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Spanish eatery hopes world best restaurant award boosts tourism Posted: 30 Apr 2013 05:32 PM PDT Curry leaves: The secret to good butter prawns By Elaine Ho KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — Butter prawns has got to be one of Malaysia's finest gastronomic contributions. The presence of Malay, Chinese and Indian cooking methods and ingredients is very symbolic of the ... Read More Thai street food… now serving in 1 Utama By Eu Hooi Khaw 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

World Chefs: Cardiologist writes cookbook for wheat-free eating Posted: 29 Apr 2013 11:05 PM PDT Curry leaves: The secret to good butter prawns By Elaine Ho KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — Butter prawns has got to be one of Malaysia's finest gastronomic contributions. The presence of Malay, Chinese and Indian cooking methods and ingredients is very symbolic of the ... Read More Thai street food… now serving in 1 Utama By Eu Hooi Khaw 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

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Puerto doctor gets jail term, evidence to be destroyed Posted: 30 Apr 2013 08:38 AM PDT April 30, 2013 MADRID, April 30 — Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, the central figure in the Operation Puerto probe into a doping ring in cycling, was given a one-year prison sentence for crimes against public health today. Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. — Reuters picFuentes was also barred from practicing sports medicine for four years and received a fine, but Judge Julia Santamaria ruled that evidence from the case would not be released to anti-doping authorities for further investigations. Co-defendant Ignacio Labarta received a four-month jail term and was also barred from practice for four years, while Manolo Saiz, Vicente Belda and Fuentes's sister Yolanda were all cleared. "It is shameful, I sincerely don't know why they bother charging a person in order to deliver a verdict like that," former cyclist Jesus Manzano, who gave evidence in the case, told Reuters Television. "You don't have to be a judge to deliver a sentence like that, a builder could it." Former team director Saiz said: "For me Operation Puerto is over and I want to turn that page and to thank my family and lawyer and my friends for all their support over the years...and to a cyclist in particular, Carlos Sastre. "He remembered me when he was in the Tour de France and that meant a lot to me." As Spain's current anti-doping legislation was not in force in 2006 when police seized anabolic steroids, transfusion equipment and blood bags in raids, the five were tried only for violating public health regulations. The public prosecutor had asked for jail sentences of two years. "It has been proven that since at least 2002 Fuentes was carrying out practices consistent with those of blood extraction..for later re-infusion..with the aim to artificially increase the physical performance of the cyclist," the verdict said. AVOID DETECTION "In some cases, on top of the extraction and re-infusion of blood, Fuentes dispensed to the cyclists certain specialised pharmaceutical products included on the list of substances banned in sport." The report listed substances such as EPO, growth hormones and testosterone. "Fuentes planned the system...co-ordinated their physical preparation with a view to the calendar of competitions in a season for each cyclist," the report added. "The end was to optimise competition results and at the same time to help the cyclist avoid detection in the anti-doping controls." The practice of boosting the flow of oxygen in the blood, the use of banned substances, and the methods used constituted "an important risk for the health of the cyclist." The Puerto case has attracted international attention because some of Fuentes's clients were successful professional riders, including American Tyler Hamilton who gave evidence in February. Fuentes, who denied doping and is unlikely to serve his sentence, said in his opening testimony he also had clients in sports including soccer, tennis, athletics and boxing. The decision not to release the evidence, and for it to be destroyed when the case is closed after any potential appeals, was a blow to other bodies represented during the trial. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Cycling Union (UCI), the Spanish Cycling Federation and the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) had all been keen to secure names of sportsmen involved and to search for evidence of wrongdoing by athletes in other sports. Spain was hoping the trial would help to dispel the impression that the nation was soft on doping and boost Madrid's bid to win the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games. The country is pushing through parliament anti-doping legislation which the government says will bring Spain into line with international norms— Reuters

Tokyo governor apologises for remarks on Muslims, Istanbul Posted: 30 Apr 2013 12:20 AM PDT April 30, 2013 TOKYO, April 30 — Tokyo's outspoken governor, Naoki Inose, who heads the city's bid for the 2020 Olympics, apologised today for "inappropriate" comments he made about rival candidate Istanbul and Islamic countries. The remarks, made in a recent New York Times interview, prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to investigate, while Turkey's sports minister said they were "unfair and disheartening" and "did not comply with the spirit of the values of the Olympic Movement". "Islamic countries, the only thing they share in common is Allah and they are fighting with each other, and they have classes," Inose, who was elected Tokyo governor last year, said in the interview. "For the athletes, where will be the best place to be? Well, compare the two countries where they have yet to build infrastructure, very sophisticated facilities," he said. Tokyo is competing with Istanbul and Madrid to hold the Olympics for a second time after becoming the first Asian city to host the multi-sport event in 1964. Istanbul is bidding for a fifth time after its previous campaigns were unsuccessful. "I said that Islamic countries fight, it was an inappropriate remark and I want to correct it," Inose told reporters at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building today. He accepted that the New York Times story was correct, adding that he would not seek a correction from the paper. "I apologise. My remarks caused misunderstandings among people from Muslim countries, so I would like to unequivocally apologise." Inose's remarks sparked concern in Tokyo that it might affect the Japanese capital's bid for the Games as IOC rules ban candidates from making comments on fellow competitors. Tokyo had yet to respond to an email from the authority enquiring about the meaning of the remarks, a spokesman for the bid said. "If my remarks (on Istanbul) caused any misunderstanding I would like to apologise for them," said Inose, adding that it was a "good experience" and he now understood where the "lines are drawn". "I want to keep campaigning strictly in accordance with the IOC rules that one should not criticise other cities," he said. "From now on I will campaign along these proper guidelines with respect to other cities' bids so that such incidents don't happen any more." A key aspect of the Tokyo bid is that many of its venues have already been constructed. Tokyo planners also emphasise the compactness of its offer, with 85 percent of the venues located within an 8km radius of the Olympic Village. The hosts for the 2020 Games will be decided at the next IOC Session in Argentina in September. — Reuters

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(Going to) Weddings costs too much: Meet the refuseniks Posted: 30 Apr 2013 08:23 AM PDT April 30, 2013 A couple gets married in Hong Kong. — Reuters file picNEW YORK, April 30 — If you were thinking of inviting Marissa Anwar to your wedding, you might want to save the postage. She is not interested. Nothing personal. It is just that the 29-year-old operations consultant from Waterloo, Ontario, is tapped out. Last year she attended six weddings —some of which actually had two ceremonies, because of different faiths involved — and was a bridesmaid three separate times. It added up to spending US$7,000 on everything from gifts to travel, from bridal showers to bachelorette parties. On top of the personal debt Anwar was trying to pay off, the mounting wedding costs made her feel like a hamster on a wheel. And that was just as a guest. So she made the decision: no mas. "It adds up really quickly," says Anwar, who has turned down about five invites since instituting her no-go policy. "Girls can be very extravagant with their weddings, but not everyone can afford to drop a few hundred dollars as a wedding guest or a member of the bridal party multiple times a year. It's just too much." Anwar is not alone in rejecting society's expectation that you tick the "yes" box on all those wedding invites. In an era when young adults are loaded with record student debt and jobs for new graduates seem scarce, many invitees cannot sustain the financial burden of attending multiple weddings in quick succession. In fact, according to the wedding site TheKnot.com, the average bridesmaid could be facing a bill for US$1,385 (RM4,214) when adding all potential costs. Add to the mix that more couples than ever are opting for destination events —almost a quarter of all weddings in 2012, up from 20 percent in 2008 — and the price of celebrating your friend's big day can be dear indeed. "Look at all the spending involved in being in the bridal party," says Anja Winikka, site director for TheKnot.com. "There is the dress, there are accessories, there are flights and hotels for out-of-town guests." "Then there is all the pre-wedding activity, like bridal showers, bachelorette parties, even engagement parties. It can very easily add up to US$1,000 or more for a single wedding." The financial burden can be especially heavy for those whose friends are all getting married at roughly the same time. In the United States, men are getting hitched at an average age of 28, and women at 26, according to Census data. For young graduates in their late 20s, that can mean getting swarmed with invitations just when they can least afford it. Hedge fund manager and author James Altucher has a simple method for dealing with those invitations: He turns them down. It does not matter who and it does not matter when. The answer is no. "If you say yes to one wedding, you have to say yes to them all," says New York City-based Altucher, 45, whose upcoming book "Choose Yourself" is about entrepreneurship in a rapidly changing world. "You should not rip everyone out of their lives, make them wear a whole new wardrobe, and fly to another location, just so they are forced to hang out with people they do not like and be totally uncomfortable for an evening. "If you added it all up, it would be tens of thousands of dollars -- and probably a whole year of your life," he says. Of course, not everyone thinks weddings are such horrific events. And friends do not tend to take such refusals lightly, especially for a day that is supremely important to them. "I have lost friends because of it," admits Altucher. "People do not get it. And there is no easy way to break it to them." So how can you put the brakes on out-of-control wedding costs and restore some sanity to your budget without damaging friendships? A few tips from the experts: - Be honest. If you are in financial straits and just cannot afford to attend a wedding or be a bridesmaid or groomsman, just admit that upfront. "Speak up as early as possible," says Winikka of TheKnot.com. "That way brides and grooms have enough time to deal with the situation. Maybe they will go with someone else in their wedding party — or maybe they will even offer to help out financially." - Get creative with the costs, suggests Elaine Swann, a San Diego-based etiquette expert. Instead of buying the happy couple a solo gift — which costs an average of US$79, or US$146 if you are a family member, according to TheKnot.com — go in on a present with other members of the wedding party. "Instead of purchasing everything straight retail, make something memorable and authentic, like putting together a CD of photos of the couple and the time you have spent together." Or instead of buying a seafoam taffeta monstrosity that will never see the light of day again, check out sites like LittleBorrowedDress.com, which allows you to rent couture for the big event and send it back afterward. - Decline being in the wedding party, but attend the wedding. The most punishing costs for wedding guests come with being a bridesmaid or groomsman. If you eliminate those specific expenses, like Las Vegas bachelor parties, then the costs of simply attending can be more affordable. This way you can still be a part of your friend's special day, without racking up a gigantic credit-card statement that will take ages to pay off. If you're asked to be in the wedding party, stall your answer until you get all the details of what is expected, says Swann. "If you look at your budget and you really cannot be a bridesmaid or a groomsman, offer to serve in another capacity, like being an usher or handling the guestbook." All of these little savings can help, unless you're someone like Altucher. "Weddings are the worst events imaginable," he says. "I don't want to subject myself to one boring event after another. Life is too short." — Reuters

New gene therapy trials aim to mend broken hearts Posted: 30 Apr 2013 04:15 AM PDT April 30, 2013 LONDON, April 30 — British scientists are stepping up clinical tests of gene therapy in a bid to help people with advanced heart failure pump blood more efficiently. Researchers said today they planned to enrol patients into two new clinical trials using Mydicar, a gene therapy treatment made by privately held US biotech company Celladon. — AFP picResearchers said today they planned to enrol patients into two new clinical trials using Mydicar, a gene therapy treatment made by privately held US biotech company Celladon. After more than 20 years of research, the ground-breaking method for fixing faulty genes is starting to deliver, with European authorities approving the first gene therapy for an rare metabolic disease last November. In the case of heart failure, the aim is to insert a gene called SERCA2a directly into heart cells using a modified virus, delivered via a catheter infusion. Lack of SERCA2a leads to ever weaker pumping in people with heart failure. Although drugs offer some relief, there is currently no way of restoring heart function and the prognosis for those with advanced disease is worse than for many cancers. One of the studies, led by scientists at Imperial College London, is part of a wider mid-stage Phase II project sponsored by Celladon that involves 200 patients worldwide, some of whom have already been treated in the United States and Denmark. The second trial, which is due to start in the summer, will test the same treatment in 24 British patients already fitted with mechanical heart pumps to see how the approach may help in this particular setting. It promises to be a long haul, with extensive Phase III studies still needed once results of the current mid-stage tests are received, which Celladon expects in the first half of 2015. Gene therapy has experienced a series of advances and setbacks over the decades. The most notable blow came in 1999 when an Arizona teenager died in a gene therapy experiment. More recent results, however, have been promising in fields ranging from immune system diseases to blindness. "It is a great example of the slow burn of good laboratory science translating into a potential clinical treatment," said Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, which is co-funding the second trial. Because gene therapy replaces or boosts the activity of a faulty gene, it offers the possibility of a one-time "fix" - and that creates an economic challenge. Any gene therapy is bound to be expensive, since a single dose could last a lifetime and the manufacturer will have just one shot at recouping its investment. But Alexander Lyon of Imperial College, lead investigator on both studies, said it could be a cost-effective solution in heart failure if it avoided the need for interventions such as heart transplants at 200,000 pounds (RM912,749) each. — Reuters

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Summer of sequels as Hollywood hopes for box office gold Posted: 30 Apr 2013 09:34 AM PDT May 01, 2013 Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow at a promo for "Iron Man 3". — AFP picLOS ANGELES, April 30 — Robert Downey Jr. is donning his Iron Man suit one more time, Captain Kirk is back on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, and the "Hangover" crew are headed for another bout of mayhem and bad decisions. A summer of familiar faces will be on offer at the Hollywood box office, with an astounding 17 sequels between May 1 and the US Labor Day weekend on September 2. With the four-month summer movie season generating some 40 per cent of the annual North American box office, and a 5 per cent slump in summer ticket sales in 2012, the pressure is on to churn out hits. Seven of the top 10 grossing films for the whole of 2012 were sequels. In 2011, it was nine. With 17 in contention this summer alone, Hollywood studios are relying on a proven fan base to help the slew of high-profile franchises hit their mark. "You have blockbuster after blockbuster week after week," Exhibitor Relations Co's senior box office analyst Jeff Bock told Reuters. "It's like planes coming in at an airport landing strip, one after another." If all goes well, 2013 might be the biggest domestic summer box office on record, topping US$4.5 billion (RM13.69 billion), Bock said. Last year's summer take was just US$4.29 billion, down from the record US$4.4 billion for 2011. "Summer for the studios is like Christmas for retailers," Entertainment Weekly senior writer Anthony Breznican told Reuters. "It's when studios make the lion's share of sales for the year. It's where they place their biggest bets and hope to make the most return." The month of May alone will see four sequels — "Iron Man 3," "Star Trek Into Darkness," "The Hangover 3" and "Fast & Furious 6." "Those are characters or franchises audiences have loved for so long," said Fandango's chief correspondent, Dave Karger. "Viewers know what they're in for with these movies." WILL SUPERHEROES MESS UP? Zachary Quinto, who reprises his role as Spock in Paramount's "Star Trek Into Darkness," noted that it has been four years since movie audiences have seen the characters from the beloved sci-fi series. "There's more action, more destinations, more set pieces and the stakes are higher," Quinto told Reuters of the film. "We're up against an adversary that requires us to splinter off and divide in order to conquer." Elsewhere, films based on superheroes such as "Man of Steel" and "The Wolverine," and franchise continuations of action films like "Red 2" and Universal's "Kick-Ass 2," all look sound — on paper. But even superheroes sometimes mess up. Although 2006's "Superman Returns" grossed US$200 million domestically, Breznican said, it had "no love" from fans, and was largely seen as a flop for Warner Bros. June's Superman offering "Man of Steel" has a whole new cast including Henry Cavill in the title role and filmmaker Christopher Nolan, who successfully rebooted the "Batman" franchise, as a producer. "The stakes have never been higher," said Bock. He noted that if "Man of Steel" proves as successful as the two Batman movies in the "Dark Knight" franchise - which have together made more than US$2 billion worldwide at the box office - it could lead to a reboot of other DC comic book heroes. Amy Adams, who plays Lois Lane in "Man of Steel," told Reuters the film "is adrenaline-inducing but it also has a really amazing heart to it. At the core, it has this truth that really invests you in each character." With all the sequels and reboots, original action films hoping to kick-start a new franchise face a disadvantage. Among the risk-takers are filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and actor Will Smith with the apocalyptic "After Earth," Guillermo Del Toro with his robot-versus-aliens action film "Pacific Rim," and cult filmmaker Neill Blomkamp with his futuristic "Elysium," in August. Del Toro told Reuters that "Pacific Rim," to be released by Warner Bros. in July, is "a quintessential summer movie," that features epic conflicts with robots and creatures along with "small scale problems with human characters." Blomkamp told Reuters he felt good about "Elysium" competing with established franchises, saying his film has "all the elements that those superhero films have." BRAD PITT, JOHNNY DEPP, BALLOONING BUDGETS Family films are also big, with 20th Century Fox's "Epic" in which singer Beyonce takes a voice part, Pixar's "Monsters University," "Despicable Me 2," "Turbo" with Ryan Reynolds as a racing snail, and "Smurfs 2," among others. Comedies featuring big stars are also making a splash. Adam Sandler is back for "Grown Ups 2," Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn reteam on the Google-set comedy "The Internship," Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy appear in "The Heat," and Jennifer Aniston headlines "We're the Millers." But it remains to be seen if Brad Pitt can lure audiences to Paramount's apocalyptic film "World War Z," a movie that Entertainment Weekly proclaimed as the most expensive zombie film, made at US$170 million. Disney hopes that the "Pirates of the Caribbean" trifecta of Johnny Depp, filmmaker Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer can recreate that same magic when the team reassembles for Western "The Lone Ranger" - despite a budget that ballooned to a reported US$250 million. "Certainly the title is a recognizable name, but do fans exist in numbers strong enough for the film to not only make money back, but also make a profit?" asked Breznican. One film that does not appear to fit into any category is Baz Luhrmann's adaption for Warner Bros. of the "The Great Gatsby" starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which was moved from December 2012 to May. Karger called it "the one head scratcher going in to the summer." Luhrmann, on the other hand, thinks the summer season is exactly when it should play. "The book is set in the sweltering summer," the filmmaker told Reuters. "All the Gatsby parties, the cocktails - there's an opportunity for audiences to participate in the movie beyond the experience of the film." — Reuters

‘Iron Man’ shows Hollywood’s bent to take on China censors’ steely grip Posted: 30 Apr 2013 09:27 AM PDT May 01, 2013 Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow at a promo for "Iron Man 3". — AFP picSHANGHAI, April 30 — When superhero film "Iron Man 3" makes its Chinese debut, it will include top Chinese actress Fan Bingbing and some footage shot inside China - additions aimed at tapping into the country's lucrative and booming cinema market. Co-producer DMG Entertainment, a Chinese firm, and the Walt Disney-owned Marvel Studios also hope the changes will help ease the film's way past China's strict censors and the draconian, and often confusing, rules for Western films. "There is no law of film in China, and so no specific standard. The members on the committee censor films totally by their own judgment," said Zhu Dake, an outspoken Chinese film critic based in Shanghai. Every movie in China is censored by the Film Censorship Committee, made up of 37 members including officials, academics, film magazine editors and directors. They vet nudity, violence and politically sensitive scenes. Western films must in addition meet the committee's "amendment opinions" to be one of the 34 Hollywood films permitted in China each year, giving them a shot at a lucrative market where box office takings grew 30 per cent in 2012 to 17.1 billion yuan (RM8.42 billion). The amendments remain unknown and committee members could not be reached for comment. Imported films, which raked in over half the box office last year, have gotten flexible as a result. The latest James Bond film, "Skyfall", cut several sensitive scenes, while action thriller "Looper" added Chinese members to the cast. In "Iron Man 3", which opens on May 1, Robert Downey Jr stars as hero Tony Stark, while Ben Kingsley plays the "Mandarin", a half-Chinese villain — the kind of thing that could be a red flag for censors. In the Chinese version, however, the name is translated as "Man Daren", removing the overtly Chinese connotation. "Iron Man 2" was also censored before it screened in China in 2010, with the words for "Russia" and "Russian" left untranslated in the subtitles and the spoken words muffled. China and Russia share a close-knit history of socialism and have recently reaffirmed close political and military ties. DJANGO SHOWS ARBITRARY DECISIONS Nothing, though, is guaranteed. "Django Unchained", the Oscar-winning film from director Quentin Tarantino, known for his violent tales, was pulled abruptly from Chinese cinemas at its debut earlier this month. Distributors cited "technical reasons", but Zhu thinks the trigger was more political. He said the narrative, which involves a European outsider stirring rebellion in the pre-Civil War United States, could have been the issue. "He is an outside force inciting people to rise up against slavery, which may be reminiscent of Chinese social reality," he said. On April 26, the movie's US distributors said it had gotten the green light for re-release in May. A Hollywood source close to the film said additional cuts had been made but declined to elaborate on what they were. China's cinema goers do not always appreciate the meddling. "The Chinese elements added feel abrupt; including Summer Qing is totally incongruous!" said microblogger "Grapefruit and Lemon" on China's Twitter-like Weibo, referring to a Chinese actress who appeared alongside Bruce Willis in "Looper". Western films aren't the only victims. The Chinese film "Farewell My Concubine" won the Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival, in 1993, but was banned in mainland China for depicting miserable scenes during China's Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s. "Sometimes the suggestions of the censors mean we don't know whether to laugh or cry," award-winning Chinese director Feng Xiaogang said at an awards ceremony in 2012. "Would any Hollywood director have to suffer this?" The overall impact may be broad and long-term. Zhu Dake said the heavy-handed grip on artistic expression is holding back China's budding auteurs. "It's not that Chinese directors lack the talent to make great movies," he said. "But there's always a sword hanging there, which could drop at any time." — Reuters

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N.Y. Governor Andrew Cuomo signs deal for 2014 book Posted: 30 Apr 2013 08:37 AM PDT Gulf expat's tale wins International Prize for Arabic Fiction LOS ANGELES, April 24 – Saud Alsanousi's "The Bamboo Stalk" has won the US$50,000 (RM152,449) International Prize for Arabic Fiction, making its 30-year-old author the youngest ever recipient.As the story ... Read More Nora Ephron's last play 'Lucky Guy' part of October book 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 ... Read More Ireland's John Banville wins Austrian literature prize 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" ... Read More 'Penmanship' is now 'handwriting' as state removes bias in statutes 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" ... Read More LA Times Book Awards celebrate Boo, Fountain, Atwood 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 ... Read More

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A democracy fiesta Posted: 29 Apr 2013 05:09 PM PDT April 30, 2013 Syawal Hafriz is a third-year Government & Economics undergraduate at LSE, and the former chairman of UKEC. He also writes for CEKU at http://www.ceku.org. APRIL 30 — The nation waits anxiously for May 5. It is going to be the mother of all elections. The day where support is translated into votes, winners get to be office-bearers and losers will become the opposition, providing a check and balance for the government.  This will be the 13th time in the history of our nation that we all come together to celebrate a democracy fiesta. As a postal voter this time around, I cast my vote last Sunday. It is great to be able to have a say in deciding who gets to form the government. Voting in the elections for the first time gives you a different kind of excitement — the kind you wish you would feel again on your wedding day. Or maybe, that was just the case for me. Indeed, we have come a long way. There is a stronger opposition coalition now in the form of Pakatan Rakyat. Gone were the days where Barisan Nasional is guaranteed a two-thirds majority in Parliament. The main electoral issue have evolved significantly over the years, from merely development to the demand for post-material values. As we have two apparent alternatives now, it is crucial that we make an informed decision when it comes to voting. Sure, we are still behind when it comes to freedom of information, with the mainstream media controlled by the government, until we have to resort to alternative media in search of broader points of views. Both sources of information must be taken into consideration — only then will we able to vote rationally at the polls. Undeniably, there has been extensive debate over our electoral system, with issues such as phantom voters still yet to be resolved. Nevertheless, the Election Commission has acknowledged such problems and taken necessary reforms in that regard. While the system is not yet perfect, we must not lose faith in the institution and we must continue to participate in the democratic process. The biggest tragedy of democracy is when people choose not to care about the future of the country. Having said that, it is greatly important for the rakyat to go out and vote in this coming election. Voting is a guaranteed democratic right, one which can never be taken away. Our forefathers fought hard for independence for us to be granted with this grand prize — the freedom to choose. Let us thus honour their struggle by exercising this sacred right of ours.  For me, perhaps the greatest news I have received so far is that my grandfather has finally registered as a voter and will be voting for the first time too. He has finally come to the realisation that it is now a tight contest and every single vote counts. It is never too late for anything. If the two-party system is what we need to make people realise that their votes matter, so be it. Ultimately, it is of utmost importance that the results of the elections reflect public opinion as a whole.  I am therefore appealing to all Malaysians, regardless of your political preferences, to come out and vote in this upcoming election. Some may vote strategically or emotionally. It is up to you, for that is the beauty of this democratic process. It is about "demos" and "kratos" — the people's power. Let the voice of the majority decide on the order of the day. Regardless of the outcome of this election, there is one thing for sure — Malaysians deserve a break from politics. It has been a bit too long, don't you think? * This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

Home-grown lack of talent Posted: 29 Apr 2013 05:03 PM PDT April 30, 2013 Andy West is a sports writer originally from the UK and now living in Barcelona. He has worked in professional football since 1998 and specialises in the Spanish Primera Division and the English Premier League. Follow him on Twitter at @andywest01. APRIL 30 — This year there are only three. Last year there were five, while in 2011 it was just two. The year before that there were three, and in 2009 there were four. In fact, you have to go back all the way to find the last time there was a majority of six or more. What on earth am I talking about? I'm talking about the English Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) team of the year, which was announced in a lavish ceremony in London on Sunday night. In case you've not seen this year's team, which is annually compiled as the result of a vote involving all professional players, they lined up as follows: David De Gea; Pablo Zabaleta, Jan Vertonghen, Rio Ferdinand, Leighton Baines; Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Michael Carrick, Gareth Bale; Robin van Persie, Luis Suarez So that's just three Englishmen, Ferdinand, Baines and Carrick, along with one Welshman, the overall player of the year winner, Gareth Bale, to make a total of just four British players included in the English Premier League's select XI. It's nothing new. As I mentioned at the start of the article, the team of the season has been dominated by overseas imports for many years now, and it's not since the mid-1990s that the best 11 was consistently composed of a majority of native players. This ongoing trend is a pretty good indication of the state of English football in terms of producing top-quality English footballers. Quite simply: it's something my country is not very good at, and hasn't been for quite a long time. The question is: does this matter? Should English football care that the majority of the best players in the top division are not English? On the face of it, the obvious immediate answer is no. In terms of popularity, both within the UK and internationally, the EPL has flourished during the years of overseas dominance. The league has never been more popular or wealthier, so the failure of clubs to develop English players can hardly be said to have affected the EPL's global appeal, both with traditional match-going fans and the new international fanbase. Spanish football, in contrast, has never been stronger in terms of producing home-grown talent. La Liga's team of the year would include an Argentine (Lionel Messi, who was developed in Spain anyway), a Portuguese (Cristiano Ronaldo) and maybe a Belgian and a Colombian (Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and striker Radamel Falcao) but otherwise would be composed entirely of Spaniards. Yet many top-flight Spanish clubs are struggling to fill their stadia — even some of the best teams regularly play in front of half-empty venues — and the global popularity of the Spanish Primera Division is a pale shadow compared to the phenomenal passion aroused by the EPL. So there doesn't seem to be any correlation between the popularity and commercial health of the two leagues and the number of domestically reared players contained within those leagues. In the long term, though, it can only be unhealthy for English football teams to contain so few English footballers. The performance of the national team is already suffering and England will continue to slide down the world rankings, and continue to make early exits from the European Championships and the World Cup (if they even get there). And that, eventually, would surely start to impact negatively on the EPL's appeal to the fans both at home and abroad. A product of increasingly diminished quality would inevitably — even if slowly — lose its previous lustre and gradually find itself commercially overtaken by stronger leagues. This is something the English game's authorities have been aware of for many years, but so far they have been unable to find any remedies despite various attempts to reshape the structure of club academies and other grassroots initiatives. I believe there are two fundamental problems. Firstly, the sport's management — or lack of it — at the highest level. This has been inevitable ever since the Premier League made an organisational breakaway from the Football Association way back in 1992. It created a situation whereby the English game is effectively led by two governing bodies, whose priorities and concerns are often very different. Although the FA and the Premier League are not exactly at war, they certainly endure an uneasy relationship which prohibits the development and implementation of a consistent and clear-sighted long-term plan for the improvement of young English players — exactly the kind of plan, in fact, that the German FA initiated a few years ago with such obviously successful results. Secondly, the English footballing mindset remains rooted firmly in the past and serves as a serious impediment for the growth of young talent suitable for the modern game. Football has changed an awful lot in the last 20 years, notably with improvements in playing surfaces and law changes to protect creative players, both of which have encouraged the development of technically adept performers who can control, pass and move rather than kick, tackle and head in the old-fashioned English style. Attending a junior football match in England is a dispiriting experience. Parents and coaches stand on the sidelines bellowing at their young charges to "get stuck in" and "get the ball forward." This leads to a frantic kick-and-rush approach which might satisfy the competitive urges of the watching adults (sounds a bit like the EPL, doesn't it?) but does nothing to enhance the technical development of the young players. Until that mentality changes, there's unlikely to be much significant improvement in the quality of players produced by English football. In the not-too-distant future, we might be lucky to have a PFA team of the year that contains even one home-grown player, never mind three or four. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

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Najib: Kita bina sekolah Cina di Pokok Sena jika BN menang Posted: 30 Apr 2013 02:23 AM PDT April 30, 2013 Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (dua dari kanan) diiringi Pengerusi Badan Perhubungan Umno Kedah, Datuk Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah (kiri) merasmikan Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Awana, Alor Setar. — Gambar oleh Choo Choo MayALOR SETAR, 30 April — Kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) bersetuju untuk membina Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Keat Hwa 3 di kawasan Parlimen Pokok Sena, kata Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Perdana menteri berkata projek itu akan dilaksanakan berikutan permintaan masyarakat Cina di kawasan berkenaan. "Kerajaan setuju untuk bina sekolah itu kerana permohonan yang banyak daripada masyarakat setempat dan Barisan Nasional sokong dengan apa yang kita kira terbaik untuk masyarakat Cina," katanya. Beliau berkata demikian kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Awana, Pokok Sena dekat sini, hari ini. Tanpa menyebut kos dan bila pembinaan sekolah itu akan dimulakan, Najib berkata segala perancangan projek tersebut akan diteliti sepenuhnya calon BN untuk Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Derga, Dr Cheah Soon Hai yang juga penyandang kerusi itu. "Dr Cheah yang akan cari tanah untuk bina sekolah itu. Segala perancangan atas dia. Tetapi, apapun kita (rakyat) kena pastikan Barisan Nasional menang pada pilihan raya umum ke-13 kali ini," kata Najib yang juga Pengerusi BN. Sementara itu, Cheah berterima kasih kepada perdana menteri kerana keperluan bagi sekolah itu sudah lama dibangkitkan masyarakat Cina di kawasan Parlimen Pokok Sena. "Saya akan memastikan segala perancangan akan dibuat seperti urusan mencari tanah dan sebagainya. "Kita nak buat (bina) sekolah ini sebab SMJK Keat Hwa 1 dan 2 hanya terdapat di Kuala Kedah dan ini menyukarkan sebahagian keluarga Cina di sini menghantar anak mereka ke sana," jelasnya. — Bernama

PDRM: Jangan bimbang keluar mengundi, keselamatan terjamin Posted: 30 Apr 2013 02:19 AM PDT April 30, 2013 SEREMBAN, 30 April — Orang ramai di Negeri Sembilan tidak perlu bimbang untuk keluar mengundi pada Ahad ini (5 Mei) kerana keselamatan mereka dan ketenteraman awam adalah terjamin. Ketua Polis negeri Datuk Osman Salleh berkata anggota polis berada di semua tempat mengundi untuk mengawal, memantau dan mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap kemungkinan ada pihak yang berniat jahat untuk cuba menggagalkan proses pilihan raya umum kali ini.   "Kita bersedia menghadapi apa sahaja kemungkinan yang akan berlaku kerana kita mempunyai anggota yang mencukupi untuk menghadapi situasi berkenaan. Saya beri jaminan keselamatan dan ketenteraman awam adalah terjamin," katanya kepada pemberita selepas mengundi di Ibu Pejabat Polis Kontinjen (IPK) Negeri Sembilan di sini, hari ini. Beliau menasihatkan pengundi keluar awal, di sebelah pagi, bagi mengelak kemungkinan hujan pada sebelah petang. Osman turut meminta mereka yang keluar mengundi agar berkongsi kenderaan bagi mengelak kesesakan di tempat mengundi. "Saya juga nasihatkan pengundi yang balik mengundi ke negeri masing-masing (luar Negeri Sembilan) dan meninggalkan rumah, jika perlu, maklumkan kepada polis kerana anggota polis akan membuat rondaan dan pengawasan," katanya. — Bernama

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