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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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A look at some of the best female chefs in the world Posted: 24 Mar 2014 10:10 PM PDT March 25, 2014 Chef Anne-Sophie Pic was the inaugural winner of the Best Female Chef Award. – AFP pic, March 25, 2014.The next woman to be named the world's best female chef will join an elite sorority of colleagues who have carved a name and reputation for themselves in a distinctly man's world. Organisers of the influential and career-catapulting World's 50 Best Restaurants awards will bestow the lofty title on an exceptional female chef whose cooking "excites the toughest critics." Since its creation in 2011, the award has raised a few eyebrows within and outside of the food community, which questioned the need for an award that sets woman apart from men. Does it imply that women need their own special category? That they're not considered on par with their male counterparts? The subject grew even more inflamed last year with the publication of a special Time magazine report entitled "Gods of Food," an editorial package that drew much criticism for being conspicuously absent of any 'goddesses.' For their part, organizers of Veuve Clicquot's Best Female Chef Award say the award was created to shine the spotlight on female chefs and help close the gender gap. In advance of the announcement, here's a look back at some of the recipients of the award since it launched in 2011. Anne-Sophie Pic: 2011 When choosing the inaugural winner for the award, organisers knew they had to set the bar high. It's no wonder, then, that they chose to go with French chef Anne-Sophie Pic, the only woman in France to have ever held three Michelin stars for her restaurant Maison Pic, a 125-year-old, family-run dining institution in Valence, in south-eastern France. Elena Arzak: 2012 Daughter of Juan Mari Arzak, often described as the "master of Basque cuisine," Elena is the fourth generation Arzak to take the helm of the San Sebastian restaurant Arzak, where she brings out the best in local ingredients using modern, innovative techniques. Nadia Santini: 2013 The remarkable part of Santini's trajectory is that she never received formal culinary training. Everything she knows comes from her husband's grandmother, who taught her how to cook at Dal Pescatore, where Santini is now the matriarch. Santini was also the first Italian woman to earn three Michelin stars. Duangporn 'Bo' Songvisava: Asia's Best Female Chef 2013 At her Bangkok restaurant Bo.Lan, Chef Bo is credited with elevating Thai cuisine into a fine dining experience without compromising on authenticity. Chillies aren't scaled back to cater to Western palates, while ingredients are locally sourced, seasonal and sustainable. Helena Rizzo: Latin America's Best Female Chef 2013 At her restaurant Mani in Sao Paulo, Rizzo and fellow chef-husband Daniel Redondo offer dishes that marry traditional Brazilian ingredients with modern culinary techniques, such as baked maniocas – a Brazilian root vegetable – served with tucupi froth (the juice of the manioc) coconut milk and white truffle oil. Lanshu Chen: Asia's Best Female Chef: 2014 Trained under some of the world's master chefs like Pierre Hermé and Thomas Keller, Chen took her knowledge and applied it to Le Mout restaurant in Taiwan, where she executes classic haute French cuisine, with an Asian twist. Foie gras, for instance, will be paired with salmon roe and ginger flower-infused duck consommé. The recipient will accept her award at the World's 50 Best Restaurants gala ceremony in London on April 28. – AFP/Relexnews, March 25, 2014.

Aroma-diffusing fork adds another layer to dinner Posted: 24 Mar 2014 05:41 PM PDT March 25, 2014 The Aromafork by Montreal-based company Molecule-R. – AFP/Relaxnews, March 25, 2014. Designed to enhance the dining experience, Canadian entrepreneurs have created a fork that emits aromas like lychee, passion fruit, cilantro or ginger for an added olfactory layer. It's called the Aromafork and is a rethink on conventional cutlery. Just above the prongs, the Aromafork includes a small hole that diffuses liquid aromas with the use of blotting papers. Spices, fruit and nut aromas can be used to enhance the flavours of a dish, replace ingredients or perform the epicurean equivalent of a sleight of hand, tricking the taste buds and the mind through the power of smell. The Aromafork is the latest product out of Molecule-R, a Montreal-based company that produces culinary tools like redesigned utensils and additives for ambitious home chefs who want to experiment with molecular gastronomy in their own kitchens. It's not the first time the fork has been reinvented. Last year, French inventors came up with the HAPIfork, an electronic fork designed to help people lose weight by vibrating when users eat too fast and reminding them to slow down. The Aromafork package, including four forks and 21 aromas, retails for $CAD58.95 (RM173.81). – AFP/Relaxnews, March 25, 2014.

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Bayern ordered to partially close stadium against Manchester United Posted: 24 Mar 2014 05:45 AM PDT March 24, 2014 Bayern Munich have been ordered to close part of their stadium for the Champions League match at home to Manchester United next month for "discriminatory behaviour" by their supporters, UEFA said today. Bayern will have to shut "Sector 124" of the Allianz Arena for the quarter-final second leg on April 9, UEFA said, although they gave no indication of which part of the stadium that section is located in or how many seats will be affected. UEFA said fans showed "an illicit banner" during the round of 16 tie at home to Arsenal earlier this month. It declined to give more details about the cause of the ban, although media photographs showed a group of fans with a homophobic banner aimed at Arsenal. The German club have also been fined 10,000 euros ($13,800), UEFA said. – Reuters, March 24, 2014

Wenger wants Arsenal flops to make amends Posted: 23 Mar 2014 10:24 PM PDT March 24, 2014 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger (right) and team coach Steve Bould react during their English Premier League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London March 22, 2014. – Reuters pic, March 24, 2014.Arsene Wenger has challenged his Arsenal flops to make amends for one of the most humiliating defeats of his career when they face Swansea tomorrow. Wenger's side suffered an embarrassing 6-0 thrashing at Chelsea on Saturday that brutally exposed their claims to be genuine contenders for the Premier League title. The Gunners boss had hoped to celebrate his 1,000 match in charge of Arsenal with a first victory over Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho in a fixture with major implications for the title race. But instead a day that had the potential to be one of the more memorable of Wenger's illustrious career ended in a statistical nightmare as Arsenal slumped to their biggest ever defeat against Chelsea and one of the heaviest losses of the Frenchman's nearly 18-year reign in north London. Chelsea demolished Arsenal's fragile defence with three goals inside the first 17 minutes, after which the visitors played with 10 men after the dismissal of Kieran Gibbs in a case of mistaken identity by referee Andre Marriner, who confused the Arsenal left-back with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain following the midfielder's handball on the goal-line. Arsenal are now languishing in fourth place, seven points behind leaders Chelsea, and with their morale at a low ebb after a result that Wenger conceded was one of the worst moments of his managerial career. But Wenger believes the north London team can erase the bitter taste of that loss tomorrow when they play their game in hand on Chelsea against Swansea at the Emirates Stadium. "What is important is to give a response on Tuesday night and that is it. I don't believe it is the time to talk too much about what went wrong," Wenger said. "The players are deeply disappointed as we all are, but now I think let us prepare for the next game. "We can win the next game, so that is what we have to focus on now and give a strong response. "We are in a situation now where after such a disappointment that the next game becomes vital." After losing 5-1 at Liverpool, 6-3 at Manchester City and 6-0 at Chelsea this term, there is a growing belief Arsenal are pretenders rather than serious contenders for the title. Yet, despite the capitulation at the Bridge, a victory against Garry Monk's Swansea would close the gap to four points and give Wenger's men a much-needed morale boost as they try to convince themselves they can overhaul Chelsea. Arsenal are set to appeal against Gibbs's red card, with Marriner having already apologised for his mistake and it seems likely Oxlade-Chamberlain will be the one suspended against Swansea. "The referee made a mistake because he missed the identity of the player, he has not seen what happened at all," Wenger said. "Maybe it was a penalty, but it was not Gibbs." Meanwhile, Swansea have worries near the foot of the table as they have not won since Monk's first match in interim charge in early February after the dismissal of Michael Laudrup. The south Wales club have picked up just five points from six games to leave them just four points above the relegation zone. And defender Ben Davies accepts they have a hugely significant few days ahead days ahead as they face Arsenal before hosting fellow strugglers Norwich on Saturday. "It is a massive week for us and we definitely need something out of the next two games," he said. "We cannot afford to let our confidence slip and get into negative ways with everyone feeling sorry for themselves because then we don't have any chance of winning games. "We've got to take it into our own hands." – AFP, March 24, 2014.

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‘Divergent’ pulls away from box-office rivals Posted: 23 Mar 2014 05:50 PM PDT March 24, 2014 Still of 'Divergent' starring Shailene Woodley (centre). – AFP/Relaxnews pic, March 24, 2014.Sci-fi thriller "Divergent" pulled apart from rivals at the North American box office in its first weekend, as "Muppets Most Wanted" went in at number two, industry estimates showed yesterday. Raking in an estimated US$56 million (RM185.28 million), "Divergent", the dystopian tale of a young woman in a futuristic society, is based on the popular young adult novel of the same name. The film easily beat out the latest Muppets instalment, which earned US$16.5 million in its first weekend, figures from Exhibitor Relations showed. Tina Fey, Ty Burrell and Ricky Gervais star in a European adventure in which a Russian-accented Kermit look-alike takes the Muppet gang for a ride. Coming in third was animated film "Mr Peabody & Sherman", based on characters from the 1960s television cartoon "Rocky and Bullwinkle". Slipping from last week's first-place spot, the film earned US$11.7 million in its third weekend. Ancient Greece fantasy-action movie "300: Rise of an Empire", the gory follow-up to the 2007 hit "300", landed in fourth with US$8.67 million. In its first weekend in theatres, the religiously themed "God's Not Dead", which tells the story of a college freshman who debates with his atheist philosophy professor, debuted in fifth place with US$8.56 million. And fast-paced, car-chase action movie "Need for Speed", inspired by the videogame of the same name, earned US$7.8 million, falling from third to sixth. Wes Anderson's quirky "The Grand Budapest Hotel" climbed one spot to seventh with just under US$6.8 million. And eighth place went to "Non–Stop", the Liam Neeson action movie set on a long-haul flight. The film added another US$6.3 million to its total earnings. Falling to ninth was hit animated film "The Lego Movie", inspired by the children's toy building blocks, which took in US$4.1 million. And rounding out the top 10 with US$3.1 million was "The Single Moms Club", the latest offering from prolific actor-director Tyler Perry, about five struggling mothers who set aside their differences to bond in a support group. – AFP/Relaxnews, March 24, 2014.

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Tune Hotel Waterfront Kuching Goes Bald for 5th Anniversary Posted: 23 Mar 2014 09:52 PM PDT March 24, 2014 Tune Hotels Country Head for Malaysia, Kishore Suppiah and Teo Beng Hock, Group Financial Controller of Limar Group, had their heads shaved as part of the 'Go Bald for Kids with Cancer' campaign. – Picture Courtesy of Tune Hotels, March 24, 2014.To mark its fifth anniversary, Tune Hotel Waterfront Kuching organised a special charity event for the benefit of children with cancer. Fourteen volunteers went bald at the "Going Bald for Kids with Cancer" at the hotel here on Saturday, as part of the efforts to raise funds for the Sarawak Children's Cancer Society (SCCS). The event was part of SCCS's annual 'Go Bald' event which is now running into its sixth year. The 'Go Bald 6.0' will officially kick off on 4 May 2014 at the CityONE Megamall in Kuching. Tune Hotel Waterfront Kuching led the way with a donation of RM6, 300 to SCCS. As a show of support towards children with cancer and their families, 14 staff members of the hotel had their heads shaved, led by Tune Hotels Country Head for Malaysia, Kishore Suppiah and Teo Beng Hock, Group Financial Controller of Limar Group. To bump it up, Tune Hotel Waterfront Kuching is also pledging RM5 for each online booking made from 22 March up to 28 March 2014 for immediate stays up until 30 April 2014, in addition to a 20% discount. Guests can log on to www.tunehotels.com to book and participate. This is on top of an offline donation drive organised by the hotel staff as well as a donation box placed at the hotel reception. The sums will be tallied and all proceeds will go towards SCCS for the benefit of children with cancer. Kishore Suppiah said, "This is a very meaningful way to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Tune Hotel Waterfront Kuching. We are very proud to be working with the SCCS and be part of this year's Go Bald 6.0 to help support the unfortunate children as well as their families and loved ones. We want to tell them to always be strong, keep on fighting and stay positive… that their hair loss is only temporary and part of the recovery process. After all, being bald is cool!" SCCS Manager Jodie Sim said, "We are very pleased to have Tune Hotels coming on board for Go Bald 6.0 this year. We hope our Go Bald tour covering Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu and Miri this year will be the biggest ever. We look forward to more volunteers and donors who will come forward and participate for this noble cause." After Kuching on 4 May, the Go Bald 6.0 tour will stop at Delta Mall in Sibu on 11 May, followed by Parkcity Mall in Bintulu on 18 May and Miri's Bintang Megamall on 25 May. Go Bald is an awareness cum fundraising event initiated by SCCS in 2009. The funds raised have gone towards providing financial assistance to families who have children with cancer, to help with accommodation and food for outstation patients, medical consumables, bone marrow transplants and in-ward tuition for the child patients. SCCS also provides, counselling and emotional support to child patients and families, aside from organising fun outing and camps for them as a temporary get away from their treatment. For more information, visit SCCS website www.sccs.my or Go Bald Facebook page www.facebook.com/GoBald. - March 24, 2014.

A quiet Malaysian who celebrates differences Posted: 23 Mar 2014 05:39 PM PDT BY DATO DR AMAR-SINGH AND DATIN DR LIM SWEE IM March 24, 2014 Eric Lai could not stop painting ever since he was commissioned to paint a mural.In the face of all the negativity and loose comments by some leaders, this man stands out as a person who tries to build and celebrate our cultural differences. Eric Lai is an artist and art teacher, who runs an art school in Bercham, Ipoh called ArtGene Studio. Over the past 2 years he has taken the initiative to paint murals on the back streets of Ipoh City. We first heard about Eric's work from a local publication and we spent some time looking for Eric's street art which was located in a not so easy to find back street of Ipoh. We both instantly liked and appreciated his art work and began to bring friends to enjoy the art. We subsequently met him at our home with another friend as the National Early Childhood Intervention Council wanted to commission Eric to do some art work for a child disability conference. Eric the person turned out to be a simple and humble man, without airs. His straightforward honesty is refreshing. During the course of the discussion, we asked him how he got started on this particular strip of street art. He said that a friend had commissioned him to paint one mural. After completing the funded mural, he found that once he got his "engine started" (his words), he could not stop painting. It was this inner drive and passion to paint that enabled him to paint other walls on the same street for free. Eric the artist says that people describe him as having a "stern and serious looking face", totally focused on his piece of art while working. To us, it is the description of a person who wholeheartedly pours himself into his art work. Perhaps this is one reason his art work is so filled with life. 'Dulang Washers' by Eric Lai.His two main themes have been the beautiful cultural history of Malaysians from all ethnic groups and children. He has painted the Chinese Opera, Wayangkulit, Thaipusam, Lion Dance, Dulang Washers ('ahem', note the pretty Ipoh ladies), Rubber Tappers, Indian Classical Dance and Music, Gamelan Musicians, Ipoh Pottery Makers, etc. The children's themes have been Hide & Seek, Bubble Blowing, Classical Games, and one of our favourites Child Playing at Waterfall. Many of us Ipoh 'locals' as well as tourists to Ipoh have been delighted by his work. Whenever we pass by the site we will see Malaysians or overseas tourists stopping to take pictures. Many of the art pieces evoke a memory within us of our childhood. I (Swee-Im) remember walking and carrying my stool as a child with my family to go sit and watch the open stage Classical Chinese Opera.  I (Amar) remember many happy hours spent besides waterfalls, often diving in using a hanging rattan branch. What is exciting about these paintings is not just that they brighten Ipoh's back lanes but that Eric often works with children and young persons to do the work. It is so refreshing to see the commitment and excitement in these children. He also takes pains not to paint over the walls but to build the art into the stains, vegetation and colour of the existing buildings. Eric's mural expressing hope for the safety of Flight MH370 passengers.We sincerely hope that the Ipoh City Council and Perak State Government will acknowledge this talented young man and support his work. He is doing much more for tourism than many other initiatives. It is persons like this, who build our true One Malaysia, that the government should recognise and support strongly. Most of the street art is located in a back lane between Jalan Sultan Iskandar and Jalan Masjid, a location that many may miss. We hope the City Council can put up signs to direct tourists as well as fund Eric to do art in more prominent locations in the city. It would be great to bring life to other parts of Ipoh City. To cap it all, Eric has just done a small mural for MH370 as well. He says it is a view of the outside from the passengers' perspective and speaks of the hope of them coming home. – March 24, 2014.

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Japanese company to digitise rare Vatican library manuscripts Posted: 23 Mar 2014 05:44 PM PDT March 24, 2014 The Vatican Library at the Vatican. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, March 24, 2014.Ancient manuscripts in the Vatican library penned from East Asia to the Pre-Colombian Americas will be digitised by a Japanese company as part of a global project to make the collection available for free viewing by the public. Japan's NTT Data will digitise 3,000 historical works and put them online over a four-year period in an initiative costing 18 million euros (RM82.15 million), the company said at a press conference in the Vatican on Thursday. "The manuscripts to be digitised go from the Pre-Colombian American period to the Chinese and Japanese East Asia, passing through all the languages and cultures which have animated Europe," the Vatican's librarian and archivist Jean-Louis Brugues said. The library began digitising its books a couple of years ago and the deal with NTT Data will bring the total of manuscripts converted to 15,000 by 2018. NTT Data's head Toshio Iwamoto said the company was eager to participate "in an operation which will lead to the digitisation and preservation of some 80,000 books and 41 million pages which could be considered as global heritage, written between the second and 20th centuries". The company is active in over 40 countries and is experienced in digitising rare manuscripts. Brugues underlined the Holy See's desire "to make the immense treasure entrusted to it available, by offering free consultation on the Internet". – AFP/Relaxnews, March 24, 2014.

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Perkara tersirat di PRK Kajang Posted: 23 Mar 2014 05:58 PM PDT March 24, 2014 Penulis adalah seorang jurutera semikonduktor, wartawan freelance, penerbit dan editor buku motivasi yang suka mengikuti perkembangan politik Malaysia Kebiasaannya sejurus selesai pilihan raya kecil (PRK), pakar pemutar parti akan cuba berhujah mengenai kemenangan dan kekalahan mereka demi keuntungan politik. Di PRK Kajang, tiada bezanya, meskipun diselubungi insiden kehilangan MH370. Sebenarnya, sekain misteri kehilangan MH370, tiada apa yang berlaku di luar jangkaan di PRK Kajang. Kekalahan BN sudah pun dijangka dari awal sejak perletakan jawatan Lee Chin Cheh Januari lepas. Kemenangan PKR sudah diramal apabila Anwar Ibrahim diumum sebagai calon. Perkara itu tidak berubah apabila isteri beliau Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail terpaksa menggantikannya kerana beliau dihukum 5 tahun penjara. Mari kita lihat apa yang tersirat di sebalik PRK Kajang: Lebih ramai pengundi Pakatan Rakyat tidak balik mengundi PKR: 16,741 BN/MCA: 11,362 Majoriti: 5379 (2013: 6824, kurang 1445) Peratus mengundi: 72.1% (2013: 88.1%, kurang 16%) Peratus undi PKR: 59.43% (2013: 57.99%, tambah 1.44%) (2013: 19,571, kurang 2,830 undi) Peratus undi BN: 40.43% (2013: 37.77%, tambah 2.66%) (2013: 12747, kurang 1,385 undi). Perkara ini mudah difahami, kerana PRK yang disengajakan ini hilang makna yang penting selepas Anwar tidak dapat bertanding. Kerana itu, untuk melabur dalam perjalanan pulang ke kampung untuk mengundi, dan pulang ke tempat bekerja sejurus itu untuk PRK ini, sudah tentu tidak berbaloi. Pakatan Rakyat juga perlu mengambil berat sudut impak penyokong yang protes terhadap Langkah Kajang dan dengan sengaja tidak keluar mengundi. MCA secara diam guna isu tempatan melawan isu nasional yang dibawa PKR PKR mengambil langkah memainkan isu nasional ketika berkempen di Kajang. Dengan "Langkah Kajang" yang terkubur kerana hukuman yang dijatuhkan kepada Anwar, PRK ini digunakan sebaliknya untuk mencari 'keadilan' bagi Anwar melalui isterinya Wan Azizah. Langkah ini adalah langkah yang bijak bagi PKR, kerana golongan muda lebih mengikuti isu nasional yang berlegar di internet daripada isu tempatan yang berkeliaran di warung kopi di Kajang. Namun, kehilangan MH370 mencairkan sentimen terhadap isu penjara Anwar. MCA pula sedar mereka tidak boleh bertarung pada isu nasional. Isu nasional yang berlaku adalah di luar kawalan mereka. Oleh itu, MCA menjual isu-isu tempatan dan bermain dengan sentimen orang Cina terhadap Kajang sebagai satu-satu kawasan DUN yang dipegang oleh orang Cina di bawah parlimen Hulu Langat. MCA menggunakan pendekatan isu tempatan pada mereka yang berumur 45 tahun ke atas yang tinggal di kawasan Kajang. Golongan ini amat mementingkan kawasan mereka dijaga dengan baik oleh Adun mereka. Oleh itu, MCA menggunakan pendekatan menjual kehebatan servis calonnya Chew Mei Fun. Dan ini berjaya menarik perhatian dan sokongan generasi Cina yang lebih tua. MCA tidak membazirkan masa pada golongan muda yang asalnya orang Kajang tapi sudah berpindah ke luar Kajang kerana golongan ini tidak memerlukan servis seorang Adun yang baik. MCA menimbulkan persoalan yang membakar sentimen orang Cina iaitu samada DUN ini akan kembali ke tangan orang Cina pada pilihanraya-pilihanraya akan datang sekiranya Wan Azizah memenangi DUN Kajang kali ini. Kesilapan PKR dan MCA PKR mendedahkan kelemahan Adun dan kerajaan Selangor sendiri apabila berjanji untuk menyelesaikan beberapa masalah tempatan di manifestonya, seperti kesesakan di Kajang. Sehingga kini, ramai mempersoalkan mengapa manifesto yang dicipta untuk Wan Azizah tidak sama dengan apa yang disebut dalam Langkah Kajang, iaitu untuk menghalang kejatuhan kerajaan Selangor dan provokasi perkauman dan agama yang lebih teruk daripada Umno-BN? Sekiranya Anwar yang bertanding, apakah Anwar akan juga menggunakan manifesto yang sama? Apakah pemimpin bertaraf dunia ini akan membuat janji seperti saya akan menyelesaikan masalah kesesakan jalan raya di Kajang? Hanya PKR sahaja tahu. MCA pula melakukan kesilapan dengan menyerang Anwar secara bertubi-tubi di ceramah mereka. Mereka mendedahkan dosa Anwar ketika beliau dalam Umno dan sebagai Menteri Pendidikan terhadap pendidikan vernakular Cina dan sebagainya. Anwar baru sahaja dihukum penjara 5 tahun. Simpati rakyat berpihak bersamanya, akan tetapi, MCA tidak peduli dan terus menyerang Anwar, dan ini sedikit sebanyak memakan diri. Tidakkah MCA sedar bahawa serangan pada Anwar sudah masuk ke kategori 'overkill' – di mana semakin beliau diserang, semakin beliau akan mendapat sambutan? Di sinilah MCA membazirkan masanya tatkala jamuan makan malamnya semakin mendapat sambutan menjelang hari pengundian seperti jamuan berpuluh meja yang dipenuhi dengan meriah di sebelah bilik gerakan PKR di Taman Damai pada hari terakhir kempen. Catuan air yang dikecualikan Tatkala rata-rata rakyat Selangor sedang merana dalam catuan air, penduduk Kajang tidak merasai keperitan ini. Air di paip kelihatan sentiasa ada sejak perletakan jawatan Lee Chin Cheh meskipun kawasan lain di Selangor mengalami masalah kekurangan air. Tiada insiden ketiadaan air yang kritikal seperti yang berlaku di Balakong mahupun Cheras, yang tidak jauh daripada DUN Kajang. Tidak diketahui samada ini sebahagian daripada pencaturan atau para penduduk Kajang sememangnya bernasib baik kerana tidak terletak di dalam zon catuan air negeri Selangor. Kerana nasib baik inilah, catuan air tidak memainkan apa-apa faktor terhadap undi yang diterima BN mahupun PKR. Sekiranya selepas ini penduduk Kajang mengalami masalah catuan air, penulis hanya boleh ucapkan "Selamat datang ke realiti dunia politik Malaysia". Kerjasama Pakatan Rakyat Pencalonan Wan Azizah dan nasib malang yang menimpa Anwar menyebabkan kerjasama Pakatan Rakyat kembali erat. Kesan negatif Langkah Kajang yang meregangkan hubungan Pakatan Rakyat telahpun dipulihkan. Kini fokus bertukar pada pemilihan PKR. Meletakkan Zuraida sebagai timbalan Khalid Ibrahim dalam kempen PRK Kajang adalah langkah yang sangat kontroversi bagi mereka yang mengikut politik PKR secara dekat. Dan keputusannya, prestasi PRK Kajang tidaklah memberangsangkan bagi PKR. Dan siapa yang bakal akan menanggung harganya? Tunggu bulan Mei. – 24 Mac, 2014. * Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider.

Long way to go on human rights Posted: 23 Mar 2014 05:01 PM PDT March 24, 2014 Ying Hooi is attached with a local university. Her research interests cover the fields of civil society, social movements, protests, political participation, human rights and democratization. The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) started in 2008 and is the only peer review process on the state of human rights in all United Nations member states. Last week, Malaysia completed its second cycle of UPR in Geneva. So, what is next for Malaysia? In its first cycle in 2009, Putrajaya accepted 62 recommendations, rejected 22 and issued no clear position on 19 recommendations. This time, Malaysia accepted 150 recommendations out of the 232 it received. This is a good sign but in terms of substance, Malaysia is still lacking. Notably, Malaysia rejected all of the recommendations to accede to the remaining six of nine core international human rights treaties. It is an embarrassment that Putrajaya has only ratified three treaties since 1995. These are the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). On the ratification chart, Malaysia remains in the bottom 10 countries in the United Nations. Although an Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) on human rights has been set up to determine how far Putrajaya could go in ratifying these remaining treaties, the process is too slow. One of the favourite excuses trotted out is that it is better not to sign if the country is not ready to comply with the treaties. This is just lame excuse. There had already been two rounds of the UPR process. The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) had proposed a national human rights action plan in 2001. After the first UPR session, Suhakam suggested the adoption of recommendations in the UPR into a national human rights action plan, since we do not have one. Since then, Putrajaya has made promises to establish a human rights plan. Malaysia made a commitment to develop its own human rights plan in 2009 at the UN. But it was only three years later that a steering committee to coordinate the development of the plan was established by the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Department. Many countries have accepted the UPR recommendations and turned them into a human rights plan. From there, it is easy to monitor the progress and implement, apart from reporting in the next UPR cycle. One good example is Finland. Finland, too, had no human rights plan. However, after its first UPR review, the Finns used the first report to initiate their human rights plan. How did they do that? It collected ideas and views from civil society groups in online discussion forums and social media, including Facebook and Twitter. Subsequently, a draft version of the plan was produced for further comments. Another glaring weakness in the UPR process is the failure of Putrajaya to disseminate information to the ublic. There is a public "spat" between the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs in the UPR Process (Comango) and the Coalition of Muslim NGOs in the UPR Process (Murpo) but not many are aware of what constitutes the UPR here. It is undeniable that there are still issues when it comes to universal human rights and Islamic values. What is lacking from these two UPR cycles is engagement by both Putrajaya and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Putrajaya has since the first cycle of UPR adopted a defensive approach. While NGOs, having little access to government machinery, remain an "outsider" in the UPR process. One positive thing is that the UPR mechanism has created more awareness among NGOs with more NGOs taking part in the process. Malaysia is represented by a large delegation to Geneva both from the government and NGOs. After two cycles of UPR, both parties should have learned that apart from the human rights peer review, UPR is also a platform for both parties to build relationship for the same goals. Unfortunately, the Malaysian delegations at Geneva are there more for "show" than work. Therefore, in order to utilise the UPR mechanism, there is no point in being stubborn. Putrajaya and NGOs need to reach consensus with a more compromising approach. – March 24, 2014. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

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Malaysia akan muncul sebagai negara berpendapatan tinggi menjelang 2020, kata Dr Mahathir Posted: 24 Mar 2014 02:31 AM PDT March 24, 2014 Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (gambar) berkata Malaysia, yang kini sebuah negara berpendapatan sederhana, akan mencapai taraf negara berpendapatan tinggi menjelang 2020, sejajar dengan perancangan komprehensif dan usaha kerajaan untuk mencapai matlamat itu. Dalam ucapan sepontan beliau pada Persidangan Perniagaan Nepal 2014 pada Ahad, Dr Mahathir menjelaskan tentang wawasan pembangunan beliau ketika menjadi perdana menteri Malaysia selama 22 tahun. "Sebenarnya, bukan saya, tetapi bapa pengasas Malaysia dahulu yang menetapkan garis panduan untuk pembangunan, pemodenan dan pengindustrian negara kami dan saya hanya meneruskannya sahaja," kata beliau ketika menyentuh tentang dasar yang dilaksanakan Malaysia pada awal penubuhannya. "Ketika Malaysia mencapai kemerdekaan, 50% rakyatnya berada dalam kemiskinan dan para pengasas itu sedar bahawa negara kami perlu membebaskan rakyatnya daripada belenggu kemiskinan, dan untuk tujuan itu, mereka memberi fokus terhadap kestabilan, keharmonian sosial dan perkongsian kuasa politik serta sumber ekonomi secara saksama," katanya. Beliau berkata dasar itu membuahkan hasil dan seterusnya membolehkan Malaysia beransur-ansur muncul sebagai negara berpendapatan sederhana. Sambil menjelaskan bahawa Malaysia adalah sebuah negara pelbagai kaum, Dr Mahathir berkata langkah para pengasasnya memberi lebih banyak tumpuan terhadap keharmonian dan kewujudan bersama dalam kalangan rakyatnya telah berjaya mewujudkan kestabilan dan keharmonian sosial. "Ini menjadi asas penting bagi pengindustrian dan pembangunan. Kesediaan rakyat untuk berkongsi kuasa politik dan sumber ekonomi merupakan satu lagi asas penting bagi pembangunan sesebuah negara dan inilah yang diamalkan oleh Malaysia, yang hasilnya, bukan sahaja berjaya memperkasakan rakyatnya, tetapi juga melahirkan dalam diri mereka semangat untuk sama-sama terlibat dalam proses pembangunan dan membuat keputusan," katanya. Menurut Dr Mahathir, satu lagi asas penting bagi pembangunan dan pengindustrian sesebuah negara adalah pendidikan, dan Malaysia berusaha dengan sedaya upaya untuk memastikan rakyatnya memperoleh peluang dalam bidang pendidikan. "Untuk maju, kami perlu meningkatkan kemahiran serta pengetahuan rakyat dan kami mencapainya melalui penyediaan pendidikan rendah secara percuma, pemberian biasiswa kepada pelajar sekolah menengah serta dana dan insentif bagi pembukaan dan penubuhan universiti. "Di samping itu, kami menghantar banyak pelajar Malaysia melanjutkan pelajaran dalam pelbagai bidang sains dan teknologi di luar negara supaya apabila kembali ke tanah air kelak, mereka memiliki lebih banyak kemahiran dan ilmu untuk membantu membina infrastruktur serta melakukan inovasi terhadap sektor ekonomi dan sebagainya. "Rancangan itu mencapai banyak kejayaan serta membantu meningkatkan taraf hidup rakyat, di samping memodenkan ekonomi Malaysia," kata Dr Mahathir. Apabila beliau menyebut bahawa faktor paling penting bagi kemajuan Malaysia adalah keazaman serta dedikasi para pemimpin dan rakyatnya untuk menterjemah janji mereka kepada tindakan dan amalan, para hadirin menyambutnya dengan tepukan bergemuruh. "Berbeza dengan sesetengah negara membangun lain, rancangan kami tidak hanya kekal di atas kertas, tetapi dilaksanakan dengan sesungguh hati bagi memastikan matlamat serta sasarannya dapat dicapai," katanya. Dr Mahathir berkata antara perkara penting yang boleh dipelajari Nepal daripada Malaysia ialah budaya mewujudkan gabungan. "Di Malaysia, kami membentuk gabungan sebelum pilihan raya diadakan dan berkongsi kuasa berdasarkan keputusan pilihan raya. Tetapi, Nepal membentuk gabungan hanya selepas pilihan raya diadakan. "Gabungan sebelum pilihan raya adalah gabungan tulen, yang dibentuk melalui keazaman dan wawasan untuk membangunkan negara. Sebaliknya, gabungan yang dibentuk selepas pilihan raya hanyalah suatu gabungan longgar, yang selalunya tidak membawa hasil. "Sekarang pun, kerajaan kami terdiri daripada gabungan yang dianggotai 40 parti dan pembangkang pun membentuk gabungan mereka. Gabungan sudah menjadi budaya dalam politik Malaysia dan ini boleh diteladani negara lain, termasuk Nepal," katanya ketika menjawab soalan tentang perkara yang boleh dipelajari negara itu daripada pengalaman Malaysia. Dr Mahathir berkata ahli politik, termasuk beliau, tidak boleh berjuang untuk diri sendiri, tetapi untuk rakyat dan menambah "inilah yang menawan hati rakyat serta menyumbang kepada kemakmuran negara". Mengenai sistem politik, beliau berkata demokrasi diperlukan untuk kesejahteraan sesebuah negara. "Bagaimanapun, demokrasi tidak boleh ditentukan dan dipaksakan oleh pihak lain, sistem politik itu sendirilah yang boleh memberi manfaat kepada rakyat. "Demokrasi memerlukan pembaharuan dan penambahbaikan untuk menjadikannya lebih baik kerana demokrasi tidak akan sempurna di mana-mana pun di dunia," katanya. Mengenai Nepal, Dr Mahathir berkata ia sebuah negara indah serta memiliki banyak potensi untuk maju dan sekiranya potensi ini dimanfaatkan dengan sewajarnya, Nepal boleh menjadi sebuah negara makmur. Menurut beliau kini kira-kira setengah juta rakyat Nepal bekerja di Malaysia dan menyumbang kepada pembangunan serta kemakmurannya. Beliau berkata sumbangan mereka mendapat pengiktirafan daripada kerajaan Malaysia. Dr Mahathir adalah penceramah utama pada persidangan itu, yang berakhir hari ini. Ia dirasmikan Perdana Menteri Nepal Sushil Koirala, yang amat mengagumi Dr Mahathir kerana mengemudi Malaysia ke arah kestabilan, kemakmuran dan kemodenan. – Bernama, 24 Mac, 2014.

Tidak ada yang murtad dalam tempoh 10 tahun, kata Jamil Khir Posted: 24 Mar 2014 02:24 AM PDT OLEH DIYANA IBRAHIM March 24, 2014 Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom (gambar) memberitahu Dewan Rakyat tidak ada penganut agama Islam termasuk saudara baru yang murtad direkodkan dalam tempoh 10 tahun ini. Menurut menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri itu, dalam tempoh 10 tahun ini Mahkamah Syariah langsung tidak menerima permohonan untuk keluar Islam. Bagaimanapun katanya mahkamah hanya menerima kes permohonan menentukan status agama yang dipohon individu ekoran wujudnya kekeliruan dalam sijil kelahiran. "Setakat ini hanya ada permohonan menentukan status agama yang dipohon berikutan kekeliruan dalam sijil kelahiran atau kad pengenalan atau sijil akuan memeluk Islam," katanya dalam jawapan bertulis Parlimen menjawab soalan Ahli Parlimen Kampar, Dr Ko Chung Sen. Susulan itu, beliau berkata Mahkamah Syariah akan menimbang permohonan tujuan menentukan status agama ekoran dari kekeliruan. "Mahkamah Syariah akan menimbang permohonan tujuan menentu status agama dalam keadaan berlakunya kekeliruan semasa pendaftaran nama terutama di negeri Sabah dan Sarawak. "Ini kerana bagi dua negeri itu wujudnya situasi nama mereka seperti nama orang Islam biarpun mereka beragama lain," katanya. Jamil Khir juga ditanya tentang bilangan bukan Islam yang memeluk agama Islam dalam tempoh 10 tahun lepas. Katanya mengikut Perlembagaan Persekutuan maklumat yang tepat bagi bilangan masyarakat lain memeluk islam hendaklah dirujuk kepada jabatan agama Islam negeri. "Dalam konteks ini bagi Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur bagi mengikut rekod Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan bilangan orang yang memeluk agama Islam bagi tempoh 2008-2012 adalah seramai 4,520 orang," katanya. – 24 Mac, 2014.

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