Rabu, 30 April 2014

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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The Malaysian Insider :: Food


Shang Palace chef wins prestigious culinary award

Posted: 30 Apr 2014 04:56 PM PDT

BY EU HOOI KHAW
May 01, 2014

Shang Palace Chinese executive chef Tan Kim Weng (pic) was a little overwhelmed at winning the title of Tunglok Asian Cuisine Chef of the Year at the 2014 Awards of Excellence at the 18th World Gourmet Summit held in Singapore last month.

The other contenders for the award in the finals had been Michelin-starred and celebrity chefs like Alvin Leung of Bo Innovation and Law On of Fook Lam Moon in Hong Kong, Ip Chi Cheung of Summer Palace at Shangri-La Hong Kong and David Thompson of Nahm in Bangkok.

"It's the best award I have won and the most encouraging as competing with me were all these Michelin-star chefs," said Tan. 

The Awards of Excellence World Gourmet Series recognises the best in the food and beverage industry. Tan received the award from Andrew Tjioe, executive chairman of the Tunglok Group, at the event's closing ceremony.

Inaugurated in 2001, the World Gourmet Series Awards of Excellence acknowledge the efforts of key players in the food and beverage industry who deliver the best dining experience and products to their guests. It's organised by A La Carte Productions (a subsidiary of Peter Knipp Holdings Pte Ltd) and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board.

For the Tunglok Asian Cuisine Chef of the Year (Regional), the award recognises an individual who is directly involved in restaurant operations and demonstrates s high level of talent and creativity in preparing Asian-inspired cuisine.

"I feel very proud that a Malaysian has won this prestigious award," said Tan. "I must thank the good team effort of the kitchen and service staff of Shang Palace."

Tan went through a stringent selection process after he was nominated for the award. He does not know who nominated him, as "your own company cannot make a nomination".

The evaluation process included two rounds of voting open to both members of the public and a select group of food and beverage professionals. Each round was subject to a review by industry key decision makers. Finalists were determined at the end of the two rounds. The winner was selected based on his or her merits and at the final review.

Tan's culinary career has spanned 28 years. His own family used to have a dimsum business in Ipoh. "I knew about kitchen preparations and ingredients when I was in school."

He studied till Form Five and had an opportunity to go to Form Six but he left for Singapore to work in a Chinese restaurant. He was there for three years before coming to Kuala Lumpur to help open the Chinese restaurant in a five-star hotel here.

He worked in yet another five-star hotel, opening the Chinese restaurant there before joining the Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

As a chef he is always trying out the food of other restaurants in Malaysia and elsewhere and is in constant touch with other Chinese chefs, exchanging knowledge about the dining scene in Hong Kong and China.

"I constantly check online what other people in other countries are doing so that I can upgrade myself. I also visit food fairs like Food and Hotel Asia to look at equipment and ingredients."

Like French cooking, the chef believes in not straying too far from the roots of traditional Chinese cooking. "A lot of people do too much fusion out there."

He derives much personal satisfaction from cooking as "it feels so good when people appreciate your food." – May 1, 2014.

Dessert of the day – Dominique Ansel’s ‘Waffogato’

Posted: 30 Apr 2014 12:39 AM PDT

April 30, 2014

Dominique Ansel's Waffogato, as seen on Instagram. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, April 30, 2014.Dominique Ansel's Waffogato, as seen on Instagram. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, April 30, 2014.New York pastry chef Dominique Ansel has launched another headline-grabbing dessert: the Waffogato, an innovative twist on the classic Italian post-meal treat affogato, in which strong hot espresso is poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

In Ansel's version, affogato is made into a breakfast treat as vanilla ice cream takes the shape of a waffle and is made with Belgium waffle bits. Over the cold creamy bar, he pours maple syrup-scented espresso.

Then, as the ice cream melts, tapioca pearls are revealed and float in the pool of melted vanilla ice cream, he explains on Instagram.

The dessert was created for a charity event in New York.

Since creating the world famous donut-croissant hybrid, the Cronut last year, Ansel has shot to meteoric fame. – AFP/Relaxnews, April 30, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports


Banana-throwing fan in Spain faces criminal charges

Posted: 30 Apr 2014 09:08 AM PDT

May 01, 2014

In this snapshot from TV of the Villareal vs Barcelona match last Sunday, shared via Twitter, Dani Alves is seen picking up the banana which was thrown by the Villareal fan, who has since been banned from the stadium. - April 30, 2014.In this snapshot from TV of the Villareal vs Barcelona match last Sunday, shared via Twitter, Dani Alves is seen picking up the banana which was thrown by the Villareal fan, who has since been banned from the stadium. - April 30, 2014.Spanish police said Wednesday they have laid criminal charges against a football fan for throwing a banana at Barcelona defender Dani Alves, a slur that has sparked a global storm of anti-racist protest.

The Spanish authorities arrested the young man Tuesday, two days after the ugly incident put racism in Spanish football under a harsh spotlight, unleashing condemnation worldwide including from Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

The suspect, who has been named and pilloried on social media but has not been identified by the authorities, was charged on the same day with an offence against civil rights and liberties before being released, a police spokeswoman said.

If found guilty, he could face a sentence of up to three years in prison.

The banana landed on the pitch near the 30-year-old Brazilian international as he was about to take a corner during Barcelona's away match against Villareal on Sunday night.

Alves won praise for his reaction, picking up the banana to take a bite before getting on with the game and setting up a goal in Barcelona's dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 victory.

Villarreal condemned the incident and said they had identified the culprit, withdrawing his club membership and permanently banning him from their ground.

"The player Dani Alves gave a daring and strong response to racism in sports," Brazil's leader said in a series of Twitter messages after the match.

Blatter also reacted on Twitter, saying: "What @DaniAlves2 tolerated last night is an outrage. We must fight all forms of discrimination united. Will be zero tolerance at #World Cup."

The FIFA boss spread his anti-racism message Wednesday to the United States after the NBA banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life for racist comments.

No to racism

"Sport says no to racism. I fully support @NBA's decision to ban @LAClippers owner for life after his racist words," Blatter said.

Much of the football world stood behind Alves.

Outraged at his teammate's treatment, Neymar posted on Twitter with the hashtag #somostodosmacacos, (we are all monkeys).

He then sent a photo showing him eating a banana holding his two-year-old son, who was clutching a banana-shaped soft toy.

Chelsea's Brazilian stars Oscar, David Luiz and Willian also posted to social media while Manchester City's Argentinian star Sergio Aguero tweeted a picture of himself and Brazilian five-time world female player of the year Marta both eating a banana.

Football's world and European governing bodies FIFA and UEFA have repeatedly tried to campaign against racism and last November, Blatter said he was "sickened" to see some Real Betis supporters make monkey chants at their own player, Brazilian defender Paulao, in a city derby against Sevilla.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said Tuesday he regretted that some people had used football to launch a racist message.

"It is not everyone. I want to think these are isolated incidents. In football there is no racism, not at all," Del Bosque said, ruling out any impact on the Spain team from the fallout of the scandal.

In an interview with AFP, Alfredo Relano, the editor of major sports daily AS, said many people in Spain did not believe there was any racism because in the past there had been relatively few people of other races in the country.

"As people from elsewhere have been coming in, it has started showing up," he said, referring to the banana-throwing slur as "unacceptable".

"I think there is racism in Spain and we have to fix it. The strong reaction from outside was very present in England some time ago and they followed it up very seriously. I think we have to follow it up with rigour." – AFP, April 30, 2014.

Spain dreams of all-Madrid Champions League final

Posted: 30 Apr 2014 06:59 AM PDT

April 30, 2014

Real Madrid players celebrate their victory over Bayern Munich after their Champions League semi-final second leg match in Munich yesterday. – Reuters pic, April 30, 2014.Real Madrid players celebrate their victory over Bayern Munich after their Champions League semi-final second leg match in Munich yesterday. – Reuters pic, April 30, 2014.Spain dreamed today of an unprecedented Madrid derby final to the Champions League, as the nation's sporting press gloated over Real Madrid's demolition of the mighty Bayern Munich.

"Worst thrashing in history!" boasted the front-page of Spain's biggest selling sports daily Marca after Real Madrid wreaked havoc in Munich with a 4-0 away leg win delivering a 5-0 aggregate crushing of Bayern.

Many papers recalled Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge's pre-match warning to Real Madrid that the German ground would be an "inferno" and "Munich will burn".

"Rummenigge was right. Munich burned", ran the front-page headline of Madrid-based sports daily AS after Pep Guardiola's Bayern suffered their heaviest home defeat in European competition.

"What a night! The best Madrid I can remember in Europe, a night to banish once and for all the phantom of Bayern, to wipe away all the bad times suffered before the Bavarian giants," said AS football analyst Alfredo Relano.

Real are now one game away from their longed-for, yet elusive "La Decima" – their 10th European title.

If Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid can now prevail over Jose Mourinho's Chelsea in London, they would face Real Madrid on May 24 in Lisbon.

It would be Atletico's first European championship final in 40 years, the first chance to regain the title since May 1974 when they lost to Bayern Munich.

"You can do it Atleti!" Marca blared on its front page.

"Come on Atleti!" echoed Barcelona-based Mundo Deportivo.

Mundo Deportivo football writer J.G. Gomara said his father, who was aged 13 at the time, never tired of regaling his family with his memories of the Atletico Madrid-Bayern Munich final.

"Well, 40 years have gone by and the red-and-whites are just one step away from having the chance to avenge my father's memories and those of many of you," Gomara wrote.

"They are just one step away but it is a big one," he said, warning that the Madrid side will have to overcome Mourinho's defensive wall. "If Atletico want to be in Lisbon they will have to sweat blood to do it." – AFP, April 30, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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Actor Bob Hoskins dead at age 71, says publicist

Posted: 30 Apr 2014 05:40 AM PDT

April 30, 2014
Latest Update: April 30, 2014 10:32 pm

Actor Bob Hoskins attends a photocall in Venice in this August 31, 2006 file photo. – Reuters pic, April 30, 2014.Actor Bob Hoskins attends a photocall in Venice in this August 31, 2006 file photo. – Reuters pic, April 30, 2014.British actor Bob Hoskins, whose roles ranged from London gangsters to FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover and who starred opposite a cast of cartoon characters in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", has died after a bout of pneumonia, his publicist said today.

He was 71.

A statement issued on behalf of his wife Linda and his children said: "We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Bob. Bob died peacefully at hospital last night surrounded by family, following a bout of pneumonia."

Hoskins announced his retirement from acting in 2012, saying at the time that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease, an incurable muscular disorder.

Hoskins started his career in the 1970s on British television shows such as "Thick as Thieves" and "Rock Follies of '77". Moving into big film roles, his turn as a mobster in 1980s "The Long Good Friday" shot him to stardom and defined his tough guy persona.

He was nominated for a best actor Oscar in 1987 for "Mona Lisa", in which he starred opposite Sir Michael Caine and Robbie Coltrane, and won a Golden Globe award.

The Suffolk-born actor became a staple face in the British film industry, often playing Cockney-speaking characters in both comedy and drama genres with his trademark gravelly voice.

His big Hollywood break came in 1988 when he played Eddie Valiant in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", a role for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. He then went on to play roles in 1990's "Mermaids" and 1991's "Hook". He portrayed Hoover in the 1995 movie "Nixon".

In his later years he took on parts in smaller films, including a role in "Made in Dagenham" about women seeking equal pay with male workers at a car plant near London.

He also played the voice of the character Winston in the 2006 film "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties". – Reuters, April 30, 2014.

Actor Bob Hoskins dead at age 71, says publicist

Posted: 30 Apr 2014 05:40 AM PDT

April 30, 2014
Latest Update: April 30, 2014 10:32 pm

Actor Bob Hoskins attends a photocall in Venice in this August 31, 2006 file photo. – Reuters pic, April 30, 2014.Actor Bob Hoskins attends a photocall in Venice in this August 31, 2006 file photo. – Reuters pic, April 30, 2014.British actor Bob Hoskins, whose roles ranged from London gangsters to FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover and who starred opposite a cast of cartoon characters in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", has died after a bout of pneumonia, his publicist said today.

He was 71.

A statement issued on behalf of his wife Linda and his children said: "We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Bob. Bob died peacefully at hospital last night surrounded by family, following a bout of pneumonia."

Hoskins announced his retirement from acting in 2012, saying at the time that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease, an incurable muscular disorder.

Hoskins started his career in the 1970s on British television shows such as "Thick as Thieves" and "Rock Follies of '77". Moving into big film roles, his turn as a mobster in 1980s "The Long Good Friday" shot him to stardom and defined his tough guy persona.

He was nominated for a best actor Oscar in 1987 for "Mona Lisa", in which he starred opposite Sir Michael Caine and Robbie Coltrane, and won a Golden Globe award.

The Suffolk-born actor became a staple face in the British film industry, often playing Cockney-speaking characters in both comedy and drama genres with his trademark gravelly voice.

His big Hollywood break came in 1988 when he played Eddie Valiant in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", a role for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. He then went on to play roles in 1990's "Mermaids" and 1991's "Hook". He portrayed Hoover in the 1995 movie "Nixon".

In his later years he took on parts in smaller films, including a role in "Made in Dagenham" about women seeking equal pay with male workers at a car plant near London.

He also played the voice of the character Winston in the 2006 film "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties". – Reuters, April 30, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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Girls who are told they’re ‘fat’ more likely to become obese

Posted: 30 Apr 2014 12:33 AM PDT

April 30, 2014

A new study shows that fat comments can have a lasting impact on young girls and increase their odds of becoming obese. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, April 30, 2014.A new study shows that fat comments can have a lasting impact on young girls and increase their odds of becoming obese. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, April 30, 2014.Girls who were told they were fat at the age of 10 are more likely to be obese at the age of 19, according to the results of a new US study.

The findings out of the University of Los Angeles California underscore the importance of refraining from making flippant fat comments to young, impressionable girls: simply being called fat is enough to make them believe it and increase their odds of becoming obese later in life.

For their study, published online in JAMA Pediatrics this week, researchers took the measurements of more than 1,210 black girls and 1,160 white girls living in Northern California, Cincinnati and Washington DC, 58% of whom had been told they were fat at the age of 10.

Nine years later, researchers found that the girls who had been called fat were 1.66 times more likely than their counterparts to be obese at 19, even after statistically removing the effects of their actual weight.

Likewise, as the number of people who told a girl she was fat increased, so did her odds of becoming obese.

"Being labelled as too fat may lead people to worry about personally experiencing the stigma and discrimination faced by overweight individuals, and recent research suggests that experiencing or anticipating weight stigma increases stress and can lead to overeating," explained study co-author Jeffrey Hunger.

Another reason to lay off the fat comments? A study published last year found that obese children produce higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than their peers of normal weight. – AFP/Relaxnews, April 30, 2014.

In Britain, a battle to spin great science into gold

Posted: 29 Apr 2014 07:58 PM PDT

April 30, 2014

Senior technologist Dariusz Czolak holds a piece of silicon carbide disk covered with a layer of graphene, obtained in the process of epitaxy, in the Institute of Electronic Materials Technology (ITME) laboratory in Warsaw in this file photograph dated October 23, 2012. – Reuters pic, April 30, 2014.Senior technologist Dariusz Czolak holds a piece of silicon carbide disk covered with a layer of graphene, obtained in the process of epitaxy, in the Institute of Electronic Materials Technology (ITME) laboratory in Warsaw in this file photograph dated October 23, 2012. – Reuters pic, April 30, 2014.It's mega strong, ultra-light and super stretchy, and if things work out, a wonder material discovered in Britain could change many aspects of human existence –  starting with people's sex lives.

Safer and sensually superior condoms may not have been the first thing on the minds of the Nobel-winning team at the University of Manchester that isolated graphene a decade ago, but they may be an early eye-catching use of the new one-atom-thick material.

Billed as potentially the most important discovery of this century, graphene – the thinnest material on earth and 200 times stronger than steel – is also exciting researchers around the world exploring its use in everything from electronics to nanotech drug delivery.

For British science, among the biggest questions is whether graphene's home nation can spin its breakthrough into real monetary gain, or whether – as a Thomson Reuters patent analysis suggests –  global big hitters will nip in and grab the market.

The question could not be more timely, as a potential US$100 billion (RM330 billion) bid by US drugs giant Pfizer for its smaller British rival AstraZeneca threatens to upend another long-standing area of British scientific expertise – pharmaceuticals.

A new government-backed US$100 million National Graphene Institute opens next year in Manchester aimed at putting Britain at the heart of a much hoped-for graphene revolution.

Its business director James Baker has a vision for Manchester to become "graphene city" –  a Silicon Valley-style hub that will become the place to be for everyone and anyone working in the wonder stuff.

"If you get this right, the ecosystem of graphene city could inspire a whole industry, with start-ups clustering around the supply chain and knowledge base," he said in an interview.

"Manchester is not unique in terms of graphene research, but if we start to create this cluster, it could become unique."

Yet a Thomson Reuters analysis of worldwide patent filings shows graphene's birthplace is already falling behind, with China and the United States leading the pack when it comes to finding ways to exploit this previously unknown form of carbon.

The organisation with the most patent filings is South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung Electronics , eyeing graphene's potential in flexible touchscreen displays and other areas.

The story shows the problems facing a mid-sized economy like Britain, with a limited industrial base, striving to monetise its science in an increasingly globalised world.

Britain's US$2.5 trillion economy may still retain a leading position in certain high-tech fields like aerospace and pharmaceuticals but the competition is intense and cross-border corporate deals can change the landscape overnight.

Pfizer's plans to swallow AstraZeneca have sent shockwaves through the life sciences sector, which with GlaxoSmithKline at its helm has been a rare success story for the British manufacturing industry.

Melanie Lee, a former drug industry research head who now leads the Think10 consultancy, said the damaging R&D cutbacks from such a deal would be a "nail in the coffin" for a sector that is vital for nurturing young biotechnology firms.

The vulnerability of even an established industry like pharmaceuticals highlights the challenges facing Baker's dreamed-of graphene city.

"I'm confident because I'm a 'glass half full' person, but it's not an easy sell," he told Reuters. "We need some big British companies to be prepared to back the vision with some serious engagement, resources and funding."

Britain has been here before. Forty years ago, two researchers at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, discovered a way to produce highly specific antibodies – the foot soldiers of the immune system – in a test tube.

Cesar Milstein and Georges Koehler thought their process might one day have a commercial application but the government department backing them did not seek a patent when their work on monoclonal antibodies was published in 1975.

Today, the world is awash with monoclonal antibody patents and six of the 10 top-selling medicines in the world are made from them – but none are sold by British firms.

British scientists also did much of the work that led to liquid crystal displays, used in flat-screen computers and televisions, as well as studying the potential of carbon fibre. In these cases, too, it was foreign companies that profited.

And with penicillin, one of the greatest medical discoveries of the last century – by Alexander Fleming in Britain in 1928 – it was scientists working for Pfizer who developed a deep-tank fermentation method that enabled mass production of the drug for use in World War Two.

"Time after time, Britain has led the way in scientific research - only to see the commercial benefits accrue overseas," finance minister George Osborne told a gathering of scientists in Cambridge last week.

"For decades we have done too little to turn British ingenuity into commercial success."

Like a modern-day alchemist, seeking to turn basic science into commercial gold, he is convinced things can be made to work better in future, given guaranteed state science funding and fresh incentives for entrepreneurs and venture capital.

And independent experts believe things are improving, with more universities now actively promoting technology start-ups and science hubs emerging around world-class academic centres in London, Oxford, Cambridge and Manchester.

"The culture here used to be that universities produced pure knowledge and then simply threw it out of the window for the rest of world to do whatever it liked with," said Erkko Autio, professor of technology venturing and entrepreneurship at Imperial College London Business School.

"The UK is improving but to be successful in translating scientific advances into businesses you need to have a compatible industrial base and over the past few decades we have seen the erosion of that manufacturing base."

Certainly, the country has a scientific record to be proud of, with three of the world's top universities in Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London, as well as a run rate of at least one Nobel prize a year since 2009.

Yet the country files fewer patents each year than the United States, Japan, Germany, France, China and South Korea, and even in its chosen field of graphene it comes in seventh place.

In the labs at the University of Manchester, Aravind Vijayaraghavan, who leads graphene research here, says his team is bent on making the kind of fundamental breakthroughs that will convince big British business to back the wonder material.

Graphene could be used for everything from flexible foldable mobile phones and tablet computers, to ultra-light aircraft wings, to life-saving water filtration systems, to targeted cancer therapies.

When it comes to the condom, he explains, the market would be relatively small, but it could be a great showcase for some of graphene's best qualities.

The idea is that the next-generation contraceptive would be made from a composite material "tailored to enhance the natural sensation during intercourse", he said, combining the strength of graphene with the elasticity of latex.

"We want to produce a new material which can be thinner, stronger, more stretchy, safer and – perhaps most importantly – more pleasurable." – Reuters, April 30, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

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‘Seiobo There Below’ wins Best Translated honours

Posted: 30 Apr 2014 12:30 AM PDT

April 30, 2014

The New Directions edition of 'Seiobo There Below' by Laszlo Krasznahorkai. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, April 30, 2014.The New Directions edition of 'Seiobo There Below' by Laszlo Krasznahorkai. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, April 30, 2014.Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai has won the Best Translated Book Award in fiction for the second year running, with "Seiobo There Below".

Krasznahorkai remained relatively undiscovered among English literary circles until relatively recently, when a new batch of translations ensured anglophones could catch up with the work of a writer already the subject of acclaim from critics and prize-giving committees from France, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands as well as his own native Hungary.

Debut novel "Satantango" told the tale of a Hungarian town occupied by a dark messiah. Having been originally published in 1985, it was provided in English by May 2012, and went on to scoop the Best Translated Book Award for 2013.

For "Seiobo There Below", his fifth and most recent work, Krasznahorkai introduces readers to a Japanese goddess searching for examples of true beauty as she finds it during her travels upon earth.

"In the end one thing was clear: out of a shortlist of ten contenders that did not lack for ambition, 'Seiobo There Below' truly overwhelmed us with its range," wrote 2014's judging panel.

"This is a book that discusses in minute detail locations from all around the globe, including Japan, Spain, Italy, and Greece, as well as delving into the consciousnesses and practices of individuals from across 2,000 years of human history.

"The book also takes bold steps forward in terms of how we think of the form of the novel, and our expectation of how a novel works and what it can attempt to do. In its scope, its depth, and its amazing precision, we found 'Seiobo There Below' to be a work of rare genius."

Both translated books are made available in the US by independent house New Directions Publishing. In a video recorded at the New Directions office, Krasznahorkai thanked his publisher, editor, and his translator Ottilie Mulzet, saying "this is actually her prize".

BTBA prizewinning authors and translators each receive a US$5,000 (RM16,300) sum underwritten by online retailer Amazon.com. More information on the winners and runners up in the categories of fiction and poetry can be found on Rochester University's Three Percent website. – AFP/Relaxnews, April 30, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa


Kerajaan Selangor tidak tolak kemungkinan catuan air berulang

Posted: 30 Apr 2014 03:30 AM PDT

April 30, 2014

Kerajaan negeri Selangor tidak menolak kemungkinan tindakan catuan air ke atas pengguna akan berulang, walaupun catuan dihentikan berkuatkuasa esok.

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (gambar) bagaimanapun memberi jaminan bahawa bekalan air di Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur bagi tempoh lima ke enam bulan akan datang adalah mencukupi.

"Kita tidak boleh beri jaminan catuan air ini tidak berulang.

"Tetapi melalui usaha yang sedang dijalankan dengan menggunakan air alternatif seperti sumber air hujan, air kolam dan bekas lombong kita yakin bekalan air cukup untuk keperluan pengguna sekurang-kurangnya untuk tempoh ke lima dan enam bulan akan datang," katanya.

Bercakap pada sidang media selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat exco kerajaan negeri di Shah Alam, beliau berkata Kerajaan Selangor hari ini memutus menghentikan pelan tindakan catuan air serentak di semua kawasan terlibat mulai esok. 

Khalid berkata pihaknya berpendapat tidak perlu menunggu air di empangan mencapai takungan 50% untuk menghentikan catuan.

Ini kerana usaha keras termasuk mengepam air kolam selain hujan berterusan di kawasan tadahan air mampu meningkatkan lagi paras air empangan, katanya. – Bernama, 30 April, 2014.

Majlis senator kesal lawatan Obama dipolitikkan

Posted: 30 Apr 2014 03:15 AM PDT

April 30, 2014

Majlis Senator Malaysia menyifatkan lawatan Obama ke Malaysia sebagai penghormatan kepada negara dan rakyat. – Gambar fail The Malaysian Insider, 30 April, 2014.Majlis Senator Malaysia menyifatkan lawatan Obama ke Malaysia sebagai penghormatan kepada negara dan rakyat. – Gambar fail The Malaysian Insider, 30 April, 2014.Majlis Senator Malaysia (MSM) kesal dengan sikap sesetengah pihak yang mengambil kesempatan mempolitikkan kunjungan Presiden Amerika Syarikat Barack Obama di negara ini baru-baru ini.

Presiden MSM Senator Datuk Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman berkata golongan itu didapati melemparkan pelbagai tohmahan kononnya kerajaan menekan dan menghalang Obama daripada bertemu dengan pemimpin pembangkang.

Katanya tuduhan itu bukan sahaja tidak masuk akal, tetapi merupakan tohmahan liar dan tidak bertanggungjawab kerana tidak ada sebab bagi kerajaan berbuat demikian kepada tetamunya, apa lagi terhadap pemimpin sebuah negara kuasa besar.

"Namun, MSM berbangga dengan sikap yang ditunjukkan oleh Obama yang menghormati tuan rumah negara yang dikunjunginya. Sebagai pemimpin yang pernah menetap di Indonesia serta terdedah kepada budaya timur, MSM percaya beliau sangat memahami tradisi ini," katanya dalam kenyataan di Kuala Lumpur hari ini.

MSM juga menyifatkan lawatan Obama sebagai penghormatan kepada negara dan rakyat.

"MSM percaya ini disebabkan Malaysia terkenal sebagai negara yang sentiasa mengamalkan sikap dan pendekatan kesederhanaan dalam menjalin hubungan serta menangani pelbagai isu dan konflik dengan negara-negara jiran, serantau dan antarabangsa," katanya.

Lawatan sulung tiga hari Obama ke Malaysia, kedua dalam tempoh 48 tahun selepas kunjungan Presiden Lyndon B. Johnson pada 1966, menyaksikan penerokaan pelbagai bidang termasuk perjanjian kerjasama bernilai RM6.53 bilion antara firma tempatan dengan Amerika dalam sektor penerbangan, bioteknologi dan insurans. – Bernama, 30 April, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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Menziarahi semula 28 April

Posted: 29 Apr 2014 05:14 PM PDT

April 30, 2014

Mujahid Yusof Rawa is MP for Parit Buntar and PAS National Unity Committee chairman.

28 April yang hiba

Bagi orang lain 28 April mungkin tidak membawa apa-apa makna kecuali mereka yang lahir pada hari itu. Setiap seorang mempunyai tarikh tertentu yang memberi sesuatu kesan dalam hidupnya sama ada ia saat kegembiraan mahupun saat kesedihan.

Bagi saya, tarikh 28 April adalah saat saya kehilangan manusia yang paling saya sayangi dan kasih bahkan ramai yang meratapi pemergiannya kerana beliau bukan sahaja milik saya dan keluarga bahkan beliau juga milik umat ini.

Di pagi subuh yang hening bersamaan dengan hari Jumaat tahun 2000 Masehi, insan bernama Yusof  Abdullah @ Haji Yusof Rawa meninggalkan dunia fana ini buat selamanya.

Bagi saya setiap 28 April adalah tarikh istimewa untuk saya memperingati nama yang besar ini dalam hidup saya sebagai ayah, pemimpin dan murabbi pertama saya.

Pagi subuh itu

Semua ahli keluarga besar ayahanda Yusof Rawa sudah pun berkumpul di rumah Gelugor sejak dua tiga hari apabila Doktor Ang yang merawatnya meminta kami untuk bawa pulang ayahanda kerana tidak ada apa lagi yang boleh dilakukan.

Kami menyediakan katil yang boleh dinaik turun posisinya seperti yang terdapat di hospital untuk keselesaan ayahanda termasuk alat pernafasan sebab ayahanda sering mengadu nafasnya semput. Hakikatnya ayahanda mengalami pnemounia sejak di masukkan di hospital dua tiga bulan sebelum itu.

Sejak dua tiga malam setelah kembali dari hospital ayahanda mengadu sakit perut dan meminta Dr Ang supaya datang dan melihatnya. Malam 27 April itu Dr Ang datang ke rumah dan memberitahu kepada ayahanda supaya datang ke hospital esoknya (28 April) sambil berjanji untuk membuat pemeriksaan lebih terperinci, ayahnda hanya mengangguk.

Namun sejak kembalinya Dr Ang, ayahanda semakin pendek nafasnya dan sentiasa memakai topeng pernafasan sambil suaranya menjadi semakin lemah. Saya berada di sisinya sepanjang malam bersama kekanda saya yang lain bergilir membaca surah Yasin.

Beliau hanya memandang ke arah setiap kami, mungkin beliau terasa itu adalah pandangan terakhirnya menatap wajah 11 anaknya.

Subuh 28 April saya mengimami solat subuh di rumah kami di Gelugor, ayahahanda minta untuk berwuduk dan bersolat di katilnya sahaja sambil berbaring. Selesai solat saya mengajak semua 11 adik-beradik kami untuk membaca surah Yasin dengan anak menantu dan cucu yang ada.

Belum sempat tamat Yasin,  ayah memanggil nama saya dengan nada yang kuat menyebabkan kami terkejut.

Saya bergegas di sisinya, ayahanda memandang saya dengan topeng pernafasan cuba dibuangkan sambil ayahanda mengatakan, "Abah nak habis dah..." sambil beliau memegang tangan saya minta diusap kepalanya seperti lazimnya semenjak beliau terbaring di katil.

Saya patuh sambil matanya saya melihat seolah memandang sesuatu di atas. Selimut yang menutupi ke paras dadanya ditarik-tarik seolah mahu menutup mukanya. Detik itu saya sudah merasai masanya semakin hampir, saya mentalkinkannya dengan syahadah berkali-kali, bibirnya berkumat-kumit, perkataannya sudah tidak difahami lagi dan lebih kurang beberapa detik sebelum munculnya matahari pertama pagi Jumaat 28 April itu berakhirlah riwayat hidup insan bernama Haji Yusof Rawa.

Insan biasa

Subky Latif penulis dan wartawan senior pernah menulis tentang Yusof Rawa tidak dilahirkan sebagai manusia agung. Beliau menulis setelah diminta membentangkan pandangannya terhadap ketokohan Yusof Rawa dalam majlis Legasi Haji Yusof Rawa yang dianjurkan oleh Penang Institute beberapa tahun lalu.

Beliau membuat penjelasan jalan pendakian Yusof Rawa sebagai tokoh bermula dengan penuh kesederhanaan dan beliau tidak mendapatinya dengan mudah. Namanya tidak dikenali ramai sebelum ia mendapat tempat tertinggi dalam hirraki parti tetapi kesetiaannya kepada parti PAS disaksikan melalui pengorbanan yang diberikan untuk bersama sehingga ke akhir hayatnya dengan PAS.

Beliau memikul amanah dan diberi penghormatan sebagai mursyidul am PAS yang pertama dan menjadi presiden PAS yang pertama dalam era kepimpinan ulama awal 1980-an.

Keupayaan berbahasa Inggeris dan penguasaanya dalam Bahasa Arab adalah antara keistimewaan  Yusof Rawa. Minatnya yang mendalam dalam bahasa membawanya mempelajari Bahasa Perancis dan Parsi secara sendiri dan dapat berinteraksi kadar keperluannya.

Ayahanda dikenali sebagai tokoh sederhana dalam PAS dan membawa nama Malaysia di persada antarabangsa sebagai Duta Besar dan pernah menjadi perwakilan ke Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu selama setahun di New York. Seorang yang diplomatik dan disegani kawan dan lawan.

Menolak gelaran

Pernah saya diberitahu beberapa kali hasrat kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang semasa hayatnya mencalonkan nama beliau untuk pingat dan anugerah tetapi ditolak, kecuali satu pingat yang diterimanya tanpa membawa apa-apa gelaran iaitu Jaksa Pendamai (JP).

Ayahanda mempunyai alasan menerimanya kerana dengan Jaksa Pendamai beliau ingin membuat khidmat dengan membantu siapa yang memerlukan tandatangannya secara percuma.

Beliau pernah berkata gelaran lain tidak memberikan seseorang kuasa kecuali JP yang laku tandatangannya untuk perakuan. Begitu juga sukar pihak Majlis Agama Islam semasa hidupnya mencalonkan namanya sebagai tokoh Maal Hijrah beberapa kali tetapi ditolaknya. Hanya pada 1993 beliau bersetuju menerima anugerah itu setelah dipujuk.

Sikapnya yang tidak mahu mengejar pangkat dan kedudukan menjadikan Yusof Rawa sebagai seorang yang agak sukar tersilau dengan kilauan dunia yang menjadi rebutan kelompok pimpinan sepertinya.

Kesetiaan dengan PAS

Semasa PAS ditendang keluar daripada Barisan Nasional, Yusof Rawa menolak untuk bersama BN walaupun diberikan beberapa tawaran. Beliau memilih untuk bersama PAS ketika senang dan ketika susah.

Misi seterusnya yang tidak akan dilupakan oleh sesiapa sahaja yang membaca transformasi PAS dari era Datuk Asri Muda kepada kepimpinan ulama ialah pengemudian kepimpinan Yusof Rawa membina era baru organisasi dan politik PAS.

Sebagaimana yang pernah disebut oleh mendiang MGG Pillay seorang wartawan politik senior Yusof Rawa adalah arkitek yang sebenarnya memastikan kepimpinan baru PAS meneruskan kesinambungan perjuangan parti.

Sebagai orang paling kanan setelah krisis era Asri berakhir dengan kemunculan kepimpinan ulama, beliau berhati-hati untuk memastikan kelompok lama yang agak terkejut dengan lonjakan baru PAS pada ketika itu tidak ditinggalkan.

Krisis PAS yang agak kritikal pada waktu itu dikawal dengan baik oleh Yusof Rawa melalui kepimpinannya apabila beliau mengambil alih tampuk kepimpinan memangku selama setahun setelah Asri meletakkan jawatan setahun sebelum pemilihan parti.

Pada waktu itu sikapnya membuat keputusan terpaksa berhadapan dengan berbagai kritikan dalaman dan luaran disambut oleh beliau dengan tenang tetapi penuh ketegasan.

Beliau pernah cuba meletakkan jawatan kerana merasai kepimpinannya tidak mendapat kepercayaan ahli semasa isu penubuhan CCC atau Chinese Consultative Council, namun atas pujukan dan nasihat pimpinan kanan lain khususnya allahyarham Datuk Ustaz Fadhil Nor dan allahyarham Ustaz Hasan Shukri, Yusof Rawa menarik balik hasratnya.

Pada saat keuzurannya beliau masih lagi bertanya kepada Pejabat Agong PAS sama ada beliau masih lagi tertunggak sumbangan infaknya kepada parti dan melunaskannya. Beliau pernah berpesan kepada saya selaku anak muda yang turut ingin beraksi dalam kancah ini:

"Janganlah engkau mengharapkan pada perjuangan sesuatu habuan dunia tetapi berilah kepada perjuangan habuan engkau dari dunia."

Perjuangannya

Walaupun tidak pernah ditahan dan ditangkap sebagai tahanan politik, Yusof Rawa lantang menyuarakan hak golongan tertindas, menolak gagasan perjuangan perkauman sempit dan berani membentuk arus pemikiran alternatif kepada menyampaikan PAS kepada kelompok bukan tradisionalnya daripada pelbagai kaum khususnya kaum Cina.

Sikap keterbukaannya menemukan PAS dengan Umno dalam menyatakan pendirian PAS kepada isu perpaduan Melayu pada pertengahan 1980-an dan beliau menolak fahaman kebangsaan sempit.

Beliau banyak menyedarkan keperluan umat Islam mempersiapkan diri dengan kekuatan ilmu, akhlak dan keperluan dunia. Sebagai seorang usahawan yang berjaya sebelum menceburi bidang politik pada awal 1950-an, Yusof Rawa antara pengasas awal Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Pulau Pinang dan menceburi bidang percetakan antara yang terawal di Pulau Pinang.

Penanya menitip setiap ruang di majalah Islah yang didirikannya awal 1960-an. Kritikannya pada kehidupan masyarakat dimuatkan dalam kolum "Teropong dari Acheh Street".

Karyanya yang menjadi rujukan hingga ke hari ini ialah Tafsir Juz Amma dalam memenuhi kehendak pencinta ilmu mendalami tafsir mudah dan ringkas daripada Juz Amma. Pernah diberi pilihan untuk mencetak buku yang laris dengan cerita-cerita hiburan tetapi menolaknya kerana biarlah beliau memilih mencetak buku agama yang kurang laris pada waktu itu tetapi mendapat berkat.

Ini pernah diluahkan dalam catatan peribadinya tentang pengalamannya menjadi pencetak. Jikalau  Yusof Rawa hidup hari ini beliau akan menyaksikan suasana sudah berubah di mana buku agama kini menjadi kegemaran ramai dan mungkin juga beliau akan tersenyum kerana perjuangannya memilih menerbitkan buku agama tertuai juga akhirnya oleh generasi penerbit buku hari ini.

Ayah, rakan dan pemimpin

Saya menyaksikan kehidupan ayahanda dalam pelbagai dimensi. Sebagai anak, saya berbangga menjadi anggota keluarganya yang besar. Tegas dalam pendidikan anak-anak tetapi kasih dan mesra dalam membimbing kekurangan anak-anak supaya menjadi insan yang berguna.

Kesibukannya tidak menghalang untuk bersama anak-anak setiap hari Ahad mencuci kereta atau berjalan di Padang Kota Lama atau sekadar memotong kuku kami mahupun menikmati juadah makan di gerai Padang Brown.

Pengalaman peribadi saya semasa bersiar-siar di Tehran semasa beliau menjadi duta ke Iran dalam cuaca dingin dengannya tidak mungkin saya lupakan sambil kata nasihatnya menghiasi perjalanan kami.

Siapa yang tidak memperakui kesetiaannya kepada erti persahabatan, malah siapa yang pernah mengenalinya akan menikmati kejujuran dalam bersahabat. Beliau tidak pernah menjanjikan apa-apa sebagai balasan persahabatan melainkan kejujuran dan keikhlasan setiakawan.

Pada masa uzurnya beliau banyak bertanyakan kawan lamanya dan berusaha menziarahi mereka bagi memenuhi erti persahabatan. Tuan punya Kamus Pustaka Arab-Melayu Ustaz Ahmad Badjenid menjadi sahabat setianya diziarahinya walaupun beliau ketika itu juga uzur sambil mereka ketawa mesra menceritakan masa lampau.

Sikapnya yang tidak pernah mengecewakan permintaan kawan yang dalam keperluan sering mencetuskan bertambahnya lagi hormat kawan kepadanya. Bagi mereka yang mengenali Yusof Rawa pasti ada cerita menarik yang hanya diketahui setelah beliau meninggalkan kita untuk mengenangkan kesetiaan persahabatannya.

Sebagai pemimpin dan dua penggal ahli Dewan Rakyat, kepimpinannya terus berbisa di hati mereka yang pernah mengenalinya. Pembelaannya terhadap orang miskin menjadikan beliau bergelar sang pemurah.

Ada beberapa orang yang menemui saya memberitahu ayahnya pernah dibantu oleh Yusof Rawa semasa susahnya dan sering menyebut nama Yusof Rawa walaupun mereka tidak pernah mengenalinya.

Saya juga diberitahu oleh orang lama di Parit Buntar ayahanda saya pernah menyumbang untuk sebuah masjid dengan kadar yang agak besar nilainya pada waktu itu.

Bantuannya kepada sekolah-sekolah agama daripada sudut kemudahan pembayaran buku yang dipesan dari kedainya menjadi sebutan di kalangan penggiat sekolah agama hingga ke hari ini.

Untuk perjuangan parti beliau terkenal sebagai penyumbang utama termasuklah poster-poster semasa pilihan raya umum yang dicetak di gedung percetakannya The United Press.

Al Zai'm

Beliau mendapat jolokan ini di kalangan rakannya di Mekah semasa Yusof Rawa menuntut di sana. Al Zai'm yang membawa maksud "ketua". Ini adalah kerana semangat beliau memimpin rakan-rakannya dalam membina semangat kemerdekaan pada waktu itu dan keberanian Yusof Rawa berhadapan dengan pemuda tempatan Mekah yang sering mengejek pelajar dari Nusantara pada waktu itu.

Sikap beraninya dan inspirasinya pada rakan pelajar terhadap perjuangan kebebasan di tanah air yang dicintai melalui Persatuan Anak Melayu di Mekah menyebabkan mereka menggelarnya Al Za'im.

Nama itu rupanya meninggalkan bekas pada kehidupannya setelah kembali ke tanah air dan berkat gelaran tersebut dari bumi yang penuh berakah, Yusof Rawa terus kekal dalam ingatan kita sebagai Al Zai'm. Saya berbangga Al Zai'm itu adalah ayah saya dan ayah kepada kesebelasan kami.

Legasi Haji Yusof Rawa

14 tahun sudah berlalu, baru semalam rasanya saya bermesra dengannya. Saya membesar mengetahui Yusof Rawa bukan sahaja milik kesebelasan kami dan bonda kami, Yusof Rawa milik manusia dan lebih besar daripada itu, beliau milik mutlak Sang Pencipta. Suaranya yang lemah pada pagi 28 April memberitahu saya "Abah dah nak habis dah.." seolah menutup perjalanannya selama ini untuk menemui Allah Jalla Fil Ula yang hidupnya dan perjuangannya cuba dipenuhi keranaNya dan untukNya.

Pada saya, semangat Al Za'im pada diri Yusof Rawa akan senantiasa kekal sebagai sumber insprasi saya dalam saya menjalani kehidupan yang berbaki sehingga semua kita menemuiNya nanti. – 30 April, 2014.

* Mujahid Yusof Rawa adalah merupakan anak bongsu Haji Yusof Rawa. Kini merupakan Ahli Jawatankuasa PAS Pusat dan Ahli Parlimen Parit Buntar.

* Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider. 

PAS penentu masa depan Pakatan Rakyat?

Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:41 PM PDT

April 30, 2014

Wan Hamidi is a veteran journalist who has a penchant for rock music.

Sejak penubuhannya pada 1951, PAS tidak pernah putus asa dalam perjuangan politiknya. Ramai pemimpinnya menjadi mangsa kezaliman pemerintah Perikatan dan kemudiannya Barisan Nasional.

Namun, selepas setiap ketika kezaliman dan kekejaman dirasai, seolah-olah ada pemimpin PAS yang lupa dengan apa yang pimpinan Umno lakukan terhadap parti mereka.

Tetapi ramai lagi ahli-ahli PAS yang tidak lupa dengan kelicikan politik Umno.

1960: Menyokong ISA, menjadi mangsa ISA

Selepas darurat anti-komunis ditamatkan pada 1960, kerajaan Malaya pimpinan Tunku Abdul Rahman merasakan masih perlu ada undang-undang untuk membasmi kegiatan komunis yang dianggap masih berserpihan.

Tunku berjaya memujuk parti pembangkang yang terbesar pada masa itu, PAS, dengan menjanjikan bahawa Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) hanya akan digunakan terhadap komunis sahaja dan tidak akan disalahgunakan terhadap pembangkang atau mana-mana suara sah yang membantah kerajaan. PAS yang memang anti-komunis dengan mudah mempercayai janji Umno. Namun, dalam masa yang singkat sahaja, ISA digunakan terhadap pemimpin pembangkang termasuk Presiden PAS, Dr Burhanuddin Al-Helmy.

1973: Menyertai BN, habis madu sepah dibuang

Selepas pergaduhan kaum 13 Mei 1969, pemimpin Umno ketika itu Tun Razak Hussein memujuk PAS menyertai gabungan pemerintah yang baru iaitu Barisan Nasional atas asalan mahu mewujudkan era baru perpaduan melalui proses pembangunan negara. Walaupun ramai ahli PAS sedar sikap dan pendirian Umno, pimpinan PAS masih mahu duduk bersama dengan Umno dalam saf yang baru. Maka muktamar PAS pada awal 1973 meluluskan usul menyertai BN.

BN menang besar dalam PRU 1974. Pemimpin PAS, Asri Haji Muda mendapat habuan menjadi menteri di peringkat pusat manakala pimpinan lain dilantik menjadi timbalan menteri dan jawatan-jawatan lain.

Sewaktu zaman kegemilangan BN itu, tiada siapa di dalam kerajaan yang mahu menubuhkan negara Islam atau melaksanakan hudud. Pada masa itu juga hanya tinggal DAP dan Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaya (PSRM) sebagai pembangkang yang serius.

Selepas Hussein Onn menjadi perdana menteri, masalah dalaman PAS di kubu kuatnya di Kelantan dijadikan isu untuk merampas kuasa. PAS dipecat daripada BN dan ia hilang kuasa di Kelantan dalam pilihan raya negeri dan kalah teruk dalam PRU 1978.

1982: Kepimpinan ulama, tanpa kemenangan pilihan raya

Selepas kembali menjadi pembangkang, PAS hanya menang 5 kerusi Parlimen dalam PRU 1982 dan kalah teruk dengan satu kerusi sahaja pada PRU 1986. Walaupun sudah berubah menjadi parti kepimpinan ulama, kemenangan di medan pilihan raya masih kabur untuk PAS. Sebaliknya ia berlumba dengan Umno untuk menonjolkan siapa lebih Islam. Timbul aktiviti dan program untuk menunjuk-nunjuk amalan dan simbol Islam sehingga berlaku isu kafir-mengkafir di antara Umno dan PAS.

1988: Pengharaman Umno, untung PAS kerana Semangat 46

Perebutan kuasa dalaman Umno di antara Dr Mahtahir Mohamad dan Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah pada 1987 antara lain menyebabkan Umno diharamkan oleh mahkamah. Ia kemudian dihidupkan semula oleh puak Dr Mahathir sebagai Umno Baru manakala Ku Li terpaksa menubuhkan Parti Melayu Semangat 46 selepas usahanya mendaftarkan semula Umno ditolak oleh kerajaan.

Semangat 46 mewujudkan dua gabungan, iaitu bersama parti-parti Melayu Islam seperti PAS dan Berjasa (Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah - APU) dan bersama parti-parti pelbagai kaum seperti DAP dan Parti Rakyat Malaysia serta Parti Bersatu Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat).

Melalui kerjasama ini, Semangat 46 bertanding di kebanyakan kerusi Parlimen manakala PAS di peringkat negeri, khususnya di Kelantan. PAS bernasib baik apabila berjaya menawan semula Kelantan dalam PRU 1990 walaupun kedua-dua gabungan pembangkang itu gagal menegejutkan arena politik Malaysia.

Setelah menang kembali di Kelantan, PAS mahu melaksanakan hukum hudud walaupun tidak ada dinyatakan dalam sebarang pendirian bersama sebelum PRU 1990. Oleh kerana perbalahan itu berpanjangan, DAP pada 1995 menarik diri dari Gagasan Rakyat yang merupakan gabungan kembar dengan APU.

1995: Kembalinya kuasa BN, pembangkang berpecah-belah

Dr Mahathir mengukuhkan kedudukan Umno-BN dengan kuasa yang ada serta undang-undang yang lebih zalim. Keadaan itu yang turut diberatkan dengan masalah dalaman pembangkang memudahkan BN menang besar dalam PRU 1995.

Kekuatan Dr Mahathir termasuk menonjolkan keadaan ekonomi yang lebih baik (walaupun kemudiannya didedahkan sebagai ekonomi buih). Kebanyakan rakyat Malaysia juga membuat pilihan atas keputusan ekonomi, dan bukannya emosi atau sentimen kaum dan agama.

1998: Pemecatan Anwar, untung PAS kerana reformasi

Selepas Dr Mahathir memecat timbalannya Anwar Ibrahim daripada Umno, BN dan kerajaan, dan kemudiannya memenjarakan pula, ia membangkitkan kemarahan rakyat, terutamanya orang Melayu dan golongan muda.

Kemarahan rakyat diterjemahkan pula dalam satu kerjasama baru pembangkang atas nama Barisan Alternatif. Dengan menumpang semangat reformasi dan imej Anwar, PAS dalam PRU 1999 menang besar apabila mendapat 27 kerusi Parlimen dan merampas Terengganu serta mengekalkan Kelantan.

2001: Pengisytiharan negara Islam, perpecahan pembangkang (sekali lagi)

Dalam pada pemimpin PAS akhir alaf ke-20, Fadzil Noor mahu merapatkan hubungan antara parti dalam dasar yang mejurus kepada semangat moderat, media milik Umno seperti biasa mencari jalan untuk memecahbelahkan perpaduan parti itu. Selepas Fadzil meninggal dunia, usaha allahyarham hanya tinggal kenangan. Kumpulan yang menguasai PAS selepas itu membawa cita-cita negara Islam yang "keras" berbanding semangat kerjasama dan hak saksama yang dibawakan oleh Fadzil.

DAP sekali lagi keluar daripada gabungan pembangkang. Dalam PRU 2004, PAS hilang 20 kerusi Parlimen yang dimenanginya dahulu, hanya tinggal 7 sahaja. Terengganu pula kembali ke pangkuan Umno selepas PAS kalah teruk di negeri itu.

2008: Kemarahan rakyat, era baru pembangkang

Selepas PRU 2004, pergolakan politik lebih berkisar kepada Umno. Dr Mahathir bersara pada 2003 dan rakyat memberi mandat besar kepada Abdullah Ahmad Badawi kerana janji-janji reformasi. Tetapi apabila semua janji itu dimungkiri dan Abdullah pula dilihat sebagai takut kepada desakan kumpulan pelampau kaum (dan serangan Dr Mahathir), maka rakyat menunjukkan kemarahan mereka terhadap Umno-BN.

Dalam PRU 2008, BN kalah di DUN Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Perak dan Selangor serta mengekalkan Kelantan. Kuasa majoriti dua pertiga BN di Parlimen juga dinafikan oleh pembangkang yang kemudiannya bersetuju membentuk Pakatan Rakyat selepas keputusan PRU ke-12 itu diumumkan.

PAS bagaimanapun duduk di tangga ketiga pembangkang Parlimen selepas PKR yang mendapat 31 kerusi Parlimen dan DAP 28 kerusi Parlimen.

PAS tetap bernasib baik mendapat kerusi menteri besar Perak walaupun ia sebagai parti minoriti kerana perlembagaan negeri hanya membenarkan orang Melayu memegang jawatan itu. DAP mendapat 18 daripada 59 kerusi manakala PKR 7 dan PAS 6. PKR pula tidak mempunyai calon MB yang "layak".

Namun, difahamkan ada kalangan pemimpin PAS tidak puas hati kerana tidak mendapat banyak jawatan. Tambahan pula media milik Umno mula meniupkan api perkauman, selain pemimpin Umno menawarkan kerjasama "kerajaan perpaduan" Umno-PAS di pelbagai peringkat sejak selesai PRU12.

2013: Kecemerlangan Pakatan Rakyat, tsunami politik baru

Walaupun media kawalan Umno memainkan isu perkauman dan sering mencabar PAS agar melawan Pakatan, ia tidak dipedulikan oleh ahli dan penyokong parti. Usaha perkauman Umno ternyata gagal. Malah, semangat mahukan perubahan semakin ketara, khususnya di kalangan kaum-kaum bukan Melayu.

Hasilnya dalam PRU13 pada 2013, Pakatan mencatatkan kemenangan besar dari segi peratus pengundian di mana ia mendapat 51% undi! Oleh kerana sistem persempadanan semula adalah tidak adil, maka BN terus menguasai kerusi Parlimen dan DUN.

Bagi PAS pula, ia adalah prestasi yang tidak memuaskan. PAS gagal mengekalkan kuasa di Kedah kerana kelemahan pentadbiran dan hilang kerusi Parlimen dengan mengekalkan 21 sahaja.

2014: Hasutan Umno, mencabar PAS melaksanakan hudud walau Umno sendiri tak berminat

Selepas itu semakin kuat hasutan Umno melalui pelbagai cara. Sehinggakan Umno berani mencabar PAS agar melaksanakan hudud sedangkan Umno sendiri tidak berminat untuk melaksanakannya.

Buat masa ini, itulah yang sedang berlaku. Umno melalui pelbagai media yang dikuasainya terus mengejek, menguji, mengusik, menyindir dan mencabar PAS. Sejak 1960, Umno mempermainkan PAS, dan agak berjaya juga permainan politik Umno kerana Umno yang sering "menang" dengan taktik kotornya itu.

Seperti yang pernah dijelaskan oleh pemimpin veteran DAP, Lim Kit Siang, isu hudud dilihat dalam konteks isu politik dan bukannya hukum agama - tidak akan memberi kemenangan kepada PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat yang mahu menjadikan Malaysia bersih dari rasuah, bebas dari kezaliman dan tidak lagi mengamalkan diskriminasi. Sebaliknya, isu hudud bakal memberi kemenangan kepada Umno kerana isu tersebut sudah pun membawa perbalahan sesama Pakatan dan mungkin membawa kepada perpecahan gabungan itu.

Di kalangan rakyat pula, sudah timbul perbalahan atas garisan Islam-bukan Islam dan Melayu-bukan Melayu sedangkan matlamat asal Pakatan ialah menggantikan BN untuk menjadi kerajaan yang lebih adil, saksama dan telus di mana rakyat menjadi tonggak, dan bukannya pemimpin dan kroni.

Malah, jika diteliti, apabila isu-isu agama dibangkitkan dalam pilihanraya, ia memberi kesan buruk kepada parti-parti pembangkang. Hanya apabila isu-isu bersama dibangkitkan - ekonomi, reformasi pentadbiran, hak rakyat di peringkat tempatan serta pendedahan kelamahan dan kezaliman Umno-BN - ia menjamin kemenangan pembangkang.

Ini terbukti dalam PRU 1990, 1999, 2008 dan 2013. Malah keputusan 1990, 1999 dan 2008 banyak menguntungkan PAS secara relatif. Terpulang kepada PAS untuk menilai sendiri apa yang Umno lakukan kepadanya sejak lebih 50 tahun lalu yang kesemuanya memberi untung kepada Umno semata-mata, walaupun ada sedikit cebis habuan kepada segelintir pemimpin PAS.

Jika Pakatan hancur, maka Umno yang semakin angkuh sekarang akan kembali berkuasa sepenuhnya. Segala harapan untuk perubahan yang diharapkan sejak alaf baru akan lenyap sama sekali.

Dan pada masa yang sama, hudud tetap tidak akan dilaksanakan oleh Umno. – 30 April, 2014.

* Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider. 

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Selasa, 29 April 2014

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports


Khairy wants to set realistic target for Thomas Cup

Posted: 29 Apr 2014 07:51 AM PDT

April 29, 2014

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin wants to adopt a realistic approach when setting the target for the 2014 Thomas and Uber Cup finals in New Delhi, India, next month.

Khairy (pic) said both the Thomas and Uber Cup teams would be facing tough competition in the finals which are scheduled to take place in New Delhi from May 18 to 25.

"We understand the situation well as the country's shuttlers will be facing tough opposition from the best teams in the world. I do not want to set a lofty target for the time being," he said after launching the "Malaysia Purple League", a professional badminton league at the Sentosa Sports Arena today.

Meanwhile, Badminton Association of Malaysia's (BAM) deputy president Datuk Mohamad Norza Zakaria said the association would be responsible for sending a balanced team to compete in the Thomas Cup.

"Our hope is to see the team qualify for the semifinals stage because the expectations of the fans are high. We will take one step at a time. The first task will be to win the group," he said.

Speaking of the final slot for the men's singles which has yet to be decided, Mohamad Norza said the status of Goh Soon Huat has not been confirmed although he has earned himself a shot at a place in the team.

Soon Huat had crossed the first and second tests in the trials by beating Tan Chun Seang and Mohd Arif Latif, respectively.

"We will evaluate the players from every aspect and take into account their current performance, fitness and achievements plus a fitness report from the National Sports Institute.

"However, world number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei has chosen Misbun Ramdan Misbun ahead of Goh Soon Huat despite the former losing to the latter in the final selection match today," he said.

Soon Huat beat Misbun Ramdan 21-19, 21-15 today. – Bernama, April 29, 2014.

Wimbledon seedings boost for champion Murray

Posted: 29 Apr 2014 06:57 AM PDT

April 29, 2014

Britain's Andy Murray serves to Italy's Andreas Seppi during their Davis Cup quarter-final tennis match in Naples April 5, 2014. – Reuters pic, April 29, 2014.Britain's Andy Murray serves to Italy's Andreas Seppi during their Davis Cup quarter-final tennis match in Naples April 5, 2014. – Reuters pic, April 29, 2014.Wimbledon champion Andy Murray will be among the top seeds at this year's tournament despite having slipped down the ATP world ranking to eighth, organisers announced today.

"We have a surfaced-based seeding system here at Wimbledon," All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) chairman Philip Brook told a press conference at the tournament venue in south London.

"So we take the ranking points of each player, and add to that the ranking points they hypothetically received last year on grass, and we add to that 75% of the best-performing tournament in the previous year.

"So to put it into context for Andy Murray, as winner of Queen's last year and winner here last year, and a finalist here in 2012, there will be a significant impact on him.

"There will also be quite a significant impact on (Roger) Federer and (Novak) Djokovic. There will be some adjustment."

Organisers also defended a move to increase the prize money for first-round losers by nearly 15% to £27,000 (RM147,850).

Total prize money has gone up 10.8% to £25 million, with the winners of the men's and women's singles finals each in line to take home £1.76 million, compared to £1.6 million in 2013.

"I slightly take issue with the notion that players will turn up and lose," said AELTC chief executive Richard Lewis.

"I have to make the point that the players have worked hard to get there. Either they have have got into the championships through their ranking, so that's 12 months of play before, or there are some wild cards.

"So to portray it as £27,000 for turning up and doing nothing, I don't think that's valid."

Lewis also said that there were no plans to make alterations to any of the courts, despite a number of leading players having complained that they were too slippery during last year's tournament.

"I think in hindsight that was more of an anecdotal problem over a couple of days, and only one or two players took issue with it," he said.

"Wimbledon is played on a natural surface and of course the conditions change over the duration of the tournament. So we don't feel there are any issues to address on that."

Wimbledon this year runs from June 23 to July 6. – AFP, April 29, 2014.

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