Ahad, 3 November 2013

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

Six dead as tourist ferry sinks off Thai resort
Tammy's adopter faces legal action
Prisoners flee E. Timor jail after Sunday mass

Six dead as tourist ferry sinks off Thai resort

Posted:

Bangkok (AFP) - A packed tourist ferry sank Sunday off the Thai resort of Pattaya, killing six passengers including three foreigners in the latest deadly incident to tarnish the kingdom's image as a tourism haven.

Fifteen people were also seriously injured, according to police in Pattaya, a popular beach resort south of Bangkok renowned for its racy nightlife.

Reports said a Russian child was among those seriously hurt.

"So far there are six dead from the boat," Pattaya police chief Colonel Suwarn Chiewnawintawat told AFP, adding three Thais, a Chinese and two other -- as yet unidentified -- foreigners were among the dead.

Television footage showed stunned tourists being led to safety on shore where they were met by dozens of ambulances along Pattaya's neon-lit beachfront.

Playing down earlier reports that people remained trapped in the stricken vessel, he said all of the other 150 passengers had been plucked from the sea.

The double-decker ferry sank on Sunday afternoon near Koh Larn, a small island close to Pattaya which is popular with daytrippers.

Police said they are probing the cause of the accident as local media reports blamed an engine problem on the overcrowded ferry for causing passengers to run to one side of the boat, which forced it to list.

Confirming the toll a second policeman told AFP that the frantic relatives of the passengers alerted local emergency services to the disaster at around 5pm local time (1100 GMT), sparking the rescue effort.

Russian news reports said three Russians, including a child, had been taken to hospital in a serious condition.

"At least half of the passengers were Russian tourists," a Russian embassy official in Bangkok was quoted as saying by the Ria Novosti news agency.

Renowned for its strip clubs and bars and cheap accommodation, Pattaya is one of Thailand's most popular resort areas and has become wildly popular as a package holiday destination for Russians.

It is around 150 kilometres (100 miles) from Bangkok.

Thailand drew 22 million tourists last year, but is struggling to shake off a reputation for lax safety standards after a series of incidents -- many of them fatal.

In May more than 100 people were rescued from a tourist ferry which began to sink in rough seas near the tourist island of Phuket after it was hit by a big wave.

Four people, including tourists died in a nightclub fire in August 2012 also on Phuket, while there have also been slew of high-profile cases of foreigners being murdered, drugged or caught up in tourist cons.

In July, an American tourist was allegedly stabbed to death by three Thai musicians after he refused to stop singing at a bar. His death came weeks the murder of another US citizen in a row with a taxi driver in Bangkok.

Diplomats from China and the European Union have voiced concern at the number of fatal incidents involving their tourists.

In recent years the kingdom's tourist-friendly image as "the Land of Smiles" has also been tarnished by political violence and devastating floods.

Tammy's adopter faces legal action

Posted:

A BRITISH woman who adopted Tammy the mongrel and then had it put down for being "aggressive" is facing legal action from the animal welfare volunteer who handed the puppy to her.

Assistant project manager Ada Ong, 35, wants S$1,000 (RM2,540) in damages and S$200 (RM508) in legal costs from Alison McElwee for breach of contract.

She said she is pursuing the matter to raise public awareness of animal welfare. If McElwee complies, the S$1,200 (RM3,048) will go to a charity of Ong's choice.

A letter of demand from her lawyers from Allen and Gledhill says that putting down the seven-month-old dog on Oct 7 was "clearly in breach" of McElwee's obligations under an agreement signed between her and Ong on June 1.

Ong also wants a written acknowledgement from McElwee that "it was inappropriate and in breach of (her) obligations under the pet adoption agreement to put Tammy down".

McElwee has up to Friday to respond, after which legal proceedings will commence. Ong's legal team is led by Edwin Tong, an MP for Moulmein-Kallang GRC.

She was advised by Law Minister K. Shanmugam to take legal action after she showed him the contract and records of SMSes between her and McElwee.

The minister also helped her to get a lawyer to represent her.

McElwee and her lawyer did not answer queries. She has previously said she put down the dog after it bit her four-year-old daughter and others.

The incident sparked fury online and shed light on adoption agreements being used by pet rescuers and animal welfare groups.

While terms vary, these contracts include clauses to protect animals' welfare, such as requiring adopters to provide food, water and veterinary care.

Lawyers said parties are legally bound by them and "there is no need for a lawyer's involvement for such a contract to be legally valid".

While lawyers agree a detailed contract can "enhance the welfare and protection of the animal", it does not ensure a problem-free adoption.

"I fear the contract may result in fewer dogs being adopted because prospective adopters may not welcome the (rescuer) still having residual rights," said Singapore Management University law associate professor Eugene Tan. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Prisoners flee E. Timor jail after Sunday mass

Posted:

Dili (East Timor) (AFP) - Two dozen inmates escaped from an East Timor jail Sunday by beating up wardens and fleeing through the main gate as they returned to their cells after mass, an official said.

The escapees, including two militants who fought against the half-island nation's independence from Indonesia, had been among more than 350 prisoners at morning worship at a hall in the jail in the mainly Catholic nation.

Other inmates who fled were serving time for crimes including murder, rape and theft.

"Twenty-four inmates escaped. They beat up two wardens and ran out through the main entrance," said Joao Domingos, chief of the Becora prison in the capital Dili.

Police had recaptured 13 inmates and were hunting for the others, he said, adding the former anti-independence fighters were among those still on the loose.

Domingos blamed the breakout from the prison on a lack of guards and equipment such as walkie-talkies and batons.

Almost 60 inmates escaped from the same jail in 2006.

Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation of East Timor, Asia's youngest nation, ended in 1999 with a UN-administered referendum.

Both the run-up to the vote, in which the Timorese voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence, and its aftermath were marked by a campaign of violence by pro-Indonesian militias.

Following three years of UN administration, East Timor gained independence in 2002 but remains poor.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates

Could concentrated HIV epidemics make AIDS unbeatable?
India throws rings of protection around divisive candidate Modi
China sends graft busters to more provinces, government departments

Could concentrated HIV epidemics make AIDS unbeatable?

Posted:

LONDON (Reuters) - HIV epidemics are becoming more concentrated in marginalised groups such as sex workers, drug users and gay men, and could defy global attempts to combat AIDS without a change in attitudes, according to a U.N. special envoy.

Michel Sidibe, formerly head of UNAIDS and now tackling HIV and AIDS in Eastern Europe, says he would like to be able to celebrate without reservation vast global progress made in the past decade, but stubborn infection rates and alarming growth of outbreaks in hard-to-reach populations make that difficult.

The risk, he says, is that as the world turns the tide of the generalised global AIDS epidemic, the virus will return to being a disease that plagues only certain groups, and the political will to overcome it there may fade.

"If we do not address the roots of the problem, if we do not address stigma, discrimination and inappropriate legislation, if we don't look at these people from a public health perspective, rather than from a delinquent, criminal perspective as we do now, then the trend will only go on," Sidibe said in an interview.

"Then the AIDS epidemic will become more and more a sum of these concentrated epidemics."

EXTRAORDINARY PROGRESS BREEDS HOPE

Some 35.3 million people worldwide are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, but the rising number of patients reflects great strides in recent years in developing sophisticated HIV tests and combination AIDS drugs and getting them to many of those who need them to stay alive.

The annual AIDS death toll is falling, dropping to 1.6 million people in 2012, down from a peak of 2.3 million in 2005, and there are also steadily declining rates of new HIV infections: a third fewer in 2013 than in 2011.

The progress has generated much hope - and many headlines - about the possible end of AIDS, or a potential world without HIV, or the chance of an AIDS-free generation, in our lifetimes.

Sidibe refers to this - both the progress and the hope - as "extraordinary".

"I'm really concerned about the future of the AIDS epidemic, especially at a time when we are perhaps a little too optimistic because of the huge progress we are making from a technological and scientific perspective," he said.

"As we celebrate the extraordinary progress, we should also be conscious that we will not stop HIV and AIDS by just having more sophisticated drugs and only focussing on the generalised epidemic and not focussing enough on the complexities of the concentrated epidemics."

The worrisome groups are fairly clearly defined: Injecting drug users, who can pass the AIDS virus to each other by sharing needles and syringes, prostitutes and sex workers, who are often criminalised and have little access to health service, and gay and bisexual men - the population in which the HIV epidemic first started.

A TALE OF TWO WOMEN

To illustrate how little has changed in the battle against HIV among drugs users - particularly in regions such as Eastern Europe and central Asia - Sidibe tells the stories of two women.

The first is Andrée, a drug user he met in Paris in 1986 who had no hope of effective HIV treatment, since there was none yet developed, and who ultimately died a lonely death. The second was Larissa from Yekaterinburg in Russia, a drug addict repeatedly arrested and locked up, deprived of medications for years and at one time sentenced to five years in a labour camp.

"These stories are remarkably similar," he said. "But Larissa's is not from 1986, it's from this year. Some 25 years passed between my meeting these two women, but their predicament was depressingly, tragically, the same."

Among gay men, Sidibe said, the situation is little better.

In poor and middle-income countries, men who have sex with men and female sex workers are 19 and 13 times more likely to have HIV, respectively, than the rest of the population.

Even in wealthy regions like western Europe and North America, HIV rates among gay men - or men who have sex with men (MSM) as Sidibe refers to them - stubbornly refuse to shift.

HIV AMONG GAY MEN

"In MSM populations, there is no sign it has decreased," said Sidibe. "It has either been a stable number of new infections every year for 10 years, or it is an increasing trend. And this, in western Europe at least, is in the context of basically free and easy access to therapy and services."

Elsewhere, in China, for example, gay men alone account for more than 33 percent of new HIV infections, and projections indicate that gay men may account for half or more of all new infections in Asia by 2020.

Sidibe admits that he is as frustrated and worried now, faced with these smaller but relentless HIV epidemics, as he was more than a decade ago when the vast generalised HIV and AIDS outbreak in Africa looked too overwhelming to begin to tackle.

"We are a bit in disarray. We don't know quite what it is that we should do. Here we are, we have all the technology, we have extraordinary scientific progress, and we just cannot translate that into making a difference in these populations."

Yet if nothing changes, the AIDS virus may never be beaten.

Sidibe called for a "shift in the collective mindset" to put equity and human rights at the centre of the battle against HIV in these groups: "If we do not deliver the right response, we will fail to deliver an end to AIDS," he said.

(Reporting by Kate Kelland; editing by Ralph Boulton)

India throws rings of protection around divisive candidate Modi

Posted:

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - - Indian security forces are preparing for one of their most challenging assignments in decades, protecting prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in a country with a grim history of political assassinations.

A series of small bombs killed six people at a rally the Hindu nationalist leader held in the city of Patna on October 27.

Authorities said the home-grown Indian Mujahideen (IM) group was responsible. While Modi was not in the immediate vicinity of the explosions, the message was clear.

"Narendra Modi is way above everyone else on their hit list," said an officer in the Intelligence Bureau, who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

"The IM cadre say he is actually 1 to 10 on their list. The rest come after that," said the officer, citing confessions of captured militants.

Modi will lead his Bharatiya Janata Party into a general election due by May and his enemies will almost certainly be looking for another opportunity to strike.

The militants hold Modi responsible for riots in 2002, during his first term as chief minister of Gujarat state, in which at least 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed.

Modi denies any role in the riots or bias against minority Muslims.

Communal animosity has led to several high-profile assassinations in India, beginning months after independence when a Hindu fanatic gunned down Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of a non-violent struggle to throw off British rule.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was not related to Mahatma Gandhi, was killed by Sikh bodyguards in 1984 and her son, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was killed by an ethnic Tamil suicide bomber in 1991.

The election is shaping up to be a highly charged clash with Modi and his aggressive Hindu nationalist supporters facing off against their Congress-led rivals, who say the vote is a fight to preserve India's secular foundations.

Much of the battle will be waged at public gatherings. Even in these days of 24-hour news channels and the Internet, Indian election campaigns hinge around rallies.

Modi will address countless throngs in coming months in his race against the Congress-led coalition which is expected to put up Rajiv Gandhi's son, Rahul Gandhi, as its prime ministerial candidate.

An elite team protecting Modi has been ordered to secure all public meetings using the same tactics of the Special Protection Group that guards former and serving prime ministers and their families along the lines of the U.S. Secret Service.

Spotters in disguise will mingle in the crowds while an advance team will "sanitise" sites six times, the last time an hour before Modi's arrival, a security official said.

"Sewage pipes, manholes, you plug every hole in the ground and above," said the official.

Gandhi has spoken of the deaths of his father and grandmother and said recently he could be next to fall to the politics of hate. He is guarded by the top-level Special Protection Group.

An attack on either Modi or Gandhi could spark waves of reprisal violence.

"RABID ELEMENTS"

Modi, the three-time chief minister of Gujarat arouses strong passions among supporters and rivals. He is a hero of the Hindu right, and seen as a tough, business-friendly administrator who can help steady a nation in economic drift.

Critics accuse him of a deep-seated bias against Muslims and say he turned a blind eye to attacks during the 2002 riots. The Supreme Court absolved him of any wrongdoing.

The Indian Mujahideen has ties to Pakistan-based militants who have launched numerous attacks in India including the 2008 assault on several targets in the city of Mumbai.

Four days before the explosions at recent Patna rally, the Intelligence Bureau sent a letter to state authorities warning them of the threat to Modi, although they did not have specific information.

"Narendra Modi being perceived as a leader of Hindus, may be targeted by rabid elements," the bureau said. "Modi is also a target in the list of various terrorist organisations."

He is now protected by 108 Black Cat commandos of the National Security Guard (NSG), the anti-terrorism force that fought the militants who mounted the Mumbai attack.

Originally, Modi had a small NSG group trained to whisk him away in case of attack, a Home Ministry official said.

But his security has been stepped up and he now has three layers of protection: one group to take on any attackers, a second to provide cover and a third to get him to safety.

Ajay Sahni, head of the Delhi-based Institute of Conflict Management, said that given the rings of security, the chance of a direct attack on Modi or Gandhi was low.

"The inner core is very heavily protected," said Sahni, whose institute studies South Asian militant groups.

"It would be hard to penetrate unless the groups have the capacity to project explosives such as missiles. Those are difficult to smuggle around."

The biggest risk was the politicians themselves pushing against the security bubble as they bid to reach out to voters, Sahni said. Unlike in the West, powerful leaders in India at times overrule their security agents and wade into crowds.

(This story was refiled to correct date of Patna attack)

(Editing by Robert Birsel)

China sends graft busters to more provinces, government departments

Posted:

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has sent anti-corruption investigators to six more provinces and four government departments, the Chinese Communist Party's corruption watchdog said on Monday, in the government's latest move to tackle graft.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has dispatched inspectors to government departments that include official news agency Xinhua and the Commerce Ministry, the watchdog said in a statement on its website.

Other targets include the southern economic powerhouse of Guangdong, coal-rich Shanxi and the Ministry of Land and Resources.

Since taking office in March, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called corruption a threat to the ruling Communist Party's survival and vowed to go after powerful "tigers" as well as lowly "flies".

Authorities have already announced the investigation or arrest of a handful of senior officials. Among them, former executives from oil giant PetroChina are being investigated in what appears to be the biggest graft probe into a state-run firm in years. These investigations are unrelated to this new round of probes, or the previous one, which began in May.

The May probes, which lasted through the summer and reported back in September, targeted five regions and five departments, including the poor southern province of Guizhou, the southeastern province of Jiangxi and coal-rich Inner Mongolia, as well as the state-owned China Grain Reserves Corporation and the China Publishing Group Corp.

The party has so far given few details of the outcome of the first round of investigations, in line with its secretive nature, though the anti-corruption watchdog publishes website reports of a steady stream of minor officials being probed.

Speaking to officials in October ahead of this new round of probes, Wang Qishan, the head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, urged colleagues to spare no effort in rooting out corruption.

(Reporting by Adam Rose; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

Christopher Walken is a T-Rex

Posted:

The actor says he is flattered to have inspired the statue of a dinosaur in New York.

Mark this down as one of the more unlikely additions to the Big Apple art scene – a 16-foot statue of Tyrannosaurus Rex with Christopher Walken's face on it. The unlikely creation is made of wood, clay and chicken wire and was crafted over a period of three months by five New York City high schoolers.

It's on display in East Village's First Park but will move to another location in Manhattan this weekend.

It's also earned the Oscar-winning actor's seal of approval. He learned about the project after being contacted by the Block Island Times, the community newspaper of the island resort where he owns a home.

"I haven't seen it, but I'm flattered," Walken told the paper. "I've always been fond of T-Rexes. Everybody enjoys T-Rexes."

He added, "Perhaps we can find a place for it on Block Island ... We can bring it over on the ferry."

Ethan Cyr, one of the teenagers behind the project, said the idea for combining Walken's head with a dinosaur's body emerged out of an inside joke he had with friends. "I just decided it was time to take this wacky idea and put it into three dimensions," Cyr told TheWrap.

"I wanted to make it tangible and real."

The 17-year-old is currently applying to art school and found out about Walken's comments during an interview with TheWrap.

"I'm so happy to hear he's flattered," Cyr said. "I respect him immensely as a person ... I would love nothing more than to have him come and look at it in person. To get to meet him would be a surreal moment for me."

To construct the statue, Cyr raised US$2,680 on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo. He had only been asking for US$750. He hopes to sell the finished product for between US$5,000 and $6,000.

When not inspiring dinosaur statuary, Walken has appeared in such films as The Deer Hunter and Pulp Fiction. He recently filmed a supporting role in Clint Eastwood's adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

'Duck Dynasty' goes country ... music

Posted:

Folks from the popular reality-based TV show is now on the music charts.

Already atop the duck hunting industry and cable television, the Robertson family of juggernaut reality series Duck Dynasty now has the music charts in their crosshairs.

Duck The Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas, which was released this week, features the bearded, down-home-on-the-bayou clan singing traditional Christmas carols and duck-themed songs in the latest addition to their stable of merchandise.

The album, in which the family showcase their work on the squawking duck calls that have made their Duck Commander company leaders in the hunting industry, will also be a test of how the unlikely TV stars can compete head-to-head against Christmas albums by country music's perennial million-sellers Kelly Clarkson and Trace Adkins. But Willie Robertson, Duck Commander's chief executive, is not counting on music being a full-time gig for the Duck Dynasty crew, who have also parlayed the A&E Network's series into a merchandise lines sold at big-box retailers like Walmart and Sears.

"We're not aspiring to be country music stars," Robertson said in an interview about the album, which was produced by Nashville hitmaker Buddy Cannon.

"When we first went in the studio with Buddy we didn't know what was going to happen, but we are very proud of the album," Robertson said.

Duck Dynasty drew 11.8 million viewers for its Season Four debut in August in the US, a record for a cable nonfiction series according to A&E. The show chronicles the Robertsons' rural Louisiana life of hunting, fishing and domestic squabbles among men and women.

Critics ascribe its success to fact that the Robertsons are seen as a regular family and viewers can compare their quirks and eccentricities to their own family members. The TV show has also spawned diverse merchandise, from sporting goods and apparel to the unusual antibacterial bandages and camouflage reclining furniture.

A&E's online store has more than 300 Duck Dynasty products.

The family also got a little help on the album from country stars such as Luke Bryan, George Strait and Alison Krauss, who lent their voices to some tracks. The album includes a few novelties from the long-bearded, camouflage-wearing hunting enthusiasts from West Monroe, Louisiana, along with traditionals, including I'll Be Home For Christmas and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.

"It is definitely from our perspective of a down-home middle-America Christmas," Robertson said. "There is some funny stuff and then there is some serious stuff."

Willie even had a hand in writing a few of the songs, including Ragin' Cajun Redneck Christmas with top Nashville songwriter Dallas Davidson.

Led by Robertson patriarch Phil, his sons and daughters-in-law, grandchildren, wife Miss Kay and brother Si, sing and toot their duck calls on songs like Duck The Halls and Camouflage And Christmas Lights.

Although a strong starting position on the Billboard 200 album chart next week would cement the national appeal of the family's personas, do not expect them to be quacking about the album after Nov 23. That is the start of duck-hunting season, and the Robertsons will get away from the cameras, leave the manufacturing company behind, and go off into the great outdoors to make sure their duck calls really do work. — Reuters

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

Christopher Walken is a T-Rex

Posted:

The actor says he is flattered to have inspired the statue of a dinosaur in New York.

It's on display in East Village's First Park but will move to another location in Manhattan this weekend.

"I haven't seen it, but I'm flattered," Walken told the paper. "I've always been fond of T-Rexes. Everybody enjoys T-Rexes."

He added, "Perhaps we can find a place for it on Block Island ... We can bring it over on the ferry."

"I wanted to make it tangible and real."

The 17-year-old is currently applying to art school and found out about Walken's comments during an interview with TheWrap.

To construct the statue, Cyr raised US$2,680 on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo. He had only been asking for US$750. He hopes to sell the finished product for between US$5,000 and $6,000.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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The Star Online: Business

Budget 2014 is what M'sia needed to go on consolidation and growth mode
Mudajaya nor RKM Powergen under India govt probe
Asian shares eke out slim gains, dollar holds firm

Budget 2014 is what M'sia needed to go on consolidation and growth mode

Posted:

THE recent budget revealed by the Prime Minister has all the ingredients necessary to continue on the path of growth with financial stability to achieve our aims of achieving developed-country status by 2020 – a per capita income of US$15,000.

Three main things struck me about the budget – the programme towards fiscal consolidation, the continuation of both the government and economic transformation programmes and fulfilment of the promises the Government made ahead of the last general elections.

With political considerations out of the way, the Prime Minister moved boldly forward to announce the introduction of the goods and service tax (GST) by April 1, 2015, giving a 17-month lead time for preparation and fine-tuning so that problems of implementation are minimised.

This is brave because a lot of effort has been mobilised against this value-added tax by many without properly understanding the basis and reason for the imposition of the tax. I have explained this in my last column.

Suffice to say here that the imposition of a 6% GST will have minimal impact on the poor because a range of essential items will be zero-rated and exempted. There will be no longer the requirement to pay both sales tax (up to 10%) and service tax (6%) upon implementation.

This is a consumption tax to broaden our tax base and will tax most those who consume the most, which of course will be the rich.

The imposition of the GST paves the way for a cut in the corporate and individual income tax. As for the individual income tax, the structure has also been reviewed to take into the consideration the grouses of the working class.

The other part of fiscal consolidation is the gradual roll-back of subsidies. The Prime Minister announced the removal of the sugar subsidy of 34 sen per kg of sugar and in time other areas of subsidy will be rationalised.

The money that the Government will save from these subsidies can be ploughed back into development activities, especially infrastructure development such as transport schemes and enhancements that will benefit all.

It will also enable the payment of an increase in direct cash grants to middle and low-income group to RM650 under BR1M, the 1Malaysia cash assistance programme. Further the programme is widened by increasing the income eligibility for this by a third to RM4,000. An insurance scheme was also introduced, Group Takaful Rakyat 1Malaysia (i-BR1M), for all BR1M household recipients which provides protection of up to RM30,000 to BR1M recipients in the event of death or permanent disability.

A direct cash assistance to alleviate the problems of those who may be affected by subsidy cuts is much fairer than a blanket subsidy which everyone, including those who can afford it, benefit from.

This targeted assistance is much more efficient as it redirects aid to those who really need it and meets our concomitant goals under the transformation programmes of inclusiveness – including as many people as possible in the development process.

To deflate any build-up of a property bubble and to decrease speculation in the property market, the real property gains tax has been increased. This will help redirect property activity to areas where there is real demand such as medium-cost housing.

On a macro basis, the fiscal targets are still being met. Government debt remains below the self-imposed target of 55% of annual gross domestic product (GDP), the sum of goods and services in a year.

We are marching steadily towards fiscal balance by having a balanced budget by 2020, with the target of 4% this year likely to be achieved and a projected 3.5% for 2014.

We are laying the blocks to put the economy on a firm base of sustainability where fiscal prudence will ensure that we can spend the needed amounts in terms of building infrastructure and facilitating income growth while helping the poor in the meantime.

All these cannot be achieved by measures to both increase revenue and restrain expenditure. In fact total government expenditure for 2014 is expected to increase to RM264.2bil, an increase of less than 2%. The Government is NOT going on a spending binge.

The other thing that is heartening is the Government's commitment to continue with the transformation programmes – both government and the economy. It is very necessary for us to continue with strategic reform initiatives such as measures to strengthen competitive legislation and improve human capital to make the economy internationally up to par.

We have identified national key results areas such as reducing crime, fighting corruption and improving student outcomes which are areas of great public concern where we need to improve to meet with public expectations.

And then we have the 12 national key economic areas which we have identified as sectors that have particular importance for economic growth and increasing incomes. These include greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley, oil and gas, health and education amongst others which will spearhead our drive for increased economic activity.

In a difficult environment, the Government has succeeded very well, with the aid of the private sector, in keeping economic growth up. For this year, this is expected to be a respectable 4.5%-5% and it is forecast to increase to 5%-5.5% next year. That's really quite good overall.

Recently, we received international recognition for ease of doing business when we broke through the top 10 barrier for the first time ever in the World Bank ranking of countries deemed friendliest to doing business.

Malaysia vaulted to sixth from 12th a year ago after easing procedures for registering a company, applying for a construction permit and getting electricity, the bank said in its 2014 "Doing Business" report.

These figures borne out in the Budget and additional international recognition are things that we can be justifiably proud of and should encourage us to move relentlessly towards becoming a developed country with inclusiveness and sustainability.

They also show that the Government is keeping its promises to the rakyat.

Datuk Seri Idris Jala is CEO of Pemandu, the Performance Management and Delivery Unit, and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department. Fair and reasonable comments are most welcome at idrisjala@pemandu.gov.my

Mudajaya nor RKM Powergen under India govt probe

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Mudajaya Group Bhd has stated neither the company nor its 26%-owned RKM Powergen Private Ltd are under investigation by the Indian authorities over its coal-fired power plant project in Chhattisgarh.

It had on Monday rebutted an online report that Mudajaya was under probe over its Indian coal plant.

Mudajaya said RKMP had on Sept 9 notified the company that RKMP had signed a coal supply agreement with South Eastern Coalfields Ltd – a unit of Coal India Ltd.

The agreement was for the supply of coal for Phase I of the 4x360MW coal-fired thermal power plant at Ucchpinda, Chhattisgarh, India which consists of 1x360MW installed capacity of the power station.

Mudajaya said on Oct 2, RKMP had informed it that it had signed coal supply agreements with South Eastern Coalfields Ltd for the supply of coal for Phase II of the 4x360MW coal-fired thermal power plant which consists of 3x360MW installed capacity of the power station.

"We wish to reiterate that with the successful signing of these Coal Supply Agreements for the total contracted quantity of coal of 6,240,857 tonnes per year, RKMP has secured full coal requirement for the operation of its 4x360MW coal-fired thermal power plant at Ucchpinda, Chhattisgarh, India," it said.

Asian shares eke out slim gains, dollar holds firm

Posted:

SYDNEY: Asian stocks drifted higher on Monday in sluggish trade as investors chose discretion over valour ahead of central bank meetings in Europe and the always-critical U.S. payrolls report.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was just a shade firmer at 479.92.

Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

Modest gains in Hong Kong and Australia were countered by losses in South Korea. Australian shares edged up 0.1 percent as another domestic bank reported record profits.

"We are bullish going into next year, but it wouldn't surprise to see some sort of breather ... We think any pullback is going to be very shallow," said Martin Lakos, division director at Macquarie Bank, of the Australian market.

Major currencies were likewise quiet with the dollar still well supported in the wake of upbeat U.S. manufacturing data that stirred speculation the Federal Reserve might scale back its bond-buying in December, rather than in March as many in the market currently anticipate.

There are no less than four Fed officials speaking on Monday, starting with Fed Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher in Sydney. Fed Governor Jerome Powell and the heads of the St. Louis and Boston Feds all appear later in the day.

The dollar index was holding firm at 80.691 having climbed to a six-week peak on Friday. It was also up on the yen at 98.76 and threatening a major chart target at 99.00.

The dollar fared best against the euro which was undermined by speculation the European Central Bank (ECB) would have to ease again given disappointing news on unemployment and a startlingly low reading of inflation.

The common currency was pinned at $1.3494 on Monday, well below its recent high of $1.3832. The ECB holds a policy meeting on Thursday and it will be under intense pressure to stimulate the economy.

"We expect the opening statement, and Q&A, to have a distinctly dovish tone," wrote analysts at RBC Capital Markets in a note to clients.

"For now, we think that the Governing Council will refrain from any immediate action, but we expect the downbeat tone of next week's meeting to lay the groundwork for a policy response over the next few months."

The Bank of England holds it policy meeting on Thursday and is expected to stay on hold following a run of improving economic data recently.

A bigger event for markets will be Friday's U.S. payrolls report which is expected to show a modest rise of just 125,000 in October, amid some uncertainty about the impact of the government shut down.

A soft report, and particularly any rise in the jobless rate, would lean against the Fed tapering in December.

Also of note will be the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) due on Thursday, expected to show annualised growth of 1.9 percent in the third quarter, down from 2.5 percent the previous quarter.

All the talk of Fed tapering saw U.S. Treasury yields rise for a third straight session on Friday. Yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note jumped to 2.63 percent, leaving behind the week's low of 2.47 percent.

Cash Treasuries were not trading in Asia on Monday due to the Japanese holiday, but Treasury futures were 2 ticks lower.

In commodity markets, prices were held back by the bounce in the U.S. dollar. Spot gold was trading at $1,315.06 an ounce, having crumbled from a peak of $1,361.60 last week. Copper was a touch firmer at $7,251 a tonne.

Oil prices steadied following last week's losses as a firmer dollar and ample supplies outweighed concerns about a drop in Libyan crude exports.

Brent crude for December delivery was up 16 cents at $106.01 a barrel. U.S. oil for December delivery added 8 cents to $94.69. - Reuters

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf

The Tides of Memory

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WHEN I first got hold of this book, the only thing I noticed on the cover was the late Sidney Sheldon's name, so I took it home anticipating nothing less than a great read from one of my favourite writers.

When I read the first few pages, though, I had a nagging feeling that this wasn't the Sheldon I was familiar with. Nevertheless, I continued following the trials and tribulations of the heroine, Alexia De Vere.

Politically driven and highly ambitious Alexia is introduced as the new British Home Secretary by the Prime Minister, Henry Whitman. Despite being unpopular among Cabinet members and even the public – who see her as an ice-queen: ruthless, cold, and without an ounce of compassion – Alexia thinks that it is her own perseverance and drive that has brought her to where she is.

Her career aside, Alexia is plagued by problems at home. Her daughter Roxie is wheelchair-bound after a failed suicide attempt and the girl openly loathes Alexia, blaming mum for ruining her life. And Alexia's younger son, Max, drops out of Oxford to pursue a career in party planning.

Her only support comes from the two pillars in her life: her aristocratic and fantastically wealthy husband, Teddy De Vere, and her best friend, Lucy Meyer.

Underneath it all lies a more sinister threat. We discover that the proud politician has built her life on a facade of lies, and at the peak of the success, her past comes back to haunt her.

A great fan of Sheldon's works, I couldn't help but revisit the cover of the book to ascertain that this was his work, only to find that I had been mistaken. The author is Tilly Bagshawe, attempting to emulate Sheldon's love for mystery and surprising plots.

Bagshawe dives bravely into the midst of battle right from the beginning, daring to introduce a heroine who is unpopular with most of the other characters in the book. Her character is indeed strong, persevering, determined, and proud. Despite the likeable ending (which I won't give away here), however, readers might still find it hard to connect with the protagonist or sympathise with her actions.

This is a good attempt but not nearly as riveting as an authentic Sheldon masterpiece would have been.

There was much confusion in the initial stages, and at the end of it, a few unsolved mysteries that left this reader puzzled. Still, it has several moments that keep you at the edge of your seat. A good read for the weekend.

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The Star Online: Nation

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The Star Online: Nation

Malaysia hit hard by dengue virus
Zulkifeli: No secrets leaked
Cops nab two employees a few hours after Setapak robbery

Malaysia hit hard by dengue virus

Posted:

PETALING JAYA: The country saw the highest number of dengue cases in a single week this year with 1,680 cases recorded from Oct 20 to 26, with Selangor bearing the brunt of the assault by the Aedes mosquito.

Selangor had the largest increase with 1,142 cases, up by 272 cases from the previous week.

From Jan 1 to Oct 26, a total of 28,707 cases has been recorded, which represents a 58% increase compared to the corresponding period last year, said the Health Ministry in a statement on Friday.

The Health Ministry is concerned as the weekly cases this year, at more than 900, is more than twice of last year's weekly average of 400.

The analysis for Selangor (up to June) noted that it hosted 323 of the 408 dengue hotspots nationwide, with 26 high risk areas found in the Petaling district, 19 in Hulu Langat, eight in Gombak and one in Sepang.

The rest of the outbreak areas were located primarily in Johor (37) and Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya (16), with the rest spread out over the other remaining states.

Johor saw 167 cases of dengue last week, while Perak had 64.

Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya remained steady over the last two weeks with 60 cases.

The good news is that Malacca (71, compared to 92) and Kelantan (33 compared to 38) are some states that had fewer cases last week than the previous one.

The cumulative mortality from dengue so far is 60, up from 29 for the same period last year.

In the statement, Health Ministry deputy director for public health Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman urged Malaysians to cooperate with relevant agencies to destroy mosquito breeding areas.

Zulkifeli: No secrets leaked

Posted:

KUANTAN: Armed Forces chief Jen Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said there could not be any leak of national security information into other hands.

Although there have been inter-countries exercises conducted between the Malaysian army and that of other countries, he said the country's top secrets could not have been leaked out in any way.

"We have specific measures to determine and ensure that our secrets will not be leaked or fall into other hands," he said after closing the Setia Padu joint exercise which involved various national security and rescue agencies in Gebeng here on Friday.

He was asked to comment on reports that the Australian High Commission office in Malaysia was said to be among those that were used by the United States as a centre of secret electronic data.

According to Australian news agency Fairfax, other such centres were in Jakarta, Bangkok, Hanoi, Beijing, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea.

However, Jen Zulkifeli said their job of ensuring there was no leakage of national security information had become tougher due to the advent of sophisticated electronic devices and Internet communication technology.

Cops nab two employees a few hours after Setapak robbery

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Two staff members of the security company that hired the rogue guard who robbed a jewellery store in Setapak has been detained by the police for questioning.

City CID director Datuk Ku Chin Wah said the two men, age 26 and 51, were detained in Shah Alam and Sentul respectively on Thursday night, a few hours after the robbery.

"They will be remanded until Nov 8," he said.

Police picked up the 26-year-old, who is the guard's friend at around 9pm in his Shah Alam house.

The 51-year-old who is believed to be the suspect's supervisor was picked up soon afterwards.

During the robbery, the suspect, who was identified as Hikman Jacob from Kampung Bingkor, Sabah, threatened employees with a pistol while they were opening the jewellery shop at around 9.30am on Thursday.

He later escaped with a tray of 100 necklaces of a yet unknown amount. He had reportedly only been working for the jewellery store for two months.

City deputy police chief SAC Datuk Amar Singh said the suspect used a fake MyKad.

Meanwhile, the management of the security firm declined to comment when contacted yesterday,

According to the Security Services Association of Malaysia's (SSAM) website, a former Inspector-General of Police is one of the directors of the firm.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the ministry was also investigating how the suspect was employed.

However, he said the ministry wants to investigate the matter first before action can be taken against the firm.

"I am looking at how to strengthen the procedure, vetting recruitment and guidelines on the background of individuals to be engaged as security guards," he said.

Branch manager Robert Lourdusamy said despite repeated requests, the suspect had never produced his identification card.

"(On Wednesday) he showed me a copy of his IC. It looked exactly like any other IC, but it was soft and felt as if it was a piece of cardboard.

"I told him that he would have to show his original IC today (Thursday) as we had to make him a punch card," he said.

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

Moments of terror

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We asked colleagues at Star2 to write about their favourite horror films and memorable horror movie moments. What did we get? Tales of ah-choos, ah-ha-ha-has and ... hot dogs?

A paranormal plan backfires

When Paranormal Activity first came out, I thought it would be fun to get a DVD copy, switch off all the lights and watch it with my boyfriend Stewart. Since he doesn't scare easily, I told him that those were REAL footage we were watching.

The film must've been super convincing because he believed me. And then something happened during the scene where Katie was dragged out by an unseen entity – one of our bedroom doors slammed shut! By then, I was frantic, and insisted that he switch on all the lights!

Look out for that door! A scene from Paranormal Activity.

Try as we might, we couldn't determine what might have caused the slamming of the door. At the end of the day, it was me, not Stewart, who spent the next few days or so suffering from sleepless nights. — Louisa "Dancing Zombie Queen" Lim

Split pea sneeze

Many years back, the favourite late night show for my sister and I was The Exorcist. We grew up watching a lot (and I mean a lot) of horror movies, so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for us to watch reruns of The Exorcist almost every week.

While I was quite used to the disturbing physical transformation that Linda Blair goes through for her role as Regan, there was just this one time, during a scary scene, my sister sneezed loudly into my ear. You can bet I had the shock of my life!

Talk about getting up on the wrong side of the bed... a scene from The Exorcist (1973).

That incident has since been ingrained in my mind. So now, every loud sneeze I hear would immediately remind me of Regan's demonic eyes as well as "split pea soup"! — "Sadako" Lee Mei Li

Listening is just as bad

My scariest horror movie experience was listening to The Exorcist. It was projected on the side of one of the buildings at my boarding school on open-air movie night. The only one too afraid to watch but wanting the others close by, I stayed in my second-floor classroom and heard every blood-curdling sound even with my fingers jammed into my ears. I sat scrunched up in the same position the entire 122 minutes. — "The Jinx" Jane F. Ragavan

Cultish evil

Undoubtedly, The Evil Dead, the 1981 film directed by Sam Raimi, is very schlocky, even by 1980s standards. But that's what makes the film so great.

The low-budget quality gives The Evil Dead a whole level of fun – there's snappy dialogue, amateur acting and inexpensive (but ingenious) effects to balance out the number of disturbing scenes, which have all made the film a cult classic.

It's probably not a good idea to hide in a hole in the ground when the Evil Dead come for you. Just sayin'.

(Like all classics, there have been many carbon copies of Raimi's debut feature but the best one so far is Cabin In The Woods by Joss Whedon.)

It tells the story of five friends travelling to a cabin in the woods for a getaway. There, they discover a book, which they read outloud, and voila! they release flesh-possessing demons.

Yeah, this basically means the good times are over for the gang, but has just begun for the audience. — Mumtaj "Mumm-Ra" Begum

Three, four, better lock your door

It's never easy for me to pick a "favourite" something, so I'll talk about three horror movies that I like instead – A Nightmare On Elm Street, Candyman and Clive Barker's Hellraiser.

Elm Street was a wonderfully scary film that left me sleepless for days (because, you know, if you sleep then you'll dream and it is in dreams/nightmares that Freddy Krueger will come for you with his sharp, pointy fingers).

Candyman made me cover the mirror in my bedroom because I feared that the murderous Candyman might suddenly "walk" out of it and terrorise my life.

Finally, Hellraiser – Pinhead , king of the Cenobites. 'Nuff said. — Melody "HelL." Goh

Horror hotdog

I don't watch horror films. Nay, I hate watching horror films. I don't like the feeling of dread that creeps up on me as you watch them, knowing that at anytime, something is going to JUMP OUT AND SCARE YOU.

I also don't like being scared, period. It's not like I've never watched a single horror movie before, I just would prefer NOT to watch them. Yeah yeah, I'm a 'fraidy cat, so sue me.

No hotdogs needed for THIS scene. Ripley faces off with the Alien queen in James Cameron's Aliens.

Anyway, my earliest memory of watching a movie that really scared me was Aliens, which I watched in the cinema with my mum and sister.

Before the show, my mum bought us a hot dog each to eat in the cinema, but mine remained uneaten until the end of the show because I was too busy using it to cover my eyes to actually eat it ... — Michael "Psycho Potato Peeler Killer" Cheang

Fearful Fridays

During my secondary school years, Friday was absolutely the best day of the week as it was reserved for movies. Right after school, my best buds and I would rush to the closest cinema. Our favourites were horror flicks.

Never mind that some of them scared us out of our wits, screaming with your friends, I say, is the best part of any movie experience. Hence, if I were to name my all-time favourite horror movies, they mostly be from the 1980s. Co-incidentally, my top three picks are all from 1987.

Prince Of Darkness by horror maestro John Carpenter was critically-panned. Watching the trailer online now, the special effects are cheesy and the acting is laughable. But boy, oh boy, did I love it then. I even watched it twice.

You might want to ease up on those tanning bed sessions, my dear. From John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness.

It's about a priest (Donald Pleasence) who invites a group of academics and students to join him in the basement (nothing ever goes right in the basement) of an abandoned Los Angeles church. He requests their assistance in investigating a cylinder containing a swirling green liquid, which turns out to be a demonic force.

I also like The Lost Boys which made vampires sexy way before Twilight, and Evil Dead II. The latter saw a remake recently, but while it was more gory, it lacked the humour and scare factor of the original series. I like it when the "Boo!"s are accompanied by "Ah-ha-ha-ha"s. — William "Krazy Killer" Kee

Fearing for a friend

My most memorable horror movie experience was an unintentionally funny one a few years ago. My then boyfriend (now husband!) and I had gone to the cinema to watch Visits: Hungry Ghost Anthology. This was a local production and featured four short stories centred around the "Chinese Halloween" or hungry ghost festival.

Actress Tay Chin Fie in a scene from the local supernatural flick Visits: Hungry Ghost Anthology.

Although the movie had not received good reviews from the critics, we had gone to watch it because a friend was acting in it. Well, needless to say, we did not find the movie that scary.

Instead, when our friend emerged in a scene (his face all powdered up to look pale, since he was supposed to be dead), it was so unexpected to see him in that state that we burst out laughing, and rather loudly too.

And though it was dark in the cinema hall, we could feel all the eyes shifting from the big screen to glare at us! — Ming "Spooky Shapeshifter" Teoh

The witching hour

Every now and then a horror movie comes along to leave you, well, horrified ... for days. For me it was after watching The Exorcism Of Emily Rose. Honestly, any movie that has got anything to do with the bible truly freaks me out. Who are we to say that the devil does not exist!

In the movie, it was explained that the "witching hour", which is 3am, marks an hour where evil spirits use to mock the Holy Trinity. In the movie, Emily wakes up at that said time.

What is it with exorcisms and people levitating in funny positions? A scene from The Exorcism Of Emily Rose.

I, too, started to wake up at that witching hour after the movie! I kid you not, call it whatever you want, a coincidence or a cry for attention.

Despite that strange occurrence, I've actually seen The Exorcism Of Emily Rose four times. It was a brilliantly crafted movie and was played extremely well by Jennifer Carpenter as Emily. — Gayathri "Scarythri" Nair

Howling good fun

Sure, there are scarier horror movies than An American Werewolf In London. And there are funnier comedies. But John Landis's 1981 horror-comedy has got to be paws-down one of the slickest, most entertaining "total packages" in the genre.

From the spooky scene where David Kessler (David Naughton) and his pal Jack (Griffin Dunne) are stalked on the moors to its startling CGI-free Oscar-winning man-to-werewolf transformation, from David-as-werewolf's initial night of slaughter to the side-splitting detour into an adult film theatre and the climactic mayhem in Piccadilly Circus ... this one really has it all.

David Naughton in An American Werewolf In London's groundbreaking transformation scene.

Watching this was actually the most fun I had being (mildly) scared – hey, the nightmare sequences were quite unsettling at the time – because I could LOL so often at the twisted humour and the deadpan way the characters delivered lines like "I am a victim of your carnivorous lunar activities" or "I didn't mean to call you a meatloaf, Jack!"

Best viewed in its entirety (uncensored lah!) for the full impact of Rick Baker's pioneering makeup effects, the transformation as well as the bits where the werewolf victims come back as the living dead, in ever-yuckier states of decomposition. Oh, and so we can also (ahem) appreciate Jenny Agutter's performance and the funny adult flick See You Next Wednesday playing while David is confronted by his undead victims. Owooo-oo! — Davin "Head Caved In" Arul

Check out our playlist of 'Top horror movie themes':

Steve McQueen heads to HBO

Posted:

The filmmaker is set to direct his first TV project for the company.

The British director behind 12 Years A Slave is developing a new drama series for HBO.

After making a name for himself as a video artist and feature film director, first achieving international critical acclaim with Hunger in 2008, Steve McQueen is now branching out into television. For HBO, the director is developing a drama series centred on an African American who covers up his background to better fit in on the New York social scene.

According to Deadline.com, the still untitled series will tie in themes from the John Guare play Six Degrees Of Separation and from Shame, McQueen's critically acclaimed film on one man's struggle to hide a sex addiction.

McQueen will author the screenplay for the series in tandem with Matthew Michael Carnahan (State Of Play, World War Z). HBO will then decide whether to move ahead with the project, for which producers are already considering their casting options.

Currently in theaters in North America, McQueen's third feature film 12 Years A Slave is expected to garner multiple Academy Awards. This historical drama, produced by Brad Pitt and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, tells the true story of a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery for over a decade. — AFP Relaxnews

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Ahad, 3 November 2013