Isnin, 2 Jun 2014

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Food


Krispy Kreme UK creates World Cup-themed doughnuts

Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:15 PM PDT

Krispy Kreme's 'Golden Balls'. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, June 3, 2014.Krispy Kreme's 'Golden Balls'. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, June 3, 2014.Krispy Kreme in the UK is trying to cash in on World Cup fever by sprinkling its chocolate custard doughnuts with gold dust to make the shape of a football and pitching them as "Golden Balls".

The doughnuts will be available in a special "pop and play" game box that comes with a mini football and allows customers to engage in a friendly match of "finger football".

It's the latest football-themed product launch aimed at capitalising on the biggest single-sport competition in the world.

Last week, McDonald's Brazil unveiled its special World Cup sandwiches, a series of seven burgers created to represent national teams that will be competing this year.

The McUSA, for instance, is made with two patties of Angus beef, barbecue sauce, bacon and cheddar, while Brazil is represented by Angus beef, mayonnaise, a "special Brazilian vinaigrette", lettuce and Emmental cheese.

Popular Brazilian beer brand Brahma also released a special commemorative World Cup beer, made from barley sown from the pitch where the national men's and women's football teams train, the Granja Comary.

Meanwhile, in other doughnut news, Dunkin' Donuts will be giving out a free donut with the purchase of a beverage at participating stores across the US for National Donut Day, June 6.

Likewise, the magic words for getting a free treat at Tim Hortons stores in the US are "Happy National Donut Day".

Krispy Kreme's Golden Balls will be available throughout the summer in the UK. – AFP/Relaxnews, June 3, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports


FT continues its march towards Sukma overall title

Posted: 02 Jun 2014 07:29 AM PDT

The Federal Territories (FT) contingent continued to lead the medal tally after the 10th day of the action in the 17th Perlis Sukma.

Though the FT contingent added just one gold medal today, the 48 gold, 33 silver and 44 bronze medals accumulated were way ahead of second placed Terengganu who have 41 gold, 45 silver and 24 bronze medals.

While defending overall champion Terengganu are in second place, former overall champions, Sarawak are in third place with 36 gold, 26 silver and 30 bronze medals.

The 10th day action also saw one SUKMA record shattered in the archery arena when the Sabah team shot down 224 points in the Olympic round (compound) to erase the old mark of 215 set by Sarawak in the 2012 Pahang Sukma.

The Sabah trio, made up of Wong Co Wan, Mecedger Sage Edie and John Reginald, were in their element at the Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin in Pauh to beat Melaka's Muhammad Zainurrin Zainuddin/Muhammad Fazreen Fadzly/Muhammad Nor Faiz Ab Aziz.

Tomorrow, 59 gold medals will be on offer as teams continue their search for gold medals. Most of the sports will draw down their curtains tomorrow as the Sukma will come to a close on Wednesday. – Bernama, June 2, 2014.

Nadal crushes Lajovic to set up Ferrer clash

Posted: 02 Jun 2014 06:42 AM PDT

Defending champion Rafa Nadal (pic) dismantled unseeded Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-1 6-2 6-1 on Monday to set up a French Open quarter-final clash with fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in a repeat of last year's final.

Eight-times champion and world No.1 Nadal improved his Roland Garros win-loss record to a remarkable 63-1 to advance having not dropped a set in Paris this year.

World No. 83 Lajovic, who had not previously lost a set on his French Open debut, quickly went 5-0 down and never recovered, also losing the first four games of the second set to love.

"He played a great tournament," Nadal said of his 23-year-old opponent,

"First time on this court (Philippe Chatrier) is never easy. The court is so big.

"I'm happy with the way I played today. I was able to control the points from the baseline, which is important for me.

"I look forward to playing against David (Ferrer), it is going to be a difficult match," added Nadal, who ended the masterclass on his first match point with a thumping forehand down the line.

Ferrer is one of three players who have beaten Nadal on his favoured clay this season, prevailing in straight sets in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters in April.

It was Ferrer's second victory on the slow surface against Nadal, 10 years after the first one in Stuttgart in their first encounter.

With pop star Prince watching from the stands, Nadal played his part of King of the Clay almost to perfection, a few unusual unforced errors the exception in an otherwise solid game.

Lajovic, the man who lost an Australian Open qualifier two years ago after blowing a 6-2 5-0 40-0 lead, surrendered all hope after a few games.

Nadal, who turns 28 on Tuesday, powered to a 5-0 lead, allowing his opponent only five points before slowing down a bit, only for the Spaniard to step up another gear at the beginning of the second set.

A series of winners, most of them forehands, combined with Lajovic's unforced errors, left the Serbian staring at a possible bagel.

His fine backhand helped him avoid the humiliation and even gave him a break late in the third set, but Nadal, who did not seem troubled by his back pains, had turned his mind towards Wednesday's quarter-final against Ferrer.  – Reuters, June 2, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz


Actress Ann B. Davis, devoted ‘Brady Bunch’ housekeeper, dies

Posted: 01 Jun 2014 05:06 PM PDT

Cast members of the television series 'The Brady Bunch' (left to right) Mike Lookinland, Florence Henderson, Susan Olsen, Ann B. Davis, Maureen McCormick and Christopher Knight accept the TV Land Pop Culture Award during the taping of the 5th Annual TV Land Awards in Santa Monica, California in this file photo from April 14, 2007. – Reuters pic, June 2, 2014.Cast members of the television series 'The Brady Bunch' (left to right) Mike Lookinland, Florence Henderson, Susan Olsen, Ann B. Davis, Maureen McCormick and Christopher Knight accept the TV Land Pop Culture Award during the taping of the 5th Annual TV Land Awards in Santa Monica, California in this file photo from April 14, 2007. – Reuters pic, June 2, 2014.Comic actress Ann B. Davis, who played the devoted housekeeper Alice on the television sitcom "The Brady Bunch" and won two Emmy awards as the forever-single secretary Schultzy on "The Bob Cummings Show", died yesterday at age 88, CNN reported.

Davis fell and hit her head on Saturday morning, CNN reported, citing a close friend of Davis, Bishop William Frey.

She suffered a subdural hematoma and never regained consciousness, Frey told CNN.

Davis's character helped keep a large, blended family functioning on "The Brady Bunch" by offering advice and wisecracks to busy parents and frantic kids, or simply by making meatloaf for eight. She was known for her light blue housekeeper's uniform with a white apron.

Behind the scenes, Davis provided a model of acting professionalism to the show's six child actors, who on occasion were driven more by hormones and mischief than reason.

The "Brady Bunch" was among the first US television shows to focus on a non-traditional family. Robert Reed's character, architect Mike Brady, was a widowed father of three boys. Florence Henderson's character Carol Brady was a single mother – the show was vague as to why – who had three daughters. They get married in the first episode in September 1969.

The series made its debut amid cultural tumult in the United States but remained invariably cheery and avoided controversy during its five seasons on the ABC network. It ran during a TV era populated by caustic sitcoms like "All in the Family", "Maude" and "Sanford and Son".

In 1994, Davis wrote of the wholesome "The Brady Bunch": "Wouldn't we all love to have belonged to a perfect family, with brothers and sisters to lean on and where every problem is solved in 23-1/2 minutes?"

After the cancellation of the original series in 1974, she appeared on later incarnations of the show, including "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour" (1976-1977), "The Brady Brides" (1981), "A Very Brady Christmas" (1988) and "The Bradys" (1990). She also made a cameo appearance in "The Brady Bunch Movie", a successful 1995 big-screen spoof of the series.

She wrote "Alice's Brady Bunch Cookbook" in 1994.

Davis already was a well-known TV actress when she landed the "Brady Bunch" role of Alice Nelson. She thrived as Charmaine "Schultzy" Schultz on "The Bob Cummings Show", which ran from 1955 to 1959.

Her character was a single secretary who had a crush on her boss – a bachelor photographer played by Cummings. She won Emmy awards for her role in 1958 and 1959 and was also nominated in 1956 and 1957.

Davis received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 following the success of the series.

She was born in 1926 in Schenectady, New York, with a twin sister named Harriet. In the 1970s, she stepped away from show business to join a religious community, occasionally returning for roles in the various "Brady Bunch" projects. She never married. – Reuters, June 2, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Features

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Features


Spanish children face worsening poverty amid crisis

Posted: 01 Jun 2014 09:15 PM PDT

Patricia Martin (left), her husband (second left) and children walk away near their home in Vallecas, a neighbourhood of Madrid on May 21, 2014. – AFP pic, June 2, 2014.Patricia Martin (left), her husband (second left) and children walk away near their home in Vallecas, a neighbourhood of Madrid on May 21, 2014. – AFP pic, June 2, 2014.Even before Spain's economic crisis engulfed her home, Patricia Martin struggled to provide for her three children on her husband's street sweeper salary of around 900 euros (RM4,000) a month.

But after his hours were slashed and his income halved two years ago, the family has slipped dangerously towards a life of destitution in their tiny flat in Vallecas, a working class neighbourhood in southern Madrid.

The couple is facing eviction for not paying their rent for over a year and relies on food banks to feed their children.

When it rains, Martin keeps her children at home instead of having them walk one hour to school because they cannot afford the bus fare.

"If I don't have a snack to send with them I pretend I forgot to prepare it," the 30-year-old said as her son, aged seven, and two daughters, aged eight and 10, played in a playground near their home.

"They don't say anything but it's very hard," she added, her eyes swelling with tears. "I try to make the difficult situation they are living as easy to take as possible."

Six years after a massive property boom went bust, wiping out millions of jobs, Spain is facing a sharp rise in child poverty as government spending cuts and sky-high unemployment take their toll.

The number of children at risk of poverty in the country has jumped by half a million since 2007, before the start of the economic crisis, to 2.5 million, according to a study by Spanish children's charity Educo.

Schools are facing the brunt of the rise in child poverty.

At the San Pedro and San Felices school in Burgos in northern Spain, a Catholic charter school, teachers say more children are coming to class without having showered because the water has been turned off at home due to unpaid bills, the school's director, Father Modesto Diez, said.

"They lack electricity and water at home, they live in deficient housing, their basic needs are not met. They come to class badly dressed and without eating properly," he said.

Tensions are rising as a result. Children's charities say the economic downturn has caused cases of child abuse to soar.

A nationwide youth hotline run by the Anar Foundation on Tuesday reported a "worrying" rise in the number of calls it received last year from children suffering physical or psychological abuse at home.

"We believe one of the reasons for this increase in abuse is unemployment and the economic difficulties faced by families, which heightens tensions and increases aggression in families," the group's programme director, Benjamin Ballesteros, told a news conference.

Many parents cannot afford to pay for textbooks and have pulled their children out of the school's canteen service, which provides a hot lunch every day for a monthly fee of 102 euros.

Over 100 children used the service last year. Only 25 are signed up this year, of which 10 are having their fees covered by Educo.

On a recent visit over half the tables in the canteen were empty at lunchtime.

A group of 22 pupils, aged four to 11, were clustered on five tables in a corner as they quietly finished eating a lunch of baked fish, rice, peeled pears and milk.

Many children now go home at lunchtime "and eat whatever is available," Diez said as he surveyed the empty canteen.

Spain's unemployment rate of almost 26%, combined with a drop in salaries and sharp government spending cuts to social programmes has led to a dramatic reversal in living standards, he said.

"It's like in the 50s and 60s, when families had to make do with the income that they had, they worked long hours for low pay," he said.

"We are talking about middle class people, couples where both were working because construction employed a lot of people. They had two salaries of a 1,000 euros, 1,200 euros a month. That has been reduced to no salary at all in many cases."

Educo, which had focused on developing nations like El Salvador and India, said it launched its school lunch subsidy programme in Spain in September after it became aware that more and more Spanish children were surviving on a diet of just rice, potatoes and bread.

"These are the 'new poor'. They are people who until now did not need aid and now they do," said Pepa Domingo, Educo's director of social programmes. "It's very distressing." – AFP, June 2, 2014.

The soothing role of World Cup fever

Posted: 01 Jun 2014 06:07 PM PDT

A man is seen working on the decoration of a street for the upcoming World Cup in Brasilia yesterday. – Reuters pic, June 2, 2014.A man is seen working on the decoration of a street for the upcoming World Cup in Brasilia yesterday. – Reuters pic, June 2, 2014.The World Cup is the holy grail and Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the prophets – it's not just a game for the hundreds of thousands of football fans heading for Brazil.

A growing body of scholars see football playing an under-appreciated role as keeper of society's well-being – providing a sense of identity with an almost religious role.

The late Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said that football is more important than "life and death". But Pele's "Beautiful Game" may also be providing a healthy outlet for tribalistic aggression.

"It provides you with an opportunity to side with your country without being violent to another. So in that way it does replace war," said David Ranc, a French sociologist who specialises in group identity in football.

"It is a non-violent way of resolving conflict... and taking sides where there is not that much at stake."

Ahead of the June 12 start to the World Cup, fans are kitting themselves out with wigs, T-shirts, boas and other regalia, and rehearsing the lyrics to patriotic anthems. All is intended to put up a united national front either at home or in Brazil.

Rather than mere nationalistic zeal, the behaviour may be symptomatic of a deeply entrenched desire to belong, the experts said.

"Identification with a sports team can provide people with an important identity prop... a sense of belonging in what would otherwise be an isolated existence," according to Eric Dunning, a sports sociologist with the University of Leicester.

"It can help to give people a sense of continuity and purpose in contexts which are highly impersonal and beset by what many experience as a bewildering pace of change."

For some, this can even take on religious overtones.

"The fans of a football team form a community of believers that is characterised by distinctively religious forms of behaviour," sports sociologist Gunter Gebauer of the Free University of Berlin told AFP.

It is not uncommon for fans to turn their bedrooms into football shrines, and "the saints are their team's players, for whom they will make harrowing pilgrimages".

Dunning added that sport may have replaced some of the functions once performed by religion.

"It may in part be catering for a type of need which, for increasing numbers of people, is not met elsewhere in the increasingly secular and scientific societies of our age," he writes in his book "Sport Matters".

Despite high emotions, deep hostility to rival teams and the often crushing disappointment that comes with defeat, football matches, overall, are unifying social events, the experts said.

Apart, that is, from outbursts of fan violence which they argue are rare given the huge numbers who watch games around the world every day.

In fact, sports like football developed at pace with civilisation and "came to embody the elimination of some forms of physical violence and the general demand that participants should exercise stricter self-control in regard to physical contact," Dunning said.

Added Ranc, hooliganism is more a function of social inequality than a product of sports rivalry.

"When you study violence in football, it has to do with people who are losing ground socially... people who are marginalised, ostracised, described as an underclass. It has a lot to do with the social climate."

Football allows people from different social and economic spheres to meet and bond around a common passion, experts said.

And one of the things that binds them is the sport's perceived ability to create heroes like Pele, Portugal star Ronaldo and Argentina's Messi, from nothing.

"The stories told in sports are not pure fantasies; individuals who were previously powerless really are elevated, they really do win fame and fortune by their own strength and are thereby allowed to play a role in society that is otherwise closed off to them," said Gebauer.

These factors all contribute to the sport's popularity.

But there is also the speed and skill on display, the excitement it generates, the fact that football is easy to play almost anywhere, does not require specialised equipment, and has relatively simple rules.

"Of course, other sports possess some of the characteristics listed here, but arguably only football has them all," according to Dunning. – AFP/Relaxnews, June 2, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa


AirAsia nafi kurang dana bina ibu pejabat baru

Posted: 02 Jun 2014 01:58 AM PDT

Syarikat penerbangan tambang murah AirAsia menafikan laporan mengalami masalah kekurangan dana dalam pembinaan ibu pejabat baru mereka di klia2.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO) AirAsia, Aireen Omar (gambar) sebaliknya menjelaskan mereka masih menunggu kelulusan pembangunan.

"Kami dalam proses mendapatkan kelulusan daripada pihak berkuasa tempatan untuk bangunan baru kami di klia2 dan tidak berhadapan sebarang isu dana seperti dilaporkan artikel tersebut," kata Aireen.

Akhbar berbahasa Inggeris, New Straits Times dalam laporan semalam mendakwa sumber mendedahkan AirAsia berdepan dengan kemelut untuk membina bangunan yang akan menempatkan ibu pejabat mereka.

Aireen menjelaskan punca mereka terpaksa mencari lokasi baru untuk membina bangunan tersebut adalah atas faktor masalah teknikal.

"AirAsia diminta mengurangkan ketinggian bangunan baru apabila menara kawalan klia2 ditukar ke tapak baru atas arahan pihak berkuasa.

"Atas sebab itu, tapak asal dan rancangan membina bangunan baru menjadi tidak ekonomi secara strukturnya," kata Aireen.

Bagaimanapun, Aireen memberi jaminan pembinaan bangunan baru akan mula dibina pada Julai 2014.

"Lokasi baru dikenalpasti dan rancangan terpaksa dilukis dan dihantar semula untuk kelulusan yang menyebabkan tempoh masa siap bangunan baru AirAsia terpaksa ditukar.

"Pembinaan bangunan baru dijangka bermula Julai 2014 dan siap pada tahun depan."

Pihak AirAsia juga menafikan dakwaan dalam artikel tersebut mengatakan mereka memohon kepada perdana menteri untuk mengekalkan pejabat korporat AirAsia di tapak lama, Lapangan Terbang Murah (LCCT).

Namun, Aireen berkata pihak AirAsia ada berkomunikasi dengan Malaysia Airlines Holdings Berhad (MAHB) untuk mengekalkan sementara pejabat mereka di LCCT. – 2 Jun, 2014.

Segera selesaikan isu kekurangan bekalan minyak masak, tepung gandum

Posted: 02 Jun 2014 01:43 AM PDT

 Persatuan pengguna menggesa KPDNKK mendapatkan maklumat terperinci mengenai kenaikan dua barangan asas iaitu minyak masak dan tepung gandum. – Gambar fail The Malaysian Insider, 2 Jun, 2014. Persatuan pengguna menggesa KPDNKK mendapatkan maklumat terperinci mengenai kenaikan dua barangan asas iaitu minyak masak dan tepung gandum. – Gambar fail The Malaysian Insider, 2 Jun, 2014.Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan (KPDNKK) digesa menyiasat dan menyelesaikan isu kekurangan bekalan minyak masak dan tepung gandum yang didakwa berlaku di utara Semenanjung.

Presiden Gabungan Persatuan-persatuan Pengguna Malaysia (Fomca) Datuk N. Marimuthu berkata setakat ini tiada aduan diterima mengenai masalah kekurangan bekalan bahan berkenaan di negeri-negeri lain.

"Pihak KPDNKK kena siasat dengan segera dan bagi maklumat terperinci kenapa perkara ini berlaku. Tiba-tiba cerita ini meletup sedangkan di negeri lain tidak ada masalah bekalan kedua-dua barangan keperluan itu," katanya hari ini.

Pandangan Marimutuhu dikongsi Ketua Aktivis Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM) Datuk Nadzim Johan yang berkata setiap kali menjelang musim perayaan, masalah kekurangan bekalan barangan keperluan akan timbul.

Kata Nadzim: "Saya tidak pasti apa sebabnya tetapi pihak bertanggungjawab kena jalan siasatan dengan segera.

"Saya risau kalau ada pihak tertentu cuba mengaut keuntungan lebih dengan mengurangkan bekalan itu supaya harganya meningkat."

Mengikut laporan media yang memetik sebuah persatuan pengguna di Kedah, masalah kekurangan bekalan minyak masak dan tepung gandum dikatakan berlaku sejak dua minggu lalu. – Bernama, 2 Jun, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion


Siapa yang tidak mengundi Dyana?

Posted: 01 Jun 2014 06:12 PM PDT

Di PRU13, Mah Siew Keong mendapat 20,086 undi di Teluk Intan. Di PRK Teluk Intan baru-baru ini, Mah mendapat lebihan 71 undi kepada 20,157 undi.

Lebihan 71 undi membawa nasib berbeza untuk Mah, di mana beliau berjaya mengalahkan calon popular, Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud daripada DAP dan menguasai semula kerusi Parlimen Teluk Intan yang pernah dimilikinya sebelum 2008.

Jadi, di mana 7,242 undi (mantan ahli Parlimen Teluk Intan Seah Leong Peng menang dengan 7,313 majoriti, dan penulis menganggap terdapat 71 undi yang berpaling tadah ke Mah) yang sepatutnya memenangkan Dyana Sofya di Teluk Intan?

DAP berusaha habis-habisan untuk memenangkan Dyana. Tetapi mengapa penyokong mereka tidak kembali untuk mengundi?

Silap media pro-pembangkang dan permainan di media sosial

"Dyana pasti menang besar." – Itulah persepsi yang dibina oleh media pro-pembangkang dan di media sosial seperti di Facebook dan Twitter sebelum Dyana dinamakan sebagai calon lagi.

Dyana diangkat seperti seorang puteri istimewa. Popularitinya bukan sahaja naik mendadak, malah melonjak ke langit dalam sekelip mata.

Mereka yang suka berlegar di Internet, terutamanya mereka daripada kalangan pro-pembangkang akan merasakan kemenangan Dyana sudah pasti, cuma majoriti sahaja yang perlu dirisaukan.

Bahkan, DAP sendiri hanya memberikan ramalan bahawa majoriti kemenangan mereka di Teluk Intan berkemungkinan kurang daripada 1,000 undi.

Perkataan kalah langsung tidak terlintas di minda mereka. Ini juga yang tersemai di minda pengundi luar Teluk Intan.

Melihat bagaimana Ramkarpal boleh meraih jumlah majoriti yang tidak jauh beza daripada jumlah yang dicatat bapanya di Bukit Gelugor meskipun peratusan keluar mengundi hanyalah 56.05%, menyebabkan para pengundi luar Teluk Intan pula merasakan Dyana juga akan selamat kerana DAP menang besar dengan 7,313 majoriti di 2013.

Perasaan tidak perlu kembali mengundi diperhebatkan lagi apabila portal pro-pembangkang pula menceritakan bagaimana sesaknya Teluk Intan di hari terakhir kempen pada Jumaat malam Sabtu.

Malah, ada media pro-pembangkang yang melaporkan bahawa kesesakan jalanraya itu adalah petanda bahawa pengundi luar sedang berpusu-pusu kembali ke kampung halaman mereka untuk mengundi. Ternyata mereka tersilap.

Bukan itu sahaja, para pengundi luar yang baru habis bekerja di lewat petang Jumaat pula disajikan dengan gambar ceramah raksasa DAP yang dihadiri 10 ribu orang berbanding dengan hanya kurang seratus orang di BN yang berlegar di Facebook dan Twitter.

Motivasi pengundi luar untuk kembali mengundi terus merudum apabila media pro-pembangkang melaporkan perbandingan hadirin ceramah terakhir antara DAP dan BN.

Bukan itu sahaja, persepsi tersebut diperkuatkan lagi dengan komen-komen daripada pakar penganalisa yang meramalkan Teluk Intan akan kekal di tangan DAP.

Bagi mereka yang mengikuti laporan PRK Teluk Intan secara dekat, sudah pasti mereka menganggap DAP sudah menang.

Memandangkan DAP tidak berkempen untuk mengekalkan majoriti kemenangan yang ada, malah mereka menghantar mesej bahawa sasaran majoriti hanya 1,000, ramai pengundi luar beranggapan sasaran itu boleh dicapai tanpa kehadiran mereka.

Senjata yang sepatutnya membantu DAP untuk memenangkan Dyana akhirnya makan tuan.

Penasihat DAP, Lim Kit Siang sudah awal-awal lagi menghidu perkara ini akan berlaku.

Dari awal lagi, Kit Siang menegaskan bahawa Dyana adalah 'underdog'. Namun, media pro-pembangkang tidak mengikut rentak catur politik Kit Siang, malah Dyana terus diangkat menjulang tinggi ke langit.

Ini adalah faktor terbesar yang menyumbang kepada kekalahan mengejut Dyana.

Dimensi baru politik perkauman

Kekalahan Dyana membuka satu lembaran baru dalam perspektif politik perkauman.

Daripada lensa kaum, PRK Teluk Intan memperlihatkan orang Melayu yang menyokong Umno sanggup memberikan undi untuk memenangkan calon Cina daripada Gerakan (Pakatan Rakyat hanya mencatat kenaikan 3% di kalangan pengundi Melayu).

Manakala orang Cina yang menyokong DAP pula tidak sanggup memberikan undi untuk memenangkan calon Melayu DAP apabila Pakatan Rakyat mencatat penurunan sebanyak 15% daripada pengundi Cina.

Umno boleh menggunakan PRK Teluk Intan sebagai bukti untuk mematahkan serangan parti-parti yang menuduh mereka rasis.

Yang rasis bukan mereka, tetapi dua NGO yang bertopengkan bangsa dan agama itu – begitulah agaknya jawapan mereka kerana dua NGO tersebut langsung tidak kedengaran di PRK Teluk Intan.

Yang pasti, PRK Teluk Intan membuktikan Umno (dan juga BN) tidak perlukan sokongan kedua-dua NGO itu untuk memenangi hari rakyat Malaysia semula.

DAP juga boleh mematahkan tuduhan bahawa mereka rasis kerana mereka berani meletakkan Dyana sebagai calon.

Yang rasis bukan mereka, tapi segelintir  pengundi Cina yang hanya sanggup mengundi mengikut bangsa walaupun berlainan parti.

Dan DAP (dan juga Pakatan Rakyat) tidak perlukan sokongan golongan ini jika mereka betul inginkan cita-cita menjadi parti berbilang kaum berjaya satu hari nanti.

Kerana jika DAP akur pada kehendak golongan ini, sudah tentu hasrat mencalonkan lebih banyak Dyana yang boleh menukar imej DAP mustahil untuk dilakukan.

Itu hikmah terbesar di sebalik keputusan PRK Teluk Intan bagi BN dan juga PR.

Semoga Dyana dan keluarga tabah mengharungi kehidupan sehinggalah PRU14 tiba. – 2 Jun, 2014.

Don’t take voters for granted

Posted: 01 Jun 2014 05:03 PM PDT

Many netizens had put high hopes for DAP's Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud to win the by-election in Teluk Intan on May 31. However, much to their surprise, the Gerakan won the by-election with a majority of merely 238 votes.

Undoubtedly, this was one of the toughest by-elections in our electoral history. The DAP had taken a big risk, fielding a young, inexperienced politician as a candidate.

Moreover, as a party whose majority are Chinese, the DAP fielded a Malay, while Barisan Nasional picked a local, Datuk Mah Siew Keong, as the candidate. Psychologically, elder voters who have been staying in Teluk Intan all this while would have felt more comfortable with Mah, as he had strong family and friends connection in his hometown. Tactically, the BN made the right move.

However, the difference of 238 votes, which is less than the spoilt votes of more than 700 votes, sends another signal. After all, it was not an easy fight for the Gerakan. DAP's courage in taking the risk by fielding Dyana in its attempt to break the racial barrier deserves to be praised. The close by-election results underline the unpredictable and dynamic political landscape in the country.

I view this by-election result positively.

The voters in Teluk Intan have voted Mah, a more experienced politician compared to Dyana to serve their constituency. Dyana, on the other hand, did not appear convincing enough in defending her manifesto. It also sends the signal that it is no longer easy to be an "instant superstar" like what happened during the 2008 political tsunami. Whoever wishes to win an election, the candidate must ensure that he or she has the necessary credibility that the voters demand.

While the trend of new politics is a good sign for the future of the country, this by-election proves that the voters have chosen quality of the candidate over the political party.

Gerakan, also a Chinese-based political party, is a party that is not being taken seriously by many voters due to their many failures in the past. The DAP, however, received a much stronger support in Teluk Intan.

It is an indication that voters now cannot be taken for granted. Their level of political awareness is increasing and they are aware that they will decide who serves their constituency.

Moreover, the voters too considered practicality. With merely 238 votes distance between the two candidates, this shows a healthy competition.

In future, any candidate in a by-election or general election will need to equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and skills. The small votes difference and low turnout in Teluk Intan – as many young voters did not return to vote – showed that voters were ready to give an opportunity to the young politician.

The lesson is that young politicians now could not take the 2008 political tsunami as a precedent, because at that time, most voters went mainly for the party, and not the candidate. It was in that elections that Malaysia produced many "instant" politicians, some who successfully stayed on until today, while others have not been able to win the people's hearts due to their lack of experience in handling "fame".

Sadly, the by-election in Teluk Intan also shows that communal politics is still very much in place in the country. This is a very tough challenge for the opposition coalition to make a breakthrough. Looking at the broader picture ahead of GE14, both the ruling and opposition coalitions will have to come up with new strategies and tactics to attract voters.

In a nutshell, no political party or individual is able to predict the outcome of elections, and most importantly, they should not take voters for granted.

Congratulations to Mah, and to Dyana and other young politicians. Do not give up as Malaysia needs both the veteran and young politicians to provide the best service to the country. – June 2, 2014.

* 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

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Food


Kangaroo brains on menu as first Aussie cookbook goes on show

Posted: 01 Jun 2014 05:56 PM PDT

This file photo taken September 14, 2006 shows a man holding a wombat at a zoo near Australia's Phillip Island. If you have ever wanted to prepare a meal of kangaroo brains fried in emu fat with a side dish of roasted wombat – there's a cookbook in Australia just for you. – AFP pic, June 2, 2014.This file photo taken September 14, 2006 shows a man holding a wombat at a zoo near Australia's Phillip Island. If you have ever wanted to prepare a meal of kangaroo brains fried in emu fat with a side dish of roasted wombat – there's a cookbook in Australia just for you. – AFP pic, June 2, 2014.If you have ever wanted to prepare a meal of kangaroo brains fried in emu fat with a side dish of roasted wombat, there's a cookbook in Australia just for you.

The "English and Australian Cookery Book" – hailed as the country's first recipe book using native ingredients – has gone on show in the southern state of Tasmania, 150 years after it was first published.

One recipe reads: "Pan Jam: Roast kangaroos' tails in the ashes with the skin on; when nearly done, scrape them well, and divide at the joints. Then put them in a pan with a few slices of fat bacon, to which add a few mushrooms, pepper etc. Fry gently and serve. First-rate tack."

The recipe's author Edward Abbott compiled the book in the mid-1800s during a period of financial hardship in the hope it could earn him a quick buck, said Ross Latham, who manages the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office.

Other recipes in the book – which had the subtitle "cookery for the many, as well as for the 'upper ten thousand'" – included "Slippery Bob", a dish of kangaroo brains fried in emu fat, and one for roast emu, which Abbott said tasted like coarse beef.

But while Abbott was able to get the book published, it failed to generate any interest and he died soon after without the monetary gain he hoped for, Latham said.

He added that the book, which is on display at the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts in Tasmania's capital Hobart until August, was a reflection of the challenges early settlers and convicts faced in Van Diemen's Land – Tasmania's original name.

"In the early days of white colonialism in Van Diemen's Land, because agriculture took a lot of time to blossom – as in be sustainable, the convicts for example were out there pretty much fending for themselves and so the whole notion of eating local wildlife wouldn't have been that uncommon," Latham said.

The Allport family, which bequeathed the building where the museum displaying the cookbook is based, were also pioneers of native cuisine, the archivist said, adding that the exhibition was named after one family recipe called "stuffing the porcupine".

"They cooked an echidna and Mary Allport wrote it in her journal as 'stuffing the porcupine'. She used a Scottish cookbook that she brought out from England with her and she described it as tasting like suckling pig," Latham said.

Australia is home to a unique array of animals not found anywhere else in the world, including koalas, echidnas, dingos, platypuses and wombats. – AFP/Relaxnews, June 2, 2014.

5 tips for getting kids to eat more fruit

Posted: 01 Jun 2014 05:21 PM PDT

Although most children like fruit, getting them to eat at least five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per day can be a challenge. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, June 2, 2014.Although most children like fruit, getting them to eat at least five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per day can be a challenge. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, June 2, 2014.Summer is around the corner, and there is no better time of year for enjoying fresh fruits and vegetables. Between juicy melons and colourful berries, the season offers something for even the pickiest eaters. But even in the summer, getting children to eat enough fruit can be a challenge.

Only 2% of American children meet the CDC's recommended targets for fruit and vegetable intake, according to the website of the Fruits and Veggies – More Matters initiative. And while vegetables can sometimes be a hard sell, most children actually enjoy eating fruit. Here are five tips for encouraging them to eat more of it.

1. Serve children the fruits they like, even if it is at the expense of variety. There is no reason why kids who love bananas shouldn't have one every day. Eventually, parents can add variety by combining a favourite fruit with new ones.

2. Fruit can be eaten at any time of day as a snack, and not just as a dessert. Consider serving fruit to kids with breakfast, as an after-school snack, or even in a salad with dinner.

3. Set a good example. It is well established that children tend to imitate their parents' behaviour, particularly at mealtimes. So parents should set the example by eating plenty of fruit themselves.

4. Prepare fruit in front of children or involve them in the process. Whether it's scooping out melon balls for fruit salad, washing berries, or coring apples, giving children a task in preparing fruit will make them more likely to enjoy eating the result.

5. Provide easy access to fruit. Keep a bowl of fruit on the kitchen table and allow kids to help themselves. For children who enjoy eating fruit, sometimes the best way to boost their intake is simply to remind them to eat it when they're hungry. – AFP/Relaxnews, June 2, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com
 

Malaysia Insider Online

Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved