Ahad, 14 April 2013

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

Emma Watson, Bradley Cooper honoured at MTV Movie Awards

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 09:04 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Harry Potter star Emma Watson won the Trailblazer Award and Bradley Cooper was chosen best male performer for playing a bipolar man in Silver Linings Playbook as the MTV Movie Awards kicked off the summer movie-going season on Sunday with an irreverent ceremony.

Hosted by Pitch Perfect comedy star Rebel Wilson, the annual youth-oriented show also handed out early prizes to Cooper and his co-star Jennifer Lawrence for best kiss for their clinch at the end of the comedy romance.

Django Unchained actors Jamie Foxx and Samuel L. Jackson took home popcorn-shaped trophies for best "WTF moment" for the scene in which Foxx's vengeful slave berates and unleashes a volley of gunshots at Jackson's servile black manservant.

The MTV Movie Awards, one of Hollywood's biggest youth-friendly ceremonies, rewards movie performances from the past year as well as promoting upcoming blockbusters and new music.

Fans will be treated later to the first sneak peek of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ahead of the release in November of the sequel to the young adult hit movie.

Watson, 22, (pic) found fame as brainy schoolgirl Hermione Granger in the first Harry Potter movie in 2001. She has gone on to make some 15 movies, including lead roles in all eight Potter films.

"I look back at all of the work I have done over the past 14 years and many things come to mind, notably how bad my hair was in the first Harry Potter film!" the British actress joked, accepting her award.

"Becoming yourself is really hard and confusing," she added.

Django Unchained and raunchy comedy Ted went into Sunday's ceremony with a leading seven nominations apiece, including the top prize, movie of the year.

Winners are chosen by fans and voting for the movie of the year continues throughout the two-hour ceremony broadcast live on MTV around the world from Los Angeles.

The comic book superheroes of The Avengers won the best fight category, with popular, tongue-in-cheek awards like best shirtless performance and best villain to be presented later.

Foxx is also being honored on Sunday with the MTV Generation Award, while Will Ferrell won the Comedic Genius Award for his long career on film and television including Elf, Saturday Night Live and Anchorman.

Michael Wong stars in re-adaptation of Ju Lang.

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:08 PM PDT

Michael Wong stars in the re-adaptation of radio drama Ju Lang.

OVER the past few years, 988 has been producing quality radio dramas. To celebrate its 40th anniversary, radio drama Ju Lang 2013 will be aired on April 17 at noon.

The re-adaptation and enhanced version of Ju Lang 2013 is performed by the talented Michael Wong. This is his first time being involved in a radio drama production.

Wong was introduced to radio drama production years ago by 988 DJ Chan Fong. Now, the singer gets a chance to participate in a production.

Though he is "new", Wong has performed way above expectation. His recordings were smooth and the final result is amazing.

Though there have been many changes in the Drama Team (transforming from Rediffusion Malaysia to 988 today) in the past 40 years, programme director Lim Tock Peng said the improvement only enhances the quality of production. "The Drama Team is at its prime at 40 (years old). And with all the experiences, we are now a much more stable and mature team," Lim said.

The dramas on 988 (which airs from Monday to Friday at noon) have always been popular with the listeners. With that in mind, voice talents, actors and others who are involved in the production, work hard to ensure top notch dramas.

Lim wanted the new adaptation of Ju Lang to be as memorable as the original. To help do that, he pushed the team to think outside the box. Fans will be delighted to know that the new version of Ju Lang has 27 episodes compared to 26 in the original one which was aired back in 2004.

"The production team as well as Michael Wong have put in a lot of effort in the making of Ju Lang 2013 and we are confident that this production will bring the audience a whole new level of entertainment."

Don't worry if you can't listen to the show when it airs as 988 will upload it to its website, so that more listeners can enjoy this production.

Also on 988 this week

Morning Up (Monday-Friday, 6am–10am)

Even though the general election is around the corner, don't forget your other civic duty – paying your taxes.

988's Morning Up Cases will zero in on this topic. There will be a special guest from the Inland Revenue Board, and a lawyer to share their thoughts on tax matters. Listeners are welcome to call in and share their opinion.

Morning Up VIP

This week on Morning Up VIP, an announcer from Taiwan, Xu Nai Ling (also known as Nai Ge), will be featured on the show. He will talk on the infamous kissing scene, and his hosting stint in Taiwan.

> 988 is owned and operated by The Star.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates

Tight election raises tensions in Venezuela
Defiant North Korea celebrates founder's anniversary
Venezuela's opposition alleges plan to manipulate vote

Tight election raises tensions in Venezuela

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 08:25 PM PDT

CARACAS (Reuters) - Both sides in an election to choose a successor to Venezuela's late leader Hugo Chavez expressed confidence of victory after Sunday's vote, raising fears that the official result could be contested.

Venezuelans living in Mexico pose with their ink-stained fingers after voting for a successor to the late President Hugo Chavez, outside their embassy in Mexico City April 14, 2013. REUTERS/Henry Romero (MEXICO - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS)

Acting President Nicolas Maduro led all polls before the vote, buoyed by Chavez's blessing before he died from cancer last month and vowing to continue the former president's self-styled socialist revolution.

But Maduro's rival, state governor Henrique Capriles, appeared to close the gap in the last days of the short campaign.

By late evening, there was still no word from the National Electoral Commission, which announces results only when there is an irreversible trend. An election board source said 98 percent of returns were in, indicating that it was a tight contest.

Government supporters began gathering and celebrating, but there was similar optimism at opposition headquarters.

"Father, brother, eternal commander ... your people did not fail you," Diosdado Cabello, a senior Chavez loyalist and head of the National Assembly, said in a tweet addressing the late leader.

Ramon Aveledo, a top opposition official, also struck an optimistic tone.

"We have millions of reasons to be happy," he told a news conference. "The head of the official campaign is cheating the people of this country."

Capriles, a 40-year-old state governor, alleged earlier on Sunday evening that there was a plan to try to change the result of the vote, but did not give details.

Government officials described his allegation as irresponsible and said it ran the risk of adding to a tense atmosphere, including isolated scuffles at some centres.

"For a few days the 'anti-Chavistas' have been trying to create an absurd notion of fraud in an automated voting system, one that is recognized in the whole world as secure, trustworthy and transparent," said Maduro's campaign chief Jorge Rodriguez.

"To that gentleman's followers, we say: 'Don't go crazy.'"

Whoever wins will inherit control of the world's biggest oil reserves in an OPEC nation, where stark political polarization is one of Chavez's many legacies.

Also at stake is the generous economic aid Chavez showered on left-wing Latin American governments from Cuba to Bolivia.

Maduro, a 50-year-old former bus driver, has promised to deepen Chavez's "21st century socialism" if he triumphs. Capriles, who has generated widespread enthusiasm among the opposition, wants to take Venezuela down a more centrist path.

Under Venezuelan law, the candidate with the most votes wins, with no possibility of a run-off.

The election system has been generally regarded as reliable, and the opposition immediately accepted the results of the last election in October. Critics say, however, that the election commission turns a blind eye to the use of state resources by government candidates during campaigning.

Some witnesses reported isolated incidents of violence, including clashes during vote-auditing at two centres in Caracas. Some people were hurt in a fracas in the Santa Rosa de Lima district of the capital, while teargas was thrown in another city district, Prados del Este, the witnesses said.

LOWER TURNOUT

Lines were shorter than they were at the election in October, when an ailing Chavez comfortably beat Capriles by 11 percentage points. Then, a record 80 percent of registered voters cast ballots following an aggressive get-out-the-vote campaign by Chavez's camp.

When Chavez won that election, the result was given at about 10 p.m. local time (0230 GMT).

Maduro built his election campaign largely on Chavez's legacy, especially among the poor.

"We're going to elect Maduro because he's following the path set by Chavez," Morelia Roa, a 58-year-old nurse, said after casting her ballot in a working class Caracas neighbourhood.

Given the deep mutual mistrust on both sides, some worry that a close or contested result could spark unrest. Some 170 international observers were on hand, many from left-leaning political parties across Latin America.

Sunday's vote was the first presidential election in two decades without Chavez on the ballot. In many ways, though, it was all about the late president, viewed by the poor as a messiah for giving them a political voice and for funnelling billions of dollars of oil revenue into social programs.

Critics saw him as an autocratic leader who bullied opponents and weakened the economy with waves of nationalizations, price controls and heavy government spending.

Maduro campaigned as a loyal disciple of Chavez, calling himself an "apostle" and "son" of the late president. Chavez gave Maduro a huge boost by endorsing him in his final speech in December before heading to Cuba for his last cancer operation.

True to form, Maduro dedicated his vote on Sunday to his political mentor.

"The last 21 years of my life have revolved around the dreams of a man, of a giant," an emotional Maduro said. "I never thought I'd be here. But here I am ... And I'm going to be president of the republic for the next six years."

WINNER'S CHALLENGES

If Maduro wins, he will immediately face big challenges as he tries to stamp his authority on a disparate ruling coalition while lacking his mentor's charisma, or the healthy state finances that Chavez enjoyed in last year's race.

It is hard to predict how he might do things his own way. Like many senior officials, Maduro was passionately loyal to Chavez and never voiced a different opinion in public.

Supporters say he could use his background as a union negotiator-turned-diplomat to build bridges, perhaps even with the United States after tensions during Chavez's 14-year rule.

But there was little sign of his softer side on the campaign trail. Maduro's rhetoric veered from outraged - alleging opposition plots to kill him using mercenaries - to light-hearted, such as poking fun at his own often-cited tale of how he was visited by Chavez's spirit in the form of a bird.

More often he sounded indignant, accusing the "far right" of plotting a repeat of a short-lived coup against Chavez a decade ago if the opposition loses Sunday's vote.

Maduro's camp said his Twitter account was hacked during the day, as well as those of other senior Socialist Party members, with obscene messages posted on them.

Should he pull off an upset, Capriles will also have a tough time running Venezuela. One of the biggest challenges will be to win over suspicious supporters of Chavez and Maduro. Both repeatedly derided the opposition candidate as a pampered rich kid, a traitor, and a puppet of "U.S. imperialism."

In last year's campaign, Capriles carefully avoided disparaging Chavez, in a bid to woo the poor. He has not afforded Maduro the same respect, denouncing him and his "coterie" as phony socialists who have enriched themselves while paying only lip service to Chavez's deeply held ideology.

Capriles touts a Brazilian-style model that mixes pro-business policies with heavy state spending on the poor, a recipe that made Brazil one of the world's hottest emerging economies in the past decade.

The opposition hopes bubbling discontent over daily problems such as rampant crime, high inflation, chronic power outages and occasional shortages of food staples and medicines will tip the vote in favour of Capriles.

"Capriles is our only hope. He's the best leader the opposition has had and could be a great president," Alberto Gomez, a 55-year-old bakery owner, said after voting in an upscale district of Caracas.

(Additional reporting by Caracas bureau reporters; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Kieran Murray and David Brunnstrom)

Venezuela's Capriles alleges plan to "change" vote

Defiant North Korea celebrates founder's anniversary

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 08:02 PM PDT

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea celebrated the 101st anniversary of its founder's birth on Monday with no signs of tension easing on the peninsula after it rejected talks with South Korea aimed at normalising ties and re-opening a joint industrial park.

Participants run in the International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) 26th Mangyongdae Prize Marathon, held in conjunction with celebrations for the 101st birth anniversary of North Korean founder Kim Il-Sung, in Pyongyang, in this photo distributed by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 14, 2013.

The United States has also offered talks, but on the pre-condition that North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons ambitions. North Korea deems its nuclear arms a "treasured sword" and has vowed never to give them up.

The North has threatened for weeks to attack the United States, South Korea and Japan since new U.N. sanctions were imposed in response to its latest nuclear arms test in February.

South Korea's Defence Ministry said it remained on guard against a possible new missile launch to coincide with the Day of the Sun, the date state founder Kim Il-Sung was born. But officials discounted speculation that the North would proceed with a launch or a new nuclear test on the anniversary itself.

"North Korea is not believed to have launched a missile on the occasion of the Day of the Sun, of which today's is the 101st," ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told a briefing.

"But the military is not easing up on its vigilance on the activities of the North's military with the view that they can conduct a provocation at any time."

Kim Il-Sung was born in 1912 and led his country from its founding in 1948, through the 1950-53 Korean War and until he died in 1994. His son, Kim Jong-il, then took over.

The South Korean Unification Ministry, which oversees relations with the North, said it was "regrettable" that the North had rejected an offer of talks, made last week by President Park Geun-hye. It said the offer would remain on the table.

Missile launches and nuclear tests by North Korea are both banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions, that were expanded after its third nuclear test, in February.

The aim of the North's aggressive acts, analysts say, is to bolster the leadership of Kim Jong-un, 30, the grandson of the reclusive state's founder, or to force the United States to hold talks with the North.

THIRD IN FAMILY DYNASTY

The third Kim to rule in Pyongyang attended a midnight celebration of his father and grandfather's rule with top officials, including his kingmaker uncle Jang Song-thaek and the country's top generals.

In Tokyo, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was meeting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after making a weekend offer to hold talks with the North if it abandoned its nuclear weapons programme.

Japan also said it was willing for talks with North Korea if Pyongyang took steps toward de-nuclearisation.

Kerry's trip to South Korea, China and Japan was aimed at reassuring its allies and putting pressure on Beijing to act decisively to implement the U.N. sanctions.

Kerry said he believes China, the North's sole economic and political benefactor, should put "some teeth" in efforts to persuade Pyongyang to alter its policies.

The Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, the People's Daily, warned on Monday that tensions could get out of control.

"Bad things will always happen if a bowstring is drawn for too long," the paper wrote in a commentary.

"It does not matter if it is intentional or accidental, even the smallest thing could cause the situation to change rapidly and perhaps get totally out of control."

If matters did go out of control, it said, "no party will be able to stand on the side".

North Korea has repeatedly stressed that it fears the United States wants to invade it and has manipulated the United Nations to weaken it. At the weekend, the North rejected the overture by new South Korean President Park as a "cunning" ploy.

"We will expand in quantity our nuclear weapons capability, which is the treasure of a unified Korea ... that we would never barter at any price," Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's titular head of state, told a gathering of officials and service personnel applauding the achievements of Kim Il-Sung.

Kim Il-Sung's birthday is usually marked with a mass parade to showcase the North's military might. In 2012, following the death of his father, Kim Jong-un made a public speech, the first in living memory for a North Korean leader.

(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Kiyoshi Takenaka in TOKYO, Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Robert Birsel and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Venezuela's opposition alleges plan to manipulate vote

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 07:15 PM PDT

CARACAS (Reuters) - Opposition leader Henrique Capriles charged there was a plot to change the result of Sunday's presidential election in Venezuela, which will decide if a longtime loyalist continues Hugo Chavez's self-styled socialist revolution.

Acting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gestures to supporters as he leaves after voting for the successor to the late President Hugo Chavez, in Caracas April 14, 2013. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

By mid-evening, both Capriles' camp and that of acting President Nicolas Maduro expressed confidence that they had won, raising concerns that the results might be contested.

Maduro led polls heading into the vote, buoyed by Chavez's blessing before he died from cancer on March 5, but Capriles appeared to be closing the gap in the final days of the short campaign.

There was no word from the National Electoral Commission which only announces results when there is an irreversible trend.

Capriles, a 40-year-old state governor, called on the election authorities to close polling stations that were due to shut their doors at 6 p.m. (6:30 p.m. ET/2230 GMT), unless there were still lines of people waiting.

"We alert the country and the world of the intention to try and change the will expressed by the people," Capriles said in a Twitter message, without giving details.

Government officials described those allegation as irresponsible and said it ran the risk of adding to a tense atmosphere, including isolated scuffles at some centres.

"To that gentleman's followers, we say: 'Don't go crazy.'"

Venezuela's election system has been generally regarded as reliable, with the opposition immediately accepting the results of the last election in October. Critics say, however, that the election commission turns a blind eye to the use of state resources by government candidates during campaigning.

Whoever wins will inherit control of the world's biggest oil reserves in an OPEC nation, where stark political polarization is one of Chavez's many legacies.

Also at stake is the generous economic aid Chavez showered on left-leaning Latin American governments from Cuba to Bolivia.

CHAVEZ'S PATH

Lines were shorter than they were at the election in October, when an ailing Chavez comfortably beat Capriles. Then, a record 80 percent of registered voters cast ballots following an aggressive get-out-the-vote campaign by Chavez's camp.

"We're going to elect Maduro because he's following the path set by Chavez," Morelia Roa, a 58-year-old nurse, said after casting her ballot in a working class Caracas neighbourhood.

Critics saw him as an autocratic leader who bullied opponents and weakened the economy with waves of nationalizations, price controls and heavy government spending.

Maduro campaigned as a loyal disciple of Chavez, repeatedly calling himself an "apostle" and "son" of the late president. Chavez gave Maduro a huge boost by publicly endorsing him in his final speech in December before heading to Cuba for his last cancer operation.

True to form, Maduro dedicated his vote on Sunday to his political mentor.

WINNER'S CHALLENGES

It is hard to predict how he might do things his own way. Like many senior officials, Maduro was passionately loyal to Chavez and never voiced a different opinion in public.

Supporters say he could use his background as a union negotiator-turned-diplomat to build bridges, perhaps even with the United States after tensions during Chavez's 14-year rule.

More often he sounded indignant, accusing the "far right" of plotting a repeat of a short-lived coup against Chavez a decade ago if the opposition loses Sunday's vote.

Maduro's camp said his Twitter account was hacked during the day, as well as those of other senior Socialist Party members, with obscene messages posted on them.

(Additional reporting by Caracas bureau reporters; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Kieran Murray and David Brunnstrom)

Venezuela's Capriles alleges plan to "change" vote

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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Dayang extends gains, eye on RM10b Pan Malaysia hook-up project
Malaysia-Market factors to watch on April 15(Monday)
KLCI up in early trade, Petronas stocks, banks up

Dayang extends gains, eye on RM10b Pan Malaysia hook-up project

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 07:06 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Dayang Enterprise extended their gains on Monday to a high of as analysts expected the company to clinch a substantial contract from the RM10bil Pan Malaysia hook-up commissioning project.

At 9.54am, Dayang was up 11 sen to RM3.45 with 1.63 million shares done while the call warrants, Dayang-CD jumped 10.5 sen to 69.5 sen.

The FBM KLCI rose 1.46 points to 1,699.99. Turnover was 157.17 million shares valued at RM136.05mil. There were 141 gainers, 185 losers and 176 counters unchanged.

Recent reports stated about RM8bil to RM10bil worth of hook-up and commissioning projects were due to be given out "very soon" for the so-called Pan Malaysia cluster, besides contracts for marginal oilfields and the replacement of expiring brownfields.

Hwang DBS Vickers Research (HDBSVR) said it understood that the contracts for the project might be awarded soon, after the delays in the first quarter of 2013.

"We remain optimistic Dayang will clinch a substantial contract given its proven and recognised track record. We take the cue from its new order for a workboat, Dayang Opal, which is scheduled for delivery by December 2013; this indicates more work orders going forward," it said.

HDBSVR raised FY14 and FY15 earnings by 15% and 10%, as it expected RM400mil in annual order replenishment in anticipation of large HUC contracts.

"We raised the target price to RM4 (15 times FY14 EPS) after upgrading earnings and moving valuation base to FY14. Dayang has gained 40% year-to-date, but we believe winning a chunk of the five-year HUC mega project will be a game-changer for the company - it will accelerate growth over the next five years. Our target price implies 20% upside potential," it said.

Malaysia-Market factors to watch on April 15(Monday)

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 06:27 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Following is a list of events in Malaysia as well as news company-related and market news whichcould have an influence on the local market. GLOBAL MARKETS-US data douses equity rally, gold down 4 percent

SE Asia Stocks-Thailand at 1-week high; others mixed

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MALAYSIA, IN TIMES LOCAL FOLLOWED BY GMT:

* Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin meets writers at Pacific Balroom, Seri Pacific Hotel at 9 am (0100 GMT)

* Prime Minister's wife Rosmah Mansor attends 'Nurani Sayang' event - spends time with pre-school kids at Sekolah Kebangsaan Ampang Campuran, Jalan Ikan Jelawat, Kampung Ampang Campuran, Ampang at 4 pm (0800 GMT) MARKET NEWS

> Nikkei set to fall after weak U.S. data strengthens yen

> Wall St ends down but indexes notch sharp weekly gains

> Bond prices jump on weak U.S. data, Cyprus jitters

> Dollar starts week below recent 4-yr high against yen

> Gold sinks into bear market on institutional exodus

> Brent oil hits 9-month low near $101, bounces on spread trade

> Palm down to near 2-wk low on uncertain overseas markets, MALAYSIA IN THE NEWS:

> EXCLUSIVE-Lion Air crash pilot felt jet "dragged" from sky

> DEALTALK-Blank check IPOs bring hope and caution to Malaysia

> Sands lawsuits shine harsh light on Macau's casino paradise

> All safe as Lion Air plane misses Bali runway, lands in sea

> Japan, U.S. agree on Tokyo joining Trans-Pacific trade talks

> Iranian businessman sanguine about censure > Indonesia wants to scrap Southeast Asian rubber pact

> Malaysian Airline shares drop after rights issue confirmed - Reuters

VEGOILS-Market factors to watch April 15(Monday)

KUALA LUMPUR: The following factors are likely to influence Malaysian palm oil futures and other vegetable oil markets. FUNDAMENTALS

* Malaysian palm oil futures dropped to a near two-week low in choppy trade on Friday, with no clear guidance from overseas markets and investors worried a bird flu outbreak in China could crimp demand from the world's second largest edible oil buyer.

* Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures rose 2.4 percent on Friday, rallying through key technical resistance amid signs of good export demand and worries about the health of the U.S. crop, traders said.

* Brent crude oil fell to a nine-month low near $101 a barrel on Friday as a broad investor sell-off in commodities triggered a fall as much as $3 a barrel, but the global oil benchmark pared losses in afternoon New York trade as bargain hunters emerged. MARKET NEWS

* Commodities sold off on Friday, with gold sinking more than 4 percent to break below $1,500 an ounce, while world equity markets fell after a dour reading of U.S. consumer sentiment and poor retail sales reinforced fears of a weak U.S. economy that would hurt global growth.

* Major commodity markets fell sharply on Friday, with oil tumbling to a nine-month low and gold hitting a 20-month low as investors worried about a weak global economic outlook and a plan for Cyprus to sell gold reserves. RELATED NEWS

> No.1 biodiesel exporter Argentina at half capacity -chamber

> UPDATE 2-India's March palm oil imports fall for 2nd month > Indonesia cocoa bean imports to almost double in 2014

> India soymeal exporters renegotiate deals with Iran -trade > Speculators hike record sugar net short, slash cotton net long

> Pakistan yet to ship wheat to Iran in barter deal

> COLUMN-Rubber prices may struggle despite Thailand's efforts

DATA/EVENTS

> Cargo surveyors to issue April 1-15 export data on Monday. - Reuters

KLCI up in early trade, Petronas stocks, banks up

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 06:23 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas-related companies and banks led the FBM KLCI marginally higher in early trade on Monday but key regional markets were cautious.

At 9.03am, the FMB KLCI was up 0.45 of a point to 1,698.98. Turnover was 22.06 million shares valued at RM10.59mil. There were 69 gainers, 47 losers and 85 counters unchanged.

Reuters reported Asian shares fell after global equities and commodities slumped late last week on weak U.S. growth and rekindled worries in the euro zone, turning investor sentiment cautious ahead of a batch of Chinese data due later in the day

At Bursa Malaysia, Hwang DBS Vickers Research said the KLCI, after gaining 71.6 points or 4.4% in three weeks, could pause for a breather ahead.

"On the downside, we have set the first two support levels at 1,680 and 1,655, respectively. Beyond the short-term consolidation, the key market barometer could be eyeing to challenge the resistance line of 1,720 again," it said.

BAT was the top gainer, rising RM1.28 to RM65.58 with just 300 shares done. PetGas added 14 sen to RM19.04 and PetDag 12 sen to RM23.58 in thin trade.

Among the banks, Hong Leong Bank rose six sen to RM14.50, Public Bank-foreign and RHB Capital six sen each to RM16.40 and RM8.58.

There was some mild profit taking on Carlsberg, down 16 sen to RM14.10 with just 300 shares done, Genting Malaysia fell six sen tp RM3.64 and Bumi Armada five sen to RM3.83.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Sports

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Adam Scott ends Aussie jinx with Masters playoff win (Updated)
Isner wins first clay court title
Chong Wei inspires Malaysia to first Axiata Cup

Adam Scott ends Aussie jinx with Masters playoff win (Updated)

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 06:52 PM PDT

AUGUSTA (Georgia): Adam Scott sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole Sunday to beat Angel Cabrera and win the 77th Masters, becoming the first Australian golfer to capture the green jacket.

Nine months after making bogeys on the last four holes to squander a British Open lead at Royal Lytham and two years after sharing second at the Masters, the 32-year-old from Adelaide won his first major title in impressive fashion.

"I don't know how that happened," Scott said. "It seems a long, long way from a couple years ago, or last July when I was trying to win a major. It was incredible."

Scott and Cabrera both birdied the 18th hole to finish deadlocked after 72 holes on nine-under par 279. Each parred the hole again to open the playoff and both had birdie putts at the second playoff hole, the par-4 10th.

Cabrera just missed his 12-footer and Scott followed with his winning putt, thrusting his arms into the air with joy after the ball curled into the cup to signal the end of a journey from Down Under to the top of the golf world.

It was Scott's second celebration after an emotional 20-foot birdie at 18 in regulation that Cabrera matched with a stunning approach to four feet and a birdie putt of his own.

"There was a split second I thought I had won," Scott admitted. "You never count your chickens. It was time to step up and see how much I wanted it."

Cabrera, the 2007 US Open and 2009 Masters champion, shared a hug with Scott after the final putt.

"That's how golf is," Cabrera said. "I came back. I had my chance to win it. Adam is truly a good winner. He's a great person and a great player and I'm happy for him."

Cabrera would have been the second-oldest Masters champion at 43, trailing only Jack Nicklaus winning the 1986 Masters at age 46. The 43-year-old grandfather is ranked 269th in the world.

Australian Jason Day was third on 281, two strokes ahead of world number one Tiger Woods and Aussie Marc Leishman with Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen and American Brandt Snedeker sharing sixth on 284.

Woods, a 14-time major champion who has never won a major when he did not at least share the 54-hole lead, has not won a major title since the 2008 US Open and not won the Masters since taking his fourth green jacket in 2005.

The Masters was the only major that no Aussie had won, the Augusta National jinx a painful jinx - now shattered forever - that included three heartbreaking defeats for two-time British Open champion Greg Norman.

Norman took a bogey at the 18th in the 1986 Masters to hand Jack Nicklaus his 18th and last major title. In 1987, Norman lost a Masters playoff when Augusta native Larry Mize holed a miraculous chip shot.

In 1996, Norman suffered the greatest last-round collapse in major golf history, leading by six over Nick Faldo only to lose by five to the Englishman.

"He inspired a nation of golfers," Scott said. "Part of this definitely belongs to him."

Scott and Day shared second in 2011, falling short when South African Charl Schwartzel became the first man to birdie the last four holes to win a major.

Scott, who uses an anchored putting stroke, fired a 69 and Cabrera a 70 in the last round. Day could only watch Scott and Cabrera make their stunning shots at the 18th hole and ponder what might have been.

A day after closing with back-to-back bogeys, Day opened with a birdie and followed with an eagle at the par-5 second, but stumbled back with bogeys at the par-3 sixth and par-4 ninth.

Day ripped off a run of three birdies in a row starting at the par-5 13th to put himself into the lead, but bogeys at the 16th and 17th left him third after a closing 70.

"It was really tough," Day said. "Pressure got to me a little bit." Woods, fell eight strokes off the lead before making a late charge that came up short, firing a 70 to share fourth.

"I played well," Woods said. "Unfortunately I just didn't make enough putts. I certainly had an opportunity. I thought if I shot 65 I could win it outright."

Bogeys at the fifth and seventh dropped Woods back, but he birdied the ninth and 10th, then the par-5 13th and 15th to reach five under, unable to gain enough ground on the leaders on the wet, undulating greens of Augusta National.

"I had a hard time getting accustomed to the speed," Woods said. "It was so much slower with the rain. I left every putt short."

Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old Chinese schoolboy who is the youngest player in Masters history, fired a 75 to finish on 12-over 300. He will receive the low amateur's Silver Cup. - AFP

Isner wins first clay court title

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 05:10 PM PDT

HOUSTON (Texas): Fifth seeded John Isner claimed his sixth career title and first on clay by beating Nicolas Almagro in straight sets in the final of the US Clay Court Championships on Sunday.

The hard-serving American blasted seven aces en route to a 6-3, 7-5 win over the Spanish clay court specialist at River Oaks Country Club in Houston.

Isner, who was the runner-up in this event last year, went one better this time, being broken just once in the 81-minute match.

"I've always known I could play well on clay," said Isner. "This week is a little surprising, as Monday was the first day I hit a ball on clay since September.

"I knew it was going to be a tough adjustment and that I had to find a way to get through my first match. My second match was really close. I felt I played better each and every round. I played well yesterday and even better today."

Even though all 12 of Almagro's career titles have come on clay, he couldn't make it 13 on Sunday, failing to overcome four double faults and three service breaks.

"He did a really good job today," Almagro said of Isner. "He played aggressive.

"He served like normal, but today was tough for me. I want to congratulate him, because he's a really good player and a good person and I think he did a good job this week."

Isner, who finished second to Juan Monaco last year, avenged that loss with a three-set win over the Argentine in the semi-finals on Saturday.

The world number 23 Isner had lost both previous matches to Almagro, including a five-set loss in the Davis Cup semi-finals in 2012.

Almagro was seeking to win his first title in 2013 and, like Isner, was appearing in his first final of the year. He fell to a 17-7 season record and a 12-7 mark in Tour finals.

Isner earned US$82,000 in first place prize money. - AFP

Chong Wei inspires Malaysia to first Axiata Cup

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:39 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: It was baby luck all right as world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei oozed class to steer Malaysia to their first US$1mil Axiata Cup at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium in Cheras yesterday.

Just two days after becoming a proud father of his newborn son Kingston, Chong Wei returned to court and crushed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-12, 21-15 to turn saviour for Malaysia.

His win saw Malaysia going on to beat Thailand 3-1 in a full-house stadium for their most memorable mixed team title and their biggest pay cheque of US400,000.

Prior to this, Malaysia's only other mixed team achievements were gold medals at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Yesterday, the other points came through the doubles shuttlers – mixed pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying and men's top pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong. The only one that Malaysia missed was through women's singles shuttler Sonia Cheah.

World No. 5 Peng Soon-Liu Ying pulled off one of their best matches this season to blow away Thailand's Sudket Prapakamol-T. Saralee 21-16, 21-15 while Kien Keat-Boon Heong were a class above Boonsak Ponsana-A. Songphon when they easily sealed the tie with a 21-10, 21-17 win.

The 30-year-old Chong Wei was delighted that he had accomplished his mission for Malaysia.

"We have never won any major mixed team title – especially at home and I wanted to make sure that we nailed one for the home fans," said Chong Wei.

"Liew Daren or Chong Wei Feng could have played but the point was not guaranteed. We discussed it last night (Saturday) and I decided to play to help the team."

The fact that Daren had lost tamely to Tanongsak at the preliminary round was also a reason for Malaysia's decision to field the two-time Olympic Games silver medallist Chong Wei.

"We knew it would be difficult for Sonia to win against Ratchanok (Intanon). Our hope was on the mixed doubles and Peng Soon-Liu Ying played superbly to level the score at 1-1. I am glad that I won and Koo and Tan wrapped it up."

Chong Wei said that winning his first match as a father was certainly an additional bonus.

"My son Kingston has brought me luck. Mew Choo and baby are still in the hospital and will be discharged tomorrow. I will be joining them in the hospital after this," said Chong Wei.

Peng Soon was also happy that they put up an inspiring show.

"We were totally in form today and won in straight games to give an advantage to our team," said Peng Soon.

"I was not too well yesterday but today, I was fresh and able to complement my partner. Before the Axiata Cup, we had struggled but a good win today had lifted our spirits," added Peng Soon, who will next head to the India Open Super Series April 23-28 with Liu Ying.

National singles coach Rashid Sidek was proud of the team's achievement and said that the decision to field Chong Wei made all the difference for the team.

He said that it would put the team on the right mood ahead of the Sudirman Cup at the Putra Stadium from May 19-26.

Results

Third-place playoff: Asia All Stars bt Indonesia 3-1 (Tai Tzu-ying bt Lindaweni Fanetri 21-18, 22-20; Lee Hyun-il bt Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka 21-19, 16-21, 21-6; Tarun Kona-Ashwini Ponnappa lost to Debby Susanto-Mohd Rijal 21-16, 16-21, 15-21; Bao Chunlai-Zheng Bo bt Hendra Setiawan-Mohd Ahsan 21-12, rtd.)

Final: Malaysia bt Thailand 3-1 (Sonia Cheah lost to Ratchanok Intanon 16-21, 17-21; Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying bt Sudket Prapakamol-T. Saralee 21-16, 21-15; Lee Chong Wei bt Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-12, 21-15; Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong bt Boonsak Ponsana-A. Songphon 21-10, 21-17)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

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Bestsellers
Ready, set ...
The god that failed

Bestsellers

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 02:18 AM PDT

FOR week ending April 7, 2013:

Non-fiction

1. Syed Mokhtar Albukhary: A Biography by Premilla Mohanlall

2. Chicken Soup For The Soul: Think Positive by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Amy Newmark

3. Reclaim Your Heart by Yasmin Mogahed

4. Only 13: The True Story Of Lon by Julia Manzanares & Derek Kent

5. A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen

6. Wreck This Journal (Black): To Create Is To Destroy by Keri Smith

7. Escape From Camp 14 by Blaine Harden

8. Snowing In Bali: The Incredible Inside Account Of Bali's Hidden Drug World by Kathryn Bonella

9. Bossypants by Tina Fey

10. You Can Read Anyone: Never Be Fooled, Lied To, Or Taken Advantage Of Again by David J. Lieberman

Fiction

1. The Host (movie tie-in) by Stephenie Meyer

2. Warm Bodies (movie tie-in) by Isaac Marion

3. Life Of Pi by Yann Martel

4. One Day (movie tie-in) by David Nicholls

5. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

6. Manuscript Found In Accra by Paulo Coelho

7. Bloodline by James Rollins

8. The Garden Of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

9. Family Pictures by Jane Green

10. The Time Of My Life by Cecelia Ahern

> Weekly list compiled by MPH Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur; www.mphonline.com.

Ready, set ...

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 02:17 AM PDT

Go! Get writing and enter these competitions for children's book authors. It's a great way to get feedback and exposure.

CAN you believe that we're already into the fourth month of the year? April is my favourite month because it's my birthday month. I am 46 years old on April 14, which should be ... today! Looking forward, I'm guessing I'll have bought myself a birthday present or two – books, of course. Also, a friend told me that she got me the new Virago edition of Rumer Godden's Thursday's Children – squee!

I won't pretend I popped out of my mother waving a copy of Goodnight Moon, but I know I was being read to nightly by the time we moved into our big, beautiful, haunted house on Jalan Pawang in Segamat, Johor, so that's at least 43 years of loving books – now that's something to celebrate.

As I think I said early this year (or was it last?), I'm trying to read more local and regional fiction.

Thanks to the efforts of Malaysian imprints like Buku Fixi, Fixo Novo, and Silverfish Books, and Singaporean publishers Maths Paper Press and Epigram Books, it's not been hard to keep myself supplied with reading material.

Epigram also has some quite interesting children's fiction, and Marshall Cavendish has published some decent picture books this year: Pura The Cat by Tan Soon Meng, illustrated by Ann Gee; and Extraordinary Eloise by Charlene Chua, illustrated by Paula Pang, are particularly noteworthy.

I believe MPH and other Malaysian publishers have produced some children's books in English, but for some reason I haven't been sent any review copies ... a "friend" says that it's no wonder really, as surely my bad reviews are to be avoided at all cost! I can only roll my eyes at such a remark. I don't write bad reviews as a matter of course, you know, and I hope what I offer is constructive criticism.

Anyway, if publishers publish unedited books, do they really expect this not to be pointed out? An author friend believes that we can't afford to be totally honest as the industry here is so small, but I really do believe that we can't afford not to write frank, critical reviews. After all, don't we want better books to be published? Don't we hope that authors and illustrators will get better at what they do?

I'm hopeful in any case, because I've met writers and book artists out there who are keen to learn and improve. What's also important is that they are given the opportunity to share their work. And also that their publishers (and editors) help them make the best of what they've written.

Well, what's encouraging is that aspiring children's book authors now have three competitions to submit their work to: The Scholastic Asian Book Award (held every two years), The SingTel Asian Picture Book Award and The Calistro Prize (both annual contests).

I'm looking forward to reading the winning entries of last year's Calistro Prize as well as the 2012 Scholastic Asian Book Award. The latter's winning entries will be published early next year to coincide with the announcement of the winners for the 2014 award (the contest is now held every two years), and I hope to see the Calistro winners sometime this year.

Aspiring and published authors should submit their entries for the Scholastic Asian Book Award 2014 by Oct 21, 2013; and the Calistro Prize 2013, by Sept 30, 2013. For more details go to scholasticbookaward.asia and calistroprize.wordpress.com.

The SingTel Asian Picture Book Award 2014 (tinyurl.com/bsv924q) will be announced at the Asian Festival for Children's Content in Singapore next month.

Singapore also has the Hedwig Anuar Book Award for children's books published in Singapore, and I think that it would be good to establish a similar award in Malaysia, to encourage the creation and publication of high quality children's and young adult books. Any book lovers keen to sponsor this award should get in touch with me. Now!

Happy Reading!

> Daphne Lee is a writer, editor, book reviewer and teacher. She runs a Facebook group, called The Places You Will Go, for lovers of

all kinds of literature. Write to her at star2@thestar.com.my.

The god that failed

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 02:10 AM PDT

Jung Chang and Jon Halliday talk candidly about Wild Swans, Mao and China.

ELEGANT in a white dress with embroidered flowers, Jung Chang and her academician husband Jon Halliday walked into the shade after their visit to the Kuan Imm Temple, the oldest Chinese temple in historic George Town.

"The temple brings back childhood memories for me," Chang explains. "Of course, nothing like the Kuan Imm Temple exists any more. China today is just one big city after the next. They are all the same. What we saw this morning reminds me of what China has lost," she says.

Earlier this year, Chang and Halliday had been invited by hoteliers Christopher Ong and Karl Steinberg to speak at the first "literary dinner" held at Kebaya, the contemporary Peranakan restaurant at the newly restored boutique hotel Seven Terraces (listed by Conde Nast Traveller as the best new hotel for 2013).

Wild Swans: Three Daughters Of China is of course Chang's famous family story that spans a century of China's history; first published in 1991, the book has sold some 10 million copies and has been translated into 30 languages. This success has enabled both Chang and Halliday to become professional writers.

"I taught for a bit in London (as Senior Visiting Fellow at King's College, University of London) but now I do research for our books," says the affable Halliday, 74.

"We met in the late 1970s when I was working for the BBC, doing a documentary about North Korea. We needed to get the Chinese perspective and someone introduced me to Jung. That was how we met."

Wild Swans, which was followed by their jointly written bestseller Mao: The Unknown Story, meant numerous speaking engagements and world travel.

"We got mainly positive responses for both books but also a fair share of criticism," says Halliday. "Wild Swans, for example, was said to have been written for Western readers. Mao received a lot of intellectual criticism but not many challenged us about the facts."

Socialist in his youth, the Anglo-Irish Jon grew up to become an historian specialising in modern Asia. His brother, the international relations specialist and author Fred Halliday, sat on the editorial board of the respected journal, New Left Review.

When asked about this background and what he felt when some of the harsher criticisms about Mao said that the book is "one-sided" in painting an almost entirely negative picture of Mao, Halliday defends the research and novel-style approach to the biography.

"We collected copious documents from Russian, Chinese and Western archives. We have not been challenged on that score. We also interviewed lots of people who had direct and personal experiences with Mao. They have attested to the thinking and actions of Mao," he says.

That thinking was certainly nationally influential, judging by the memories Chang shares: "When we were growing up in Mao's China, we used to think that 'hello' was a bad word. Only the capitalists from the West would use it. Hello was accompanied by an even more terrible lifestyle symbol, Coco-Cola! This was how restricted our lives had become," Chang, now 62, explains.

In a sense, the coming together of Chang and Halliday is an analogy for the meeting of idealism and reality. When they met, both belonged to a world stage defined by ideology. Halliday was coming from Socialist Britain where the Labour Party had created the Welfare State and the National Health Service. Chang, as most readers will know from Wild Swans, came of age in a China defined by central planning with Mao as the prime mover. The little red book met Coco-Cola in 1970s London, when socialism was at its nadir and utopian ideals were soon to give way to the Thatcherism of the 1980s.

The scales were soon to fall from their eyes and this "re-education" as it were became the catalyst for Chang's little-known first book, Madame Sun Yat-Sen: Soong Ching-Ling, part of Penguin's "Lives of Modern Women" series at the time. (It was released as "By Jung Chang with Jon Halliday".)

"That was my first publication but I do not consider it my first book. It was written in a style that was uncritical," says Chang, explaining that, "Later, after much more research, I discovered that some of her diaries had been censored. Her critical side, her disagreements with what Mao was doing in China, all that had been kept from the public."

The writing of Wild Swans was an exorcism of this god that had failed Chang and Halliday's generation. Its success was built upon the world of publishing and the capitalist economy. Yet it is also the culmination of a great personal journey.

"I was able to write it because my mother, who had come to England, left me 60 tapes. It was her personal history and for me, putting our experiences into words, enabled me to go on with life," says Chang.

"For the longest time, all our emotions were pent-up. Some of us who had lived through the Cultural Revolution (from the mid 1960s to the 1970s) are not ever able to face up to it. Wild Swans is my first book in the sense that it enabled me transform trauma into memory."

Wild Swan's strength lies in its revelatory approach. In some ways, it is inspired by oral history. There are clear elements of a confessional and, through that structure, readers can easily identify with the powerful forces that were transforming Chinese society in the first half of the 20th century. It led Chang and Halliday to their second project, taking on the cult of Mao itself.

"Mao the historical personality had been carefully cultivated and built up over the years. It was not only a project by the Communist Party in China but was an international project involving journalists, devoted fans and academics from the West as well.

"The power of Mao's image as the 'father of modern China' is constructed and vigorously protected by the current regime. We felt justified when people who had lived through Mao's rule congratulated us," Chang says about reaction to the book, adding that "We met and spoke to Chin Peng, who led the communist uprising in Malaya. Mao encouraged such uprisings to the detriment of thousands." Chin Peng, according to Chang, "was eventually discarded".

A natural extension of the personal approach that worked so well with Wild Swans, the Mao biography's subjectivity led to a lot of criticism from academia, the strongest being that the book seemingly portrayed only the monstrosity of Mao, a man with no redeeming features.

"In our lectures overseas, we do have to explain that Mao had completely turned China upside down," Chang says. "I was a barefoot doctor sent to the rural areas to work as an electrician and technician because Mao believed that formal education was unnecessary. Hidden from public view, he remained a sainted figure whilst millions of Chinese were suffering in China."

Having buried the memory of Mao, Chang and Halliday have embarked upon a rehabilitative journey. Their new book about the Empress Dowager Cixi is a happier conjunction of history, memory and personality.

Of the charismatic woman who controlled China for almost half a decade until her death in 1908, Chang says: "I have always been intrigued by the story of the Empress Dowager and one question keeps cropping up: would China have been spared its turbulent and tragic entry into the 20th century if the reforms carried out by the Empress Dowager had succeeded?"

A Penang connection with the Empress Dowager exists in the form of a little known intellectual named Gu Hongming (Koh Hong Beng in the local Penang Hokkien dialect), according to Chang and Halliday.

"We have come across Gu in our research. He wrote and published many articles in the North China Daily criticizing Western colonialism and supporting the reform policies of the Empress Dowager. He even published a book defending Cixi after the Boxer Rebellion (of 1900), pleading for the preservation of the monarchy," Chang says.

What Gu was most concerned about was the wholesale displacement of Chinese history, culture and identity – all to be sacrificed for the sake of imitating Western-style "modernity".

"Instead of the wholesale sacrifice of our customs and a rejection of our living heritage, Cixi's brand of reforms, started in the 1860s, was altogether more gradual and comprehensive. Would a different kind of modernization have been possible? Would we have been spared Mao?" ponders Chang.

"Like here in Penang, China could have preserved something of itself," she says.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

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GE13: Gelang Patah MCA members "stop work" in support of Jason Teoh
GE13: PAS fields non-Muslim for Asahan state seat
GE13: PKR's Rafizi Ramli to contest in Pandan

GE13: Gelang Patah MCA members "stop work" in support of Jason Teoh

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 10:13 AM PDT

JOHOR BARU: Gelang Patah MCA members have temporarily disbanded their election machinery as a sign of protest over the doubtful position of their division chief, Jason Teoh, as a parliamentary candidate in the general election.

Some 600 of the division's members formed a committee on Sunday to show their support for Teoh as the candidate.

Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman has been speculated to be fielded for the seat which has traditionally belonged to MCA. The group's chairman, Chaw Yee Chong, said the members, mostly volunteers, decided to stop work at 30 of the 38 voting district centres in the Gelang Patah constituency.

He added that the group would only resume duty once they know who the candidate is.

"We are MCA members and Barisan Nasional supporters. However we want to know who the candidate is in the area," he said.

GE13: PAS fields non-Muslim for Asahan state seat

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 09:54 AM PDT

MALACCA: PAS will field a non-Muslim as its candidate for the Asahan state seat.

Perak PAS Supporters' Club deputy president Richard Wong has been named the man for Asahan while entrepreneur and mother of five, Kintan Man, the sole woman candidate to vie the Sungai Rambai state seat.

Wong was present when PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu made the announcements at a ceramah in Serkam, Jasin on Sunday.

He said the party would contest in one parliament and 13 state seats in Malacca.

The other candidates are press secretary Mohd Nasaie Ismail (Masjid Tanah parliamentary), Malacca deputy PAS commissioner Kamaruddin Sidek (Serkam), businessman Harun Mohamed (Telok Mas), PAS Malacca Youth chief Yuhaizad Abdullah (Merlimau), accounts executive Asri Sheikh Abdul Aziz (Lendu), former Malacca Hospital deputy director Dr Md Khalid Kassim (Bukit Baru) and religious teacher Mohd Khairi Abd Aziz (Ayer Molek).

Businessman Julas Sapiyah Kassim will be vying for Kuala Linggi, with Imran Abd Rahman in Tanjung Bidara), Malacca PAS commissioner Adly Zahari in Durian Tunggal and businessman Ab Halim Ab Jalil in Taboh Naning.

GE13: PKR's Rafizi Ramli to contest in Pandan

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 08:49 AM PDT

PETALING JAYA: As speculated, PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli has been confirmed as the candidate for the Pandan parliamentary seat in the general election

Party adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also announced the appointment of former UIAM lecturer Dr Abdul Aziz Bari as PKR's parliamentary candidate for Sabak Bernam.

Anwar said the Kota Damansara seat has been left unresolved with PSM.

"The matter is left for further discussion," he said at a ceramah when announcing the list of Selangor PKR candidates for the general election in Gombak.

One name not picked was that of Loh Gwo Bourne, who has been replaced by lawyer Wong Chen for the Kelana Jaya constituency.

The other parliamentary candidates are:

- Anwar's former press secretary Khalid Jaafar (Hulu Selangor);

- William Leong (Selanyang);

- Zuraida Kamaruddin (Ampang);

- Hee Loy Sian (PJ Selatan);

- R Sivarasa (Subang);

- G Manivannan (Kapar);

- Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid (Kuala Langat);

- Azmin Ali (Gombak).

For the state seats, Anwar announced nine new names in the line-up with Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim moving from Ijok to Port Klang.

The other new candidates are electronics manager K. Ramachandran (Batang Kali), Mohd Yahya Mat Sahri (Pematang), Dr Idris Ahmad (Ijok), Tengku Maraziah Tengku Sulaiman (Kuang), Hamidi Hassan (Semenyih), Lee Chin Cheh (Kajang), Haniza Mohamed Talha (Taman Medan), Dr Daroyah Alwi (Sementa), Borhan Aman Shah (Dengkil).

S. Manikavasagam will move from the Kapar parliament to Bukit Melawati, while the other incumbents are Gan Pei Nei (Rawang), Amiruddin Shari (Batu Caves), Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Seri Setia), Elizabeth Wong (Bukit Lanjan), Dr Yaakob Sapari (Kota Anggerik), Rodziah Ismail (Batu Tiga), Dr Xavier Jayakumar (Sri Andalas), Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei (Sri Muda).

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Ahad, 14 April 2013