Jumaat, 12 Julai 2013

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

Experts: Older couples may split after children leave home

Posted:

After years focused on parenting, some couples lose the romance in their marriage.

When their children leave home, they struggle to relate to each other and split up.

Sociologists and experts said this was the key reason why people aged 45 and above accounted for a larger share of marital break-ups last year – despite an overall decline in the number of divorces.

But the statistics also revealed that more people aged 60 and above are getting hitched, and this may be down to people remarrying, said experts.

Figures from the Department of Statistics showed that the number of divorces and annulments fell by 4.8% to 7,241 last year, the first drop in seven years.

But 38.8% of divorced men last year were aged 45 and above, up from 26.3% in 2002.

The figure was 25.3% last year for females in the same age group, compared to 17.3% 10 years before.

National University of Singapore sociologist Paulin Straughan said older couples might split up after their kids leave home, as they did not spend enough time building their relationship as a couple.

Instead, they invested the time in their careers and children.

"Much of the marriage is tied to the couple's roles as parents, rather than their roles as husband and wife.

"So when the children leave, the parents don't know what to do with each other," she said.

Care Corner Counselling Centre centre manager Jonathan Siew said: "The wife may initially choose not to divorce when her children are still young.

"But when the children have grown up and can support themselves, if the marital situation hasn't improved, the wife may opt for divorce."

For marriages to work, Institute of Policy Studies sociologist Mathew Mathews suggested that couples work on developing their relationship from the start.

"People should be more open to marriage preparation and marriage enrichment programmes. When you know that you've been through good times previously, there's something that you can look back to, and you'd feel more committed when going through crises."

The statistics also suggested that more people are rediscovering love later in life.

Some 420 men and 77 women aged 60 and above got married last year, compared to 145 men and 19 women in 2002.

Remarriages also made up 25.1% of total marriages last year. A decade ago, the figure was 18.9%.

Siew drew a link between the two sets of figures, explaining that those getting hitched older may be tying the knot for the second time.

Harry Elias Partnership family lawyer Koh Tien Hua said people, even after a divorce or a spouse's death, were not afraid of recommitting themselves because "marriage is still something that's greatly valued". — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Former DPP found guilty of sex with underage prostitute

Posted:

Lawyer and ex-DPP Spencer Gwee (pic) has been found guilty of paid sex with an underage prostitute.

Judge Toh Yung Cheong said yesterday that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, and found the 61-year-old guilty of one charge of having paid the Vietnamese prostitute S$300 (RM754) for sex at Four Chain View Hotel in Geylang on the evening of July 19, 2011.

In his written grounds, the judge addressed several key areas of Gwee's defence, including his claim that he did not speak Vietnamese and never had a conversation with the girl, even though there were telco records of SMSes exchanged between their phones.

"The communication between (the girl) and the accused was more or less limited to requesting sexual intercourse; (she) was not claiming that the accused recite the Iliad or the Odyssey," said Toh.

"It was not out of the realm of possibility that the accused may have learnt a few Vietnamese phrases from his frequent visits to Four Chain View Hotel, pubs in Geylang, as well as his trips to Vietnam," wrote Toh.

Sentencing for the case will take place next Friday. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

Running man

Posted:

The courageous story of the "Flying Sikh" – India's most successful ever track athlete, who overcame childhood tragedy to seek Olympic glory – is the latest Bollywood biopic to hit cinemas.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (Run, Milkha, Run) charts the journey of young Milkha Singh who lost his family during India's tumultuous partition in 1947 and went on to compete at the 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games.

His rise to elite athlete made Milkha a national hero. "We all grew up with the folklore of Milkha, he's a larger-than-life figure for us," said the film's director Rakeysh Mehra.

"He's like what Pele meant to football, or what Jesse Owens meant for track and field for the West."

The movie title refers to the poignant last words spoken to Milkha by his father. As he was dying, he told Milkha to flee or he too would be killed in the post-partition riots sweeping the subcontinent – Milkha ran for his life and boarded a train with other refugees.

Mehra was drawn to Milkha's story not just for his sporting achievements but for the impact the athlete had on a newborn nation struggling to assert itself.

"At that time, we were looking for heroes outside politics. Outside Gandhi or Nehru, there were none that the world knew. So he went out there and in a way conquered the world for us," he explained. "This man never ran away from his fears, he ran along with them."

Milkha finished fourth in the 400m at the 1960 Olympics in Rome after a spectacular final that was so close it needed a photo finish to determine fourth place. A devastated Milkha, who won gold at both the Asian and Commonwealth Games, never fulfilled his dream of winning an Olympic medal.

The director says his film is decidedly "un-Bollywood", deviating from the typical plotline that aims to "serve a complete meal" by combining elements of dance, drama, emotion and action into one blockbuster. "Here, drama is the key," Mehra said.

He is the latest Bollywood director to experiment with a biographical story, following a string of true-life movies in recent years that have proven popular with wide audiences.

Among the most successful was The Dirty Picture (2011), starring Vidya Balan and inspired by the life of a South Indian erotic actress in the 1980s. Last year's critically-acclaimed sports biopic Paan Singh Tomar, starring Irrfan Khan, told the story of athlete Tomar who became a notorious bandit.

Farhan Akhtar, who plays Milkha Singh in the new movie, said portraying a living person was a huge responsibility that required months of both physical and mental preparation.

"I wanted them to believe that they've cast an athlete and taught him how to act, as opposed to the other way around. And that comes from the kind of energy you exude when you walk onto a track and it feels like you belong to this space," he said.

The former sprinter, now 77, told Akhtar he hoped the film would encourage future Indian athletes by showing just how close he came to Olympic glory, and perhaps inspiring them "to fulfil that dream for him", the actor said. – AFP

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

Adam Lambert joins 'Glee'

Posted:

Adam Lambert is coming to the fifth season of Fox's Glee.

Showrunner and co-creator Ryan Murphy broke the news Wednesday on Twitter. It's unclear whether the role will be a guesting, recurring or regular role on the series.

A show representative told TheWrap that there is no additional information on the role at this time.

Lambert's appearance on the show follows fellow American Idol alum Jessica Sanchez's appearance on the musical series last season. She appeared on two episodes as Frida Romero, the lead vocalist of the glee club, The Hoosierdaddies.

Lambert, who has been floated by reports, as a possible judge next season on Idol, arrives to the series during a time of transition. Recently, it promoted five recurring actors to series regulars. They replace five original cast members who won't be returning for Season Five (unless they're tapped to guest star).

While Lambert has plenty of on-air experience, he hasn't done a lot of television acting. He has only really done a small part on ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars last season. — Reuters

All grown up

Posted:

Freddie Highmore transitions from child star to bigger roles.

FORMER child star Freddie Highmore is back on the acting scene, but don't expect to see him on the silver screen any time soon. Instead, you can find the British actor, now 21, on television as he stars in the brand new series Bates Motel.

The show is a contemporary prequel of the 1960 horror classic Psycho, which is about the lives of Norma Bates and her 17-year-old son Norman, played by Highmore.

Already renewed for a second season following strong ratings and favourable reviews, the show also stars Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Up In The Air, Source Code) as Norma.

Having grown up playing roles in movies like Finding Neverland and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, portraying a psychopath is unfamiliar territory for Highmore, though it is a challenge he relishes.

"It would be boring if I kept doing the same thing, so it's great to have the opportunity to play something else," he said. "Playing Norman is quite a challenge, but I've gained some inspiration from watching Anthony Perkins' iconic performance (in Psycho)."

In the original film, Norman was a serial killer who suffered from dissociative identity disorder. Bates Motel will highlight the earlier years of the man as he begins to discover his other self.

Rest assured, Highmore knows enough about acting to do justice to the role. He's been in the business for over a decade, starting with minor television roles when he was just seven, before moving on to the big screen.

You could probably say playing Charlie in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory was the "golden ticket" in his movie career, though the transition to adult roles is often the trickiest part for child actors.

But Highmore, who is currently studying in the University of Cambridge, doesn't quite see what's the problem. "It's just that you get older, so you start playing older characters.

"As I grow older, I become more confident with voicing my opinions. I try to contribute ideas on set and get more involved, rather than just sitting around."

Catch Freddie Highmore in Bates Motel every Wednesday at 10.50pm on Universal HD (HyppTV Ch 612).

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

Running man

Posted:

The courageous story of the "Flying Sikh" – India's most successful ever track athlete, who overcame childhood tragedy to seek Olympic glory – is the latest Bollywood biopic to hit cinemas.

His rise to elite athlete made Milkha a national hero. "We all grew up with the folklore of Milkha, he's a larger-than-life figure for us," said the film's director Rakeysh Mehra.

"He's like what Pele meant to football, or what Jesse Owens meant for track and field for the West."

Mehra was drawn to Milkha's story not just for his sporting achievements but for the impact the athlete had on a newborn nation struggling to assert itself.

He is the latest Bollywood director to experiment with a biographical story, following a string of true-life movies in recent years that have proven popular with wide audiences.

Farhan Akhtar, who plays Milkha Singh in the new movie, said portraying a living person was a huge responsibility that required months of both physical and mental preparation.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates

Third Chinese schoolgirl dies in Asiana air crash
Egypt's divide turns brother against brother
Fugitive Snowden to seek temporary asylum in Russia

Third Chinese schoolgirl dies in Asiana air crash

Posted:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A Chinese girl died in a San Francisco hospital on Friday, becoming the third fatality in the crash of an Asiana Airlines jet at the city's airport last Saturday, doctors and Chinese officials said.

The teenage girl, who died on Friday morning, had been in critical condition, according to a statement from two doctors at San Francisco General Hospital. Her parents asked the hospital not to release further information.

The girl was a Chinese national, according to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. She was part of a group of students from eastern China who were visiting the United States to attend summer camp, one of the trip organizers said. He said she was 16.

The crash landing of the Boeing 777 also killed two other Chinese girls from the school group and injured more than 180 people. Ye Mengyuan and Wang Linjia, the two teenagers who died on Saturday, were sitting in the back of the plane, which hit the seawall and suffered the most damage.

One of the girls was run over by a fire truck rushing to the scene, the San Francisco Police Department said on Friday, although it was unclear whether she was still alive at the time.

She was obscured by fire retardant foam and was found in the fire truck's tracks when it moved to fight flames in the fuselage, police spokesman Albie Esparza said.

The coroner in San Mateo County, where the airport is located, has said he will release the autopsy results of the two girls who died on Saturday within two weeks.

Most of the injured passengers were taken to San Francisco General Hospital and to Stanford Hospital & Clinics.

San Francisco General, which originally received 67 patients, still has six, including two in critical condition. The six suffered a combination of spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, abdominal injuries, internal bleeding, road rash and fractures, the hospital said.

Stanford still has one patient, who is in serious condition, a spokesman said. It treated 55 patients from the crash.

At least seven patients remain at other hospitals.

(Reporting By Sarah McBride, Gerry Shih and Kristina Cooke; Editing by Sandra Maler and Peter Cooney)

Egypt's divide turns brother against brother

Posted:

CAIRO (Reuters) - Islam Ibrahim has no idea if his older brother Nasim was one of the Republican Guardsmen shooting at him when he and hundreds of other Egyptians were wounded and more than 50 killed.

The brothers, who moved together to Cairo from a village near the Suez canal, stayed close until last week, when the army in which Nasim serves toppled the president that Islam has vowed to defend.

"I don't know if he was there with them or not," said Islam, 24, with a bandage from a gunshot on his knee and an open wound from birdshot on his shoulder.

"I don't like to think about it. If he was, I know he wouldn't fire on unarmed demonstrators," he said. He sat on a plastic chair behind the stage at the camp near a Cairo mosque where thousands of supporters of the deposed president, Mohamed Mursi, say they will keep a protest vigil until he is restored.

The overthrow of Mursi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, has split the country like no other event in memory, dividing brothers from brothers, fathers from daughters and husbands from wives.

Two days after the army ousted Mursi following escalating street protests against his rule, Islam called his brother to invite him to a pro-Mursi rally.

"He said I should be at home celebrating and that the army had saved the country from chaos," recalled Islam. The brothers have not spoken since.

A few days later, Islam was among protesters outside the headquarters of his brother's Republican Guard when they were fired upon in one of the deadliest incidents in more than two years of political unrest.

"I was still praying when I heard the gunfire. I was 300 metres away from the soldiers. They were shooting teargas over our heads," said Islam, wearing a tracksuit and red flip-flops, clutching a walking cane in one hand and a Quran in a brown leather case in the other.

BULLETS FLYING

"I heard bullets flying in all directions. Everyone was running left and right. Some of my friends were throwing rocks at the soldiers. We made a shield out of steel traffic barriers, but my leg was sticking out and a bullet struck me in the knee.

"My friend helped me stop the bleeding with his shirt. As I was running back another bullet hit me in the shoulder."

The army says the violence was provoked by terrorists who attacked its troops. The Brotherhood says its supporters were fired upon while peacefully praying. Footage circulated widely on the Internet shows uniformed snipers firing from rooftops.

The Ibrahim brothers moved to Cairo three years ago. Nasim, already a soldier, was sent to the capital to serve in the Republican Guard; Islam, a young follower of the Muslim Brotherhood, found a job teaching Arabic at a mosque.

Their father, head of a tourism company, had been a member of the Brotherhood in the 1980s and 90s who quit after he was arrested and tortured by the secret police under autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Islam joined the Brotherhood at 18 after he heard a sermon from a preacher from Alexandria. He revealed his membership to his father, but kept it from his mother so she would not worry about him.

The Ibrahim brothers' politics overlapped during the 2011 revolution that toppled Mubarak. They attended protests together then, but drifted apart somewhat after Mubarak's fall - Islam knew that Nasim disapproved of his ties to the Brotherhood. Still, they remained on good terms until now.

Today, he cannot imagine how Nasim can remain in an army that toppled an elected president and shot so many people.

"He has to leave the army now. It is no longer possible to support Egypt and support the Army. Those two things are incompatible," Islam said.

"I have called him but he doesn't answer his phone."

Fugitive Snowden to seek temporary asylum in Russia

Posted:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fugitive former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, breaking weeks of silence, said in Moscow on Friday he was seeking temporary asylum in Russia and had no regrets about spilling U.S. spy secrets.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Friday, but appeared to make no headway on Washington's demand that Moscow send Snowden back to the United States, where he is wanted on espionage charges.

Putin has made clear Russia would not extradite Snowden to the United States.

The disclosures have raised Americans' concerns about domestic spying and strained relations with some U.S. allies.

Meeting with rights activists summoned to Sheremetyevo airport where he has been camped since late June, Snowden assailed Western nations he said had prevented him getting to Latin America. He said he hoped to stay in Russia until he had "safe passage" there.

The State Department repeated its call on Russia to send Snowden to the United States, saying granting the American fugitive asylum would "raise concerns" and criticising Moscow for giving him a "propaganda platform".

Snowden has not been seen publicly since he arrived at Sheremetyevo from Hong Kong on June 23 and Russian officials say he has not formally entered the country because he has remained in the airport's transit zone.

Snowden, 30, who lived with his girlfriend in Hawaii and worked at a National Security Agency facility there before fleeing the country, said he had sacrificed a comfortable life to disclose details of secret surveillance programmes.

"A little over one month ago, I had family, a home in paradise," Snowden said at the closed-door meeting, footage of which was shown on Russian television and a news website with close ties to Russian law enforcement agencies.

"I also had the capability without any warrant to search for, seize, and read your communications. Anyone's communications at any time. That is the power to change people's fates," he said.

A Kremlin spokesman said Snowden should not harm the interests of the United States if he wants refuge in Russia - a condition initially set by Putin on July 1 and which the Kremlin said prompted Snowden to withdraw an asylum request at the time.

"Snowden is serious about obtaining political asylum in the Russian Federation," said Vyacheslav Nikonov, a pro-Kremlin lawmaker who attended the meeting that authorities helped organise at an undisclosed location at the airport.

Snowden, who has been offered asylum by Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, asked for help "requesting guarantees of safe passage from the relevant nations in securing my travel to Latin America". But it was unclear when that might happen, or how.

"He wants to move further on, he wants to move to Latin America - he said it quite clearly," Tanya Lokshina, deputy head of the Moscow office of Human Rights Watch, told Reuters.

"But in order to be guaranteed safety here in Russia, the only way for him to go was to file a formal asylum plea."

South American leaders at a meeting of the Mercosur trade bloc on Friday defended their right to offer asylum to Snowden.

NO EASY WAY OUT

The United States has urged nations not to give him passage to an asylum destination.

Bolivian President Evo Morales, returning from a visit to Russia last week, had to land in Austria after he was denied access to the airspace of several European countries on suspicion Snowden might be on board his plane.

"Some governments in Western European and North American states have demonstrated a willingness to act outside the law, and this behaviour persists today," Snowden told the activists.

"This unlawful threat makes it impossible for me to travel to Latin America and enjoy the asylum granted there in accordance with our shared rights."

Snowden's predicament has thrust him into the hands of Russia as Washington and Moscow are seeking to improve relations that soured over issues including Syria and human rights since Putin's return to the Kremlin in 2012.

Putin has made a show of impatience over Snowden's stay, saying twice since he arrived that he should choose a destination and leave. But it had also become clear that he has no easy route to a safe haven from Moscow.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said it would raise concerns in the U.S.-Russian relationship if Moscow were to accept an asylum request from Snowden.

"However we are not at that point yet. They still have the opportunity to do the right thing and return Mr. Snowden to the United States and that's what our hope is," she said.

A White House statement about the Obama-Putin call offered no indication of a breakthrough over Snowden.

"The two leaders noted the importance of U.S.-Russian bilateral relations and discussed a range of security and bilateral issues, including the status of Mr. Edward Snowden and cooperation on counter-terrorism in the lead-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics," the statement said.

Putin has frequently accused the United States of double standards on human rights and has championed its critics, but he has invited Obama to Russia for a summit in early September and does not want to ruin the chances for that.

Putin's spokesman repeated earlier conditions that Snowden should stop harming the interests of the United States if he wants asylum.

"As far as we know, he considers himself a defender of human rights and a campaigner for democratic ideals," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov said Snowden should "fully refrain from actions inflicting damage on our American partners and on Russian-American relations", Interfax news agency reported.

Lawmaker Nikonov said that message had got through.

"I asked him if he was ready to give up his political activity against the United States. He said, 'Definitely, yes, all this activity was in the past'," he said. He later said Snowden had submitted the asylum request.

CONCERNS ABOUT DEATH PENALTY RISK

After Snowden's meeting, pro-Kremlin politicians lined up to cast the American as a rights activist who deserved protection because he could be charged in the United States with espionage, a crime that carries the death penalty.

"There is a really great risk that Edward Snowden is facing this very punishment," Sergei Naryshkin, speaker of the lower house of parliament, told state TV. "We simply can't allow this."

Snowden cast himself in similar terms.

"I did what I believed right and began a campaign to correct this wrongdoing. I did not seek to enrich myself. I did not seek to sell U.S. secrets," he said.

"That moral decision to tell the public about spying that affects all of us has been costly, but it was the right thing to do and I have no regrets."

Lokshina, of Human Rights Watch, said U.S. officials asked her to tell Snowden the United States did not see it that way.

"I was contacted on my phone on my way to the airport on behalf of the ambassador and they asked me to relay to Snowden the official position of the U.S. authorities - that he is not a whistleblower, but had broken the law and should be held accountable," she said. She said she passed on the message.

A senior U.S. official, however, told Reuters: "At no point, did any U.S. government official ask anyone to convey a message to Mr. Snowden. The embassy officer who was in contact with Human Rights Watch did so to explain that we do not consider Mr. Snowden to be a whistleblower - not to convey any message to him."

After the activists were led through a grey door marked "staff only", Lokshina said they were put on a bus, driven around until they reached a different part of Sheremetyevo and taken to a room where Snowden was waiting.

(Additional reporting by Alessandra Prentice, Anthony Boadle in Brasilia and Steve Holland and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by Steve Gutterman, Thomas Grove; and Peter Cooney; Editing by Alison Williams and Sandra Maler)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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The Star Online: Business

Where’s the buzz?
Abu Sahid’s nerves of steel will see the company through
Maersk Signs US$54mil Rig Contract With Petronas

Where’s the buzz?

Posted:

SOMEWHERE in Corporate Malaysia, the
clock is ticking. It's nothing like a time
bomb, but still it's foolish to do nothing
before the deadline. The problem is, there's
less than three weeks to go.

That may sound like quite a bit of time, but
not so if you have to go through two lengthy
documents, totalling over 750 pages. Most
of these pages contain what are meant to be
statutory provisions eventually, and those are
written in the highly exact yet knotty language
of the lawyers.

Here's a delightful example: "A conversion
of a company pursuant to this section shall
not affect the identity of the company or any
rights or obligations of the company or render
defective any legal proceedings by or against
the company and any legal proceedings that
could have been continued or commenced
by or against it prior to the conversion may,
notwithstanding the conversion, be continued
or commenced by or against it after the conversion."

On July 2, the Companies Commission of
Malaysia (CCM) published exposure drafts on
the Companies Bill and the Interest Schemes
Bill. The public have until Aug 1 to submit
feedback via email.

These documents have much relevance
to the corporate and investment landscape
in Malaysia. The Companies Bill sets out
the legal framework that will replace the
Companies Act 1965, while the Interest
Schemes Bill contains provisions that will
separately govern the breed of investment
schemes that currently come under the
Companies Act.

In a May 2012 presentation at an MIA
event, a CCM senior officer said: "The new
Companies Bill will revolutionise the way
people do business in Malaysia."

Sure, the journey from exposure draft to
legislation will extend far beyond Aug 1 – the
Bills have to be passed in Parliament, for one
thing – but the stakeholders should familiarise
themselves with what's coming, and if
they have reservations or suggestions, now is
the best time to speak up.

Although this process of releasing exposure
drafts and inviting views and recommendations
is called a public consultation, the CCM
seems to be targeting a narrow audience.

There's no indication that the commission
had issued a press release on this matter. As
such, you're more likely to find out about the
exposure drafts if you visit the CCM website
or Facebook page. Another way is if you
belong to certain professional bodies that
presumably have been notified by the commission
and have announced the matter to
members.

Two such bodies are the Malaysian Institute
of Accountants (MIA) and Malaysian Institute
of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators
(Maicsa). That's understandable because company
law is central to the work of auditors
and company secretaries.

It appears that the two institutes are gathering
input from members to be forwarded to
the CCM. Each has set an earlier deadline for
feedback – July 15 for Maicsa members and
July 19 for MIA members.

Some speed-reading skills will be useful.
The consultation document on the Companies
Bill has 642 pages, with the draft Bill itself
stretched over 615 pages.

But what about the lawyers, bankers and
corporate finance specialists? Shouldn't there
be active discussions within their respective
circles about the Bills?

Yet, the websites of the Bar Council,
Association of Banks in Malaysia and
Malaysian Investment Banking Association
don't mention the CCM's public consultation
on the exposure drafts.

In fact, judging from the lack of recent
mentions in cyberspace and the media, the
Bills have apparently escaped the notice of
most people in the local business world.
That's not a good sign.

Unless you've been closely following company
law developments in Malaysia over the
past decade, there's a lot of catching up to do.

It was back in December 2003 that
the CCM kick-started the Corporate Law
Reform Programme through a review of the
Companies Act. The aim was to have "a conducive
and dynamic business and regulatory
environment for this country".

The commission formed the Corporate Law
Reform Committee (CLRC), chaired by former
Court of Appeal judge Datuk K.C. Vohrah,
to spearhead the review. Among the committee
members were representatives from
the public sector and regulators, lawyers,
accountants, secretarial practitioners and
academicians.

The CLRC submitted its final report to
the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
Minister in June 2008. The CCM accepted all
but five of the report's 188 recommendations,
and these were translated into 19 policy
statements approved by the Cabinet in 2010.

But the revamp was not yet over.
In February 2010, the CCM set up the
Accounting Issues Consultative Committee
(AICC), whose members were mostly drawn
from the accounting bodies and regulators.

The objective was to align the new legal
framework for companies with the international
accounting standards and practices. The
AICC's recommendations have been incorporated
in the Companies Bill.

There were other inputs that helped
shaped the Bill. These came from regulatory
authorities and professional bodies, and from
recent World Bank and OECD reports.

Although a lot of views have already been
reflected in the Com panies Bill, it doesn't
mean it no longer requires any scrutiny and
polishing.

The corporate sector evolves fast; a proposed
measure that made sense five years
ago may now be irrelevant or worse, counterproductive.

Amid that long review process,
new stakeholders may have emerged and
their interests may have been overlooked.

The Companies Act is a major influence
over how business is conducted in Malaysia.

After almost 10 years and a false start or two,
we're getting so close to the introduction of a
total replacement. Here's when we ought to
resist haste and impatience, and instead focus
on making sure that the law is the best that
it can be.

Executive editor Errol Oh is lookin g forward to the corpor ate milestone o f the new Companies Act coming in to force.

Abu Sahid’s nerves of steel will see the company through

Posted:

IN his typical no holds barred manner, the exuberant Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed gives StarBizWeek an insight into his entire 17 years of involvement in the long-ailing Perwaja Steel. Reiterating the fact that the asset was thrust on to him by the Government, Abu Sahid says "I am not crazy to have wanted this.

I am an operator (of businesses) and that's why I was asked to turn this around". Abu Sahid also recalls how there were a number of offers coming to him in the early days of him taking over Perwaja by local and foreign players including by the Mittal Steel company, which he turned down as that would have meant Perwaja would no longer be the country's main steel supplier.

"Every developed country needs a large steel player for development," he enthuses. All is not lost for Perwaja, Abu Sahid claims and there are plans to nudge it back to health, despite the numerous headwinds it is facing. Here are excerpt of that interview:

SBW: Please tell us how you got roped into Perwaja?

AS: I never asked for Perwaja. I am not a crazy man. I am an operator, a businessman, not a corporate player. I know what to do to turn around businesses. The Government was looking for a solution and one day Tun Mahathir (then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) called me, and we met for two and a half hours… Two hours 20 minutes to be exact. 'I want you to take over the running of Perwaja. You know what this is all about,' he said.

I was shocked. I was a small businessman and had no money. But I was supplying scrap metal, transportation and technology to Perwaja. I also supplied spare parts to UMW. And that's how I got to know Eric Chia (the late Tan Sri Eric Chia who ran Perwaja from 1988 to 1995).

The instruction from the Government was simply this: 'This is the price, you make it happen'. But there was no way I could have made it with the price given and that's why it took a while for us to negotiate on the final price. That was in 1996 when they asked me to move into Perwaja. But it was only in 2003 when we completed the privatisation. So in effect, I was

the company for a number of years without owning it. I promised the Government, give me 10 years to make it happen. We lost money, year after year, for eight years. After 10 years, I privatised it. (I thought) when I find a strategic partner, I will list it.

I targeted to list the company on Aug 20, 2008 (20/08/2008). You know why? It's my birthday. You can never get another "20/08/2008". That was the day Perwaja was listed.

Why did you hold on to the company considering its troubles and difficult business?

Yes, there were a number of attractive offers. From parties ranging from Tan Sri William Cheng, Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan, Lakshmi Mittal.

But I had promised the Government to make Perwaja happen. Not to flip it. The Mittal group had a sixmonth long discussion with me. They flew in on their private jets for many meetings. Not unexpectedly, they wanted to take whole of it (the business) cheaply and I didn't' agree. Also, selling Perwaja to any party who does not share the same nationalist goals is risky. They could change the entire focus, change the management, have foreigners running entirely for their shareholders benefit, which is good for them, but how would that benefit Malaysia. Every developing country needs its own steel industry.

So they must have seen potential in Perwaja ?

Of course! If Perwaja does not have potential, I won't be talking to you. I would be hiding under the table! I am not a corporate player.

They (corporate players) always make money buying and selling assets and they disappear . Can you update us about Perwaja's bonds, which are seemingly in trouble?

We have already repaid over RM200mil of bonds, out of the close to RM400mil issued, and there is over RM100mil left to be repaid.

Yes, we have cash flow problems, but it's not like we are going to die.

But are bondholders concerned about one of the tranches that is maturing this Septe mber?

We have been in active discussion with them and they are in agreement with our business plans. Look, the tranche coming due is only RM50mil. This is a company with a turnover of some RM2bil. We can easily find that kind of money to repay it.

But going forward, will Perwaja survive this tough period?

Of course! They are a number of banks that are supporting us because they know our plans and our asset base. I can show you how much (steel billet) stock we have. One piece costs about RM3,000.

I have RM700mil to RM800mil worth of stock. I'm not selling it (now) because it is selling at US$520 (RM1,647) per tonne and my cost is higher than that. In the worse case, yes we can sell some of this stock to repay our bondholders. However, we have not defaulted on the bonds. So at this point in time, we are not selling the billets at that kind of loss. There are other plans and options ava ilable.

Is there likely to be a fresh capital injection from shareholders?

If Perwaja does not have money, yes we can always get the fresh capital from shareholders. We (the shareholders) don't want to see the company go underwater. But the fact is, we don't need to go to shareholders yet for money. The company still has assets and there is a plan in action to raise margins and profitability.

What exactly are the headwinds impact ing Perwaja?

This is cyclical industry, with cycles lasting for as long as 12 years. During the down-cycle, you upgrade your equipment and plants. As it moves upward, you start producing more and selling. Technology improvements are another area. There are new technologies like gas injection and the use of furnaces that come about in the steel business every year. Things also change with the new government policies, globalisation and changes taking place in China. In recent years, China had bought a lot of building materials because it wanted to build up its infrastructure.

It had bought up virtually all the raw material available for industries such as steel, naturally pushing the prices upward. Small players like Malaysia, don't have the negotiating power, so we have to queue up and follow what the Chinese have set. As prices were high, we could no longer go on buying our raw material from them. (Steel plants like Perwaja use palletise d iron ore as raw material to make steel billet.)

So we made a drastic decision to build our own palleting plant in Malaysia, sourcing iron ore locally. This will be the country's first palletizing plant. Malaysia does not have such a plant because in those days, it would have cost around RM1bil to build such a plant and with a relatively small steel industry, it did not make economic sense for anyone to do it. Now though,

with new technology, the palletizing plant costs only RM400mil and we took the challenge of building it. By having this plant, we can bring down our costs by US$70 (RM221.79) per tonne, which should push up our margins. The plant was supposed to be ready by July but there was a bit of a delay. It should be ready within the next two to three months. With this plant in operations, you will see positive changes in the next quarter (4Q13) or the quarter after that (1Q14).

Can you comment about steel dumping and the measures that have been put in to stop that.

Why are there still two Chinese companies and one Indonesian company exempted from the antidumping laws? They can sell their products (in the country) without paying taxes. Why out of all the companies in the world, these three companies enjoy zero tax?

Are you looking for another strategic partner?

It is nice to have a strategic partner. We are not totally closed to this but at the moment nothing has happened to lead us down that path. However, if there is a party with the right technology capabilities, there could be a possibility. We already have Kinsteel as a partner. It is tiring to do t his work alone.

How is your relationship with the Ph eng family like?

Tan Sri Pheng Yin Huah is my partner. The CEO (Tan Sri Pheng's son Datuk Henry Pheng) is like my own kid. They (Pheng family includin g three children of Pheng) hold positions in the company but my children are not. So if they make mistakes, I would scold them… just like how a father would repri mand his children.

Can you tell us about the dry gas supply issue with Petronas?

Everybody in the world thinks that Perwaja gets good gas price (from Petronas). Let me tell you, today, Perwaja pays the highest gas price in this country! I tell you, we pay RM18.35 per million metric British thermal unit or mmbtu. Why do people think that Perwaja gets subsidies (from the Government)?

Maersk Signs US$54mil Rig Contract With Petronas

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COPENHAGEN: Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk has signed a jack-up rig contract worth about US$54 million with a unit of Malaysia's Petronas.

Maersk Drilling, a unit of the Maersk group, said on Friday that Petronas Carigali, the exploration and production subsidiary of Malaysia's national oil company, had exercised a right to extend the contract for the Maersk Convincer rig by one year.

Consequently, the rig will be on contract with Petronas until mid-November 2014, and with the signing of the extension, Maersk Drilling's forward contract coverage for 2013 is now 100 percent, it said. - Reuters

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Home in KLIA - stranded Syrian has lived in airport for more than 50 days

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PETALING JAYA: A stranded Syrian national has been calling Kuala Lumpur International Airport's (KLIA) transit area home for more than 50 days.

In a tale reminiscent of the Steven Spielberg-directed The Terminal, the Palestinian passport holder has been living off the kindness of strangers.

In the 2004 film, an immigrant takes shelter in a New York airport terminal after being denied entry to the United States, as he is unable to return to his war-torn home country.

The movie was based on the true story of an Iranian refugee who had to call Terminal 1 of the Charles de Gaulle Airport in France home for 17 long years.

Now, KLIA has its own true story of a life lived in limbo.

More in The Star tomorrow.

Former Malacca Chief Minister Abu Zahar passes away

Posted:

JASIN: Datuk Abu Zahar Isnin, 74, who was Malacca Chief Minister from 1997 to 1999, passed away at home in Merlimau at 6pm, on Friday, due to kidney complications.

Merlimau state assemblyman Roslan Ahmad who is related to Abu Zahar said he was admitted to a hospital about a month ago due to diabetic complications.

"He returned home three days ago and passed away in the presence of his family members this afternoon," he told Bernama.

Roslan said he was diagnosed with diabetes about 10 years ago.

"Abu Zahar served as the Malacca Chief Minister for two years and made tremendous contributions to the state. He was my mentor," he said. - Bernama

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The Humans
The Madman’s Daughter
Fatale

The Humans

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PROF Andrew Martin of Cambridge University, one of the great mathematical geniuses of our time, has just discovered the secret of prime numbers, thereby finding the key that will unlock the mysteries of the universe, guarantee a giant technological leap for mankind and put an end to illness and death.

Alerted to this amazing breakthrough on the other side of the universe, and convinced that the secret of primes cannot be entrusted to such a violent and backward species as humans, the super-advanced Vonnadorians dispatch an emissary to erase Martin and all traces of his discovery.

That's the backstory to a book that opens with our alien narrator finding himself in the body of the professor, whom he has just assassinated. But the instantaneous intergalactic travel hasn't turned out quite as expected. Instead of finding himself in Martin's office, our nameless Vonnadorian has arrived in the middle of the M11 motorway in south-east England, with no understanding of human culture and wearing his victim's body but not a stitch of clothing.

Promptly run over, the naked alien hero regenerates, escapes from the shocked ambulance crew and heads to the nearest building – a weirdly rectangular and bizarrely static refuelling station labelled Texaco. Having flicked through a copy of Cosmopolitan to pick up the local language, he then makes his way to Cambridge. Here he continues to inspire much shouting and pointing until he reaches the ex-professor's college, where he is arrested.

These initial attempts to fit into human society may not have been completely successful, but they improve a little, thanks not only to his superior Vonnadorian intelligence but also to the fact that the late Prof Martin was evidently the kind of mathematical genius who could quite conceivably have had a breakdown that would leave him running around Corpus Christi college in the nude.

Stilted and strange though the alien's speech and behaviour continue to be, Martin's wife and teenage son spot hardly any difference from the original, save for some hilarious efforts to match the son's swearing and the suspicious way he bothers to put his used crockery in the dishwasher.

Actually, the Vonnadorian seems to offer an improved version of the human husband and father. The alien in turn, at first baffled and disgusted by humans, grows increasingly attached to his Earth family. This presents a real problem, given that the mission is to kill them both.

As this story develops, the narrator and his narration change. Much of the first half of the novel is taken up by his puzzled analyses of primitive human ways: the nightly news, he reckons, should be renamed The War And Money Show; getting drunk is how humans forget they are mortal, while hangovers are how they remember.

The conceit may not be original, but Haig uses it superbly. As our alien's emotional attachment grows, so too do his reflections on the odd appeal of our short and brutish lives, and especially on our gift for love. He goes on about this, often and at some length, culminating in a letter of advice he bequeaths to the son – a 97-point list, six and a half pages long.

It would be very difficult to raise such reflections ("80. Language is euphemism. Love is truth") above the level of the Desiderata poster or the sort of wry and twinkly conclusions about what it means to be human that Spock was often subjected to at the end of a Star Trek episode. However, it's a mark of how funny and clever the rest of his novel is that Haig just about gets away with the love-is-truth guff. For all its later outbreaks of Vonnadorian mawkishness, The Humans still deserves to live long and prosper.

The Madman’s Daughter

Posted:

Review by TASHNY SUKUMARAN

IT takes a lot of guts to mess with an established tale, to add on to an existing mythology – especially when the original work you're messing with belongs to H.G. Wells.

The Madman's Daughter is built around Wells' The Island Of Dr Moreau but told from the viewpoint of the famous surgeon's daughter, Juliet.

After her father's disappearance following a scandal in her native London, she becomes a maid at a university. Sixteen-year-old Juliet is haunted by disturbing memories and plagued by rumours of her father's gruesome experiments, the discovery of which led to him leaving.

In the original 1896 novel, Dr Moreau is an out-and-out madman who creates humanoid beings from animals using vivisection. Shepherd does not stray from this, and includes characters from the novel in her re-telling. She remains mostly loyal to the tale – except for the ending, which is a twist that manages to not be tired.

In The Madman's Daughter, Juliet discovers her father is alive and well and living on a remote tropical island – and continuing his terrifying work. She convinces her former servant, Montgomery James, to take her back to the island with him, as she has nothing left in London following her mother's death.

On the island, Juliet struggles to acclimatise to the strange creatures that populate the place – animal hybrids that her father has created on the operating table. She worries constantly his madness is in her too, and that she is less than human.

To further complicate matters, the mysterious shipwrecked Edward Prince stirs romantic feelings in Juliet – but so does childhood friend Montgomery.

As a spate of mysterious deaths occur – first rabbits, then worse – Juliet becomes embroiled in a whodunit murder mystery as she and Montgomery try to figure out who is responsible for the deaths.

You could do much worse than The Madman's Daughter, which, despite taking some liberties with the original storyline, remains mostly true to the source. Although it's quite difficult to really connect with Juliet at the start, I was surprised by my reaction to the ending: sympathy and mild sorrow at her lot.

The pacing is excellent, save for the ending; The Madman's Daughter seems to be written for TV (and not in a good way): a long introduction, a solid middle, but a hurried ending (you'd imagine it would all culminate within the last 30 minutes of a two-hour film).

Particularly enjoyable in this novel is the relationship between Dr Moreau and Juliet – it's cold, the connection of two scientists. Contrasted with the intense heat between her and Montgomery, it's clear Shepherd is pretty good at yanking the heartstrings with mere dialogue.

That said, the constant fraughtness of Juliet's life is a little tiring; she vacillates between useless damsel and supposed independent genius, but we see little of either (frankly, Juliet's a bit thick and shrill).

What does sell the character is her very real, very not-Disney reaction to the animal hybrids: revulsion, reluctant compassion, fear. While many would have been tempted to write Juliet as a caring, loving character who champions the hybrids, Shepherd keeps it honest, a welcome relief that cuts through the usual young adult (YA) fiction fluff well.

The book is intended as the first in a trilogy, and the sequel, Her Dark Curiosity, is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (1886). The as-yet unnamed third will be based on Mary Shelley'sFrankenstein (1818). Although it's a bit wearing that YA fiction writers seem to be at a loss for original ideas, Shepherd seems to weave her secondhand stories handily enough, providing an amusing – if not very gripping – read.

Fatale

Posted:

THE term "femme fatale" literally means "fatal woman" in French, and apparently means "a seductive woman who lures men into dangerous or compromising situations".

Well, Josephine, the femme fatale in Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' ongoing Fatale series, certainly fits that description. Blessed (or cursed, depending on how you look at it) with eternal life, she has the power to ensnare any man in her charms and make him powerless to resist her.

As one of the characters in the book describes her: "Men will lie, cheat and steal for her; they will kill and die for her, without ever knowing why".

Told mostly from the perspective of the men Josephine meets and gets intimate with, Fatale is an intriguing look at the stereotypical femme fatale character so common in film noir stories. You know, the mysterious, sexy woman who walks into a private investigator's office to offer him a case at the beginning of the story, and with whom the PI usually ends up falling in love, even though she drags him into more trouble than he has ever been in.

Brubaker takes this common cliché and turns it on its head – what if the woman in question is not just some random broad, but someone who is cursed with that sort of power, to seduce men into doing anything?

But how did she get this power? This is where Brubaker's story excels. Fatale is more than just another crime noir comic book, it's a horror crime noir, in which he mixes the familiar noir elements with an intriguing web of the occult and supernatural, with a range of villains ranging from the usual hard-boiled gangsters to tentacled demon things that make life difficult for Josephine and her numerous, hapless suitors.

Brubaker is no stranger to these mean streets, of course – he has built a career on great comic crime fiction, co-writing the stellar, criminally underrated Gotham Central, as well as the fabulous Batman: Gotham Noiramong others. In Fatale, his grasp of the genre is solid enough that even when he gets into the more supernatural elements, it doesn't interrupt the overall flow of the story.

Sean Philips' artwork and Dave Stewart's colouring also work in tandem to give the book a very noir-ish feeling, which combined with the supernatural elements making Fatale somewhat surreal to read.

My brain wanted to think that I was reading a proper crime noir story, but it kept getting distracted by the tentacle-faced demons wearing 1930s gangster suits. That's not a bad thing, mind you, but it does make for a somewhat odd reading experience.

The series was initially going to be a 12-issue miniseries, but proved to be so popular that Image made it an ongoing series. It has been collected into three volumes, the first of which is set in the 1930s, and the second in the 1970s.

The third volume is probably the most intriguing one, and expands Brubaker's mythology beyond Josephine. You see, there is a long history of "fatales" stretching all the way back to 13th-century France and the Old West, and this third volume collects four standalone stories, two of which feature fatales from the past and two others about Josephine that are set before the first and second story arcs.

It's a testament to the quality of the series that Fatale has been nominated for so many Eisner Awards this year. The series is in the running for Best Ongoing Series and Best New Series, Best Writer for Brubaker, as well as Best Penciller/Inker and Best Cover Artist for Phillips.

Stewart is also nominated for Best Colouring based on his work on the title (as well as on other titles likeBatwoman, BPRD, Conan The Barbarian, Hellboy In Hell, Lobster Johnson, and The Massive).

Overall, this is a brilliantly written, beautifully drawn piece of storytelling, and should appeal not just to fans of crime noir, but of horror as well.

Fatale Volumes 1-3 are available at Kinokuniya, Suria KLCC.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

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Fancy a glass of white wine – made from durians?

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WITH its buttery and savoury notes, it is a wine that could be served at any dinner party or restaurant. Yet guests might get a surprise when they find out its special ingredient –durian.

The white wine – created by two students from the National University of Singapore –contains no grapes. Instead, it is made entirely from the pungent "King of Fruits", in what its makers claim is a world first.

But the squeamish need not worry. The wine "tastes nothing like durian", said final-year PhD student Christine Lee.

The 29-year-old, who created the concoction along with undergraduate Fransisca Taniasuri, hopes it will appeal to curious wine drinkers – whether or not they love the spiky fruit.

It is not likely to hit the shelves any time soon, however. The duo, from the university's Food Science and Technology programme, are still seeking investors keen to take the plunge into the growing market for tropical fruit wines.

Lee and 22-year-old Taniasuri used the traditional wine-making process, starting with durian puree before fermenting it for four weeks.

Their final product has an alcohol content of just 6%, lower than that of standard wines.

In 2009, Japanese scientists found that combining durian and alcohol could prove fatal. This is because the fruit's high sulphur content inhibits the body's ability to process the drink.

But the students discovered that the fermentation process sharply reduces sulphur levels within the durian – meaning that drinking the wine will not kill you.

Lee and Taniasuri, who are graduating this week, hope to eventually market their beverage in the region.
"Asians might be receptive to wines from tropical fruits," said Assistant Professor Liu Shao Quan.

"But it will always be a niche market. It will probably never replace traditional grape wine which has been around for many, many years." — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network

Steps to counter haze get thumbs up

Posted:

NEW satellite feeds that the government will soon tap, combined with ground instruments, can help Singapore to better predict haze, said experts.

But this may take years and may require Indonesia's co-operation. In the short term, the authorities should consider installing more advanced sensors here and modify the air pollution index to better monitor and reflect the haze's health impact.

Scientists gave these assessments when they were asked how Singapore could better prepare for the haze.

Last month, raging fires in Indonesia led to the worst haze in Singapore's history.

On Monday, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said Singapore would tap new satellite feeds by 2015 to provide early haze alerts, but scientists said this could be easier said than done.

Satellites look at the ground in different ways, and cross different places at different times, said Assistant Professor Jason Cohen from the National University of Singapore (NUS). He specialises in climate change computer models and is researching the haze.

For example, the Modis satellite passes over the region several times a day and can "see" several thousand kilometres at once, but its cameras' observations can be blocked by clouds. It may also mistake thick smoke for a cloud.

The Calipso satellite shines a laser beam that can cut through most clouds to pick up images. The thicker the smoke, the more energy is removed from the beam returned to the satellite.

But the beam's thinness means its horizontal visual range is at most 1km, and the satellite passes over the region more slowly.

Both satellites are operated by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa). The National Environment Agency (NEA) uses data from several satellites, including Modis ones and Nanyang Tech-nological University's X-Sat satellite.

"If you want to integrate information from different satellites to come up with a prediction, you must have a computer program that can cover different scales in space and time, and different physical and chemistry data collected by the satellites. It's very challenging," said Dr Cohen.

Dr Santo Salinas, a senior research scientist at the NUS Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing, said having data from more ground instruments in the region would help scientists track how pollutants spread. This will lead to better forecasting systems. — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Jumaat, 12 Julai 2013