez, who had earlier heard both sets of fans chanting "You'll be sacked in the morning", making an early double substitution that yielded swift rewards.

Eden Hazard and John Obi Mikel came on for Frank Lampard and Victor Moses, with Benitez saying changes had always been planned because he wanted to start the match with fresh legs after Thursday's European game.

Seven minutes after his introduction, Hazard got on the end of a pass by Mata to unleash a right-footed strike from the edge of the area which flew in to ignite a Chelsea recovery.

Nine minutes later, Demba Ba fed Oscar who played in Ramires with the Brazilian finding the net with an accurate left-footed finish to stun United and even some ofChelsea's fans who had been voicing their discontent earlier in the game.

Chelsea ended the match looking the more likely winners and United had De Gea's foot to thank that they did not end the week with just one piece of silverware still to fight for.

The visitors celebrated as if the draw had been a win and will take confidence from the performance ahead of the replay, although Benitez said it was too early to think about Manchester City, their semi-final opponents if they get through. — Reuters

Nothing has shocked me more than Nani red card, says Giggs

Posted: 10 Mar 2013 08:52 AM PDT

March 10, 2013

Manchester United's Ryan Giggs challenges Real Madrid's Raphael Varane during their Champions League match at Old Trafford in Manchester, March 5, 2013. — Reuters picLONDON, March 10 — Ryan Giggs said nothing has shocked him in his 1,000 matches as much as his Manchester United team mate Nani's red card against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Giggs, 39, took part in the 1,000th first class game of his career against Real and in an intriguing interview with his former United team mate Gary Neville in The Mail on Sunday, Giggs said he was staggered when Nani was sent off.

"I've never, ever experienced a shock like it on a football pitch because I just didn't expect it," he said of the game-changing moment. "And I've never seen a stadium in shock like that."

United were leading 1-0 and 2-1 on aggregate when, in the 56th minute, Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir gave the Portuguese winger a red card for a high challenge on Alvaro Arbeloa.

The incident had a huge effect with Real coming back to win 2-1 and qualify for the quarter-finals 3-2 on aggregate.

"I'd initially gone over to tell (the referee) Nani was looking at the ball," Giggs told Neville, with whom he played alongside at United for 19 years.

"I've gone back to my position on the edge of the box, because they've got a free kick.

"I was actually looking at the referee when he did it (showed the red card). I've never, ever experienced a shock like it on a football pitch because I just didn't expect it."

Sky Sports analyst Neville, who came through the youth ranks at United at the same time as Giggs, said he had been going to Old Trafford since he was five and had never experienced astonishment like it.

Giggs agreed saying: "It was, but the only thing I could think of was 'Right lets try and stay comnpact. Let's try and ride it out.'"

Madrid boss Jose Mourinho brought on Luka Modric after the dismissal and the Croatian equalised with a superb curling shot in the 66th minute before former United hero Cristiano Ronaldo scored what proved to be the winner three minutes later.

Giggs said Modric's excellence, as well as Nani's dismissal helped turn the tie.

"You can't really say anything about the goal; it was brilliant by Luka Modric.

"There's not a lot you can do, going down to 10 men. Carra (Michael Carrick) was in the back four and he had to come out to Modric, close him down, whereas if we'd had 11, he would have been there probably.

"Take nothing away from Modric, it was a great goal."

Giggs said that despite all the hype surrounding the occasion, playing in his 1,000th match did not mean all that much to him.

"I don't want to sound dismissive, that it didn't matter, but no, it didn't. When I retire I will look back at it and I am really proud of getting to 1,000 games but.. I just wanted it over with. That doesn't really matter to me, that stuff." — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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Female Iditarod mushers test drive ‘pee pants’

Posted: 10 Mar 2013 07:44 AM PDT

March 10, 2013

Alaska's Iditarod mushers are test driving an invention to help endurance athletes pee on the go. – shutterstock.comLOS ANGELES, March 10 – Alaska's massively popular Iditarod dog led race kicked off last weekend, and mushers and dogs alike will race 1,000 miles through the wilderness for up to 15 days. While navigating the arctic terrain is tough enough, mushers must tackle the problem of needing a bathroom break when they can't slow down their team of 16 dogs to peel off layers in freezing temperatures (a distinctly female problem) to do so.

But a North Carolina physician hopes to change that with Pee Pants, a device that was originally invented to give professionals such as flight nurses a way to relieve themselves on the job. The company contacted Iditarod racers a while back to try out the device at this year's race.

According to Anchorage Daily News, at least four mushers are testing the pants, which look like bicycle shorts with a funnel and tube that runs to a collection bag that is attached to the musher's boot.

Rookie musher Christine Roalofs says she is willing to try anything to encourage her to keep drinking water without fear of stopping for bathroom breaks, according to the report.

But the company also has its sights set on the general public, such as tailgate partiers who hate to break up the fun to trek to the restroom. "Stop letting urinary needs interrupt your life," the Pee Pants website states. But freedom from your bladder will cost US$150 (RM465.71). – AFP/Relaxnews

Chimney raised on Sistine Chapel as conclave nears

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 03:14 PM PST

March 10, 2013

A member of the fire and rescue service sets a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican March 9, 2013. — Reuters picVATICAN CITY, March 10 — Vatican workers hoisted a chimney onto the roof of the Sistine Chapel yesterday in readiness for the conclave of Roman Catholic cardinals that will elect a successor to Pope Benedict.

The conclave begins on Tuesday, with the sequestered cardinals using the chimney to tell the outside world whether or not they have chosen a new leader - black smoke signifying no decision and white smoke announcing a new pontiff.

The rust-coloured pipe was attached above the terracotta tiles of the roof of the frescoed chapel clearly visible from the nearby St Peter's Square, where traditionally thousands of believers gather to see how the secret balloting is progressing.

Although no clear favourites have emerged to take the helm of the troubled 1.2-billion-member Church, the conclave is expected to be wrapped up within just a few days.

No conclave has lasted than more than five days in the past century, with many finishing within two or three days. Pope Benedict was elected within barely 24 hours in 2005 after just four rounds of voting.

Benedict triggered the election last month with his shock decision to abdicate because of his increasingly frail health — the first pontiff to step down in six centuries.

He leaves his successor a sea of troubles — including seemingly never-ending sex abuse scandals, rivalry and strife inside the Vatican bureaucracy, a shortage of priests and a rise of secularism in its European strongholds.

Inside the chapel, workmen were carrying out the final preparations to make the room, one of the most famous in the world, ready for the conclave.

Two stoves were installed and attached to a single flue leading up to the roof. One, made of cast iron and used in every conclave since 1939, will be used to burn ballots.

The second stove is an electronic one with a key, a red start button and seven tiny temperature indicator lights. Flares will be electronically ignited inside it to send out either white or black smoke.

Workmen yesterday were also putting the finishing touches to specially built rows of tables where the cardinals will sit facing each under the gaze of Jesus in Michelangelo's massive Last Judgment panel on the wall behind the altar.

Nearly 150 red-capped cardinals held a sixth day of preliminary meetings, known as "general congregations", yesterday to discuss the many challenges besieging their Church and to sketch the ideal profile of the next pope.

Some 115 of their number — all those aged under 80 — will enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to start the formal voting process. One ballot will be held on the first day, with four votes a day thereafter until one of their number receives a two-thirds majority, or 77 votes.

The names of several possible front runners have been mentioned by church officials ever since Benedict's resignation.

Amongst the most mentioned are Italy's Angelo Scola, Brazil's Odilo Pedro Scherer and Canada's Marc Ouellet. US cardinals such as Timothy Dolan or Sean O'Malley have also been cited as "papabile".

With the vast majority of Catholics now living outside Europe, there is growing pressure for a pontiff from another part of the world.

Many Vatican observers believe a Latin American, Asian or African pope could bring attention to the poverty of the southern hemisphere in the same way the Polish-born John Paul put a spotlight on the East-West divide.

"I think it is important to have someone who comes from a place where the Church is dynamic and lively," South Africa Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier told La Stampa newspaper in an interview published yesterday.

"I believe the choice of candidates will be much longer than it was in 2005," added Napier, who has himself been tipped in some quarters as a possible pontiff. — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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Moscow’s ornate metro springs a leak in hit movie

Posted: 10 Mar 2013 03:08 AM PDT

March 10, 2013

A scene from "Metro," a disaster movie that pictures what might happen if Moscow's metro system sprung a leak from the Moscow River flowing above it and a speeding train crashed into a wall of water. — AFP picMOSCOW, March 10 — As Moscow's legendary chandeliered underground fills with water, thousands of terrified commuters flee through flooded tunnels in a disaster movie that has topped Russia's box office.

The film, titled simply "Metro", depicts what might happen if Moscow's Stalin-era underground system, which last year carried more than two billion passengers, sprung a leak from the Moscow River flowing above it and a speeding train crashed into a wall of water.

Filmed in a genuine metro system — albeit in the Volga city of Samara, not Moscow — the film looks disturbingly realistic, from the boxy blue carriages to the clunky monitoring equipment that simply loses all contact with the train.

"Can you imagine what's going on down there?" asks one petrified employee.

The film topped Russia's box office in its first weekend, comprehensively beating action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger's comeback movie "The Last Stand". It has now earned US$9.7 million (RM30.1 million), according to preliminary figures released by Variety Russia magazine.

The film's budget totalled US$13 million, including a US$6 million grant from a state fund designed to promote national cinema.

The real Moscow metro is rich with legend, from the giant cockroaches that allegedly roam its tunnels to secret lines said to lead from the Kremlin. Its ornate decor includes talismans such as the bronze dog at the central Revolution Square station whose nose has been rubbed bright by constant pats for luck.

Muscovites associate recent genuine horrors with the metro, including deadly suicide bombings in 2004 and 2010 as well as a harrowing accident in 2006 in which a pile being driven into the ground for an advertising hoarding pierced through a shallow tunnel.

Well-heeled Muscovites make a point of never descending into the metro -- even though that means sitting in traffic jams for hours on end.

The film plays on latent fears about the crumbling network, but the director dismissed the idea that it could upset survivors of militant bombings.

"You see, if you argue like that, we couldn't make World War II movies, we couldn't make any films because they will always somehow touch people who had the experience," said director Anton Megerdichev at a press conference.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, Moscow metro's management were not keen on the film, banning the crew from filming in its stations. Undeterred, production was moved to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, only for a deadly metro bombing to strike there in April 2011 as the crew were due to start filming.

Finally they went to Samara, around 1,050 kilometres south of Moscow, whose little-used metro system proved only too authentic.

"The most interesting thing is that it's wet. It drips everywhere, we didn't need to add any computer graphics. They constantly mop and wipe those stations, so basically it was perfect for us," the director said jokingly.

The film stars Sergei Puskepalis, best known for his lead role in 2010 BFI London Film Festival winner "How I Ended Last Summer".

He plays a surgeon taking his daughter to school on the metro who finds himself in the same carriage as his wife's lover, a go-getting property developer, who has descended reluctantly into the network, having been stuck in a giant traffic jam above ground.

"Can I charge my mobile phone anywhere?" he asks one bewildered plebeian passenger.

The plot centres on the doctor's rivalry with the smart-suited but brutal lover, who casually chucks a Yorkshire terrier into the rising water around their metro carriage to check whether the live rail is switched on.

But the film's real star is the water: all nine tonnes of it, which slops around a dark tunnel, sometimes rising in giant waves, sometimes reaching almost to the ceiling.

Russian critics hailed the film as a rare attempt to make a homegrown disaster movie, a Hollywood genre that has barely hit Russian screens since the 1979 Soviet film "Air Crew".

"Russian cinema has broken through," Vedomosti business daily headlined its review.

"Metro is an amazingly well-crafted film, with every stage of the catastrophe well founded and constant moments of suspense -- oh God, when the water reaches the live rail!" wrote Afisha magazine. — AFP-Relaxnews

Hasselbeck to leave ‘The View’?

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 11:52 PM PST

March 10, 2013

Hasselbeck (right) began her television career as a contestant on the CBS reality series 'Survivor' in 2001. – Reuters pic

LOS ANGELES, March 10 — Television commentator Elisabeth Hasselbeck will not return to daytime television talk show "The View" once its current season ends in August, according to multiple US media reports yesterday.

US Weekly magazine first reported that Hasselbeck was leaving the show. An unnamed source told the magazine's website that she did not attract enough viewers and that her contract would not be renewed.

Deadline.com and the Hollywood Reporter also reported Hasselbeck's departure, citing unnamed sources.

ABC released a statement saying only that Hasselbeck "is a valued member of 'The View' and has a long-term contract."

Her agent did not return calls for comment on the reports.

Hasselbeck, 35, joined the long-running women-oriented talk show in 2003 and is an outspoken conservative, often clashing with former co-host and liberal Rosie O'Donnell.

Co-host Joy Behar, who has been with the program since its debut in 1997, said on Thursday that she would leave the show after the season.

Hasselbeck and Behar host the show alongside veteran TV journalist Barbara Walters, actress Whoopi Goldberg and actress-comedienne Sherri Shepherd.

Hasselbeck, who is married to former pro football quarterback and ESPN commentator Tim Hasselbeck, began her television career as a contestant on the CBS reality series "Survivor" in 2001.

ABC is owned by Walt Disney Co. – Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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Mamat Khalid dan muzik rock

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 04:11 PM PST

March 10, 2013

Meor Yusof Aziddin adalah Malaysian folk singer/songwritter yang telah menghasilkan 10 album indipenden sejak tahun 2000 sehingga 2011. Juga penulis untuk buku tentang kehidupan, "Sembang Tepi Jalan" dan "Syurga Yang Hilang." Memblog di www.pestajiwa.net. Berkerjaya sebagai "professional busker" di KL Sentral di bawah pengurusan KTMB sejak tahun 2010 sehingga ke hari ini.

10 MAC — Anda sudah menonton filem terbaru Mamat Khalid "Rock Oo!"? Ramai kawan yang bercerita tentang filem ini dan ramai yang menyukainya. Tahun ini memang tahun Mamat Khalid. Filem lawaknya yang baru ditayangkan untuk tahun 2013, "Husin, Mon & Jin Pakai Toncit" berjaya mengaut RM4 juta sepanjang seminggu ditayangkan.

Jika kita menonton filem "Almost Famous" yang diterbitkan pada tahun 2000 arahan Cameroon Crowe juga filem Rockstar ( 2001 ) arahan Stephen Herek, boleh lah kita kata filem "Rock Oo!" ada persamaan dari segi mood dan mimpi anak-anak muda yang bercita-cita mahu menjadi rockstar.

Mamat Khalid atau nama sebenarnya Mohamad bin Mohamad Khalid adalah pengarah filem dan penulis lakon layar kelahiran Ipoh, Perak yang berpengaruh di negara ini. Filem-filem komedi arahannya banyak yang meletup dan bertaraf box-office. Komen-komennya yang berkualiti dan bijak di program Maharaja Lawak sentiasa ditunggu peminat.

Berbalik tentang filem terbaru Mamat "Rock Oo!", ramai kawan yang suka filem tersebut sebab kami membesar di zaman kegemilangan Rock 80an dan 90an dulu. Itu antara musim yang paling menarik bagi anak-anak muda yang berambut panjang, seluar ketat dengan jaket kulit.

Kalau ada konsert atau pertandingan rock atau Battle of the Band waktu itu, berduyun-duyun mat rock kental datang dengan bas dari kampung untuk menuju ke pekan Ipoh. Memang meriah zaman itu.

Kalau di Perak, band rock yang popular seperti SYJ, Sofea dan MAY. Kalau di Johor itulah seperti Search dan Left-Handed.

Kalau di Perak juga, tempat lepak mat rock yang terkenal adalah di Ipoh. Lokasinya di Bazaar Bulat atau Plaza Yik Foong yang lokasinya berdekatan dengan kompleks Super Kinta. Kebanyakan anak muda waktu itu akan berbangga dengan gelaran mat rock.

Maka ramailah mat-mat rock dari kampung yang datang ke Kuala Lumpur berbekalkan cita-cita untuk menjadi pemuzik rock yang merakamkan lagu ke piring hitam. Ada yang hampa dan ada yang berjaya. Untuk hidup di Kuala Lumpur mereka bekerja di kilang-kilang sambil memasang impian.

Kumpulan muzik rock era baru tidak ada aura, karisma dan mistik. Itu komen pemuzik Gene Simmons ( pemain bass kumpulan KISS). Kalau kita lihat band-band rock 70an dunia seperti Purple, Led Zep, Iron Maiden dan Black Sabbath antaranya, karisma dan nilai mistik yang ada dalam diri dan lagu-lagu mereka saja sudah cukup membuat para peminat histeria dan menjerit-jerit tatkala kumpulan muzik pujaan mereka beraksi di atas pentas.

Saya juga peminat muzik rock dari dulu sampai sekarang. Cuma bagi saya era terbaik adalah era rock 70an. Cuma saya tidaklah terikut dengan imej rock. Dalam rock ada banyak cabang dan alirannya, saya sukakan kumpulan muzik yang ada elemen progresif, psychedelic, folk dan blues dan ada elemen punk juga seperti band King Crimson, Yes, Rush, Pink Floyd, Queen, Styx, Alan Parsons Project, Police, Iron Butterfly, Emerson, Lake & Palmer antaranya.

Biasanya dalam satu-satu kumpulan rock , yang paling popular adalah penyanyi dan pemain gitar utama. Yang selalu buat masalah pun mereka inilah. Cuma di Malaysia dalam kumpulan rock,hanya penyanyi saja yang popular, pemuzik lain agak tidak penting sebab kalau penyanyi beralih ke solo, mereka masih boleh menggunakan khidmat pemuzik undangan.

Karya Mamat Khalid pertama yang saya tonton adalah tele-movie arahannya yang disiarkan di NTV7 tahun 2000 dulu yang judulnya "Mat Nor Kushairi & The Velvet Boys" lakonan Bront Palarae dan Along Kamaruddin. Apa yang saya perhatikan beliau memang menitikberatkan tentang karakter watak-watak dalam karyanya.

Seperti pertama kali saya ketawa pecah perut tatkala menonton filem arahan Tan Sri P. Ramlee. "Seniman Bujang Lapuk" di TV awal tahun 80an dulu, begitulah juga bila saya menonton drama "Mat Nor Kushairi& The Velvet Boys".

Kita boleh lihat watak-watak ciptaannya yang unik dan menghiburkan dalam setiap karyanya. Yang paling menonjol antaranya watak Usop Wilca dalam filem box office nya Hantu Kak Limah yang berjaya mencecah kutipan 7.9 juta sepanjang tayangan di Pawagam.

Ini mengingatkan saya tentang filem-filem arahan pengarah filem Jepun yang terkenal dan bertaraf legenda , Akira Kurosawa ( lahir 23 Mac 1910 dan meninggal dunia pada 6 September 1998 ).

Kita boleh tonton watak-watak yang menarik lakonan para pelakonnya yang hebat seperti Toshiro Mifune. Antara filem-filem Kurosawa yang menarik bagi saya seperti Ran, Seven Samurai, Rashumon dan filem samurainya, Yojimbo juga Sanjuro.

Menariknya walau watak pelakon tambahan sekali pun tanpa dialog, karakter dan penghayatan mereka walau dalam babak tak sampai 30 saat pun sangat berkesan. Itulah istimewanya hasil karya Kurosawa.

Saya adalah peminat lakonan pelakon legenda Jepun, Toshiro Mifune. Beliau adalah seorang pelakon yang ada karakter yang bagi saya taraf hebatnya sama dengan legenda filem Hollywood Marlon Brando.

Kalau di Malaysia pelakon yang ada karakter yang saya salut itulah seperti pelakon-pelakon di Jalan Ampas antaranya Ahmad Nisfu, Udo Umar, Nordin Ahmad. Kalau di era 70an saya suka lakonan Ahmad Yatim dan Khalid Salleh. Untuk era masa kini saya rasa Namron dan Faizal Hussein adalah antara yang terbaik. Filem lakonan mereka Bunohan banyak menggondol anugerah di Festival Filem Malaysia yang ke-25 (FFM 25)yang berlangsung baru-baru ini.

Drama atau filem-filem arahan Mamat Khalid dari segi idea dan trademarknya sama saja. Kita boleh tahu itu filem Mamat Khalid. Seperti kita lihat teknik permainan gitar Malmsteen , dari album pertamanya sampailah ke album yang seterusnya memang sound dan gayanya sama, tapi adakah kita punya idea dan mampu melakukannya dan bermain seperti beliau?

Seperkara, selain "timing" yang sesuai, memang ini era Mamat Khalid dan beliau memang berhak mendapat gelaran pengarah yang ada "style". Filem arahan beliau ada elemen "rugged" dan itu yang membezakan filem lawak arahan Mamat Khalid dengan filem lawak Melayu yang lain.

Seperti para pelakon hebat sepeti Brat Pitt yang berbangga dapat berlakon di bawah arahan pengarah Quentin Tarantino tanpa berkira pasal bayaran, begitu juga saya melihat ramai pelakon kita juga sanggup berlakon di bawah arahan Mamat Khalid tanpa berkira sangat soal bayaran yang tinggi sesuai dengan standard mereka.

* Ini adalah pandangan peribadi penulis

Ambil iktibar disebalik insiden Lahad Datu

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 04:06 PM PST

March 10, 2013

Markus works in research now but was a journalist with Utusan Malaysia

10 MAC ― Insiden pencerobohan kumpulan bersenjata dari selatan Filipina pada 9 Februari lalu di Lahad Datu, Sabah nyata satu kejutan besar kepada semua rakyat Malaysia.

Bukan sahaja ia merobek segala mitos bahawa Malaysia merupakan sebuah negara yang selamat bahkan juga mendedahkan betapa rapuhnya kawalan keselamatan di kawasan sempadan dan perairan.

Insiden itu bagaikan satu "wake up call" buat pasukan keselamatan negara. Ia memberi satu mesej jelas kepada pasukan keselamatan bahawa bahaya ada sahaja di mana-mana dan boleh berlaku pada bila-bila masa.

Lebih penting lagi, insiden berkenaan juga menguji kemampuan pasukan keselamatan negara seperti polis dan angkatan tentera untuk berhadapan dengan situasi genting sebegini.

Syukur, selepas lima hari Ops Daulat dilaksanakan, pasukan keselamatan berjaya membunuh 53 anggota penceroboh manakala anggota polis yang terkorban dalam pertempuran masih kekal pada 8 orang.

Operasi mopping dan penggeledahan yang dilakukan oleh PDRM dan ATM menampakkan hasil memberangsangkan biarpun dilaporkan perlahan. Harus diingat musuh yang ditentang itu bukan calang-calang musuh. Sebaliknya, mereka adalah anggota-anggota pejuang yang sudah begitu masak dengan keadaan persekitaran di Sabah.

Serangan yang dilancarkan oleh kumpulan penceroboh terhadap pasukan keselamatan negara nampaknya bukan berlaku secara kebetulan. Tetapi dipercayai kumpulan berkenaan sudah pun merancang serangan jauh lebih awal.

Mujur mereka yang menceroboh hanyalah dalam lingkungan ratusan tetapi jika bilangan itu mencecah ribuan, ia akan mengundang masalah besar buat pasukan keselamatan negara. Strategi yang diguna pakai sekarang mungkin perlu diubah.

Apabila kedengaran segelintir pemimpin politik mempertikaikan sumbangan pasukan keselamatan dalam krisis di Lahad Datu, ia sesuatu yang cukup dikesali. Jelas perbuatan mereka tidak kena pada tempat dan masa. Ia juga tidak sensitif kepada perasaan anggota keluarga pasukan keselamatan yang terkorban.

Yang pastinya, ini bukanlah masanya terbaik untuk menuding jari dan menuduh pihak tertentu mendalangi pencerobohan dengan harapan untuk meraih undi simpati. Memang benar Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 bakal diadakan pada bila-bila masa dari sekarang, tetapi janganlah ada yang sanggup menggadai maruah untuk melakukan sesuatu yang merendahkan martabat diri.

Apa yang lebih penting sekarang ialah untuk mencari kebenaran serta punca bagaimanakah pencerobohan tersebut boleh berlaku serta langkah-langkah untuk mengatasi masalah itu.

Langkah ini perlu bagi mengelakkan berulangnya tuntutan kewilayahan seperti mana yang didesak oleh Sultan Sulu. Jika hari ini, Sultan Sulu boleh menuntut Filipina, apakah selepas ini Thailand pula akan menuntut negeri-negeri Utara di Semenanjung? Apakah reaksi kita juga sama seperti kes lain?

Kita perlu belajar dari sejarah. Melalui sejarahlah, kita mempelajari kesilapan kita dan berubah menjadi seorang yang lebih matang dan kuat. Perkara yang sama harus diaplikasikan dalam isu pencerobohan kumpulan bersenjata di Lahad Datu ini.

Kita tidak boleh ambil remeh terhadap pencerobohan kumpulan bersenjata Sulu ini. Biarpun anggota mereka tidak banyak, tetapi kemampuannya untuk membunuh 8 anggota polis semasa pertempuran bukti musuh ini cukup berbahaya.

Pasukan keselamatan negara harus bersedia untuk berhadapan dengan ancaman musuh yang jauh lebih hebat daripada kumpulan Sulu itu di masa hadapan. Untuk itu, mereka harus dipersiapkan dengan kemahiran peperangan dan senjata yang lebih canggih.

Di pihak rakyat Malaysia pula, mereka tidak boleh terlalu yakin dan berpandangan bahawa segala-galanya adalah baik. Kecenderungan untuk kebanyakan rakyat Malaysia berfikir bahawa Malaysia sebuah negara bertuah dan tidak akan berlaku apa-apa bencana adalah tidak bertempat. Malapetaka boleh menimpa ketika kita tidak menyedarinya. Rakyat di negara ini seharusnya lebih peka dan bersiap-siaga untuk berhadapan dengan sebarang kemungkinan.

Ancaman musuh terhadap negara selepas ini tidak semestinya hadir dalam bentuk senjata api atau pencerobohan. Berkemungkinan besar ia hadir dalam bentuk yang lebih halus dan secara tidak langsung. Inilah yang ditunggu-tunggukan oleh musuh.

Insiden pencerobohan di Lahad Datu turut memberi pengajaran kepada pasukan keselamatan negara untuk lebih bersedia dan meningkatkan kesiapsiagaan ke tahap maksimum di masa hadapan. Dalam erti kata lain, sentiasa berwaspada dengan segala ancaman yang timbul baik di kawasan perairan, darat mahupun udara. Tingkatkan kawalan dan pengawasan sepanjang masa. Jangan biarkan musuh-musuh kita memasuki negara ini tanpa kita sedari.

Insiden pencerobohan di Lahad Datu ini adalah peringatan penting kepada pasukan keselamatan negara, rakyat dan pemimpin negara ini bahawa ancaman musuh boleh berlaku sepanjang masa. Terpulanglah kepada kita untuk memastikan kedaulatan negara tidak terancam.

* Ini pandangan peribadi penulis.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Ahad, 10 Mac 2013