Sabtu, 10 Mei 2014

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Muhd Nur Aiman, Cherie claim Malaysian Open title

Posted: 10 May 2014 06:35 AM PDT

May 10, 2014

National back-up bowler, Muhd Nur Aiman Khairuddin scorched the lanes at Pyramid Mega Lanes in Bandar Sunway en route to his second victory in the men's final of the 37th Malaysia International Open tonight.

He edged national elite bowler, Muhd Rafiq Ismail 2-0 in claiming back the title he first won in 2011 and also took home the winner's purse of RM40,000 and a trophy.

In the stepladder final, Muhd Nur Aiman beat Muhd Rafiq 192-156 in the first game and continued his strong performance in the second game by winning it 209-182.

"I am happy with the results. Of course, the win will boost my confidence to do much better in other competitions. I really want to do my best here and win it in order to improve my ranking.

"I'm currently in the back-up squad and want to return to the elite squad based on my current performance. I hope I can take this winning momentum to the Singapore Open at the end of this month," said the 26-year-old Johorean.

Muhd Nur Aiman was dropped to the national back-up squad in February after the national roll-off earlier this year.

"I want to be selected once again to represent Malaysia at the Asian Games," he added.

Starting from the Masters Open qualifying round rolled off on May 2, Muhd Nur Aiman signaled his intention to give a strong performance by scoring a perfect game (300 pins).

Since then, he signalled that he was all set to battle for his rightful place after being dropped to back-up squad.

The women's category was a battle of two siblings between Cherie Tan and Daphne Tan of Singapore.

Cherie defeated her top seed younger sister, Daphne 224-217 and 237-194 to claim her first international title of the year.

"I'm happy to win my first international title for this year and I'm happy that my game turned up quite nicely.

"This is the first time that I have to face my sister in the final. The pressure of playing against siblings is a bit lower," said Cherie, who turned 26 on May 2.

As for her belated birthday present, Cherie pocketed RM15,000 and a trophy. – Bernama, May 10, 2014.

Rizal Tisin readies for medal hunt in 2014 Commonwealth Games

Posted: 10 May 2014 06:30 AM PDT

May 10, 2014

National track rider, Mohd Rizal Tisin is ready to take on the medal challenge in the 2014 Comonwealth Games in Scotland in July if given the opportunity to return.

He has recovered from a left leg injury from an accident and hopes with his return, the national cycling squad would be able to put up a strong challenge.

"It took me three years to recover from the injury, but will be worth it if I could deliver the country a gold medal.

"Next month, I will undergo qualifying tests with national cycling coach John Beasley and passing the test will enable me to be eligible for the Games," he told reporters after the organisers of the Southeast Asian Track Grand Prix Series championship in the Cheras Velodrome today postponed competition to tomorrow due to heavy rain.

Mohd Rizal recorded the eighth fastest time in 11.74 seconds in the 200m men's individual sprint while two national racers, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Shahrom and Muhamad Edrus Md Yunos qualified for the final round tomorrow.

For the record, Mohd Rizal contributed a bronze medal in the team sprint event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. – Bernama, May 10, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

Fine Japanese arts to be sold at Bonhams

Posted: 09 May 2014 05:48 PM PDT

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The Fine Japanese Art sale will take place at Bonhams spectacular new head-quarters on London’s New Bond Street on May 15. Bonhams is among the world’s leading auction houses for Japanese art. The sale includes a wealth of arts and crafts including netsuke (carved sculptural toggles) and inro (miniature interlocking medicine cases); armour;...

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

Obesity crisis at breaking point, says ‘Fed Up’ director

Posted: 10 May 2014 07:41 AM PDT

May 10, 2014

Fed Up, directed by Stephanie Soechtig, highlights the problem of obesity among Americans. – AFP pic, May 10, 2014.The US food industry's responsibility in fueling rising obesity levels is put under the microscope in a documentary released in the United States this weekend.

"Fed Up" examines why, while there is a boom in gym membership and a surge in shoppers seeking low-fat alternatives on supermarket shelves, two out of three Americans are overweight.

"Obesity has been a problem for the last 30 years and I think we are reaching the breaking point," director Stephanie Soechtig said in an interview ahead of the film's US release.

"At the end of the day, I think it comes down to money, I thinks there's a lot of money in the food industry and it influences politics, unfortunately."

The film, which opened on limited release in US cinemas Friday, shows how the food industry has managed to persuade US authorities to recommend that 25 percent of calories come from sugar.

The World Health Organization says the figure should be 2.5 times less.

"I think we can say that the government is right now more interested in making money than taking care of its society," Soechtig said.

Resist the temptation

The problem is not unique to the United States.

The WHO has also sounded the alarm in Jordan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Venezuela, among other countries where more than 30% of the population is obese or overweight.

In the movie, three children recount their efforts to combine diet and exercise to fight the flab.

Despite their best efforts, they continue to gain weight as processed, sugar-rich foods are all around them.

At school, the lunchtime cafeteria offers a menu of pizzas, nachos and hot dogs.

The documentary criticised the fact that in 2006, 80% of high schools had contracts with soft drink companies and in 2012, half of all schools served fast food.

First Lady Michelle Obama has weighed in on the issue with her "Let's Move!" campaign, and politicians have put pressure on food companies to reduce sugar levels.

But brands like Coca Cola, Pizza Hut and Pepsi have not disappeared from school refectories and corridors.

'We can change food industry'

Nutritionists have been warning about the problem of obesity for decades. The issues are well known by experts: sedentary lifestyles, high-calorie diets and poor policy choices among them.

"There are a lot of good people in the government trying to do really good things," said the filmmaker.

"But there are a lot of people that have financial interests. So I think once people hear what's been going on, it will galvanise people to get involved and make changes in their own lives and make bigger changes."

The data is striking: in 1980, there were no cases of type 2 diabetes in children and teens aged eight to 19 in the United States.

Two decades later, there were 57,638 cases recorded.

"Fed Up," which Soechtig first presented at the Sundance Film Festival in January, insists that parents can help reverse the trend.

"We can change the food industry, to change its way by not buying its products and we can pressure our politicians by voting for politicians that support the same needs and desires that will make us a better society," Soechtig said.

"Parents are incredibly powerful. They also need to create a safer environmental at home and make sure the food is available for their kids."

And she said: "This is the kind of fight parents and kids need to do. Kids are future voters. I think anyone needs to get involved." – AFP, May 10, 2014.

Producer denies any pressure from Modi Brigade to release film ‘Lateef: The King of Crime’

Posted: 09 May 2014 11:28 PM PDT

May 10, 2014

Hamid Khan as Gujarat mafia king Lateef, the main protagonist of the film. – The Malaysian Insider pic, May 10, 2014The crime biodrama on Gujarat mafia Abdul Lateef has been postponed to June release, from initial April, sparking speculation that it was pressured by the camp aligned to presidential candidate Narendra Modi, who is the incumbent chief minister of Gujarat.

Film producer Kewal Krishna, however, brushed off the speculation.

"We have decided to postpone the film till election result is announced and new Government is formed. We don't have any pressure from Modi or anybody else," Krishna said.

The film 'Lateef: The King of Crime', which is directed by Sharique Minhaj, depicts underworld's operatives, bootlegging and decimation of rivals with help of police.

"We are creative people and our purpose is not to create controversy but to explore untouched life of the society in life. We have films on Mumbai Mafia and Bahubalis of U.P., but no one dared to explore Gujarat mafia," he said.

"The Gujarat model is being presented as 'all is well in Gujarat', which is not true. Fake encounters, mafias nexus with politicians and illegal business of arm are best known secret of Gujarat," Krishna added.

Cast of the film include Hameed Khan, Bharti Sharma, Aryan Vaid, Raju Mavani, Aditya Lakhiya, Mustaq Khan, Ahshan Khan Kalpana Shah, Rupal Desai, Javed Khan, Shakil Sayani, Mithlesh, Shah Nawaz and Master Hani-Sunny. – May 10, 2014

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

Kerajaan India ucap takziah kepada keluarga Puan Sri Janaky

Posted: 10 May 2014 03:33 AM PDT

May 10, 2014

Kerajaan India hari ini menyampaikan ucapan takziah kepada keluarga pejuang kemerdekaan negara Puan Sri Janaky Athi Nahappan (gambar) yang meninggal dunia di kediamannya di Kuala Lumpur semalam.

Ucapan takziah negara itu disampaikan oleh Pesuruhjaya Tinggi India di Malaysia, T.S Tirumurti ketika mengunjungi kediaman mendiang untuk memberi penghormatan terakhirnya di Jalan Kuantan, Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, di sini.

Tirumurti berkata Janaky, 89, adalah salah seorang tokoh legenda dalam sejarah India kerana perjuangannya untuk mencapai kemerdekaan.

"Mendiang adalah salah seorang yang pertama saya mengunjunginya apabila mengambil alih tugas sebagai Pesuruhjaya Tinggi India di Malaysia.

"Sedikit yang saya sedar bahawa pertemuan pertama dengan dia merupakan yang terakhir dan ia akan sentiasa menjadi kenangan. Sumbangannya kepada India dan Malaysia sudah pasti tidak akan dilupai," katanya dalam kenyataan di sini.

Janaky, bekas senator dan antara pengasas MIC, meninggalkan seorang anak lelaki dan dua anak perempuan, lapan cucu serta seorang cicit.

Pemergiannya juga jatuh pada ulang tahun ke-38 kematian suaminya Tan Sri Athi Nahappan yang merupakan bekas timbalan presiden MIC dan juga bekas menteri.

Selain politik, mendiang juga aktif dalam pelbagai pertubuhan sosial dan pertubuhan kebajikan dan merupakan bekas Pesuruhjaya Persatuan Pandu Puteri Selangor.

Mendiang turut menerima pelbagai anugerah dan pengiktirafan di peringkat kebangsaan serta antarabangsa.

Pada tahun 2000, mendiang menjadi wanita India pertama yang berasal dari luar India menerima anugerah tertinggi negara berkenaan iaitu Padma Shri, sebagai mengiktiraf kerja kebajikannya dan juga sumbangan dalam Tentera Nasional India (INA).

Upacara penghormatan terakhir selama sejam akan bermula pukul 9.30 pagi esok di kediamannya sebelum jasadnya dibawa ke Krematorium Cheras di sini. – Bernama, 10 Mei, 2014.

PAS anggap calon DAP sebagai calonnya di Bukit Gelugor

Posted: 10 May 2014 03:28 AM PDT

May 10, 2014

PAS hari ini mengisytiharkan sokongannya terhadap Ramkarpal Singh sebagai calon DAP pada Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) kerusi Parlimen Bukit Gelugor, 25 Mei ini.

Timbalan Presidennya Mohamad Sabu (gambar) berkata partinya menganggap calon DAP itu sebagai calonnya sendiri dan akan memberi sokongan padu kepada anak ketiga mendiang bekas pengerusi DAP kebangsaan Karpal Singh itu.

"Kita beri sokongan penuh dan malam esok kita akan lancarkan jentera pilihan raya PAS untuk membantu DAP dalam PRK Bukit Gelugor," katanya kepada pemberita selepas pengumuman calon DAP di George Town hari ini.

Mohamad, yang juga Pesuruhjaya PAS negeri berkata, presiden parti itu Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang akan hadir bagi memberi sokongan kepada calon DAP itu pada hari penamaan calon, Isnin ini.

Mengenai ahli PAS Gombak, Mohamed Nabi Bux Mohd Nabi Abd Sathar, 63, menawarkan diri untuk bertanding, katanya PAS akan menyiasat kesahihan keanggotaan individu berkenaan.

Beliau berkata PAS membuat keputusan tidak meletakkan calon dan jika benar individu itu adalah anggota parti, PAS tidak teragak-agak mengambil tindakan untuk memecatnya.

Sebelum ini, dua individu lain turut menyatakan hasrat bertanding dalam PRK tersebut iaitu Naib Presiden Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) Datuk Huan Cheng Guan dan Mohd Yacoob Mohd Noor, seorang pengurus beberapa inap desa.

Sebuah badan bukan kerajaan (NGO), Penang Front Party turut menyatakan hasrat untuk meletakkan calon.

PRK Parlimen Bukit Gelugor diadakan berikutan kematian penyandangnya Karpal Singh dalam kemalangan jalan raya 17 April lepas.

SPR menetapkan 12 Mei ini sebagai hari penamaan calon, pengundian awal 21 Mei dan hari mengundi 25 Mei ini.

Dalam Pilihan Raya Umum (PRU) ke-13, tahun lepas, mendiang Karpal Singh menewaskan calon Barisan Nasional (BN) Teh Beng Yeam dengan majoriti 42,706 undi. – Bernama, 10 Mei, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Hudud passion and its discontents

Posted: 09 May 2014 04:27 PM PDT

May 10, 2014

Ahmad Fuad Rahmat is managing editor for the ProjekDialog.com collective. He lectures in cultural theory at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus and is co-host for Night School on BFM Radio. He was trained in political philosophy.

Politics is always passionate. What this means is that it must always be understood in terms of the imagination. It's about the very human propensity to envision alternatives, the desire for a better state of affairs beyond the present.

It becomes slightly complicated for the Malaysian context as Muslims are demanded to be loyal to a past they did not experience. This appears strange to onlookers, though the strangeness is the point. What is the religious experience if it does not long for another world altogether, for wisdom that endures through changes of context and time, for an ethical system that can solve all problems, and one that should be emulated by everyone? It is valuable because it offers relief and empowerment.

This is relevant as a reminder to look beyond the legal frame. To understand Islamic politics, as merely a legal battle is to obscure its visceral drives. Of course, Islamisation over the past thirty years has been about instituting certain laws, but it has also been particularly colourful: there are modes of architecture, dress, "entertainment" and education that have manifested in the process.

Islam is a set of principles but politicised, in the era of the post-colonial nation state, it becomes animated, and creatively too, by a desperate and emboldened aesthetic sense.

In other words, it does not just want to win the state, it must also announce itself to the world. The changes have fast become palpable over recent years, but given the way things are it won't take long until it is finally clear what this country is about. The Jakim stamp, the halal spaces – they demarcate borders of outlooks and attitudes, slowly carving out an ideal into reality.

So the hudud controversy is rooted to something more than questions of scriptural affinity, or practical methods of criminal deterrence. The narrative has lasted for so long because it is tied to the larger issue of what Malay Muslims need to feel at home here. This is the practical question: "what are the actual demands of Islamisation on us, as in ALL Malaysians". It is neither "what does the Quran say about stoning?" nor "is the Malaysian constitution secular or Islamic?"

What the constitution says, what the laws ought to be, how the Quran should be read: such discussions assume that the problem is so rational that it can be pointed out in texts.

That stoning and cutting hands could be desired as forms of punishment to begin with, is the problem. What greater expression of remaking the world is there than the power to dictate the terms of punishment? Think too about what it transgresses. Hudud overrides any notion of bodily integrity, that most cherished entity of liberal politics.

But that is not the only problem. For this country is not short of draconian punishments. How much worse is cutting off hands from suffocating at the gallows. Where is the urban liberal's indignation at the fact that hundreds of poor and hungry undocumented migrants are routinely whipped, condemned for the rest of their lives by injuries that will never leave their backs? Is something a problem only when it scares us? Anti-hudud indignation is so crudely selective and no amount of human rights rhetoric will hide that.

The problem now, as it has been for other issues in Malaysia's narrative of identity, is that our coming of age is coloured by the convergences of contradictory traumas. Everyone's crying but no one is listening.

Muslims are more culpable but the difference ends there. For all sides – liberals, conservatives, Islamists and secularists, Muslims and non-Muslims – share the same hope in laws because they can think of nothing other than to control each other. We have failed to look beyond the protector state not for a lack of morals, but for a lack of imagination. – May 10, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Hudud passion and its discontents

Posted: 09 May 2014 04:27 PM PDT

May 10, 2014

Islam is a set of principles but politicised, in the era of the post-colonial nation state, it becomes animated, and creatively too, by a desperate and emboldened aesthetic sense.

What the constitution says, what the laws ought to be, how the Quran should be read: such discussions assume that the problem is so rational that it can be pointed out in texts.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Harumanis fans pre-book fruits online

Posted: 09 May 2014 10:00 PM PDT

May 10, 2014

It is harvest season for the "harumanis" mango, and visitors are coming in droves to Perlis.

Fans of the fruit have waxed lyrical about its exotic taste and due to the limited production, it is not uncommon to see people lining up to buy the fruit.

The marvellous mango is only grown in the state and is only in season from mid April to early June.

The price of harumanis can go up to RM35 a kilogramme, but this has not stopped people from buying boxes of the succulent, tropical fruit. In fact, some have even "booked" the fruits online, before it is even harvested.

During its season, the harumanis is not only enjoyed as it is, but also eaten with glutinous rice or juiced. Avid fans are known to willingly wait a long time to be served the delicacies in crowded stalls and restaurants.

Many people buy harumanis because of its delicious taste and aroma, but the fruit is as good for health as it is to the palates.

Harumanis is high in antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, in addition to water-soluble fibres. It can also lower cholesterol levels and reduce phlegm.

During its season, the harumanis can be found in Bukit Bintang, Paya Kelubi and Chuping.

Low production

Although the demand for harumanis is extraordinarily high, growers and producers cannot meet the demand as annual production is only around a few hundred tonnes.

Apart from small cultivation plots, erratic weather has also affected the production of the climate-sensitive fruit. In addition to that, growers also have to battle with the attack of pests.

The state government is planning to upsize harumanis orchards to 1,000 hectares by 2015, with a production target of 1,500 tonnes a season.

To meet the target, the state will launch a harumanis cottage programme in selected areas.

Under the programme, every villager will be encouraged to plant at least five harumanis trees in open areas, including in front of their houses.

Rising prices

As with the previous harumanis seasons, many were forced to leave empty-handed due to the limited production. Even the fruits on the trees have been pre-booked online.

Traders have opened up booking as early as March 1. Those who booked early would be able to get the first harvest in April, deemed the best but also the most expensive.

An online trader has set the price at RM100 for four kilogrammes of harumanis, for delivery in the peninsula. The delivery charge is set at RM38, making the cost of four kilogrammes of harumanis RM138. The amount of serving is only fit for around three people.

To serve more than 20 people, the trader suggested purchasing 30 kilogramme of harumanis at RM750. Factor in the delivery rate of RM158, and one would be spending RM908 to serve mango for around 20 people.

The price of RM25 per kilogramme is expected to last only until May 15. Traders expect the price to increase to between RM30 and RM35 a kilogramme following the 17th Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Perlis and the school holidays.

Survey revealed many harumanis traders have made use of social networks to promote their business and collect bookings.

Year-round harumanis

The Perlis Menteri Besar, Azlan Man, believed that this year's harumanis production would be more than last year's due to the dry weather during the blooming period, a condition considered optimal for good mango production.

The state government is always working towards improving production of the highly sought after harumanis, and has entrusted Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) to conduct research on it.

The university has been successful in coming up with harumanis plants that produce fruits all year round.

UniMAP Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Kamarudin Hussin said the year-long fruiting harumanis was grown at the Lestari Agrotechnology Institute (Insat) in Sungai Chuchoh.

UniMAP will be taking on the success to a commercial level by undertaking a pilot project with JBP Asia Pasific Sdn Bhd.

The project will be carried out in a 14-hectare area in Insat that will become part of UniMAP campus in Sungai Chuchuh near here.

In favour of harumanis

The effort to increase the harumanis production has also caught the attention of the Raja Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail, who launched the simultaneous planting of 1,000 harumanis plants statewide two years ago.

Meanwhile, the Perlis Agricultural Department Director Zulkepli Amin Mat Jusoh expects this season's harumanis production to exceed 1,000 tonnes, following the long drought.

The dry spell allows the blooms to thrive and flourish, making for better fruits.

The harumanis was previously known as the MA128 and was introduced by the Perlis Agricultural Department under the Second Malaysia Plan (1971-1975) to help farmers to supplement their income.

It was first started in 1983 as a cluster project in Paya Kelubi and Bukit Kedah.

Its cultivation area was once 1,200 hectares under the Perlis Integrated Agricultural Development Project in 1990.

However, the area was reduced to a mere 150 hectares by 2006, due to pest attacks and diseases, leaving growers overwhelmed.

In 2007, the Gema Harumanis programme was launched by the Agricultural Department, and cultivation area was increased to around 1,000 hectares.

The Perlis government has also allocated RM9 million under the 10th Malaysia Plan to further develop the harumanis industry. – Bernama, May 10, 2014

Floating pop-up restaurant to open in Cannes

Posted: 09 May 2014 07:51 PM PDT

May 10, 2014

The Trattoria al Mare S. Pellegrino will serve guests for four days during the Cannes Film Festival. – AFP Relaxnews pic, May 10, 2014From May 15 to 19, in honour of the Cannes Film Festival, S.Pellegrino will open an unusual pop-up restaurant concept situated on a fleet of motor boats. Guests will enjoy a unique gourmet dining experience while floating in the Bay of Cannes.

Over four days, the Trattoria al Mare S.Pellegrino will allow 400 guests to enjoy an exceptional menu prepared by Italian chef Marco Stabile and French chef Alain Llorca, all at absolutely no cost.

Seven boats will drop anchor in the Bay of Cannes, where the lucky guests will enjoy lunch or dinner. Each boat can accommodate four to six diners at a time.

The only way to reserve a table on this unusual floating restaurant is by calling a confidential phone number, which will be posted only in certain strategic locations along the Croisette starting on May 14.

So festival goers will have to keep their eyes open if they want to find the secret number. – AFP Relaxnews, May 10, 2014

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Sabtu, 10 Mei 2014