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Puyol bids emotional farewell to Barcelona Posted: 15 May 2014 06:27 AM PDT May 15, 2014 Barcelona captain Carles Puyol (pic) had to fight back tears as he said he has played his last game for the club after 593 appearances spanning a 15-year career. Atletico Madrid visit the Camp Nou on Saturday in a match that will decide the La Liga title, but Puyol will not play a part in trying to win the seventh Spanish championship of his illustrious career. "I am not going to play. I have spoken with the coaches and we are playing for a title, so those that are 100% have to play. I won't even be on the bench," he said at a press conference on Thursday. Puyol confirmed in March that he would rescind his playing contract at the end of the current campaign due to an ongoing knee injury, but hinted he could stay with the Catalans beyond the end of the season in a different capacity. "My idea is to recover. It has been a difficult year when I have not been able to be with the team and help them in difficult moments. "I have to recover, not to play necessarily, but to have an active life, which I can't at the moment. "I could continue with the club, but not as a manager. I don't see myself as being a manager." Puyol has been linked with moves to Major League Soccer in the United States or joining his old international teammate Raul in Qatar, but ruled out continuing his playing career until he can prove he is fit enough. "I need to be honest. I couldn't play for anyone at the moment because my knee isn't responding, so I wouldn't want to kid anyone trying to sign me or myself." On top of his six La Liga titles, Puyol also led Barca to three Champions Leagues, two Copa del Reys, two World Club Cups and six Spanish Supercups, as well as winning the 2008 European Championships and 2010 World Cup with Spain. "I have lived the dream of millions of children," he said on a reflection of his career. "For 19 years I woke up to do what I most love, which is training and playing football." Two of Puyol's former coaches at Barcelona, Louis Van Gaal and Pep Guardiola, were among a series of former and current colleagues who paid tribute to Puyol's lion-hearted playing style. In a dedication on behalf of the current squad, midfielder Xavi Hernandez described him as the "best professional" he has ever played with. "Thank you for all that you have given us – your courage, bravery and sacrifice. You are an example. "You are the best professional I have ever shared a dressing room with by quite a distance, and any of your teammates would say the same." – AFP, May 15, 2014.

Li Na ousts Stosur as Wawrinka crashes in Rome Posted: 15 May 2014 06:15 AM PDT May 15, 2014 Chinese second seed Li Na defeated Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP-WTA Rome Masters on Thursday, turning the momentum in a long-running rivallry. Stosur, a 2010 Roland Garros finalist, had beaten world number two Li in all six of their previous meetings going back to 2007. The victory was her second straight over an Aussie opponent after defeating qualifier Casey Dellacque in the previous round. China's top female athlete made inroads against Stosur's one-way scoreline with her first victory, achieved in 68 minutes with five breaks of the 30-year-old Australian. "In the last six matches I tried to control the ball, but she was able to get a lot of chances," said 32-year-old Li. "I'm just trying to focus now on every match I play." Li will play a quarter-final against Italian tenth seed Sara Errani, who beat Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-3, 7-6 (7/3). "Errani will be tough as she will have the crowd on her side and plays well on clay." Li finished Rome runner-up in 2012, holding a match point against eventual champion Maria Sharapova. Australian Open champion Li is looking for her third trophy of the season as she prepares for the French Open, which she won in 2011. Men's third-seeded Monte Carlo winner Stanislas Wawrinka joined fellow Swiss Roger Federer on the Rome scrapheap after a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 loss to German 15th seed Tommy Haas. The 36-year-old has now won both of his matches with Wawrinka, a 2008 finalist at the Foro Italico. Haas ended with seven aces to eight for Wawrinka, who could not hold onto leads throughout the two-hour contest. The German produced 32 winners, while Wawrinka struck 40 unforced errors. Haas broke in the third set for 5-3, then finished with an ace a game later on his first match point. – AFP, May 15, 2014.

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Scientists unearth unique long-necked dinosaur in Argentina Posted: 14 May 2014 11:11 PM PDT May 15, 2014 A newly identified South American dinosaur Leinkupal laticauda, uses its whip-like tail to fend off predators in this illustration provided by Jorge Antonio Gonzalez. – Reuters pic, May 15, 2014.It's not exactly small at 30 feet long (9 m), but you might want to call this newly identified dinosaur the littlest giant. Scientists in Argentina announced the discovery of the fossilized remains of a unique member of the famous long-necked, plant-munching dinosaurs known as sauropods, the largest land creatures in Earth's history. The dinosaur, named Leinkupal laticauda, may be the smallest of the sauropod family called diplodocids, typified by the well-known Diplodocus, which lived in North America, they said. It also is the first of them found in South America. It lived about 140 million years ago, millions of years after scientists had previously thought diplodocids had disappeared, according to Argentine palaeontologist Pablo Gallina, one of the researchers. "Finding Leinkupal was incredibly exciting since we never though it possible. A diplodocid in South America is as strange as finding a T. rex in Patagonia," added another of the scientists, Argentine palaeontologist Sebastián Apesteguía, referring to the North American dinosaur predator Tyrannosaurus rex. Apesteguía called Leinkupal "a very small guy in a lineage of giants." "We don't know the weight but considering that many of its bones were very delicate and light and most of its body was formed by neck and tail, the weight could not be impressive, actually no more than an elephant," Apesteguía said. Sauropods, one of the most successful dinosaur groups, were recognisable for their long necks and tails, huge bodies and pillar-like legs. Some sauropods like Argentinosaurus, which also lived in Argentina but 50 million years later, weighed up to 90 tons and measured more than 100 feet (30 m) long. The last sauropods lived until the very end of the age of dinosaurs, about 65 million years ago. Diplodocids lived in North America, Europe and Africa during the Jurassic period, the middle of the three acts of the age of dinosaurs, Gallina said. Until now, they were thought to have gone extinct by the end of the Jurassic, about 145 million years ago. But Leinkupal shows that this family lived on at least into the earliest stages of the Cretaceous period. Diplodocids were more slender than some other families of sauropods. Their back legs were longer than their front legs, and they boasted extremely long necks and whip-like tails that they may have used to fend off predators. At the time, North America was completely isolated from South America, and the Atlantic Ocean was beginning to open and separate South America from Africa. Leinkupal lived in a semiarid environment south of a large desert, the researchers said. Its incomplete remains were found in Patagonia – a region renowned for its dinosaur finds – in 2010 and 2012 in Argentina's Neuquen province, they added. Its genus name, Leinkupal, means "vanishing family" in the region's indigenous Mapuche language – signifying the disappearance of this family of dinosaurs. Its species name, laticauda, means "wide tail" in Latin. The findings were published in the journal Plos One. – Reuters, May 15, 2014.

Women directors struggle as men ‘eat all the cake’ in movie world Posted: 14 May 2014 08:11 PM PDT May 15, 2014 Mexican actor and director and member of the Feature films Jury Gael Garcia Bernal, New Zealander director and President of the Feature films Jury Jane Campion and US director and member of the Feature films Jury Sofia Coppola pose as they arrive for the Opening ceremony of the 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France. – AFP pic, May 15, 2014.Cannes jury head Jane Campion – the only woman ever to win the festival's top prize – has blamed the lack of female movie makers on "inherent sexism" in an industry increasingly under fire for the paucity of women in its top ranks. "I think you would have to say that there's some inherent sexism in the industry," the New Zealand screenwriter and director told reporters on the first day of the Cannes Film Festival yesterday. "It does feel very undemocratic and women do notice. Time and time again we don't get our share of representation," she said, adding that men seemed to "eat all the cake". Campion's forthright comments followed equally frank words from Amy Pascal, co-chair of Sony Pictures, who last year told Forbes magazine "the whole system is geared for them (women) to fail". French-American actress and director Julie Delpy put it another way, joking in an interview with entertainment magazine Variety earlier this year that studios just wanted "a guy in a baseball cap who will finish the movie even if their family dies". Campion, whose New Zealand-set movie "The Piano" about a mute pianist and her daughter won the Palme d'Or in 1993, is also one of only four women film-makers ever to have been nominated for a best director Oscar. Another of the four, Sofia Coppola, nominated in 2003 for "Lost in Translation", is also on this year's Cannes jury. Campion made her name portraying complex, strong-willed female protagonists. She said there were so few women working in movies today that it tended to come as a surprise to the world when a woman film-maker did come along with "a more feminine vision". Her latest work, the television mini-series "Top of the Lake" about a woman detective who returns to her home town and finds herself investigating a child abuse case, was a hit with audiences and also won a string of awards. Martha Lauzen, of the US's Centre for the Study of Women in Television and Film, told AFP that despite lots of talking, the problem of lack of women behind the camera was getting worse not better. "There has been an active and substantial dialogue on the issue at grassroots level for more than a decade but there has been a profound lack of leadership on women's under-employment among the film studio heads and union leaders," she said. Research by the centre, at San Diego University in California, has showed that women made up just 6% of directors working on the top 250 grossing US films last year, down from 9% in 1998. She said the idea that women chose lower-key projects because they were not interested in working on blockbuster movies was nonsense. "There may be some women film-makers, just as there are men film-makers, who are not interested in working on these high-profile often career-making features. "But plenty of women directors have gone on the record in interviews as saying that they would like to have these opportunities but that they are not available to them," she said. The 18 films competing for this year's Palme d'Or include only two by women directors – Japan's Naomi Kawase ("Still the Water") and Italy's Alice Rohrwacher ("The Wonders"). Last year there was one, while in 2012 there was not a single film made by a woman and only 7% of the 1,700-odd films submitted to Cannes this year were by women. Festival organisers say they recognise the problem but that doing anything other than selecting on merit would be an insult to the very people they were trying to help. Artistic director Thierry Fremaux last year told entertainment industry website ScreenDaily the lack of women was a "fundamental problem". But he added that it was not a battle he could "wage as a Cannes selector". – AFP, May 15, 2014.

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Jay Z, Beyonce and Drake score most BET awards nominations Posted: 14 May 2014 10:51 PM PDT May 15, 2014 Music's power couple Jay Z and Beyonce, and rapper Drake led the BET Awards nominations announced yesterday with five nods each, followed by R&B singer Pharrell Williams and hip-hop singer August Alsina with four. Jay Z and Drake will vie for best male hip-hop artist along with Future, J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar. The two will also battle it out for video of the year with other nominees Beyonce, Chris Brown and Williams. Beyonce also earned nods for best female R&B/pop artist and best collaboration, with husband Jay Z on "Drunk in Love," as well as nominations for video of the year for "Drunk in Love" and her song "Partition." "This year's nominees represent the best of our culture," Stephen Hill, BET's president of music programming and specials, said in a statement. The annual BET Awards began in 2001 to celebrate African-American and other minorities in categories spanning music, film and sports. The awards will be presented live on the cable TV network BET, Black Entertainment Television, which is part of Viacom Inc, on June 29 from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. In the film category, Oscar nominees Angela Bassett and Oprah Winfrey as well as Gabrielle Union, Kerry Washington and Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o scored nods for top actress. Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor, Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker along with Idris Elba, Kevin Hart and Michael B. Jordan will compete for the best actor award. Tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, basketball players LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Blake Griffin and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. earned nominations in the sports category. – Reuters, May 15, 2014.

From Castro to Kardashian: Walters prepares farewell Posted: 14 May 2014 07:51 PM PDT May 15, 2014 After a career spanning five decades, television icon Barbara Walters will bring the curtain down on her glittering broadcasting career this Friday. – AFP pic, May 15, 2014.American television icon Barbara Walters will bring the curtain down on her glittering broadcasting career on Friday, signing off after more than five decades spent interviewing everyone from Fidel Castro to Kim Kardashian. Walters, 84, famed for political and celebrity interviews during a 53-year career which blazed a trail for women journalists, will leave US screens when she co-hosts her chat show "The View" on the ABC network for the last time. Her departure will be followed by a two-hour special charting her career, which began in 1961 when she joined NBC's breakfast news and entertainment show "Today." Walters, who became the first female anchor of an evening news program when she joined ABC in 1976, is a living legend of television journalism. She has interviewed every US president and first lady since Richard Nixon. Her list of interviewees includes not only some of the most pivotal figures of recent history – Boris Yeltsin, Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Saddam Hussein, Menachem Begin, Vladimir Putin – but also a galaxy of A-list stars such as Katharine Hepburn, Michael Jackson, Angelina Jolie and Harrison Ford. Whether head of state or Hollywood star, Walters mastered the art of emotional interview, often coaxing her subjects into opening up on screen in a way that they had rarely done before. She was also relentless in chasing down the story of the day. Most recently she pursued an interview with Donald Sterling, the disgraced owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team who triggered outrage after making a series of racist remarks to his girlfriend. Walters was beaten to that scoop, but instead had to settle for interviews with Sterling's estranged wife and his girlfriend V. Stiviano. Record audience for Lewinsky Her biggest ratings success remains the 1999 exclusive interview she conducted with Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern who had a sexual relationship with President Bill Clinton. Some 74 million people tuned in for the set-piece. Walters has also shown an ability to laugh at herself, making a surprise recent appearance on the comedy sketch show "Saturday Night Live", which has lampooned her mercilessly as "Baba Wawa." The key to a good interview, according to Walters, is simple. "Do not be afraid to ask the tough question," she said. "Like 'If you were a tree, what tree would you be?'," she quipped, winking at a famous question she once posed to screen idol Katharine Hepburn. Walters made a household name for herself on "Today" before her groundbreaking move to ABC in 1976. In 1979, she fronted the television news show "20/20", while continuing to present news on occasion and moderating set-piece events such as one of the 1984 presidential debates. In 1997, she launched "The View," a daytime talk show pitched at women of diverse backgrounds featuring an all-female panel discussing issues of the day. She has been married four times, including twice to the same man, Merv Adelson, who she has also divorced twice. She has one adopted daughter. At a ceremony this week which saw ABC television rename their New York office in her honour, Walters listened as Disney chief Bob Iger hailed her "tremendous importance to the industry." Walters said she wanted to be remembered for her role in opening doors for women. "People ask me very often, 'what is your legacy,' and it's not the interviews with presidents, or heads of state, nor celebrities," she said. "If I have a legacy – and I've said this before and I mean it so sincerely – I hope that I played a small role in paving the way for so many of you fabulous women who are here tonight." – AFP, May 15, 2014.

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Scarlett Johansson sues French author over novel lookalike Posted: 14 May 2014 06:33 PM PDT May 15, 2014 Actress Scarlett Johansson (second left) takes pictures with fans as she arrives at the UK premiere of 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' at Shepherds Bush in London, in this March 20, 2014 file photo. – Reuters pic, May 15, 2014.Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson yesterday launched a court case seeking damages from a French author whose novel features a character that closely resembles her. The star is suing for 50,000 euros (RM220,741) in damages from the author and his publisher JC Lattes over the best-selling "La premiere chose qu'on regarde" (The first thing we look at). The book's heroine, Janine Foucamprez, is described as strongly resembling Johansson, who is due to attend the Cannes film festival this week. The first part of the novel is told through the eyes of a garage mechanic who "resembles a better version of Ryan Gosling" and thinks Johansson has turned up on his doorstep. The actress alleges the writer and publisher used her image and fame to publicise the novel, which has sold 100,000 copies since it was published in March 2013, and is seeking an injunction to stop it being translated or adapted for cinema. The novel features amorous relationships that "never existed", said prosecutor Vincent Toledano. "It does what the tabloids do, it says anything." "Creative freedom" does not mean the author can use Johansson's intellectual property rights without authorisation, he added. But Anne Veil, for the defence, said no invasion of privacy had been committed, arguing that the book evoked mere "fads" and "flirts" but no relationships. If Delacourt knew that Johansson would have "kicked up such a racket, he would have chosen someone else", she added. The tribunal is due to hand down its judgement on July 2. – Reuters, May 15, 2014.

‘Lunar Bible’ sells at Dallas auction for US$75,000 Posted: 14 May 2014 04:59 PM PDT May 15, 2014 A 3.8cm by 3.8cm microfilm Bible which can be read with the help of a microscope is seen in an undated handout picture from Heritage Auctions. – Reuters pic, May 15, 2014.A microfilm Bible regarded as one of the rarest "books" on earth, after flying around the moon once with Apollo 13 and later landing on the moon's surface with Apollo 14, sold at an auction of space memorabilia in Dallas yesterday for US$75,000 (RM241,387). The 3.8cm by 3.8cm "Lunar Bible", which can be read with a microscope, is one of 12 complete Bibles that remain from a collection of 100 Bibles which made it to the moon's surface with astronaut Edgar Mitchell in 1971. "This tiny microform contains the complete Bible, all 1,245 pages of the King James Bible, both Old and New Testaments," said Michael Riley, senior historian for Heritage Auctions. The Bibles were produced by the Apollo Prayer League, a group started by NASA employees and spread globally with the idea of using man's first trip to the moon to carry the words of God, the auction house said. Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell carried 512 of the stamp-sized Bibles on the 1970 mission that was supposed to land on the moon but did not after an oxygen tank explosion in flight severely damaged the spacecraft. Most of those Bibles were cut into pieces and distributed to dignitaries over the years. Twelve of those that remained passed from John Stout of the Prayer League to astronaut Mitchell. One of the Bibles is on display through June 22 at the Vatican, where it is a marquee artifact along with three fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, according to a news release from Vatican Radio. The other stars of the auction were a variety of items from the personal collection of Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean, including the life support strap Bean wore during an eight-hour moonwalk in November 1969. The strap, with traces of moon dust, sold for US$93,750. – Reuters, May 15, 2014.

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Educate girls, weapons of mass construction Posted: 14 May 2014 04:50 PM PDT May 15, 2014 Rushdi believes that a change agent must tell the truth to a benevolent dictator, religious hardliner, and compassionately connect with youth and have nots. One tries to find lessons and silver linings from tragedies. It is tragedies that bring people and communities together with a working "moral compass". The collective grief eventually inspires an inner resolve that sends a strong message of overcoming with hope around the corner. The kidnapping of 270 Nigerian school girls, with promise to sell them into the market by Boko Haram, created a global virtual campaign, #bringourgirlsback! Boko is translated as western/secular education, and haram means prohibited. The reaction to the kidnapping has reached and, genuinely, impacted the powerful, who may not be connected to these girls. Thus, the US First Lady, Michelle Obama, and former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, can be seen on twitter with handwritten sign about the return of these beautiful young girls. The immediate question that comes to mind is why would Boko Haram cult deviate from their path of vigilante business model of "cataract injustice" executed by M&A – murders and assassinations? Why kidnap school girls and threaten to sell them? Why extremist do not take on the military? Are they afraid of hellfire missiles, a precursor of their final destination? Do the members of this cult not have mothers, sisters, daughters or were they hatched on a factory farm on an experiment that went horribly wrong? Abduction It is easier to kidnap the helpless than to help them. Some of the reasons for kidnapping school girls include: Existing modus operandi of the cult. Boko Haram does not have the game changing shock value, which means recruits and funds are running low. It may also mean that they are falling in the league table of atrocities, hence, reinvent itself via shock the conscious actions! Who are the most vulnerable and most precious members of humanity? Who lifts their families from the darkness of ignorance? Who is a change agent in families and their villages? Who is the force that keeps a family together? Young girls that become educated wives and mothers! In the Quran, there is a whole chapter dedicated to women, al-Nisa, which deals with welfare, economic, and other important issues before they were recognised, acknowledged, and implemented in places, say, like the UK, on property or voting rights. Notice, the same holy book has no chapter dedicated to man, which implies man's ignorance of woman requiring divine intervention for the betterment of man! Narrated by Abu Huraira, a man came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Who is more entitled to be treated with the best companionship by me?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked, "Who is next?" The Prophet replied, "Your mother." The man asked again, "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked for the fourth time, "Who is next?" The Prophet answered, "Your father." (Hadith, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 2) The Prophet institutionalised honour in motherhood, gained with the hadith, "Paradise lies under the feet of the mothers". Thus, what book is Boko reading, assuming they can read and write? Furthermore, at a secular level, there is a treasure trove of studies, from public and private sector, to show that investing in a girl's education has the best sustainable return for the family, village, etc. The return is in variety of forms: smaller families, educated children, reduction from agriculture subsistence, higher income, etc. Putting it into today's financial markets terminology, it's a massive angel investor and venture capitalist exit, "pop", via an initial public offering (IPO)! Extremist fears Boko, and its equivalent elsewhere, are more terrified of educated girls than a bullet with their name on it. Why? For the simple reason, an educated mother instills lessons of reason and empathy, enjoining good and forbidding bad in her (daughter and) son, potential recruits. For example, Malala Yousafzai, the brave teenager from Pakistan who was shot in the head by the "brave" Taliban, has become a global figure for girl's education. Thus, the shot backfired, unfortunately Malala had to endure the horrible ordeal. The Quran raises seeking knowledge as an obligation on every Muslim, male and female. For example, in Qur'an chapter 96 verses 1-5, which says: 'Proclaim! (or read!) In the name of your Lord and Cherisher, Who created. Created men, out of a leech-like clot. Proclaim! And your Lord is Most Bountiful. He who taught by the Pen. Taught man that which he knows not.' The pursuit of knowledge is an important part of worship, as Islamic civilization has contributed to vast number of fields during its Golden Age, including medicine, architecture, astronomy, chemistry, mathematics and philosophy, etc. Knowledge is closely connected with ethics and morality, which promotes virtue (enjoining right) and combats vice (forbidding wrong). Basement/de-humanising In many countries, the proverbial glass ceiling exists for women and minorities in the workplace. Boko's school of management and ensuing actions suggests ceilings or even glass floors are too high for them, so they have opted for the opposite, the basement. The basement may not have windows (to view the Creator's bounty), rarely receives light (enlightenment), infested with vermins (self explanatory), and it's rare for one to escape its quicksand effect (would result in Hollywood movie). Boko wants to pull these young girls into their quicksand of self implosion, whereas these they want to pursue self-actualisation. In kidnapping the school girls, they are physically and psychologically taking away their future. Their hope is these girls will always be fearful to step outside of their home to go to school. Thus, "pregnant, barefoot and in the basement kitchen" will keep girls financially and emotionally subservient. Finally, to sell girls into the market place, detaching them from dignity and into a life of destitution, means Boko wants to (1) replenish its war chest of mayhem, (2) takes the education fight out of the girls and (3) sends a message of consequences for others. It's interesting to note, that the villagers have taken "vigilante justice" into their own hands against Boko, as the latter lives by the bullet, they will be killed by the former's bullet. For example, Nigerian northern state villagers, like in Kalabalge, possibly in reaction to the abductions, killed/detained a number of Boko "fighters" who were suspected of planning another attack. The villagers seem to have lost confidence in the military/police. Conclusion The Somali pirates seems to have more class than Boko Haram, at least they picked on someone their own size! In abducting the school girls, the cult's aspiration has actually backfired, as they have raised the profile of the importance of girls, education and combined beneficial consequences. Boko Haram looks at these school girls and does not see its mirror image, failure, but sees "weapons of mass construction", the ultimate nightmare of extremists! – May 15, 2014. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Kisah si pengamen Pujiono dan para juri yang sakit Posted: 14 May 2014 04:19 PM PDT May 15, 2014 Meor Yusof Aziddin adalah Malaysian folk singer/songwritter yang telah menghasilkan 10 album indipenden sejak tahun 2000 sehingga 2011. Juga penulis untuk buku tentang kehidupan, "Sembang Tepi Jalan" dan "Syurga Yang Hilang." Memblog di www.pestajiwa.net. Berkerjaya sebagai "professional busker" di KL Sentral di bawah pengurusan KTMB sejak tahun 2010 sehingga ke hari ini. Saya akui tidak pernah berminat dengan program TV realiti seperti Malaysian Idol, Indonesian Idol, American Idol mahupun program untuk peserta lebih umur seperti 'Kilauan Emas' apatah lagilah program hiburan remaja Akademi Fantasia. Jadi saya tidak berapa mengikuti perkembangan yang berkonsep seperti itu. Saya percaya pada program yang melibatkan juri profesional sepenuhnya, seperti program Bintang RTM yang popular di tahun 70-an dan 80-an dulu. Bukan pak lawak menjadi juri orang menyanyi, bukan pemain bola dan penyanyi top menjadi juri pelawak berlawak. Apatah lagi jika orang awam yang menjadi juri, payahlah sedikit kerana 'level' mereka ini hanya tahap peminat, bukan pakar dalam bab seni dan suara. Itulah antara penyebab lahirnya penyanyi yang hanya bertahan semusim atau dua musim. Jadi yang hadir hanyalah sekadar pelengkap kalendar seni dan hiburan tanah air sahaja. Baru-baru ini, isteri saya menunjukkan saya sesi ujibakat Indonesian Idol 2014 di YouTube. Sebelum ini, banyak juga yang ditunjukkannya, tetapi semuanya tidak menarik minat saya. Salah satu sebabnya kebanyakan mereka ini hanya hendak menjadi klon, menyanyi lagu Inggeris pun keluar telor Indonesia. Nyata ramai mereka yang berangan hendak menjadi penyanyi ini mengalami 'sakit' untuk dilihat sebagai 'orang hebat' dan dilihat 'elit'. Di mana yang nampak elitnya saya pun tidak pasti. Pun begitu, saya sangat tertarik dengan penampilan seorang pengamen yang mencuba nasibnya di program Indonesian Idol 2014 itu. Rakamannya sekitar November 2013 tetapi baru sahaja diterbitkan baru-baru ini. Pertama kerana nilai kejujurannya dalam berkarya. Kedua kerana menyanyikan lagu daripada karya ciptaannya sendiri. Ketiga kerana menjadi dirinya sendiri. Keempat kerana nyata Pujiono nama si pengamen itu seorang yang bijak melebihi kebijakan para juri yang terlibat Ahmad Dhani, Anang dan seorang lagi yang saya tidak kenal. Saya katakan bijak kerana Pujiono mungkin sedia tahu dia mungkin tidak punya peluang untuk mara ke pusingan seterusnya lantaran sikap bodoh sombong para juri dalam menilai mana kaca mana permata. Jadi beliau tekad dengan bangganya menyanyikan lagu ciptaannya sendiri. Dia tidak akan rugi apa-apa jika diterima mahupun tidak. 'Nothing to lose' bak kata orang putih! Saya agak terkejut kerana Pujiono gagal memikat ketiga-tiga juri yang macam bagus itu. Lagunya berkualiti, liriknya matang walau dalam bahasa yang mudah, malah punya nilai komersial yang tinggi ditambah mood di Indonesia saat ini yang sedang mengalami musim pilihan raya. Juga kerana lagunya punya nilai nasionalis yang tinggi dan iramanya yang 'catchy' dan merakyat. Selain itu, cara penyampaian Pujiono yang jujur itu jelas dan tidak dibuat-buat sehingga kesannya berjaya meledak ke halwa telinga masyarakat Indonesia majoritinya sehingga video ujibakatnya di YouTube itu ditonton melebihi 2 juta pendengar. Mereka ini (para juri) kebanyakannya memang dan sedang 'sakit'. Sakit mereka ini sakit orang sukses dan berjaya kerana mereka merasakan mereka ini orang hebat, jadi nilai ego dan bodoh sombong itu memang wujud dalam diri dan penampilan mereka, kerana mereka punya kuasa untuk 'Yes' or 'No' untuk setiap peserta yang mengambil bahagian. Di sana, biasanya yang kaya makin kaya dan yang miskin makin terhimpit. Di sini pun begitu juga, tetapi penduduk di negara kita hanya berjumlah 27 juta orang. Peluang pekerjaan di sini masih ada dan kita masih mampu cari makan di negara kita sendiri. Saya tidak pernah jumpa lagi mana-mana busker kita yang sanggup naik bas turun bas, naik keretapi turun keretapi demi busking mencari sesuap nasi di negara kita ini. Maknanya 'survival' busker kita tidaklah se'real'pengamen di Indonesia sana. Ditambah pula hari ini kebanyakan anak muda kita akan bangga mengusung gitar tong ke sana-sini dan menggelarkan diri mereka busker. Ini pemandangan biasa di Kuala Lumpur hari ini jika kita terlihat mereka dua tiga orang anak muda akan mengusung gitar tong dan alat perkusi seperti cajun mahupun djembe. Apatah lagi jika menjadi juri di Indonesia yang majoriti penduduknya melebihi 250 juta orang pada tahun 2013. Saya juga faham untuk lepas dan berjaya sebagai penyanyi mahupun penghibur memanglah sukar. Tetapi apabila mereka berjaya melepasi pelbagai dugaan dalam meniti tangga sukses, jadilah mereka seperti yang kita lihat menjadi juri di program Indonesian Idol itu. Kebanyakan juri memang begitu. Kebanyakan mereka memang macam bagus-bagus walaupun pendapat mereka kadang-kadang sangat bodoh dan tidak matang. Mereka akan melihat penampilan dan siapa para peserta itu. Anak orang kayanya dia? Pandai nyanyi lagu yang punya elemen jazzy seperti penyanyi Adelekah dia? Atau berpenampilankah dia? Apabila Pujiono melantunkan suara dan lagunya berserta siulan pelik, para juri yang menilai bakat beliau sebenarnya kagum akan bakat dan lagu Pujiono, namun atas nilai ego dan elit, mereka menafikan peluang si pengamen itu untuk maju terus ke saringan yang seterusnya. Hari ini, selepas mendapat liputan yang meluas di media juga dengan meletupnya lagu karya Pujiono yang judulnya 'Manisnya Negeriku' itu selepas dibeli oleh sebuah parti politik di sana, Pujiono akan melalui musim yang menarik dan gemilang sekurang-kurangnya untuk satu musim, sama seperti nasib si pengamen cilik Tegar. Beza lagu Tegar dan Pujiono, 'Aku Yang Dulu' Tegar tema lirik lagunya hanya mengundang simpati masyarakat walau melodinya catchy, tetapi terlalu tipikal berbanding lagu Pujiono yang mantap dari sudut tema, mesej mahupun melodinya. Dan hanya kesalan walau berserta ego yang keluar daripada mulut Dhani yang menyesal tidak membeli lagu milik Pujiono, 'Manisnya Negeriku'. Yang jelas, sekurang-kurangnya untuk musim ini, seperti kata si Tegar dalam lagunya, Pujiono Yang Dulu Bukanlah Pujiono Yang Sekarang. Dan yang lebih menarik, sekual perjuangan lagu yang berkonsep merakyat penyanyi folk Indonesia legenda seperti Gombloh, Leo Kristi, Iwan Fals dan Doel Sumbang antaranya akan terus hidup dengan hadirnya pujiono di pentas industri dan hiburan Indonesia. – 15 Mei, 2014. * Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider.

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Sarawak hentikan program Anak Angkat selepas aduan ‘Islamisasi‎’ Posted: 15 May 2014 02:32 AM PDT OLEH DESMOND DAVIDSON May 15, 2014 Latest Update: May 15, 2014 06:10 pm Jabatan Pendidikan Sarawak hari ini menghentikan program kontroversi Anak Angkat di sekolah ekoran bantahan daripada ibu bapa yang mendakwa ada cubaan untuk menarik pelajar beragama Kristian masuk Islam. Pembantu Menteri di Jabatan Ketua Menteri, Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman yang mengarahkan program itu dihentikan bagaimanapun berkata, isu yang berlaku cuma salah faham. Katanya, program motivasi yang menyasarkan pelajar daripada keluarga miskin itu dibenarkan dan dibiayai Kementerian Pembangunan Luar Bandar dan Desa. Katanya, program itu dijalankan oleh badan bukan kerajaan Pertubuhan Himpunan Lepasan Institusi Pendidikan Malaysia (Haluan) yang berpusat di Bangi, Selangor. Daud berkata, semua elemen keagamaan dalam modul program akan dihapuskan pada masa akan datang. "Tidak ada sebarang cubaan untuk menukar agama penganut bukan Islam dalam program ini," katanya. Semalam, Menteri Pembangunan Sarawak Tan Sri Dr James Masing menimbulkan isu ini selepas ibu bapa pelajar SMK Balai Ringin mengemukakan aduan mengenai program tersebut. – 15 Mei, 2014. MENYUSUL LAGI

Anwar akan umum tarikh pemilihan semula cabang PKR Selangor, kata Khalid Posted: 15 May 2014 01:59 AM PDT May 15, 2014 Menteri Besar Selangor Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim berkata Ketua Umum PKR Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (gambar) akan membuat kenyataan rasmi mengenai tarikh pemilihan semula di beberapa cabang PKR Selangor yang ditangguhkan pemilihannya. Khalid berkata perkara itu diputuskan dalam mesyuarat Biro Politik PKR yang dihadirinya malam tadi, antara lain membincangkan tata cara pengundian dan penyeragaman tempat-tempat pengundian untuk pemilihan semula cabang PKR Selangor. "Kami membuat beberapa ketetapan dalam mesyuarat biro politik di mana hari ini atau pun esok ketua umum akan membuat kenyataan mengenai keputusan biro politik (mengenai isu pemilihan semula cabang PKR Selangor yang ditangguhkan)," katanya kepada pemberita selepas menyampaikan sumbangan amal sempena "Malaysia Women Marathon 2014" di Shah Alam hari ini. Khalid berkata beliau tidak akan memberikan sebarang kenyataan terbuka mengenai isu itu, sebaliknya akan memberikan ruang kepada Anwar membuat pengumuman. Beliau berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas 10 daripada 22 cabang PKR Selangor yang terpaksa mengadakan pemilihan semula berikutan bantahan pelbagai pihak berhubung perjalanan pengundian asal cabang itu Ahad lepas termasuk cabang yang ditandingi Khalid di Kuala Selangor. Sementara itu, bekas Ahli Parlimen Kapar S Manikavasagam yang juga anggota seumur hidup PKR berkata beliau tidak pasti kedudukannya dalam parti sama ada digantung ataupun dipecat ekoran kenyataannya sebelum ini. Beliau mendakwa seorang daripada pegawai menteri besar Selangor memberi suapan sehingga RM50 kepada pengundi untuk membantu Khalid menang jawatan ketua bahagian cabang PKR Kuala Selangor. Khalid bagaimanapun menafikan penglibatannya membeli undi untuk mendapatkan sokongan pada proses pemilihan PKR. – Bernama, 15 Mei, 2014.

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