Jumaat, 30 Ogos 2013

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Spenders Spurs drawn with sellers Anzhi in Europa League

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 07:10 AM PDT

August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 31, 2013 06:10 am

Tottenham Hotspur, who have splurged over 65 million pounds (about RM320 million) on new talent, were today drawn in the same Europa League group as Anzhi Makhachkala, the Russian club who have been selling off their players.

Anzhi put their entire first team squad up for sale after their billionaire owner cut the club's budget, triggering an exodus of expensively acquired players.

Group K opponents Spurs, who had been linked with Anzhi's Brazilian playmaker Willian before he joined Chelsea instead along with the Russian club's Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, have brought in several new faces.

Tottenham have already broken their transfer record twice with the signings of Spain striker Roberto Soldado and Brazil midfielder Paulinho amid media reports that their Wales forward Gareth Bale will join Real Madrid in a world record deal.

The draw for the group stage of Europe's second-tier club competition also featured Cypriot side APOEL, who have replaced Fenerbahce, and Norway's Tromso, reinstated in place of Besiktas after the Turkish clubs lost appeals against match-fixing bans.

APOEL feature in Group F with France's Bordeaux, Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt and Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv, while Tromso are in Tottenham's group along with Moldovan outfit Sheriff.

Former European champions PSV Eindhoven were drawn in Group B alongside Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb, Ukraine's Chornomorets Odessa and Bulgaria's Ludogorets.

Sevilla, who won back-to-back UEFA Cups - the predecessor to the Europa League - in 2006 and 2007 will face Germany's Freiburg, Portugal's Estoril and Czech side Liberec in Group H.

Holders Chelsea and last season's runners-up Benfica are competing in the Champions League.

There are 48 clubs across 12 groups. Group winners and runners-up advance to the knockout stage where they will be joined by eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage. The final will staged in Turin, Italy, in May. - August 30, 2013.

Transfer system is robbery, says Platini

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 02:36 AM PDT

August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 30, 2013 07:56 pm

UEFA president Michel Platini (pic) today called for a sweeping reform of the transfer system, describing the current system as a form of robbery and saying the transfer window was too long.

Platini said there were too many people vying to take a slice of commission from players' transfers and also said players were to blame for not respecting contracts.

His comments came amid the ongoing saga of Gareth Bale's possible move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid for 100 million euros and at the end of a European transfer window which critics say has dragged on for too long.

"I think transfers are robbery," the former France captain told a media conference.

"Today, the player is more a product than a player and that irks me because there is a whole lot of people trying to make this player make money in order to earn commissions, we should think about that and try to find something more healthy.

"Players are not free and they don't even belong to clubs, they belong to financial holdings, companies or people.

"I don't think it is right. I believe this is important and this is new in the world of football," he added. "We are looking into that, working on it, I agree maybe this window is too big, too long."

Platini said that UEFA were looking at a possible reform of the transfer system and were aware that FIFPro, the world player's union, wanted sweeping reforms.

Platini pointed out that in his own playing days, players had gone on strike for the right to leave their clubs at the end of their contract.

But nowadays, he said players failed to respect their contracts, often refusing to play or train to try and force a move elsewhere.

"I belong to the generation who went on strike so players could leave at the end of the contract," he added.

"Players went on strike to be free.... now I see they sign contracts, they don't play because they want to leave again... there is something unhealthy about that.

"Robbery may be too tough a word, but when you sign a contract you should respect it and that's what I wanted to say... We need a re-think of the whole transfer system."

He added that inflated transfer fees had always been a source of debate.

"We have been asking ourselves the same question for 30 years as to the morality of the money involved in transfers," he said.

"People asked these questions when Diego Maradona was transferred for 30 million, or Zinedine Zidane for 60 million." - Reuters, August 30, 2013.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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Gut, not gluttony makes quitting smokers gain weight

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 06:52 PM PDT

August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 30, 2013 05:52 pm

Nervous nibbles alone do not explain the weight that people tend to gain when they give up smoking, Swiss researchers said Thursday, turning the spotlight instead on a bacterial shift in the intestines.

Studies have shown that quitting smoking leads to an average weight gain of four to five kilogrammes (nine to 11 pounds) in the first year. But according to researchers at Zurich University Hospital, former smokers who bulk up may not be eating more than before they kissed their cigarettes goodbye.

Noting that even people who cut back on calorie intake after quitting smoking tend to gain weight, Professor Gerhard Rogler said he and his colleagues had discovered another potential explanation: a change in the composition of the intestinal flora among smokers who kick the habit.

Their study, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and published in peer-reviewed scientific journal PLoS One, found that when a person stops smoking, the diversity of bacterial strains in their intestines shifts.

It more resembles the gut flora found in people with obesity. Both recent non-smokers and obese people tend to have more of two bacteria types, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, Rogler told AFP.

These germs are believed to use energy more efficiently and break down otherwise indigestible fibres - and as a result, more of what the person eats is transformed into fat rather than excreted as waste.

The researchers studied the genetic profile of intestinal bacteria found in faecal samples provided by 20 volunteers over nine weeks.

The participants comprised five non-smokers, five smokers and 10 people who had quit smoking one week after the study began.

Little difference was seen in the bacterial biodiversity among the persistent smokers and non-smokers. But among those who had just given up smoking, there was a clear shift towards more Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, the study showed.

Over the study period, the people who had quit smoking also gained an average of 2.2 kilos (4.8 pounds), even though they insisted that their eating and drinking habits were unchanged.

"Under the same living conditions, they gained weight after the cessation of smoking, and they showed a change in the microbiota," Rogler said.

While researchers have yet to prove a clear connection between the two developments, he pointed out that a number of other studies have also showed a link between intestinal bacteria and weight gain.

On Wednesday, a study published in the journal Nature found that individuals with low bacterial "richness" in their intestines were more prone to obesity and associated diseases such as diabetes, heart and cholesterol problems.

Six bacterial species appear to play a key role in promoting this diversity. Rogler said that more research was needed to answer the many questions that arise from such discoveries.

But he said it was clear we should pay more attention to how the environment influences gut functions.

"Nobody believed the people who stopped smoking and said they weren't eating more but still gained weight. Perhaps we simply should be more willing to believe what people tell us," he said. - AFP/Relaxnews, August 30, 2013.

In Malaysia, property profiting big business, not man in the street

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT

BY QUEK YIING HUEY
August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 29, 2013 07:54 pm

Beyond the fear of a property bubble, Malaysians are asking themselves one question - is it really important to own a house and at what cost?

The question arises as Malaysia's affordable housing firm PR1MA announced it will build 20,000 houses costing up to RM400,000 across the country within the next 24 months, while the government has said it will review real property gains tax to curb property speculation.

"The younger generation is unfortunately enslaved by the powers-to-be," veteran property consultant Dr Ernest Cheong told The Malaysian Insider in Kuala Lumpur.

During the two decades after Merdeka, the government encouraged house ownership to secure the loyalty of immigrants. However, since the 80s, it has cynically been seen as a way for the government and industry to pursue profits instead of offering a roof over citizens' heads, said Cheong.

He called it the "The Triumvirate", a regime of political, commercial and banking forces that hold powers by conspiring to keep the nation in financial economic slavery.

Cheong said young working adults aged 25-35 and holding their first jobs earn between RM3,000 and RM5,000 a month and would not be able to afford anything beyond RM100,000.

"They actually cannot afford to buy anything without the help of their parents," he said.

He compared the purchasing power over the years, saying that a decade ago, RM150,000 double-storey terrace houses were available in Kajang or Semenyih, some 45km from Kuala Lumpur. Five years on, the same amount of money would only get a single-storey terrace house. But today, it will cost them a minimum of RM400,000.

"Sadly, this generation must come to terms that they may never own a house as long as prices continue to rise," Cheong said.

He pointed out that the surge in demand is a mirage that runs on speculation that is aided and abetted by banks due to loan-driven demands that do not reflect income.

Calling the mentality of homeownership a self-imposed stigma based on factors of fear and peer pressure, he said, "It is better to face the reality of not being able to afford (a home), than to be enslaved by housing debts."

"They must know that there is no shame in renting a house because the question is whether one can keep up with a 30-year loan payment."

Boon Kia Meng, filmmaker of documentary film "M-C-M: Utopia Milik Siapa?", which explores Malaysia's housing bubble, said the reason why home ownership is a social and cultural value held dear by Malaysians is perhaps tied to the country's colonial past.

"It is prevalent in the US and the UK. We have seen this time and again encouraged by conservative governments like Margaret Thatcher, which felt that giving people a stake in property will make citizens less likely to challenge the prevailing social order," said Boon, who also holds a Masters of Philosophy from King's College.

In comparison, he said that there isn't a stigma associated with renting houses in countries with high taxes like Germany and Sweden. Instead, they have better social security because young people invest more on education.

Retired businesswoman Jacqueline Reuben, 52, has a different take on it. "Why should a citizen say that they can't afford a house in Malaysia?" she said.

She pointed out that the main thing about buying instead of renting a property is that it gives people security and a sense of belonging. She feels it's shameful to discourage a young person from buying a house.

"The government should then provide better public housing or policies that will boost their purchasing power. Or else we will end up a homeless nation," she said.

On the other hand, communications manager Ferdinand Pereira is one who has opted to rent.

"It is ingrained in us that home ownership equals security, but no one speaks about the burden of a 30-year loan over your head, which also ties you down to a fixed place."

He added that he sees it as an option rather than a problem, and that people should not be so preoccupied with owning a property that life passes them by. - August 30, 2013

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Merdeka also means freedom from poverty

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 08:22 PM PDT

August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 30, 2013 11:41 am

Liew Chin Tong is the DAP MP for Bukit Bendera.

When it comes to mainstream media, whether it's the Malay, Chinese, Tamil or English press, the political debate would inevitably be framed in racial and ethnic terms. In the familiar discourse that revolves around race, everyone seems to have an opinion to add to the endless fray.

This tends to lead to a collective fatigue and people shy away from the topics that should actually occupy media space and public policy debate - the important issues of health and disease, career, education, and other basic necessities of life.

As we celebrate Merdeka day, I would like to share three real life stories from my constituency of Kluang in central Johor.

Three true stories

First: A family of nine lives in Sri Lalang, in a kampung located between the Kluang and Ayer Hitam parliamentary boundaries. The man of the house is a lorry attendant, earning less than RM1,000 a month. Living in the same household are his 85-year-old mother, 71-year-old mother-in-law, wife and their five children.

The eldest son is working. In view of the family's financial burden, two of the kids chose to quit secondary school. The 16-year-old stopped schooling three years ago, the other one dropped out this year.

The secondary school is located slightly away from home, requiring a daily bus fare and allowance of RM5. The other two children in primary school would need RM2 everyday for bus fare and pocket money. The family lives in very poor conditions, the wooden hut they call home does not even have proper sanitation.

Second: A family lives in a low cost house in Jalan Sawi. Their electricity supply was cut off after failing to pay the bill. The 45-year-old home owner lost his job due to his recurrent migraine and eye problems, side effects from a motorbike accident that happened when he was 19.

His eldest son is 18. The other children, aged between 12 to 16, had to quit school. The youngest child, a diabetic, needs insulin shots four times a day.

Third: A mother who desperately seeks donations from door to door to save her two-year-old girl, born with a hole in the heart. Her husband does odd jobs, unable to sustain full-time employment after a motorcycle injury. They have three children.

Better education enabled her to get a job, which she gave up in order to care for her sick child. She now works as helper in a hawker stall earning RM2 per hour.

Since the Kluang General Hospital has no specialist doctor for the little girl's condition, she must travel to Johor Bahru, about 110km from their home, for treatment. A very costly trip for someone who earns two ringgit per hour.

Our shared pains

Each of these stories pains me. It is a travesty that 56 years after Merdeka, there are still children-turned-dropouts for want of finances.

So many cases of poverty are linked to motorcycle accidents that caused injuries or death. Every year, 6,000 people perish from road accidents and an average of 50,000 are injured. Bhind each death or injury is a tale of woe.

Not enough thought is put into how to improve our public transport system. How do we break out from the private car-oriented traffic model?

The social welfare department offers minimal assistance and monetary aid, the general attitude is almost as though "too little is better than none". The system is unable to cope with the new welfare needs which arise.

Our policies towards medical needs in society are indifferent, passive, and "no money no talk". At the same time, the problems faced by an aging population are hardly on the radar of the authorities' planning considerations.

After the 1997 financial crisis, our economy did not grow by leaps and bounds, wages have been suppressed. The influx of foreign labour further kept our wages stagnant.

Many hardworking citizens barely have enough to make ends meet. When sickness strikes, it can cause an entire family to lose its breadwinner.

And oh yes, the three families in the stories above are all Malay.

Breaking out of the racial frame

Yet some of us are still stuck in the racial frame. Some Chinese even believe that ALL Malays obtain government assistance. I would like to say to them that poverty knows no racial barrier. There are far more poor Malay households than we imagine.

The Malays are not the problem. The real problem is Umno. It is Umno that claims it protects the Malay's economic interests. Yet I can argue that the numerous evidence of Malay poverty would prove otherwise.

Let us take off the tinted lenses of "race". Look at the needs of every person in terms of job opportunities, education, housing, transport, health care, welfare.

It is time for policy-makers to go back to the basics of our fundamental human needs, in order to rebuild this broken nation. - August 30, 2013.

Merdeka also means freedom from poverty

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 08:21 PM PDT

August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 30, 2013 11:41 am

Liew Chin Tong is the DAP MP for Bukit Bendera.

As we celebrate Merdeka day, I would like to share three real life stories from my constituency of Kluang in central Johor.

Three true stories

His eldest son is 18. The other children, aged between 12 to 16, had to quit school. The youngest child, a diabetic, needs insulin shots four times a day.

Better education enabled her to get a job, which she gave up in order to care for her sick child. She now works as helper in a hawker stall earning RM2 per hour.

Our shared pains

Each of these stories pains me. It is a travesty that 56 years after Merdeka, there are still children-turned-dropouts for want of finances.

Not enough thought is put into how to improve our public transport system. How do we break out from the private car-oriented traffic model?

After the 1997 financial crisis, our economy did not grow by leaps and bounds, wages have been suppressed. The influx of foreign labour further kept our wages stagnant.

Many hardworking citizens barely have enough to make ends meet. When sickness strikes, it can cause an entire family to lose its breadwinner.

And oh yes, the three families in the stories above are all Malay.

Breaking out of the racial frame

Let us take off the tinted lenses of "race". Look at the needs of every person in terms of job opportunities, education, housing, transport, health care, welfare.

It is time for policy-makers to go back to the basics of our fundamental human needs, in order to rebuild this broken nation. - August 30, 2013.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

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Merdeka: Umat Islam jangan terpedaya dengan helah teknologi

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 01:11 AM PDT

August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 30, 2013 05:45 pm

Umat Islam diingatkan pelbagai cara sedang dilakukan oleh mereka yang tidak bertanggungjawab untuk melemahkan jati diri ummah sehingga menyebabkan masyarakat Islam seolah-olah hilang panduan dan pedoman untuk membezakan mana benar, mana salah, mana palsu dan mana yang tulen.

Khutbah Jumaat yang dikeluarkan Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) hari ini menggariskan antara cara yang melemahkan jati diri umat Islam ialah melalui pembohongan fakta, pencemaran budaya, penyebaran racun akidah melalui media massa, internet, Facebook, emel, SMS dan sebagainya.

Khutbah bertajuk `Jati Diri Asas Kemerdekaan Negara' itu, berkata penjajahan minda di bawah inovasi canggih menjadikan ruang sosial tidak mempunyai sempadan sehingga segala maklumat memenuhi ruang tanpa kawalan dan pemantauan berkesan.

Katanya, proses pendemokrasian maklumat itu berjalan pantas dan media massa mempunyai pengaruh besar dalam mencanai pemikiran rakyat.

"Serangan musuh Islam ini hampir berjaya, sehinggakan pada hari ini kita sedang mengalami ketidaktentuan dalam masyarakat yang kita tidak tahu apa puncanya hingga umat Islam dicabar jiwa dan jati dirinya," katanya.

Khutbah berkenaan turut menyentuh mengenai penghinaan kepada umat Islam secara berterusan seperti memperlekeh hak eksklusif ummah, contohnya kalimah Allah, masjid dan sebagainya, mempersendakan ibadah umat Islam seperti menghina bulan Ramadan dengan hidangan binatang yang haram di sisi Islam dan paling malang lagi ada yang sanggup menghina Rasulullah.

Dalam khutbah itu, umat Islam diingatkan bahawa menjadi tanggungjawab orang Islam untuk meletakkan kepentingan agama dan akidah di tempat teratas dan semua yang merosakkan agama dan akidah wajib dihindarkan.

"Umat Islam yang menjaga agama akan menjadi seorang yang berintegriti, tidak akan membenarkan sesuatu berlaku yang akan merosakkan akhlak dan moral. Mereka yang tidak beragama akan lemah akhlaknya dan hilang semangat patriotik dan jati dirinya, dan tidak mustahil akan menggadaikan kepentingan negaranya demi memenuhi tuntutan hawa nafsunya," katanya.

Khutbah itu menyeru umat Islam yang mempunyai jati diri, cintakan agama, bangsa dan negara bersatu padu dalam menangani isu berkenaan.

Katanya, perpecahan berdasarkan ketaksuban dan fahaman kepartian yang sempit sebenarnya akan merugikan ummah itu sendiri bahkan akan terus melemahkan ummah sehingga tidak lagi dihormati oleh mereka yang bukan Islam.

"Cukup-cukuplah kita membicarakan parti mana yang bagus dan pemimpin mana bersih kerana ia pasti tidak akan berkesudahan. Pada masa ini, perpaduan antara kita mestilah menjadi agenda utama demi memastikan Islam sebagai agama rasmi negara dipertahankan," katanya.

Sempena sambutan bertemakan, `Malaysia Berdaulat, Tanah Tumpahnya Darahku', khutbah itu mengajak umat Islam mengenang kembali pengorbanan dan susah payah pejuang negara yang banyak berjasa kepada agama, bangsa dan negara.

Tetapi, pada masa sama, umat Islam katanya, perlu sedar bahawa perjuangan kemerdekaan belum lagi selesai sekalipun kita pada hari ini tidak lagi dijajah secara fizikal dan masih banyak lagi perkara yang perlu dilakukan.

Katanya, kemerdekaan lebih empat dekad ini perlu diisi dengan pembangunan fizikal, mental dan spiritual dan dibangunkan dengan memelihara kekuatan politik, ekonomi, sosial, agama, bahasa, budaya dan seni warisan bangsa.

"Kita sebagai rakyat tidak boleh berpeluk tubuh dan berasa puas hati dengan apa yang dikecapi selama ini. Jangan kita menjadikan sambutan Hari kemerdekaan sebagai satu cuti umum sahaja atau pesta untuk bersuka ria," katanya.

Maka, katanya, bagi memulakan agenda besar itu, umat Islam digalakkan mengisi hari kemerdekaan dnegan nilai keimanan dan ketakwaan sejati untuk melaksanakan segala amanah yang diberikan dengan sepenuhnya kerana ia sebahagian daripada syahadah dan ikrar kepada Allah.

"Kepada generasi muda, mimbar yang mulia ini menyeru menyelami erti kemerdekaan dengan menjadikan pengorbanan generasi terdahulu sebagai satu inspirasi untuk kita terus berusaha gigih menjadi bangsa yang maju.

"Kenangilah tokoh pejuang kemerdekaan dan bayangkanlah suasana di zaman mereka yang penuh dengan ancaman, jerit perit, susah payah namun tetap mereka teruskan perjuangan walau dengan air mata, keringat dan darah demi untuk mendapatkan sebuah kemerdekaan.

"Kita doakan juga supaya negara tercinta terus dikekalkan nikmat kestabilan politik dan keamanan, keteguhan ekonomi, dijauhkan segala perbuatan jahat dan fitnah yang boleh membawa malapetaka dan kehancuran negara.

"Tanamkanlah rasa kasih sayang di antara rakyat yang berbilang kaum, kukuhkan perpaduan di kalangan mereka semoga sentiasa hidup dalam kemakmuran dan keselamatan sepanjang zaman," katanya. – 30 Ogos, 2013.

Merdeka: Umat Islam jangan terpedaya dengan helah teknologi

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 01:11 AM PDT

August 30, 2013
Latest Update: August 30, 2013 05:45 pm

Katanya, proses pendemokrasian maklumat itu berjalan pantas dan media massa mempunyai pengaruh besar dalam mencanai pemikiran rakyat.

Khutbah itu menyeru umat Islam yang mempunyai jati diri, cintakan agama, bangsa dan negara bersatu padu dalam menangani isu berkenaan.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Jumaat, 30 Ogos 2013