Isnin, 27 Januari 2014

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

Thai ruling party opposes delay to troubled election
Philippine priests swap sermons for 'selfies'
Lawyers: Four more China activists tried as dissident held

Thai ruling party opposes delay to troubled election

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 02:46 AM PST

Bangkok (AFP) - Thailand's ruling party called Monday for controversial elections to go ahead, despite widespread disruption to advance voting by opposition protesters who besieged polling stations Sunday and stopped hundreds of thousands from casting ballots.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has faced nearly three months of mass street demonstrations demanding her elected government step down to make way for an unelected "people's council" that would oversee reforms aimed at curbing the dominance of her billionaire family.

Ten people have been killed and hundreds injured in grenade attacks, drive-by shootings and street clashes since the protests began at the end of October.

An anti-government rally leader was shot dead in broad daylight Sunday while giving a speech from the back of a pickup truck in a Bangkok suburb.

Yingluck is due to meet election authorities Tuesday to discuss a possible delay to the February 2 general election, after the Constitutional Court ruled that the polls could legally be pushed back because of the civil strife.

But the head of her Puea Thai Party said Monday he opposed a postponement and accused the Election Commission (EC) of not doing enough to ensure an orderly vote.

"The EC is authorised to hold the election and Puea Thai as a political party fielding candidates does not agree with a postponement or delay to the election," Jarupong Ruangsuwan told AFP.

©afp.com / Pornchai Kittiwongsakul

Thai Buddhist monk and co-protest leader 'Luang Pu Buddha Isara' points as he talks with government officials during negotiations in Bangkok on January 27, 2014

"The EC is stubborn and wants the election to be postponed," he said. "I think the Constitutional Court and the EC are coordinating with the protesters."

It was unclear whether his view reflected that of the government, which said it was ready to listen to the poll body's comments at Tuesday's meeting.

About 440,000 people out of two million registered for advance voting were prevented Sunday from casting their ballots, the election commission said.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban has threatened to "close every route" to polling stations again this coming Sunday, saying the election would not be allowed to take place.

The opposition Democrats are boycotting the February polls, saying reforms are needed to ensure the election is truly democratic and to prevent abuse of power by the next government.

In an interview with AFP, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said Monday that the opposition would consider taking part in a delayed vote.

He called for talks to draw up a "roadmap where reforms can be initiated and we can set a reasonable timeframe for elections that would be accepted by all sides".

Abhisit distanced himself from the protesters' proposal for an unelected "people's council" to run the country, saying that was not the demand of his party.

But he added that Yingluck "does not have the credibility" herself to oversee the reform process.

©afp.com / Pornchai Kittiwongsakul

Thai anti-government protesters hold placards during a rally in Bangkok on January 27, 2014

The kingdom has been bitterly divided since Yingluck's older brother, the then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was overthrown by royalist generals in a coup more than seven years ago.

Critics accuse the billionaire tycoon-turned-politician of controlling his sister's government from Dubai, where he lives to avoid prison for a corruption conviction.

His opponents have staged a self-styled "shutdown" of Bangkok since January 13, erecting roadblocks and rally stages at several main intersections, although attendance has gradually fallen and disruption has been limited.

The government has declared a 60-day state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas, giving the authorities the power to ban public gatherings of more than five people, although they have not yet done so.

Labour Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, who is overseeing the government's security response, warned protesters Monday to vacate besieged state offices in the capital, but reiterated a pledge not to use force.

"I'm giving them 72 hours to end their occupation of government offices," he said, adding that the authorities would set up "rapid movement teams to arrest them all".

When a state of emergency was last imposed in 2010 during pro-Thaksin protests, the government then led by Abhisit cracked down with armoured vehicles and soldiers firing live rounds. More than 90 people were killed and nearly 1,900 injured.

Philippine priests swap sermons for 'selfies'

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 02:51 AM PST

Manila (AFP) - For some of the Philippines' most powerful clergymen, stepping off the pulpit and into cyberspace felt impossibly daunting until they took their first "selfies" and posted them on Facebook.

Their initial forays into the brave new virtual world took place in a groundbreaking class for 50 of the Philippines' top bishops and monsignors in Manila earlier this month, part of the Catholic Church's strategy to remain relevant in the digital age.

Sean-Patrick Lovett, a programme director with Vatican Radio who flew in from Rome to lead the seminar, said Social Media 101 had not been taught to such a group of senior Church figures anywhere in the world before and he was surprised by his students' reactions.

"I've never seen bishops so happy and so excited. They were taking pictures of themselves and putting them on Facebook," Lovett told AFP after the three-hour session, which saw the priests partner with younger, more tech-savvy seminarians or nuns to show them the ropes.

"After half an hour on the web, one bishop became very emotional. People he hadn't heard from in years were contacting him."

Bishop Buenaventura Famadico, who leads the major San Pablo diocese near Manila, gave the impression the class was a lightbulb moment after years of largely avoiding computers.

"I am a very private person. I still have a very limited appreciation about the Internet and social media," the 57-year-old told AFP.

"But now there is that opening, about staying in touch with others through Facebook."

Famadico recounted that during the training seminar he opened the webpage of his own diocese and found it was so out of date it still had his predecessor listed in his place.

"Now I have new friends, I contacted my brothers and sisters abroad. I am very encouraged to upload my thoughts and homilies to my Facebook account," he said.

The class involved teaching the clergymen, some of them in their 70s, simply how to use the Internet, set up Facebook and Twitter accounts and, most importantly, how to make their messages worth reading.

One seminarian said that, while some priests already had their own Facebook pages, most did not and one elderly bishop had never even used a computer before.

"Just typing on the keyboard was a new experience for him," said the seminarian, who asked not to be identified.

The Catholic Church is already using social media as a powerful tool to deliver God's messages, and Lovett said his students were encouraged by Pope Francis having nearly 3.6 million Twitter followers.

The Philippines' top clergyman, Archbishop of Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle, is also prominent on social media with his Facebook account attracting more than 450,000 "likes".

Yet Lovett said the bishops had struggled with following their leaders' examples because they simply felt overwhelmed with unfamiliar technologies.

"The bishops know that social media is important. But it is one thing to know it and another to experience it," Lovett said.

Lovett said it was important for Church leaders to adapt so they could reach the widest audience possible, particularly in countries such as the Philippines where the youth demographic is so strong.

"The average age of the Filipino population is 23 years. If you want to talk to 23-year-olds, you have to use the language they use," he said.

And the Philippines is so important to the Church because it has about 80 million Catholics -- the biggest number of any country in Asia -- a legacy of Spanish colonial rule that ended in 1898.

Lovett said one key part of the class, which was also attended by the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, was how to attract and hold the interest of the youth.

"The old days of putting long homilies (online) and expecting young people to read them is over," he said.

Monsignor Crisologo Manongas, 56, said he and his fellow students were taught not to use long sermons but use "short messages that can be picked up by the people".

They were also told to use more photographs rather than words. "Nowadays, it is pictures that talk," he said.

Lovett said the class also addressed the priests' fears of being too vulnerable on the web by teaching them how to use privacy settings and set up special "groups" where access is restricted.

"We taught them how to be careful about who you invite and who you befriend, and what you say and how you say it," he said.

Lovett said he hoped the initial enthusiasm shown by the clergymen would not flare out after the class.

"Because people want to be contacted by their bishops. They want to know that their bishops are out there, they want to be inspired by their presence," he said.

However Lovett also indicated that the priests had deep reservations that may prevent them from fully embracing the Internet.

"Some bishops said to me, 'I'm afraid I might become addicted to Facebook,'" he said.

"Then they asked: 'If I become addicted, can I pray while I'm on Facebook?'"

Lawyers: Four more China activists tried as dissident held

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 01:49 AM PST

Beijing (AFP) - Four members of a high-profile Chinese rights movement went on trial Monday, in an escalating crackdown a day after its founder was sentenced to prison and a prominent dissident taken away by police.

The proceedings bring the total number of New Citizens Movement members tried on charges of disrupting public order to 10, seven of them since last Wednesday in Beijing.

Many had held banners in public, urging officials to disclose their assets as a check against corruption, and participated in other small protests and dinner discussions for which the movement is known.

At least 20 have been detained, largely over the past year.

China's new leadership under President Xi Jinping have also prioritised tackling graft, but fears any organised movement might undermine the control of the ruling Communist Party.

At Monday's trials two activists, Ding Jiaxi and Li Wei, dismissed their lawyers, one of the attorneys told AFP, in a move previous activists have used to delay proceedings for 15 days.

The other two, Zhang Baocheng and Yuan Dong, pleaded innocent, said Chen Jiangang, who represents Zhang.

Echoing the advocates for other activists, Chen expressed little hope of a fair trial in China's politically controlled courts.

"As lawyers we feel very constrained, there's nothing we can do," he said. "Our defence won't have any use."

On Sunday Xu Zhiyong, a central New Citizens figure and longtime rights lawyer, became the first member of the group to be jailed when he was sentenced to four years in prison. The maximum for the offence is five.

The news prompted immediate criticism overseas, with the United States saying it was "deeply disappointed" and the human rights group Amnesty International calling the decision "shameful".

Later the same day well-known dissident Hu Jia was taken away from his home in Beijing by security officers on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking troubles".

"Just now at 17:20 several uniformed police showed up at my door and showed me a summons," he wrote on Twitter at the time.

Soon afterwards, he tweeted: "I am about to leave with state security."

Calls to Hu's mobile phone could not be connected on Monday.

Hu told AFP last month he had participated in many New Citizens Movement events.

Three lawyers associated with him said Monday it was unclear what had prompted police to act now or where Hu had been taken.

The authorities are required to update the family of Hu's circumstances within 24 hours, said one of the lawyers, Shang Baojun.

Outside the hearings on Monday, dozens of police in uniforms and plain clothes surrounded the courthouse, and one shoved an AFP reporter for several hundred metres before forcing him into a taxi.

"You cannot stand here," he said, accompanied by a colleague. "There is no 'why'."

Other foreign journalists reported similar rough treatment outside hearings over the past week, with officers tightly closing off courthouses and forcing bystanders to leave.

The causes embraced by the New Citizens Movement range widely, from official graft to education equality.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates

Thai protesters surround cabinet meeting venue
U.S. Marines will retry sergeant accused of killing Iraqi civilian
Over 600 passengers, crew fall ill on Royal Caribbean cruise

Thai protesters surround cabinet meeting venue

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 09:30 PM PST

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Around 500 anti-government protesters on Tuesday gathered outside the Army Club compound in the Thai capital, where Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra held a weekly cabinet meeting, as the two sides traded threats in a lengthy political crisis.

The government has issued an ultimatum to protest leaders that they face arrest by Thursday if they do not give up areas they have taken over in Bangkok as protests drag into their third month.

"The people want to talk to the prime minister because she says she is the people's prime minister ... but we want the premier to listen to us ... to our side of the story," a protest leader, Puttipong Punnakun, said.

There were no reports of any violence nor any sign of security forces trying to disperse the protests.

The government declared a state of emergency last week that in theory give it sweeping powers but which it has so far shown no sign of implementing.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban has said his supporters would shut down the government body overseeing the emergency decree within 24 hours.

Ten people have so far died, most recently on Sunday, when a protest leader was shot, and there are fears violence could escalate in the latest flare-up of an increasingly divisive dispute that started eight years ago.

Yingluck is Thailand's fifth prime minister since her brother Thaksin Shinawatra was toppled by the military in 2006 and went into exile.

Yingluck will meet members of the Election Commission later on Tuesday to discuss her plans for a national election on February 2. The commission wants a month-long delay, saying the country is too unstable to successfully hold an election.

Though Yingluck's party would almost certainly win the vote, there will not be enough MPs elected to form a quorum in parliament and pick a new government.

(Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre Writing by Jonathan Thatcher; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

U.S. Marines will retry sergeant accused of killing Iraqi civilian

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 07:55 PM PST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine sergeant who was found guilty of murder in the 2006 death of an Iraqi civilian, only to have his conviction overturned, will face a retrial on the same charges, a Marine spokesman said on Monday.

Sergeant Lawrence Hutchins III will be arraigned at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base in California on Wednesday, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Kloppel said.

The case was one of the biggest war crimes to emerge from the Middle East conflict, touching off a furore both in the United States and in Iraq.

Hutchins was the leader of a squad of Marines that went on a mission aimed at stopping militants' use of improvised explosive devices in the village of Hamdania, Iraq, in the early morning hours of April 26, 2006.

Witnesses said Hutchins and another Marine shot 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad, a father of 11 and grandfather of four, and placed an AK-47 and a shovel next to the corpse to suggest he had been planting a bomb.

Earlier, Awad had been bound and gagged at another location, according to a finding by a lower court of appeal for the military.

In 2007, a court-martial at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base north of San Diego sentenced Hutchins to 15 years in military prison after finding him guilty of unpremeditated murder and other crimes. The sentence was later reduced to 11 years.

Hutchins served six years in prison before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces overturned his conviction following lengthy legal proceedings. The appeals court found that Hutchins gave a statement to a U.S. Navy investigator while in custody that should have been ruled inadmissible.

Over 600 passengers, crew fall ill on Royal Caribbean cruise

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 07:45 PM PST

(Reuters) - The number of passengers and crew who fell ill aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship climbed to more than 600 on Monday, many of them vomiting and suffering diarrhoea.

The updated sick count aboard the Explorer of the Seas, which cut short its Caribbean cruise and was expected to dock in New Jersey on Wednesday, is more than double the 300 originally thought to have been felled by gastrointestinal illness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Among those sick were some of the onboard entertainers, which caused shows to be cancelled, passengers said.

"I started with upset stomach and vomiting, and that lasted all night and into the morning," passenger Joseph Angelillo told CNN in a telephone interview.

Another ill passenger, Arnee Dodd of Connecticut, wrote on Twitter: "I've been sick and quarantined... Everything I touch goes in a biohazard bag."

Passenger Brittany Ann Schneider, who did not get sick, told Reuters that for two to four days she saw few people.

"I was not aware that people were sick until they made an announcement after they had cancelled a walk they were supposed to have," she said in an email.

Port calls and activities in Haiti and St. Maarten were cancelled.

Sick passengers had to remain in their rooms until they were cleared to come outside, said Schneider, who is from Effort, Pennsylvania.

Schneider said she felt officials should have returned home at the height of the outbreak, rather than continuing on.

"The refund they are giving us is a little unacceptable," she said. "They are only refunding half of the trip and giving us a 50 percent off for (a) future cruise."

NOROVIRUS SUSPECTED

Altogether, 595 passengers and 50 crew members fell ill aboard the ship, CDC spokeswoman Bernadette Burden said. The ship was carrying 3,050 passengers and a crew of 1,165.

The ship departed Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey, on January 21 and will cut its planned 10-day cruise short by two days, returning to its home port on Wednesday, the cruise company said.

"Disruptions caused by the early wave of illness means that we were unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting," Royal Caribbean said in a statement issued on Sunday.

The CDC said Monday the cause of the sickness was unknown but that an environmental safety officer and an epidemiologist boarded the ship on Sunday in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to determine the cause of the outbreak and the proper response.

Stool samples were gathered and sent to a CDC lab to determine what type of pathogen is to blame, Burden said.

"We likely will have a determination or identification of the pathogen later this week," she said. "Our team will be remaining on board the duration of the voyage."

The ship's crew increased cleaning and disinfection procedures and collected specimens from those who reported feeling ill following the outbreak, the CDC said.

"After consultation between our medical team and representatives of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we think the right thing to do is to bring our guests home early, and use the extra time to sanitize the ship even more thoroughly," Royal Caribbean said in the statement.

The cruise line said it believes the illnesses are consistent with norovirus, a highly contagious virus spread from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces, according to the CDC.

(Reporting by Karen Brooks in Austin, Texas, and Noreen O'Donnell in New York; Editing by Barbara Goldberg, Dan Grebler and Eric Walsh)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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The Star Online: Business

MIFF: Local furniture makers must take advantage of rising costs in China
Tenaga, TM, Maybank power KLCI’s rebound
Apple shares tumble despite new revenue high

MIFF: Local furniture makers must take advantage of rising costs in China

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: With manufacturing costs in China inching up, Malaysian furniture manufacturers have the opportunity to attract furniture importing countries seeking price-competitive alternative sources.

Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) chairman Datuk Dr Tan Chin Huat said the rising costs in China, together with a move towards diversifying its products towards the higher-end market, have sparked an interest among furniture-importing countries to look at other export regions.

"This is a good time for us to draw their interest towards us in South-East Asia," he said at a press conference yesterday.

With the increasing costs in China, Tan said China was no longer cheaper than Malaysia.

"Their consumer items are still cheap but when it comes to furniture, we are on par already."

In Malaysia, he said the furniture industry has improved a lot. "We have gained a good reputation, not only in terms of quality and skills but also delivery and punctuality," he said.

Tan said MIFF 2014 should see higher sales this year, supported by an expected bigger turnout coupled with currency fluctuations.

He said the sales from the fair was usually expected to grow 2% to 3% yearly but in some years, revenue growth went up by between 4% and 5%.

"Maybe this time, we can hit 5% or more as we are looking forward to a better crowd turn-out.

"South-East Asia has steady growth and this is where the focus is at the moment. Also, the ringgit has depreciated," he added.

Last year, MIFF recorded total sales of US$854mil. MIFF 2013 had 504 exhibitors, 161 of them were from 11 foreign countries.

Total visitors amounted to 18,397, with 6,054 being visitors from 140 countries, 5,238 were invited guests and the rest were Malaysians.

This year, the organisers expect over 500 furniture manufacturers and exporters again, with about 70% of them local and 30% international.

The furniture fair, to be held March 4 to 8 this year, will have participation from Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Korea, United States, United Kingdom, India, Spain and Vietnam.

MIFF will also bring in delegates from Japan, Belgium, Russia and Italy.

Tan gave credit to the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation for its effort in attracting international visitors to the fair.

Like last year, the fair will be sprawled over 80,000 sq m of exhibition space at the Putra World Trade Centre and Matrade Exhibition & Convention Centre.

Tenaga, TM, Maybank power KLCI’s rebound

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 06:56 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's FBM KLCI was firmer in Tuesday's late morning trade, as the mild rebound was underpinned by some fund buying of heavyweights Tenaga Nasional, TM and Maybank.

At 10.47am, the KLCI was up 7.64 points to 1,786.52. Turnover was 492.17 million shares valued at RM412.53mil. There were 284 gainers, 189 losers and 261 counters unchanged.

However, following the weaker external sentiment and recent foreign selling pressure, BIMB Securities Research was more cautious.

On Monday, foreign selling hit net RM336.40mil while local institutions were net buyers at net RM278.7mil. Retailers were net buyers at net RM57.7mil.

It expects the local market to remain negative for the moment due to lack of fresh catalysts and continuous outflow of foreign investors. "Expect to see immediate support at 1,770 and 1,765," it said.

Tenaga rose 16 sen to RM11.16 in active trade while TM added 13 sen to RM5.41 and Maybank 12 sen to RM9.59.

Petronas Dagangan was the top gainer, up 34 sen to RM30.38 and Uzma up 16 sen to RM5.86.

Among the consumer stocks, BAT gained 24 sen to RM60.34 and F&N up 20 sen to RM18.30 but Nestle fell 24 sen to RM67.06 and GAB was down 20 sen to RM14.80.

Allianz-PA was the top loser, down 40 sen to RM11.80 and Allianz 10 sen to RM11.80 while HL Cap lost 26 sen to RM11.70.

Apple shares tumble despite new revenue high

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 06:50 PM PST

SAN FRANCISCO: Record iPhone and iPad sales pushed Apple quarterly revenue to a new high but shares tumbled Monday over concerns of weaker profits ahead in fierce mobile gadget markets.

The California-based tech giant reported net income of US$13.1bil on revenue of US$57.6bil in the quarter that ended Dec 28, helped by selling 51 million iPhones.

The profit was the same as Apple reported in the same quarter a year earlier when its revenue was US$54.5bil.

Apple shares fell more than 7% to US$506.75 in after-hours trade on a weaker-than-expected outlook ahead.

While Apple profit beat Wall Street expectations, shares were "trading down" largely due to "disappointing" guidance that revenue will drop in the current quarter despite the benefits of launching the iPhone last week on China's largest telecom network, RBC Capital Markets said in a note to investors.

"China Mobile has more subscribers than anyone in the world," Apple chief Tim Cook said during an earnings call when asked about the iPhone launch on that network.

"I do see it as a watershed moment for Apple and have a very strong belief in the ability of the two companies to do great things together."

Apple said it sold 26 million iPads during the quarter, also an all-time quarterly record, as well as 4.8 million Macs.

"We are really happy with our record iPhone and iPad sales, the strong performance of our Mac products and the continued growth of iTunes, software and services," Cook said.

While Apple remains the most valuable and among the most profitable companies, some analysts are concerned it is losing its edge and failing to keep up with rivals in the smartphone and tablet markets.

"Some of the shipments may be records, but Apple shares are taking it on the chin here. Sometimes great is not great enough," said Jon Ogg at 24/7 Wall Street.

Apple profit topped Wall Street forecasts, but Apple's outlook for the current quarter is less than was expected at between US$42bil and US$44bil in revenue.

Apple has been facing pressure from billionaire Carl Icahn, which wants the company to boost the size of its share buyback to deliver more cash to shareholders.

Apple is progressing on a plan to return US$100bil to investors through dividends and repurchasing shares by the year 2016 and gave no indication it intended to expand the program.

"We are a big believer in buying back the stock," Cook said.

Some analysts expressed concern that while sales of iPhones and iPads leapt, the overall smartphone and tablet markets jumped much higher in a sign that Apple was not gaining share.

International Data Corporation (IDC) reported that global shipments of smartphones last year topped a billion for the first time, up 38.4% from the 725.3 million shipped in 2012.

Apple had the "lowest year-on-year increase" of all major smartphone makers even though 5S and 5C models were available in more countries, according to IDC.

"Samsung ended the quarter the same way it began the year: as the clear leader in worldwide smartphone shipments," IDC said.

"Now that Apple has finally arrived at China Mobile, it remains to be seen how much Apple will close the gap against Samsung in 2014."

Cook assured analysts that Apple remained on track to release later this year innovative new products that are more than improvements on devices the company already offers.

Apple has been under pressure to wow the world yet again with another lifestyle-changing innovation like it did with iPads and iPhones.

"It is a bit of a tempest in a teapot," Forrester analyst Frank Gillett said of the market's reaction to Apple's earnings report.

"Apple as a company seems to be doing fine; it is just that expectations are so out of whack because they haven't invented a new category in a while."

All smartphone makers are under pressure to expand the market, which increasingly means tailoring prices or models to countries where potential customers are on tight budgets, according to Gillett.

He recommended that investors begin looking more closely at streams of revenue promised by the trend toward buying games, music, films and more using mobile devices – AFP.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf

A Fork In The Road
Spilling the beans
Vulkan Lives

A Fork In The Road

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

THERE can be nothing in this world better than a food lover reading about how the world's most acclaimed chefs and food writers in the world share their life-changing food experiences. At least for me, reading this ensured me that I'm not alone on the hunger for crazy food adventures.

Being a foodie myself, I would travel in search of the most delicious pastries and desserts. Yes, I'd travel all the way to France just to eat their well-praised croissants and baguettes. Or to bustling Tokyo for a taste of its infamous ramen ordered from the vending machines and imbibed, sitting crammed into a tiny little restaurant.

All these experiences about food, culture and travel are jam packed into A Fork In The Road, compiled by the editor-in-chief of Saveur magazine, James Oseland. Also a judge on the popular reality TV cooking show, Top Chef Masters, Oseland's offering of three dozen original stories by a range of writers enlightened me in ways that I could never have imagined.

Most stories comprise seven pages or fewer, making for a quick read and allowing you to pick up where you left off without having to remember what came before. Curl up in your pyjamas on a rainy day and dive into these stories that will take you on a food adventure from one end of the world to the other.

Be warned, though, as some stories may be a little too much to stomach. But most are like a meal you cannot get enough off.

They Eat Maggots, Don't They? by Joe Dunthorne is a story that made me cringe with every other word I read. This six-page story written by the Welsh novelist, poet and journalist takes readers through his experience while on a holiday with
his girlfriend in the mountains of Sardinia.

There, he met an Italian family of four, including two little boys, wriggling in
their seats in anticipation of the mysterious dish being prepared by farm owner Sebastiano. Brave eaters of fried brains and roasted tongue, Dunthorne and his girlfriend were expecting something along the lines of casu marzu, or maggot cheese, a delicacy in Sardinia made by allowing the cheese to move beyond fermentation and begin decomposition.

Instead, they are served a dark lumpy soup cooked in a cauldron, which turns out to be made from lamb's blood. Then, just as they are done stomaching the blood – which tasted like onions, by the way – out comes the maggot cheese! Which they actually enjoyed, marking their culinary fearlessness.

Face To Face With A Fugu by Marcus Samuelsson who, as a teen, wanted nothing more than to save up enough money and travel to Japan for fugu, a potentially deadly puffer fish known for killing the diner if it isn't prepared properly.

The five-time James Beard award-winning chef and author first heard about the existence of the fugu from his high school sweetheart who was half Japanese. He explains how eating at her house back then was a life-changing experience, with his teenaged tastebuds tantalised by items like raw fish with a drop of soy sauce and wasabi (green mustard paste). And when he heard about a fish that could kill someone, he knew he had to discover this creature for himself.

Did finally eating fugu make Samuelsson a better chef? Probably. It is Samuelsson's determination to eat fugu in its homeland, a challenge he never gave up on, that gives an inkling about how passionate he is about food. I'm no chef, but I can totally relate: someone who is passionate and driven about food would go the distance in search of that special something to satisfy his or her cravings.

In fact, I was able to relate to most of the 34 stories in this book, and in the process learn about the origins of certain foods, countries and culture.

The background information about the cuisine's origins and even the emotions felt by the authors successfully convey the idea that food is more than just something to eat.

As Oseland says in his introduction, "Every traveler has two or three or even a hundred of them: moments on a journey when you taste something and you're forever changed."

Michael Pollan writes about such a moment in Made By Hand, which describes his journey to Seoul in South Korea, his discovery of kimchi (pickled cabbage), and how he learnt that there is more to this humble accompaniment than meets the eye.

While visiting the many kimchi museums in Seoul, he saw droves of school children on field trips. Most of them as young as seven and below, looked bored as they were taken through the museum of fermented cabbage. Curiosity got the better of him and he approached the teacher-in-charge to ask why bother with this field trip at such a young age. She explained that children there are not born liking kimchi, and they have to learn about kimchi. But why?

"Because an acquired taste like the one for kimchi is how cultures knit themselves together," she replied.

So food is just not what is served on a plate, chewed and swallowed, for every dish has a story to tell, every dish is a memory in the making, and a life-changing experience waiting to happen.

Spilling the beans

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

WHO doesn't love a good exposé? Restaurant Babylon offers to reveal the goings-on in the kitchens and dining rooms of top-rated restaurants.

Journalist/writer Imogen Edward-Jones finds out little known secrets of the restaurant world: little morsels of information diners should know before they step into a top rated restaurant. She uncovers some gems – from how restaurateurs excessively mark-up cheap wine (which more people tend to order) to how head chefs use the same spoon to sample each plate before it goes out of the kitchen (Yes! The horror! The same spoon, without so much as wiping it!).

Oh, wait ... there is more. Most chefs use the "lick and stick" technique when dressing their dishes. You know the piece of parsley that sits pretty on the goats cheese? Chances are it's in place because the chef licked it and stuck it there.
Literally.

To get these secrets, Edward-Jones says she interviewed some of America's top restaurant owners, chefs, sommeliers and kitchen staff, many of whom were willing to spill the beans on the unsavoury practices in restaurants.

This isn't Edward-Jones' first industry expose. Her previous books include Hotel Babylon (24 hours at a top London hotel, which kicked off a BBC TV series of the same name that aired from 2006 to 2009), Wedding Babylon (the excesses of the wedding industry), Beach Babylon (about the beach resort industry), Air Babylon (travel industry), Pop Babylon (a year in the life of a boy band) and Fashion Babylon (the life and times of a small fashion house in London).

In Restaurant Babylon, Edward-Jones reveals all in the form of a story about made-up characters who are all based on real-life people. Names and situations may have been changed, she explains in the prologue, but the stories are all true.

The main character is a restaurateur who owns three eateries: Le Restaurant (a one Michelin-star restaurant), La Table (an upmarket brasserie) and Le Bar, a cocktail venue. The book is divided into chapters that mark the passing hours in a single day of the said restaurateur, beginning with Chapter One at the crack of dawn. This is the format Imogen-Edwards has taken in most of her other books in the Babylon series.

Because everything happens in a single day, the accounts in Restaurant Babylon feel particularly horrifying – apart from the nagger he wakes up with, our protagonist has to deal with a nasty online review (which is expertly buried by the restaurateur's public relations maven whose office comes up with a few hundred – false – "positive" reviews that overshadow the one bad review), an elderly customer who dies during lunch (at the table, amidst a full service!), another who gets a blow job under the dining table, the unexpected arrival of a food critic while the kitchen staff are immersed in a bloody (yes, there's a knife involved, and blood) brawl in the back, a threat from a competitor, a sabotage attempt by a neighbouring restaurant, drugs (a commis, aka junior chef, freaks out while cutting cauliflower – he's had some drugs which he found in the pocket of his chef's jacket or something like that), sex in the linen closet, a raid by the British Border Agency (illegal immigrant workers in the house!), a disaster with the restaurant's drainage system (you will want to read about this in full) ... seriously, it's a world of sex, drugs and soup.

Of course, Restaurant Babylon isn't the first expose of the multi-billion dollar food industry. Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, which came out more than a decade ago, famously shocked the world with the inside story of the wild and shocking exploits of the culinary trade.

Does Restaurant Babylon deliver further?

Well, if anything, Restaurant Babylon perpetuates Bourdain's story. Years have passed but things haven't really changed that much, it seems. Well, maybe a little. Kitchen staff no longer tolerate inhumanely long working hours: as Immogen-Jones' protagonist relates, "The old double shift, seven in the morning till midnight, six days a week ... is unsurprisingly not that popular with the new sort of softer, gentler, metro-chefs who are coming through."

But, generally, in the high-pressure culinary world, tempers flare, disaster always looms, and customers always pay.

Apart from luridly shocking tales, Restaurant Babylon leaves us a little better prepared as patrons with tips such as these (to mention just a few): Always, always check your bill as even top restaurants are known to add extra items; be wary of "restaurant specials" as they sometimes comprise dishes or ingredients the restaurants are desperate to get rid of; and make an effort to look nice when you go to a fancy restaurant or you may run the risk of being seated in the worst table amidst the loud, unsightly customers an establishment wishes to hide away from the public eye.

Vulkan Lives

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

THIS one is for completists, but to stick that phrase on one of Black Library's Horus Heresy novels seems somewhat redundant. For one thing, fans who are into this series would mostly have gone all out to get hold of every piece of HH fiction out there – from novels to anthologies to short fiction to audio dramas.

And probably stopping just short of shelling out 75 quid for the limited-edition, leatherbound graphic novel Macragge's Honour, thank you very much.

For another thing, it's unlikely at this stage in the series – 27 books and counting – that anyone but a completist would be following the saga.

So here we have Book 26, recently out in trade paperback format after its "collector's edition" hardcover publication late last year. It is also "for completists" in yet another sense – we just gotta have it, regardless of the quality. It's as all-consuming as Pokemon!

Sadly, Vulkan Lives isn't a very rewarding entry, and may leave ardent fans with a distinct feeling of dissatisfaction at the end.

For a quick recap, the Horus Heresy is a galaxy-wide civil war raging in the 31st
millennium (that's about 29,000 years from now). The Imperium of Man, led by its powerful immortal Emperor, is in flames after half of his "sons", almost-as-powerful genetically-engineered demigods known as primarchs, rebelled. The traitors' leader is the primarch named Horus, hence the series' title.

It's a prequel to the hugely popular Warhammer 40,000 – which started out as a
tabletop wargame in the late 1980s and expanded into books, comics, videogames and even a direct-to-video animated feature.

Vulkan Lives is the story of two of those primarchs, one a loyal son and the other a traitor. Vulkan, the faithful one, is leader and gene-sire of the Salamanders chapter of Space Marines, genetically-enhanced warriors created by the Emperor to help him achieve his dreams of empire.

The Salamanders, together with fellow loyalist chapters the Iron Hands and
Raven Guard, were almost annihilated by Horus' treachery at the outset of the Heresy, and this book deals with Vulkan's fate immediately after that massacre on the planet Isstvan V (described briefly in HH Book 5, Fulgrim; in the novella Scorched Earth, also by Kyme; and in this book).

Vulkan is captured by Konrad Curze, a traitor primarch and leader of the Night Lords chapter. He is shackled, humiliated and tortured by his nuttier-than-a-pecan-pie brother who intends to break his mind and body, or kill Vulkan in the process, just because the primarch's nobility ... offends him.

It turns out that he does kill Vulkan – only to make an astonishing discovery about the true nature of the Salamanders' master.

As their little sibling drama plays out, Kyme intercuts it with the story of an archaeological dig on a faraway planet. Say what? Yep, a dig for some sort of artefact – but it's no ordinary piece of history.

Several parties are after it: traitor Space Marines, a rag-tag group of loyalist survivors from Isstvan V, and an immortal named John Grammaticus who readers would have met earlier in the series.

What exactly this has to do with Vulkan and his own troubles of the moment is actually so basic that any mention of it could be construed as a major spoiler; so I'll refrain from saying more.

But this scramble for the artefact is somewhat slapdash, lacking the customary urgency of a typical page-turning Black Library confrontation between loyalist and traitor Marines. The surviving loyalists are so devoid of character that it becomes a chore trying to tell them apart – not that it matters much anyway. The traitors are clearly the more interesting group here.

This is surprising because Kyme, the only Black Library writer writing on the Salamanders, has done much better with them, namely, in the Tome Of Fire trilogy.

Over in wherever-it-is that Curze has Vulkan imprisoned, however, it's the other way around. As "godlike" as Vulkan is revealed to be, he actually becomes the more interesting and more clearly defined character. The crap that happens to him here and in the next book is intriguing, given that Tome Of Fire indicates he was with his legion till some time after the Heresy.

On the other hand, Curze (whose Night Lords were the central figures of some pretty kick-butt books from Aaron Dembski-Bowden) soon becomes a wearisome, petulant spoiled brat whose incessant whining is quite grating.

If you can recall that scene in Star Trek VI with the Klingon villain yammering on and spouting Shakespeare over the comms and Dr McCoy saying "I'd give good money if he'd shut up", well, that's how I felt reading the passages where Curze keeps taunting Vulkan. Come on – this is the Night Haunter, whose acts of butchery performed in silence and darkness frightened an entire planet of murderous scum into submission.

The one compelling reason to finish this was because I read somewhere that the next HH book, Dan Abnett's The Unremembered Empire, is a direct sequel to this one (while also drawing together threads from various other HH tales).

By the end, I really felt that this was something of a non-starter, possibly the weakest of all the series' primach-centric stories. A good thing Abnett's follow-up makes up for this one, but that's another review for another day.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

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Liow: Be humble and sincere
All for ministers' media engagement courses
DAP to hold convention in Segamat to woo Johor voters

Liow: Be humble and sincere

Posted: 26 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

KLANG: Go to the ground, serve the people sincerely and humbly. This is the advice from MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai to grassroots leaders of the party.

"We will come up with more ideas and renew strategies to be on the ground more for the people," he said.

The party would also expose some of the politicking ways of the Opposition, which was merely propaganda to gain support but not effective in serving the rakyat, he said after chairing the Selangor MCA meeting yesterday.

At the event, Liow – who is also the state MCA chairman – announced the new exco line-up for the state and the appointment of 15 bureau chiefs.

The new exco sees many new faces with former chairman Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai being appointed deputy chairman.

The four new vice-chairmen are Tan Chong Seng, Goh Ah Ling, Datuk Puah Boon Choon and Datuk Wong Hock Aun.

Liow also announced the setting up of two new main committees in Selangor to oversee issues related to the state and syariah laws.

The State Government Issues and Policies Monitoring Committee is helmed by Datuk Wong Koon Mun while Yip Jiunn Hann is in charge of the Syariah Law and Policy Implementation Committee.

On another matter, Liow condemned a teacher from SJK (C) Khai Meng in Perak who was said to have forced two pupils to wear bells around their neck for not doing their homework.

He said the teacher must understand that their job was to guide the children, not humiliate them.

All for ministers' media engagement courses

Posted: 26 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recently suggested that Cabinet members should take media engagement courses and Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Hasan Malek is all for it.

Hasan said: "Any knowledge is valuable and I am up for it. I support any effort that can bring betterment for the Government, the country and the people."

The matter was reportedly raised during a recent Cabinet meeting in which Najib had highlighted the importance of giving out "clear and proper explanations" on government policies.

A source said Najib had also told Cabinet members to be comprehensible and effective when responding to issues and making statements to the press.

"The Prime Minister was speaking about effectively engaging with the media when he suggested that we take up some training or attend courses to improve our skills," he said.

A senior minister said media skills training for Cabinet members was not something new adding that he had undergone such a session a few years ago.

"The course proved valuable for me. I was exposed to many aspects of media relations and communication, including how to conduct press conferences well and deal with tough questions," he said.

Former Information minister and former editor-in-chief of Utusan Malaysia Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin said while journalists could help educate ministers on effective media engagement, they had to be open-minded to the views and opinions from the press.

"Ministers must know what is it that the media want from them and know the right way to respond to questions. They must also know what to say and when to say it, rather than wanting to gain publicity and popularity with their statements but in the end disappoint the public by their lack of action," he added.

Former Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Tan Sri Sabbaruddin Chik said Cabinet members during his days learned how to deal with the media through colleagues and experiences.

He said attending training courses might help today's ministers to handle the media better.

DAP to hold convention in Segamat to woo Johor voters

Posted: 26 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

PETALING JAYA: DAP will hold its national party convention in Segamat next in a move to win over the Johor voters in the next general election, says state DAP chairman Liew Chin Tong.

He added that this was to emphasise how crucial the semi-urban seats were in determining the outcome of the next election.

"Not only Northern Johor, but Southern Perak, Sabah and Sarawak will together determine the future of Malaysia.

"Most of these areas consist of semi-urban or rural parliamentary constituencies, in which Pakatan Rakyat has to work hard to win the hearts and minds of the voters," he said in a statement yesterday,

Liew, who is Kluang MP, said the Johor DAP would also be focusing its attention on these seats ahead of the 14th general election in order to help Pakatan win Johor.

"The party should work hard to garner more support from different groups, especially in marginal seats," he added.

On another matter, Liew said that the state DAP also reaffirmed its support for Skudai assemblyman Dr Boo Cheng Hau to continue as Opposition Leader in the state assembly.

The announcement was made during the state DAP committee meeting in Kahang yesterday.

During the recent state party polls, Liew, who was previously Bukit Bendera MP, was chosen to replace Dr Boo as state party chairman.

Liew also said that both he and Dr Boo were among seven leaders who would be representing DAP in Johor's Pakatan Rakyat committee.

The others are S. Ramakrishnan (deputy chairman), Gan Peck Chen (secretary) Chew Peck Choo (DAP Johor Wanita Chief),Tan Hong Pin (DAP Socialist Youth Johor Chief) and Mahdzir Ibrahim (member).

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

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Local artists grab awards limelight

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 03:40 AM PST

Winners expected to accelerate careers with the Malaysian Emerging Artist Award 2013.

EMERGING homegrown artists Sabihis Mohd Pandi, 25, Ong Xiang Ru, 27, Shafiq Nordin, 26, Cheong Tuck Wai, 34, and Hilal Mazlan, 26, now look to have their careers accelerated. They have each picked up honours in the Malaysian Emerging Artist Award 2013 (MEA award), which recently concluded its third edition with a prizegiving ceremony at the White Box, MAP, Publika in Kuala Lumpur.

The biennial competition, organised by local art galleries Galeri Chandan and HOM Art Trans, ran from last November to early January. This independent initiative aims to recognise talents who are relatively unknown (artists below the age of 35). Also, their artworks must have been produced between 2012 and 2013, and never exhibited locally before.

Shafiq Nordin isn't short on colourful ambition and social comment. The Tampin, Negeri Sembilan-born chap now has the Malaysian Emerging Artist Award 2013 to take his art further into the mainstream.

"There are many competitions promoting the arts in Malaysia. But what makes the MEA award different is the artworks are judged by the opinion of the industry," said Mohammad Nazli Abdul Aziz, managing director of Galeri Chandan.

Kuala Lumpur-born Ong Xing Ru with her pop surrealistic work which impressed the judges and won her the Malaysian Emerging Artist Award 2013 award.

"What better way when the stakeholders of the industry (art professionals, curators, collectors, academicians) are given the opportunity to honour the talents and evaluate the maturity of new entrants into the industry?" he added.

Hilal Mazlan, who hails from Kuala Kangsar, Perak, with his 'Flying Fleet' series that landed him a Malaysian Emerging Artist Award 2013 award.

An independent group of (anonymous) judges were tasked to look through the entries, make a shortlist and pick the top five artists for MEA 2013. For the competition, 41 finalists were shortlisted out of a total of 178 artworks submitted. Back in 2009, 36 finalists were chosen, while in 2011, 75 entries were received and 39 finalists shortlisted.

The MEA 2013 winners each received a cash prize, vouchers for art materials, a 10-day travel grant to a city in South-East Asia and a showcase for all five winners (this August) and a solo exhibition in 2015, which will give them crucial exposure in the Malaysian contemporary art scene.

"These five winners now have a platform to work creatively, to gain knowledge and experience by travelling, to exhibit a collective showcase and this time around, a solo show. It's a series of programmes that lay the foundation for professional career development in the visual arts," said Nazli.

The Kuantan-born Cheong, who submitted a triptych for the competition, centres his emotive work on the melancholy of memory and distant longing.

"My creativity is all about memory, in which people, scenes and objects are described and defined. I create images and effects of deserted, abandoned or discarded things through various mixed materials," said Cheong.

Cheong Tuck Wai's art, which reflects strongly on familial ties and ghostly nostalgia, is a tribute to his growing up years in Kuantan, Pahang. His work is the most melancholic among the Malaysian Emerging Artist Award 2013 winners.

Hilal, from Kuala Kangsar, revealed that he took two years to create his mechanical Flying Fleet series.

"I don't have an engineering background. This series came purely from my own artistic impressions with a fair amount of improvisation," said Hilal.

Expectations to deliver will be high for each MEA 2013 winner, especially since they are now part of an alumni that includes 2009 winners like Gan Chin Lee, Mohd Al-Khuzairie Ali, Mohd Bakit Baharom, Samsudin Wahab and Shaifuddin Mamat. For MEA 2011, Chong Ai Lei, Siund Tan, Sun Kang Jye, Ng Swee Keat and Syahbandi picked up the top prizes.

The Malaysian Emerging Artist Award 2013 competition finalists exhibition is on at White Box/Black Box, MAP, Publika in Kuala Lumpur till Jan 30. Admission is free. Opening times 11am to 8pm (daily). More info at emergingaward.blogspot.com.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

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