Ahad, 26 Januari 2014

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

0 ulasan 3:27 PTG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Mata signing ‘the first of many’, says Moyes

Posted: 26 Jan 2014 06:40 AM PST

January 26, 2014

Manchester United manager David Moyes (pic) said on Sunday that the club-record acquisition of Spanish midfielder Juan Mata from Chelsea would be the first of many new signings this year.

United completed a move for Mata on Saturday for a reported fee of £37.1 million ($61.2 million, 44.8 million euros), eclipsing the £30.75 million that they paid Tottenham Hotspur to sign Dimitar Berbatov in 2008.

Moyes hopes that Mata will help to transform a desperate season that has seen the reigning English champions fall 14 points off the pace in the Premier League and crash out of both domestic cup competitions.

United have also reportedly opened talks with striker Wayne Rooney over a new contract and Moyes says that efforts to improve the squad will continue over the months ahead.

"This is the first, and there will be many more to come in time. I want the quality of Juan to be the start of it," Moyes told United's in-house television channel, MUTV.

"I don't think we will have any more (new signings) in January. I'm still working on it and looking to do so.

"But hopefully it will be the first of some new signings, some new players who will arrive, more likely in the summertime."

Mata arrived at the end of a week that saw United beaten 3-1 by Chelsea in the league and dumped out of the League Cup in the semi-finals by Sunderland, and Moyes said it had improved the mood at Old Trafford.

"Undoubtedly we could all do with a bit of a lift," said the Scot.

"We have not done as well as we would have liked to do. We see this as the start, we have to look to improve, and I'm going to try to bring in some new players to make that happen.

"I want to build an exciting team, I want to win and I want to give the supporters something to shout about. I've not done that often enough."

Mata, 25, could make his United debut as early as Tuesday, when Cardiff City visit Old Trafford in the Premier League.

The Spain international fell out of favour at Chelsea following Jose Mourinho's return as manager last year, but he expressed surprise that he had been allowed to leave Stamford Bridge in the middle of the campaign.

"To be honest, I think it's a bit surprising, but I have to say I am really grateful to Chelsea -- to the owner, to the people working in the club, and to the fans," Mata told MUTV.

"The last six months were difficult for me. I didn't play as much as I wanted to. I understand that football is a team sport and I respected that situation.

"But the chance to come to Manchester United was a great chance for me to carry on with my career. They are a massive club." – AFP, January 26, 2014.

Stan Wawrinka stuns Rafael Nadal to win first Grand Slam at Australian Open

Posted: 26 Jan 2014 03:13 AM PST

January 26, 2014
Latest Update: January 26, 2014 07:39 pm

Wawrinka returns a shot to Nadal in the first set of the Australian Open final in Melbourne today. The Swiss went on to win the first 2 sets, before taking the match 3-1. - AFP pic, January 26, 2014.Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka claimed his first Grand Slam title in dramatic fashion on Sunday when he upset injury-troubled world number one Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final.

The eighth seed roared through the first two sets and overcame the distraction of a back injury to Nadal, and then the loss of the third set, to take it 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in two hours 21 minutes.

Nadal, who was chasing his 14th major title, looked as if might pull out with the back injury but he fought back to take the third set and force the match into a fourth set.

It was a stunning win for Wawrinka, who had not beaten Nadal in their previous 12 matches as he rallied to win the fourth set and take the championship.

Wawrinka began nervelessly and after holding his opening two service games for the loss of only two points he made the first move in the final, breaking Nadal in the fourth game.

The Spaniard played a poor drop-shot which was followed by a double-fault to open the door for Wawrinka.

The Swiss again had a break point in Nadal's next service game as he held his own serves without undue pressure.

But he was three break points down serving out for his first ever set against Nadal, only to win the next five points with some magnificent serves to go one set up in 37 minutes.

Fresh from his psychological breakthrough, Wawrinka broke Nadal to love in the opening game of the second with with a cracking backhand return winner.

The Swiss was in the zone, reeling off 12 consecutive points against the non-plussed Nadal, who received a time violation warning for slow play between points.

Nadal's problems mounted when he grabbed his back after playing a forehand. He called for the trainer at the next changeover and went off the court for a medical timeout at 2-1 in the second set.

Wawrinka argued with the chair umpire about why he wasn't told what Nadal's injury was, as the crowd became restless with the Spaniard's seven-minute absence off the court.

When Nadal re-emerged he looked distressed and lost his serve for a third time as Wawrinka charged to a 4-1 lead. The Spaniard sat with his head in hands at the changeover.

Wawrinka served out for the second set as Nadal disconsolately walked to his chair and received further courtside treatment on his back.

However, Nadal fought back and broke Wawrinka's serve for the first time in the final early in the third set.

The treatment or possible painkillers appeared to have some effect and Nadal began hitting the balls with more authority to lead 4-1 as mistakes began to creep into the unsettled Wawrinka's game.

Wawrinka had a couple of break points in the ninth game but Nadal served out for the third set and take the final into a fourth set.

The Swiss again failed to capitalise on two break points early in the fourth as Nadal held serve.

Wawrinka got his fourth break with a big forehand winner to the corner to take a 4-2 lead and move within sight of the championship.

But Nadal broke back after three break points in the next service game with a string of errors from the nervy Wawrinka.

However, Wawrinka broke Nadal again and he served it out authoritatively, winning the title with a forehand.

Nadal became the first man to defeat the top two seeds at a Grand Slam since Sergi Bruguera at the 1993 French Open.

The Spaniard has had injury problems in the past in Melbourne.

He missed the 2006 and 2013 editions through injury, had to retire injured in his quarter-final against Andy Murray in 2010, and in 2011 he was hit by a muscle strain during his quarter-final defeat to David Ferrer. – AFP, January 26, 2014.

MORE TO COME.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Features

0 ulasan 1:09 PTG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Features

Philippine village reeling from online child sex abuse

Posted: 25 Jan 2014 11:04 PM PST

January 26, 2014

Ibabao's remote location made it an ideal spot for providing live-streaming of child pornography. – AFP pic, January 26, 2014.In a remote Philippine village, toddlers played oblivious at a nursery as the house next door became part of a horrifying child pornography ring, with live footage of children performing sex acts being streamed online to paedophiles around the world.

The depraved scenes in the bungalow were being repeated in many homes throughout Ibabao, a secluded community on Cebu island where Internet child pornography had for some of its 5,000 residents become more lucrative than fishing or factory work.

"In the beginning I was shocked, I could not believe this was happening in my town," mayor Adelino Sitoy said last week, shortly after police announced they had cracked a global live-streaming paedophile ring in which Ibabao was a key source of the child pornography.

But while the village is currently in the spotlight, authorities and child rights advocates say the fast-growing global industry is infecting many parts of the mostly poor Philippines, with thousands of children having been abused.

At first look the coastal community of Ibabao, 550km from Manila, is a typical close-knit rural Philippine village, where many of the long-time residents are relatives or enjoy close and longstanding ties.

In scenes echoed across the devoutly Catholic Philippines, its residents regularly attend masses held in quaint chapels along narrow footpaths and dirt roads.

Parents sell children for online sex

But police and authorities said that behind the closed doors of the tiny wooden and brick homes, many parents directed their children for sex videos in front of webcams connected via the Internet to paying paedophiles overseas.

Other children were lured into the homes of neighbours and forced to perform sex acts in front of webcams, they said.

Sitoy said the trade thrived because children were locked secretly inside homes, as well as Ibabao's remote location and the fact some elected village leaders with relatives involved ignored the crimes.

But some of the videos eventually found their way into the computer files of a known British paedophile two years ago, triggering a global manhunt to track down the perpetrators.

The British man was convicted in March last year and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Shortly afterwards, police in the Philippines began carrying out raids in Ibabao and nearby areas with the help of British, Australian and American authorities.

One of the raids saw dozens of Filipino police and social workers break into the bungalow next to the day care centre in September last year, arresting a couple and rescuing their three children, aged three, nine and 11.

Two days later, 13 other children who were being abused in other Ibabao homes were rescued, according to Philippine police.

Residents are generally wary of outsiders but some spoke on condition of anonymity.

They said "cybersex dens" remained in operation, but security fears and the Filipino tradition of not interfering with a neighbour's affairs helped to ensure that people did not pry further or try to stop it.

Housewife Jennifer Canete, 38, was willing to talk openly about the crimes, confirming many people in the community were involved and that she feared her four young children could become victims.

Canete said one of her children attended the nursery located next to the house where the three children were being abused.

"We were angry that this could happen just near the day care," she said.

"I was also afraid. We didn't know what could happen to our children if they went to school because there were many here who were doing that."

Shadowy outsider introduces child cyberporn

Authorities say they do not know exactly when the trade arrived in Ibabao.

But, according to local social workers, a Filipina woman from outside the community believed to belong to an organised crime group relocated to the village several years ago and introduced locals to the get-rich-quick scheme.

That woman taught residents how to scout for clients in pornographic chat rooms and receive payments through international money transfers, according to the social workers.

Some operators lured friends of their children into their homes and abused them, threatening to harm their parents if they told anyone, the social workers said.

One parent said a neighbour who had tried to recruit her said clients paid as much as US$100 (RM340) a session, a fortune in a region where the minimum daily wage is the equivalent of about US$7.

She said the neighbour justified the trade by saying that no actual physical contact took place.

"I was angry. We were always taught to protect and love our children," the woman said.

"We are not rich, but we are also not poor and desperate. It was an evil thing to do."

Nevertheless, she said that staying silent and steering clear of those involved in the trade was the best thing to do, to avoid any trouble.

In announcing the dismantling of the paedophile network, Britain's National Crime Agency said in mid-January that 11 people had been arrested in the Philippines and 18 elsewhere around the world.

Another 733 suspects were being investigated, the agency added.

Andrey Sawchenko, Philippine head of the Washington-based International Justice Mission (IJM) who helped in the arrests, said 39 children had been rescued in Ibabao and elsewhere in the Philippines.

But this is widely believed to be just the tip of the iceberg, with the British crime agency describing online child sex abuse as a "significant and emerging threat".

"Extreme poverty, the increasing availability of high-speed Internet and the existence of a vast and comparatively wealthy overseas customer base has led to organised crime groups exploiting children for financial gain," it said.

Dutch advocate group Terre des Hommes estimates that "tens of thousands" of children were being abused through the cybersex industry just in the Philippines.

Last year, the group created a virtual 10-year-old Filipina girl that was deployed in Internet chat rooms to lure paedophiles.

Over 10 weeks, 20,000 people from 71 countries approached the fake girl asking for sexual performances, according to Terre des Hommes, which passed the details of the paedophiles onto police. – AFP, January 26, 2014.

The nose may be able to smell out disease

Posted: 25 Jan 2014 06:51 PM PST

January 26, 2014

Notice that your partner's breath smells funny? Or that their body is giving off an unusually unpleasant odor? That may be your nose alerting you to the fact that they're sick.

According to a new study published out of Sweden, one of the first disease detectors is the human nose, which was shown in their research to pick out toxins, even at the early stage of illness.

The research stems from anecdotal evidence of certain diseases carrying specific smells. People with diabetes, for instance, can have breath that smells like rotten apples or acetone.

To put their hypothesis to the test, scientists from the Karolinska Institutet injected eight individuals with either a saline solution, or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a toxin known to activate the immune response.

The volunteers were then instructed to wear tight T-shirts for four hours, to absorb sweat.

Those injected with LPS experienced elevated body temperatures and increased levels of a group of immune system molecules known as cytokines.

Another group of 40 participants was recruited to smell and evaluate the sweat samples. Overall, T-shirts from the LPS group were rated as more intense and unhealthy (i.e., unpleasant) than the other samples.

It's a similar concept used by scientists at the University of Huddersfield, who are working on a breathalyzer device that will be able to detect early signs of lung cancer with a breath test. The aim is to catch cancer at the early stages with the help of a simple, non-invasive procedure.

The study was published online in Psychological Science. - AFP Relaxnews, January 26, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

0 ulasan 1:06 PTG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

‘Brokeback Mountain’ opera to open in Spain

Posted: 26 Jan 2014 02:41 AM PST

January 26, 2014

US tenor Tom Randle (left), as Jack Twist, and Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch, as Ennis del Mar, perform during a press preview of the Brokeback Mountain opera in Madrid. – AFP pic. Cowboys embrace in their underwear, singing in rich tenor and baritone voices in a modern opera adaptation of the Oscar-winning film "Brokeback Mountain" opening in Madrid on Tuesday.

The tragic love story of Jack and Ennis, played in the 2005 picture by Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger, comes to Madrid's Teatro Real in an English-language production that has drawn comparisons to Wagner.

The Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch as the hesitant Ennis and American tenor Tom Randle as his devoted Jack play out their tale of secret love in homophobic 1960s Wyoming against a photographic backdrop of brooding mountains.

At a dress rehearsal ahead of Tuesday night's world premiere, their voices soared over New York composer Charles Wuorinen's score, the orchestra sounding ominous and frenetic by turns as the doomed romance moved to its climax.

"The whole opera is about a typical kind of impossible situation, a tragic situation," said Wuorinen, who called on the writer Annie Proulx, author of the novella on which the film was based, to write the libretto.

"In this case, it's two people who in some way want to have a relationship which in their time is forbidden by society," Wuorinen said.

"That's a very traditional operatic problem to deal with."

At Madrid's top classical opera house, "Brokeback Mountain" follows a production of another tale of forbidden love, Wagner's epic "Tristan and Isolde".

The billing is no coincidence, said the theatre's Belgian director, Gerard Mortier, who saw parallels between the cowboys and the mythical knight and princess of Richard Wagner's masterpiece.

"The importance of Annie Proulx's novel is that 'great love' is 'great love' even if social reflections and conventions are opposed to it," he said, in notes accompanying the production.

"Therefore I programmed the world premiere next to the production of Tristan and Isolde," he added.

"Tristan, Isolde, Jack, Ennis – they all don't understand what's happening to them but are all prepared to die for the love they feel."

Coming down from the mountain where they kindle their love while minding sheep one summer, the two cowboys part and start families, but Jack tries to persuade Ennis that they two should live together.

Brooding woodwind and angry brass and drums echo the roughness of the local landscapes and speech.

"The music, the text, the production: all of this is non-sentimental," Wuorinen said.

"What all these things are instead are dramatic, tragic. There just isn't any room for sentimentality."

The Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, 75, said he was "more interested in the fundamental human problem" of the characters than in making a show about gay rights.

"I would not want the opera to be thought of as an ideological or propaganda piece," he said. "But if it helps, that's fine."

Dressed in cowboy hats and boots, putting up tents and drinking by a campfire before falling into each others' arms, Jack and Ennis sing a punchy libretto peppered with swear words.

"I ain't no queer," booms Ennis, in denial after spending the night in Jack's tent.

The composer was not afraid of displeasing traditional audiences at one of Europe's top opera houses.

"If you have a preconception of opera as this decaying form in which everything comes from the 19th century and you have an idea of overweight women yelling into the house, it's quite possible that this piece might not be suitable," said Wuorinen.

"It's not my problem, it's their problem." – AFP, January 26, 2014.

Cuaron wins directors award as ‘Gravity’ gathers speed to Oscars

Posted: 26 Jan 2014 12:21 AM PST

January 26, 2014

Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron (pic) won the top prize at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) today for the movie "Gravity" as the outer space drama gathers momentum, alongside "American Hustle" and "12 Years a Slave", for the Oscars.

The best director award is Cuaron's first from the DGA and is considered a strong predictor of Oscar success in six weeks. The DGA top honour has correctly predicted the best picture Oscar winner for nine of the past 10 years.

"This is truly and honour, and I'm humbled by being recognized by your peers," Cuaron, 52, said, accepting the award at a ceremony in Los Angeles.

Cuaron's special effects-laden existential drama about an astronaut who becomes separated from her space shuttle also won a joint prize with "12 Years a Slave" from Hollywood's producers last week in a rare tie.

Since 1948, there have been only seven occasions when the DGA award winner has not gone on to win the corresponding Academy Award.

Last year's DGA winner, Ben Affleck for Iran hostage drama "Argo", was not nominated for the best director Oscar award, which was given to Ang Lee for "Life of Pi".

Vince Gilligan, creator of the television series "Breaking Bad", also won the best director prize for a dramatic series. – Reuters, January 26, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

0 ulasan 3:14 PG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Perlukah Polis Syarie?

Posted: 25 Jan 2014 03:53 PM PST

January 26, 2014

Amin Iskandar adalah penerima anugerah zamalah Asian Public Intellectuals (API) bagi sesi 2009-2010. Kini merupakan Pengarang Berita bagi The Malaysian Insider. Beliau "berkicau" di www.twitter.com/aminiskandar.

Pengumuman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi pada Jumaat bahawa Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) dan Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) akan bekerjasama menubuhkan Unit Polis Syarie sebagai langkah menyelesaikan isu-isu berkaitan penguatkuasan dan perundangan Islam adalah sesuatu yang membimbangkan.

Menurut Ahli Parlimen Bagan Datoh itu, KDN mendapat persetujuan Jakim untuk menubuhkan unit itu, yang antara lain akan mempunyai anggota polis berkelulusan ijazah dan ijazah sarjana serta ditempatkan di Jakim.

"Umat Islam di Malaysia kini berhadapan dengan pelbagai cabaran antaranya penggunaan kalimah Allah oleh Kristian, fahaman Syiah, ajaran sesat dan tuntutan keterlaluan oleh Gabungan NGO-NGO Hak Asasi Manusia (Comango).

"Mengenai isu kalimah Allah, mengapa mereka (golongan Kristian) masih berdegil dan tidak menghormati keputusan Mahkamah... penggunaan kalimah Allah dalam Bible hanya dibenarkan di Sabah dan Sarawak dan bukannya di Semenanjung Malaysia," katanya seperti dilaporkan agensi berita Bernama.

Tanpa sebarang perbincangan dan perdebatan awam terlebih dahulu mengenai peranan unit ini, menteri mengumumkan Malaysia akan mempunyai Polis Syarie.

Unit ini akan memainkan peranan mengawal tingkahlaku umat Islam dari perspektif Syariah yang dipegang kerajaan dan belum tentu saya dan anda bersetuju dengannya.

Entah mengapa penguatkuasa Islam yang sudah bernaung di bawah jabatan-jabatan agama tidak mencukupi.

Apakah Polis Syarie ini tugasnya antara lain untuk menembak pasangan-pasangan muda yang berkasih di taman-taman bunga?

Apakah Polis Syarie ini antara lain bertugas untuk menangkap umat Islam yang tidak ke masjid semasa waktu solat?

Saya secara peribadinya pernah melihat bagaimana polis-polis Syariah menjalankan tugas di Aceh, Indonesia.

Pada ketika itu saya bertugas untuk satu misi pemantauan pilihan raya antarabangsa di daerah berkenaan.

Sedang saya berjalan di pekan Biruen bersama rakan setugas wanita berasal dari Thailand dan juga penterjemah kami, tiba-tiba kami dikepung oleh sekumpulan lelaki bermotosikal.

Rupa-rupanya mereka ini adalah polis Syariah dan kami dikepung kerana rakan saya itu tidak memakai tudung.

Nasib baik kami mempunyai penterjemah yang merupakan warga Aceh.Setelah menyemak pasport rakan saya dan mengesahkan beliau merupakan warga Thailand, barulah kami dilepaskan.

Menurut penterjemah saya, polis Syariah ini antara lainnya bertugas untuk menahan umat Islam yang tidak solat Jumaat, pasangan belum bernikah berasmara dan pelbagai lagi salah laku.

Lihatlah betapa tidak coolnya Aceh dengan adanya polis Syariah, kehidupan beragama rakyat juga diatur oleh negara.

Apakah kerajaan Malaysia sudah tidak waras untuk menyusahkan lagi kehidupan umat Islam di negara ini yang sudah sedia susah dengan sistem dua perundangan – sivil dan Syariah.

Mengapa perlu kerajaan campur tangan dalam kehidupan harian umat Islam? Tidak cukup-cukup lagikah dengan apa yang sedia ada?

Bukankah lebih baik daripada membazirkan wang pembayar cukai menubuhkan Unit Polis Syarie, ia digunakan untuk menjaga kebajikan rakyat seperti dilakukan negara-negara kafir di Eropah dengan menyediakan rumah percuma (bukan mampu milik) kepada rakyat mereka yang tidak berumah.

Inilah malangnya menjadi Melayu-Islam di Malaysia, anda ditindas kiri dan kanan.

Anda diberikan ilusi "anda istimewa" kerana Melayu itu Islam dan Islam itu Melayu walhal ia hanya terpakai jika anda rapat dengan golongan pembesar.

Lebih malang lagi, dalam isu Polis Syarie ini, tidak akan ada pemimpin politik Islam yang berani menyuarakan bantahan walaupun mereka tidak bersetuju.

Ini kerana takut hilang undi daripada majoriti umat Islam di negara ini yang kini sedang dilanda fenomena "Arabisasi".

Terdapat perbezaan besar di antara Arab dan Islam. Jangan kita salah faham. – 26 Januari, 2014.

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

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

0 ulasan 3:04 PG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

Kain rentang berbaur provokasi kalimah Allah digantung di gereja, dakwa Umno Jelutong

Posted: 26 Jan 2014 02:10 AM PST

January 26, 2014
Latest Update: January 26, 2014 07:02 pm

Pemuda Umno Bahagian Jelutong mendakwa kain rentang berbaur provokasi berhubung kalimah Allah digantung di perkarangan beberapa buah gereja dan sebuah perhentian bas di sekitar Pulau Pinang awal hari ini.

Ketuanya Jasmin Noordin berkata perbuatan itu bukan dilakukan oleh pihak gereja tetapi sebaliknya oleh pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab.

"Saya percaya ada pihak tertentu yang sengaja hendak membuat provokasi supaya rusuhan kaum berlaku di Malaysia dengan menggantung kain rentang sedemikian," katanya.

Difahamkan, kain rentang terbabit dengan jelas tertera ungkapan "Allah Is Great" (Allah Maha Besar) dan "Jesus is the son of Allah" (Jesus anak lelaki Allah) dipercayai digantung di lima kawasan di sekitar negeri ini.

Jasmin berkata pihaknya akan membuat polis terhadap perbuatan itu yang dipercayai dilakukan pada tengah malam tadi.

Katanya, beliau berjaya menurunkan kain rentang berkenaan yang terdapat di Gereja St John Britto, di Sungai Pinang kerana perbuatan sedemikian akan menghancurkan keharmonian di negara ini.

"Saya percaya kain rentang berbaur provokasi ini digantung di perkarangan lima buah gereja di negeri ini," katanya.

Tinjauan di sekitar kawasan berkenaan mendapati kain-kain rentang berkenaan telah diturunkan dan difahamkan hampir 100 penduduk Kampung Rawa, Sungai Pinang di sini berkumpul untuk melihat kain rentang terbabit sebelum ia diturunkan.

Sementara itu, Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Hal Ehwal Penguna dan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim berkata beliau tidak menerima sebarang aduan berhubung perkara itu sehingga dimaklumkan oleh pihak media.

"Saya baru dapat tahu perkara tersebut dan satu siasatan segera akan dilakukan sebelum perkara yang tidak diingini berlaku," katanya.

Sementara itu, Ketua Polis Pulau Pinang, Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi, ketika dihubungi, berkata dua buah gereja dan seorang penduduk tempatan membuat laporan polis berhubung kain rentang bersifat provokatif itu.

Katanya, kes itu akan disiasat mengikut Seksyen 4(1) Akta Hasutan 1948. – Bernama, 26 Januari, 2014.

Umno perlu teliti perubahan elak ditolak masyarakat bandar, kata Najib

Posted: 26 Jan 2014 01:40 AM PST

January 26, 2014

Umno perlu bijak meneliti perubahan demografi dan melakukan penyesuaian terhadap dasar-dasar yang ditunjanginya untuk mengelakkan parti itu ditolak masyarakat bandar, kata Datuk Seri Najib Razak (gambar).

Perdana Menteri berkata jika Umno menolak perubahan itu, parti itu akan hanya dilihat sebagai sebuah parti untuk orang luar bandar sahaja.

Najib berkata, sokongan luar bandar tetap merupakan teras kepada parti itu, namun dalam masa yang sama dengan penghijrahan dan perubahan demografi mereka yang berpindah ke kawasan bandar, Umno perlu meneliti dan memahami perubahan itu untuk terus meraih sokongan rakyat tanpa mengira di mana mereka berada.

"Perubahan ini Umno mesti teliti, Umno mesti lakukan penyesuaian terhadap dasar-dasar yang ditunjanginya dengan pendekatan serta tindakan dilakukan di peringkat bahagian dan cawangan.

"Ia supaya dapat mengenali hati dan nurani serta sokongan masyarakat luar bandar terhadap kita dan dalam masa yang sama supaya tidak ditolak masyarakat bandar.

"(Seorang daripada mereka) yang berjaya (melakukan penyesuaian) ialah (di bawah) kepimpinan Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad dan oleh sebab itu semasa pilihan raya umum lepas, walaupun mereka meletakkan seorang jeneral empat bintang, saya tetap meletakkan Johor Baru sebagai kawasan putih dan terbukti Ketua Umno Bahagian Johor Baru ini menang sekali lagi di kawasan ini.

"Oleh itu, strategi dan pendekatan kita untuk menjadikan parti ini `laku' di kawasan bandar (ialah menjadikan ia) boleh diterima dan disambut sebagai parti orang bandar di samping mengekalkan sokongan luar bandar," katanya ketika merasmikan bangunan baru Umno Johor Baru yang dihadiri lebih 5,000 orang.

Turut hadir Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Ahli Parlimen Johor Baru Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad, Timbalan Presiden MCA Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong dan Naib Presiden MIC Datuk S. Balakrishnan.

Najib yang juga Presiden Umno berkata, walau sehebat mana sejarah parti itu, namun ia bukan jaminan penerusan kuasa dan kejayaan parti berkenaan jika ia tidak berjaya menyesuaikan diri dengan perubahan keadaan semasa.

"Kita tidak boleh bersandar semata-mata kepada sejarah tetapi kita mesti menunjukkan bahawa sebagai sebuah parti yang telah lahir 68 tahun lalu, kita tetap relevan, tetap sesuai, tetap jadi parti pilihan rakyat pada mana-mana tempat dan keadaan.

"Kita mesti akur dan mesti insaf, mana-mana parti yang tidak menyesuaikan diri dengan persekitaran semasa meskipun parti itu sehebat mana, budi sebesar mana, kejayaan setinggi mana sekalipun, parti itu akan tetap tergugat kedudukannya.

"Alhamdulillah Umno menyedari hal ini dan kerana itu dalam pilihan raya lepas Umno muncul sebagai parti terkuat apabila berjaya menambah kerusi," katanya.

Dalam masa yang sama, Najib turut mengingatkan pemimpin Umno supaya mendahulukan rakyat dalam apa keadaan sekalipun untuk mengelakkan parti itu dilihat sebagai parti berkepentingan sendiri.

"Jangan letak kepentingan diri lebih daripada rakyat, kalau ada tapak rumah ataupun rumah kos rendah jangan pemimpin Umno rebut dahulu, bagi kepada rakyat dahulu supaya rakyat dapat melihat bahawa Umno bukan berkepentingan sendiri tetapi adalah parti untuk rakyat dan mendahulukan rakyat.

"Malah prinsip keramat ini yang mesti dihayati oleh kita sepanjang masa," katanya diiringi tepukan gemuruh daripada mereka yang hadir di majlis itu.

Dalam masa yang sama beliau turut melahirkan keyakinan bahawa Johor mampu terus
kekal sebagai kubu kuat Umno dan Barisan Nasional (BN) dalam pilihan raya akan datang walaupun pembangkang mengatur pelbagai strategi khas untuk mengambil alih pemerintahan di negeri ini.

"Mereka hendak rebut kuasa dan jawatan di Putrajaya sebab itu mereka kena kalahkan Umno dan BN di Johor namun saya yakin dengan kepimpinan pengerusi baru badan perhubungan (Mohamed Khaled) dengan dibantu pemimpin veteran seperti Tan Sri Shahrir, kita mampu pertahankan kedudukan ini," katanya.

Sementara itu, Najib berkata Kementerian Kewangan membelanjakan hampir RM22 bilion setahun untuk subsidi minyak RON95 dan jika dasar subsidi bersasar dilakukan, peruntukan itu dapat disalurkan kepada lebih banyak projek lain yang bermanfaat kepada golongan berpendapatan rendah.

"RM22 bilion ini besar kerana jika RM22 bilion dapat digunakan untuk membina perumahan kos rendah umpamanya cuba bayangkan ribuan rakyat berpendapatan rendah akan dapat faedah itu.

"Ini akan lebih adil kepada rakyat dariada memberi subsidi kepada mereka yang mampu membayar (harga minyak)untuk harga pasaran," katanya. – Bernama, 26 Januari, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Ahad, 26 Januari 2014