Workers labour in Maracana Stadium, which is undergoing renovation for the 2014 World Cup, in Rio de Janeiro April 26, 2013. — Reuters picRIO DE JANEIRO, April 26 — For the first time in two-and-a-half years, a ball will be kicked at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium tomorrow after an almost complete makeover which many fear will cost the spiritual home of Brazilian football its popular appeal.
The 900 million reais (RM1.36 million) refurbishment has been dogged by delays, labour disputes and protests and the controversy is set to drag on long after Saturday's exhibition match between teams led by former Brazil forwards Ronaldo and Bebeto.
The new stadium will be reduced to around two fifths of its original capacity while plans to build a shopping centre and car park alongside at the expense of an existing sports complex have led to a judicial battle and fears of elitism.
Furthermore, only the interior is completely finished as workers race against the clock to complete the paving and landscaping of the surrounding area in time for the June 2 friendly between Brazil and England, the first official match.
"This re-opening represents the return of football to Rio de Janeiro," former Brazil playmaker Zico, one of the country's finest players, told Reuters. "During this period that the Maracana was shut, the Cariocas felt like orphans."
LEGAL QUAGMIRE
The Maracana, built for the 1950 World Cup, will take centre stage again when Brazil hosts the competition for a second time next year. The final is among the seven matches scheduled to be played at the famous arena.
It will also be one of six venues for the Confederations Cup in June which is regarded as a test event.
Soccer's governing body FIFA had demanded that the stadium be ready last December, but various problems have delayed the opening by nearly five months. Even now, there is still a lot of work to be done.
The area outside the stadium has still to be paved while remodelling of the rest of the complex will only be completed next year, provided it does not get bogged down in a legal quagmire
A shopping centre and car park will be built on the site of the athletics stadium and Olympic-sized swimming pool, prompting athletes who use the facilities for training to accuse authorities of elitism.
The public attorney's office attempted to suspend the tendering process for the work, because of the demolition of the facilities as well as a local school plus a neighbouring building which houses indigenous groups.
However, the Brazilian government won an injunction allowing the process to continue and is expected to announce the winning bid in the next few days.
ARBITRARY DEMOLTIONS
"There are a number of arbitrary demolitions......which destroy the character of a complex which serves sport, leisure, culture, health and education of the population," said Gustavo Mehl, representing a local pressure group.
"(It) transforms the Maracana into a type of shopping centre, aimed at tourists and the richer classes of the population,"
It is the third and by the most complete refurbishment of the stadium since 1999 and only the outside shell, protected by a preservation order, remains of the original stadium.
Inside, the two-tiered circular stadium has been replaced by a single-tier oval which will hold 78,000 fans, well short of the 200,000 crowd reported to have seen the final match at the 1950 World Cup.
During the stadium's closure, Rio de Janeiro's top-flight teams have been forced to stage home games at the inconveniently located Joao Havelange stadium and attendances have slumped.
Flamengo have suffered the most as their average home attendance was slashed from around 40,000 in 2009 to 12,000 last year.
The small businesses around the stadium have also been hit and are worried that a new shopping centre would steal their customers.
"I thought about closing," said David Pontes, owner of a so-called "Dirty Foot", or hole-in-the-wall, bar near the stadium.
"The Maracana has always supported our family but things will never be the same." added Pontes, who has seen his turnover slump by 80 per cent.
"Even when it re-opens, it will be a different public. Who will come to a Dirty Foot bar if the Maracana itself is full of restaurants and bars?"
"It will become a rich person's playground." — Reuters
Manchester United's manager Alex Ferguson celebrates after his team clinched the English Premier League soccer title with a win against Aston Villa at Old Trafford in Manchester, northern England, April 22, 2013. — Reuters picLONDON, April 26 — Tottenham Hotspur should be the club feeling the most reassured by Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson's promise today that the Premier League champions will not be putting their feet up for the rest of the season.
Over the next two weekends, United face Arsenal and Chelsea, the two clubs locked in a tight battle with Spurs for Champions League berths.
"Having won the league, there's always a danger of falling into the trap of 'it's all over and we can relax' and enjoy ourselves but I think we've got a duty to other clubs who are chasing Champions League places," Ferguson told a news conference.
"Also, the rivalry we've had with Arsenal and then Chelsea over the years does put an edge to these games anyway so hopefully we'll represent ourselves in the right way."
His side travel to third-placed Arsenal on Sunday, where Arsene Wenger's side will form a guard of honour for them, and then host fourth-placed Chelsea the following weekend at their Old Trafford ground where they secured a 20th title this week.
With last year's champions Manchester City closing in on the runners-up spot, it leaves two Champions League places for the chasing pack of Arsenal on 63 points, Chelsea on 62 and Spurs on 61. Arsenal have played a game more than the other two.
Everton, on 56, are mathematically, if rather unrealistically, also involved.
POINTS RECORD
Ferguson said he would field a strong side for the trip to north London, where top scorer Robin van Persie could face boos from fans at his former club.
"We have a few bumps and bruises from the other night but it is hopefully nothing serious and I expect to have a strong side on Sunday," Ferguson said.
Motivation also comes from the record points total that United are still chasing and they know if they win their four remaining matches they would surpass the mark of 95 set by Chelsea in 2004-05.
Van Persie, whose hat-trick against Aston Villa on Monday secured the 3-0 victory that clinched the championship, also has a second successive golden boot in his sights as he tops the scoring chart with 24 league goals.
Luis Suarez, his closest rival with 23, will not play again this season after the Liverpool striker accepted a 10-match ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic, giving Van Persie the opportunity to run away with it.
Ferguson said he was pleased Wenger had followed tradition with his decision to form a guard of honour and that he was not worried about what sort of reception Van Persie might get.
"I don't think Robin should bother about it either," he said.
"There was some booing of him when he played against Arsenal at Old Trafford and I think you probably expect a portion of the fans will do that. But that's the modern generation and modern society, I'm afraid." — Reuters
Actor Debbi Morgan has her makeup done by lead makeup artist Julia Davis before the filming of the soap opera "All My Children" in Stamford, Connecticut April 15, 2013. — Reuters picLOS ANGELES, April 26 — The biggest drama in soap operas these days isn't who's cheating, fighting amnesia, or waking up from a coma. It's whether the backstabbing and love triangles that hooked afternoon TV viewers will work on the Internet.
In a bold wager to revive cancelled ABC soaps "All My Children" and "One Life to Live," a pair of Hollywood veterans are taking the 40-year-old dramas online, remaking them for lifelong fans and a younger, Internet-savvy audience.
Starting Monday, new 30-minute episodes will appear each Monday through Thursday on the free Hulu.com website and the paid monthly subscription service Hulu Plus. Fans can also buy episodes in Apple Inc's iTunes store.
The producers, former Walt Disney Co TV chairman Rich Frank and talent management veteran Jeff Kwatinetz, hope to ride a wave of interest in first-run series online, highlighted by the recent buzz for Netflix original drama "House of Cards" and its coming revival of one-time Fox comedy "Arrested Development."
The trick will be to entice the soaps' older and not always Internet-savvy viewers while luring a younger crowd with faster-paced storylines, modern music and contemporary actors next to the shows' long-time stars.
"The challenge and opportunity for them," says Stephanie Stopulos, digital director for media buying firm Starcom USA, "is how to continue to engage the people that are so passionate about it, and also use it as an opportunity to grow."
To beckon new viewers, the producers cast "Jersey Shore" star Jenni "Jwoww" Farley as a bartender on "One Life to Live." Paula Garces from the wacky "Harold & Kumar" movie franchise has joined "All My Children." Snoop Lion, previously known as rapper Snoop Dogg, wrote and sings on the theme song for "One Life to Live," and will play himself in some episodes. He made cameo appearances when the show was on ABC.
The soaps' rebirth will test whether older-skewing audiences will migrate online, and reverse a trend that has seen viewership decline by more than one-third since 2000. When it ended its TV run, "All My Children" attracted an average audience of 2.5 million viewers with a median age of 57, according to Nielsen data provided by Horizon Media.
To appeal to both older and younger viewers, the online soaps will have the same suspense, heartbreak and betrayal, though plots will move quickly and avoid the more outlandish storylines from the soap operas of the past, Kwatinetz says.
The shows "won't be bringing people back from the dead," he says. "There won't be people rescued from aliens. The stories are grounded, the storytelling is quicker paced. It's more relevant."
The online soaps need to attract new generations to survive long term, says syndicated columnist Lynda Hirsch, who has written about soaps for more than 30 years. "You can't have your base die off," she says. "You've got to get younger people."
"All My Children" and "One Life to Live," once hour-long afternoon dramas, were stalwarts in what Time magazine once called "TV's richest market." The big advertising dollars from the daytime soaps supported prime time schedules during their heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, when Luke and Laura's 1981 wedding on "General Hospital" attracted a massive 30 million viewers on ABC.
Soaps thrived because they had a lock on one of TV's most sought-after demographics, stay-at-home moms, who couldn't get enough of the hunky doctors, evil twins and juicy cliff-hangers. As the numbers of women in the workforce increased, soap operas' popularity faded, the audience aged, and network executives had trouble making the economics work.
In April 2011, Disney-owned ABC announced it was cancelling "All My Children" and "One Life to Live." At the time, producers Frank and Kwatinetz were building a studio called Prospect Park with cable TV hits "Royal Pains" and "Wilfred," and taking note of online video's growing popularity.
Internet distribution offered a direct route to younger viewers in the 18-to-34 demographic, a group that watches video whenever they choose on cell phones and tablets. Having episodes on demand also meant viewers didn't need to be home during the day, or to even be near a television, to catch up.
Prospect Park is backed by funding from private equity firm ABRY Partners. The studio will receive a majority of the ad revenue collected from episodes on Hulu, a person familiar with the arrangement said, and a per centage of the sales from iTunes. Content providers typically keep 70 per cent of iTunes sales.
Each soap has its own Facebook page splashed with glitzy, Vanity Fair-style cast photos, and they have already registered more than 1 million "likes" combined. Stars tweet and field questions via video chats. The studio is also running print, television and radio promotions, including an ad in Parade magazine, a weekly that draws readers over age 50.
Soap expert Hirsch believes fans will embrace the shows, if they understand the new platform. Some long-time viewers don't realize they can watch for free on Hulu.com, she said. "There is so much confusion. No matter how many times you write this, they are not getting it." — Reuters
LONDON, April 26 —After News Corp splits later this year, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch's total target compensation will rise 15 per cent, according to a regulatory filing today.
News Corp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch'The increase in compensation coincides with News Corp's planned separation of its publishing assets such as The Wall Street Journal and Times of London from its entertainment properties like Fox Broadcasting. Murdoch will be chairman of both companies.
The increase is based entirely on Murdoch's performance and long-term opportunity targets.
At News Corp — the new name of the publishing company — Murdoch will receive an annual base salary of US$1 million (RM3.1 million) as well as a performance-based bonus and long-term equity incentives with a combined target of US$4 million.
At the entertainment company, which will be known as 21st Century Fox, Murdoch's total compensation target is US$23.3 million. That package includes a base salary of US$7.1 million, a target bonus of US$10.5 million and target long-term incentive opportunity of US$5.7 million. He will also be chief executive there.
For the year ending in June, Murdoch's target total direct compensation is US$24.6 million. He stands to make a total of US$28.3 million during the next fiscal year. — Reuters
Heavy use of Roundup has been linked to a range of health problems and diseases. - Reuters file picNEW YORK, April 26 — Heavy use of the world's most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson's, infertility and cancers, according to a new study.
The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of "glyphosate," the chief ingredient in Roundup weed killer, which is sprayed over millions of acres of crops, has been found in food.
Those residues enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease, according to the report, authored by Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant from Arthur D. Little, Inc. Samsel is a former private environmental government contractor as well as a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body," the study says.
We "have hit upon something very important that needs to be taken seriously and further investigated," Seneff said.
Environmentalists, consumer groups and plant scientists from several countries have warned that heavy use of glyphosate is causing problems for plants, people and animals.
The EPA is conducting a standard registration review of glyphosate and has set a deadline of 2015 for determining if glyphosate use should be limited. The study is among many comments submitted to the agency.
Monsanto is the developer of both Roundup herbicide and a suite of crops that are genetically altered to withstand being sprayed with the Roundup weed killer.
These biotech crops, including corn, soybeans, canola and sugarbeets, are planted on millions of acres in the United States annually. Farmers like them because they can spray Roundup weed killer directly on the crops to kill weeds in the fields without harming the crops.
Roundup is also popularly used on lawns, gardens and golf courses.
Monsanto and other leading industry experts have said for years that glyphosate is proven safe, and has a less damaging impact on the environment than other commonly used chemicals.
Jerry Steiner, Monsanto's executive vice president of sustainability, reiterated that in a recent interview when questioned about the study.
"We are very confident in the long track record that glyphosate has. It has been very, very extensively studied," he said.
Of the more than two dozen top herbicides on the market, glyphosate is the most popular. In 2007, as much as 185 million pounds of glyphosate was used by US farmers, double the amount used six years ago, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data. — Reuters
Brits are bananas for their favourite fruit. — AFP-Relaxnews picLONDON, April 26 —When it comes to the most popular fruit in the UK, it's not an apple, peach, pear, or even a plum.
According to a survey of 1,000 Brits, the most popular fresh fruit snack is the portable, eater-friendly banana, which got 40 per cent of the vote.
Runners-up included apples, which was named the favourite fruit for 23 per cent of respondents, followed by pears, oranges and plums.
The survey was carried out by fruit delivery service Fruitdrop in the UK.
In their report last year on snacking trends in the US, market research company The NPD Group found that fresh fruit emerged as the most popular snack food among American consumers, followed by chocolate and chips.
The biggest consumers of fresh fruit in the US are those aged 65 and older, followed by children under 12.
Meanwhile, a recently released study out of Cornell University found that American kids ate more fruit such as apples when it was served to them pre-sliced.
Findings showed that cut-up fruit was seen as easier to eat for younger students with smaller mouths and missing or loose teeth, while for older girls, eating whole fruits in front of others was seen as messy and potentially embarrassing. — AFP-Relaxnews
GEORGE TOWN, 26 April — Rowena Yam, calon Barisan Nasional (BN) bagi kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Pulau Tikus menggabungkan pengalamannya sebagai peguam dan penyelaras DUN bagi menghadapi saingan daripada pencabarnya Yap Soo Huey dari DAP.
Kedua-duanya adalah muka baharu dalam pilihan raya ini dan masing-masing mengakui bersaing hebat bagi memikat hati pengundi.
Rowena, 44, berkelulusan Ijazah Undang-undang dari Universiti Wolverhampton United Kingdom, yakin pengalamannya sebagai peguam selama 19 tahun memberi keyakinan kepada beliau untuk berucap dan berdialog dengan orang ramai.
"Ini adalah satu peluang yang akan digunakan sebaik mungkin untuk membuktikan bahawa wanita mampu membuat perubahan dalam landskap politik," katanya ketika ditemui di sini.
Rowena yang juga Ketua Wanita BN Pulau Pinang itu berkata, beliau belajar untuk berkhidmat sebagai wakil rakyat apabila dilantik sebagai penyelaras DUN sejak tiga tahun lepas.
"Ia adalah sangat penting untuk mengenali penduduk dan berkhidmat terlebih dahulu sebab rekod anda akan menjadi penentu sama ada boleh membuat kerja atau tidak," kata ibu kepada dua orang anak itu.
Bagi Yap, 30, yang juga Naib Ketua Dapsy, walaupun masih bujang dan baru dalam politik, beliau yakin mampu melakukan yang terbaik untuk berkhidmat kepada rakyat kerana minatnya dalam politik bermula sejak beliau masih remaja.
Katanya sebagai Pegawai Sains dan Teknologi yang berkhidmat di bawah pentadbiran kerajaan negeri, beliau gemarkan sesuatu yang mencabar dan yakin ia memberi kelebihan untuk berhadapan dengan rakyat dan menyelesaikan masalah mereka.
DUN Pulau Tikus mempunyai 17,936 pengundi dan 54 peratus daripadanya adalah pengundi wanita.
Pada PRU 12, calon DAP Koay Teng Hai mengalahkan calon BN Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan dengan majoriti 1,714 undi. – Bernama
BESUT, 26 April — Calon Barisan Nasional bagi kawasan Parlimen Besut Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh mengingatkan rakyat Terengganu agar tidak mengulangi kesilapan pada tahun 1999 yang menyaksikan negeri ini jatuh ke tangan PAS.
Beliau berkata ini kerana selepas memenangi pilihan raya umum ke-11 (PRU11)PAS telah melakukan pelbagai kemungkaran, penganiayaan dan bersikap tamak sehingga 2004.
"Tidakkah rakyat Terengganu ingat di mana pemimpin PAS berebut-rebut kawasan balak termasuk menerokai tanah kosong untuk ahli-ahlinya serta tidak mengotakan janji yang telah dibuat mereka," katanya semasa berucap pada lebih 150 penduduk Perumahan Taman Teratur di sini hari ini.
Idris yang juga bekas menteri besar berkata sejarah itu pasti akan berulang jika kuasa pemerintahan diberikan lagi kepada PAS kerana perjuangan mereka bukan untuk membangunkan Terengganu tetapi untuk membolot segala kemewahan yang ada di Terengganu.
"Sebab itulah ketika berceramah, calon-calon pembangkang tidak pernah memberitahu tentang rancangan masa depan mereka tetapi asyik menuduh calon-calon Barisan Nasional dengan tomahan dan fitnah yang tidak benar bagi menimbulkan kebencian rakyat kepada pemerintah," katanya.
Idris yang juga Pengerusi Mara berkata kerajaan mempunyai banyak rancangan pembangunan untuk dilaksanakan sekiranya terus diberi mandat pada PRU13. – Bernama
Zan Azlee is a documentary filmmaker, journalist, writer, New Media practitioner and lecturer. He runs Fat Bidin Media www.fatbidin.com
APRIL 26 — It's a week into the official campaign period and following the candidates around their constituencies has started to take its toll on me.
My beautiful Converse shoes are now caked in mud and fishy water due to walking in pasar malams, and not to mention the fields during ceramah nights.
I've also had to avoid rotten eggs being thrown from fanatic party supporters and have had to endure threats from local party leaders.
And I might have some hearing damage due to the unsporting behaviour of other supporters who play loud patriotic music during an opposition candidate's ceramahs.
Aside from that, it's been a blast!
One thing that struck me is the unique way different politicians have when it comes to campaigning. It's almost like auteurship.
Writers have individual styles when they write, painters have their own styles when they paint, and film-makers have their own way of directing.
So it's only fair that we allow politicians to have their own styles which they think can appeal to the public and help them garner votes.
Now in Lembah Pantai (which is where I've been all this while reporting for Astro Awani), the two candidates from BN and PR, Nurul Izzah Anwar and Raja Datuk Nong Chik Zainal Abidin, couldn't be more different.
Nurul Izzah couldn't be more people-friendly and approachable. When she visits the streets of Bangsar, people crowd around her like the paparazzi clamouring over Kate Hudson.
People approach to speak to her either to contribute words of encouragement and support or even to argue with her (her response is always polite!).
She speaks eloquently and rationally which doesn't necessarily garner a raving response from an audience, but she definitely gets her points across.
But, of course, the crowd doesn't clamour around her when she walks in areas like Bukit Bangsar which many see as a BN stronghold.
Yet, due to her approachable manner, people still smile and shake her hand when she greets them on her walkabouts.
Raja Nong Chik, on the other hand, doesn't have the same campaign strategy. He says that he prefers not to speak as his contribution to the community speaks for itself.
For someone who believes that showing oneself as a hard worker is better than just going with rhetoric, he has a group of BN youth with him everywhere he goes.
It seems as if their sole purpose is to create a large entourage that constantly cheers him on whenever he does need to speak. And boy, do they cheer loud! It even includes a lot of fist pumping and flag waving.
And people definitely do not clamour around him, neither in Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) stronghold of Bangsar, or even in his stronghold of Bukit Bangsar and Kerinchi.
So, to date, if I were to judge solely on the style of campaigning and the response from the public in Lembah Pantai, my money would be on Nurul Izzah.
That being said, there is another eight more days of campaigning before people take to the polls. A lot can happen in that time.
Haji Subky Abdul Latif seorang penulis bebas dan tinggal di Kuala Lumpur. Seorang pendiam, dia gemar meneliti perangai manusia dan berita politik di Malaysia.
26 APRIL — Kisah calon BN Parlimen Pasir Mas, Che Johan Che Pa tidak menyerahkan borang pencalonannya kepada Pegawai Pengurus Pilihan Raya adalah satu drama yang lakunannya tidak hidup.
Watak-watak yang terlibat seperti Che Johan, Pengerusi Perhubungan Umno negeri, Datuk Mustapa Mohamad, pencadang dan penyokong calon serta penyokong-penyokong Umno yang mengiring calon dilihat kaku. Lakunan itu tidak realistik.
Calon sudah ada di dewan pencalonan sehingga pukul sepuluh, waktu pencalonan ditutup dan pengumuman sudah boleh diumumkan. Calon boleh selamba, tidak menyerahkan borang pencalonan. Pencadang dan penyokong pula boleh rehat tenang tidak merasa susah hati dan cemas atas sikap calon tidak menyerahkan borangnya.
Tiada sebarang reaksi cemas, risau, marah dan sebagainya atas kejadian itu. Borang itu tidak semestinya diserahkan oleh calon. Ia boleh diserahkan oleh pencadang dan penyokong. Mengapa mereka tidak mengambil apa-apa tindakan.
Jika drama itu hidup dan realistik, penyokong dan pencadang mesti bertindak menggesa Che Johan menyerahkan borang. Jika Che Johan enggan dan mereka tidak terdaya untuk memaksa Che Johan, mereka boleh keluar dewan memberitahu penyokong Umno yang ramai itu Che Johan tidak menyerahkan borangnya.
Pegawai Pengurus Pilahan Raya mesti rasa terganggu dan ada tanda tanya mengapa calon BN tidak menyerahkan borang. Memang pelik dan suatu yang amat ajaib ada dalam dunia ini calon Umno tidak menyerahkan borang.
Umno biasanya tidak lesu dan kaku tidak memberi apa-apa reaksi apabila calon dan pengiringnya bertindak bodoh seperti itu. Mereka biasanya bertindak garang dan keras terhadap sebarang kejadian yang dikira sabotaj parti.
Jika kejadian itu bukan lakunan, maka kita tidak duga apa reaksi penyokong Umno yang menghantar calon mendapati calon mengkhianati mereka. Orang Kelantan biasanya gedebe akan naik angin akan kejadian seperti itu.
Che Johan tidak boleh senang dan selesa dengan kejadian itu. Tiada jaminan pulang selamat dari dewan itu. Jangan fikir dia tidak akan diganggu oleh orang Umno yang tidak puas hati.
Tetapi tiada kejadian tegang dan Che Johan seolah-olah tidak terganggu langsung. Keadaan seperti tidak boleh berlaku bagi orang calon Umno kiranya dia dikira khianat.
Luar biasa Umno boleh sabar dan boleh bersurai dengan baik.
Sebagai satu drama semua kejadian itu tidak menunjukkan lakunan yang hidup dan seolah-olah kejadian dalam masa pencalonan itu tidak berlaku apa-apa.
Pemimpin Umno negeri dan pusat tidak terasa apa-apa. Mereka lebih sensitif dengan reaksi Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim yang bercanding Bebas dan keluar parti. Tiada riuh langsung dengan kejadian ganjil di Pasir Mas itu.
Mustapa hanya panggil Che Johan minta penjelasan dan serah pada Kuala Lumpur untuk menentukan.
Che Johan adalah seorang dari lima atau enam orang ahli PAS menyertai Umno bersama Ustaz Nakhaie. Yang lain ialah Dr Fuad Zakashi, Timbalan Menteri Pelajaran sekarang dan Saifudin Nasution, Setiausaha Agung PKR. Yang lain saya tidak ingat.
Kisah kayu tiga antara Umno, Ibrahim Ali dan calon Umno itu telah sampai ke pengetahuan saya seminggu sebelum Najib mengumumkan senarai calon BN seluruhnya. Akan ada silap mati, calon Umno tidak jadi bertanding bagi memberi peluang kepada Ibrahim Ali bertanding satu lawan satu dengan PAS.
Telah saya tulis dalam Facebook saya.
Adalah benar ia satu drama, tetapi ia bukan lakunan profesional. Nampak sangat kaku dan lesunya. Dan Umno pula tak nampak macam reaksi Umno sebenar. Penuh dengan olok-olok.
* Pandangan di atas hanyalah pandangan peribadi penulis.
The Malaysian Insider :: Food
GEORGE TOWN, 26 April — Rowena Yam, calon Barisan Nasional (BN) bagi kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Pulau Tikus menggabungkan pengalamannya sebagai peguam dan penyelaras DUN bagi menghadapi saingan daripada pencabarnya Yap Soo Huey dari DAP.