Selasa, 21 Januari 2014

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

MPs divided on role and restrictions in Little India since incident
Cops take kidnap suspect to crime scene
Church’s lease deal ‘didn’t make sense’, court told

MPs divided on role and restrictions in Little India since incident

Posted: 21 Jan 2014 06:43 PM PST

MEMBERS of Parliament were divided over the role of alcohol in the Little India riot and the restrictions put in place since the incident.

There was Nominated MP Janice Koh, who asked why alcohol was deemed an underlying cause, and fellow NMP Nicholas Fang, who asked whether breathalyser tests were carried out on foreign workers involved in the riot.

Then there were those like NMP Eugene Tan, who said that 374 liquor licences in the area – including 43 inactive ones – was excessive. He wanted to know how the liquor licensing board issues them.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean said licence numbers have been stable in the last five years: Between 2009 and 2012, they ranged from 347 to 357.

Meanwhile, a new Bill introduced in Parliament on Monday will give police fine-tuned powers in the Little India area, following the Dec 8 riot there that damaged 25 emergency vehicles and left 39 Home Team officers injured.

The Public Order (Additional Temporary Measures) Bill seeks to give law enforcement officers the power to search and interview individuals entering the area for alcohol and prohibited items, and empower officers to ban individuals from being in the area during specified times if their presence is deemed to potentially threaten public order.

Powers will also be granted officers to swiftly cancel or suspend the business licence of licensees suspected to have flouted the law.

The legislation is proposed to last for up to one year, and refers specifically to the Little India area where an alcohol ban has been enacted following the riot.

"The Bill proposes that the law will be valid for one year. This will provide sufficient time for my Ministry to enact longer term legislation to take into account the findings and recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry (COI), and recommendations arising from public consultations on the review of the liquor licensing regime," said Teo. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Cops take kidnap suspect to crime scene

Posted: 21 Jan 2014 06:45 PM PST

POLICE took one of the two Sheng Siong kidnap suspects back to one of the scenes of crime – Sembawang Park.

Lee Sze Yong, 41, arrived in a silver van at about 4.45pm, escorted by about six officers from the police's Criminal Investigation Department.

He spent about half-an-hour pointing out various specific locations related to the crime, such as the tree behind a pavilion in the park, where he and fellow suspect Heng Chen Boon, 50, had allegedly asked for the ransom money to be dropped off.

He was also taken to nearby Jalan Selimang to identify other locations related to the crime. Dressed in a red polo shirt and navy three-quarter pants, Lee appeared sullen, and at one point broke out in tears.

This kidnap case is Singapore's first in about a decade. On Jan 8, the 79-year-old mother of Sheng Siong chief executive Lim Hock Chee was abducted after a morning trip to a market in Hougang.

She was released about 15 hours later after the S$2mil (RM5.2mil) ransom was dropped off at Sembawang Park as requested by the kidnappers.

Both suspects are currently in remand and have been charged under the Kidnapping Act. If convicted, they face the death penalty or life imprisonment with caning. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Church’s lease deal ‘didn’t make sense’, court told

Posted: 21 Jan 2014 06:42 PM PST

CITY Harvest Church's S$46.3mil (RM120.3mil) eight-year rental lease agreement with music production firm Xtron puzzled the church's auditor, who said it "didn't make sense".

Under the contract, signed in October 2009, Xtron would have to procure a location to be leased to the church for worship. At the time, its lease of Singapore Expo was to expire on Sept 30, 2011.

Baker Tilly managing partner Sim Guan Seng, who presided over the church's accounts for financial years 2008 and 2009, and for Xtron's in 2009, said: "That's a big sum of money to pay to a company like Xtron."

He was taking the stand for the third day yesterday.

"In a sense, you are paying for rental commitment when Xtron didn't have a lease to back it up. So we were wondering why was it done. Commercially it just didn't make sense."

The prosecution alluded that the sum of money was used to cover holes in Xtron's account books, after the church invested Building Fund monies into the church-linked firm that was allegedly misappropriated.

This forms a part of the "round-tripping" charges faced by four of six current and former senior church leaders, who are on trial for varying counts of criminal breach of trust and falsifying accounts. — 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

Abrams says Star Wars script is done
Margot Robbie in talks to play Tarzan's Jane
Right on target

Abrams says Star Wars script is done

Posted: 19 Jan 2014 10:30 PM PST

The filmmaker is now in talks with actor Jesse Plemons about possibly playing a role.

J.J. Abrams says the script for Star Wars Episode VII is complete, and confirms that he's talked with Breaking Bad actor Jesse Plemons about a role.

"We're working really hard and we've got our script and we're in deep prep," Abrams told TheWrap. "Full steam ahead, y'know."

Abrams spoke last weekend at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, where he's promoting his new NBC series, Believe. He confirmed that Plemons is among the actors he's speaking with, and expressed surprise about the reports of his talks with the actor.

"He is one of the actors that we've talked to, yeah," Abrams said. "But, you know. It's not often that I read about actors that I'm going to be meeting and that I get to read articles about actors who are going to come in. And so I get to see someone and say, 'Oh, I read that I'm going to see you.' It's usually agents talking to people about what's happening. It's a lot of noise."

(TheWrap reported earlier this month that Plemons was up for an Episode VII role, but the actor later downplayed the possibility as rumour.) Abrams was also asked about whether he'd like to shoot the new films in IMAX, and said he plans to shoot Episode VII on film.

"In the right situation I would," like to shoot in IMAX, he said. "The problem with IMAX is it's a very loud camera. It's a very unreliable camera. Only so much film can be in the camera. You can't really do intimate scenes with it. It's slow. They break down often. Having said that, they're working on digital versions of these and so there may be a version one day. But we're going to be shooting this next movie on film."

TheWrap asked Abrams him about the craziest Episode VII rumours he's heard.

"There've been so many of them," he said. "It's amazing to see how many there are. But it's sweet because it shows that there's an interest in this movie that we all obviously know is there. But it is an incredible thing to see how many crazy things get thrown out that people often then write commentaries about. How happy they are, how disappointed they are about something that is completely false. It's a lot of noise, frankly."

Not to add to the rumours, but Abrams is working on Believe with Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron. We asked if Abrams plans to direct the next Star Wars trilogy entirely on his own, or if he might bring in another director – Cuaron, for example.

He dodged the question as ably as the Millennium Falcon might swerve out of an asteroid's path.

"I'm just focusing on Episode VII right now," he said. — Reuters

Margot Robbie in talks to play Tarzan's Jane

Posted: 19 Jan 2014 10:30 PM PST

The Wolf Of Wall Street actress is also in the running to star in another film.

Hot off a star-making performance as Leonardo DiCaprio's wife in The Wolf Of Wall Street, Margot Robbie is in negotiations to play Jane in David Yates' Tarzan, TheWrap has learned. She is also in talks to replace Amanda Seyfried in Craig Zobel's Z For Zachariah. Representatives for both films did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Robbie plans to shoot Zachariah before taking on Warner Bros' big-budget remake of the classic Tarzan, which is slated to star Alexander Skarsgard, Christoph Waltz and Samuel L.Jackson, according to individuals with knowledge of her schedule.

Warner's go-to Harry Potter filmmaker Yates is directing the adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' series of novels about the King of the Jungle, with Skarsgard in the title role.

Jerry Weintraub and Alan Riche are producing, while Mike Richardson will executive produce with Yates. Warner Bros executive Jesse Ehrman will oversee the project on behalf of the studio, which plans to start production this summer. The studio is already high on Robbie, who stars opposite Will Smith in Warner's con artist movie Focus. Z For Zachariah is a psychological thriller that Nissar Modi adapted from Robert O'Brien's post-apocalyptic novel.

Michael Benaroya is fully financing the picture, which is expected to star Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Tobey Maguire and Matthew Plouffe will produce through their Material Pictures banner alongside Zik Zak Filmworks' Skuli Malmquist and Thor Sigurjonsson, as well as Palomar Pictures' Joni Sighvatsson.

Robbie is in negotiations to play a young woman who believes she's the only survivor after a devastating nuclear event, though she comes to learn she is not alone when two strangers wander onto her farm from the forest.

Zachariah was initially supposed to start filming in August 2013 before production was delayed until November, when Ejiofor was in the midst of an important Oscar campaign for 12 Years A Slave. That, in addition to several other factors, delayed production until early 2014.

That delay forced Seyfried to drop out of the project to film Fathers And Daughters with Russell Crowe, after which she'll star alongside Rebel Wilson in the Universal comedy, He's F-ing Perfect.

Robbie next co-stars alongside Michelle Williams, Matthias Schoenaerts and Kristin Scott Thomas in the Weinstein Company's romantic drama Suite Francaise. The stunning Australian actress got her start on the Aussie series Neighbours before landing the lead in the short-lived ABC series Pan Am. In addition to playing the "Duchess of Bay Ridge" in Martin Scorsese's Oscar-nominated Wolf Of Wall Street, Robbie recently appeared in Richard Curtis' About Time. — Reuters

Right on target

Posted: 19 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

Josh Brolin wants to show his more vulnerable side.

JOSH Brolin is a little tired of being thought of as a "man's man" type of actor. But he scaled Mt Shasta anyway.

The performer, who has embodied a swaggering masculinity in such movies as No Country For Old Men and True Grit, says that he's growing weary of the macho tag.

"It was fun at first and then it just got to be a little too much of ..." – he pauses as he contemplates the right word, then settles on an "rrrrr" caveman growl.

Still, Brolin, 45, can't seem to escape the archetype. To prepare for the part of an extreme mountain climber in a new adventure film called Everest, he's been scaling daunting peaks, first in Switzerland and then in Northern California.

And this holiday movie season finds Brolin once again exploring the sharp topography of two new masculine characters.

In Oldboy, Spike Lee's remake of the Chan-wook Park blood opera, Brolin stars as Joe Doucett, an unrepentant jerk inexplicably held captive by mysterious forces in a motel room for two decades.

Upon release, he seeks answers and revenge, while also looking for reconciliation with his now-grown daughter.

In Labor Day, Jason Reitman's ethereal adaptation of Joyce Maynard's novel, he stars as Frank Chambers, an escaped convict who forcefully takes refuge in the home of single mother Adele (Kate Winslet) and her adolescent son in their quiet suburban home one holiday weekend.

With their "man-cornered" premises, the films offer an actor twofer of sorts. Both suggest Brolin as desperate and tightly coiled, relying on keen animal instincts that, one senses, are as likely to get him into trouble as they are to get him out of it.

But the parts also offer different views into the male psyche. A tenderness rumbles beneath his Labor Day character as Frank develops a relationship with Winslet's depressed romantic.

Oldboy's Joe, on the other hand, is all grit and hard-boiled rage, the character's emotions volcanically bursting through even when he's trying to take the proper family-man course.

The differences were especially felt during the production, Brolin said.

Brolin in No Country For Old Men, the Oscar and box-office smash that drastically changed the actor's fortunes. – Filepic

Calling Oldboy "probably the hardest movie I ever had to shoot," Brolin notes that he lost more than 9kg in three weeks to play the part and also cites the role's intense physicality that, particularly in the captive sections of the film, had him alternating between states of manic anger and focused determination.

Labor Day required Brolin to ratchet down the intensity, at times maintaining a stillness he called "really uncomfortable" and even performing a scene that has him baking intimately with Adele in what serves as a kind of pie-themed equivalent of the sensuous potter's wheel moment in Ghost.

"I had an older woman come up to me at a screening the other day and say, 'Thank you for helping me restore my libido.' I think that may have been a first," he said and chuckled. (Incidentally, Brolin said he's not the baking maestro the movie suggests, though he can get busy with a mixing bowl if pressed.)

Oldboy, on the other hand, is unlikely to prompt a run to Victoria's Secret.

The movie possesses a dark baroque quality that will likely alienate some critics and even seems to have elicited a mixed reaction in Brolin.

"I do have opinions, but it's better to bite my tongue," he said when asked what he thought of the finished film. (The actor says he was more enamoured with Lee's earlier three-hour director's cut that was both quieter and filled with more character-centric moments.)

The roles mark the latest turn for an actor who has seen more peaks and valleys than some of the terrain he's recently been climbing.

After a breakout as a teenager in the treasure-hunting classic The Goonies nearly three decades ago, Brolin went into a career quiet period, bottoming out in the 1990s when he landed roles on short-lived TV shows so obscure that he says he considered giving up acting.

His fortunes changed drastically about six years ago when the Coen brothers cast him as the outlaw Llewelyn Moss in their Western manhunt tale No Country For Old Men. An Oscar and box-office smash, the movie prompted a resurgence that had Brolin landing juicy roles in the likes of W. and True Grit, though, befitting his erratic career, also yielded such no-shows as Jonah Hex and Gangster Squad.

Brolin said he feels on surer footing these days, though still finds himself facing unexpected challenges.

A few months ago, he was approached by a man, an apparent panhandler, who pulled out a knife and stabbed him. (His wound wasn't serious.) Though sounding almost like a larger-than-life tale from one of Brolin's movies, the experience shook him up, causing him to question his ability to read situations accurately.

In the meantime, he is offering his own kind of unpredictability on the screen.

In addition to Everest, from the Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur, and a new Sin City film, he's set to star in a more literary effort, Paul Thomas Anderson's adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice, playing the colourful detective Christian "Bigfoot" Bjornsen, as well as the father in the Sean Penn-directed survival tale Crazy For The Storm.

"These new ones are still manly roles. But there's also more vulnerability," Brolin said.

He added with a small laugh: "There's a trajectory here. A little bit of one, anyway." – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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The Star Online: Business

Axis REIT eyes RM380mil assets by end of this year
Chipmaker Renesas cutting 25% of Japan workforce: reports
IBM misses revenue targets again after atumbling in China

Axis REIT eyes RM380mil assets by end of this year

Posted: 21 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Axis Real Estate Invesment Trust (REIT) Managers Bhd, plans to acquire RM380mil worth of assets by the end of this financial year ending Dec 31.

Chief executive officer Datuk Stewart LaBrooy said the trust was in talks with several potential targets including industrial and office buildings in Johor, Penang, and the Klang Valley.

"We are back in the acquisition market and will gear up for this exercise this year.

"Thereafter we will conduct a placement exercise (new shares) as part of our capital management exercise this year," LaBrooy said at a press presentation yesterday.

"The yields today make more sense than they used to. Last year, we were more focused on asset enhancement exercise instead. We (plan to) place 90 million shares that should raise RM250mil in cash," he added.

The trust which last year disposed one of its properties named Axis Plaza said it did so as it had already optimimsed the potential of the said warehouse.

Shareholders are expected to see an additional dividend per unit of 2.37 sen from the net gains of RM10.9mil post its disposal that would be completed this financial year.

Axis REIT will use the balance capital from this exercise of RM22.7mil to cut gearing levels from 32.66% to 31.9%.

"We wanted to seal the deal with Singapore Post Ltd (via Collective Developers Sdn Bhd) last year as it would incur a real properties gains tax of 5% this year," Labrooy said.

Meanwhile, LaBrooy also said Axis REIT had been slowly reducing air conditioning cost at the corridors and carpark lightings by replacing the air conditioners with more energy efficient ones.

"The tenants pay for their own electricity but we pay for those at the corridors – air conditioning is a big ticket item in any building," he said.

Its property operating expenses for the FY2013 was flat at RM20.81mil from RM20.13mil in the year prior. The "maintenance and others" segment was the only segment which saw a reduction of RM350,000.

Its investment properties' net yield averaged at 9.07% last year with key gross yields averaging at a headline 10.55%.

Axis REIT reported its fourth quarter FY2013 net profit at RM29.37mil from RM43.4mil in the same quarter a year ago on the back of fourth quarter trust revenue increasing slightly to RM36.19mil from RM35mil a year ago.

Chipmaker Renesas cutting 25% of Japan workforce: reports

Posted: 21 Jan 2014 06:37 PM PST

TOKYO: Renesas Electronics will slash 5,400 jobs in Japan, or about one quarter of its domestic workforce, reports said Wednesday, as the struggling Japanese chipmaker overhauls its money-losing business.

The leading Nikkei business daily reported that the firm would usher in the cuts by the end of March 2016 and had already sent a plan to its labour union with details still to be negotiated.

The mass circulation Yomiuri Shimbun and other Japanese newspapers had similar reports, saying the job cuts were tied to plans to close factories at home.

In a statement, Renesas responded that "we are studying various measures, including personnel plans, towards improving profitability but no decision has been made".

In June, Renesas said it would shed more than a thousand jobs in Europe, part of a wider layoff plan that has seen thousands of cuts in recent years. As of late last year, the company had about 28,500 employees globally.

Renesas, the world's biggest supplier of automotive micro-controller chips, was created through a merger of the chip units of Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric and NEC.

The firm has been hammered by intense competition with US IT giant Intel and South Korean rival Samsung Electronics, stoking growing losses.

Last year, it received 150 billion yen (US$1.44bil) in capital from the government-backed Innovation Corporation Network of Japan and leading companies including auto giant Toyota.

The firm, due to report its latest financial results next month, still booked an 8.8 billion yen net loss in the three months to September. Its Tokyo-listed shares fell 3.74% to 591 yen in late morning trade – AFP.

IBM misses revenue targets again after atumbling in China

Posted: 21 Jan 2014 06:28 PM PST

IBM missed revenue expectations for the fourth straight quarter as it grappled with weakening demand for servers and storage in emerging markets such as China.

Shares in the world's largest technology services company fell 3.5 percent to $181.68 (110.26 pounds) in after-hours trade.

Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty and her team will forego their annual incentive payments for 2013 as IBM failed to increase revenue. Particularly in China, the government-owned corporations that IBM relies on for a large chunk of revenue are putting the brakes on IT spending.

China accounts for about 5 percent of IBM's business, about 40 percent of which is hardware sales. The country's economy, the world's second largest, is tough to read, executives said. A new government headed by Xi Jinping is spearheading significant structural reforms that are affecting state-owned companies.

"China is going through a very significant economic set of reforms," IBM Chief Financial Officer Martin Schroeder told analysts. "While they have slowed, we don't think that this opportunity has gone away."

"We'll be on a trajectory to growth as we exit 2014 and we're comfortable that we get back to mid-single digits across the growth market regions by the end of the year."

IBM, for years a tech-infrastructure provider of choice for large corporations and government agencies, is expanding into higher-margin software and cloud computing services as its hardware business sputters.

Revenue in that business, which includes server and storage products, fell for the ninth straight quarter as more companies switched to the cloud from traditional infrastructure.

Sources said IBM and China's Lenovo have revived discussions about a sale of Big Blue's low-end server unit, though executives did not mention that on Tuesday.

Some analysts said a backlash against U.S. government spying in emerging economies contributed to plummeting demand at IBM. Asia-Pacific revenue fell 16 percent, while that from Brazil, Russia, India andChina fell 14 percent in the quarter.

"Their growth markets were everything but growth," Forrester analyst Andrew Bartels said. "They have had quite a bit of success with sales of hardware in these emerging markets, but these markets are not doing well. They're facing competition in those markets."

IBM forecast that full-year 2014 adjusted profit would beat analysts' expectations and also affirmed its 2015 target for operating earnings of at least $20 (12.14 pounds) per share. Some analysts said they thought IBM would need to grow non-hardware revenue substantially to hit that mark.

Edward Jones analyst Josh Olson told Reuters the company would need solid performance in software and services to meet its target, since expectations are that hardware will not contribute to profit in 2014.

"Assuming a normalized tax rate, this doesn't leave a lot of room for error to meet the $18 EPS target," he said.

REVENUE FALLS

Total revenue fell 5 percent to $27.7 billion in the fourth quarter ended December 31, missing analysts expectation of $28.25 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"In view of the company's overall full-year results, my senior team and I have recommended that we forgo our personal annual incentive payments for 2013," CEO Rometty said in a statement. For 2013, her base pay was $1.5 million and annual incentive payment target was $4 million.

Revenue from IBM's system and technology unit, which includes servers and storage, fell 26.1 percent to $4.26 billion. Revenue from global technology services, its largest business, fell 3.6 percent to $9.92 billion.

Software revenue was the only bright spot. It grew 2.8 percent to $8.14 billion in the quarter.

IBM and rivals such as Oracle and SAP are racing to meet surging demand for web-based software products, better known as cloud computing.

Moving to the cloud allows businesses to cut costs by ditching bulky servers for network-based software and using remote data centers run by technology companies instead.

The global cloud services market last year grew by almost a fifth to an estimated $131 billion, according to research firm Gartner. IBM Markets Intelligence estimates the market could be as big as $200 billion by 2020.

Net income for the fourth quarter rose to $6.2 billion, or $5.73 a share, from $5.8 billion, or $5.13 per share a year earlier. It got help though from a lower tax rate of 11.2 percent in the fourth quarter, down 14.3 points from a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, it earned $6.13 per share, above analysts' estimates of $5.99 per share.

Before its after-hours decline, the stock closed at $188.43 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. It has gained about 2 percent since it reported third-quarter results in October.

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The Star Online: Nation

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Religious teacher puts up brave front after son’s body is found
Green group: Make EEVs affordable for more Malaysians
Umno Youth and lawyers plan Sweden trip

Religious teacher puts up brave front after son’s body is found

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

BALIK PULAU: Religious teacher Ku Abdul Halim Ku Taha was composed when news first came that the body of his 19-year-old son had been found.

He had cut a forlorn figure at the search and rescue operation base near Penang National Park entrance. But when the body of his son Ku Muhammad Ilyas was brought to shore, the tears began welling up in his eyes.

Still, Ku Abdul Halim put up a brave front and thanked the authorities and residents for taking part in the search.

"Thanks for all the help rendered and prayers offered throughout the last three days. Alhamdulilah (praise be to God), we managed to find him," he said, adding that his son would be buried at his hometown in Bukit Mertajam.

At about 4pm yesterday, a team from the Fire and Rescue Department found the floating body some 3.4km to the north of Pantai Kerachut near Muka Head.

Ku Muhammad Ilyas was the third victim to be fished out after he went for a swim with four others in the waters off Pantai Kerachut in Teluk Bahang on Saturday.

The team-building event organised by Oriental Advertising turned tragic when five of them were swept away by strong waves.

On Sunday, the body of Ashwan-paljit Singh Charnjit Singh, 23, was found several metres away from where he was swept away.

The body of P. Yogambigai, 24, was found at 4.35pm on Saturday.

Two others – Norhayati Nasrul, 22, and Nurain Nabilah Mokhtar, 21, – were saved from the waters.

Ku Abdul Halim said he was told that his son had actually gone in to help Yogambigai but was instead swept out to the open sea.

Describing his son as adventurous but physically frail, he said he only allowed his son to take swimming lessons recently.

Operations commander Insp Mohd Zin Mat Ali said 78 people from various agencies, 10 boats and a helicopter were involved in the search.

Related story:
Marketing personnel rescued his friends with his ability

Green group: Make EEVs affordable for more Malaysians

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

PETALING JAYA: While environmental groups commended the move to make Malaysia an attractive production hub for energy efficient vehicles (EEVs), they were doubtful whether it would help the green movement in the long run.

Environmental Management & Research Association of Malaysia (Ensearch) president Abdul Aziz Long said the move, under the latest National Automotive Policy (NAP), would lead to lower fuel consumption and exhaust emissions in vehicles.

"However, it is important for the Government to ensure that EEVs are made affordable for more Malaysians, especially those vehicles below 1,800cc," he said.

Abdul Aziz also predicted a steady increase in the number of registered vehicles annually, resulting in more cars on the road, contributing to pollution in the long run.

He stressed on the need to strike a balance.

"For instance, reducing the tax imposed on cars and reducing bank loan rates will make cars more affordable, but it contradicts government initiatives to promote use of public transport," Abdul Aziz explained.

Environmental Protection Society Malaysia president Nithi Nesadurai said the Government's move to lower car prices by 20% to 30% in the next five years was sure to "spell disaster for the environment".

"While making hybrid cars a tad more affordable is an improvement, one must remember that a car is still a car, and it can still pollute the environment."

The revised NAP will see an exemption on import tax and excise duties only on hybrid and EVs that are assembled locally – up to Dec 31, 2015 for hybrids and Dec 31, 2017 for EVs.

Meanwhile, Fomca secretary general Datuk Paul Selvaraj said there appeared to be minimal impact of the revised policy towards consumers, as the excise duty and import tax for foreign cars remained in place.

However, Selvaraj welcomed the extension of exemption for these taxes on hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) assembled locally.

Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) president S.M Mohamed Idris said the move to get more people to buy eco-friendly cars would be feasible only in the short term, as hybrid cars do not mean there is completely no pollution.

Mohamed Idris also lamented the absence of a mention on the end-of-life policy for automobiles, suggesting a cap of 30 years on vehicles to start with, "as it is definitely uneconomical and unsafe to use a vehicle beyond that limit."

Related stories:
NAP 2014 aims to turn Malaysia into EEV hub
Last chance to buy them cheap

Umno Youth and lawyers plan Sweden trip

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

PUTRAJAYA: Umno Youth and legal volunteer group Sukaguam are planning to go to Sweden to assist the family of the Malaysian couple detained there for allegedly smacking their son's hand to discipline the child.

The wing would also work with the Malaysian embassy and local authorities in Sweden to help find a suitable foster home for the couple's four children, said Umno Youth executive secretary Ibdililah Ishak.

He said several Muslim families residing in Sweden had volunteered to look after the children.

"We are very concerned about the custody and the welfare of the children.

"As Muslims, we feel it is important that they be provided with an environment sensitive to their needs, such as issues with prayers and their food intake," Ibdililah said after a meeting with Wisma Putra undersecretary (consular) Ambassador Mat Dris Yaacob.

Sukaguam president Datuk Khairul Anwar Rahmat said they would examine the legal aspects of the incident to see if there were undue delay in the detention of the Malaysian couple.

Related story:
Diplomatic corps trying to speed up court case in Sweden

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The Star Online: Metro: Central

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No justice for Nepal's slave girls

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 07:25 PM PST

KATHMANDU: Nine-year-old Manjita Chaudhary had never spent a night away from her parents when her father sold her to a Nepalese policeman for $25.

She left her family in western Nepal and travelled some 200 kilometres (124 miles) to her employer's home near the Indian border.

Her harsh new life began at 4am, the start of a daily routine in which she would clean her employer's house, wash dishes, cook and then go to his relatives' homes to do the same, before falling asleep just shy of midnight.

"I couldn't cope with the work, so my employer's wife would beat me with pots and pans, and threaten to sell me to another man," Chaudhary, now 22, told AFP.

"I was so scared, I couldn't even cry in front of them, I would just cry quietly in the bathroom," she said.

When she met her father a year later, she begged to return home, but her father, a bonded labourer, said they couldn't afford to raise her or her younger sister, whom they had also sold into domestic slavery.

Nepal's indentured "kamlari" girls - some as young as six - are among the Himayalan nation's most vulnerable citizens, subject to beatings and sexual violence while being kept as virtual prisoners by their employers.

Every January, when Nepal's Tharu community celebrates the Maghi festival, marking the end of winter, destitute Tharu families also sign contracts worth as little as 2,500 rupees ($25) a year, leasing their daughters to work in strangers' homes.

The annual tradition is unusual even in a region where illegal, bonded slavery and child labour are rife and where it is common to see children working in tea-shops, homes and even on construction sites.

A century ago the Tharu, said to be descendants of the Buddha, owned their farms and lived in relative isolation in the malaria-infested Terai plains, enjoying a natural resistance to the disease that the higher castes lacked.

But when malaria was eradicated from the fertile region in 1960, the Tharu were displaced by higher-caste farmers, becoming indebted serfs in their own land.

Many, like Chaudhary's impoverished parents, resorted to selling their daughters into domestic slavery, establishing the kamlari tradition, which, although outlawed in 2006, persists across the country.

Chaudhary worked for three years as a kamlari, enduring violence and sexual harassment, before activists from the US-based Nepal Youth Foundation approached her father and offered to support and educate his daughters if he ended their contracts.

At the age of 12, Chaudhary learnt to read and write. Today, the business undergraduate cuts a confident figure, fashionably dressed in a trench coat and conversant in three languages.

But the childhood scars remain, compelling her to volunteer as an advocate for kamlari rights.

"I was robbed of my childhood. It was a horrible time and I will do whatever I can to end this practice, to free other girls," she said.

Uphill battle for freedom

Although the kamlari tradition originated in the plains of southwestern Nepal, activists say it now survives on the patronage of wealthy families in the capital.

Kamal Guragain, legal officer at the Nepalese non-profit CWISH (Children-Women In Social Service and Human Rights), estimates that Nepal is home to at least 1,000 kamlaris, with nearly half of them working in Kathmandu.

So far, no employer has been punished for hiring or mistreating kamlaris, despite Guragain filing a stack of cases demanding prosecution and compensation to victims.

"Kamlaris still exist because their employers are not jailed or prosecuted, even though they are breaking the law," Guragain told AFP.

After a 12-year-old kamlari died of burns in the custody of her employer last March, sparking huge protests, the government said it would end the illegal practice.

But nearly a year later, little has changed.

Ram Prasad Bhattarai, spokesman for the ministry of women, children and social welfare, told AFP that the activists were "too provocative and rights-oriented".

"We are focused on empowering kamlaris by offering them education and training opportunities as beauticians and seamstresses (after they leave work)," he said. But "we have no intention of going to every household in Kathmandu and organising raids," he added.

Lost childhoods

At one of the raids in Kathmandu, activists rescued a nervous teenager, Jayarani Tharu, who had worked as a kamlari for so long that she couldn't remember when she left home.

Her employer, who runs a furniture business and owns a restaurant, paid her father 6000 rupees a year for his daughter.

As former kamlaris, including Chaudhary, helped the young woman pack up her belongings, her employer's wife, Ramba Uprety burst into tears.

"I treated her like she was one of my own children. That's why I don't feel like I have done anything wrong," Uprety told AFP.

Her employers were good people, never violent or cruel to her, Tharu said.

Still, it rankled to see tutors visit the house to teach the employers' two children, while she slaved away in the background.

"I did feel bad about missing school, but then I got used to it... they had paid me to work, not to study," she said.

"Now I am wondering if I will be able to do anything with my life. I have lost so many years." -AFP

Vietnam reports first bird flu death in nine months

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 09:49 PM PST

HANOI: Vietnam has recorded its first death from bird flu in nine months, according to the country's Health Ministry, amid growing regional concerns over a potential resurgence of the deadly virus.

A 52-year-old man from southern Binh Phuoc province died Saturday after receiving treatment in Ho Chi Minh City, the ministry said in a statement issued late Monday.

"His sample... tested positive to the H5N1 virus," the statement said.

It was Vietnam's first fatality from the virus since a four-year-old child died in April 2013.

Demand for poultry in Vietnam is expected to surge over coming days as families gear up to celebrate the lunar new year festival Tet next week.

Strains of the H5, H7 and H9 avian influenza subtypes have caused human infections, primarily following direct contact with infected poultry.

But experts fear it could mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans, with the potential to trigger a pandemic.

The H5N1 virus has caused 649 confirmed flu cases in humans since it re-emerged in 2003, of whom 385 died, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Vietnam has recorded one of the highest fatality rates from bird flu in Southeast Asia, with the disease claiming 63 lives so far, WHO said.

Neighbouring Cambodia recorded 13 deaths from the virus last year, as it battled its deadliest outbreak since 2003. -AFP

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

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Celebrate with 988

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 03:45 AM PST

The radio station has more than 1.5 million listeners every week!

THIS festive season, 988 will be throwing a celebratory dim sum breakfast for its loyal listeners in Penang and Ipoh, Perak. A recent Nielsen Audience Measurement Wave 2 2013 report indicate 988 has achieved 9% growth in listenership in the Northern region. The remarkable growth makes 988 the top Chinese station in the region with 1.64 million weekly listeners!

988 also beat out other commercial Chinese radio station to achieve the highest Time Spent Listening (TSL) rating.

Join 988 deejays Chan Fong, Yi Hui, Jason and more on Jan 25 at Dim Sum Food Restaurant in Jalan Macalister, Penang for a sumptuous breakfast spread. Then make a date with the crew again on Jan 26 in Foh San Restaurant in Jalan Leong Sin Nam in Ipoh for another dim sum celebration.

Both events are limited to 200 pax on a first-come, first-served basis. Registrations starts at 8.30am.

988 will also be making stops at Paragon Mall, Penang on Jan 25 and Ipoh Parade on Jan 26 for its Mama Mia Good Year promotional tour. Event starts at 2pm.

988 gives your more reasons to keep tuning in. Joining DJ Leaf (Pasar Malam, 8pm-10pm, Monday to Thursday) this week is veteran actress Aye Kang. On Go Go Weekend's He Says, She Says segment (8am-9am); this week's focus is on job resignation. Do you tell your boss the truth about job dissatisfaction or hide your true feelings? All this and more only on 988.

For more information, log on to www.988.com.my.

Salamiah Hassan is simply divine

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

In the world of homegrown pop music, there are divas and prima donnas ... and then there's Salamiah Hassan.

AWESOME. That's the word that came to mind after watching veteran singer Salamiah Hassan taking her bow after a two-hour concert aptly titled Gelombang Salamiah Hassan at Istana Budaya in Kuala Lumpur last Friday night.

The crowd at the venue stayed on their feet and clapped with much enthusiasm as the curtain came down.

It was truly Salamiah-mania once again, and how this wonderful singer deserved the attention.

For local music fans – young and old – Salamiah doesn't need any introduction. Her hit-making years in the 1970s and early 1980s will never be forgotten.

At 62, she proved that she could easily attract a crowd to Istana Budaya.

Hers was an intimate performance and, you could say, Istana Budaya felt like your living room. Without any glitz or glamour, Salamiah just sang her way into the hearts of the audience. No frills, just pure class and a wondrous voice.

On stage, Salamiah filled her setlist with a diverse range, showing off her versatility with jazz, pop and traditional Malay tunes.

How she captivated her audience when she rolled back the years with classics like Gelombang, Menghitung Hari and Semut-Semut Di Titian Usang.

Her fans had waited all these years to see her headline a big show. At Istana Budaya last week, she delighted the masses with a three-night concert series.

These dates, as we found out later, were her biggest concerts since her involvement in the music scene at the tender age of 19.

Last Friday evening, Salamiah opened her concert with that melodramatic If You Go Away made popular by the likes of Dusty Springfield and Shirley Bassey in the late 1960s. An adaptation of the 1959 Jacques Brel song Ne Me Quitte Pas, it was a perfect start for Salamiah, who is very much still in charge of her own personality on stage.

Prior to her performance, there was a show reel of her vintage live performance when she took part in RTM's Bakat TV talent show in 1971. Even though she did not clinch the top spot, her talent caught the attention of composer Datuk Ahmad Nawab.

From there, Salamiah released several EPs. Still feeling a little dissatisfied, she turned to performing at nightclubs, something uncommon among most female singers then.

There, she tried out various music genres. Her career has been a curious mixture of soulful music and sentimental songs.

"I just love singing. Just let me sing ... anywhere and anytime and I'll be the happiest," said Salamiah before working her way through evergreen songs such as Cita-Citaku, Bila Hati Dah Sayang, Kau Dan Alasanmu and Surat Terakhir.

"Thank you so much for coming tonight and I will give you all my best. Tonight I'm sharing with you a little bit about my life," she added.

Divided into six segments, the concert was a story of her journey as a singer and more. Backed by an eight-piece band and a string ensemble – with Aubrey Suwito as the musical director – it was just amazing to catch Salamiah in her element.

She even looked much younger than her age. Salamiah managed to salute the pop idols of her youth with spirited versions of Frim Fram Sauce (Nat King Cole Trio) and Fever (Peggy Lee). Out came the finger-snapping cool. She got the crowd to move their feet with I Feel The Earth Move and Upside Down. And much to everyone's delight Salamiah invited her daughter – singer Atilia – on stage. The mother/daughter act performed the duet Kadang Kala.

Family affair: Salamiah Hassan's daughter Atilia (right) joined her on stage at one point during the concert.

It was also a nice touch to see Atilia performing Salamiah's Cintaku Mengatasi Segalanya as her tribute to her amazing mother.

Produced by her dear friend, film producer Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman, the concert saw Salamiah performing 25 songs. The setlist also included Salamiah's late mother's favourites such as Kenang Daku Dalam Doamu, Kini Hatiku Telah Tertawan and Patah Hati, accompanied by her songwriter-music producer brother Ahmad Shariff.

Salamiah also brought to light songs from her newly-released album Aku, which sounded at home alongside her classic material. And no Salamiah concert would have been complete without her biggest hit Gelombang. When she performed that infectious ballad, the crowd knew that the night was drawing to a close. But they refused to budge. Obligingly, Salamiah returned to the stage and sent the masses home with the magical Malam Bulan Di Pagar Bintang.

A less seasoned performer might have wallowed in the adulation and made tearful speeches. Salamiah, however, said good night and, most importantly, left us wanting more.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Metro: South & East

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No justice for Nepal's slave girls
Vietnam reports first bird flu death in nine months
Philippines bans China poultry imports due to bird flu