Isnin, 19 Mei 2014

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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The Malaysian Insider :: Food


Scientists discover why olive oil lowers blood pressure

Posted: 19 May 2014 05:17 PM PDT

May 20, 2014

Unsaturated fats in olive oil create a fatty acid which lowers blood pressure. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, May 20, 2014. Unsaturated fats in olive oil create a fatty acid which lowers blood pressure. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, May 20, 2014. The secret to the Mediterranean diet may be in the salad.

Eating unsaturated fats, like those in olive oil, along with leafy greens and other vegetables creates a certain kind of fatty acid that lowers blood pressure, scientists said yesterday.

These nitro fatty acids are formed when consuming spinach, celery and carrots that are filled with nitrates and nitrites, along with avocado, nuts and olive oils that contain healthy fats.

Nitro fatty acids appear to inhibit an enzyme known as soluble epoxide hydrolase, which regulates blood pressure, said the research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal.

The study was based on experiments in lab mice, and was funded by the British Heart Foundation.

"The findings of our study help to explain why previous research has shown that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular problems like stroke, heart failure and heart attacks," said Philip Eaton, professor of cardiovascular biochemistry at King's College London.

While most experts agree that the Mediterranean diet – which consists of lots of vegetables, fish, grains, red wine and fatty nuts and oils - brings health benefits, there has been little scientific consensus about how or why.

Some have touted red wine as a driving force behind the ability of Europeans to eat high fat cheeses and meats while maintaining better overall health than Americans.

But research published last week found that a key antioxidant in red wine, resveratrol, did not help people in Italy live longer or avoid cancer or heart disease. – AFP, May 20, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports


South Korea win group, as Thais keep Women’s World Cup hopes alive

Posted: 19 May 2014 09:10 AM PDT

May 20, 2014

Chinese midfielder Zang Rui (right) fights for the ball with South Korean defender Kim Hye Ri (centre) and midfielder Cho So Hyun during their Women's Asia 2014 Football Championship match today. – AFP pic, May 19, 2014.Chinese midfielder Zang Rui (right) fights for the ball with South Korean defender Kim Hye Ri (centre) and midfielder Cho So Hyun during their Women's Asia 2014 Football Championship match today. – AFP pic, May 19, 2014.South Korea won their group to progress into the last four of the Asian Cup today with a goalless draw against China in a lacklustre game.

Both sides had already qualified for the semi-finals but face tough clashes in the final four in the final four in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday.

The Koreans, who advance after scoring six more goals than the Chinese, will be aiming to depose cup holders Australia, while eight-time Asian title winners China will play World Champions Japan.

Tonight's stalemate in Ho Chi Minh City brought to an end a goal glut for both sides who smashed an astonishing 26 goals between them in their first two Group B matches, without reply.

The pair are guaranteed two of the five Women's World Cup spots up for grabs at the Asian event.

Thailand will play Vietnam for the coveted final spot on Wednesday after edging Myanmar 2-1 in Monday night's crucial other game to take third place in Group B.

The Thais scored first just before the half hour mark through a Kanjana Sung-Ngoen penalty, but Yee Yee Oo pulled Myanmar level just before the break.

Thailand's Sritala Duangnapa restored her side's lead around the hour mark, nudging the ball home after Myanmar failed to clear a free-kick.

With their Women's World Cup dreams hanging by a thread, Myanmar threw everything at the Thai goal but could not peg back their rivals, condemning them to last place in Group B with zero points from their three matches.

On Sunday Japan advanced to the final four with a rampant 7-0 victory over Jordan, while Australia beat the hosts Vietnam 2-0. – AFP, May 19, 2014.

Giggs retires from playing to focus on coaching United

Posted: 19 May 2014 08:34 AM PDT

May 19, 2014

Ryan Giggs (pic) has called time on his remarkable 23-year, trophy-laden Manchester United career to commit himself to his new role as assistant to manager Louis van Gaal, who was confirmed as the successor to David Moyes today.

Giggs, who made a record 963 appearances, winning 13 league titles, four FA Cups and two Champions League trophies, announced his decision today via an open letter on the club's website.

"I would like to take this opportunity to announce my retirement from professional football and embark upon a new and exciting chapter in my life," 40-year-old Giggs said.

"I am immensely proud, honoured and fortunate to have represented the biggest club in the world 963 times and Wales 64 times.

"My dream was always to play for Manchester United and although it saddens me to know I won't be pulling on a United jersey again as a player, I have been lucky enough to have fulfilled that dream playing with some of the best players in the world, working under an incredible manager in Sir Alex Ferguson, and most of all, playing for the greatest fans in world football.

"I have always felt and appreciated your support. I would not have won 34 trophies in my career without you."

Giggs made his United debut in 1991 and remained an integral part of the club under Ferguson as they established themselves as the dominant force in English soccer.

Initially a wiry, close-dribbling winger, his midfield combinations with the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane were at the heart of much of the team's success.

His amazing superb solo goal in the FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal in 1999 – en route to United securing the treble of league, FA Cup and Champions League – has been voted the club's greatest goal by a poll of fans.

Giggs' international career was not so successful as he performed in a Wales team which failed to make a major championship – despite some near misses – while his relationship with Wales fans was strained by his regular withdrawals with minor injuries that would miraculously disappear in time for him to resume United action days later.

He retired from international football in 2008 though did, however, enjoy a swansong of sorts when he captained the British football team at the 2012 London Olympics.

As he aged, Giggs developed into more of a soccer quarter-back, less mobile but able to spread passes with deadly precision while giving a masterclass in keeping possession.

Ferguson routinely paid tribute to Giggs' committed approach to fitness and "fuelling", and how they helped him continue to operate at the very top level at an age when most of his contemporaries had long retired.

With the departure of Ferguson at the end of last season, Giggs became a peripheral figure under Moyes but was thrust back on to centre stage as player-manager for the last four games of the season after the Scot was sacked.

He selected himself for only one of them – a substitute appearance in the 3-1 victory over Hull City at Old Trafford in the penultimate game of the season.

"For me, today is new chapter filled with many emotions - immense pride, sadness, but most of all, excitement towards the future," Giggs said today.

"United fans I hope will share and echo my belief that the club, the management and owners, are doing everything they can to return this great club to where it belongs, and I hope to be there every step of the way." – Reuters, May 19, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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Photographing a city’s century – in a single shot

Posted: 18 May 2014 08:33 PM PDT

May 19, 2014

 Conceptual artist Jonathon Keats holds up one of his 'Century Cameras' ahead of the opening of his Century Camera project at a gallery in Berlin, Germany. – AFP pic, May 19, 2014. Conceptual artist Jonathon Keats holds up one of his 'Century Cameras' ahead of the opening of his Century Camera project at a gallery in Berlin, Germany. – AFP pic, May 19, 2014.Photographs capture fleeting moments in time, but what would be revealed if an image could show an entire century?

That is the question behind the latest "thought experiment" by the American conceptual artist Jonathon Keats, whose past endeavours include a bid to genetically engineer God, and porn films for houseplants – complete with close-ups of bees pollinating flowers.

Using ultra-long-exposure cameras, he has set out to document Berlin's shifting urban landscape over the next 100 years.

The 42-year-old, based between San Francisco and northern Italy, invited people from this week to take one of 100 small pinhole cameras and place it in a strategic Berlin location.

To add to the fun, he's asked them to keep mum about where they have hidden their "photographic time capsule", only revealing its location in their old age, to a child who could in turn wait until adulthood to retrieve it.

Keats is promising that whoever returns a camera 100 years from now to his partners in the project, Berlin-based Team Titanic gallery, will see their photo go on display – and get their 10-euro ($14) deposit back.

A date for the "CenturyCamera" exhibition's opening is already in the diary – May 16, 2114.

"I will not be in attendance," the artist said, dryly, in an interview with AFP for the project launch.

But he doesn't mind at all.

The self-styled experimental philosopher wants to probe how "putting a camera in the hands of the unborn" can make people scrutinise the legacy of the decision taken today for their city.

"The first people to see these photos will be children who haven't yet been conceived," Keats said.

"They're impacted by every decision we make, but they're powerless. If anyone has the right to spy on us, it's our descendants."

Like 'ghosts' of houses

He describes what he is doing as, effectively, "surveillance" – intentionally using the "highly loaded" word.

But his aim is to provoke discussion, especially following the uproar caused by recent revelations of mass US spying.

"This surveillance is completely out in the open, and that encourages the conversation about surveillance to be completely out in the open, as it needs to be."

"Nothing is hidden here, except for the cameras themselves."

So how will the 100-year photographs work?

With simplicity and, of course, durability uppermost in mind, Keats' steel canister cameras use black paper, instead of photographic paper, that will fade with the highly focused and very low light trained through the pin hole.

"If you have a camera directed towards some houses and those houses get bulldozed after 25 years and they build a skyscraper, what you'll see are just the ghosts of the houses, a shadow of the houses.

"The skyscraper will be bolder in the same image. It'll be a double exposure in effect," he said, adding that minor changes in the image, such as day-to-day human activity, would not register.

Dressed in an everyman sweater and jeans, the bespectacled Keats, whose past projects include ballet for honeybees and a travel documentary watched by plants, admits there is plenty that could go wrong.

"First of all the technology hasn't been tried and as a result we are working based on some assumptions," he said.

But plans are already afoot to organise the project in other cities and Keats even hopes the United Nations could get involved.

The German capital has undergone rampant change in the almost quarter century since the Berlin Wall fell, one of the reasons it was chosen for the photographic project.

The challenge for those hiding the cameras is to choose a spot worthy of century-long observation, said Julia Schulz, of Team Titanic.

"It'll be interesting to see if people choose a well-known place such as the Berlin Wall – or their own little plot of garden." – AFP, May 19, 2014.

Battles take shine off the beautiful game

Posted: 18 May 2014 07:47 PM PDT

May 19, 2014

 Demonstrators take part in a protest in front of the Nacional Mane Garrincha stadium during the 'International Day of World Cup Resistance' in Brazil. – AFP pic, May 19, 2014. Demonstrators take part in a protest in front of the Nacional Mane Garrincha stadium during the 'International Day of World Cup Resistance' in Brazil. – AFP pic, May 19, 2014.Football may be the beautiful game but the dark side of the sport has reared its head all too often at the World Cup.

Four years ago in South Africa, Spain earned legions of admirers as their attractive passing style helped them to a maiden World Cup triumph.

But the Spanish victory was so nearly derailed by a bitterly contested final which saw the Netherlands try to disrupt their opponents with an overtly physical approach.

Nigel De Jong was lucky to stay on the pitch after planting his studs in Xabi Alonso's chest with a wild tackle, while Johnny Heitinga joined the elite band of players to have been sent off in a World Cup final for two yellow cards.

In all, the final produced some 47 fouls and 14 yellow cards, more than any other game in the 2010 tournament.

Yet in many ways, the 2010 final was tame compared to some of the more notorious episodes in the World Cup's wilder early history.

Since Placido Galindo was sent off for Peru at the 1930 World Cup – the first player in tournament history to be dismissed – a total of 159 players have been given their marching orders.

It was not until 1938 however that a World Cup match earned the dubious distinction of being branded a "battle", when Brazil and Czechoslovakia collided in a stormy quarter-final in Bordeaux.

A bruising encounter ended with three players sent off, while Czechoslovakia's forward Oldrich Nejedly suffered a broken leg and goalkeeper Frantisek Planicka was left with a broken arm.

Brazil was at the centre of another notorious brawl in Switzerland in 1954, when their quarter-final against Hungary became immortalised as the "Battle of Berne."

The result, a 4-2 victory for Hungary, has become a footnote of a match which is a strong contender for the dirtiest game in World Cup history.

The match was marred by three sending off and several mass brawls, and was interrupted by several invasions from Brazilian officials and media.

"This was a battle, a brutal, savage match," recalled Hungary's coach Gustav Sebes, who himself ended up with four stitches in a facial wound after being struck by a broken bottle in a post-match brawl.

The violence was taken to a new level at the Battle of Santiago eight years later in Chile, when Italy and the host nation met in a foul-tempered group match.

The first foul occurred within 12 seconds, and Italy's Giorgio Ferrini was dismissed after only 12 minutes, needing to be dragged from the field by police after protesting vainly to English referee Ken Aston.

Another Italian, Mario David, was sent off for kicking Chile's Leonel Sanchez in the head. Sanchez was lucky to escape censure after breaking Humberto Maschio's nose with a punch. Police intervened repeatedly as the two teams continuously clashed.

While isolated incidents of violence have peppered World Cups since – most notably German goalkeeper Toni Schumacher's flying challenge on France's Patrick Battiston in 1982, and Zinedine Zidane's headbutt on Marco Materazzi in 2006 – there have been few games to rival the wildness of the matches in Berne and Santiago.

One exception is 2006's "Battle of Nuremberg" between Portugal and the Netherlands. Russian referee Valentine Ivanov issued four red cards and 16 yellows, a World Cup record and Portugal were fortunate not to lose captain Luis Figo too.

Figo should have been sent off for a retaliatory head butt after being elbowed by Khalid Boulahrouz.

"Jesus Christ may be able to turn the other cheek but Luis Figo isn't Jesus Christ," Portugal's then coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. – AFP, May 19, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz


‘Godzilla’ tops North American box office

Posted: 18 May 2014 08:19 PM PDT

May 19, 2014

The cast and crew of 'Godzilla' attend the premiere of the movie at the Dolby Theatre on May 8, 2014 in Hollywood, California. The latest remake flew to the top of the North American box office in its opening weekend. – AFP pic, May 19, 2014.The cast and crew of 'Godzilla' attend the premiere of the movie at the Dolby Theatre on May 8, 2014 in Hollywood, California. The latest remake flew to the top of the North American box office in its opening weekend. – AFP pic, May 19, 2014.The latest remake of classic monster flick "Godzilla" stormed to the top of the North American box office in its opening weekend with a killer $93.2 million, industry estimates said yesterday.

The latest incarnation of the 1954 classic, stars "Breaking Bad" actor Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche and continues the original's exploration of the threat of nuclear disasters.

The movie pushed raunchy comedy "Neighbors" to a distant second place.

Starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as new parents who find themselves living next door to a raucous fraternity, Universal Pictures' "Neighbors" earned $26 million from Friday to Sunday, according to tracker Exhibitor Relations.

In third place, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," the sequel featuring Andrew Garfield, took in $16.8 million for a total $172 million in the three weeks since its release.

Another newcomer, "Million Dollar Arm," slid into fourth spot. The film, a true story about a Major League Baseball agent who goes to India to find the next big thing, had ticket sales worth $10.5 million.

Down to fifth, "The Other Woman," a romantic comedy starring Cameron Diaz, earned just $6.3 million in its fourth week.

In sixth place was "Heaven Is for Real," starring Greg Kinnear as the father of a four-year-old boy who wakes up from emergency surgery with a story about going to heaven and back. It pulled in $4.4 million as it slipped down the charts.

Seventh was animated flick "Rio 2," about a family of blue Macaw parrots with voices by Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway. It just barely overtook "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," with both films earning around $3.8 million.

Rounding out the top ten were "Legends of Oz" pulling in just under $2 million, followed by PG-rated comedy "Moms' Night Out," with $1.9 million. – AFP, May 19, 2014.

Lorde, Justin Timberlake early winners at Billboard Music Awards

Posted: 18 May 2014 08:02 PM PDT

May 19, 2014

 New Zealand singer Lorde accepts the award for top new artist at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada. – Reuters pic, May 19, 2014. New Zealand singer Lorde accepts the award for top new artist at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada. – Reuters pic, May 19, 2014.Justin Timberlake, New Zealand singer Lorde and hometown alternative rock group Imagine Dragons were the early winners at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, while a computer-generated Michael Jackson danced and sang a new song.

The annual awards show, a key showcase event for the music industry, honoured Timberlake with the top Billboard 200 album for last year's "The 20/20 Experience," the highest prize for an album at the show.

The 33-year-old pop singer, who is on tour in Europe and not in attendance, accepted the award in a taped speech with his touring band, leading them in a gospel and blues-tinged song of "Thank You."

But the top moment of the show so far was a performance of "Slave to the Rhythm" by late pop star Michael Jackson, whose likeness and dancing was rendered by a computer-generated imaging, prompting an emotional standing ovation from the crowd.

Seventeen-year-old pop sensation Lorde, dressed all in black with black feather fringes, captured the award for top new artist and top rock song for the hit "Royals," which already landed her two Grammy Awards earlier this year.

The teen, who has also won fans with her thoughtfulness and defiance towards traditional standards of Hollywood beauty, said she was grateful to be able to mature in the spotlight and for the "dialogue around my work and myself."

Imagine Dragons, who also performed their song "Tiptoe," won for top rock album while country singer Luke Bryan won for top country artist.

The Billboard Music Awards – which measures honours by sales, radio airplay, touring, streaming and other metrics – is a top venue for artists to unveil new songs in time for the summer.

The show's first hour featured eight performances, including from pop stars Katy Perry, Shakira, country duo Florida Georgia Line with country singer Luke Bryan, and Nickelodeon star Ariana Grande and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.

Rapper Pitbull kicked off the show alongside Jennifer Lopez and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte from the MGM Grand Garden Arena with a performance of "We Are One (Ole Ola)," the theme to next month's soccer World Cup in Brazil.

Lorde and Imagine Dragons are finalists in a leading 12 categories. Bruno Mars and Timberlake will go up against Imagine Dragons, Miley Cyrus and Perry for the top artist prize. Beyonce, Timberlake, Bryan and rappers Eminem and Drake are all finalists for album of the year. – Reuters, May 19, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

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Book Review – Caffeinated: How our daily habit helps, hurts, and hooks us

Posted: 18 May 2014 06:13 PM PDT

BY EMMANUEL SURENDRA
May 19, 2014

Murray Carpenter’s 'Caffeinated: How our daily habit helps, hurts, and hooks us' is available at any major bookstore. – The Malaysian Insider pic, May 19, 2014. Murray Carpenter's 'Caffeinated: How our daily habit helps, hurts, and hooks us' is available at any major bookstore. – The Malaysian Insider pic, May 19, 2014. Emil Fischer, the German chemist who won the Nobel Prize in 1902 for pioneering the synthesis of caffeine in a lab, predicted that very year that factories would soon be synthesising caffeine on a global scale due to it being cost-effective. He was right.

Caffeine is perhaps the world's favourite drug today. Take coffee, one of its more popular forms, for example. It is the world's second most valuable traded commodity, just behind petroleum. Not bad for a beverage believed to be discovered by a 9th-century Ethiopian shepherd when he noticed how excited his goats became after eating the beans from a coffee plant.

Murray Carpenter tells of the caffeinated world we live in through a complex lens where the bitter white powder plays different roles for different people.

"Caffeinated: How our daily habit helps, hurts, and hooks us" is built on the premise that caffeine deserves more respect and consumers deserve better regulation and more information. It's an addict's investigation into a field so overlooked that many just don't have a good vocabulary for it.

In his foreword, Carpenter talks about how we discuss our caffeine habits and how we measure caffeine intake, so much so that the freelance journo who had a stint with The New York Times invents a measuring unit called SCAD, or Standard Caffeine Dose. The message is that you can no longer benchmark the caffeine levels in a can of Red Bull or Coca Cola against a cup of Starbucks coffee. Everything has to be measured in its own right.

Readers are given dense facts about the layers of our caffeinated world. Carpenter starts off with items close to home: chocolate, coffee and tea. He talks about the majors who are ripping off farmers and consumers, including adding little extras, synthetic caffeine in particular, to meet worldwide demand – that "the industry is opaque, and the little information that is publicly available is not reassuring."

He unapologetically continues to spill the beans and doesn't withhold any punches, to the point of saying that "not only are most of us naïve about how caffeine is produced; we know little about how it is blended into consumer products".

His book shares similarities with other food writer-activists such as Philip Lymbery ("Farmageddon: The true cost of cheap meat") and Gary L. Francione ("Eat like you care"). It's typical investigative, informative journalism that seeks to question our assumptions about what we daily consume.

Carpenter weaves what he knows about caffeine – browse his blog and there's a healthy number of articles on the subject – and blends his arguments with cases, history and interviews. He is an old hand, so the book – just like its title – promises to deliver an interesting read. One can't help but notice that Murray employs a storytelling device where the last few lines of a chapter serve as the prologue to the next one.

Yet easy reading doesn't mean light reading: especially on cases where he probes into the effects of caffeine on American GIs, athletes, insomniacs and introverts and extroverts, readers will find a swathe of technical jargon and experiments that can, at times, be mind-boggling and a burden to read – this here being the only criticism, as those uninitiated into the world of chemistry and food science will find it hard to keep up.

Aside from that, the other glaring aspect of "Caffeinated" is that the book is mainly focused on happenings in the US. No way should this be an issue to readers, because the discussion and the ubiquity of caffeine make it relatively easy for addicts to relate to Carpenter's expose. It would however be a tad better if it had dealt with caffeine on a global scale.

Murray Carpenter's "Caffeinated: How our daily habit helps, hurts, and hooks us" is priced at RM89.95 and published by Hudson Street Press. Hardcover is the book's current form and it is available at any major bookstore. – May 19, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion


Teluk Intan kan kerusi bukan Melayu…

Posted: 18 May 2014 07:43 PM PDT

May 19, 2014

Penulis adalah seorang jurutera semikonduktor, wartawan freelance, penerbit dan editor buku motivasi yang suka mengikuti perkembangan politik Malaysia

Presiden Gerakan Mah Siew Keong akan bertempur dengan setiausaha politik kepada Penasihat DAP, Lim Kit Siang, Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud di Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Parlimen Teluk Intan.

Pertandingan di Teluk Intan dijangka menjadi pertandingan yang sengit dan bermakna untuk rakyat Malaysia berbanding dengan PRK Kuala Besut, Sungai Limau dan Kajang yang sudah selesai dan Bukit Gelugor yang sedang berjalan.

Mari kita melihat aspek-aspek penting di PRK Teluk Intan.

Umno, Perkasa, Isma

Cara Umno, Perkasa dan Isma berkempen akan menjadi fokus di PRK Teluk Intan. Setiap serangan pada Dyana boleh mendedahkan lagi hipokrisi mereka. Ironisnya, faktor terbesar yang menyukarkan kempen di PRK Teluk Intan kerana bangsa Dyana Sofya ialah Melayu.

Kempen ketiga-tiga ini bermula pada langkah yang salah. Serangan bertalu-bertalu yang dilancarkan terhadap Dyana telah membantu melonjakkan nama gadis ini di persada politik negara.

Belum lagi hari pencalonan, Dyana sudah dituduh dengan pelbagai label dan nama. Yang paling kelakar ialah tuduhan bahawa Dyana adalah boneka DAP.

Jika Dyana adalah boneka DAP, Mah Siew Keong boneka siapa? Tepuklah Gerakan, tapi tanyalah Umno.

Sekiranya Dyana menang, ahli parlimen berbangsa Melayu bertambah seorang lagi. Akan tetapi jikalau Mah Siew Keong yang menang, ahli Parlimen berbangsa bukan Melayu pula yang akan bertambah.

Selama ini, Perkasa dan Isma selalu khuatir kuasa Melayu terancam. Jika benar itu kebimbangan mereka, mereka patut bertepuk tangan menyokong langkah DAP untuk menambah ahli Parlimen berbangsa Melayu melalui PRK Teluk Intan.

Jika Perkasa dan Isma tidak mahu dilihat hipokrit, mereka perlu mengutuk Umno kerana membiarkan Gerakan meletakkan calon mereka kerana DAP berani meletakkan calon Melayu.

Bukan itu sahaja, bahkan mereka patut mendesak Umno untuk merampas kerusi bukan Melayu daripada ditandingi parti-parti komponen Barisan Nasional (BN) yang tidak menyumbang langsung di PRU13.

Memandangkan Umno gagal mengambil kerusi ini daripada Gerakan, Perkasa dan Isma perlu meletakkan calon mereka untuk memberikan pilihan kepada penyokong mereka di Teluk Intan yang dididik untuk tidak menyokong boneka DAP, Dyana dan orang kafir seperti Mah Siew Keong yang menentang hukum hudud, seperti apa yang Isma lakukan di PRU13 menggunakan tiket Berjasa.

Tunggu dan nikmati gelagat Perkasa dan Isma di PRK Teluk Intan. Suka ataupun tidak, mereka adalah newsmakers yang mampu menarik ramai pembaca.

Gerakan

Gerakan boleh menggantikan tempat MCA yang tidak berani bertempur di Bukit Gelugor di dalam BN sekiranya Mah Siew Keong berjaya merampas kerusi ini daripada DAP.

Sekiranya Mah Siew Keong tewas, Gerakan akan hilang semua nilainya untuk Umno dan BN. Jadi, PRK Teluk Intan ini ibarat do-or-die bagi Gerakan.

Tiada parti yang akan mempertaruhkan presidennya tanpa maklumat risikan bahawa kerusi Teluk Intan boleh dirampas oleh BN kali ini.

Atas dasar ini, Dyana melakukan satu keputusan bijak untuk menggelarkan dirinya sebagai "underdog" dalam pertempuran ini.

Sekiranya Gerakan menang, Umno akan bersorak bahawa undi orang bukan Melayu telah kembali ke pangkuan mereka. Untuk itu, kerenah Perkasa dan Isma akan lebih menjadi-jadi kerana mereka akan menganggap tindakan mereka sekarang adalah sesuatu yang boleh diterima rakyat malah tidak menghakis sokongan kepada BN.

DAP

Apa perhitungan DAP mempertaruhkan Dyana sedangkan DAP sedar Gerakan tidak akan mempertaruhkan presidennya sekiranya mereka tiada keyakinan untuk merampas kerusi ini?

Muktahir ini, serangan perkauman pada DAP semakin menjadi-jadi. Jika sebelum PRU13 ialah Perkasa, kini DAP terpaksa berdepan dengan serangan Isma. DAP tahu betapa pentingnya untuk menumpulkan serangan perkauman bertubi-tubi padanya, dan meletakkan Dyana sebagai calon di PRK Teluk Intan adalah langkah besar ke arah mencapai objektif itu.

Meletakkan Dyana menimbulkan beberapa risiko dalaman pada DAP. Ini boleh dilihat apabila Tony Pua dan bukan pemimpin daripada kalangan DAP Perak dilantik mengetuai jentera pilihan raya DAP.

Namun masalah dalaman ini tidak berlarutan kerana bantuan daripada musuh-musuh DAP yang melakukan serangan gila-gila terhadap Dyana. Kerana serangan itulah, bantahan dalaman kepada pencalonan Dyana diminimakan kerana semua beralih fokus untuk mempertahankan Dyana.

Dyana juga mempunyai kelebihannya sendiri. Bukan mudah untuk menjadi setiausaha politik Kit Siang. Di dalam DAP, semua tahu orang yang dipilih Kit Siang bukan calang-calang bakatnya, malah semua berpotensi menjadi ahli politik yang cemerlang seperti Teresa Kok pada masa depan.

Dyana adalah insuran kepada parti kerana kalau DAP menang, DAP menang kerusi dan persepsi, dan jika DAP tewas, DAP hilang kerusi tapi menang persepsi. Persepsi yang bakal dimenangi DAP ialah ia adalah parti pelbagai kaum dan bukan sebuah parti Cina. Oleh itu, apa jua keputusan PRK Teluk Intan, DAP tetap akan merai kemenangan.

Tapi kemenangan dalam ketewasan itu akan hilang sekiranya kekalahan itu berpunca daripada kemerosotan undi bukan Melayu, dan dikaitkan pula dengan isu hudud sebagai puncanya.

Pakatan Rakyat

PKR boleh bernafas lega kerana kehangatan PRK Teluk Intan akan mengalihkan tekanan daripada masalah teruk yang melanda pemilihan parti mereka.

PRK Teluk Intan memberikan medan untuk ketiga-tiga parti untuk mengeratkan hubungan dan kerjasama selepas kontroversi hudud.

Isu hudud juga dijangka tidak akan dibangkitkan di PRK Teluk Intan kerana isu ini berpotensi menyebabkan kontroversi dalaman pada BN dan juga PR.

Jika Gerakan berani bermain isu hudud, Umno akan terpaksa menjawab samada mereka menyokong perlaksanaan hudud; dan ini akan menyukarkan Umno.

Ini kerana bola kini di kaki kerajaan persekutuan yang telah bersetuju mewujudkan jawatankuasa teknikal mengkaji perlaksanaan hukum hudud bersama kerajaan negeri Kelantan.

Pakatan Rakyat cuma perlu berdiri tegas pada isu hudud – bahawa PAS dan DAP tidak pernah berubah pendirian dalam isu hudud sejak zaman dulu-dulu; tapi yang berubah-ubah pendirian ialah Umno.

Gerakan boleh mencuba nasib dengan isu hudud. Tapi yang tertekan hanyalah Umno kerana rakyat dah mengetahui pendirian PAS dan DAP. Yang mereka tak tahu ialah sikap Umno sahaja.

Jika Umno sokong hudud, rakyat akan tertanya-tanya mengapa Umno tetiba ubah pendirian? Kalau Umno betul ikhlas, mengapa tak cuba laksana di Terengganu sedangkan kanun jenayah syariah juga wujud di Terengganu?

Kesimpulannya, PRK Teluk Intan akan mempunyai kesan mendalam pada cara berpolitik di Malaysia, terutamanya dari segi sejauh mana tembok perkauman boleh diruntuhkan di negara ini. – 19 Mei, 2014.

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

Penceramah anti-Kristian di UiTM

Posted: 18 May 2014 04:24 PM PDT

May 19, 2014

Uthaya Sankar SB berkarya dalam Bahasa Malaysia. Beliau adalah presiden Kumpulan Sasterawan Kavyan (Kavyan) dan pemilik tunggal Perunding Media, Motivasi dan Penerbitan Uthaya. Selain menulis, membaca dan bercakap, beliau juga suka menonton filem.

Mais seolah-olah menjadi 'Majlis Anti-Kristian Selangor' (Maks). - Gambar oleh Uthaya.Mais seolah-olah menjadi 'Majlis Anti-Kristian Selangor' (Maks). - Gambar oleh Uthaya."Sebagai rakyat Malaysia yang bertanggungjawab, saya meminta pihak berkuasa, khasnya polis, menyiasat penganjur dan penceramah seminar ini serta mengambil tindakan tegas bagi membendung unsur-unsur yang memecah-belahkan Bangsa Malaysia."

Demikian saya mengakhiri laporan rasmi yang dibuat di Balai Polis Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam pada 8 Mei 2014 bersama-sama Perzeus James. Perzeus penganut Kristian Katolik manakala saya pengamal multifaith (percaya pada ajaran semua agama).

Laporan polis itu berikutan penganjuran "Seminar Kalimah Allah dan Kristologi Nusantara" yang secara terang-terangan mempersenda ajaran Kristian dan penganut Kristian secara keseluruhan, serta secara jelas berciri anti-perpaduan, berniat jahat, tidak mengambil kira sensitiviti masyarakat dan mengancam ketenteraman awam.

Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) dan Majlis Agama Islam Selangor (Mais) adalah penganjur seminar. Akhbar Utusan Malaysia, Kumpulan Media Karangkraf, TV Al-Hijrah, Kumpulan Zikay dan Kumpulan Pantai Bharu adalah antara penyokong.

Selain itu, orang ramai tentu mahu tahu siapakah para penceramah yang layak diklasifikasikan sebagai "pencetus kebencian" berdasarkan kandungan ceramah mereka.

Dalam hal ini, Ridhuan Tee Abdullah mungkin sedikit kecewa kerana dia ternyata belum cukup kelayakan sebagai "pencetus kebencian" untuk diundang sebagai penceramah di seminar anti-Kristian yang turut dihadiri bekas perdana menteri, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi serta sekitar 1,000 penonton, termasuk pelajar sekolah menengah.

Buku Pendedahan Agenda Kristian (2014) terbitan Mais diedarkan secara percuma kepada peserta tanpa mengambil kira sensitiviti pelajar Bumiputera beragama Kristian yang turut hadir kerana "diwajibkan" hadir.

Tidak cukup dengan itu, para penceramah pula bagaikan "anjing yang terlepas daripada ikatan" dan mampu bercakap apa sahaja di pentas dengan "niat terancang" menimbulkan kemarahan dan rasa benci dalam kalangan orang Islam terhadap orang Kristian.

Seperti dilaporkan di The Malaysian Insider (6 Mei 2014), Insan LS Mokoginta memberitahu seminar itu bahawa penganut Kristian mengkhianati perintah Tuhan jika mereka tidak menganut agama Islam.

Siapakah Insan ini? Dia lahir di Sulawesi Utara pada 1949 dan mendapat pendidikan di sebuah gereja sejak kanak-kanak. Paderi Roman Katolik ini "murtad" (keluar) daripada agama Kristian pada tahun 1976 semasa berada di Jakarta.

Agak malang bagi dirinya kerana dia masih dianggap sebagai "mualaf" selepas 30 tahun memeluk Islam dan diberikan pula Anugerah Mualaf pada 2006. Dalam hal ini, golongan mualaf di Malaysia lebih bertuah kerana terus sahaja boleh mengiktiraf diri sebagai Melayu selepas masuk Islam.Seminar ini ternyata dirancang untuk menanam bibit kebencian dalam jiwa generasi muda.Seminar ini ternyata dirancang untuk menanam bibit kebencian dalam jiwa generasi muda.

Keimanan, kepercayaan orang Kristian dihina

UiTM dan Mais pasti tahu dan sedar bahawa kerja Insan termasuk "melatih" golongan muda Islam di Indonesia sebagai persiapan untuk "melagakan" mereka dengan golongan paderi Kristian atas nama sesi dialog.

Maka, rakyat Malaysia yang prihatin dan mencintai keharmonian mempunyai alasan untuk mempercayai bahawa Insan diundang dengan sengaja untuk menghina orang Kristian dan agama Kristian dalam seminar sehari yang berlangsung di Dewan Agung Tuanku Canselor UiTM pada 6 Mei 2014.

Bekas paderi itu dilaporkan berkata, Jesus tidak mati di atas salib dan dipertikaikan Jesus meninggal dunia untuk pengampunan dosa-dosa, seperti yang dipercayai oleh orang Kristian.

Sebaliknya, kata Insan, "Jesus mati kerana ketamakan dan iri hati para pemimpin agama pada masa itu" dan keimanan orang Kristian adalah sia-sia (The Malaysian Insider, 7 Mei 2014).

Menurut kenyataan pengerusi Mais, Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa, "seminar itu akan memberi penjelasan kepada umat Islam tentang isu penggunaan kalimah Allah serta mencari penyelesaian secara efektif dan menyeluruh untuk menangani masalah yang timbul" (Utusan Malaysia, 21 April 2014).

Dalam buku atur cara juga dinyatakan bahawa objektif program adalah "memberi penjelasan kepada warga UiTM dan masyarakat tentang isu penggunaan kalimah Allah oleh penganut Islam" serta "satu medium pengisian kerohanian dan dakwah kepada warga UiTM dan masyarakat umum."

Malangnya, para penceramah ternyata seolah-olah dipilih dengan penuh teliti supaya kesemua mereka adalah "pembenci totok" yang mampu lari daripada topik asal (isu kalimah Allah) dan menanam kebencian terhadap orang Kristian dalam jiwa orang Melayu-Islam.

Tidak setakat itu, penganut Kristian dilabel sebagai pendosa dan pengkhianat selagi mereka tidak meninggalkan agama asal dan memeluk agama Islam. Malah, para penceramah bagaikan diberikan lesen oleh UiTM, Mais dan para "penyokong" seminar itu untuk mengutuk agama-agama lain secara terbuka.

Seorang penceramah tempatan turut tidak melepaskan peluang tumpang sekaki untuk membuktikan bahawa bukan hanya penceramah undangan yang "murtad" daripada ajaran Kristian mampu mengutuk, menghina, memperlekeh dan memfitnah agama Kristian dan penganut Kristian sesuka hati.

Setiausaha agung Pertubuhan Muafakat Sejahtera Masyarakat Malaysia (Muafakat), Abd Karim Omar tampil sebagai "jaguh kampung" untuk membuktikan bahawa dia lebih hebat daripada Ridhuan Tee, Ibrahim Ali, Zulkifli Noordin dan para ultra kiasu lain kerana dia mampu duduk sama taraf dengan "pembenci totok" dari Indonesia.

Seolah-olah tiada pakar Kristian di Malaysia

Tanpa mengemukakan sebarang bukti konkrit, Abd Karim dilaporkan memberi amaran bahawa terdapat paderi Kristian dihantar ke Malaysia dengan pelbagai penyamaran bagi menyesatkan dan memurtadkan umat Islam (The Malaysian Insider, 6 Mei 2014).

Dia mengaku "mengenali seorang paderi yang kini seorang jurulatih bola sepak di Subang Jaya" tetapi dia seolah-olah "tidak ada telur" untuk melaporkan kes seumpama itu kepada pihak berkuasa.

Atau mungkin Abd Karim tidak tahu bahawa sebarang usaha menyebarkan mana-mana agama/ajaran lain kepada penganut Islam di negara ini adalah bertentangan dengan Perkara 11 (4) Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Siapakah Abd Karim ini? Dia yang memegang jawatan setiausaha agung Muafakat sejak 2004, juga setiausaha MuslimUPRo, bekas setiausaha Pertubuhan-pertubuhan Pembela Islam (Pembela), naib presiden Persatuan Pembangunan Ummah Cemerlang, dan pemegang amanah Khalifah Institue.

Dia khabarnya "pakar" dalam bidang kajian "pemurtadan dan gerakan Kristianisasi" serta suatu lagi bidang yang dilabelkannya sebagai "agenda dan ancaman musuh-musuh Islam".

Maka, tidak hairanlah dia menjadi pilihan UiTM dan Mais berbanding Ridhuan Tee, Ibrahim Ali, Zulkifli Noordin dan sebagainya yang mungkin dianggap masih "budak-budak hingusan" dalam menjuarai topik memfitnah orang Kristian dan agama Kristian.

Seorang lagi penceramah dari Indonesia adalah SM Masud yang digelar sebagai "pakar perbandingan agama Kristian-Islam". Dia antara lain khabarnya pernah menterjemah sebuah buku berkaitan kehidupan seks. Menurut buku atur cara seminar, dia menyampaikan ceramah bertajuk "Sejarah Agama Kristian".

Tentulah tidak masuk akal jika penganjur seminar mengatakan tidak ada individu beragama Kristian di Malaysia yang cukup layak untuk menyampaikan ceramah itu. Saya kenal ramai paderi yang arif soal agama Kristian serta lebih fasih bercakap Bahasa Malaysia berbanding rata-rata pemimpin Umno.

Saya yakin bahawa Majlis Gereja-gereja Malaysia (CCM) dan Persekutuan Kristian Malaysia (CFM) boleh menghantar sejumlah pakar yang mampu memberikan maklumat, fakta, penerangan dan penjelasan terbaik mengenai topik "Sejarah Agama Kristian".

Akan tetapi, tentulah UiTM dan Mais tidak akan berbuat demikian kerana langkah itu akan menggagalkan usaha anti-Kristian yang nampaknya memang sudah dirancang penuh rapi sejak awal.

Usaha terancang menghina ajaran Kristian

Apa yang diinginkan penganjur bukanlah pencerahan atau dialog, tetapi semata-mata menyebarkan maklumat palsu demi memfitnah ajaran Kristian. Para peserta seminar perlu pulang dengan rasa benci paling maksimum terhadap semua orang Kristian.

Demikianlah sebahagian daripada reaksi masyarakat pelbagai kaum dan agama yang sempat saya baca di laman rangkaian sosial Facebook sejak berita mengenai seminar itu tersebar di alam maya.

Kenyataan media CCM dan CFM yang disiarkan dalam berita di The Malaysian Insider (7 Mei 2014) turut membidas tindakan penganjur tidak mengundang wakil gereja atau wakil agama Kristian untuk menyampaikan ceramah mengenai agama itu pada seminar berkenaan.

UiTM dan Mais mungkin memberikan alasan "bodoh" dan "kurang cerdik" bahawa selain daripada Insan (bekas paderi Roman Katolik) yang menyampaikan ceramah bertajuk "Ancaman Kristianisasi", mereka turut mengundang seorang bekas biarawati (nun) dari Indonesia.

Irena Handono lahir di Surabaya pada 1954 dan nama asalnya ialah Han Hoo Lie. Dia pada asalnya penganut Roman Katolik serta mendapat pendidikan di Institusi Falsafah Teologi Katolik dan Universiti Katolik Atmajaya.

Wanita Tionghua ini "murtad" daripada agama asal dan memeluk Islam pada 1983 sebelum mengasaskan Irena Center. Secara logik, apabila seorang individu yang meninggalkan agama Kristian diundang menyampaikan ceramah bertajuk "Budaya Kristian", pastilah fitnah yang berniat jahat sahaja akan ditaburkan.

Melihat kepada senarai nama dan maklumat diri para penceramah, tidak hairanlah mengapa UiTM dan Mais secara penuh sedar mengundang mereka. Niat mereka nampaknya seolah-olah tidak lain dan tidak bukan adalah mahu menanam bibit-bibit anti-Kristian dalam jiwa anak-anak Melayu-Islam yang tidak berdosa.

Saya dan Perzeus dipanggil untuk memberikan keterangan kepada pegawai penyiasat jenayah, Inspektor Rohaini Baharom di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Shah Alam pada 16 Mei 2014. Kami diiringi peguam kami, Annou Xavier dan Bernard Scott.

Semasa memberikan keterangan, saya dan Perzeus mengulangi pendirian bahawa polis perlu menyiasat penganjur dan penceramah mengikut Seksyen 298 dan 298A.

Pihak berkuasa perlu mengambil tindakan tegas bagi membendung sebarang anasir jahat yang cuba menggugat perpaduan dan memecah-belah masyarakat. Saya percaya itulah juga keinginan orang ramai walaupun mereka tidak pergi membuat laporan polis.

Sama-sama kita nantikan apa yang akan berlaku selepas ini. Jangan pula UiTM dan Mais "belajar" daripada Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan segera menghantar notis saman kepada portal-portal berita yang menyiarkan reaksi orang ramai terhadap seminar anti-Kristian itu! – 19 Mei, 2014.

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

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

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Pelaksanaan Sea-Basing di Sabah diputuskan dalam masa terdekat

Posted: 19 May 2014 02:27 AM PDT

May 19, 2014

Pelaksanaan sistem Sea-Basing untuk pertingkat keselamatan di perairan Sabah akan diputuskan tidak lama lagi. Gambar fail.Pelaksanaan sistem Sea-Basing untuk pertingkat keselamatan di perairan Sabah akan diputuskan tidak lama lagi. Gambar fail.Cadangan pelaksanaan sistem Sea-Basing bagi meningkatkan tahap keselamatan di perairan Sabah akan diputuskan dalam masa terdekat, kata Panglima Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM), Laksamana Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar.

"Perkara ini dibincangkan dalam mesyuarat Kabinet lepas dan keputusannya akan diumumkan Menteri Pertahanan, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein," katanya kepada pemberita selepas majlis pelancaran program Jiwa Murni Pemuliharaan Muzium TLDM Melaka sempena Hari TLDM ke-80 di Banda Hilir di Melaka, hari ini.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas perkembangan cadangan tersebut yang diumumkannya pada 8 Mei lalu.

Katanya, sistem yang melibatkan penempatan aset ketenteraan di tengah lautan itu berupaya memudahkan bantuan keselamatan disalurkan dengan lebih cepat dan memperkukuhkan keselamatan di perairan Sabah.

Katanya, sistem tersebut juga akan menyediakan penempatan bot pemintas, anggota dan pegawai serta pangkalan kecil TLDM di tengah laut bagi mengawal sebarang pencerobonan keluar atau masuk di perairan tersebut.

Pada masa sama, Abdul Aziz berkata masyarakat diminta bertanggungjawab untuk menyalurkan maklumat berhubung sebarang aktiviti jenayah terutama pencerobohan di perairan Sabah kepada pihak berkuasa.

"Tugas ini bukan hanya tanggungjawab TLDM semata-mata tapi ia merupakan tanggungjawab bersama dan kita berharap tidak ada pihak atau kumpulan yang bersengkokol dengan dalang tersebut," katanya. – Bernama, 19 Mei, 2014.

Ketibaan panda gergasi signifikan dalam konteks hubungan Malaysia - China

Posted: 19 May 2014 02:05 AM PDT

May 19, 2014

Panda gergasi di sebuah zoo di China. Gambar fail.Panda gergasi di sebuah zoo di China. Gambar fail.Ketibaan pasangan panda gergasi pada Mei ini adalah signifikan dalam konteks hubungan antara Malaysia dan China, kata Menteri Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar, Datuk Seri G Palanivel.

Beliau berkata, ini kerana kedua-dua negara bakal merayakan sambutan ulang tahun ke-40 jalinan hubungan diplomatik mereka.

"Ketibaan pasangan panda gergasi pada Mei adalah signifikan memandangkan kedua-dua negara bakal merayakan sambutan ulang tahun ke-40 terjalinnya hubungan diplomatik Malaysia dan China," katanya dalam kenyataan hari ini.

Palanivel berkata, pasangan panda gergasi diberi nama Fu Wa (panda jantan) dan Feng Yi (panda betina) yang dipinjamkan menerusi Program Perjanjian Kerjasama Konservasi Antarabangsa Panda Gergasi dijadualkan tiba di Malaysia pada Rabu.

Pasangan panda itu akan dibawa daripada Chengdu, China dan dijangka tiba di Malaysia melalui Kompleks MASKargo di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA).

"Dari situ, pasangan panda tersebut akan terus dibawa ke Zoo Negara dan bakal dikuarantin selama lebih kurang sebulan di penempatannya yang siap dibina," katanya.

Program Perjanjian Kerjasama Konservasi Antarabangsa Panda Gergasi antara Malaysia dan Republik Rakyat China itu ditandatangani pada 2012.

Melalui program itu, Palanivel berkata Malaysia berpeluang menjalankan penyelidikan konservasi panda gergasi, selain dapat membangun dan melatih kepakaran tempatan.

"Pengalaman serta kepakaran ini boleh digunakan bagi meningkatkan kesedaran mengenai usaha konservasi haiwan, selain menghargai keunikan dan kepentingan konservasi hidupan liar serta biodiversiti," katanya. – Bernama, 19 Mei, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com
 

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