PETALING JAYA, April 27 — Just the Thai laksa alone with the fish curry was worth my making another trip to Old Siam in 1 Utama last week. I was joined by two friends who happened to be walking past and ... Read More
MOSCOW, April 29 — Chechen linesman Musa Kadyrov was today banned for life after assaulting a player in a Russian league soccer match.
The incident occurred at the end of a reserve game yesterday in Grozny between Amkar Perm and local side Terek when a raging Kadyrov dropped his flag and ran on to the pitch, attacking startled Amkar defender Ilya Krichmar.
"The ref blew the final whistle and I started walking to our bench when suddenly someone came from behind, pushed me to the ground and began kicking and punching me," the 18-year-old player told reporters.
"Terek players then joined the attack. Someone grabbed me by the throat, another hit me ... bloodying my face.
"Thank God, my team mates came to the rescue. Special thanks to Vlasov from Terek. We had known each other from a youth academy in St Petersburg and he helped me escape."
Local authorities took swift action.
"He has only worked on a regional level but we made a decision to ban him for life, therefore he won't be able to officiate matches at any level," Chechen football chief Lom-Ali Ibragimov was quoted as saying by local outlet R-Sport.
The Russian players' union (RSFT) appealed to the Russian FA (RFU) to impose sanctions on Chechen club Terek.
Tougher stance
"We feel just banning Kadyrov is not enough. The RFU must take a much tougher stance on this because assaults on players have become an almost regular occurrence in Grozny," RSFT general secretary Nikolai Grammatikov told Reuters.
"We think preventing Terek to host reserve matches in Grozny for a year should teach Chechen authorities a lesson, otherwise it is just going to get worse and worse."
The incident yesterday was the second violent attack on a player in a reserve game in Grozny in the past 18 months.
Krasnodar striker Spartak Gogniyev suffered a broken nose and fractured ribs after being attacked by Terek officials at a reserve game in Grozny in November 2011.
Gogniyev was given a six-game ban and fined US$1,600 (RM4,849) by the Russian FA for pushing the referee. The world players' union FIFPro criticised the decision to punish the player.
Kadyrov said Krichmar had insulted him but the player denied the allegation.
"We weren't happy with the officiating, words had been exchanged but I had never said anything personal about him or his mother," he said. "I know how sensitive Chechen people are."
Former FIFA referee Alexei Spirin, who was working as an assessor of yesterday's match, was shocked by the episode.
"In all my refereeing career I have never seen anything like it. This guy should not be a referee," Spirin said.
"He had no clue about rules, even worse, attacked a player. On a scale of one to 10, I'd give him a zero and I'm writing a special report. He should not be allowed to officiate again."
Krichmar was asked if he would attend the Russian Cup final in Grozny on June 1 if invited by Chechen officials.
"No, I would not go. I could still feel some hatred there after the (Chechen) war, although we had no problem with security in Grozny," Krichmar said. "We always had bodyguards with machine guns around us. The food was good as well, but..." — Reuters
BERLIN, April 29 — Werder Bremen have suspended Austria forward Marko Arnautovic and Dutch midfielder Eljero Elia for the rest of the season after they were caught speeding on a German motorway last week, the club said today.
Werder had on Friday temporarily banned the two of them but decided to extend the sanction to all training sessions and matches until the end of the season, after the late-night incident.
Arnautovic, who has had previous disciplinary problems for club and country, and Elia were stopped for speeding in separate cars, and their behaviour prompted the police to call for back-up.
No alcohol was involved.
"In the final stretch of the season we need all players to be fully focused," the club's sports director Thomas Eichin said in a statement.
"We have made it clear to Marko Arnautovic and Eljero Elia that their behaviour damaged the team in this phase. Both will train separately until the end of the season."
Werder Bremen's 32-year stay in the Bundesliga is under increasing threat after they extended their winless sequence to 10 games following a 1-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen yesterday.
The northern club are just two points above Augsburg, who occupy the relegation playoff spot with three matches to play. — Reuters
The 7th-century Umayyad Mosque inside Damascus's UNESCO World Heritage-listed walled Old City, in this April 2010 file photo. — Wikimedia Commons pic courtesy of Bernard GagnonDAMASCUS, April 29 — It might sound absurd to talk about normal life in Syria after two years of civil war during which more than 70,000 people have been killed and five million more left destitute and homeless.
Yet in the neighbourhood of Malki, a tree-lined enclave of central Damascus, a wealthy group of elite, pro-government Syrians still enjoy shopping for imported French cheeses, gourmet hand-made chocolates and iPad minis in the well-stocked, recently built Grand Mall and in nearby boutiques.
Such are the parallel realities of a conflict in which, for all the gains made by rebels and the current chatter about US "red lines" crossed that might ultimately draw in Western might, President Bashar al-Assad is holding his ground in the capital, bulwarked by his own foreign allies and by many Syrians who fear his end could prove fatal for them too. And so life goes on.
In Malki, sprinklers water the manicured lawns outside their blocks of million-dollar apartments. Maids and drivers cater to their every whim and birds sing in the trees. Fuel for their BMWs and electricity for their air-conditioning is plentiful and the well-guarded streets are free of loiterers.
"Look at this display and you feel all is well, life is good and everything is here," said an elegantly dressed Hiyam Jabri, 50, as she placed her order at the delicatessen counter in the mall's main supermarket.
Malki residents continue to enjoy material comforts and abundant supplies of imported goods, even as millions of their compatriots subsist on food handouts.
The United Nations World Food Programme estimates it is feeding 2.5 million people inside Syria — a tenth of the population — and a further million who have fled the country, offering them subsistence rations of flour and rice.
"We are trying to keep up with the enormity of the crisis and the impact of the brutality," the WFP's deputy regional emergency coordinator Matthew Hollingworth said in the capital.
Most of those whom his staff help "haven't been displaced once but sometimes twice, three times". Food is so scarce for those uprooted by the fighting that rations intended to feed a family of five are being shared by three families.
Illusions
Even in Malki, though, the air of normality is an illusion — as unreal as the oft-repeated assertions of government officials that victory is near and Assad still controls almost all Syria.
Scratch the surface of the illusion and the normality quickly becomes anything but.
Pasted to the lamp-post outside the elegant chocolatier Ghraoui, whose interior boasts award certificates from France, is a wad of black and white fliers. They are printed by families and they mourn sons and husbands killed in the war.
It is a war, however, that seems to be going nowhere fast.
Recent days have shown again the reluctance of the United States and its allies, in the face of evidence Assad's troops may have crossed President Barack Obama's "red line" by using chemical weapons, to intervene militarily against him — not least as some rebels have espoused the cause of al Qaeda.
Among the few independent outsiders seeing at first hand the mosaic of opinion and suffering in Syria, many aid workers lament that international discourse has become a monotone debate on supplying weapons, with little push for a negotiated peace.
"We need a political solution for this conflict," said Marc Lucet, the local emergency coordinator for UNICEF, whose fellow humanitarian workers recount grim tales of hungry refugees found cowering in half-built apartment blocks or idle factories.
The surface serenity of Malki contrasts with what aid groups say is a country splintered by ever shifting frontlines and a fragmenting opposition; many fear violence will spread beyond Syria's borders and are baffled by the debate in the West over how far to arm rebels, saying this will only make matters worse.
Stressing the need for a political settlement, however unpalatable and, so far, unattainable, UNICEF's Lucet said: "The solution is certainly not to give more weapons to either side."
Attempts to bring Assad down by diplomatic means have failed to break the impasse, even if they do make life less comfortable in Malki.
Inside the Ghraoui chocolate boutique, as everywhere else in Syria, sales are strictly cash only — sanctions have forced international credit card networks to boycott transactions here.
Prices on restaurant menus in local currency, the Syrian pound, have been hastily updated with stickers multiple times — a tell-tale sign of rapid inflation.
At the luxury mall supermarket, Eyad al-Burghol says he is selling fewer imported foodstuffs than before because many wealthy customers have left the country.
Fighting talk
A distant thump of artillery fire serves as a reminder that, just a few kilometres away, fierce street-to-street battles are being fought between government and rebel forces. Some days, Russian-made MiG fighter jets streak across the sky on their way to bomb insurgent positions.
The abundant security in Malki, residents say, is provided by men who speak the Iranian tongue of Farsi, rather than Syrian Arabic. Tehran has long been Assad's sponsor against his fellow Arab leaders and the word on the street — impossible to verify — is that this heavily guarded area of town may be home to the Syrian president himself and to his immediate family.
Assad is not seen in public these days and officials refuse to comment on his movements or whereabouts.
Senior Syrian officials try hard to show visiting reporters a picture of normality in which the government is firmly in control. But even the cocoon in which they live and work is starting to be punctured by the facts of war.
Syria's central bank governor Adeeb Mayaleh gave Reuters an interview last week at a headquarters building bearing the scars of a car bomb attack earlier in the month. Blinds hung twisted and useless in front of warped window-frames without glass. A palm tree outside had been reduced to a charred skeleton.
The bank chief insisted that the government had plenty of foreign currency available to guarantee imports and enough cash to pay public employees' wages in advance each month. For how long? Iran and Russia, he said, were about to agree fresh funds.
Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad gave an upbeat assessment of the war in an interview — but a Syrian who works nearby told Reuters that the complex housing the ministry had been attacked four times by rebels in the past few months.
UNICEF regional coordinator Youssef Abdul-Jalil estimated that at least three million children inside Syria now needed humanitarian assistance because of the war: "There is a crisis of the children of Syria," he said. "They are paying a terrible price in their lives, in their surroundings, in their health, in their education and in their lack of protection".
Reality intrudes
Cars still choke central Damascus and traffic police still issue tickets for speeding and even clamp badly parked vehicles. But armed checkpoints snarl progress to a snail's pace.
Travel agents still offer flights and holidays. But the road to the city's airport is considered too dangerous by many and flights are available only to a few, friendly, destinations.
Telephones still work and officials still show up for work in neatly ironed shirts and well-pressed suits — but many scuttle off early to be home before nightfall.
One resident spoke of a distant relative, a Christian from a prosperous family of car dealers, who was kidnapped. Accused of supporting Assad, he was beaten while hanging upside down. His captors then injected fuel into his veins. Released for a ransom worth over US$20,000 (RM60,607), the man died a few days later.
While the Syrian elite continue to insist that the military campaign against the rebels is succeeding, aid workers in Aleppo say that the area of the country's biggest city that is now controlled by the government is very small.
The main north-south highway that connects Aleppo to Damascus via the major cities of Homs and Hama now features some 38 checkpoints, about nine of which are manned by various groups of rebels, NGO workers who have travelled along it recently say.
In the capital, the government says it guarantees a "Square of Security" in the centre; some locals joke that rebel gains have shorn it to a rather smaller "Security Triangle".
Inside the mosque's main prayer hall, featuring a shrine said to contain the head of St. John the Baptist. — Wikimedia Commons pic courtesy of seier+seierDamascus's walled Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to the 7th-century Umayyad mosque, retains its beauty. But these days it is eerily empty. Tourists have long gone and the souvenir sellers have all but given up hope of selling anything.
Inside the mosque's main prayer hall, featuring a shrine said to contain the head of St. John the Baptist, mournful guides tell of how the imam was recently murdered.
At a jewellery shop in the al-Hamidiyeh bazaar, Anas Hallawi, 25, sat looking bored: "People are selling their gold not buying these days," he said. "Our business thrived on foreign tourists and Syrians buying gold for their brides.
"Now the tourists are gone. And nobody is getting married."
At the Al-Naranj restaurant in the Christian Quarter, one of Damascus's finest eateries, diners discussed the relative risks of car bombings versus random mortar attacks and kidnap. Little wonder that so many with the means have left for Lebanon, as life in the capital becomes a kind of ghoulish Russian roulette.
Across the room, a smartly dressed family group celebrated a betrothal with a lavish spread of traditional Syrian food on a table decorated with red roses.
As the strains of the old songs died away and a festive cake was eaten, a fighter jet roared across the sky. Artillery fire thudded in the distance. The family looked upwards through the restaurant's glass roof, eyes suddenly fearful. — Reuters
KATHMANDU, April 29 — Nepal officials vowed today to ensure the safety of climbers seeking to scale Mount Everest after three European climbers were involved in a fight with sherpa guides on their way to the peak of the world's highest mountain.
Three experienced climbers from Britain, Italy and Switzerland were on route to camp three at 7,000 metres on the 8,850-metre Everest summit when a brawl broke out on Saturday with sherpas fixing their ropes.
Witnesses said the sherpas pelted the Europeans' tents with stones and punches were thrown.
Swiss climber Ueli Steck descended to the base camp after the attack and said he would abandon the climb and return to Kathmandu if proper security was not ensured.
Nepali officials were quick to respond after the unusual brawl on Mount Everest, which is a key source of income for impoverished Nepal as foreign climbers pay royalties to scale the world's highest peak.
Tourism Ministry official Dipendra Paudel said the government would ensure the safety and security of the climbers.
"There was a slight misunderstanding and communication gap between them," Paudel said in Kathmandu after contacting the base camp. "This has been sorted out and the climbers are at the base camp."
Lure of Everest (centre): Since Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953, about 4,000 climbers have reached the top. — Reuters file picHe said the European climbers would resume their bid to climb Everest.
Officials said hundreds of climbers from 32 expeditions and their sherpas were on Mount Everest in the current climbing season, which continues through May.
Sherpas are locals from the Everest region and are noted for their climbing skills. They are responsible for fixing ropes and accompany most of the foreign climbers to the summit.
Beni Hyoju, an official of the Cho-Oyu Trekking agency that organised the expedition, said the three European climbers had failed to comply with a request from their sherpa guides to stay at a location while the guides fixed the route.
Hyoju said this made the sherpas unhappy and they attacked the climbers. No one was critically wounded.
"(Steck) has now agreed to continue the climb after local administration assured proper security," Hyoju said. "Sherpas who were responsible for the fight will offer (an) apology."
Historian Elizabeth Hawley, who has been tracking foreign expeditions to Mount Everest for more than five decades, said this type of fighting on the mountain was rare.
"I have not heard of any such incident before," said Hawley.
About 4,000 climbers have reached the top of Everest since it was first scaled by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. — Reuters
LOS ANGELES, April 29 — Watch a 35-minute reel taken from "Beyond: Two Souls," presented at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 27.
With both Ellen Page ("Inception") and "Beyond: Two Souls" director David Cage appearing at a Tribeca Talk discussion, a lengthy clip from the game was shown to illustrate Cage's latest in a quest to unite cinematic presentation with an emotional narrative core.
As such, it shows Page as a homeless young woman, both blessed and cursed with a mysterious gift, and some of her encounters on the street — begging and busking with a downtempo rendition of Beck's "Lost Cause," rescuing a friend from thugs, acting as a makeshift matron, and pulling her comrades from a burning building.
The game is due on PlayStation 3 from October 8 this year. — AFP/Relaxnews
Actor Mark Wahlberg and his wife Rhea Durham arrive at the premiere of his new film "Pain & Gain" in Hollywood April 22, 2013. — Reuters picLOS ANGELES, April 29 — Action comedy "Pain & Gain" starring Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson grabbed the top spot at the US box office in its debut this weekend, snagging US$20 million, industry estimates showed yesterday.
The Paramount Pictures production about bodybuilders caught up in crime pushed "Oblivion" into second place, according to tracker Exhibitor Relations.
The post-apocalyptic action flick starring Tom Cruise picked up US$17.4 million (RM52.77 million) in ticket sales, ahead of "42," a biopic about trailblazing black baseball star Jackie Robinson, which came third with US$10.7 million.
The fourth spot, with US$7.5 million, went to new arrival "The Big Wedding" — a star-studded comedy featuring Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton and Robin Williams.
"The Croods" — a stone-age cartoon — came fifth, collecting US$6.6 million, outperforming action sequel "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," which earned US$3.6 million.
"Scary Movie 5," the latest installment in the slasher-comedy franchise, took the seventh spot with US$3.5 million.
Action thriller "Olympus Has Fallen," in which terrorists capture the White House and hold the president hostage, followed with US$2.8 million.
"The Place Beyond the Pines," starring Oscar nominees Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper trailed in ninth place with US$2.7 million.
Rounding out the top 10 at US$2.3 million was the 3D re-release of Steven Spielberg's 1993 dinosaur classic "Jurassic Park." — AFP/Relaxnews
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Musa bimbang dengan keganasan politik dalam Pilihan Raya 2013. - Gambar The Malaysian InsiderKUALA LUMPUR, 29 April — Bekas Ketua Polis Negara (KPN) Tan Sri Musa Hassan telah menyertai majlis penasihat keselamatan Pakatan Rakyat (PR), dan mengatakan hari ini beliau bimbang dengan keganasan politik dalam Pilihan Raya 2013.
Musa menegaskan dirinya tidak memihak kepada mana-mana parti politik, memberitahu pemberita beliau akan melakukan perkara sama jika pemerintah Barisan Nasional (BN) meminta nasihatnya mengenai urusan keselamatan.
"Saya tidak memihak kepada mana-mana parti politik… Saya datang hari ini kerana saya mengambil urusan keselamatan rakyat dengan serius," kata Musa dalam sidang akhbar di sini.
Najib berkata rakyat perlu memilih pemimpin yang mempunyai agenda masa depan dan bukan setakat pemimpin yang hanya tahu menabur janji-janji kosong seperti yang dilakukan pihak pembangkang di Selangor. - Gambar The Malaysian Insider PONTIAN, 29 April — Datuk Seri Najib Razak meminta rakyat Johor supaya tidak mengenepikan sejarah bahawa negeri ini merupakan tempat bermulanya sejarah Malaysia Moden.
Beliau berkata, rakyat di negeri ini wajib memastikan perjuangan Malaysia Moden dipertahankan daripada pihak yang hanya mahukan kuasa semata-mata tanpa mempunyai kelayakan untuk mentadbirnya.
"Jangan buta sejarah, kita wajib pastikan perjuangan Malaysia Moden dipertahankan.
"Kita kerajaan (Barisan Nasional) BN bukan semata-mata hendak kuasa tetapi
kita menuntut mandat daripada rakyat sebab kita lebih layak memimpin negeri ini dan bukannya kerana meminta sokongan secara membuta tuli," katanya.
Najib berkata demikian ketika berucap di Majlis Perhimpunan Bersama Rakyat di Dataran Pasar Lambak, Pekan Nenas di sini hari ini.
Majlis turut dihadiri isteri Perdana Menteri Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Menteri Besar Johor Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein dan Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Ahmad Maslan.
Turut hadir calon BN bagi kerusi Parlimen Tanjung Piai Datuk Wee Jack Seng, calon Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kukup Suhaimi Salleh dan calon DUN Pekan Nenas Wong You Fong.
Najib berkata rakyat perlu memilih pemimpin yang mempunyai agenda masa depan dan bukan setakat pemimpin yang hanya tahu menabur janji-janji kosong seperti yang dilakukan pihak pembangkang di Selangor.
"Saya tahu sebab saya Pengerusi BN, rakyat Selangor telah kena tipu lima tahun, Menteri Besarnya angkat punggung lari tengah malam tanding di Pelabuhan Klang, kita tunggu dia di sana dan orang Ijok tahu dia hanya janji kosong di sana tanpa buat apa-apa.
"Sedangkan kerajaan BN kita mempunyai agenda wawasan bukan hanya main janji kosong dan main tabur janji. Kita ada peta jalan dan perancangan serta kemampuan untuk laksanakan," katanya.
Menurutnya pilihan raya umum kali ini akan menentukan destinasi dan hala tuju negara dalam tempoh lima tahun akan datang.
"Kita tengok muka anak-anak dan isteri di rumah dan tanya diri kita apakah bentuk Malaysia yang hendak kita warisi. Kita harus tanya diri kita, kalau kita diberi kuasa, pilihlah orang dan parti yang boleh beri masa depan yang lebih cerah.
"Jangan pilih masa depan yang sarat dengan masalah, sarat dengan masalah dan konflik serius dan jangan tolak keharmonian yang telah terbukti selama ini berlaku di Johor," katanya.
Sehubungan itu, katanya, semua rakyat termasuk rakyat Johor tidak mempunyai pilihan lain selain terus menyokong BN dan mereka perlu memberikan sokongan penuh kepada calon-calon BN supaya parti itu mendapat kemenangan besar dalam pilihan raya umum nanti.
Katanya, kemenangan besar BN di Johor akan menjadi hadiah perpisahan terbaik kepada Abdul Ghani yang selama ini telah mencurahkan bakti sebagai Menteri Besar Johor selama 18 tahun.
Pada majlis itu, beliau turut mengumumkan pembinaan 1,000 unit rumah rakyat dan mampu milik untuk penduduk di Parlimen Tanjung Piai. – Bernama
Uthaya Sankar SB berkarya dalam Bahasa Malaysia. Beliau adalah presiden Kumpulan Sasterawan Kavyan (Kavyan) dan pemilik tunggal Perunding Media, Motivasi dan Penerbitan Uthaya. Selain menulis, membaca dan bercakap, beliau juga suka menonton filem.
29 APRIL — Tarikh mengundi sempena Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-13 (PRU-13) semakin hampir dan antara topik yang masih hangat adalah mengenai tindakan Barisan Nasional (BN) meletakkan Zulkifli Noordin sebagai calon bagi kerusi Parlimen Shah Alam.
Agak menarik untuk diperhatikan bahawa Zulkifli adalah "calon rakan BN" dan bukannya "calon BN". Nampaknya Umno dan Presiden Umno sendiri tidak berani mengambil risiko meletakkan lelaki rasis, fanatik, etnosentrik dan ultra kiasu itu sebagai "calon BN" bagi bertanding kerusi Parlimen Shah Alam!
Pada masa sama, perlu diingat bahawa Zulkifli bukan calon dari mana-mana parti komponen BN; sebaliknya calon pilihan Pengerusi BN sendiri secara langsung. Mungkin itulah antara sebab MIC tidak berani bersuara menentang pencalonan itu sebaik diumumkan pada 16 April.
'Kenapa Hindu tak pecahkan buah betik ke, buah tembikai ke?' — Zulkifli NoordinDalam pada itu, ada pihak yang mengatakan bahawa kaum India/Hindu perlu memaafkan Zulkifli (atau sesiapa sahaja) yang pernah menghina agama Hindu dan mengundinya dalam PRU-13. Seolah-olah kemenangan BN adalah lebih besar daripada maruah para pengundi.
Rayner Sylvester Yeo dari Bandar Baru Klang (Parlimen Shah Alam) memberikan reaksi menerusi mesej Facebook kepada saya bahawa beliau berterima kasih kepada Pengerusi BN. "Terima kasih kerana memudahkan saya untuk membuat keputusan," kata pemuda itu yang berasal dari Sabah.
"Dia (Zulkifli) telah meminta maaf dan saya mendapat maklum balas bahawa sebilangan besar kaum India menyokong beliau," kata Pengerusi BN seperti dilaporkan di Utusan Malaysia (23 April).
Saya percaya bahawa pandangan itu adalah "imaginasi" Datuk Seri Najib Razak semata-mata. Mungkin juga beliau mengeluarkan kenyataan itu apabila MIC, PPP, IPF Hindraf dan parti-parti lain dalam BN "tidak cukup jantan" untuk tampil menolak pencalonan Naib Presiden Pertubuhan Peribumi Perkasa (Perkasa).
Keadaan "membisu" itu mungkin dianggap oleh Najib sebagai "bersetuju" tanpa mengambil kira realiti masyarakat pelbagai kaum dan agama membidas serta menolak pencalonan Zulkifli.
Baru-baru ini, lebih 100 ahli MIC di Shah Alam dilaporkan keluar parti berikutan isu Zulkifli, Ibrahim Ali dan Ahmad Nawawi M Zin. Ibrahim adalah Presiden Perkasa yang amat rasis tetapi tidak pernah diambil sebarang tindakan oleh Kerajaan BN walaupun dia menghina agama. Dia bertanding kerusi Parlimen Pasir Mas, Kelantan dan calon BN/Umno, Che Johan Che Pa menarik diri pada saat akhir.
Ahmad Nawawi pula calon DUN Batu Tiga dan dia pernah terlibat secara langsung dalam insiden menghina penganut agama Hindu dengan memijak kepala lembu pada 28 Ogos 2009. Kejadian itu berikutan bantahan terhadap cadangan pemindahan Kuil Sri Maha Mariamman dari Seksyen 19 ke Seksyen 23, Shah Alam.
Umno dipenuhi pemimpin rasis?
Di Sungai Rapat, Perak pula, seorang lagi calon BN/Umno, Hamidah Othman dilaporkan pernah mengguris hati kaum India dengan mengeluarkan kenyataan "Jika bertemu ular dan orang India, bunuh orang India dahulu". Maknanya, Umno memang dipenuhi pemimpin yang rasis serta tidak tahu menghormati perasaan orang lain.
Berbalik kepada isu pencalonan Zulkifli, Shahrul Nizam, seorang pegawai Jabatan Sumber Manusia di sebuah syarikat swasta di Shah Alam menyatakan bahawa walaupun beliau tidak mengundi di Parlimen Shah Alam, sebagai seorang Islam, beliau berasa amat malu apabila Zulkifli mengeluarkan kenyataan yang jahil sifatnya.
"Islam melarang umatnya menghina agama dan kepercayaan umat lain. Pemimpin yang tidak mampu menyelaras minda ketika berucap bukanlah seorang pemimpin. Mereka ini tidak lebih daripada seekor burung kakak tua. Malaysia tidak perlu kepada pelaris agama yang bersifat menghina kepercayaan orang lain kerana Islam terlalu indah, Malaysia terlalu aman," kata pemuda itu yang berasal dari Alor Star.
Seorang lagi rakan di Facebook, Khairul Azhar Tarmizi yang berasal dari Batu Gajah mengatakan bahawa golongan oportunis seperti Zulkifli akan berbuat apa sahaja untuk mendapatkan undi. Pada pandangan juruukur bahan ini, kesalahan Zulkifli mungkin boleh dimaafkan "tapi jangan lupakan".
Ibrahim Ali pernah menghasut orang Melayu membakar kitab Bible.Ghanthimathi, seorang pegawai teknologi makanan di Sungai Buloh pula meluahkan rasa sedih dan kecewa dengan sikap politikus yang tidak tahu menghormati sensitiviti masyarakat pelbagai kaum dan agama di Malaysia.
"Mengapa golongan ini sentiasa mengeluarkan kenyataan yang menghina dan mengguriskan hati kaum India dan penganut agama Hindu? Mengapa mereka seolah-olah begitu membenci kaum India?" Demikian tanya wanita ini yang saya kenali sejak zaman sekolah rendah di Aulong, Taiping.
Pembantu penyelidik dari Kajang, Mohamad Firdaus Rosli turut berkongsi pandangan semasa topik ini dibincangkan di laman rangkaian sosial baru-baru ini.
"Seorang Muslim sejati tidak akan menghina rakannya yang berlainan agama kerana perkara sedemikian ditegah oleh Rasulullah s.a.w. tercinta," pemuda yang berasal dari Sungai Petani itu mengingatkan.
Bagi Baradhan Krishnan dari Taman Seri Sentosa, Jalan Klang Lama, Kuala Lumpur, biarlah Tuhan sahaja yang menghukum Zulkifli jika dia bersalah dan orang ramai tidak perlu emosional dengan kenyataan Zulkifli yang menghina agama Hindu.
"Jika kita menentang, seolah-olah kata-katanya adalah benar. Kalau mahu menyentuh mengenai orang yang menghina kaum India dan agama Hindu, bukan Zulkifli sahaja yang berbuat begitu. Tindakan perlu diambil terhadap ramai lagi orang. Cara terbaik adalah dengan kerajaan menggubal undang-undang ketat bagi menghukum mana-mana pihak yang menghina mana-mana agama atau kaum," kata eksekutif pemasaran insurans itu.
Konsep 1Malaysia sudah terkubur
Seorang rakan perunding kewangan, Aslambigai dari Kuala Lumpur mengakui bahawa penganut agama Hindu di Malaysia sering menjadi mangsa penghinaan. Bagaimanapun, katanya, penganut Hindu diajar supaya tidak membalas perbuatan itu dengan turut menghina orang lain.
"Kita tidak perlu risau memikirkan adakah kenyataan Zulkifli itu benar atau salah. Malah, agama Hindu mengajar kita supaya bertolak ansur dan sifat itu amat penting dalam konteks Malaysia. Kita terpaksa menerima hakikat bahawa orang seperti Zulkifli memang wujud dan kita yang beragama perlu menguatkan iman serta bertolak ansur," kata wanita ini yang berasal dari Taiping.
'Bila nampak seekor ular dan seorang India, pukul India dulu, setuju?' — Hamidah Othman Turut berkongsi pandangan dalam isu ini ialah Mohanan @ Mohan Perumal, editor berita di akhbar Makkal Osai. Walaupun beliau ahli MIC, Mohan tetap lantang bersuara menentang pencalonan Zulkifli.
"Saya ada beberapa kawan rapat dalam MIC dan sebahagian daripada mereka turut dicalonkan untuk bertanding dalam PRU-13. Ada dalam kalangan mereka yang kecewa kerana saya lantang mengkritik keputusan Najib meletakkan Zulkifli sebagai calon.
"Saya sedar bahawa ramai di antara rakan-rakan saya dalam MIC juga marah dan kecewa dengan tindakan Najib yang menghancurkan usaha MIC sejak empat tahun lalu untuk meraih kembali kepercayaan kaum India terhadap BN. Rakan-rakan dalam MIC memilih untuk memendam rasa marah dan kecewa tetapi saya berani meluahkannya secara terbuka," katanya.
Bagi Tharmaraj Bathmanathan dari Klang, agama dan bahasa adalah identiti serta diibaratkan seperti "dua mata" bagi setiap kaum.
"Perdebatan intelektual tentang kedua-dua topik itu boleh diterima tetapi kutukan dan penghinaan tidak boleh diterima sama sekali. Apatah lagi apabila individu terbabit adalah seorang yang berpendidikan tinggi (peguam) yang sepatutnya mampu berfikir secara rasional sebelum bertutur.
"Dalam kes Zulkifli, jelas menunjukkan fikiran dan pendirian rasis serta fanatik. Individu seperti ini tidak boleh mewakili penduduk pelbagai kaum dan agama di Malaysia dengan memenangi pilihan raya. Najib telah menguburkan konsep 1 Malaysia dengan menamakan Zulkifli sebagai calon PRU-13," jurutera rangkaian itu menegaskan.
Pasti sahaja pemimpin, penyokong dan juak-juak dalam MIC, Umno dan BN akan berusaha bersungguh-sungguh untuk "memutihkan" imej Zulkifli menjelang tarikh mengundi pada 5 Mei 2013. Namun, saya percaya bahawa para pengundi pelbagai kaum dan agama di kawasan Parlimen Shah Alam akan tetap menolak calon yang rasis, fanatik dan sanggup menghina mana-mana agama.
Biarlah keputusan pengiraan undi di Parlimen Shah Alam menjadi pengajaran kepada BN bahawa masyarakat pelbagai kaum dan agama di negara ini menolak politik perkauman dan politikus yang bersikap etnosentik dan ultra kiasu.
* Uthaya Sankar SB berkempen menolak politik perkauman menerusi tulisan. Lebih banyak tulisan boleh dibaca di www.uthayasb.blogspot.com
* Pandangan di atas hanyalah pandangan peribadi penulis.
A geology graduate turned writer, Khairie Hisyam Aliman enjoys stating the obvious... occasionally in writing. He is still figuring out how to write a proper bio of himself.
APRIL 29 — "Familiarity breeds contempt — and children." — Mark Twain
Some time ago, after breaking the news of my wife's pregnancy to a couple of acquaintances, the talk drifted to the subject of parenthood. Then one of them said: "I'm never having children. This world is so terrible, what for I want to bring new life just to suffer in it?"
But is the world really that terrible?
In a way, maybe it is. The world is coming to an end at some point — for Muslims, we are already seeing some of the foretold signs of the doomsday.
Regardless of religion, we all have rising concerns about global warming, pollution and resource depletion. For the most part the way we live on this big blue planet is still unsustainable.
The Food and Agricultural Organisation estimated that between 2010 and 2012 nearly 870 million people worldwide didn't have enough to eat. North Korea is making scary nuclear noises now, and it's probably wishful thinking to hope that the last global financial crisis in 2008 will be the last in the history of mankind.
But let's look closer to home. The cost of living is going up. We hear of horrendous crimes every other day, it seems. Children are still going missing. There's always some sort of rumour or another about corrupt politicians when all we want are honest people who make the right calls for us.
So yes, maybe the world is a terrible place. I guess at some point in our lives, we just wake up to a darker, crueller world as our innocence slipped away during the transition from childhood to adulthood.
But are we that fragile, we humans who dominate this planet?
Despite it all, we still find moments of happiness in our lives, in our own ways, day after day. There are pain and tears and yes, blood. But lest we forget, there are also smiles, laughter and love. More than just enduring the terribleness of the world we live in, we persist and fight back every day to make each tomorrow slightly better to wake up to.
In our small way we keep persevering to improve the tiny part of this world that we live in. Some great people are even privileged enough to improve the lives of many in their lifetime. We endure, we persist, and we eke out what happiness we can.
I guess that's one reason to have children despite the terrible things that define our age: to leave behind individual(s) who are kinder, smarter and more capable than we ever were in our short lives.
So that when we die, we pass knowing that we tried our best to make things ever so slightly better by leaving behind sons and daughters who are greater people than we were and who can pursue better lives than we lived — our final legacy.
Eventually, maybe the world won't be so terrible after all.
The Malaysian Insider :: Food
PETALING JAYA, April 27 — Just the Thai laksa alone with the fish curry was worth my making another trip to Old Siam in 1 Utama last week. I was joined by two friends who happened to be walking past and ... Read More 
Scratch the surface of the illusion and the normality quickly becomes anything but. 
LOS ANGELES, April 24 — The last play from the writer of "When Harry Met Sally," "Julia & Julia," "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail" will form part of October 29 hardback release The Most of ... 
VIENNA, April 24 — Irish author John Banville is to be awarded the Austrian state prize for European literature in July, the government said on Monday, praising the novelist's "unconventional" ... 
WASHINGTON, April 23 — Washington state's governor signed into law yesterday the final piece of a six-year effort to rewrite state laws using gender-neutral vocabulary, replacing terms such as "fisherman" ... 
LOS ANGELES, April 23 — Ten category winners and two lifetime achievement awards in the LA Times Book Awards were announced over the weekend, with Katherine Boo's portrayal of Mumbai slum living in Behind ... 
KUALA LUMPUR, 29 April — Bekas Ketua Polis Negara (KPN) Tan Sri Musa Hassan telah menyertai majlis penasihat keselamatan Pakatan Rakyat (PR), dan mengatakan hari ini beliau bimbang dengan keganasan politik dalam Pilihan Raya 2013. 
