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Malaysian women’s hockey team set world record at SEA Games Posted: 14 Dec 2013 05:30 AM PST December 14, 2013 Malaysia has created a world record in hockey when the national women's hockey squad thrashed Cambodia 36-0 in a second preliminary SEA Games match in Myanmar today. The national squad scored a goal at an average of two minutes, with 18 goals in the first half and another 18 goals in the second half in the 70-minute match. Earlier the record for the most number of goals scored was held by Argentina when they defeated Peru 26-0 in the South American Women Hockey Championships in Santiago, Chile on March 23, 2003. Yesterday, Thailand equalled the record when they beat Cambodia 26-0. In the match at the Theinphyu Hockey Stadium, Noor Hasliza Md Ali emerged as the best scorer with six goals in the 14th, 25th, 42nd, 43rd, 62nd and 64th minutes while Nuraini Abdul Rashid netted five goals (4th, 5th, 39th, 56th and 67th minutes). Fazillah Sylbester Silin also contributed five goals in the 15th, 31st, 35th, 55th and 60th minute while Nobaili Hashim scored four goals in the 16th, 30th, 39th and 65th minute. Norazlin Sumantri slotted in four goals in the 12th, 21st, 25th and 60th while skipper Nadia Abd Rahman scored two goals in the 5th and 51st, Norhidayah Bokhari (21st and 28th); Rabiatul Adawiyah Mohamed (40th and 55th). The other five goals came from Norashikin Halim who scored in the 46th minute, Nurul Nabila Mansur in the 23rd minute, Raja Norsharina Raja Shabuddin in the 18th minute, Siti Nuramira Rohani in the 70th minute and Surizan Awang Noh in the 52nd minute. A Cambodian player also scored an own goal to put Malaysia 36 goals up. National coach Mohd Nasihin Nublin Ibrahim said the mega win was shocking and the best warm-up before facing Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia in the subsequent matches. "I expected the squad to win but not with such a massive scoreline and the players have to maintain their form for the remaining matches. Malaysia will next meet Singapore on Monday, Thailand on Tuesday and Indonesia on Thursday. - Bernama, December 14, 2013.

Sepak takraw players uninspiring, says coach Posted: 13 Dec 2013 11:14 PM PST December 14, 2013 Although Malaysia's men's regu won against Laos 21-18 and 21-19 in their opening match in the group stage in the Myanmar SEA Games at the Wunna Theikdi B Indoor Stadium here today, team coach Jamaluddin Hassan was clearly a very disappointed man. "The players were way off the mark and making many mistakes, our victory today was due to pure luck and not because they played well," he said when approached by reporters after the match. He added that he felt ashamed when the other coaches asked him "what had happened to the Malaysian team". This is because Malaysia has always been seen as a powerhouse in the sport. Asked about media reports that he planned to quit as coach following the dismal performance by the sepak takraw contingent, he said that he was just concentrating on the Myanmar SEA Games for now and would "make a decision at the appropriate time." Yesterday, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had said the contingent's performance was not unexpected and he wanted all stakeholders to get back to the drawing board to bring the team "out of the doldrums". - Bernama, December 14 , 2013.

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Refurbished Olympic Museum probes the secrets of sport Posted: 14 Dec 2013 01:48 AM PST December 14, 2013 The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, has completed its renovations and will be re-opened to the public on December 21. - AFP pic, December 14, 2013.Fancy measuring up against the mighty Usain Bolt, or hitting the track with your heart beating like a champion's? The Olympic Museum helps visitors unlock the secrets of sporting success. The museum in Lausanne, the hub of the Olympic movement, has been metamorphosed during a two-year shutdown and is due to reopen to the public on December 21. Lying on the shores of Lake Geneva, it is the mother ship of 25 Olympic museums scattered around the globe. The 55 million Swiss franc (RM200 million) renovation has gone beyond the purely physical and technological, thoroughly rethinking the way the museum traces the history of Olympianism. In a radical change from the previous chronological time-line, visitors will now be treated to thematic exhibits, starting with the ancient Greek Temple of Zeus in Olympus. "We're the museum of an idea, a culture and a philosophy called Olympianism. That doesn't stop at pure competition or physical activity. It goes beyond sport," underlined the museum's director Francis Gabet. Displayed like icons in the museum are master-copies of all the medals of the modern Olympics, starting with the first edition in Athens in 1896, as well as every Olympic torch, first used in Berlin in 1936 in a return to the games' ancient religious roots. The 1936 Olympics are best known for the quartet of gold medals won by black American athlete Jessie Owens, whose powerful performances raised the hackles of Nazi Germany's dictator Adolf Hitler. One of Owens' golds was sold recently at auction for almost US$1.5 million (RM4.8 million), and the museum dreamed of being able to put such a powerful sporting symbol on display. "The question arose as to whether we should join the bidding race. But for us, a medal is priceless and there's a risk of encouraging commercialism," said Gabet. A host of objects on exhibition in the museum are indelibly associated with gold. They include the Carmen-style dress of German figure skater Katarina Witt, the retro-style skis of Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy, the outfit of Japanese gymnast Kohei Uchimura, and the fencing foil and kit of Germany's Thomas Bach, the new head of the International Olympic Committee. "Understand what lies behind the glitz" The museum does not seek to be a Hall of Fame of Olympians, however. "We don't set out to deny the existence of stars, but our aim is to help understand what lies behind the glitz," said Gabet. In the museum's grounds, a 100-metre corridor enables visitors to appreciate the speed of Bolt, the world's fastest man, with speeding shafts of light replicating his 9.58-second world record. Thanks to interactive displays, it is easy to imagine oneself as a champion parading at the Olympic Games opening ceremony, living in the Olympic Village and then emotionally entering the stadium. "Time just isn't the same when your in competition. For some, it slows down and for others, it speeds up. That's what athletes call 'getting into the zone', a mental state of hyper-concentration just before the starting pistol," Gabet explained. Leaving the museum, visitors have a chance to reflect on the true words of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the French founding father of the modern Olympics, whose statue stands proudly in front of the building. "The important thing in life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well," he once said. - AFP, December 14, 2013.

Marathon Man: The real cost of running races Posted: 13 Dec 2013 04:25 PM PST December 14, 2013 It was around Mile 25 of the Brooklyn Marathon that it hit me. I'm not talking about The Wall — although that definitely hit me, too, during the cold and drizzly morning of Nov 17. By that point of the 26.2-mile race around Brooklyn's Prospect Park, my body felt like it was disintegrating and that I was running on some kind of comical wooden stilts. Meanwhile, my mind had gone to a very dark place, praying to every deity and ancestor I could think of. No, I'm talking about being hit with a central irony: I had paid good money to put myself in this situation. And lots of it. There was the four-month marathon training program, run out of my local Brooklyn running store, JackRabbit Sports: RM1,019.44 ($315.). There were my running shoes, Brooks Glycerin models (two pair), that I beat into the ground with around 35 miles of training a week: RM485.45 ($150) each. There was the marathon entry fee itself, RM291.27 ($90.). Then there was various gear, like synthetic shirts and socks, required so that I didn't chafe my skin into a bloody mess multiple times a week: RM647.26 ($200). Don't forget the entry fees for preparatory races, like an October half-marathon I did in Central Park: RM323.63 ($100). And there were all those gels and Gatorades I ingested during training, to get enough calories to be able to cross the finish line: RM161.82 ($50). Then there was the incalculable time I spent running around Prospect Park on this quixotic goal — instead of, say, playing more soccer or Monopoly with my two young sons. All in all, I plowed over RM3,236.32 ($1,000) into this idea of pushing my 41-year-old body to its limits, and just for a single race. Not that I regret it for a second. I had never even considered a marathon as a physical possibility, and now I've done it. That's a powerful thing to know and experience. But it didn't come cheap. And I'm not alone in paying that price. One of my running coaches, Brooklyn's Cipriana Cuevas, ran multiple marathons this year. Car rental, hotel and entry fee for Boston (she crossed the finish line mere minutes before the bombs went off): RM2,750.87 ($850). Chicago flight, hotel and entry fee: RM2,184.52 ($675). Philadelphia: Another RM1,035.62 ($320). Tack on assorted purchases of RM647.26 ($200) for each trip, and you're quickly into the thousands of dollars. Including all her gear and fees for non-marathon races, Cuevas estimates she dropped well over RM9,708.97 ($3,000) on her running habit in the last year. "It's a surprise and not in a nice way," says the 28-year-old, an income auditor for a major Manhattan hotel. "I probably shouldn't be spending that much on a hobby. "Honestly, I didn't take any non-running-related vacations this year, and I don't spend a lot in general," she says. "So the fact that my personal luxury is also good for my health is a big plus." We're only a couple of running freaks among many, of course. Almost 30 million Americans went running on at least 50 days in 2012, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. That's an increase of about 3% over the year before. Of course, you don't have to spend quite as much as I did in pursuit of the marathon goal. There are free online training courses, you can always run in your trusty old sneakers and sweats, and even gain free entry by running for philanthropic groups like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. My little running adventure also did some public good, as I raised RM7,369.11 ($2,277) from friends and family to help preserve and promote the Haida language. It's an indigenous tongue spoken by only a few dozen people, many of whom are in their 70s and 80s, living on the islands of Haida Gwaii off the northwest coast of British Columbia. Like many native languages, it's in grave danger of disappearing forever, and I did what I could to help. Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't have been more efficient to forego all the fundraising emails and all those sweaty afternoons on the track and just donate all that money directly. Of course, that's a hypothetical no runner ever really considers. Once the habit is in your blood you'll do whatever it takes, and spend whatever is required, to come face-to-face with your absolute limits and defeat them all over again. I finished at an exhausted and rain-soaked 3:34, by the way, and immediately swore never to do another marathon. Since then I've already gone back on that pledge — and signed up for the Central Park marathon in February. I just wish this addiction were cheaper. - Chris Taylor/Reuters, December 14, 2013.

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Starting high, the weekend may live up to its promise Posted: 13 Dec 2013 06:09 PM PST December 14, 2013 As a player, Shebby Singh won everything there was to win in Malaysia football, and represented the country on the international stage. After the midweek European fixtures and the expected progress of English clubs into the knockout stages, it is time to take a peek at the domestic fixtures that once again throw up intriguing matches. A better start there could not be with the big one in the City of Manchester, when a fluent Arsenal visit the Etihad. The Emirates versus Etihad, the competition comes down from the skies to see which is the better team on grass. But before that, let us look at quite a few tantalising ties to look forward to this weekend. The contrast At Stamford Bridge, Tony Pulis will bring his brand of simple but effective football to battle the defensively insecure Chelsea. There may not be a Peter Crouch for the Eagles but expect Crystal Palace to want to play it long early and often. Regardless, expect the individual brilliance of the Chelsea attack to turn this into a rout quickly. Jose Mourinho will also be looking to take advantage of any slip-ups Manchester City and Arsenal may make, either keeping pace or cutting into the lead Arsenal have over the rest of the league. The football This will certainly be at White Hart Lane with Liverpool the visitors. Look forward to an open attacking game as Liverpool play to win while the Spurs try not to lose. A certain fragility seems to creep into the Liverpool defence and this should give a chance for Spurs to be a little brave and play with belief. Andre Villas Boas will be looking to continue a good run of results, while Brendan Rogers has an early chance to watch his side perform post-Steven Gerrard (I know, he is only out for a few weeks… he is 33, however, and those thinking he could be converted into an Andrea Pirlo like playmaker are far too naive!) with Luis Suarez looking, as he always does, to bang in a few. The interesting How will Newcastle United fare against a sleek and smooth Southampton? Well, the Saints have had two very good performances and take on a Newcastle team that has been playing well too. This could be high scoring with both teams taking turns to attack. A potentially thrilling match which could very well be won in midfield, with Cheik Tiote and Yoann Cabaye tasked with preventing the Saints from turning this into a tiki-taka fest.   The cracker The Hammers to put Sunderland under the cosh!  West Ham United need the points and Sunderland have fragile minds at the moment. Having scored but still vulnerable at the back, the Black Cats need some luck to favour them but Sam Allardyce makes his own luck or will have to this weekend, with his position as manager looking more and more tenuous by the match. Gus Poyet will realise that this is his team's chance to grab all three points - putting three past Chelsea but still ending up on the losing side, Sunderland need to grab a result, failing to do so potentially landing a hammer blow on team morale. The biggie Two of Europe's finest meet and it spells entertainment. Manchester City are enthralling at home, and with a good run of away results highlighted by the comeback in Munich, welcome an Arsenal side which still play arguably the best football in England right now. A defeat to Napoli notwithstanding, Arsene Wenger will know that sitting back and absorbing pressure at the Etihad will end disastrously. Expect a continental showcase, a true testament to the development of the Premier League as the total number of Englishmen on the pitch will be no more than a handful. – December 14, 2013. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Umno adalah cermin kerajaan Posted: 13 Dec 2013 03:03 PM PST December 14, 2013 Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed is a three-term MP for Pulai and the new PAC chairman. Apart from being in the new politics, he also writes for The Malaysian Insider while debating other matters at www.jazlan.net Umno adalah cermin kerajaan dan begitu juga kerajaan adalah cermin Umno.  Tiada siapa yang boleh menafikan hakikat berkenaan dan ia sama juga apabila diperkatakan di Selangor (PKR), Pulau Pinang (DAP) dan Kelantan (PAS). Justeru, apa yang dilaungkan, dibahaskan dan diperkatakan dalam ruang lingkup Umno, ia mencerminkan apa yang berlaku dalam kerajaan sama ada daripada segi dasar, pelaksanaaan serta tindakannya. Masih segar daripada Perhimpunan Agung Umno (PAU) 2013 yang berakhir Sabtu minggu lalu, ramai pemerhati yang melihat Umno mula mengalihkan landasan perjuangannya daripada sebuah parti berhaluan tengah atau "moderate" serta sederhana sejak penubuhannya pada 11 Mei 1946 kepada sebuah parti yang boleh dilabel berhaluan 'kanan'.  Sila baca artikel saya sebelum ini, bertajuk "Ke Mana Haluan Umno Menjelang PRU14". PAU 2013 mencerminkan serta menceritakan segala-galanya apa yang dimahukan 2,500 perwakilan mengenai perjuangan berterusan yang lebih radikal dalam memperjuangkan orang Melayu serta agama Islam. Namun timbul juga persoalan adakah sejak penubuhannya 67 tahun lalu serta kelahiran Umno semula pada 1988, perjuangan mengenai bangsa Melayu dan agama Islam menjadi selantang atau seradikal ini, dalam parti terbesar orang Melayu di Malaysia. Dengan jumlah ahli sebanyak 3.5 juta orang, adakah Umno yakin bahawa inikah perjuangan yang dimahukan 67% orang Melayu di negara ini dalam menjamin parti terus berkuasa selepas Pilihan Raya Umum (PRU) 14. Ketika rakyat negara ini, begitu kritikal terhadap isu-isu yang membabitkan ketirisan, penyelewengan, salah guna kuasa serta rasuah yang dikatakan berleluasa dalam kerajaan...ketika rakyat negara ini, bergelut untuk memahami rasional terhadap dasar rasionalisasi subsidi yang menyaksikan kos sara hidup meningkat, tiada perwakilan Umno dalam PAU 2013, yang benar-benar serius untuk berbahas mengenai isu-isu berkenaan sama ada ketika membahaskan ucapan dasar Presiden Umno atau dalam perbahasan usul ekonomi, pendidikan serta agama. Terus terang, selaku Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kira-Kira Wang Negara (PAC) yang diberi kepercayaan oleh Perdana Menteri, Dato' Sri Najib Razak untuk memastikan perbelanjaan serta hasil negara benar-benar digunakan sebaiknya demi kepentingan rakyat, saya kecewa dengan apa yang berlaku ketika PAU 2013. Perwakilan Umno seharusnya menggunakan medan PAU 2013 untuk menyakin serta membuktikan kepada rakyat bahawa kemenangan BN dalam PRU13, adalah titik perubahan ke arah Malaysia yang  lebih baik. Seharusnya, PAU 2013 dijadikan lapangan atau medan untuk perwakilan serta pemimpin Umno menunjukkan keseriusan parti untuk terus menjadi cermin kerajaan yang menentang keras segala bentuk penyelewengan, rasuah, salah guna kuasa serta ketirisan dalam kerajaan demi kesejahteraan rakyat secara keseluruhannya pada waktu kini dan masa depan. Ini yang sebenarnya dimahukan rakyat ketika pemimpin-pemimpin Umno melaungkan bahawa Umno adalah parti untuk rakyat jelata. Keluh kesah rakyat terhadap isu-isu ini, juga yang mendorong  Ketua Pemuda Umno, Khairy Jamaluddin membangkitkan mengenai betapa kerajaan perlu serius dalam menangani segala apa yang dibangkitkan dalam Laporan Ketua Audit Negara (LKAN). Syabas saya ucapkan kepada KJ yang memahami denyut nadi rakyat serta kehendak rakyat sebenarnya, apa yang dimahukan rakyat dalam perjuangan Umno pada waktu ini. Saya khuatir dengan laungan radikal untuk memperjuangkan kepentingan Melayu serta agama Islam, akan mengakibatkan berlaku perubahan terhadap dasar pelaburan asing negara. Ketika ekonomi Malaysia dilihat bergantung kuat terhadap Pelaburan Terus Asing (FDI), kesederhanaan Umno dan kerajaan dalam agenda Bumiputera serta perjuangan menegakkan agama Islam perlu selari serta seiring. Selama ini, Malaysia dilihat dunia sebagai sebuah negara Islam yang sederhana dengan perjuangan Umno turut membela nasib agama serta kaum lain. Atas sebab itu juga, Malaysia sering dijadikan "role model" negara Islam di mana rakyat berbilang kaum serta agama hidup aman harmoni serta menghormati antara satu sama lain. Kesederhanaan perjuangan Umno dalam memperjuangkan agenda Bumiputera serta agama Islam dijadikan sebagai dasar kerajaan dalam memastikan pengagihan kekayaan antara kaum sentiasa seimbang. Ia sekaligus menjadi tarikan utama kepada pelabur asing untuk terus melabur di Malaysia yang dlihat mempunyai iklim ekonomi yang kukuh serta dasar kerajaan terhadap semua agama dan kaum yang sederhana. Dasar luar negara selalunya bermula di "rumah" sendiri dalam konteks ini, ia bermula dalam PAU.  Jika kita mahu orang terutama sekali rakyat menghormati Umno, seharusnya Umno yang juga cermin kerajaan memahami bahawa kita adalah parti pemerintah Malaysia yang sederhana dan 'moderate'. Umno adalah rakan terbaik di kalangan parti di Malaysia untuk pelabur luar dan penegak agama Islam untuk semua tidak mengira bulu. Tetapi jika PAU 2013 dijadikan sebagai penanda aras perjuangan Umno menjelang PRU14, saya amat khuatir sama ada meninggalkan kesederhanaan yang menjadi teras kepada perjuangan parti kepada perjuangan Melayu yang lebih radikal akan dapat memastikan Umno terus berkuasa pada PRU 14. Adakah menjadi keperluan utama yang dituntut agama Islam untuk memasukkan ajaran Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah dalam Perlembangaan Negara? Indonesia yang mempunyai penganut agama Islam terbesar di dunia tidak berbuat demikian dan di sana terdapat pelbagai ajaran Islam tetapi umat Islam di republik berkenaan dapat hidup aman damai tanpa sebarang pertelingkahan. Perlembagaan negara sudah menjamin agama Islam sebagai agama rasmi Malaysia sekaligus ia secara langsung agama Islam yang berlandaskan pegangan Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah kerana itu yang diamalkan rakyat negara ini, sejak Islam mula tersebar di Tanah Melayu pada zaman pemerintahan Kesultanan Melayu Melaka. Saya memahami kerisauan pemimpin Umno mengenai ajaran Syiah jika ia tidak dibendung boleh membawa kepada perpecahan antara umat Islam di negara ini, tetapi peruntukan undang-undang sedia ada sudah mencukupi untuk mengekangnya. Sebenarnya, apa yang lebih penting untuk Umno adalah untuk mengubah persepsi rakyat kepada parti serta kerajaan. Kegagalan mengubah persepsi ini, yang menyebabkan prestasi BN merosot dalam PRU 13 berbanding PRU 12 dan hakikat ini, diakui sendiri oleh Datuk Seri Noh Omar, Pengerusi Umno Selangor. Beliau tidak segan silu mengakui bahawa kelemahan untuk menangani persepsi ini, yang menjadi "duri dalam daging" kepada Umno serta kerajaan dan jika tidak diatasi segera dalam tempoh lima tahun ini, akan membawa kepada malapetaka dalam PRU 14. Seeloknya, PAU 2013 lalu adalah langkah permulaan untuk Umno mengubah persepsi negatif ini, dengan membuat desakan tegas kepada kerajaan untuk menangani isu yang dekat di hati rakyat serta menjadi kerisauan kepada mereka. Tetapi itu semua  tidak berlaku dan ia mungkin disebabkan perwakilan Umno di Dewan Merdeka Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC) minggu lalu, merasakan semua isu berkenaan tidak penting. Jika itu yang dirasai mereka, bagaimana Umno mahu menjadi cermin dan suara akar umbi rakyat untuk kerajaan.  Ketika ramai di luar PWTC melihat bahawa Umno terus "syok sendiri" dan hilang sentuhan dengan rakyat yang selama ini, menjadi kekuatannya. – 14 Disember, 2013. * Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider.

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Dr Mahathir sampaikan mesej peribadi Najib kepada keluarga Mandela Posted: 14 Dec 2013 03:23 AM PST December 14, 2013 Bekas perdana menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (gambar), yang menyertai orang-orang kenamaan dunia memberi penghormatan terakhir kepada bekas presiden Afrika Selatan Nelson Mandela, berada di Pretoria sebagai wakil peribadi Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Kementerian Luar dalam satu kenyataan berkata Dr Mahathir juga mengetuai delegasinya untuk menyampaikan ucapan takziah mereka dan juga mesej peribadi Najib kepada keluarga mendiang ikon anti-Aparteid itu. Mandela, 95, meninggal dunia di kediamannya di Johannesburg pada 5 Disember selepas beberapa menderitai jangkitan paru-paru. "Mendiang Nelson Mandela dan Dr Mahathir mempunyai hubungan yang amat rapat, yang terjalin semasa zaman-zaman mencabar apabila Afrika Selatan di bawah rejim aparteid," kata kenyataan itu. Ia menjelaskan bahawa Malaysia memainkan peranan yang menyokong persiapan Afrika Selatan untuk pilihan raya demokratiknya pada 1994 yang menyaksikan Mandela dipilih sebagai presiden kulit hitam yang pertama. Dr Mahathir diiringi dalam perjalanan ke Afrika Selatan oleh isterinya Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, Pesuruhjaya tinggi Malaysia Kennedy Jawan, tokoh ahli perniagaan Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing dan juga para pegawai kanan dari Jabatan Perdana Menteri dan Kementerian Luar. – Bernama, 14 Disember, 2013.

Najib cadang dua cara tingkat perjuangan bagi keamanan dan kestabilan Posted: 14 Dec 2013 03:15 AM PST December 14, 2013 Datuk Seri Najib Razak (gambar) berkata beliau mencadangkan dua cara bagi usahasama strategik Asean Jepun untuk meningkatkan perjuangan bagi keamanan dan kestabilan di rantau ini dan ia termasuk usaha memperkukuh pendekatan berasaskan peraturan bagi menguruskan hubungan antara negara di rantau ini. Bercakap kepada wartawan Malaysia pada akhir Sidang Kemuncak Peringatan Asean-Jepun sempena ulang tahun ke-40 hubungan Dialog Asean-Jepun hari ini, Perdana Menteri berkata pengukuhan peraturan dan norma akan membolehkan ketelusan dan ramalan yang dapat menggalakkan kepercayaan strategik. Najib mengemukakan cadangan itu serta perkara-perkara penting lain dalam intervensi beliau pada sidang kemuncak itu yang dihadiri Perdana Menteri Jepun Shinzo Abe dan pemimpin-pemimpin lain Asean. "Saya menyentuh mengenai kepentingan pembinaan institusi untuk memperkukuhkan Asean... anda perlu perkukuh ini... berasaskan peraturan dan ini termasuk peraturan undang-undang... ini perlu menjadi asas dalam penyelesaian masalah dalam Asean," kata Najib, yang berada di sini sejak Khamis bagi lawatan kerja sempena sidang kemuncak sehari itu. Najib berkata beliau turut mencadangkan agar usahasama antara Asean dan Jepun perlu diperluaskan lagi daripada sekadar membabitkan perkara kepentingan bersama. "Saya menyentuh mengenai perlunya untuk kita melihat kepada nilai-nilai bersama, bukan hanya kepentingan bersama," katanya. Najib berkata untuk berbuat demikian, mereka perlu terlebih dahulu mengenalpasti nilai-nilai berkenaan, dan menurutnya beliau percaya kesederhanaan adalah satu daripada contoh nilai itu. Perdana Menteri Malaysia berkata beliau juga menyentuh mengenai Doktrin Fukuda dengan beliau mengimbas semula sejarah doktrin itu. "Hakikat kerajaan Jepun berikutnya terus komited dengan komitmen dibuat oleh Fukuda pada ketika orang tidak dapat membayangkan bahawa Asean akan muncul sebagai satu kuasa seperti hari ini... hari ini Jepun merupakan rakan dialog pertama dan banyak menyumbang kepada pertumbuhan Asean. Itu sendiri amat penting," katanya. Doktrin Fukuda, berasaskan ikrar dibuat Perdana Menteri Jepun ketika itu Takeo Fukuda, telah menjadi kerangka rasmi dasar luar Jepun terhadap Asia Tenggara sejak 1977. Dalam ikrarnya kepada pemimpin dan rakyat Asean pada Ogos 1977 di Manila, beliau antara lain mengikrarkan bahawa Jepun akan sentiasa menjadi rakan kongsi baik Asean, berjalan seiringan dengan perkumpulan serantau itu dan rantau ini. Najib berkata beliau turut menyentuh mengenai rancangan Jepun untuk menjadikan Institut Teknologi Antarabangsa Malaysia-Jepun sebagai hab pendidikan teknologi bagi Asean serta tawaran Jepun untuk memberi biasiswa kepada pelajar Asean. – Bernama, 14 Disember, 2013.

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Yummy dishes to satisfy those cravings Posted: 13 Dec 2013 08:02 PM PST BY EU HOOI KHAW December 14, 2013 Lap Mei Fan with Chinese sausages, waxed duck and meats.It's that time of the year again for waxed duck and Chinese sausages in that irresistible rice dish called Lap Mei Fan. These are usually steamed, their delicious drippings tipped into the rice in the claypot and stirred up, with more sauce added and served. I have just had this at Oriental Cravings at 1 Utama in Petaling Jaya and it has somewhat soothed my craving for this seasonal dish. Pomelo Salad, a festive dish at Oriental Cravings.This restaurant serves it in individual portions with romaine lettuce at the side. It was attractively presented, with slices of pork and duck liver sausages and waxed duck laid over the mound of rice, with a dried oyster in the centre. Even better, more of these waxed meats and sausages were cut finely and stirred into the rice so that it was well infused with their flavours. I liked it too that the sausages were cut into large slices with sufficient thickness so that I could revel in each delightful bite. Sambal Petai with Fluffy Egg is an unusual, but delicious, combination.I was looking forward to the Pomelo Salad too, and it should be on the menu soon. It's a mélange of sweet, juicy pomelo (from Tambun no less), crunchy bits of deepfried cuttlefish, sliced shallots, cili padi and slivers of bunga kantan tossed in a lime juice and fish sauce dressing. A generous sprinkling of crushed peanuts and sesame seeds, and fresh mint leaves complete it. New dishes are always appearing on the Oriental Cravings menu so that I never get tired of eating here. One of these is the Sambal Petai with Fluffy Egg. Who would have thought of such a combination? At first I felt I should have some rice to go with this. Then I started enjoying the soft, large crumbles of fried egg with fresh coriander, topped with the zesty sambal that had lots of onions and fried crispy ikan bilis, and of course the petai. It was not as stinky as I would have liked but still good. Yam with Garoupa Fishhead in Claypot.I love yam in any dish and powdery, sticky chunks of it appeared in the Yam with Garoupa Fishhead in Claypot. Fried dried cuttlefish, garlic and Chinese celery gave it those defining, yummy flavours. It was so good eaten with rice. Noodles are what the chef here shines at. He does an amazing Hokkien Noodles with the requisite crispy lard bits, Claypot Loh Shee Fun and Curry Noodles with Roast Pork. The flavourful Fried Prawn Mee.This time the Fried Prawn Mee rolled out of his wok. The yellow noodles were braised in a prawn stock, then fried with pork, egg, beansprouts, fishcake, prawns and crispy lard bits. The sweet essence of the stock hugged each noodle which stayed firm and separate.  They were delicious. Chicken in Rice Wine is one of my favourite dishes at this restaurant. I would just come here and have this with mee sua or rice vermicelli. Cendol with the thickest and most aromatic Gula Melaka.I can never get tired of this home-brewed, mildly sweet wine with a heady aroma cooked with hot, fragrant ginger, kampung chicken and wood ear fungus. The fluffy omelette floating on top of this, soaking in all the winey flavours, is simply scrumptious. I had brought friends living abroad here. One particular friend had this at lunch, and came back for the same at dinner! Ais Kacang loaded with ingredients.For dessert, the cendol is hard to resist. The cendol threads are soft, smooth and bursting with pandan aroma but what sets this apart from other cendol is the thick, gooey and aromatic gula Melaka drizzled over it. For an ais kacang fix, there is no better place for it than here. It is a towering heap of shaved ice with rivulets of rose syrup and gula Melaka running down, with santan and evaporated milk added. The entrance to Oriental Cravings.There is a longan at the side and crunchy peanuts. Dig in and you turn up delectable blobs of soft red beans, cream corn, cendol, pink agar agar and cincau. It is a satisfying Ice Kacang and a wonderful way to end your meal at this restaurant. The Lap Mei Fan is RM23.90, Sambal Petai with Fluffy Egg RM19.90, Yam with Garoupa Fishhead RM36.90, Rice Wine Chicken RM31.90, Fried Prawn Mee RM17.90, ais kacang RM6.90, cendol RM5.50. - December 14, 2013. * Oriental Cravings is located at 359 Ground Floor Rainforest, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Petaling Jaya. Tel: 03-7727 2581.

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Lance Armstrong “bought” Million Dollar Race, claims former rival Posted: 13 Dec 2013 08:02 AM PST December 14, 2013 Retired Italian rider Roberto Gaggioli told Friday's edition of the Corriere della Sera that Lance Armstrong (pic) paid him US$100,000 (RM323,000) in 1993 in order to win the Million Dollar Race in the United States. "It was a young American colleague," Gaggioli, who is now 51, was quoted as saying. "He offered me a panettone (a traditional Italian Christmas cake) as a present and wished me a merry Christmas. In the box there were US$100,000 in small bills. That colleague was Lance Armstrong. "Lance said that my team, Coors Light, had agreed to it. I understood that it had all been decided," added Gaggioli in reference to Armstrong's win in the CoreStates race in Philadelphia which was crucial to him winning the one million dollar prize for the victor of three races held over 21 days. The Million Dollar Race, which was known as the Thrift Drug Triple Crown, was comprised of the Pittsburgh Classic, the West Virginia Classic and the CoreStates race. "Two laps from the end, I was in a breakaway with Lance, Bobby Julich and some Italian riders from the Mercatone team. When Lance made a sign, I turned away as if not to see that he had escaped. He broke away to win on his own." The newspaper added that other riders also failed to respond to Armstrong's attack because they too had been bought, and cited one, Roberto Pelliconi, who said: "Angelo Canzonieri (another rider) and Lance agreed on a fee of 50, Angelo thought he meant dollars but Lance meant lire. "At the Tour of Lombardy he gave us 50 million (lire)." Armstrong, who was riding for Motorola at the time and is now 42, was officially stripped of his seven Tour de France wins in 2012 after being found guilty of a string of doping offences. He publicly admitted that he had cheated earlier this year. - AFP, December 13, 2013.

FAM has no more excuse for not joining football development committee, says Khairy Posted: 13 Dec 2013 07:48 AM PST December 13, 2013 Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (pic) said the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) no longer has any excuse not to join the National Football Development Programme Committee following the resignation of Tan Sri Annuar Musa from all local football associations. Khairy said an FAM representative was needed in the committee as many matters which would be implemented by the committee needed FAM's endorsement. "Earlier, FAM did not allow any suspended individuals (by FAM) to be in the committee. After a discussion with Tan Sri Annuar, he decided to pull out. "Now FAM have no choice but to send a representative to the committee as we need FAM's endorsement on coaches," he told reporters after presenting medals to winners of a karate event at the Myanmar SEA Games here today. Khairy said he hoped that following Annuar's decision, differences between the ministry and FAM would be resolved. Annuar in a statement today said he was resigning from all football association posts including as president of the Kelantan Football Association (Kafa) with immediate effect. Asked if Annuar could join the committee after the resignation, Khairy said Annuar could not be in the committee as he was still an FAM leader under suspension.  "I have conferred with the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) and was told that those who were suspended cannot be a member of the committee," he said, praising Annuar for the bold step and adding that the ministry could seek inputs from him in a non-official capacity. Annuar had earlier submitted his resignation as a member of the ministry's committee after FAM claimed the Ketereh Member of Parliament's appointment was not valid as he was still serving his suspension which began in April. The FAM deputy president was suspended after being found guilty of violating FAM's Article 88 which provides that only the FAM president and secretary-general could issue media statements on the national football squad. - Bernama, December 13, 2013.

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Pakistan’s “ghost schools” threaten next generation Posted: 12 Dec 2013 08:41 PM PST December 13, 2013 This photograph taken on November 20, 2013 shows Pakistani children playing in a classroom at an empty government school in Chancher Redhar in the southern district of Thatta. Their teacher fled in the spring, never to return. - AFP pic, December 13, 2013.In a decrepit white-walled classroom in southern Pakistan, Bushra valiantly struggles to keep discipline as a dozen girls run and scream around her. With no teacher for the past eight months, the 10-year-old has been forced to step in. "I teach them lessons from the Quran, I teach them Sindhi, I teach them to count one-two, I teach them the alphabet A-B-C-D," said Bushra, wearing a traditional nose stud and a scarf around her head. She says she dreams of becoming a doctor and learning about computers. But her academic ambitions risk being scuppered after her own teacher fled. Authorities have not appointed a new one, making Bushra's situation typical for a student at one of Pakistan's 7,000 so-called "ghost schools", where no formal classes can be taught. These abandoned pupils are part of a growing education crisis in the country where, according to the United Nations, over five million children do not attend primary school. "The last teacher told us she would stop coming if we did not pay for her transportation to the village," said Salim Samoon, who has seven granddaughters at the school catering for the roughly 600 residents of Chancher Redhar, a village two hours drive from Karachi in the south of Pakistan. "But we have no money and the authorities have not appointed a new teacher," he said. The southern village is far from the notoriously conservative parts of northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, where Taliban attacks against public schools are commonplace. Schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai become an international symbol of the right to education for all after surviving a 2012 Taliban attack in which she was shot in the head. But the damage caused by "ghost schools" across Pakistan, such as the one in Chancher Redhar, is self-inflicted and potentially greater: a new generation of children growing up without an education, either because the schools have been abandoned, destroyed, or because teachers are not turning up. "Maybe the media highlights the bombings of schools more because it is visible. But this is a more dangerous problem," said Rahmatullah Balal of the NGO Ailaan Alif, who has published a ranking of districts in terms of the quality of education available. According to his ranking, the district of Thatta, home to Bushra and her classmates, lies in 140th position out of a total of 144, behind Taliban hideouts in the northwest. Alerted last year to the problem of "ghost schools", the Supreme Court of Pakistan asked provinces to scrutinise institutions that took students and were officially regarded as schools. The results, released in late November, where shocking. "In most of the basic teaching units of the district, the situation is very alarming," the report said. "Most of these schools are teaching institutions only in name, but virtually no student is being admitted there to seek education and the teaching staff is taking salary at home." Along with teachers who received salary but did not teach, other schools failed to appoint teachers, were appropriated by wealthy landowners, or had budget irregularities, such as "paid-for" computers which never arrived. "The government and bureaucrats have no willingness to solve the problem," said Balal. "The money that the government gives to the school is consumed by bureaucrats. The budget might tell you what the money has been used for in the schools, but you don't see it get spent and then the money is gone." He says school funds are split "50-50" between feudal lords and bureaucrats, partly to ensure that there is no threat to the feudal lords' power base by seeing the poor receive education. Those politicians who are actively trying to raise the issue say that it is not a priority for the government. "We have to invest in our education because it is the only way to get progress," said Humera Alwani of the Pakistan Peoples Party. "You have to admit to a problem before you can correct it," she said. The existence of "ghost schools" also removes incentive for poor families to ensure their children get an education. Instead, many see more value in sending them to work in the fields or bazaars. "I do not like this school, this is why I do not go," said Arbab, not yet a teenager. "I go to fetch and buy water, and then I sell it." Local residents worry another generation will grow up without the skills they need. "These kids of ours, they don't know anything. They don't know the meaning of their names, they don't know the basics, they know nothing," said Kazoo Samoon, a villager in Chancher Redhar. "My other daughter grew up without an education and now these children will grow up without any education." In the cramped class, Bushra's attempted lesson is over in just a few minutes, ending with a rendition of the national anthem. Then the girls continue to play as they have done every day since their teacher left, waiting for the arrival of another who may never come. - AFP, December 13, 2013.

Indian infant deaths – high but falling steadily Posted: 12 Dec 2013 06:43 PM PST December 13, 2013 In this photo taken on November 6, 2013, Radha Bagnele (left), 20, lies in a bed in Shivpuri hospital in Madhya Pradesh hours after having delivered twin girls at a local hospital. - AFP pic, December 13, 2013.Having previously lost two babies to diarrhoea and dysentery, 25-year-old Suman Chandel lies on a bed in a clinic in remote northern India and smiles with relief. Hours earlier, Chandel gave birth to her fourth child, a seemingly healthy baby boy weighing three kilograms, and is optimistic that this time the chances of survival are good. "I was very worried beforehand. I was having more and more problems with each delivery, but he seems fine and I'm happy," says Chandel as she tries to breastfeed her newborn wrapped in a blanket. Married at 15 and pregnant three years later, Chandel's struggles to keep her babies alive are a familiar story for millions of women battling disease, caste discrimination, powerlessness and poverty in rural India. India has long had a dismal record of deaths from preventable illness; the nation accounts for 29% of global first-day deaths, for example — or 309,000 newborn deaths a year, says nonprofit group Save the Children. But figures from the census office published in October suggests that after 15 years of booming economic growth and explosive modernisation, India may finally be turning the corner. "There's a long way to go and traditional practices are still there," says Karin Hulshof, regional director for Unicef, the United Nation's children's fund. "But there has been great progress, a great call to action, with heavenly investment (at the government and NGO levels)," she tells AFP. Initiatives have focused on health issues such as encouraging women to give birth in hospitals instead of home, and increasing health centres and immunisation drives. Education has also been a priority, including on the importance of breastfeeding, improved nutrition and using clean water for hand washing and toilets to prevent episodes of life-threatening diarrhoea. Paul Vinod, head of paediatrics at one of India's most prestigious teaching hospitals, says the figures speak for themselves - infant mortality rates have dropped from 80 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 42 deaths in 2012. Despite the improvements, India still accounts for 22% of the world's deaths of children under five, and more than one quarter of all newborn deaths, the UN, WHO and World Bank estimate in a joint 2013 report. And public expenditure on health remains woeful, accounting for just 1.2% of gross domestic product, according to Vinod from AIIMS hospital in New Delhi, citing government figures. "Some developed countries spend 8% to 10%," he tells AFP. "We should be close to 3% or 5%. Anything less than 3% is poor." A child's chances of survival are also skewed depending on where a family resides. So the mortality rate in southern Kerala state is 12 per 1,000, the new figures show, but jumps to 56 in Madhya Pradesh — where Chandel lives. This postcode lottery is blamed by experts on population density and the priority successive state governments have placed on child health, among other reasons. Deep cultural issues, including the powerlessness of women and accepted attitudes about their role in society, also remain a huge battle. "These girls are unable to make independent decisions about their own reproductive choices or fertility," says Anuradha Gupta, a senior official from the Indian health ministry. "We have a huge battle ahead to change societal attitudes and norms towards adolescents, particularly girls," says Gupta in a November interview with Jhpiego, a nonprofit group attached to Johns Hopkins University. Pale with anemia, Radha Bagnele, 20, lies in a bed in Shivpuri District Hospital in Madhya Pradesh and listens to her mother-in-law despair about Bagnele's newborn twin daughters. "We wanted boys, so we are not happy, we are just okay," says Ramkunar Bagnele sitting on the bed. "Of course she will keep trying until we get them," she adds. Married at 13, Radha already has two daughters and worries her husband does not earn enough as a farm labourer to feed and care for their expanding family, who live in a nearby village. "I'm worried, but we need a boy," she says softly. Shivpuri hospital, together with Unicef, have developed a 24/7 call centre and a fleet of 35 ambulances so that women throughout the district can reach a hospital or clinic in time for a safer delivery. The number of infant deaths has fallen dramatically since its introduction but problems still exist. In the delivery room, a blanket covers a woman not moving and barely conscious. Her baby died shortly after delivery at home two days earlier, and the woman later collapsed from complications. "It could be a brain haemorrhage," a doctor says. "She will need to go to Gwalior (a nearby city), we don't have the facilities here." Down the hall, Sunil Gautam hovers over rake-thin babies in the special newborn care unit also funded by Unicef. He points to a boy in an incubator born days earlier weighing 600 grams — less than a half of the minimum healthy weight of a newborn. "Eight hundred grams today!" the paediatrician says. Asked why the 17 babies in the unit were born underweight, premature or sick, he reels off problems that have improved steadily in the five years he has worked there. "Poverty, illiteracy, nutrition deficiency, early marriage and no spacing between births," he says of the mothers. "Things are working, are improving," he adds. "But it's slow." - AFP, December 13, 2013.

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