The Star - Friday, 12 August 2022

Watchout tomorrow! Matrempit areunder the spotlightagain after an illegal motorcycle streetracelast month killed fivepeople. As authorities push for tougher laws to curb the problem, we explorewhat drives such deadly thrill-seeking behaviour Show us themoney Friday 12 august 2022• PP19652/12/2020 (035234)(No. 22971) RM2.00 •1300-88-7827(Customer Service) Themuch-awaited politicalfunding Bill isset to become lawsoon. It will be tabled forfirst readinginthe DewanRakyatinOctoberand is likely to introducefunding transparency andaccountability.Itwillalso setlimitson politicaldonation, among others. >See reports on page 5byMARTIN CARVALHO The68-storey Komtar building andmanyparts of Penang island were justablur afterthe state wasblanketed by haze.However, thereadingsonly showedmoderate haze and the skiescleared up by late afternoon >See report on page 11 Where is the island? Photo:LOTERNCHERN /The Star Thebeautyofhaving aprofessional licence. >4Nation

Ismail Sabri also suggested that both countries explore cooperation to resolve problems related to supply chains, adding that during a meetingwithJapanesePrime Minister Fumio Kishida in May, he called for regional supply chains to be strengthened with supporting investment in digital infrastructure. He said simplifying capacity development would strengthen the resilience of local supply chains.

PM calls forbothcountries to work on Look East Policy viatechinnovation

M’siatostrengthentieswithJapan

Later, Azmin told reporters that Malaysia had developed and implemented an ESG-based investment policy to ensure sustainable economic development and supply chain resiliency,which had become an issue due to the pandemic. He said Malaysia’sparticipation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) could assist in capacity develop ment and technical assistance needed to encourage the adaptation of automation and digitalisation. “In addition to this, Miti has also introduced manyincentives so that our SMEs can immediately switch to using green technology,and this will continue so that we can achieve the goal (net-zero Greenhouse Gas (GhG) emissions target) that has been set by 2050,” he said.

“Asthe heirs of the nation, the younger generation should always appreciate and learn from history so as not to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. “That’s whymanyworldscholars saythat the national identityofa country is closely related to history,” SultanAbdullahsaidinhis royal address at the Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) 17thand 18thconvocation ceremonyyesterday Alsoinattendance was Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah. UniKL pro-chancellor Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, who is also Rural Development Minister, and Majlis AmanahRakyat chairman Datuk Seri Azizah Mohd Dun were also present. “The efforts to instill the spirit of nationalism and asense of appreciation of the country’shistory should gohand in hand,” said His Majesty in aBernama report. Sultan Abdullahpraised UniKL for being thepioneer in variousnew technologies such as sustainable energy,electricvehicles, bigdata, InternetofThingsand aerospace. As such, His Majesty wanted UniKL to continue to explore new fields of knowledge for community capacity building and to put the country on par with other developed countries. At theceremony, Sultan Abdullah also proclaimed Mahdzir andAzizah as the newUniKLpro-chancellors and presented the instrument of appointmenttobothofthem The 13-session convocation ceremonywhich began yesterdayuntil Aug17 saw atotal of 10,547 graduates from the class of 2020 and 2021 receiving their scrolls.

KUALALUMPUR: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has called on graduates to always remember and appreciate the country’sindependence history His Majesty said it was important for graduates to value the country’s history because it could help instil love for the nation and appreciate the prosperity enjoyed by the country today.

“I have been doing this since 1998 because Ienjoyseeing the vibrant colours of the Jalur Gemilang in each of my creations,” Tazar said. “This year, Iproducedreplicas oftanks, cannons and helicopters using my own money and some discarded materials such as old tyres, plastic and iron,” he told Bernama. The father of two added that he would usually complete his creations in the first week of August. “I took pictures and uploaded them on Facebook to create excitement for National Day. Some gave positive comments,” he added. Tazar also encouraged the younger generations to show their patriotic spirit not only during National Month but also in their daily lives. National pride: tazar standing next to atankhe madeusing old tyres, recycled plasticand iron. —Bernama By ALIZASHAH alizashah@thestar.com.my

tellsgraduates to appreciate independence history

KUALALUMPUR: Malaysia wants to explore new cooperation on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) framework with Japan under the Look East Policy (LEP), says the Prime Minister. Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2022 stated that issues such as climate change, social impact due to an ageing population and social polarisation due to the Covid-19 pandemic were expected to adversely impact most countries over the next decade. “I urge that new areas of cooperation related to ESG be explored by both countries through projects and programmes implemented under the LEP “This includes diversifying cooperation in the field of disaster crisis, ageing society,digital economy,sci ence, technology and innovation as well as green growth,” he said in his speech read by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali in conjunction with the LEP’s40th anniversary event held at ahotel here yesterday. The Malaysian government adopted the LEP in 1982, and targeted social and economic development in the country through learning from Japan. Ismail Sabri said four decades of successful cooperation between Malaysia and Japan were now centred on new areas in line with the technological revolution that brought changes to the industrial and global economic landscape. He said cooperation in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous systems, and the Internet of Things (IoT) in which Japan has high expertise, needed to be improved to ensure the sustainability of the Look East Policy for the period ahead. “I hope the Japanese government will provide continuous support to encourage more cooperation through the implementation of joint-venture projects under the LEP,” he added. Ismailsaidasa pioneer in the global halalindustry,Malaysia can help Japan develop its halal industry. “Malaysia as apioneer in the global halal industry can certainly help Japan which has ahighinterest in developing its halal industry.”

Enlivening Merdekacelebration by usingrecycledmaterials

THE STAR, Friday 12 august20222 Nation King

IPOH: Asenior citizen created various replicas from used materials and decorated them with the Jalur Gemilang to show his love for the country this Merdeka. Tazar Alang Ibrahim, 62, built the replicas of tanks, cannons and helicopters with used tyres, iron and plastic. He placed them at his nasi lemak stall near the Muhammadiah Mosque in Tasek here. The uniqueitems caught the attention of passers-by, who took photos and shared them on their social media. There were visitors who came all the way from Melaka and Penang just to see the replicas, Tazar said. He said he felt compelled to use the discarded materials to create replicas to enliven the National Month celebration as recycling is almost forgotten these days.

PETALING JAYA: The RM9bil Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)scandal that has surfaced recently maybea significantissue for some,but it is not likely to affect the support enjoyed by the Barisan Nasional-led administration, political analysts say.

“Wehavesubmitted investiga tion papers and have proposed that charges against several individuals be considered by the AGC,” it said. The MACC said it will takefurther instructions after the AGCreviews the investigation papers. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob told the MACC to expedite investigations into the LCS case, and should there be solid proof for the Attorney General to prosecute and bring those responsible to court. The Cabinet has also decided for two high-level investigative reports, including one by the governance, procurement and finance investigation committee, be made public. The committee, led by former Auditor-General TanSri Ambrin Buang, was set up in 2018 and its first task was to investigate procurements made by the Defence Ministry The other reportisa forensic audit report on the project that was conducted in 2019, which will be declassified. The Prime Minister also said a probe into the issue will be transparent andthat the government would not protect anyone involved. On July 19, The Star reported that anti-graft investigators were convincedthat theyhad enough evidence to bring charges against several individuals involved in the multibillion-ringgit LCS project.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’sannouncement that a forensic report wouldbedeclassified, with aprobe ordered has taken the wind outofthe issue Given that thereisnoindication when the 15thGeneral Election (GE15) will be held,itcould also become anon-issue by the time the elections comearound, they say. Even theplanned protest by some groups this Sundayisunlikelyto swaythe voters. At worst, the controversy has only caused aslight dent in Barisan’spop ularity,saidDrAzmi Hassan, senior fellowatthe NusantaraAcademyfor

AM PM WEATHER Rain rain rain

investigationpaperson LCshave been submittedtoagC PUTRAJAYA: Graft investigators have submittedinvestigation papers to the AttorneyGeneral’s Chambers (AGC), proposingfor charges to be made against several individualsinconnection with the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) scandal. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said that it had completed investigation papers involving several individuals alleged to have committed misappropriation in handling the project.

ALOR SETARPENANG K. LUMPUR JOHOR BARU KUANTANKOTABARU PRAYER TIMES 6:03 1:26 4:42 7:35 8:47 Subuh Zohor Asar Maghrib Isyak 6:04 1:26 4:43 7:34 8:46 Subuh Zohor Asar Maghrib Isyak 6:01 1:21 4:39 7:28 8:39 Subuh Zohor Asar Maghrib Isyak 5:55 1:13 4:31 7:17 8:28 Subuh Zohor Asar Maghrib Isyak 5:56 1:16 4:34 7:21 8:33 Subuh Zohor Asar Maghrib Isyak 5:56 1:19 4:35 7:28 8:35 Subuh Zohor Asar Maghrib Isyak

Isolatedrain Thunderstorms No rain Thunderstorms Isolated thunderstorms No rain No rain No rain No rain No

Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said managingperceptions is keyto ensuring theissue does notbecome politicalbaggage in GE15. “Althoughthe issue does give mileage for both Pakatan and Perikatan,transparency by the cur rent governmentintackling it can help regain voters’ trust,” saidthe Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst.Headded that voters now had theluxuryofcomparing three different administrations over the past few years. “This willallow them to evaluate beyond the issues at hand. Candidatesand partieswill haveto buildtrust among the voters,” he said, adding that fence-sitters would bethe real kingmakers Prof Sivamurugan,however, noted that thesituationcouldspiral out ofcontrol if efforts werenot made to calm thewaters quickly “In the lead uptoGE14, informa tion on the1MDB scandal reached rural andFeldaareasdue to theuse of social media. “Toavoid arepeat, thegovern ment has to ensurethe LCS probe is transparent, open andreflects good governance,”hesaid.

Universiti Malaya’sAssoc Prof Dr AwangAzman AwangPawialso said Ismail Sabri’sorder for aprobe couldimprove confidence among thepeople towards Barisan. “This, however, dependsonthe findings and how the opposition uses this,” he said.

The two-year probe by PACalso revealedthat the RM9bil project was done through direct negotiations with Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd and was inked in 2014.

“Although theoppositioncan campaignthroughsocial media,itwould still be hardtoswayBarisanand Umno strongholds,”hesaid “It alldependsonhow the opposition harps on this issue until Parliament is dissolved,” he said.

GEORGE TOWN K. LUMPUR JOHORBARU KOTA BARU K. KINABALUKUCHING

MACC completes probe ReportsbyMAZWINNIK ANIS,GERARDGIMINO and RAGANANTHINI VETHASALAM

StrategicResearch (NASR). “Thecurrent Barisan scapegoat is Datuk Seri NajibRazak, but he does not holdany position except as MP Hence, it willnot affectthe political landscape,” he said He saidIsmail Sabri’s callfor a probeshowed the government, now without Najib, would takeaction against thoseguilty. “The problem is whether there was anymishandlingintermsof corruptionbythe then defence min ister,”hesaid,dismissing claims that it was akin to another 1MDBscandal. Dr Azmi said that although the issue was positive for Pakatan Harapan, it didnot give much mileagefor PerikatanNasional asmany of its senior members, especially those fromParti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, were part of thegovernment. “It leaves Perikatan inan awkwardposition.Take, forexample, how TanSri Muhyiddin Yassin lamentedthe issue althoughhewas theprime minister at that time,”he said. Dr Azmi,however, voiced concern over the LCS issue,especially as it is tiedtosecurity matters. “Theseships are crucialinthe StraitsofMalacca and the South ChinaSea “With thisissuetakingapolitical angle, it maycause afurther delayin the arrivalofthe ships.What’s worse, othernations will knowthe technical specifications of ourLCS,” hesaid.

Nation 3THE STAR, Friday 12 august 2022

On Aug4,Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC)saidthat some RM1.4bil in government allocation for the LCS project had been used for other purposes, including cost overruns.

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Najib:Boustead wasdoing finewhen IwasPM PETALING JAYA: Boustead Holdings, whose subsidiary is in the centreofthe littoral combat ship (LCS) scandal, was profitable when hewas primeminister,claims Datuk Seri NajibRazak. Najibclaimed Boustead, owned by the Armed Forces Pension Fund (LTAT), onlystarted sufferingsignificant losses afterBarisan Nasional fell in the2018General Election (GE14). Uploading agraph of Boustead’s 2009-2017 net profit onto his Facebook post,heasked: “What did Pakatan Harapan (PH) do duringthe 22 months they were in power even ifitistrue thatthe LCS projectwas stopped in April 2018?” “The project wasstoppedfor 22 months, and (they) waitedfor two years to makeitanissuein2022 by askingwhere isthe ship?” he said. “If theywant to make apropagandaoflies,theyneed to usethe brain (sic),” he added Hesaid thatsince Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) failed to pay, the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)had to stop work. “BNS’ financial situation was con firmedasweakand critical due to power abuseand financialmismanagement,” he said. “When did they stop their work? April2018. PH won theelectionin May2018,”the MuarMPpointed out. Najib, however,postedscreenshots of former Pakatan Harapan defence minister Mohamad Sabu’s tweetfrom 2019whenhevisited the BNS ShipyardinLumut,Perak, to inspect the LCS project Najibasked Mohamadand his then deputyLiew Chin Tong what they were doing visitingthe site in 2018 and2019ifthe projecthad beenstopped in April 2018. He said the PH government could have resolved the problem immediately, andBoustead, an importantasset ofLTAT, could have beensaved.

LCSscandal maybea non-issueinGE15, sayanalysts

Now, MMEA is left waiting forboats PETALING JAYA: After the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) scandal, anew controversy over the delivery of boats has broken out This time, itisover threeoffshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Malaysian MaritimeEnforcement Agency (MMEA) which haveyet to bedelivered. MMEA had been scheduled to receive at least one of themthis month, after thegovernment had previouslygiven an 18-monthextension to thecompany,THHeavy Engineering, to complete all three vessels. So far, none hasbeen delivered, Sinar Harian reported. Thecompany too is facing financialpressure. In June,ithad been reported that theHome Ministry had assured the MMEAthat at least one of thevessels wouldbedeliveredthis year. Thereport stated that TH Heavy wasfacinglossesofuptoRM628.9mil and debt amounting to RM165mil, while onlyhaving cash flow of RM27.5mil to complete thesaidvessels. Thishas raised questions on whether it willbeabletocomplete the three vessels as promised. Defence analyst Zaki Salleh was quoted as sayingthe delay in the arrivalof the OPVswas detrimental towards the MMEA’s effortstoefficiently safeguard the nation’swaters. “Most MMEA ships are oldand hand-me-downs from the Royal Malaysian Police and theRoyal Malaysian Navy “AnOPV can patrol for longer hoursand improve efforts to pre vent intrusions,”hesaid. Existingpatrol boats,hesaid, could only operate forup to four days in arow and would have to return to base on thefifth dayto obtainsupplies, whichwould result inmissedpatrols.

“Although theMMEAcan function with other assets likehelicopters, OPVsare especiallycrucial now,”he said He said delayinOPV delivery should not have happened,asthe contracted company hadhad ample time to buildthem. “Wedonot wantarepeat of the LCSissue,” he said.

Maritime necessities: MMEa patrol vesselsare essential for effective monitoring to safeguard thenation’s waters

Barisan could facea torrid time fromPakatan at GE15if the issueis nottackledefficientlybythe current Ismail Sabri-ledgovernment “I am,however, confidentthe PrimeMinister will ensurethe issue is at leastpacified,” he said. He said itwas also difficultfor the opposition to capitalise on this matter,especially in the rural and semi-urban communities.

>AwomannamedNabelaexperienced severe allergies andnumbness after askin-whiteningdrip treatment by an ‘aesthetictherapist’

Source:News reports “Wedon’t want people to claim that theyare beauticians after going for an overnight course.” dorothea Justin

PETALING JAYA: Introduce professionallicensing similar to the doctor’s annual practisingcertificate for beauty practitioners, industry players say. MalaysianAssociation of Wellnessand Spa president Dorothea Justin said there is aneed for aproperregulatorybody to offer and monitor professional programmestoallow beauty practitioners to seek proper accreditation and to ensure the programmes offered meet certain standards. “Wedon’t want people to claim that they are beauticians after going for an overnight course, so that is whyweare nowworking with the Human Resources Department of SkillsDevelopmenttoestablish modules for beauticians and aestheticians. “Thereare afew levels:beginners can start with Level 2or3,whereas those who wish to go beyond and become professionals mustsit for certainspecific certifications. “These practitioners must also be required to go for industrial training to get certified,” she added. Dorothea said beauticians must keep themselves updated on the latest techniques, trends and products by attending seminars, beauty shows and training programmes to collect points for their continuous professional development.

Dr Chong Clinic Group chief executive officer and consultant aesthetic physician Dr Chong Tze Sheng said the increase of unlicensed and unregulated procedures could be fuelled by across-jurisdictional situation as beauty centres and aesthetic clinics fall under the jurisdiction of different ministries.

Unmaskingbeautyquacks

THE STAR, Friday 12 august20224 Nation ‘Procedures tobedone onlyby qualified individuals’

IYLIAMARSYAISKANDAR newsdesk@thestar.com.my

Call forlicence to performbeautyprocedures

“All aesthetics clinics are under the MOH care and regulations but beauty centres are under KPDNHEP “Weare under different jurisdictions, so maybe that’swhy there are manyunlicensed and unregulated procedures,” he said. He added that public education, too, is of importance as based on his personal observation, there has been an up to 50% increase of patients suffering side effects from injections and treatments from beauty centres. Medical director of Alainn Clinic Dr Nurul Ain Abdullah said the government needs to push for public education as the public are not able to differentiate between healthcare centres with alicence to practise medical aesthetics procedures and beauty centres. Shesaidthe public need to be madeaware ofthe types of beauty services available and where they should seek treatment such as beau ty salons/centres for non-invasive treatments, aestheticclinics formini mallyinvasive treatments and plastic surgeons for medical procedures.

By FAZLEENAAZIZ fazleena@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: The government has initiated steps to better regulate the lucrative but poorly monitored beauty industry,which has indirectly caused the number of fakemedical practitioners to increase. Welcoming themove, medical groups and beauticians hope that beauticians who illegally provide dentaland aesthetic procedures and courses can finally be reined in. Deputy Domestic Trade and ConsumerAffairs(KPDNHEP) Minister Datuk Rosol Wahid told The Star that the ministry and the Health Ministry (MOH) are engaging with stakeholders to discuss the plan. Rosol said that at the moment, both ministries are seeking amiddle ground as to what procedures can and cannot be offeredbybeauticians. “Currently,wedon’t havealaw to regulate the beauty industry when it is growing rapidly,and people are earning handsomely from it. “Weare discussing with MOH to see what procedures the beauty parlours can offer and what they can’t. “MOH is looking at it based on a few things: whether the practi tioners are using equipment registeredunder the Medical Devices Authority,possible effects of such procedures and whether they are invasive or non-invasive. “If it is anon-invasive procedure, then it will fall under the purview of KPDNHEP,” Rosol said, adding that ascertaining whether aproce dureisinvasive or not is not an easy task. Manyhaveraisedconcerns over the abundance of beauty parlours and beauticians offering aesthetic and dental services such as braces and veneer procedures, whitening drip and platelet-rich plasma therapy Afew botched cases have been reported where patients were either scarred for life or died. Using “cosmetics or for beauty” to justify their offerings, some beauticians also conducted short courses for those wanting to acquire such skills. In July, The Star reported that from RM1,000 to RM3,000, anyone could participate in various short courses suchasinstalling braces and veneers andperforming whitening procedures with acertificate and starter kit at the end of the courses. Commenting on this, Rosol said action could be taken against those who provide illegal short medical courses as the certificates issued are invalid. Meanwhile, Malaysian Medical Association president Dr KohKar Chai called for afullinvestigation into fakepractitioners. “Theauthoritiesshould come downstronglyonthese(unqualified) practitioners and trainers,” he said.

KUALALUMPUR: Unqualified and unregistered individuals will not be allowed to carry out anybeauty procedures, says Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. “Wewill notcompromise on this matter because procedures involving dentists or orthodontists must be done by qualified doctors who are registered,” said Khairy “There is no other wayaround this unless they have formal training in the matter. “Wewillbeincreasing our enforcement effort to ensure such practices by fakedoctors arenot carried out.” He told reporters yesterdaythat such procedures are highly risky and must be done by qualified individuals. Khairy wasresponding to The Star’s series of reports exposing syndicates in the beauty industry that allegedly offer short dentistry courses to anyone who wish to acquire the skills and set up their own business. On this, he said his ministry and the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry will have an engagement session with beauty industry representatives to work out considerations. Khairy added that the meeting would be held as industry players had requested it. On Wednesday, Health director-general TanSri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry is coming down hardonillegaldental practitioners whose activitiesare harmfultothe public. Dr Noor Hisham said curbing rampant illegal dental activities is a shared responsibility between those who provide and receive treatments and those who conduct unauthorised training.

Dr Kohsaid once the regulation is in place, the government should also organise public awareness programmes to educate the public, especially in identifying unlicensed or uncertified beauty centres. Malaysian Dental Association president Dr Lim Chiew Wooi said going after the trainers of illegal practitioners is crucial in stamping out illegal dental practices. “When unqualified trainers train the people, it is likethe blind leading the blind. We should not allow people to provide training that can harm others,” he said, adding that there is also aneed to empower the public with oral health knowledge.

■ 2022 >Atransgenderwho identified as Loo wasleft with acrooked noseafter a botched nosejob of aroundRM 12,000 by abeauty centre in Kepong.

■ 2020 >Coco Siew Zhi Shing, 23,diedfollowing aliposuction that went awryata beautysalon in Kuala Lumpur

>National Consumer Action Council(NCAC)inPenang received a complaint from awoman whoclaimedto sufferfromextreme itching and rashes after she gota nose jobata beauty shop.

■ 2019 >MCA PublicServicesand ComplaintsDepartment head Datuk Seri MichaelChong said 10 womenhad lost morethan RM2mildue to botched cosmetic procedures since 2017. >Nanthini, 25, did amesotherapytreatment by injection at an aesthetic clinicinKLSentral to reduce fat on her arms which left them disfigured.

■ 2011 >SingaporeanMsGuo developed anose infection aftera rhinoplasty procedure in KualaLumpurand needed daily injectionsand medication.

Move to better regulate industry to ensure public’ssafety

Malaysian Society of Aesthetic Medicine president Dr Chin Shih Choon said regulating the beauty industry is good. The practitioners should never be allowed to infringe on medical procedures. “Medical procedures can only be done by medical doctors. “Unqualified practitioners cannot administer injections,perform thread lifting, laser treatments and what more, surgeries,” Dr Chin said. “During the previous engagement between the stakeholders, some of them portrayed lasers as harmless but we told them no, they are dangerous and could harm others.” Dr Chin said medical aesthetic practitioners took years to earn the licence needed to perform aesthetic procedures. Only about 300 doctors in the field of aesthetics and beauty treatment are accredited under the MOH. and

Botchedaesthetic procedures by unlicensedbeauty practitioners

By ALIZASHAH

>SalonownerAdamHamil sued two aestheticdoctors for RM2.7mil after aproceduretofix hisnosewent wrong andleft his nose deformed.

“For example, under the Tradi tional andComplementaryMedicine Act2016(Act775), those practising therapeutic Malaymassage and chronic pain post-natal massage need to apply for thecertificate of practicerenewal everyyear. “It would be good if we can apply this to beauticians who are doing more than basic facials,” she said. She hopes thegovernment would discuss with stakeholders on the types of procedures that beautypractitioners would be allowed to offer. “Some of the cosmetic procedures will include injections; we hope they will guide us on what the requirements are or accreditation needs for us to perform such proceduresand not just disallow us from doing it. “Perhaps the revised beauty guidelines can use the word cosmetic procedure rather than asurgical or dental proceduretoclearly demonstrate that it is being carried out for cosmetic purposes. “The keyaim of the regulation is to correct the public safety issue by requiring all beauticians who perform the specified non-surgical cosmetic or aesthetic procedures to provide evidence that they meet a new and yet to be defined minimum standard of training, education and skill competence,” she said. Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) Minister Datuk Rosol Wahid told The Star that the ministry,together with the Health Ministry (MOH), are engaging with stakeholders to discuss the plan to better regulate the beauty industry and makenecessary amendments to the Beauty Industry 2013 guidelines.

By TARRENCE TAN and JUSTIN ZACK newsdesk@thestar.com.my

Nation 5THE STAR, Friday 12 august 2022

TheCabinet, he added,has agreed to rebrand the National Rail Centre of Excellence (NRCOE) as an organisation known as the Malaysian Rail Development Corporation (MRDC). The MRDC will fall under the purview of the Transport Ministry and will act as an integrated and planned coordinatingbodyto develop the rail industry “The MRDCwillbedeveloping professional,skilled andsemiskilled talent in the rail industry, improving standards, assuring quality as wellascoordinating rail technologystudiesand research by higherlearning institutions through collaboration with local industry players in order to keep up with the needs of theindustry,” said Dr Weeatthe launch of the Rail Technology Expo (RTX) at KL Sentral yesterday MRDC will be acompanylimited by guarantee (CLBG), where it will function with the support of Putrajaya. On another matter, noting that the international rail industry has begun implementing carbon footprint reduction measures, Dr Wee said it is time for local players to implement similar measures. “It (carbon footprint reduction measures) will also help the country achieve an unconditional 45% reduction in carbon intensity of the gross domestic product by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2050. “I hope in future, local industry players will support the maintenance and repair of rail assets and increase the lifespan and operability of rail assets to up to 30 to 40 years, so we can reduce the outflow ofmoney from the countryand providesavings to the government,” he added. On the RTXwhich will takeplace untilAug 14, it has the participation of 55 companies consisting of government agencies, local and international companies, as well as higher learning institutions. There are also 12 companies involved in amini career carnival in RTX. Dr Weesaidthe RTXevent was to allow the public to better understand rail technology and to involve them in efforts to develop the rail transport sector through brainstorming sessions, businesses matching activities and various seminars. The RTXisorganised by the Transport Ministry in collaboration with the NRCOE, the Malaysia Rail Industry Corporation and the Technology Depository Agency (TDA).

KUALALUMPUR: Plans are afoot to improve the rail industry,which will include aprocurement policy that will prioritise qualified local companies to undertakeprojects, says Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr WeeKaSiong. “This is timely because the development of rail projects in Asean is rapidly developing and we need to seize the opportunity to penetrate the Asean market,” said Dr Wee.

PETALING JAYA: The long-awaited law to regulate political funding will be tabled in Parliament this October. “The Bill on political funding is in the pipeline and we are working to get it tabled during the Parliament meeting in October,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr WanJunaidi Tuanku Jaafar said when contactedyesterday. The proposed politicalfunding law will be among the main focus of Dewan Rakyat when it meets on Oct 26, apart from Budget 2023 and the generational endgame anti-smoking Bill. The move to get the Bill ready before October comes after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently reaffirmed the government’scommitment to its tabling. Ismail Sabri, however, said whether such laws could be ready before the 15th GeneralElection (GE15) remains to be seen. Calls by civil society for laws on political funding have grown louder in recent months, particularly in light of several high-profile court cases linked to “political donations”. Although political funding laws were first mooted in 2016 by the then National Consultative Committee on Political Financing, they received resistance from several quarters, including from Pakatan Harapan. The Committee had come up with 32 recommendations to address the lack of laws on transparent political funding, including the creation of the office of the controller of political donations and aban oncash donations from foreign sources. However, the proposed Political Donations and Expenditure Actdid not makeittoParliament before the 14th General Election in 2018. In 2019, the Pakatan administration intended to table laws on political funding but could not do so after the government collapsed in February the following year. In July,government backbencher Fadhil Shaari submitted amotion to Dewan Rakyat for aPrivate Members’ Bill on political funding. Among the proposal by Fadhil include setting up aRM130mil Political Funding Fund, which political parties would be eligible for if they gained at least 2% of votes during an election. Also included are provisions to cap political donations to RM50,000 from individuals, RM100,000 from companies and RM500,000 from groups of companies per year. Government-linked companies, including certain foundations, would be prohibited from making political contributions. The Pasir Mas member of Parliament (MP) heads the All Parliamentary Group on Political Financing (APPG), representing nine political parties in Dewan Rakyat. Currently,there are no laws to regulate and monitor political funds, although there are limits on campaign spending by candidates RM200,000 for federaland RM100,000 for state elections.

Meanwhile, when asked whether the initiative to table political funding laws in Parliament in October formed part of the MOU between the government and opposition on political reforms, WanJunaidi said “No”. “It is not related to the MOU, but is an initiative by the government under the transparency,govern ance and accountability programme,” he said. However, the minister did not divulge details of the proposed law, only saying that he would be issuing apress statement soon. The government and the oppositionsigned an MOUonpolitical transformation and stability last September, paving the wayfor his toric bipartisanship. Among the agreements under the MOU was that Parliament could not be dissolvedbefore July31this year. Although no new MOU will be inked, Ismail Sabri was reported to have said the government would still work with the opposition for the sakeofthe rakyat.

datukseri dr WanJunaidi tuanku Jaafar

Move to tablepolitical fundinglaw praised

Parliament to discussproposals to regulate politicalfinancing

From October,Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) Asean Express cargo train servicewill connect Malaysia, Thailand and Laos, providing awider range of cargo transport options. The first dry run yesterdaywas conducted after the train left Kuala Lumpur KTM station at 5pm. Dr Weeflagged off the train, which is scheduled to complete its 2,206km trip from Malaysia to Laos within 72 hours. In astatement, KTMB said the Asean Express is slated to be commercially operational in October.

‘Working abroad for better pay aglobaltrend’

Thomas Fann said yesterday. The absence of such alaw had led to numerous corruption scandals in the country,hesaid. “This is because politicians siphon funds to themselves and call it political donations,” he added. Fann noted that the proposed law must be effective and have strong oversight. “Wepropose thatacommission comprising independently appointed individuals from the judiciary, civil service,legalfraternity and civil society beempowered to enforce this law,” he suggested. “Welookforward to thetabling of the Bill, but the government must learn from the experience of the anti-hopping law and form aselect committee to conduct public consultation before tabling it in Parliament for debate,” he added.

Plansunderwaytoimprove rail industry,saysWee

“Itisnot relatedto the MOU, but it is an initiativeby the government under the transparency programme.”

Trialrun: drWee flagging offthe aseanExpress trendservice at KtM stationinKuala Lumpur— sHaariCHEMat/thestar

PETALING JAYA: Moves by the government to push for greater political reforms through political funding laws were given the thumbs up by Parliament’smultiparty caucus and electoral watchdog Bersih. “After the passing of the anti-hopping law,the political financing Bill would be the most significant reform the government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob can deliver. “It would go alongway to regulate the waypoliticians and parties raisefundsand monitortheir expenses,” Bersih chairman

PETALING JAYA: Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan has downplayed news reports that Malaysians are keen to work in Singapore due to better salary.Saravanan said working overseas for better payand opportunities is aglobal trend. “Some Malaysians work in Singapore because of the higher currency exchange, but there are also Indonesian workers who come to Malaysia because our payisbetter. “This is nothing new,” he told reporters afterlaunching the mynext initiative yesterday. AMalay daily recently reported that some 400,000 Malaysians are paidanaverage of RM6,095 to RM9,624inSingapore just by doing odd jobsand workinginthe 3D (dangerous, dirty and difficult)sector. Citing an example,Saravanan said Malaysia had attracted workers from various countriesincluding Nepal to work in the securitysector. “This is because our people do not want to become security guards,” he added. He also noted that the ministry would look into the issue of brain drain in acomprehensive manner, taking into consideration the minimum wage and economic growth. Meanwhile, on theMalaysian Muslim Restaurant Operators Association’s(Presma)call for an extension to the foreignworkers’recruitment period, Saravanan said he would discuss this with his ministry Presmahad earlier expressed concern that over 3,000 mamak restaurants nationwide might end up closing their businesses due to a lack of workers, after the authorities announced the decision to suspend the intakeofforeign workers between Aug15and 31. Onhis predecessorM.Kulasegaran’srequestfor adetailed explanation on the spending of Human ResourcesDevelopment Corporation (HRD Corp), Saravanan did not want to comment.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr WanJunaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the government intends to table political funding laws in Parliament this October. Parliamentary Caucus for Multi Party Democracy chief Maria Chin Abdullah lauded the move.

“With the proposed two trips per week frequency,the Asean Express will offer aone-waycargo capacity of 80 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) per week. “From Tanaleng in Laos, the cargo brought by the Asean Express will have connections to Chinese provinces such as Kunming, Chengdu and also to Chongqing via Vientiane,” it said. The Asean Express will offer an alternative transportation mode for Chinese exporters that have traditionally relied on sea routes. “It will also makeMalaysian ports in Penang, Klang and Tanjung Pelepas as entry and exit points for South China cargo,” it said.

“This will strengthen the legal framework to allow for greater transparency and accountability “I believe we have enough cases, such as 1MDB and others, to show that we need more accountability from politicians and political parties,” the Petaling Jaya Member of Parliament said yesterday. She said the caucus, representing nine political parties including an independent, suggested that the proposedlaw includes limitson sources of funds and expenses while encouraging public declaration of political parties’ finances.

Funding Bill in Octobermeet

By MARTINCARVALHO mart3@thestar.com.my

Experts welcome move to focuson severity of cases PETALING JAYA: Themove to give more emphasis on the severity of Covid-19 cases instead of daily numbers has been welcomed by medical experts, who saythat it is away for Malaysians to learn to live with the disease. However, they advised the public to continue adhering to self-precautionary measures such as isolating when infected to avoid causing a risk to vulnerable groups. “Most Covid-19 patients have mild symptoms and they need to be sociallyresponsible. They should quarantinethemselves,inform their friends and colleagues who are their close contacts. “If these measures are practised, we maybeabletocontain the infections,especially to the high risk groups,” said Prof Dr MoyFoong Ming of Universiti Malaya’s DepartmentofSocialandPreventive Medicine. She said the decision to monitor hospitalisation and death rates should be done as there were fewer people reporting their Covid-19 status. At the same time, she also urged the government to issue constant reminders to the public to stayon alert although the national Covid-19 situationisnow under control. Universiti PutraMalaysia epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman welcomed the move to focus on mortality and hospital admissions. Since amajority of Malaysians have been inoculated, she said medical consequencesdue to thevirus have slowly becomelessserious compared to the early days of the pandemic.

According to Dr Noor Hisham, Malaysia currently reports 3,000 to 5,000 Covid-19 cases. However, hospital admissions have remained stable with no significant increase. He added that the health system’s capacity is sufficient to cope with the current situation of Covid-19. He said the best waytofend off reinfection is the sameway we avoid infection in the first place. He reminded people to “wash theirhands often, wear amask indoors and in crowded places, avoid sick people and, most importantly,get vaccinated and boosted even if you’ve already had Covid19,” he said. On Wednesday, Malaysia recorded 4,896 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 4,719,394 infections since the pandemic began. The Health Ministry’sCovidNow portal reported that 4,894 of Wednesday’snew Covid-19 cases were local transmissions, while two imported infections were logged. There were 2,979 recoveries on Wednesday, bringing Malaysia’s cumulative number of recoveries to 4,638,716. The portal reportedthere were 44,622 active cases in the country, with 42,942,or96.2%,observing home quarantine and 35 individuals, or 0.1%, admitted to low-risk quarantine and treatment centres.

KUALALUMPUR: Only 5% of Malaysians aged between 70 and 79 have taken their second booster shots, HealthMinister Khairy Jamaluddinsaid. As for those 80 years old and above, only 4.5% have taken the second booster jab. “It is still low,but we anticipated that the take-up for the second booster shot would not be high. So we will continue to assure those aged 50 and above, especially those with health issues, to takethe second one. “But for now,itisstill at the encouragement level, and there will not be anycompulsion. Manypeople are aware of Covid-19 and the benefits of vaccination,” he said yesterday. He added that the ministry is not setting anytargets, but they will continue to encourage people. Khairy said the ministry was coming up with ayearly strategy for vaccination policy “Wewillrefer to specialists on the stand we should take, likeoffering vaccination to those who are elderly and with illness.” “It does not seem we will offer everyone. Idon’t think that is very likely unless there is anew severe variant. “But Iwillbeannouncing our policy once we have clarity on what it is,” he said. Earlier, Khairy launched BEAUTY (BringingEducation and Understanding to You) and HEALTH, acommunity-based digitally driven intervention for improving cancer-specific health knowledge, literacy,and risk-reductionpractises basedwithincommunity barbershops and beauty salons in Malaysia for screenable male and female cancers and other non-communicable diseases. BEAUTY and HEALTH is ajoint project by theNational Cancer Society of Malaysia and the Asia Cancer Forum (Japan). The local barbershops and beauty salons will act as ahealthcommunicationplatformsfor cancer prevention and screening. In his speech, Khairy said that only 600,000 people of the 6million who qualified for free screenings under the Health Care Scheme of the B40 Group (PeKa B40) in the last three years had used the service He said people’s reluctance stemmed from cultural norms, as some felt it unnecessary to do health screenings since they seemed and looked healthyand they fear bad news. However, he said early detection provided abetter outcome for the future.

Reinfectioncases up significantly, says Health DG

By JUNAIDIBRAHIM newsdesk@thestar.com.my

“Wehavetounderstand that vaccines work and compliance with the SOP is important. “Aslongasthesetwo arefollowedstrictly, the pattern of riskof infection remains thesame,” she said.

PETALING JAYA: Students attending university orientations should not beunduly worried about Covid19 with the enrolment going back to physical mode after two years, say experts. As the country is transitioning to the endemic phase, everyone is expected to live with thevirus, including university students, said Prof Dr MoyFoong Ming of Universiti Malaya’sDepartment of Social and Preventive Medicine. Acknowledging the pros and cons of the move, she said aphysical mode of orientation would provide better social connection among the students. “Weare aware of the risks of a full physical orientation. “However, ahybrid orientation will not provide the same effect for those going online mode. Students feel less connected and not involved with the activities. “Wecan’tbeholdinghybrid activities forever, especially as we are moving towards an endemic phase,” she said when contacted, adding that universities should put in place clear guidelines. The risk of infection could be lowered by instantly isolating students who show Covid-19 symptoms, Prof Moyadded. “If all incoming students are fully vaccinated and tested negative before entering the campus, students with flu-likesymptoms, even though tested negative, should not join the orientation. “Face masks should still be worn indoors. “If these measures are enforced, the risk of infection will be lessened,” she said. Some public and private universities will be handling their orientation, typically aone-weekpro gramme, physically again as more Covid-19 restrictions for mass gatherings have been lifted. Over the past two years, universities have been exploring ways of conducting the programme which includes the use of online video platforms and social media. Universiti PutraMalaysia epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman said with the vaccines and currentrecommended standard operatingprocedure(SOP), there should be no problem for face to face methods. “I think they should proceed with face to face learning methods. Online or hybrid can be reserved for other technical purposes. “The situationnow is safe for physical activities provided the students comply with the recommended SOP and are vaccinated,” she said. Dr Malina also called for the community to be empowered when it comes to practicing public health advice while avoiding unnecessary worries pertaining to the virus.

“There is lesser(health) impact towards the public as the majority of our population have been vaccinated. “The situation now is very much different than the earlier period during this pandemic,” she said. She was commentingonHealth Minister KhairyJamaluddin, who said on Tuesdaythat the governmentisphasing out the emphasis on dailyinfection numbers to be in line withthe transition to endemicity He added that due to the relaxation of Covid-19 testing protocols, the number of actual cases is also bound to be more than reported. According to CovidNow portal, as of Wednesday, the number of hospitalisations stood at 74.8% and intensive care unit utilisation was at 64.9%,which includednon-Covid-19 cases. Meanwhile, the seven-dayaverage death rate stands at 0.8% as of Aug2 Dr Malina said that the pattern of infection and risk of transmission indicated that the Covid-19 situation in the country is stable and well-controlled. “In my opinion, with vaccines, the risk of Covid-19 infection and its severity is more or less now within manageable numbers.”

By FAZLEENAAZIZ fazleena@thestar.com.my

THE STAR, Friday 12 august20226 Nation Perlis Kedah Penang PerakSelangor Kelantan TePahang rengganu Negri Sembilan Melaka Johor Sabah Sarawak FT K.Lumpur FT Putrajaya FT Labuan 16,197,694 (955) 27,468,521 (957)4,896 4,719,394 4,638,716 (2,979 cases) 1,577 (3.5%) 42,942 (96.2%) 16 144 169 374 1,842 99 37 80 253 148 120 369 89 1,046 83 27 TOTAL TWODOSES TOTAL 1st BOOSTERS 402,116 (4,767) TOTAL 2nd BOOSTERSNew cases Home quarantineTotal cases Total Hospitalisedrecovered VACCINATED IN MALAYSIA (Daily figures in brackets) Covid-19 Current situation as of Aug10 ‘Nofear, campuses aresafe’ universities saysteps areinplace to curb Covid-19 spread

KJ:Secondbooster take-upratestill low

PETALING JAYA: Covid-19 reinfection cases were almost seven times higher during the Omicron wave than the Delta wave, says Health director-general TanSri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. “The cumulative number of Covid-19 reinfection cases from Feb 18 to Aug6 is about 18,799 cases,” he told The Star The first Omicroncasewas detected in Malaysia in December last year. In January,Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddinsaidthe Omicron wavehad beguninMalaysia. Citing the ministry’sdata, Dr Noor Hisham said 64% of reinfections occurred after six months of the first infection. “Reinfection with the virus that causesCovid-19means aperson was infected, recovered, and then later became infected again.” Asecond infection is considered “reinfection” when the duration between the first and second infection is more than three months. “Research shows that recovered Covid-19 patients can be reinfected, as is common with other viruses too,” he added. Dr Noor Hisham noted that the causes and risk factors of reinfection are not fully understood. However, the waning of immunity that people gained through naturalinfection or vaccination and the emergence of the new variants may circumvent the immune protection,” he said. “A previous SARS-CoV-2 infection provideshighprotection against reinfection with variants of concern (VOCs) such as Alpha and Delta, which have limited immune escape,” he added.

Earlydetection is key: Khairy (centre)atthe launch of theBEauty& HEaltH Programme in Kuala lumpur.—ONg sOON HiN/thestar Watchthe video TheStarTV.com

By RAGANANTHINI VETHASALAM raga@thestar.com.my

Masteringnationallanguagevital forfutureofvernacularschoolstudents

DoubleTree by Hilton welcomes business travellers to i-City

By VENESA DEVI venesa@thestar.com.my

JOHORBARU: Improving the proficiency level of the Malaylanguage among studentsfrom vernacular schools is important for their future success, says Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon. The Deputy Education Minister saidtherehad been asignificant improvementinthe mastery of the Malay language among pupilsfrom Chineseand Tamil primary schools.

Nation 7THE STAR, Friday 12 august 2022

Royalopening: thesultan of selangor signinga plaque to launch thehotel in shah alam as (from right) doubletree Hilton i-City generalmanager gagantalwar, Mead andLim look on.— Bernama

Mah: Better BM proficiencynow

SHAH ALAM: The newest addition to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel chain of luxury hotels here is expected to bring business travellers to i-City In astatement yesterday, I-Berhad chairman TanSri Lim Kim Hong said the hotel, acomponent of i-City Finance Avenue, expects amonthly footfall of 30,000 business travellers by the endof2022. “The synergybetween i-City Finance Avenue and DoubleTree by Hilton i-City is aperfect marriage that will positively impactthe Selangor tourism industry,” he said. He added that the 300-room luxury hotel marks the expansion of Hilton’saward-winningbrand into i-City Finance Avenue. “This expansion underscores our commitment to continuously contribute to Selangor’s economy and further strengthen its tourism industry,” he said. Yesterday’shotel launch was officiated by SultanofSelangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, at i-City Alsoatthe launchwere Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin,Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and seniordirectorofoperationsfor Hilton South-East Asia Jamie Mead.

“In general, the proficiency of the Malaylanguage(among vernacular school students) has become much better. “However,there is still room for improvement, and we need to continue assisting students to ensure that they can master the language further,” he added. He spoketothe pressafter officiating at theclosingceremony of the39th SJKT (Tamil primary) and SJKC (Chinese primary)Malay Language Public Speaking and EssayWriting Prime Minister Unity Trophycompetition at ahotel here in Senai. He noted that such competitions were among efforts undertaken by the Education Ministry to further enhance the proficiency of the Malaylanguageamong pupils from the said schools. “This national-level competition is important as it serves as aplatform forpupilsfrom SJKCand SJKT schools to further improve their command of the Malaylan guage. “Wefound that there are students from vernacular schools who were doing well in other subjects but faced problemsintheirstudies oncethey reached secondary schoolsbecause they hadyet to master the Malaylanguage. “Assuch, it is important for us to continue carrying out initiatives and focus our efforts to help our students, including those from SJKC and SJKT schools, master the language,” he said. He noted that parents also played an important role in ensuring that their children could improve their command of the language. “This (learning the Malaylan guage) is acontinuous process that should takeplace in schools,at home and among the community “Wemust encourage the culture of using the Malaylanguageas this is agreat wayfor students and the community to improve their proficiency “I also urge students to takeup the habit of reading as this would be very beneficial for them to improve their skills in anylan guage,” he added.

THE STAR, Friday 12 august20228

UTAR strengthenspartnership with varsitiesabroad universiti tunkuabdul rahman celebrates 20th anniversarythisyear

utar is encouraging theintakeofmoreforeign studentstohave an internationalcommunityatbothits campuses– theKamparCampusinPerak (left) andthe utar sungai Long Campus in theKlang Valley

“Our staff are doing more joint researchwithuniversities from different parts of the world with international staff and students, as part of ourcontinuing globalisation approach,” he said. Prof Ewe noted that following the pandemic,UTARcontinues to organise virtual programmes for students from UTAR as well as from partner universities. “Such exposure is fruitful for the students as they get to exchange learning and cultural experiences beforehand,” he said. On UTAR’s plans for the near future, Prof Ewe said there will be more collaboration with researchers from international universities and institutions, at the same time the university will strive to extend furtherresearch activities with local companies especially SMIs and SMEs. “Weare also looking at continuing to developour facilities, not only at our physical campus but also our digital campus because now,especially after the pandemic, digital has become away of life, to study “Wewanttodevelop our students beyond their normal curriculum with UTAR Soft Skills Development Competency (USSDC) programmes and the voluntary community service initiative called CARE programme, which encourage students to develop their soft skills and volunteer their time for community services, forthem to experience holistic learning experience,” he said. Prof Ewe noted that after the pandemic, overall the education sector has transformed with learning no longer being confined to classroom or campus. “The curriculum todaymay not be valid in another five to 10 years. Besides knowledge, developing soft skills, for example the four Cs –collaboration, critical thinking, communication and creativity –are equally important in expanding a student’sexperience in this new era of learning. “Tocope with future needs, students need to develop themselves with high-order thinking and multiple intelligence wherebyproblems can be solved using cross-disciplinary approaches,” he said. In the past 20 years, UTAR has given out more than RM180mil in scholarship and zero-interest loans to students. Prof Ewe said that with the university’sinnovative and dynamic curriculum, about 95% of its studentshavegained employment within six months of graduating, while it took abit longer during the pandemic. He said the next 20 years will see the university focusing on the notfor-profit UTAR hospital to provide affordable and quality medical services as well as clinical training for medical students. “Wewanttocontinue being relevant and want to provide highly competent and skilful graduates who have the human touch and are willing to contribute back to society,” he said, adding that the university is grateful to its stakeholders including the government, industries, community,alumni,staff, students and parents. UTAR now has atotal 21,000 students at both its campuses.

Nation 9THE STAR, Friday 12 august 2022 UNIVERSITI TunkuAbdul Rahman (UTAR) aspires to continueasa global university in the future by persevering and being relevant to the needs of the country,industries and community UTAR president Prof Datuk Dr Ewe Hong Tatsaid that as part of its ongoing globalisation efforts, the university is encouraging its partner universities all over the world to send more of their students here under exchange programmes and study tours. “In terms of student population, the university is encouraging the intakeofmore foreign students to have an international community at both its campuses –the Kampar CampusinPerak and the UTAR Sungai Long Campus in the Klang Valley “Now that travel is open, the interest is returning and we have also started getting more physical exchange students from these partneruniversities while UTAR students are applying to study overseas under our Explore the World programme which enables them to study at these foreign universities. “Before the Covid-19 pandemic, we had about 1,000 foreign students from partner universities coming to UTAR each year on exchange and studytours programme, and the same number of our students studyingatour partner universities each year. “But during the pandemic, we went virtual,” he said when speaking on the university’s20th anniversary ProfEwe said UTAR always makes sure that its curriculum is connected to the world, and external examiners from top universities in the world have been appointed for all its programmes, to give feedback and suggestions for improvements.

‘Weare doing morejoint research with universities fromdifferent partsofthe world,’saysProfEwe

THE STAR, Friday 12 august202210

Ahmad Zaidi also said Ahmad Zahid had only received two payments of RM100,000 each from UKSB, to which Mahendran disagreed.

By WANI MUTHIAH wani@thestar.com.my

By IMRANHILMY imran@thestar.com.my

Nation 11THE STAR, Friday 12 august 2022 Endofprosecution case

IPOH: PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is open to suggestions for him to contest the Tambun parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election (GE15). The Port Dickson Member of Parliament said the proposal had been made to him but he has not decided on this yet as the party’s focus now is on the number of seats to be contested and the PKR election machinery “What do you think? If you sayI can, Iwillthink about it. That is a suggestion that Iamconsidering. “The PKR Tambun branch has suggestedthis, but Ihavenot decided on it while my friends in Port Dickson are appealing for me to remain there,” he told anews conference after thePerakPKR Leadership Council (MPN) meeting. It was previously reported that Tambun PKR branchchief Muhamad Arafat Varisai Mahamad wanted to makeway for Anwar to contest the Tambun parliamentary and this was agreed upon through the branch annual general meeting.

SHAH ALAM: After tendering in 107 exhibits and calling 18 witnesses, the prosecution in the Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi graft trial at the High Court closed its case Thursdayafter thetestimonyofits final witness. Ahmad Zahid is facing 33 charges of allegedly receiving bribes from UltraKirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB) during his tenure as Home Ministerto extend the company’scontract to continue operating the one-stop centre in China and the foreign visa (VLN) system. The alleged graft also ensured the company’scontract agreement for the supply of the VLN integrated system was maintained. While cross-examined by the defence counsel Ahmad Zaidi Zainal, the final witness, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)investigating officer V. Mahendran, said he did not call former home minister Datuk Seri HishammuddinHussein to record the latter’s statement. He added he had not done so even though Hishammuddin’s name was in the MACC report, which initiatedthe investigation into the case. Hishammuddin was the Home ministerfrom2009to 2013 before Ahmad Zahidassumedthe posi tion. “His statement was not recorded because his name did not appear in former UKSB administration manager David Tan’sledger. “My investigationsincluded Hishammuddin, but Idid not record his statement as there was no evidence of graft,” said Mahendran.

VerdictsoononRosmah’sbid to disqualify SriRam

Earlier, the court heard from Sri Ram that his appointment as the ad hoc senior deputy public prosecutor was valid and affirmed by the Federal Court. “Nowthey(theapplicant)are asking your lordship to review that decision. We aresaying that one High Court cannot review the decision of another High Court,” he said. SriRam added that Rosmah’s application was scandalous, vexatious and an abuse of the court process. Meanwhile,Rosmah’slawyer Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader said Sri Ram’ssubmission “did not paint the whole picture” of the situation. On Sept24, 2021, High Court judgeJusticeMohamed Zaini Mazlan, the presiding judge in Rosmah’s solar hybridtrial, dismissed Rosmah’sapplication to disqualify Sri Ram. He ruled that Sri Ram’sappointment by then Attorney-General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas was valid under Section 376(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). Rosmah appealed the decision, but it was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Dec 6, 2021. On May27, theFederalCourt ruled that Sri Ram was qualified to prosecute Rosmahinthe solar hybrid project trial. Athree-memberBench ledby Federal Court judge Justice Mohd Zawawi Salleh said the criminal court had no jurisdiction to grant declaratory relief sought by Rosmah to disqualify Sri Ram. On June 24, Rosmah, 70, tried again in her bid to remove Sri Ram by filing ajudicial review application. She named theAttorney General/Public Prosecutor, the government and Sri Ram respondents She is facing one charge of soliciting RM187.5mil and two counts of receiving bribes totalling RM6.5mil from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudinthrough her former special officer Datuk Rizal Mansor. It was alleged to be an inducement to help the company(Jepak Holdings) secure the Hybrid Photovoltaic Solar System Integrated Project and Maintenance and Operation of Genset/Diesel for 369 rural schools in Sarawak, worth RM1.25bil. The trial at the High Court has concluded, and the verdict is scheduled to be delivered on Sept 1.

By NURBAITI HAMDAN nurbaiti@thestar.com.my Penang island disappears –but only fora while

Courttohearsubmissions in Zahid’s grafttrial in september

The court fixed Sept 1and 2as well as Sept 5to8for both the prosecution and defence to maketheir oral submissions. The trial began in May2021.

PUTRAJAYA: Morethan 9,000 Malaysian international passports applied and renewed online have yet to be collected, says Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud. As such, the Immigration director-general urged those who had made theapplications to collect them immediately at issuing offices nationwide to avoid cancellation of their passports. Previously,Home Minister Datuk SeriHamzah Zainudin said Malaysians who had renewed their passports online must collect the document immediately.Thisisto avoid the passports from being disposed of within 90 days. In astatement, Khairul Dzaimee also announced new operating hoursfor allissuing offices and Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) in Peninsular Malaysia,effective Aug15. Passport issuing offices in all states and brancheswilloperate from 8am to 7pm on weekdays except for Perlis, Pahang, Terengganu and Kedah, which will run from 8am to 5pm. On Saturdays, the issuing offices in all states and branches will operate from 8am to 12.30pm except for the four states. UTCoffices will operate from 8am to 9pm on weekdays except for Perlis, Pahang, Terengganuand Kedah, which will be open from 8am to 5pm. All UTCoffices, including the four states,willoperate from 8am to 5pm on weekends. —Bernama Anwar open to contesting Tambun seat

Barely visible: thehazecloudingthe view of thePenang Bridge in Batu uban at 9.30am inPenang.

KUALALUMPUR: Apreliminary objection against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s second attempt to disqualify Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram from prosecuting her corruption case involving theRM1.25bil solar hybrid project will be decided on Aug30. Justice Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid set the date after hearing alengthy submission from both parties for more than two hours yesterday. If the objection raised by the prosecution were to be dismissed, Rosmah would have the chance to file for leave to initiate ajudicial review to disqualify Sri Ram. Her first attempt had been denied by another High Court.

GEORGE TOWN: The 68-storey Komtar building was hardly visible, and all of Penang island was just a blur from the mainland, but Air Pollutant Index (API) readings were still at “moderate” levels at four stations in the state. TheDepartmentofEnvironment’s (DOE) website showed that the readingatSeberang Jaya station increased slightly from 75 at 6am to 79 at 3pm. However, the API reading at Prai station was alittleworse, risingfrom 80 at 6am to 86 in the afternoon. On theisland,Minden station showed 70, and Balik Pulau station recorded 75 as of 3pm. Visibility,however, was poor in the morning, especially between the mainland and the island. Civil servant Mohd Nasrul Hakim, 44, said he was shocked to see Penang island blanketed in ahaze while he was on his waytoworkin Komtar. “I was driving from my house in Seberang Jaya. When Ireached Penang Bridge, Icouldn’t see Komtar at all,” he said. The father of three said he could only see part of the island from the bridge’smiddle span. Another motorist K. Muthu, 35, wondered if there had been aforest fire in Indonesia likeinprevious years. He said there had been no rain for weeks, and air pollution could have caused the air quality to drop. “I hope it won’t be too serious,” he said. It wasn’t.Visibility inBayan Lepas had improved to 8km as of 4pm, compared with 5km at 11am. Accordingtothe Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre, there are only about 30 hotspots throughout Sumatraisland. Although the southwest monsoon is steadilyblowing theresulting smoketoPenang, the number of hotspots is relatively low compared to western Kalimantan, where there are over 260 hotspots with winds blowing to the South China Sea. MetMalaysiadirector-general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said there was little possibility of asignificant haze event for the time being. Still, small-scale haze outbreaks could happen due to negligence or open burning. He said Malaysia now faced a weak southwest monsoon coupled with the La Nina phenomenon, which is expected to continue until the end of this year.

Over 9,000 passports yetto be collected

Meanwhile, DPP Datuk Raja Rozela Raja Torantold High Court judge Justice Mohd Yazid Mustafa that the prosecution would be calling in 27 witnesses if Ahmad Zahid was ordered to enter his defence.

On the seats and candidates for Perak PKR in GE15, Anwar said this would be discussed at the party’s Presidential Council meeting. Earlier, he said that today’smeeting also agreed to appoint Tanjung Malim MP and PKR vice-president Chang Lih Kang as Perak MPN chairman. —Bernama

THE STAR, Friday 12 august202212 Nation

Paperboat andKingof Hadesready forfinal ritual

“Buffer zones are being pushed further into forest reserves near the National Forest at Kuala Tahan as more areas of the original buffer zones are logged over,” he revealed. Andrew said licensed and illegal loggers should have their penalties increasedfurther for flaunting regulations as the potential ecological and environmental damage of these offences could cause severe consequences. “These activities can disrupt the delicate forest ecosystems, leading to more animals and plants dying off,” he pointed out. Last month, amendments to the National Forestry Actwerepassed inParliament to better protect the forest. Among the amendments were the increases in penalties for those convicted of offences involving primary forestproduce, such as illegal logging, defacing trees and starting forest fires. Offenders could face jail sentences of between five and 20 years and fines of between RM100,000 and RM5mil. Environmental Protection Society Malaysia vice-president Randolph Jeremiah said degradation of a forest lowers its ability to fight climate change and that more should be donetowards forest management other than increasing penalties. “There mustbemoredetailed land-use planning discussions between federal and state officials that prioritise the protection, expansion andrehabilitation of existing forest reserves.,” he pointed out. Malaysia NatureSociety president ProfDrAhmadIsmail notedthat all typesofforests around thecountry were equally important and that they,too, neededtobeprotected. “Mangroveforests around coastal areas are vital as they act as natural stormbarriersagainst extreme weather events while also acting as anursery for young fish as it makes it easier for them to escape predators,” Ahmad said. Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman suggested that more qualified peopleshouldbe brought in to provide better risk assessments and evaluation processes for logging projects.

The temple’s religiousadviser, Venerable Seck Chin Sooi, together with other monks and nuns, will conduct special day-long chanting and prayers on Aug20, and all the paper tablets will be placed in the SayHong Chun and burnt. “The SayHong Chun is symbolic for this festivalasitrepresents Amitabha Buddha’seffort to ferry the deceased to Buddha’sPure Land for repentanceand rebirth,” he said. Besides the SayHong Chun, Loh said aTai Su Yeah effigy designed using Ong Seng Jee was made by members of the temple’syouth section. The effigy of TaiSu Yeah, measuring 3.66m tall and 1.52m wide, is also made using bamboo and cardboard, and covered by 2,000 pieces of Ong Seng Jee. Loh also explained that TaiSu Yeah was the transformation of the Buddhist Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy),who guardsthe visiting spiritsofthe departed ancestors during the celebration.

Increasing finesalone won’tprotect forests, sayactivists

By IYLIAMARSYAISKANDAR newsdesk@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: In apainstaking effort, agroup of eight youths spent awhole monthdelicately putting togetheradragon-shapedpaper ship,made with bamboo,card board and 6,000 pieces of folded Ong Seng Jee (joss paper with sutras imprinted). The finished ship, or SayHong Chun, stands at 4.88m (16ft) high, 4.88m long and 1.83m (6ft) wide. And it will all go up in smokeon Aug20. The SayHong Chun and an effigy of the King of Hades (Tai Su Yeah) will be burnt in afinal ritual to send off departed loved ones to mark the seventh lunar month celebration. The ritual, which will takeplace onthe night of Aug20atSian Chye Tong Temple in Ayer Itam, is part of the Hungry Ghost Festival. The actual dayoffestivity,however, is today. The temple’syouth section chairman, Loh Choon Teik, said that after atwo-year hiatus due to the Covid19 pandemic, the temple was finally abletocelebrate its Filial Piety Celebration (Cheow Thor), which began on July 29. He said the celebration was carried out on asmaller scale the past two years and there was no burning of SayHong Chun. “The framework of the ship is made up of bamboo and cardboard, while the exterior is fully covered with more than 6,000 pieces of folded Ong Seng Jee. “The joss papers are folded in various designs, including the lotus leaf, roof tile, dragon scale, dragon tail and lotus flower,” he said. Loh said the paper ship would be fully filled with folded Ong Seng Jee and other joss paper. “The design, shape and structure of SayHong Chun have been improvised with adragon head and tail to makeitlookmore impressive and exclusive, likeanemperor’s ship,” he said. Loh explained that the Cheow Thor celebration was significant for all living descendants to show their gratitude as well as filialpiety towards their departed ancestors and loved ones.

KUALALUMPUR: Awoman “lost” her 26-year-old nephew for three years after he travelled to Laos for work but he has been conned and currently working as aphone call scammer. The 48-year-old, who wanted to be known only as Yap, said her nephew had to work over 12 hours per dayand an additional two hours if he failed to meet his target. He would also be beaten if he did not reach his target, she said during apress conference hosted by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong yesterday. Forhim to return, she said, his family had to payaRM113,000 ransom. Only 30 out of 114 human trafficking cases due to fakejob scams reported to MCA were able to return to Malaysia, said Chong. He said of the cases, 54 were reportedly trafficked to Cambodia, 29 were in Myanmar and 11 were trafficked to Laos, among others. Atotal of 76 police reports have been made by the victim’sfamilies. He said the traffickers asked for a ransom of RM80,000 to RM100,000 from the victims to be released. While some victims managed to return to the country after paying the ransom, some are still stuck in other countries and is believed to have paid ransom to other scammers. Some were able to return after just afew weeks, he said, but one victim had been detained for over three years. “Weall at MCA feelvery sad because despite our warnings and efforts along with the police, NGOs and opposition parties to educate the public on seeking jobs overseas, this is still happening. “They even lied to their families to work there but when they arrived there, they could not get out and had to payransom “Now they are not only targeting Chinese but alsoMalays,”Chong said. Also present at the media conference in Wisma MCA were three other women whose family members fell prey to afakejob agency that has resulted in thembeing trafficked. Azlinda, 50, from Johor Baru sent her son off to Dubai for acustomer service job after hearing about it from an acquaintance on April 2. “After three weeks in Dubai, my son toldmethe companywent bankrupt and they were sent to Cambodia. “While in transit in Singapore, two of his friends managed to run awaybut he failed “He’sworking as ascammerwith six others. One of them is aMalay girl from Kedah and five others are Chinese,” she said.

Dragon ship setto depart

By LIEW JIA XIAN jiaxian@thestar.com.my

Temple caretaker Linda Ng, 72, saidthey hadbeen makingthe paper ship for more than 20 years. She added that paper tablets bearing the names of the deceased and the date on which they died would be placed in front of abeautifully decorated Amitabha Buddha altar during the Cheow Thor celebration for daily offerings and chanting. Meanwhile, huat kuih (prosperity cakes) seller Goh Kai Loon, 38, is experiencing brisk business at the Batu Lanchang market during the Hungry Ghost month. “My business has doubled over the past few weeks. My customers usually offer huat kuih to their ancestors as well as to TaiSuYeah,” he added.

She added that she was trying to get in contact with an acquaintance, alocal manwho offeredher 22-year-old son the job but to no avail. Tiong, 48, said her son lied to her after she disallowed him to accept a job offer in Cambodia. Her son told her that he would go for aholidayinTaiwan last Wednesdaybut shebelieved that he went to Cambodia as she had not heard from him since.

Dedicatedwork: templecaretakersLinda Ng (left) and Molinaw puttingthe final touchestothe dragon-shapedpaper boat and thetai su yeah effigy (inset) in conjunction with theHungryghost Festival in air itam,Penang. —LiM BENg tatt/thestar By BENJAMIN LEE newsdesk@thestar.com.my

Meanwhile, a27-year-old woman received amessage from her welder husband three days ago to ask for help from the embassy to save him in Cambodia. The 35-year-old man left the country just two weeks ago. Chong urged the public whose family members fell victims to the scam to lodge apolicereport. “Please lodge apolicereport if your family members are victims because the police will takeaction,” Chong said.

The Hungry Ghost Festival began on July 29 and will last 29 days, which is the number of days in the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar this year. The festival peaks at midnight today, althoughtemples and communities mayholdtheir main celebrations afew days before or after.

Many stillconnedintobecomingscammers

KUALALUMPUR: Increasing penalties alone is not enough to protect the forest reserves, which are shrinking due to logging, environmental groups say. Association for the Protection of Natural Heritage of Malaysia president Damien ThanamDivean believes that all logging activities should be stopped to better preservethe forests to ensure asus tainable future over short-term gains. “The Federal Government should actively look to retrain all logging industry workers to work in other environmentally friendly sectors such as renewable energy,” he said. Sharing the same view is Ecotourism and Conservation Society of Malaysiapresident Andrew Sebastian, who said logging, be it legal or illegal, could cause anegative impact on the environment and wildlife. He observed that forestreserves around Malaysia were shrinking.

THE Penang Tamil Ezhutthalar Sangam (Penang Tamil Writers Association) will celebrate the 62nd anniversaryofits formation in November, Malaysia Nanban reported. Sangam secretary SN Venugopal said the Association was formed in 1960 by giants of the local Tamil literary scenesuch as Nakkambady Kareem, CT Rmasamay, Sonai Muthu, K. Thiruvarasu, R. Karthikesu and Seeni Naina. The 60th anniversaryMani Vizha (equivalenttoDiamond Anniversary) celebration was slated for 2020 but it had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The celebration will be held this year on Nov 20 as agrand festival with literary events and competitions. The festival will feature competitions on classical poetry,modern poetry,short stories and essaywriting,among others. Sangam president S. Gunalan will head the celebrationswhich will also feature mini stage plays, debates, forum discussions and seminars. The complete itinerary and participation details will be announced soon, he confirmed.

#abidinideas Tunku ZAIn Al-’AbIDIn Historylessons amid popularculture

Compiled by raHiMyraHiM,C.aruNO andr.araViNtHaN

The rapper who is well-known for incorporating “adat” references in his repertoire also features in the Lagu Identiti Negeri Sembilan album which was launched in February (available on Spotify) which celebrates the historical and environmental heritage of the state.

Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin is founding president of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas). The views expressed here arethe writer’s own.

MALAYSIAN singer Fish Leong’sdebut on the reality TV series Sing! China became the show’sepisode with the highest viewership of the day, reported Sin Chew Daily Dressed in apink and red pleated gown, Leong performed two songs by Li Ronghao called Ear and IKnow It’sYou on theepisode which aired on Aug5 Known as the Queen of Ballads, Leong was selected for the first time to be one of the show’smentors for Season 2022 along with Li Ronghao, Hacken Lee and Liao Changyong. The episode which kickstarted this year’s season had aclickthrough rate online of 21.6 billion times and was the show with the highest viewership on that segment that day. Leong, wholaunched her career from singing competitions, said she understood what candidates on the show were going through, adding that she hoped to help them achieve their dreams. Sing! China began airing in 2016 and is based on the original The Voice of Holland It employs apanel of fourmentors who critique the artists’ performances and guide their teams of selected artistes through the remainder of the season. The winner is determined by live audience voting by SMStext and they will receive a record deal with various labels.

The most memorable song is the movie’seponymous theme, sung by Seri Menanti native Dato’ Hattan (who plays the main character in the film) and W.A.R.I.S, which apart from including the story-specific lines: “Tales of gorgeous chicks in Jelebu /Outsiders come wanting to get hitched”, also laments “You don’t know what your suku is /Ask your folks /Orask your mates /Old traditions have been forgotten”.

Other news &views

THE last local movie Ireviewed in this column was Paskal (Calculating Paskal’stheorem, Oct 19, 2018). Icalled it a“good and important” movie showcasing the multi-ethnic composition of the navy Icommended its impact on young Malaysians who “re-enact Paskal’s most riveting scenes, spreading a notion that afuturecareer in the military is apossibility.Iwrote for a youngperson, there is no greater inspiration than seeing people like yourself do amazing things... you too can bring pride to your family and your country throughrighteous service”. Ialsomade areference to our submarine KD Tunku Abdul Rahman functioning properly,since reports had revealed faults (such as being unable to submerge), with corruption being the likely cause. Sadly, corruption in the acquisition of naval assets seems ongoing, as the current Public Accounts Committee investigation suggests, and this is whypublicprocurement reformis urgently needed. In themeantime, Iwatched another locally produced film, of a different genre to Paskal forsure, but also containing astar-studded cast, exciting fight scenes, tastefully shot scenery, notablemusical highlights, and historical references that makeone ponder about society Romantic comedy is not my preferred genre, but Gadis Jolobu was funnyand apparently relatable to the diverse audience in the cinema hall in Seremban, comprising civil servants, Istana officials, young professionals and retirees of all races. The theme of searching for love and navigating various obstacles along the wayissomething that cuts across all demographic indicators. Told entirely in theNegri Sembilan dialect (and subtitled in standard Malayand English), the film follows the anticsofthree bachelors seeking romance amidst lives straddling Seremban and the kampung. Comparisons with Tan Sri P. Ramlee’sfilms of the same premise are inevitable, and Gadis Jolobu embraces this by employing the same slapstick actions of the Bujang Lapok series and featuring Bunyi Gitar from Tiga Abdul. Amovie of such irreverence will no doubt portray certain attitudes in an imperfect way–which has attracted some candidly critical reviews but at least this film isn’t pretending to be aserious political commentary,oroffering abiopicof afamous Malaywarrior. Nonetheless, several scenes do showcase serious aspects of Negri Sembilan’sunique culture, evolved from Minangkabau antecedents. One scene discusses the matrilineal inheritance of “tanah adat” –arelevant issue for thoseseeking to develop such land today, andanother highlights the protagonists’ membership of their respective “suku”, or clans, for the purposes of marriage. One musical interlude references the “adat berkodin”, aceremonyin which an individualis admitted into a“suku”: typically aman for the purposes of marrying awoman belongingtoadifferent “suku”, or a woman for the purposes of inheriting from aproperty-owning woman within that “suku”. Traditionally, blood was literally drawn symbolisingthe newmembership of the “suku”, but that element no longer happens.

>Hong Kong actor Moses Chan, who offered to tutor achild actor on set, was stumped by aquestion on Chinese history, reported China Press. The child’smother posted Chan’sheart warming gesture on social media which took place on the set of the medical drama Big White Duel II “Todayisthe final dayofshooting before exams. To find time to prepare for them, (he) has been revising using the phone while waiting on set. “What was surprising was that his senior Moses Chan came over to ask what he was reading,” she wrote. Chan, whohas abachelor’s degree in accounting, asked the boyifhe wasstudying science. He added that it was one of his best subjects at school and offered to tutor him. However, Chan was stumped when the child revealed that he was studying Chinese history,which was not Chan’sforte Even so, the mother wrote that they were touched by Chan’sgesture and added that they were grateful to have such apositive role model in the entertainment industry Chan started his acting career in 2000 and managed to win TVB’s Best Actor award in 2007 and the Best Performance of the Year award in 2010.

Nora:Ikeepthinkingabout death

>A man in Delhi who was annoyed by kids playing loudlyoutside his friend’s house shot them with agun, the daily also reported. The man who was identified as Hamzah, 22, was attending his friend’sbirthdayparty when agroup of kids was playing outside near the house. Annoyed by the noise, Hamzah retrieved his gun and threatened the kids with it. This led to an argument which escalated into afight and Hamzah shot at the kids, injuring three of them. The kids have been hospitalised for treatment. Hamzah has been arrested.

POPULAR actress NoraDanish (pic) developed extreme anxiety during her 40th birthdaythis year, claiming that she kept thinking about death, reported Kosmo!. “I had experienced extreme anxiety of late. This condition has caused me to think about death and the fear of going through it,” said the mother of two. According to Nora, she does not know exactly when the extreme anxiety started, sharing that it occurred recently when she turned 40 in March. “If you want to saythat anxiety is due to work stress, Idon’t thinkso. “If it is caused by negativecomments by netizens, Ihavenever actually cared about anyofit,” said Nora, who is married to businessman Nedim Nazri. Fortunately,the actress said that she was lucky to have detected it at an early stage but she has yet to seek professional help. “Since Iamgetting older, honestly,Ikeep thinking about death. Can you imagine, it got to the point where Iwas afraid to fly due to the fear of death caused by anxiety,” she said. “Atone point, Ieven contacted my mum to takecare of my children and even prepared awill,” she added.

theyounger generation should alsobeabletoappreciate Malaysian-madepopular musicthatinvokes the past to tell storiesofvalue to thepresent.

Fish Leongstealsthe thunderinSing! China

>Authorities have assured that action will be taken according to existing laws after a guest had turned up without abra at the Kedah Fashion Week 2022, says Datuk Dr Mohd Hayati Othman. The Kedah Health and Local Government Committee chairman told Sinar Harian that based on the meeting with the event organiser, Alor Setar City Council and the Kota Setar district office, the guest was actually “a man who dresses up and acts as awoman”. “Based on our meeting, it has been confirmed that the individual is aman who acts likeawoman andhad acted as amodel, wearing unsuitable clothing and took pictures, as well as videos and later uploaded it on social media,” he said. He assured that action would be taken according to the law “Thestate government will also be studying and improving existingregulations regarding entertainment and performance to ensure thatitisinlinewith the local culture,”hesaid. Photographs of the guest, dressed in a green tailored suit sans blouse, began circulating on social media since Wednesday. Dr Hayati reminded all parties including the organiser to follow all the rules and regulations issued by the Kota Setar district office. Aman Central issued an apology over the matter, adding that it had applied for all the necessary permits to hold the event.

Now,whilelocal music has to compete with BillieEilish, Justin Bieber and BLACKPINK (allof whom arecomingtoMalaysia), it’sentirely possible to enjoycontrasting artforms.Eyelashes, Beliebers and Blinks should also be able to appreciate Malaysian-made popular music thatinvokesthe past to tell stories of value to the present. Whether it is music or movies, what is important is that the contentisproperly researched and accurately depicted, regardless of the genre. Indeed, it is far more disturbing that content portrayed as serious is full of inaccuracies and lazy racial stereotypes, where history is so badly abused in order to serve apolitical purpose today. But perhaps, as happened with Braveheart, Gladiator, The Last Samurai or Kingdom of Heaven, such movies spur scholarship and documentaries that tell amore truthful story of what happened, and thus fiction and non-fiction can be better separated. Academic freedom is avital part of that, necessary to keep the realms of culture and history free from political monopolies. Forif that happens, the actual history of local “adat” maydisappear forever.

Tamilwriters body to celebrate62nd anniversary

Views 13THE STAR, Friday 12 august 2022

Longerwait to close CPFaccount IAMinthe process of closing my Central Provident Fund (CPF) account after leaving Singapore for good recently.The standard pro cessing period for Peninsular Malaysians is seven weeks for both withdrawals and closing of the account. This is too long when compared to withdrawals for other reasons/terms and for Sabahans and Sarawakians. If I’m not mistaken, this issue was previously raised in the 1990s or early 2000s by the Malaysian government. Payout of my money has been delayed for afurther three weeks, as, according to the CPF Board, they have aloadofMalaysian withdrawals to process. This, to me, is a farce considering the efficiency that Singapore is always proud of. ManyMalaysians, myself included, have left the city state for a number of reasons, including family commitments in Malaysia and even patriotism. We could have just stayed on in Singapore as permanent residents or even taken up citizenship there, knowing it would be more beneficial for us. But we came back. As of now,a quarter of Singapore’spopulation are Malaysians. The CPF contributions by Malaysians is no mean amount. The average CPF savings by Malaysians is S$100,000 per person after working between 10 and 20 years in Singapore. If there are 100,000 Peninsular Malaysians closing their CPF accounts and withdrawing their monies, that will amount to S$10bil. Converted to the ringgit, this massive amount can makean enormous contribution to the Malaysian economy S$10bil is also ahugesum even by Singapore’sstandards,sothe impact of our withdrawals would be quite massive on its financially driven economy Idohopethis matter can be brought to the attention of the powers that be. There are thousands of Malaysians who are waiting for money that is rightfully theirs.

The Education Ministry through Physical and Health Education (PHE) teachers in schools should conduct talent-spotting right from Year One to identify individuals who can excel in sport, as is happening in countries likeJamaica.

If youwanttohave your sayimmediately use your cellphone. SMS your comments toTheStar on topics and issues related to general news, business and sports (include name/ pseudonym):Type STAR NW (or BZ or SP) followed by themessage and send to 39993.This is afreeservice.

SURINA MOHAMAD SHAFI Research Officer Al-Islam Specialist Hospital Kuala Lumpur

Sweetvictory: Pearly tanand M. thinaahcelebrate afterclinchinggold in themixed team gold medal badminton matchbetween Malaysia and india on dayfiveofthe 2022 Commonwealth games. —aFP

PerformanceinBirmingham should have been better

wayoflifeinIslam

>Stiffer fineslongoverdue The report“No morekid glovesfor mat rempit” (The Star,Aug 10;online at https://bit.ly/3dhesTz)begs the question: “Why weren’t the strong deterrent penalties implemented earlier?” This long-running menace has seriouslyinjured not only the illegal riders but the innocent public and law enforcement officers as well It is only now that amendments are being proposed to raise the penalty from apaltryRM300 to between RM5,000 andRM10,000 fine with jail time too. Our lawmakers must involveall the relevant stakeholders in framing strong laws right from the start. –Sze Loong Steve Ngeow, Kajang >Pay according to productivity Malaysians arenot paid in tandem with their productivity.Recently,I visited acraft manufacturer and found out that the workers arebeing paid only the minimumwage of RM1,500. The craft industryis generally morelabour-intensiveand requires skilled workers. Some of the workers Isaw that dayhave over 20 years’ experience doing their craft but areonly receiving the minimumwage. Wages should be based on productivity.However, it seems that most employers only look at productivity as ameans of enhancing profitabilityand not to improvethe life of their workers. Our labour legislation needs to be addressed with the possibility of allowing freedom of association and elimination of forced labour and discrimination. The last time the Industrial Relations Act was revised was in 1976. –Tanissha Rameswaran >Timely advice for civil servants Referring to “Code of conduct vital in civil service’(The Star,Aug 11; online at https://bit.ly/3p9Tclg), Ifind the directivefromPublic Service Department (PSD) director-general Datuk Seri Mohd Shafiq Abdullah very timely indeed. Iurgecivil servants to be wellmannered at all times and maintain the good name of the government. Act with honesty and integrity and always safeguardthe security and sovereignty of our country. –Bulbir Singh, Seremban

EMAIL editor@thestar.com.my or MAILThe Editor,MenaraStar,15, Jalan 16/11, Section 16, 46350 Petaling Jaya Letters must carry the sender’s full name, address and telephone number Apseudonym maybeincluded.

Finally,selection of athletes must be based on merit and never on race, religion or favouritism by the sports associations.

>Spell it out to novicebuyers Many first-time homebuyers are novices. Developers should therefore makeitclear to them that even when aproject is supposed to be completed within acertain period, it maytakemonths beforethe CF (certificate of fitness) is issued. Iknow of one project in Ara Damansarathatwas completed in the first quarter of this year but buyers arestill waiting for vacant possession. Meanwhile, theymust service the interest on the loan while continuing to payrent on their present accommodation. This is unfair to young buyers who aresolooking forwardtosettling in to theirnew home.Isthisdelay a norm here? If it is, then it should be highlighted upfront when the bookings aremade.

THE 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England has concluded with our contingent bringing home seven gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals. They were marginally better this time around compared to the Brisbane Games of 2018 when they came back with seven gold, five silver and 12 bronze medals. Imanaged to watch the weightlifting, badminton, athletics, aquatics, gymnastics and table tennis events live on both RTMand Astro. Inoticed that most of the fans cheering our athletes on were their own team mates, family members and sports officials as well as other Malaysians whom Iassume are residing in the United Kingdom. The two Ngs shone –NgJoe Ee, who won two gold medals in rhythmic gymnastics, and badminton’s Ng Tze Yong, who won agold in the team event and amen’ssingles silver medal. Icouldn’t help but notice that in both sports, many countries fielded naturalised athletes from post-Soviet states and China. Despite Birmingham 2022 being their maiden outing, Joe Ee and Tze Yong surprised everybody with their outstanding performance The spirited Joe Ee was deprived of her two Russian coaches, who were barred from the Games, while Tze Yong was alast-minute replacement for Lee Zii Jia. The TnT duo –Tan Koong Le (Pearly) and M. Thinaah –also gave agutsy displayinthe women’sbadminton doubles finals to clinch our seventh gold medal, making badminton our top medal contributor in Birmingham. The medal tally aside, Ifeel there has been adropinthe overall performance of our athletes in most of the sports in which Malaysia competed. As an avid sports fan for the past 30 years, Ifelt sad when Iwatched youngsters from all over the British Commonwealth excel in aquatics, lawn bowl, netball, hockey and athletics, with Australia, England, Canada, India, New Zealand and Nigeria performing far better than us. The current athletes sadly did not live up to the expectations of their fans due to their low level of fighting spirit and poor mental strength. Gone are the days when our sportsmen competed tirelessly with commitment and love for the country.These include footballer Mokhtar Dahari, badminton ace Punch Gunalan, hurdler Isthiaq Mubarak and hockey brothers Peter and Lawrence VanHuizen, who received honours only after they retired. During the golden eraofour sports from the 1960s to 1980s, fans never heard of athletes depending on sports science, foreign coaches, overseas friendlies or stints or free perks to improve their performance, and yet they delivered the goods on the world stage. Ibelieve our sports can reach higher levels if the Education Ministry,sports associations and parents work together.

MICHAEL CHENG Seremban, Negri Sembilan

–Rajaratnam, Petaling Jaya

The proposed legislation intends to makeMalaysia asmoke-free nation by 2040 and, among other things, improve the health of future generations by freeing them of diseases brought on by nicotine addiction. Muslims should be aware of this health concern and the ban on smoking because both vaping and e-cigarettes have been prohibited by fatwa since 2015 while smoking itself has been outlawed by fatwa since 1995.

The fatwa is against smoking for anumber of reasons, including the fact that it not only harms the smoker but also others around him and the environment. It is also founded on Islamic principles, which state that it is everyone’sresponsibility to avoid doing damage in life, whether it takes the shape of behaviour, dialogue or speech. We at Al-Islam Specialist Hospital strongly support the steps taken by the Health Ministry in coming up with the tobacco GEG Bill. In collaboration with the Malaysian Drug Prevention Association (Pemadam), we are offering smoking cessation clinic services to individualswho wish to seek treatment to stop smoking. In accordance with Maqasid Syariah, protecting one’sown as well as public health is adutythat must be upheld by allparties.

However, normal mobile operators’ network charges apply fits

The sole focus of our sports associations should be to assist teachers at district, state and national levels by providing them with competent and self-motivated coaches and officials who in turn could instil positive values and mental endurance in upcoming athletes. Parents would allow their children to participate in sports if the education authorities can allocate, say, three hours for sports practice three times aweek.

WS CHAN Muar, Johor

ISLAM considers physical health as the greatest gift and the second greatest blessing after the blessing of faith (iman). This is because it enables Muslims to learn, practise alms-giving, makesacrifices, engage in jihad, defend their religion, acquire wealth and carry out their duties to their country in the best possible manner. Islam emphasises the health aspect of people’slives because in reality,lifeisnot prosperous without good health. Healthcare is part of the purpose of the syariah (Maqasid Syariah). Scholars have stated that the whole of Islamic Syariah aims to achieve certain goals, which are to protect life, religion, dignity,intellect and wealth. It is clear here that there is a direct relationship between health concerns in Islam and the principles of Maqasid Syariah. Islam is away of life that offers suggestions for both theoretical and practical ways to carry out the objectives of its teachings. In health-related matters, it proposes ways to care for, preserve and recover health in addition to emphasising its value. The Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022, also known as the Tobacco Generational Endgame (GEG) Bill, is astrategic move by the Health Ministry to outlaw specific tobacco-related activities for those who were born on Jan 1, 2007 and thereafter. This prohibition applies to the acquisition and possession of any smoking items or devices as well as the sale of anycigarette products and the use of tobacco products or smoking devices (vape, e-cigarettes), whether chewing or sucking.

THE STAR, Friday 12 august202214 Views Bill

The source said rajapaksa now planned to go to Thailand for a short stayand return to Singapore. on Wednesday, foreign ministry spokespersonTanee Sangratsaid rajapaksa is set to visit Thailand temporarily and does not intend to seek political asylum in the country

Thailand has received arequest fromthe current Sri Lanka government for rajapaksa to enter the country,according to Tanee on Wednesday.

RajapaksaleavesSingapore

Thai govt confirms ex-Sri Lankan president’svisit,denieshe’sseeking asylum

Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya rajapaksa hasleft Singapore, the city-state’simmigration office said, after his social visit pass expired. “The Immigration &Checkpoints Authorityconfirms that mr Gotabaya rajapaksa left Singapore on 11 August 2022,” the office said in reply to an AFP query yesterday. It did not saywhere theformer leaderwas headed to but the Thai foreign ministry,aswellasa source in Colombo, said on Wednesdayhe was seeking anew safe haven in Thailand. “His Singapore visa runs out on Thursday,”aclose associate of rajapaksa said in Colombo. “He had applied for an extension, but it had not come through as of Wednesdaymorning.”

In full bloom

The former president holds adiplomatic passport, which allows him entry into Thailand without avisa for 90 days. “The stayistemporary in nature with the aim of onward travel. No political asylum has been sought,” Tanee said. He said the ministry has no information on rajapaksa’sarrival date. “The important thing is this doesn’t causeany problem for Thailand,” ForeignministerDon Pramudwinai told local media in response to aquestionabout whether rajapaksa’spresencecould cause tensionwith SriLanka’s govern ment. “The foreign ministry doesn’t see aproblem and there is no objection from the government.” The Sri Lankan government supports the visit, he added. “His allies and manyofhis colleagues are in the government,” Pramudwinai said. rajapaksa fled to Singapore via the maldives shortly after angry protesters stormed his official residence in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on July 9. Heformally resigned as president after arriving in Singapore on July 14. There is no cause to believe that Sri Lankan people in Thailand will cause aproblemfor us,” Pramud winai said. “It’snormal to escape heat for a cooler place during tough times.” officials in Sri Lanka have said theoustedleaderisexpected to return to the country buthave given few details on when that will happen. “Former presidents are entitled to certain facilities from Sri Lanka’s government,” Cabinet spokespersonBandulaGunewardana said yesterday. —AFP/Bloomberg

Thailand Taking to the streets: Protesters shouting slogans during amarch in Colombotomark onemonth sincea massiveprotest forced Rajapaksa to flee thecountry andstepdown. —Reuters

Visitors posing foraselfieina sunflowerfield inHokutocity, Yamanashiprefecture.The city,known forits longesthoursof sunshine peryearinJapan,draws alot of touristsduring its sunflowersummer festival.—AP

Covid-19 currentsituation (as of Aug10) Malaysia +4,896 Cambodia +36 China +2,053 India +16,299 Indonesia +5,926 Japan +250,288 Laos +85 Myanmar +36 ThePhilippines +2,305 Singapore +3,180 South Korea +137,196 Thailand +2,316 Vietnam +2,010 Brunei +4,126* Note:*Aug9cases Japan 15THE STAR, FRidAy 12 AuguST 2022

Fieryharvest afarmershowingthe chilliesshe hasjustharvested in Palu,Central sulawesi. these willappeal to foodies withataste forspicyand hotdishes.

TwoRohingya chiefs killed insurgent groupmay be behind shootingsinrefugee camp

A29-YeAR-oLD man who murdered his girlfriend’snine-monthold son by pushingthe baby’shead against the floorboard of his van was sentencedtolifeimprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane. mohamed Aliff mohamed Yusoff was convicted of murder last month after the high Court rejected his claim that thebaby, Izz Fayyaz Zayani Ahmad, had hit his head after accidentally falling from the accused’sarm

FRom Sept 5, backseat passengers of vehicles with not more than seven seats will be required to wear seat belts. metropolitan Police deputy chief Pol maj-General Jirasan KaewsaengAkesaid on Wednesdaythat the 13th amendment to the Land Traffic Actof1879 will takeeffect next month, expanding the compulsory use of seat belts to include passengers in the front seats and backseats. he said old vehicles registered before Jan 1, 1988, will be exempted from the new rule as the backseats cannot be fitted with seat belts. “In the early phase, police officers will focus on issuing awarning to those who are not yet aware of the new rules. “Fining of violators (at amaximum 2,000 baht (Rm250) will be considered on acase-by-case basis,” said Jirasan. The 13th amendment of the Act also added two new clauses: A) children under six years must use acar seat or aspecialised seat to prevent injuries in case of an accident, and; B) passengers whoare under 135cm in height must wear aseat belt or use aspecialised seat to prevent injuries in case of amishap. Thesetwo new rules are also scheduled to takeeffect on Sept 5. however, Jirasan said they could be postponed for amaximum of 90 days as the details and specifications of car seats have yet to be finalised and announced by the Royal Thai Police. —The Nation/ ANN

THE STAR, Friday 12 august202216 StarAsean+

—Xinhua Indonesia

“Both were rushed to hospitals where they were declared dead,” he said, adding that amanhunt was launched and security stepped up in the camps. Police have not named anysuspects. Rohingya sources said that the insurgent Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa), which operates both in myanmar’s western Rakhine state and in the Bangladesh camps, was behind the shootings. In the last three months, Arsa has been blamed for at least five killings including three senior Rohingya leaders, two Rohingya sources said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity due to fears for their security Bangladesh has launched acrackdown on Arsa, led by its elusive leader Ataullah,after prominent Rohingya community leader mohib Ullah –who had been received at the White house –was shotdead in September last year.

Police charged 29 Rohingya, including several Arsa cadres, for that murder. The group was also blamed for killing six students and teachers at an Islamic seminary controlled by a rival group. Police last month said they had arrested more than 800 Rohingya with suspected links to the Arsa. Community leaders said they were being urged by police to tipoff officersifArsa cadres were found in the camps. hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled their homeland in Rakhine in August 2017after a myanmar militarycrackdown, which the United Nations is investigating over genocidecharges. —AFP

The incident took place between 10pm on Nov 7, 2019 and 12.15am on Nov 8, 2019 in acarpark in Yishun Street 81. Aliff had offered to takecare of Izz that night. In sentencing Aliff, high Court Judge mavis Chionh found that the circumstances of the case did not warrant the death penalty The prosecution sought life imprisonment and 15 to 18 strokes of the cane, while the defence sought life imprisonment and five to six strokes of the cane. JusticeChionh saidthe courts have taken atough stance towards offenders who cause the deaths of defenceless young victims by violence. The judge noted the physical disparity between Aliff, afull-grown adult man, and Izz, who was 71cm tall and weighed 8.3kg. She said the baby’stotal inability to defend himself rendered him an especially vulnerable victim. Justice Chionh said Aliff’s actions aftercausingthe baby’s death showed a“disturbing lack of remorse”. Instead of seeking medical attention, Aliff suggested to his girlfriend Nadiah Abdul Jalil that they should paysomeone to bury Izz and report him as missing ayear later. Aliff told Nadiah they should tell the same story of an accidental fall and delayed taking her and Izz to the National University hospital’s accident and emergency department. must wear seat beltsfromSept5 man Kaewsaeng-ake

The North Sumatrapolice arelooking for a32-year-old man, identified only by the initial R, for stabbing his 10-year-old nephew at aschoolinSunggal district, Deli Serdang. Sunggal police chief Comr Candra Yudha said they were investigating the motive for the stabbing that happened on Tuesdaymorning. The incident happened in asixthgrade classroom at the Baiti Jannati Foundation elementary school. Waluyo, who chairs the educational foundation, said the victim had just entered the classroom with his friends after the morning roll call when the incident occurred. “The perpetrator came into the classroom and went directly to the victim’sdesk. he stabbed (the victim) in the chest with akitchen knife,” Waluyo said. The uncle exited the school by climbing over an external fence. —The JakartaPost/ANN

—Xinhua Vietnam Noodlesto be inspected CaMBodianauthorities willconductaninspection andthenprevent imports of Vietnamese instant noodlescontainingbanned ethylene oxide, according to Vietnam’s tradeoffice in Cambodia. this move followsthe Eu’swarning to recall or return Vietnamese instantnoodles including this substance. —Vietnam news/ann Laos Laos on alert as Mulannears tHEtyphoon will pass overLaos untiltomorrow, bringing thunderstorms, heavyrainand strong winds, puttingsome provincesatriskof floodingand landslides, theweather bureau of Laos has warned.—Xinhua

who stabbed ownnephew “Finingof violators willbe considered on a case-by-case basis.” Jirasan

Singapore Thailand Indonesia Myanmar

Mangetslifesentenceand cane forkilling baby

Thailand Nightclubfire deathtoll rises to 16 tHErEare now16 deaths resultingfromthe fire that brokeout in theearly hours of Fridaymorning,ripping through theMountainB club in Chonburi province’s sattahip district, roughly 150km southeastof Bangkok. dozens more are stillinhospital. a23-year old manwas thelatest fatality —aFP Myanmar Twonew protected forests tHEcountry hasrecently designated twonew protectedpublicforest areasinthe western stateofChin’s Paletwa township and in thewestcentralregionofMagway’s gangaw township thedesignation of the protectedareas was aimedat, among others, conservingwatershed areasand fulfillingthe needsoflocalresidents.

TWoRohingya community leaders were shot dead in one of Bangladesh’srefugee camps, police said, the latest in astringofkillings in the settlements. The sprawling camps house nearly one million Rohingya refugees that fled to Bangladesh after amilitaryoffensiveinneighbouring myanmar five years ago. Police spokesperson Kamran hossain said at least eight suspected Rohingya assailants shot Syed hossain, 40, and Abu Taleb, 35, at around midnight.

—The StraitsTimes/ANN Backseat passengers

Cops seek

—Bloomberg

SANYA: Covid-19 cases in China jumped to athree-month high, with almost half of the 1,993 infections reported nationallycomingfrom Hainan island where tourists had thronged in search of respite. Sanya, abeach resort town in Hainan, saw infections triple in a dayto1,254 for wednesday. It’sthe first time the daily number of cases in anyChinese province or city has exceeded 1,000 since May, when an outbreak shut down Shanghai for two months. The fast-growing infectionrate casts doubt on the Hainan government’sgoal of achieving zero community transmission by Friday. Almost the entire island is locked down, with National Health Commission officials saying the virus appears to have been silently spreading for some time. People in Sanya are struggling to get basic necessities likefood,just likethose in Shanghai did months ago, as online groceryappslack enough delivery capacity to meet demand. Among the stranded foreign tourists, there’sa sense of confusion and shock as they wait on updates from hotel management. But the rules from the government on when or how they can leave keep changing, according to Jason Rogers, aBloombergNews journalist who’sonvacation in the city The food, which guests are paying for, is plentiful andofgood quality. while hotel facilities likepools and gyms are closed, the grounds are available for walks, he said. Meanwhile, Sanya officials stepped up control measures yesterday, asking workers to strictly enforce stay-at-homeorders for those in high risk areas, with residents in lower risk areas only allowed to go out for essentials.

Grouping forgroupers: Fishermen collecting grouperfishfromthe farm to be processed in Pingtung, taiwan.— reuters

Maintenancemove: soldiers firing 155mmhowitzersduring the annuallivefiremilitaryexercise in Pingtung county.—reuters

Agroup of leadingAsian newspapersworking toward improving coverage ofAsian affairs. www.asianewsnet.net

TAipei: Taiwan’s army held another live-fire drill after Beijing ended its largest-ever military exercises around the island and repeated threats to bring the self-ruled democracy under its control. Beijing has raged at atrip to Taiwan last week by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi –the highestranking elected American official to visit in decades –staging days of air and sea drills that raised tensions to their highest level in years. Taiwan has accused Chinaof using the Pelosi visit as an excuse to kickstart drills that would allow it to rehearse for an invasion. lou woei jye, spokesperson for Taiwan’seighth Army Corps, said its forces fired howitzers and target flares as part of the defensive drill yesterday.

China’sCovid-19cases hitthree-month high

StarAsean+ 17THE STAR, Friday 12 august 2022

piNGTUNG: even beforelast week’svisit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, fish farmer Chen Sheng-You was on the lookout for new business, with trade curbs cutting him off from his major source of revenue –China Amid simmering tension between China and self-ruled Taiwan, Beijing suspended purchasesofgrouper fish, Chen’smain product, in June after repeatedly detecting banned chemicals. But the geopolitical storm that followed Pelosi’svisit on Aug2is likely to put the livelihoods of Chen and other farmers and fishermen in the island’ssouthern Pingtung county at further risk. “Our job is to do fish farming,” Chen said. “weonly hope that once the fish grow bigger, we will sell them. “Because of political issues and our government not having acommunication channel, the Chinese government is blocking our economy,” he said. Beijingextended itsban on Taiwan’sseafood aday after Pelosi’s arrival, blocking shipments of chilled white striped hairtail and frozen horse mackerel, saying it had found traces of the coronavirus on the packaging of some products.

Cambodia

“Sanya is such asmall city,soI still believe it’ll controlthe virus much better than Shanghai,” aresi dent said, pointing to the normal availability of medical services. Forvisitors, however, leaving won’t resolve the problems. One concern for Rogers is that places likeShanghai, where he resides, have changed their quarantine rules for those returning from Sanya.

Twel ve Military Police officers were detained in Kampong Thom province, pending further investigations into the death of a man during an operation against an online cockfighting ring in Baray district. As of wednesday,nofurther action had been taken against the 12 officers. According to NationalMilitary Police spokesperson eng Hy,on Sunday, four suspects involved in online cockfighting gambling were arrested, including the deceased man identified as Suong Doan. while the four were en route to the MilitaryPolice base,Doan became short of breath and complained that he was feeling unwell. Officers then performed acardiopulmonary resuscitationtest, but Doan was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. On Tuesday,National Military Police commander General Sao Sokha ordered the arrest of the officers allegedly involved in Doan’s death. “If it is determined that the man’s death was the result of brutality by Military Police officers, all of those involved will face the law without exception,” he added. “wecannot allow anymembers of law enforcement to think that they are above the law.” —The Phnom Penh Post/ANN

The exercise in Taiwan’ssouthernmost county Pingtung began at 8.30am and lasted about an hour, he said. Artillery tucked in from the coast waslined upsidebyside,with armed soldiers in units firing the howitzers out to sea one after the other, alivestreamshowed. Taiwan held asimilar drill on TuesdayinPingtung. Bothinvolved hundreds of troops, the military said. The military has played down the exercises’ significance, saying they were already scheduled and were not in response to China’swar games. “wehavetwo goals for the drills, the first is to certify the proper conditionofthe artilleryand their maintenance condition and the second is to confirm the results of last year,” lou said, referring to annual drills. Taiwan routinely stages military drills simulating defence against a Chinese invasion. The latest exercise came after China’smilitary indicated its own drills had come to an end on wednesday, saying its forces “successfully completed various tasks” in the Taiwan Strait while vowing to continue patrolling its waters. But in the same announcement, China said that it would “continue to carry out military training and prepare for war”. In awhite paper published the same day, China’sTaiwan Affairs Office said Beijing would “not renounce theuse of force” againstits neighbourand reserved “theoption of taking all necessary measures”. “weare ready to create vast space forpeaceful reunification, but we will leave no room for separatist activities in anyform,”itsaid in the paper. China last issued awhite paper onTaiwan in 2000. Taiwan’sMainland Affairs Council, the island’stop policymaking body on China, rejected the paper and said the document was “full of lies that are ‘wishful thinking and disregarding the facts’”.

Fishermen left in the lurchafter Pelosi visit

The bans were widely seen as retaliation against Taiwan for allowing the visit, which prompted China to launch unprecedented military exercises around the island. China described Pelosi’svisit as a provocation thatundermines its sovereignty and territorial integrity Taiwan rejects China’ssovereignty claims and says only its 23.5 million people can decide their future. “I personally don’t think it helped Taiwan whatsoever,” Chen said of Pelosi’svisit. “It creates some economic loss for theTaiwanesepeopleinstead. I don’t know whyshe came.” “People need to live. we don’t understand too much about politics but we only need akind and peaceful relationship between China and Taiwan and also to co-exist,” said Zheng Rui-long, the owner of afish processing factory.—Reuters

Officers held over death in custody

Taiwan holds drillamidtensions

Move a‘scheduledexercise’ butcomes afterChina ends patrols

Taiwan’sforeign ministry yesterdayjoinedthe council in rebuffing the “one country,two systems” model that Beijing has proposed for the island. —AFP

The council would then recommend candidates for appointments that the president could choose from. Under theproposed amendments, presidents would only be able to appoint chief justices, other senior judges, attorney generals and central bank governors on the recommendation of the council. The prime minister would recommend appointmentstothe Cabinet and the president would not be allowed to hold anyministry positions except defence. The Bill, which will undergo debate, must be approved by twothirds of Sri Lanka’s225-member Parliament to become law If passed into law,the amendments would reinstate democratic reforms made in 2015. Rajapaksa reversed those reforms and concentrated power in himself after being elected in 2019. Current President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who succeeded Rajapaksa, has promised to limit the powers of the presidency and strengthen Parliament in response to the protesters’ demands. —AP

France battles ‘monster’ wildfire near Bordeaux

—Reuters

Ex-president pleads thefifth,denieswrongdoingatNYattorney-general’soffice

TOKYO: JapanesePrime Minister FumioKishida replaced the female minister in charge of tackling the country’sfalling birthrate and installed aman who sought to deepen his understanding of the issue by trying out a“pregnancy belly”. Kishida reshuffled his Cabinet on Wednesdayand named former Bank of Japan official Masanobu Ogura, 41, to takeover the post from ruling party veteran SeikoNoda, a mother of one. In an interview last month, she blamedamale-dominated political world for“indifferenceand ignorance” towardsaplungingbirthrate. Ogura, who is married with no children, tried out a“pregnancy belly” in aproject organised by the youth division of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in April last year. He said after being named to the post that the enhancement of policies helping families raise children is an urgent task, the Kyoiku newspaper reported. Oguraand two other male lawmakers were to keep the 7.3kgpregnancybellies on while going about their daily routines, in order to understand the burden on the body of carrying achild, the Sankei newspaper reported at the time. The suit, strapped to the torso, is meant to simulate the weight gain at the seven-monthpoint of apregnancy, according to Ogura’sblog. He explained in the blog that he had experienced back pain while wearing the jacket and found himself worrying about other passengers on acrowded train bumping up against him. “This doesn’t mean Ihavemore meaningful opinions about policy than other people,” he said. “But Inow feel Iwanttodedicate more of my time as alawmakerto supporting pregnant women.”

James has said her investigation has uncovered significant evidence that the Trump Organization, which manages hotels, golf courses and other real estate, gave banks and tax authorities misleading financial information to obtain benefits.

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’sjustice mi nister submitted aproposedconstitutional amendment to Parliament that would clip the powers of the president, akey demand of protesters calling for reforms and solutions to the economic crisis. The action came as former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled anti-government protests last month, was reportedly seeking to enter Thailand from Singapore yesterday. He fled Sri Lanka last month after thousands of angry protesters stormed his official residence, holding him responsible for the country’seconomic woes. AThaiForeign Ministry spokesperson said Rajapaksawould be allowed entry but had not asked for political asylum. In Colombo, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe presented a Bill that would transfer some presidential powers –including those to appoint independent election commission members, police and public officials, and corruption investigators –toaconstitutional council comprising lawmakers and respected non-politicians.

Male birthrate minister tries ‘pregnancy belly’ in Japan

18 THE STAR, FRidAy 12 AuguST 2022

Trumpdeclinestoanswerquestions

In asocial media post after the deposition, Trump called it a“very professional meeting,” while boasting about his company.

Trump’sdecision not to answer questions still could carry consequences. Should the investigation lead to atrial, jurors could takehis silence into account.

Politically, it alsocould give adversariesammunition about whether Trump has something to hide as he mulls another presidential run in 2024.

Lankan minister introduces Bill to clip presidential powers

Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr and daughter Ivanka Trump had fought unsuccessfully to avoid appearing for testimonyinstate Attorney General LetitiaJames’s probe into whetherthe Trump Organizationinflated real estate values to obtain loans and understated asset values to get tax breaks. “I declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution,” Trump said in astatement issued roughly an hour after he arrived in amotorcade at the attorney general’sofficeinlower Manhattan for the deposition behind closed doors. The Constitution’sFifth Amendment protects against self-incrimination.

Aspokesperson for the New York attorney general’soffice said in a statement that James participated in the depositionand confirmed that Trumpinvoked hisFifth Amendment rights.

Trump, in his statement again denied wrongdoing and sought to portray the investigation by James, aDemocrat, as part of ayears-long vendetta against him by herand others including the news media. He also attempted to link James’s investigation to Monday’sFBI search of his Florida home Mar-aLago, which represented an escalation of afederal probe into whether he illegally removed records from the White House as he left office in January 2021. “I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, whyare youtaking the Fifth Amendment?’” Trump said. “Now Iknow the answer to that question.” Trump added, “When your company, andall thepeople in your orbit have become the targets of a politically motivated WitchHunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and the Fake News Media, youhave no choice.”

HOSTENS: More than 1,000 firefighters backed by water-bombing aircraftbattled a“monster”wildfire near France’swine-growing heartland of Bordeaux for athird day, with no let-up in blistering temperatures seen before the weekend. The fire in the Gironde region, one of several major blazes burning in France, has forced thousands of people from their homes, destroyed more than adozen properties and scorched more than 6,800ha of forest. “It’sanogre, it’samonster,” Gregory Allione from the French firefighters body FNSPF told RTL radio yesterday. The Gironde wildfire is one of manythat have broken out across Europe this summer, triggered by heatwaves that have baked the continent and brought record temperatures. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne was due to visit the area later. Local temperatures reached 40ºC yesterdayand are set to stayhigh until Saturday, authorities warned. The Gironde was hit by major wildfires in July which destroyed more than 20,000 hectares of forest and temporarily forced almost 40,000 people from their homes. “It’sadisaster, economically,ecologically,it’sawful,”Jean-Louis Dartiailh, the mayor of Hostens, a small town close to the fire, told Radio Classique. “The areaistotally disfigured We’re heartbroken, we’re exhausted.” France is in the grip of its worst drought on record, with afourth heatwave of the summer sweeping across the country this week. More than 57,200ha have gone up in flames so far in France this year, nearly six times the full-year average for 2006-2021, data from the European Forest Fire Information System shows. —Reuters

Orange man: Aman wearing aTrump mask and prison inmate uniformat Trump Tower in NewYork afterthe former president’s home in Florida was raided by the FBI. —Reuters Raging inferno: Thesky turning an angry reddish-orange as firefightersbattlea blazenearSaint-Magne, southofBordeaux. —AP

NEWYORK: Former US President Donald Trump said he declined to answer questions during an appearance before New York state’sattorney general in acivil investigation into his family’sbusiness practices, citing hisconstitutional right against self-incrimination.

Bloomberg

Ailing beluga putdownas last-ditch rescuebid fails

The central characters of Parasite, the Korean-language film that won the Oscar for best picture in 2020, are portrayed as those living in such basementhouses,struggling to makeends meet, largely out of sight and ignored by thewealthy.

Bloomberg Well done: Kimshaking handswith health officials in Pyongyang after declaring victoryover thevirus. —aP

Srinagar: Suspected rebels attacked an army camp in Indianadministered Kashmir and killing three soldiersbefore beingshot dead themselves, police said, four days ahead of the 75th anniversary of Indian independence. Officials sayatleast 130militants and scores of police and soldiers have been killed this year in battles with rebels fighting for Kashmir’s independence or its merger with Pakistan. Two militants using automatic rifles and grenades “entered the army camp in the dark and there was an exchange of fire. Army suffered three fatalities and the two attackers were also killed,” Mukesh Singh, atop police officer, said. The incident, in the southern Rajouri area near the border dividingKashmirfromPakistan,also injured two other soldiers. On Wednesdayhundredsof Indian soldiers on motorbikes paraded through Srinagar, waving the national flag as part of independence-daycelebrations culminating on Aug15. —AFP

Ukraine: Nine Russian warplanes destroyedin Crimea blasts

Deathtrap: soldiers cleaningupdebrisfroma ‘banjiha’house thathad been submergedbytorrentialraininseoul. —reuters

StarWorld 19THE STAR, Friday 12 august 2022 NorthKorea

AUkrainian presidential adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych, cryptically said the blasts were either caused by Ukrainian-made long-range weapons or the work of Ukrainian guerrillas operating in Crimea.

AUkrainian parliament member, Oleksandr Zavitnevich, said the airfield was rendered unusable. He reported on Facebook that it housed fighter jets, reconnaissance aircraft and military transport planes.

The North’s officialKorean Central News Agency also reported yesterdaythat Kim’ssister said her brother had suffered afever and blamed the North Korean outbreak on leaflets flown from across the border from South Korea, while warning of deadly retaliation. Some experts believe North Korea has manipulated the scale of the outbreak to help Kim maintain absolute control of the country amid mounting economic difficulties. Theybelievethe victory state ment signals Kim’saim to move to other priorities but are concerned his sister’s remarksportend aprovocation. South Korea’sUnification Ministry,which handles inter-Korean affairs, issued astatement expressing strong regret over North Korea’s “extremely disrespectful and threatening comments” that were based on “ridiculous claims” about the source of its infections. Since North Korea admitted to an omicron outbreak of the virus in May, it has reported about 4.8 million “fever cases” in its population of 26 million but only identified a fraction of them as Covid-19. It has claimed the outbreak has been slowing for weeks and just 74 people have died. —AP

‘defeats’virus

SEOUL: After at least four people drowned in basement homes during the worst storm to lash Seoul in more than acentury,South Korea’s capital city is planning to phase out such dwellings that came to symbolise yawning inequality in the Oscarwinning film Parasite Seoul is considering banning construction of underground and semiunderground houses after coordination with the government, according to astatement on Wednesday. Landlords will be given 10 to 20 years to removesuchstructures known as “banjiha” homes from existing buildings. As of 2020, about 5% or 200,000 homes in the city were basement or half-basement flats,according to theSeoulMetropolitanGovernment. The announcement came after the worst rainstorm in 115 years dumped 525mm of rain in parts of Seoul earlier this week and killed at least 11 people. Among them werethree family members –awoman in her40s,her sister and the sibling’steenage daughter –who were founddead after beingtrapped in asubmerged semi-basement home in Sillim-dong Another woman in her 50s who lived in asimilar residence also drowned, according to DongA Ilbo newspaper.

Rolling rally: indianBordersecurity Forcesoldiersriding in amotorbike rallytomarkthe 75th anniversaryof country’sindependenceinsrinagar.—aFP

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC taken on Wednesdayshowed some2sq km of grassland burned at the Saki base. The two runways bore no apparent damage and appeared to still be operational. Some of the fighter jets on the flight line had been moved farther down the runway, compared to images taken Tuesdaybefore the blast.

OUiStrEham: An ailingbeluga whale that strayed into France’s Seine river was put down by vets after alast-ditch rescue attempt failed because of its rapidly deteriorating health, local officials said. The fate of the whale captured the hearts of people across the world since it was first spotted in the highly unusual habitat of the river that flows through Paris, far from its usual Arctic waters. Rescuers had worked overnight to lift the male out of the Seine by crane for transfer to asaltwater pen, to save the life of the mammal, which was no longer eating. It was then driven north to the Normandy port of Ouistreham, where vets hoped to release the animal into aharbourside penand then possibly into the wild. But the six vets unanimously decided after examining the beluga on arrival in Ouistreham that there was no other option than to put it down, the local authorityofthe Calvados region said. “Despite the logistical efforts,the condition of the cetacean deteriorated during the trip,” it said. “The beluga was in astate of great weakness and its respiratory activity failing. The decision was therefore taken collectively,with the veterinarians, to euthanise it,” it added. —AF ‘Parasite’-typebasement homestobebanned

SEOUL: NorthKorean leader Kim Jong-un has declared victory over Covid-19and ordered preventive measures eased just three months after acknowledging an outbreak, claiming the country’swidely disputed success would be recognised as aglobal health miracle.

Five killed in attack on IndianKashmir base

—AP

KYiV: Ukraine said that nine Russian warplanes were destroyed in adeadly string of explosions at an air base in Crimea that appeared to be the resultofa Ukrainian attack, which would represent a significantescalation in the war. Russia denied anyaircraftwere damaged in Tuesday’sblasts–or that anyattack took place. Butsatellite photos clearly showed at leastseven fighter planes at the base had been blown up. Ukrainian officials stopped short of publicly claiming responsibility for the explosions, while mocking Russia’sexplanation that acareless smoker might have caused ammunition at the Saki air base to catch fire and blow up. Analysts also said that explanation doesn’t makesense and that theUkrainians could have used anti-ship missiles to strikethe base. If Ukrainian forces were, in fact, responsible for the blasts,itwould be the first known major attack on a Russian military siteonthe Crimean Peninsula, whichwas seized from Ukraine by the Kremlin in 2014. Russian warplanes have used Saki to strikeareas in Ukraine’s south. Crimea holds huge strategic and symbolic significance for both sides. The Kremlin’sdemand that Ukraine recognise Crimea as part of Russia has been one of its keyconditions for ending the fighting, while Ukrainehas vowedtodrive the Russians from the peninsula and all other occupied territories. The explosions, which killed one person and wounded 14, sent tourists fleeing in panic as plumes of smokeroseover the coastline nearby.Video showed shattered windows and holes in the brickwork of somebuildings. One tourist, NataliaLipovaya, said “the earth was gone from under my feet” after the powerful blasts. “I was so scared,” she said. Sergey Milochinsky,a local resident, recalled hearing aroarand seeing amushroom cloud from his window.“Everything began to fall around, collapse,” he said. Russian authorities sought to downplaythe explosions, saying on Wednesdaythat hotels and beaches were unaffected on the peninsula, which is apopulartourist destination for manyRussians. But video posted on social media showed long lines of cars on the road to Russia as tourists headed home.

Kim: Covid-19victory wouldbe recognised as aglobal miracle

THE STAR, Friday 12 august202220 Nowords canexpress thefeelingof thedearlymissed presence ofa departedone. Memories liveonin aphotograph, apoem, alovingmemory, and/ora joyfulmoment. Andwetreasure themand holdthem closeto ourhearts. Alwaysbeloved anddearlymissed. Forever in ourhearts

The first world champions’duelofthe nightsaw Briton JakeWightman obliterate the meet record fora comfortable victoryinthe 1000m in 2:13.88. Wightman,a shock winner of the world 1500m title in Eugene,kicked with 150 metres to go to reel in Canada’s world 800m bronzemedallist Marco Arop. The world 800m champion, Kenya’s Emmanuel Korir,ran outofsteam and eased up to cross the line in last position. “I did not really knowIwas in shape to do this today,”saidWightman “Itwas just very,veryhard,” he added. “I had to staystrongtobe able to catch him. This is areallynicestep towardsthe European championships in Munich whereI will run the 800m.”

The American ranapowerful bend in aUSclean sweep,gettingthe better of teenager Erriyon Knighton and world 400m champion Michael Norman. “It’smysecond best time ever tonight so Iconsiderthat agreat race,” said Lyles. “Every time IcomehereI expectto run very fast and, if not apersonal best, somethingclose to it.”

World and Olympic 1500m champion Kipyegon arguably produced the standout performanceofanamazing nightof track and field in balmyconditions in frontofabig crowd. The Kenyan ranthe second fastest ever time over the distanceasshe won in 3:50.37, fallingjust half asecond short of Ethiopian Genezebe Dibaba’s world record setin 2015,also in Monaco. “I have beenchasingthe time for quite some time but Iamhappywith the personal best,” said Kipyegon, who was lefttobolt home alone after both pacesettershad done their jobs. “I knewthis wasthe best placetoget the world record but Iamso disappointed Ilost it in the last metres.”

Fraser-Pryce,Lyles shineinMonaco, Kipyegon justmissesworldrecord

• Obituary • Condolence • Acknowledge ment • Requie m • Me moriam Scan nowtoadvertise HQ (Selangor &Wilayah Persekutuan) 010-823 2377 |Bureaus (other states)016-728 2377 |starcherish@thestar.com.mybit.ly/StarCherish

MONACO: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryceand Noah Lyles underlined their dominant sprintseasons with victories at the MonacoDiamond League on Wednesday, as Faith Kipyegon narrowly missed a sensational world record in the 1500m. Jamaica’s Fraser-Pryce,fresh from a fifth world 100m title in Eugene last month, clocked aworld leading10.62 seconds forthe win, the sixth fastest time ever run overthe blue riband event. The Jamaican’s victoryatthe Stade Louis II washer thirdsub-10.70run within aweek and sawher become the first woman in historytobreak 10.70six times in the same season. Her time also smashed the previous meet best of 10.72sec set by disgraced American Marion Jones in 1998 “I did what Ineeded to do and we had funand let the clock do the talking,” said Fraser-Pryce. Lyles, who wonthe world 200m title last month in ablistering19.31sec, also set ameet record,clocking19.46sec the ninth fastest time ever run overthe distance –toimprove on his own previous mark of 19.65set back in 2018

Sport 21THE STAR, Friday 12 august 2022 Living up to theirbillings

The fiveother world gold medallists on showall produced the goods. Two-time Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas wonthe women’s 400min 49.28sec while American GrantHollowayclaimed victory in 12.99sec in the men’s 110m hurdles despite arrivinginMonacowith no luggage,lost en route from ameet in Hungary Australian Kelsey-LeeBarber threw a best of 64.50m to win the women’s javelin, but Venezuela’s YulimarRojas madehardwork forthe triumph in the women’s triplejump,eventually producingawinningeffortof15.01m afterunusually openingwith three no-marks. Qatari Mutaz Barshim, whose gold in Eugene washis thirdworld title, famously shared Olympic gold in Tokyo with Gianmarco Tamberi, butthe Italian bailed out after just one successful jump, at the openingheightof2.20m,tofinish eighth. It looked foramomentlikeBarshim mighthave to share first placewith South Korea’sWoo Sang-hyeok after both cleared 2.30m but failed at 2.32m with the same jump countback. Barshim promptly wonagolden jumpoffat2.30 forvictory. “Todayfelt likeamarathon with too manyjumps. I’mtired,” said the Qatari. —AFP Aclass show: Noah Lylesenroute to the200mgold medal in anew meet record at thediamond League athleticsmeeting in Monaco.—aP

champion Rybakina

Gauffpacks

TORONTO: Serena Williams, who said this week she will soon call time on her storied tennis career,departed the WTAToronto Mastersfor the last time on Wednesday with a6-2,6-4 loss to Belinda Bencic The second-round defeat by Switzerland’sreigningOlympic gold medallist washardly unexpected, with the 40-year-old Williams competinginonly her thirdmatchof2022 Bencic fired eightacesand broke Williams twiceinthe first set and oncein the second, advancingonher first match pointafter 78 minutes ButasBencic herself said in the post match interviewoncourt:“Tonightis about her.”

Williams, who turns 41 next month, had beaten Spain’s NuriaParrizas Diazon Mondayfor herfirst singles victorysince the 2021 French Open, 14 months ago But it sentshockwavesthrough the sportwhenshe revealed in an essayin Voguemagazine and an Instagram post on Tuesdaythat “the countdown has begun”toher retirementfromthe sport.

RESULTSWORLDWIDE

World number four Alcaraz looked to be heading for victory when he bagged the first-set tiebreak before opening up a4-1 lead in the second when his game inexplicably unravelled. Alcarazearnedamatch point during the second set tie break but once Paul saved it, the 19-year-old Spaniard’schallenge faded. “Right now all Ican say, it was the first time that Icouldn’t handle the pressure,” said Alcaraz. “I felt the pressure to be the number two seed in this kind of tournaments, number four in the world. It was the first time that Ifelt that pressure, and Icouldn’t handle it.”

Giantkillers: Jack draperhitsareturninhis 7-5, 7-6(7-4) win over third seed stefanostsitsipasand Nick Kyrgios(right)inactionagainstdaniil Medvedev in theMontreal Open.–aFP

TENNIS MONTREALOPEN Second round: Nick Kyrgios (Aus)btDaniil Medvedev (Rus)6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-2;AlexDeMinaur (Aus)btGrigor Dimitrov (Bul) 7-6 (7-4), 7-5;AlbertRamos (Spa)bt DiegoSchwartzman (Arg)6-4, 6-2; Casper Ruud (Nor) btAlex Molcan (Svk) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3; RobertoBautista (Spa)btJenson Brooksby(US) 7-5, 6-1; Cameron Norrie (Bri) bt Botic vandeZandschulp (Ned) 6-1, 6-2; FelixAuger-Aliassime (Can)btYoshihitoNishioka (Jpn) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4;Jannik Sinner (Ita)btAdrian Mannarino (Fra)2-6, 6-4, 6-2; Pablo Carreno Busta(Spa) bt Holger Rune (Den)6-0, 6-3; Gael Monfils (Fra)btMaxime Cressy(US) 7-6 (12-10), 7-6 (8-6);Jack Draper (Bri) bt StefanosTsitsipas (Gre)7-5, 7-6 (7-4); Daniel Evans (Bri) btAndreyRublev(Rus) 6-4, 6-4;Taylor Fritz (US) bt FrancesTiafoe (US) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4; MarinCilic (Cro)bt KarenKhachanov(Rus) 6-3, 6-2;TommyPaul(US) bt CarlosAlcaraz(Spa) 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (9-7), 6-3.

offWimbledon

MONTREAL: Nick Kyrgiospro ducedaserve-and volleymasterclass to topple world number one Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-2 for his eighth straight win on aday of upsets at the Montreal Open on Wednesday. Britain’sDan Evans stunned fifth seed Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4 at the ATP1000 event, while the day kicked off with American Tommy Paul rallying to beat Spanish second seed Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (9-7), 6-3. Jack Draper, ranked number 82 in the world, scored arguably the biggest upset, the Briton rounding off the daywitha7-5, 7-6 (7-4) win over Greek third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. It appearedthat top-seeded Russian Medvedev had all the momentum when he eased through the first set tie breaker and the temperamental Kyrgios smashed aball intothe stratosphere in frustration. But the Australian regrouped and brokeMedvedev’sserve to begin the second set and servedhis way out of trouble in the following game for a2-0 lead that he would not relinquish. The match’spivotal moment came in the fourth game of the third set when Kyrgios raced from corner to corner to deliver abackhand that the charging Medvedev could not handle, putting the Australian up a service breakthat sent thesunsoaked fans to their feet. Kyrgios, who won 82% of his first serves, held at love in the final game to seal aplace inthe last 16. “I knew he was feeling confident so Ihad to come out there with a game style that wasn’t going to give him too much rhythm,” Kyrgios told reporters. “I served and volleyed pretty much every point.”

galore

Serena says goodbyetoCanadaafter defeat by Bencic

Upsets

Fourth seed Casper Ruud, who lost to Rafa Nadal in this year’s French Open final, is the highest seed remaining in the tournament and advanced to the third round with a7-6 (7-3), 6-3 win over Alex Molcan. Also advancing in Montreal wereAustralia’sAlexdeMinaur, Italy’sJannik Sinner, Croatia’s Marin Cilic, Frenchman Gael Monfils and Spaniards Roberto Bautista Agut andPabloCarreno Busta.— Reuters

THOREAUOPEN Second round:TaylorTownsend US) bt Ysaline Bonaventure(Bel) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4; Magdalena Frech (Pol) bt Caty McNally (US) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5; Bernarda Pera (US) bt Anna Blinkova Rus) 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3; CoCo Vandeweghe (US) bt EvaLys (Ger)6-1,6-1.

WASHINGTON: Rory McIlroy endured a“tough night” after an agonizingOpenChampionship defeat extended his major drought, but the Northern Ireland star said the misery didn’t linger. McIlroyheld ashare of the 54-hole lead at St Andrewslast month and was two up through nine holes in the final round before Australian Cameron Smith surged awaywitha64totakethe Claret Jug with a20-under total. “That night was tough,” McIlroy, a four-timeMajorwinner, said on Wednesdayasheprepared for the US PGA Tour St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee. “The few days after it were OK, I guess. It probably took me three or four days to sort of get back to myself again. But Ithink what softened the blow alittlebit, Ifelt –I should have got the ball up and down on 9, 12 and 14. “But apart from that, Ididn’t lose it. Ithink that’swhatmade it alittle easier to get over. The fact that Cam went out and shot 30 on the back nine It’snot as if Iwentout there, shot 75,”saidMcIlroy,who was 18-under for the tournament. “I think because of how Iplayed, it made it Iguess just alittleeasier to get over.” McIlroysaid he spent two weeks on holidayinBritain after the final Major of the year, not touching a club. “It was nice to takethat little break,” he said. “I felt likeIneeded it. Ifeel refreshed and ready to go for the playoffs.” McIlroysaid the fact that he did little wrong at St. Andrews and still couldn’t bag afifth Major was less frustrating than encouraging. “I think it’smore, if Ikeep playing likethat in Major championships, the law of averages suggests that I’m going to get myself back in the winner’s circleeventually,” he said. —Reuters

TORONTOOPEN Second round: IgaSwiatek (Pol) btAjlaTomljanovic (Aus)6-1, 6-2; BeatrizHaddad Maia (Bra)btLeylah Fernandez (Can)7-6 (7-4), 6-1; Belinda Bencic (Swi) bt Serena Williams (US) 6-2, 6-4; Garbine Muguruza (Spa) bt Kaia Kanepi (Est) 6-4, 6-4; Karolina Pliskova (Cze)bt AmandaAnisimova (US) 6-1, 6-1; BiancaAndreescu (Can)btAlize Cornet (Fra)6-3, 4-6, 6-3; Zheng Qinwen (Chn)btOnsJabeur (Tun)6-1, 2-1 (rtd);Jessica Pegula (US) btAsia Muhammed (US)6-2, 7-5; Camila Giorgi (Ita)btElise Mertens (Bel) 6-3, 7-5;Alison Riske(US) btJelena Ostapenko(Lat) 7-6 (7-2), 0-6, 7-5;Yulia Putintseva (Kaz) bt Paula Badosa (Spa)7-5, 1-0 (rtd); Aryna Sabalenka (Blr)btSaraSorribesTormo (Spa)6-4, 6-3; Coco Gauff (US) bt ElenaRybakina (Kaz) 6-4, 6-7 (8-10), 7-6 (7-3); Simona Halep (Rom)btZhang Shuai (Chn)6-4, 6-2;JilTeichmann (Swi) btAnett Kontaveit (Est) 6-4, 6-4.

DefendingchampionCamila Giorgi made it to the third round with a6-3, 7-5 defeat of Belgian Elise Mertens. Simona Halep beat Zhang Shuai of China 6-4, 6-2. —AFP

TwoPakistan boxers missing afterGames

KARACHI: Two Pakistani boxers have gone missing in Britain after the end of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham,ateam official told local media. Suleman Baloch and Nazeerullah Khan failed to showupfor the team’sscheduled departure, Pakistan Boxing Federation secretary Nasir Tang said. “Later we got to know that they had left the athletes’ village without taking their passports from us,” he said. Pakistan sports officials saythey will investigate the boxers’ disappearance and had alerted British police. Seven-time national championSuleman competed in the welterweight category,where he lost to Shiva Thapa of India in the first round, while Nazeerullah received abye before losing to Lewis Williams of England in the round of 16. Pakistan won two golds, three silvers and as manybronzemedals at the Birmingham Games. —AFP ‘Toughnight’ forMcIlroy afterOpen setback

TORONTO: Coco Gauff overcame 13 double-faults on Wednesdayas she battled past Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and into the third round of the WTAToronto Masters, where top-rankedIga Swiatek also sailed through. Gauff, the US teenager who fell to Swiatek in the French Open final this year, held on to beat Rybakina 6-4, 6-7 (8-10), 7-6 (7-3). Gauff lost out on four chances to close out astraight-sets victory as a quartet of match points came and went. Kazakhstan’sRybakina, aided by Gauff’s service struggles,had looked as if she might pull off another marathon victory.She had needed three hours to get past Marie Bouzkova in the first round. But Gauff finally prevailed, 70 minutes after her first opportunities, claiming victory on her fifth match point. Both players were appearing for the firsttime in Francophone Montreal after making Canadian debuts ayear ago in Toronto. World number 11 Gauff lost serve three times against Rybakina but brokeonfouroccasions. Meanwhile, Swiatekglided through untroubled in her second-round match, defeating Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 6-2 in 55 minutes. The top-seeded Pole with six titles this season faced nine break points, saving six. “From the first practice Iplayed hereI felt really good,” Swiatek said. “Even though there was jet lag and Iwas coming fromclayIfelt likeIwas inagood place.

Williams’s farewell on-courtinterview wasthreaded with emotion. “I love playing here, I’ve always loved playinghere,”she said, chokingupasfans whocheered her throughout the match called out their appreciation. “I wish Icould have playedbetter tonight, but Belinda wasplayingsowell.”

Williams didn’tspecifyanactual retirement date but is expectedtocompete next week in Cincinnatibeforetravellingto the US Open, which starts on Aug29. She has lifted the US Open title six times, includingher first Grand Slam triumph at the age of 17 in 1999 “It’sbeen aprettyinteresting24 hours,” said Williams, who remains one shyofthe all-time record of 24 Grand Slamsingles titles wonbyMargaretCourt. “LikeI said in my article,I’m terrible at goodbyes,” she said, her voicebreaking. “But,goodbye,” she said, then adding with alaugh “Toronto.” “It’sbeen ajoy playinghereall of those years.” Bencic said the occasion was “Overwhelming.” Williams’matchwas preceded by avideo tribute playedfor fans. Beforeshe leftthe courtshe waspresented with jerseys from the NBA’sTorontoRaptorsand NHL’s TorontoMaple Leafs –and with achild’s version of the same fordaughterOlympia. In explainingthat she was“evolving away” fromtennis in the Voguearticle, Williams said she wanted to focus on family lifeand newbusiness ventures. Bencic said the occasion was“really overwhelming.” “Itdefinitely felt very specialtobeon courtwithher todayagain,”she said“For me it wasgreat,great,opportunity.”— AFP

THE STAR, Friday 12 august202222 Sport

Medvedev,rublev, tsitsipasand alcarazfall

However, Sunday’s4-0 friendly thrashing at the hands of Atletico Madrid was exacerbated by oldboy Alvaro Morata’shattrickand has caused murmurings about the future of coach Massimiliano Allegri, who needs a big campaign after finishing16 points behind Milan last time out. There has been some worry among Milan fans over the low-key natureoftheir team’stransfer moves, as well as the fact that the club didn’t renew the contracts of directors Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara–the architects of Milan’srecent revival –until the last minute. —AFP Earlycasualty: Juventus’ midfielderPaulPogba willbeout untilseptember with akneeinjury —aFP

Sport 23THE STAR, Friday 12 august 2022

Alleyes on the biggie

Zamalek president jailed for insulting rival CAIRO: An Egyptian appeals court has sentencedthe president of Zamalek football club to amonth in prison for insulting the president of bitter rivals Al-Ahly, ajudicial source told AFP Al-Ahly and Zamalek, the country’stwo biggest clubs and among the continent’smost successful, are historic rivals whose fans regularly clash after matches. The 70-year-oldZamalek boss, Mortada Mansour, was initially sentenced to one year in prison for insulting Mahmoud al-Khatib, president of Al-Ahly and aformerstar player, and his family in avideo posted on social networks and on Zamalek’sclub channel. On Wednesday, Mansour’s sentence was reduced to one month in prison and afine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (RM2,294). Aformermagistrate and member of parliament, Mansour is regularly in the news. He has had a long-running battle withAl-Ahly and has physically attacked his counterparts. His parliamentary immunity had for awhile enabled him to avoid legal proceedings after complaints of insults and defamation. In 2007, he was sentenced to three years in jail by acriminal court in Cairo for “insulting” court officials and levelling accusations of corruption against them. —AFP Newkid on theblock: Marseille’s alexis sanchez (right)poses next to sports director Javier ribalta.—aFP

THEHAGUE: TopAjax attacking midfielder Dusan Tadic was wounded when robbers ambushed him outside his Amsterdam home, Dutch news reports said. The apparently targeted attack on the star Serbian player in late July was the latest in aspate of robberies on Dutch celebrities, national broadcaster NOS said. Two men wearing motorbikehel mets accosted Tadic as he stepped out of his car outside his home in the Dutch capital’ssouth two weeks ago, the daily tabloid De Telegraaf said. “It seems they wanted to rob him of hisvaluable wrist-watch,” the papersaid. “After ashort pursuit Tadic was involved in ascuffle in whichhe managed to open the visor of one of the helmets and hit the robber, the paper said. Tadic then raninto anearbycafe and called the police. The robbers got awayand no arrests have been made, the paper added. Afew days later the Ajax footballer was seen with plasters on his handduring aseason opener against PSV, Amsterdamdaily Het Parool reported. The assault on Tadic is the latest in aspate of such attacks on celebrities and sports stars. Last year former PSVattacker Eran Zahavi and his family were tied up and robbed of money and possessions. —AFP

Sanchezjoins Marseilleafter leavingInter

MARSEILLE: Marseille havesigned formerArsenal and Barcelonastar Alexis Sanchez on afreetransfer following his departure from Inter Milan, the French club announced. Marseille said the forward, with 143 caps for Chile, had signed adeal at the Velodrome after passing amedical. A club official told AFP he had agreed a one-year contract. “I hope to be able to deliver for the fans on the pitch,” 33-year-old Sanchez told journalists, saying it was “a personal objective” and “challenge” to achieve something with the club, referring in particular to the Champions League. His arrivalisa majorboostfor Marseille ahead of their return to the elite European competition. They qualified for this season’sgroup stage after finishing as runners-up in Ligue 1but then saw coach Jorge Sampaoli –who used to coach Chile depart with ex-Croatia defender Igor Tudor replacing him. Marseille will be Sanchez’ssixth club in Europe after Udinese,Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United and Inter. He spent three years at Inter,helping them win the Serie Atitle in 2021. However, he started just nine games at the San Siro last season. Club president Pablo Longoria said hisarrival wouldhelp Marseille to bring about a“leap in level” and “change dimension” to be more competitive. Longoria did not rule out “continuing the adventure” with the player beyond this season if he holds “the competitive level that everyone wants”. “Sanchez embodies aplayerwho can play in the different offensive positions with the current system of coach Igor Tudor,” he added. Sanchez’simpressive resume includes nearly 250 career goals, more than 140 caps and two Copa Americas with Chile, where he played under two former Marseille coaches Marcelo Bielsa and Sampaoli. He becomes the ninth recruit in the frenetic Marseille summer transfer window.— AFP Ajax star Tadicrobbed at home in Amsterdam

Milan have lost Franck Kessie to Barcelona but brought in free-agent striker DivockOrigi and spent €35mil (RM161mil)onpromising but unproven forward Charles De Ketelaere. Inter, meanwhile, startedthe summer with abangbybringing back Romelu Lukaku on loan from Chelsea but were beaten to the punch by Romaand Juve respectively for keytargets Paulo Dybala and lastseason’sbestdefender, Gleison Bremer. The loss of Bremer to their biggest rivals was ablowfor Inter, the inability to strikeadeal with Paris St Germain for the sale of Milan Skriniar holding up the purchase of the Brazilian from Torino and allowing Juve to bring in asound replacement forMatthijsdeLigt and Giorgio Chiellini. It dented the enthusiasm among fans who had thoughtSimone Inzaghi’steam would strengthen to the point of being hot favourites to retakethe title but are newly worried about the financial stability of the club’sChinese owners Suning. Juve have also brought in star names Paul Pogba –now out until September with aknee injury –and Angel Di Maria, and are going after Leandro Paredes, Filip Kostic and mercurial attacker Memphis Depay.

MILAN: AC Milan have their Serie Arivalssnappingattheir heels ahead of their title defence, with the big boys bolstering their squads overaneventful summer which has left the league with no clear Scudetto favourite. Stefano Pioli’sside kick off the new season against Udinese at the San Siro tomorrow as teams gear up for a15-match sprint between now and the World Cup in Qatar. Inter Milan, Juventus, Roma and Laziohaveall made interesting moves, meaning that the race is likely to be as open as last year’s, which went down to the wire.

No clearfavouritesasrivalsjostlefor Milan’sserie acrown

Close tussle: real Madrid’s dani Carvajal (right)and Frankfurt’s Christopher Lenz jump forthe ball —aP

With Kostic set to depart, Hertha fancy theirchances

Eintracht were without playmaker Filip Kostic who is close to a move to Juventus, but looked more disciplined than in their 6-1 loss to Bayern Munich last week in their Bundesliga season opener. They also carved outthe first chance of the game when Daichi Kamada brokeclear but could not beat Real keeper Thibaut Courtois with his low drive in the 14th minute. Realrespondedthree minutes later but Vinicius Jr’s effort was cleared on the line by Tuta. Eintracht keeper Kevin Trapp did well to palm another Vinicius Jr effort wide. The keeper, however, misjudged across in the 37th and was well out of position when Casemiro headed on for Alaba and the Austrian tapped in from close range for the lead. Real stayed in control after the break, forcing another good save from Trapp in the 55th, knocking awayadeflected Vinicius Jr shot before Casemiro rattled the crossbar with ashot from the edge of the box two minutes later. The pressure eventually paid off when Vinicius Jr combined with Benzema –the pair scored acombined 111 club goals last season and the French forward slotted in to kill offany lingeringEintracht hopes of afirst ever Super Cup title. The win brought Real level with AC Milan and Barcelona who have alsofive Super Cup wins.— Reuters

The win also means Real’sCarlo Ancelotti becomes the first coach to lift the trophyfourtimes. “Eintracht were very closed and we found it difficult to find our rhythm, but we did it well then,” the Real coach said. “It’sdifficult at the beginning of the season to be in top form but we now have won to start the season well.”

Barcelonaselloff assets to make signings in bid to restoreglory days

THE STAR, Friday 12 august202224 Sport Aleague

Good job: Barcelona’sPierre-Emerickaubameyang (right)celebrates after scoring with Franck Kessie during thefriendly. —aP

of theirown real equalMilan andBarca’s feat of five superCups

HELSINKI: Champions League winners Real Madrid outclassed Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 to clinch the UEFASuper Cup for arecord-equallingfifth time and kick off their season with atrophy. Afirst half goal from David Alaba and another from Karim Benzema in the 65th that lifted him to second in Real’sall-time scoring list with 324 goals, wrapped up the title for the Spaniards. Europa League winners Eintracht had offered some resistance in the first half and had chances to score but were eventually overrun by the Spaniards.

Eintrachthaveconfirmed the player is in talkswithanother club,and Herthamidfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng said this was abonus forthe Berliners. Kostic was akey player in Eintracht’sunbeaten run to the Europa League title last season. “For us it is positive that Kostic will be gone,” Boateng, who played for Eintracht in 2017/18, told a news conference. “This is at least what Ihave heard and if he does not land here on Fridaythen we can saythat it’s agood thing for us.” Boateng said tomorrow’smatch offered them the chance to make up for their derbydisappointment. “It is always difficult to lose a derby,”headded. “Obviously we are disappointed and angry but it’sgood that we have achance to makeamends on Saturday.”

And so Barcelona look well placed to become serious title contenders again as they prepare to host Rayo Vallecano this weekend. Yet, Barcelona are still waiting for La Liga to allow them to register their new signings, although they hope to be able to do so in time for the season. They are also hoping to further ease their financial problems by reducing their wage bill. The Catalans have been trying to persuade Frenkie de Jong to leave, with suggestions even made that acontract he signed in 2020 was not legal. The Dutch midfielder says he wants to stay. Martin Braithwaite, Samuel Umtiti and Memphis Depayare also candidates to depart the Nou Camp, with the latter reportedly a target for Juventus. On top of that, efforts have been made to persuade certain players, including Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets, to accept wage reductions. Barca’s“economic miracle”, as the press have called it, still has to be transformed into afootballing miracle. —AFP

BERLIN: Hertha Berlin got their Bundesliga campaign off to the worst possible start with a3-1 defeat to city rivals Union but will look to makeamends tomorrow againstEintrachtFrankfurt, who they have beaten more times thanany other teaminthe league. Hertha have won 30 league meetings with Eintracht, losing 20, andwillbehopeful of scoring another victory with their opponents set to be without playmaker Filip Kostic TheSerbian didnot play in Eintracht’s2-0 UEFASuper Cup loss to Real Madrid in Helsinki on Wednesdayand is reportedly set to join Italy’sJuventus in the coming days.

The Italian, who had named the same starting 11 that began their winning Champions League final in Paris in May, had special praise for captain Benzema, last season’stop scorer in the Champions League. “He’sa very important player, a team leader,” he said. “If we’re here it’slargely due to his merits, he scored alot ofgoals, he finished theseason well,he scored agoal todayand now he’s going for the Ballon d’Or award,” said Ancelotti.

The pressure is already on new coach Sandro Schwarz after losing their opener and crashing out of theGermanCup first roundto second-tier Eintracht Braunschweig. —Reuters

LewandowskiasaBarcelona player. “Euphoria” was the headline on the cover of local daily Sport the same day. Even partisan Madrid-based sports daily Marca admitted that Barca were “frightening” in the wakeoftheir drubbing of Pumas UNAM last weekend, when Lewandowski scored his first goal since his arrival from Bayern Munich. Yethow Barcelonahave gone about raising the funds to sign Lewandowski, as well as centrebacks Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen, AC Milanmidfielder Franck Kessie, and Leeds United’s Brazilian wingerRaphinha has raised eyebrows. Faced with severe limits on spending in order to comply with La Liga’s financial controls, Barcelona knew they needed to raise money quickly to be able to invest in anysignings and, crucially,toregister anynew players. They quickly set about selling off assets to bring in money by activating aseries of what have been called economic “levers”.

MADRID: Barcelona’sattempts to establish themselves once again as aforce in La Liga and the Champions League this season have seen the heavily-indebted Catalans gamble with their future to enable astrikingsummer spending spree. Ayear after being forced to let Lionel Messi go as eye-watering reported debts of 1.35bil (RM6.2bil) crippled the club, Barcelona have spent 153mil (RM703mil) on transfer fees alone to strengthen their squad, with Robert Lewandowski the most notable new arrival. “This is areallyexciting season. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to makeall thefans happy,”coach Xavi Hernandez said before last weekend’s6-0 friendly win over Mexican side Pumas UNAM. “That means winning trophies. That is our main objective.” After three years of struggles, on and off the field, the summer has seen hope return to the Nou Camp, with president Joan Laporta talking of an exciting “new era” when the club unveiled

Superbstart: realMadrid’s Karim Benzema(left)and Federico Valverde celebrate afterwinning theuEFasuperCup.—aFP

However, Rachel feels the postponement is ablessingindisguise as Malaysia have sufficient time to prepare for the Games and things could get tougher for an ageing Indian team who appear to be favourites to win alion’sshare of the golds at stake. Five gold medals –men and women’steam and singles as well as the mixed doubles –are upfor grabs in Hangzhou. “It was agreat outing for us in the Commonwealth Games. We were close to beating the English pair (Sarah-JanePerry-Alison Waters) in the last four but afew errors cost us,” said Rachel. “It was still fantastic to win a medal and the next aim is the Asian Games where Iwanttogo for gold in the mixed doubles and probablyget anotherfighting chance in the team event. “It’sa pity Aifa and me won’t be able to go for gold as there will be no women’sdoubles but there is a good chance in the mixed doubles with Syafiq. “Since we have to either choose singles or the mixed doubles, Iwill be focusingonthe doubles. “I will be making my debut in the Games and looking forward to agolden outing.” India will be banking on Saurav Ghosal, 36, for the men’ssingles whileanother veteran Joshna Chinappa, 35, would be focusing on the women’ssingles. Thirty-year-old Dipika PallikalKarthik, who won the world doubles with Saurav,isexpected to partner anew player. Dipikamay partner Vikram MalhotraorAbhaySingh this time. In the women’steam event, Malaysia have to topple India and Hong Kong to clinch gold while the men will be face atough task against Pakistan. “Our team are young and we have an advantage this time. We have 13 months to prepare for the Games and Sangari should also be back.” Aseriouscar accident afew weeks before the Commonwealth Games forced Sivasangari out of the action but she should be available for selection for the Asian Games.

The Perak-born Azeemrecently brokethe national record for the 100m when he sprinted to atime of 10.09s in the heats of the World Junior ChampionshipinCali, Colombia. In the final of the 100m, he finished fifth with atime of 10.14s.

Hungrier Rachel wantsgoldatnextyear’sAsian Games

By K.M. BOOPATHY

PETALING JAYA: The Asian track queen of the 1980s Lydia de Vega-Mercado of the Philippines passed awayon Wednesdayafter battlingcancerfor four years. She was57. The darlingofthe Philippines athletics scene,Lydia became the fastest woman in Asia when she stunned India’s P.T. Usha in theNew Delhi Asian Games in 1982 and repeated the feat in Seoul four years later Aproductofthe famous Gintong Alayproject,Lydia waspeerless at the SEA Games whereshe wonnine golds, includingthree 100m-200m doubles (1987, 1991,1993) Shewas also adouble gold winner (100m-200m) at the 1983 and1987 Asian Track and Field Championships. Lydia’s athletics career took offatthe 1981 Manila SEA Games whereshe won the 200m-400m double at the age of 16 beforeher reign in the 100m sprint started. After her retirementin1994, she worked with the Philippines Sports Commission (PSC)briefly and later as an athletics coach in Singaporefor 10 years, mostly with the junior athletes. Lydia wasdiagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 and has been battlingit silently,and her daughter Stephanie (Paneng) Mercado-deKoenigswarter had revealed last month that her mother wasincritical condition. PSC commissioner BongCoo,one of the Philippines’bowling superstarsin the 80s, said the countryismourning an irreplaceable loss to the sports community. “A sadday forPhilippines sports,” said BongCoo in astatement. “I grieve as an athlete and friend. Lydia is my contemporary. It is such a big loss to Philippine sports. “I wasevencountingonher to help me in my tasksasCommissioner since she wasaPSC consultantfor along time.” Former presidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo alsopaidtribute to the country’s most decorated sportswoman. “Lydia ‘Diay’ de Vega-Mercado’s demise is abig loss to us She will longberemembered by thenation. Mayher achievements motivate other Filipino athletes to aspiretoexcellence in their chosen sport,”Arroyo told the Philippines News Agency. Lydia washonoured duringthe 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines as one of the flag bearers, which wasone of her last public appearances.

PETALING JAYA: RachelArnold, after amedal-winningperformance in Birmingham, has set a new target of winning gold in the Asian Games but it will not be in the women’sdoubles. Winning amedal in the Commonwealth Games has been a long-term goal for Rachel and she achieved it with Aifa Azman on Mondaybut thewomen’sdoubles event will not be contested at next year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou (Sept 23-Oct 8). The women’sdoubleswould have given Malaysia the chance to assert their authority at the continental Games as Rachel-Aifa and Chan Yiwen-Ainaa Amani Ampandi reached the last four at the Commonwealth Games. However, Rachel is not disheartened by the setback as she will shift her attention to the mixed doubles where she will partner Syafiq Kamal. The Asian Games has introduced an unusual format where a player can compete in the team event and choose either the singles or the mixed doubles. With S. Sivasangari, the world No. 16, and Aifa, world No. 24, ranked ahead of her in the singles, Rachel believes the mixed doubles can bring her the desired result. The Asian Games was supposed to be held next month but was postponed due to anew Covid-19 outbreak.

Sport 25THE STAR, Friday 12 august 2022

Don’tlosecontrol

Ourjuniors marchinto second round of worldmeet

So long, Lydia– theAsian trackqueenofthe 80s

Coachwants azeemto stay groundedin journeytobe topsprinter

Legendary: LydiadeVegaduring theopening ceremony of the Manila sEagames in 2019

By T. AVINESHWARAN Dashfor finishline: Mohd azeemFahmi (left) runningwithBotswana’sLetsiletabogo(centre)and Croatia’s roko Farkas in the200mheats at theWorld athleticsunder-20 Championship in Cali,Colombia.—aFP

PETALING JAYA: The man who has played akey role in young sprinter Mohd Azeem Fahmi’srisehas some sound advice for the ‘Usain Bolt of Malaysia’ to keep his feet firmly on the ground. SMK Gunung Rapat athletics coach Mohd Amir Izwan TanAbdullah has reminded the 18-year-old to remain humble every step of the wayinhis journey to be atop athlete. “Always remember not to get carried awaybypraises, as it can destroy what you have created now.Just continue working hard in your journey and don’t be engrossed with the attention you get,’’ he said. “And keep improving yourself as a sprinter and aperson.’’ Amir added that he was impressed with Azeem’sdiscipline and maturity after having coached him. ‘’He’smeticulous with whatever he does. He always researches everything. Azeem is also humble, which is important for his growth. I’msurethat if he maintains his ways, he will get to where he wants to go.’’ Azeem will most likely head to the United States to further his studies in Sports Science at the University of Houston. Nine-time Olympics gold medallist Carl Lewis coaches the university’s athletics team, known as the Coogs. Another university that Azeem is considering is AuburnUniversity, known for their Auburn Tigers, who compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Azeem is also likely to be trained by anew coach in the future. Amir said his likely move to the US would be the right step for him in terms of his development and his quest to hit sub-10 seconds in the 100m event. Meanwhile, Azeem’sparents, Fahmi Tajuid and Norazah Ibrahim, said they are happywiththe progress he has made over the years and hope that he will get even better in the years to come. Norazah said Azeem, who’sthe youngest in the family,iskind of pampered but is serious when it comes to his studies and sport. “It’sthat desire that has brought him here today. Iremember when he left Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman (Star) when he was in Form One and insisted on joining sports school SMK Gunung Rapat,’’ she said. “He said there were facilities there and felt it was the right place to achieve his dreams as an athlete. We were surprised because Star was a great school, but he was always steadfast with what he wanted.” She added Azeem would decide on going to either Auburn or Houston. “We’ll guide him, chat with him but at the end of the day, he’ll decide.”

PETALING JAYA: C. Ameeshanraj, Harith Daniel Jefri and Hi Jia Rong survived the first test at the World Junior Squash Championships as they stormed into the second round in Nancy,France yesterday. Ameeshanraj, theBritish Junior Under-17 champion in 2019, defeated Nathan Masset of Belgium 11-2, 11-6, 11-4 in the first round. Priortothe World Junior Championships,theSerembanbornAmeeshanrajreached the semi-finals of the British Junior Open in Nottingham last month. “Ameeshanraj played well to win in three games. Harith and JiaRong havealso advanced to the second,” said national assistant head coach Andrew Cross. “There are alot ofgood players from different countries this time. It’svery hard to say how well our boys will fare. We will have to takeone match at atime.” Harith, 16, also had a11-4, 11-5, 11-4 win over Archie Turnbull of Wales in the opening round. Jia Rong, however, was pushed to the limit by Dimitriy Scherbakov of Ukraine before the Malaysian prevailed with a 11-13, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7 win.

More time in training may benefit Pang Ron-Ee Wei aftertight schedule

Back with BAM?: independent doubles coach Chin Eei Hui maybereturning to thenational team in thenearfuture.

Good vibes: Malaysia’s gohV shem (left) andtan WeeKiong fancy theirchances fora medalatthe World Championships in tokyo.

Jones said there haven’t been any formal approach to either of the two, or other candidates. If everything goes well, anew mixed doubles coach is expected to takecharge next month.

By K.M. BOOPATHY By R. KIRUBASHINI

Justin lookingforward to unfamiliar role in Sukma

THE STAR, Friday 12 august202226 Sport Wait fornew

The decision on funding to hire the new coach should be available after the BAMcouncil meeting tomorrow (Saturday). “Our main focus has been on the Commonwealth Games and there has not been much development on the coaching. Rexy will be back tomorrow (today), it (mixed doubles coach) will be one of the keythings in my list to complete,” said Jones. “With the council meeting due on Saturday, I’ll find out how much budget Ihavegot to spend (for the mixed doubles coach).” “Eei Huiand Pek Siah have good knowledge about players. Eei Hui has a good track record while Pek Siah would get to the chance to prove her worth as acoach.”

BAMhighperformance director Dr. Tim Jones said the search for amixed doubles coach was ongoing but anyfor mal approach can only be made based on the available funding from the association. So far, it is understood that doubles coach Rexy Mainaky has verbally spokentoindependent coach Chin Eei Hui and also Singapore mixed doubles coach Lim Pek Siah. Eei Hui, aformernational mixed doubles coach (2013-2019), is seen as the best possible candidate as former international Pek Siah maybeindemand to continue her duties across the Causeway after Singapore pair Terry Hee-Jessica Tanwon theCommonwealth Games gold.

Bold veterans

PETALING JAYA: It hasbeen more than four months since Paulus Firman left theBadmintonAssociation of Malaysia (BAM) as the mixed doubles coach but areplacement is only expected after the World Championships (Aug 21-28).

PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Toh Ee Wei could benefit from more time in trainingafter atight schedule of back-to-back tournaments in the past two months. Pang Ron-Ee Wei, currently ranked No. 67 in the world,were onlypaired together in early June. After twomonthsofalmost non-stop action in tournaments, they have amonth to prepare for their next outingatthe Japan OpeninOsaka from Aug30-Sept 5. And Ee Weiisglad to have more time in training. “Wehaveabout amonth since our last tournament –the Taiwan Open –ended. We are really focusing in training and giving 100%.I think having more time to train willbenefit us,” said Ee Wei. She and Pang Ron have been showing steadyimprovement in theirpartnership and reached their first semi-finalinthe Taiwan Open. Thepairhad alsocaught the eye aftertwo quarter-finalfinish es at the Singapore Open before that and Indonesian Open in June Pang Ron-Ee Weiare hoping to continue their upward trajectory in the Japan Open where they will open theircampaign against compatriots Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei. On the match against their own teammates, Ee Weisaid: “Weare notthinking too much about who we willface, butwewillfightand give our all.” Their tie will not be the only all-Malaysian first-round clash as world No. 11 TanKian Meng-Lai Pei Jing are set to takeonveteran Chan Peng Soon-Cheah YeeSee. Both the pairs will be looking to bounce back after missing out on theindividual gold at the CommonwealthGames. In Birmingham, independent pair Kian Meng-Pei Jing won bronze after beating Adam HallJulie Macpherson of Scotland 21-15, 21-17. Fellow independent pairand world No. 14 Goh Soon HuatShevon Lai Jemie will also be in thefrayand will playunheralded Indonesians RehanNaufal-Lisa Ayuinthe first round.

WeeKiong eyes podium finish with V shem at worldmeet

PETALING JAYA: They are one of the veteran pairs but Goh VShemTanWee Kiong mayjustspring a surprise in the World Cham pionships in Tokyo from Aug21-28. WeeKiong is feeling optimistic about their medal chances despite being handed achallenging draw WeeKiongand VShem, who made the cut as the country’sfourth ranked pair at No. 15 in the world, are slated to meet newly crowned Birmingham Commonwealth Games championsSatwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty of India in the third round. If they can pull it off, the independent pair could be up against Japan’sdefending champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi in the quarter-finals. The Malaysian pair have received afirst-round byeand will likely play Denmark’sJeppe Bay-Lasse Molhede in the second round. WeeKiong feels he and VShem have an opportunity to secure a podium finish. “Winning amedal here has always been my target. Ithink everyone stands achance to win,” said WeeKiong whose best performance was in last year’s edition in Huelva, Spain, where they reached the quarter-finals before losing to eventual runners-up He Jiting-Tan Qiang of China. Meanwhile,the other national pairs looking to makeagood impression areAaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (No. 6), Ong YewSin-Teo Ee Yi (No. 10) and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (No. 12). All three pairs also received firstround byes. Aaron-Wooi Yik and Sze FeiIzzuddin are headed for athirdround clash barring anyupsets. The former are likely to play Taiwan’sworld No. 24 Lu Ching Yao-YangPoHan in the second round while the latter should have little trouble overcoming unheralded Irish pair Joshua Magee-Paul Reynolds. YewSin-Ee Yi, who won bronze in last year’s edition, will face either Singapore’sTerry Hee-Loh Kean Hean (No. 41) or Christo PopovToma Junior Popov of France (No. 29). Awin could pit them against Denmark’sworld No. 8Kim AstrupAnders Skaarup Rasmussen in the third round.

mixeddoubles coachcontinues

PETALING JAYA: Playing in an unfamiliar event could be daunting for anyathlete but Justin Hoh (pic) is not one of them. Instead, the men’ssingles shuttler is looking forward to playing in the mixed doubles at theMalaysian Games (Sukma) from Sept 16-24. Justin will be making his debut in Sukma next month and will partner Wong Kha Yan. “I will be playing in the mixed doubles and I’m feeling excited as this is my first time doing so in a tournament,” said Justin. The 18-year-old said he will not be seeing action in men’ssingles as Leong Jun Hao and Lim Chong King have been chosen instead. Only two players are allowed to playineachevent. The Sukma will serve as a warm-up for Justin ahead of the back-to-back World Junior Mixed Team Championships (Oct 17-22) and World Junior Championships (Oct 24-30) in Santander, Spain. In the world junior mixed team meet, Malaysia have been drawn with Indonesia, Sweden and Latvia in Group A. The junior tournaments will be Justin’sfirst and last and he hopes to win medals in both. “I hope to win amedal in both the tournaments as it will be my last year participatng in the juniors,” said Justin. The coaches will finalise the selection of the other players for the world junior mixed team meet next month.

“Playing 120 minutesagainst Selangor in theFACup semi-final tookabit of atoll on us We lost somekey players due to sickness andinjuries,’’ he said ‘’Against JDT, Petrus (Shitembi) had to be taken off in thefirst half because of injury.But whoever wasonthe field,they fought and impressed “Wewilllook to bounceback whenwefaceSarawakUnited at GongBadak on Aug13.”

PETALING JAYA: They may not admit it but Johor Darul Ta’zim’s (JDT) hard-earned 2-1 win over Terengganu in the Super League is aworthydress rehearsalfor their FA Cup final. The Southern Tigerswere made to sweat against the determined Turtles at the Sultan Mizan Stadium in Gong Badak on Wednesday. JDThad to thankthe clinical finishing of Brazilian striker BergsonDaSilva and Argentinian winger Fernando Forestieri, who scored in the 32nd and 47th minutes, for the three points. Terengganureplied through Hakimi Abdullah in the 51st minute and could have scored more but their finishing left much to be desired.

argentineassassin: Johor darulta’zim’sFernandoForestieri (second fromright)celebrating afterscoring thesecond goal againstterengganu.—Bernama

PETALING JAYA: It was only fitting that goalkeeper Azri Ghani becamethe hero for Kuala Lumpurinthe 6-5 penalty shootout win over Vietnamese club Viettel in theirAFC CupAsean zonesemi-final on Wednesday. The 23-year-old was aman seekingredemption as it was his error of judgement that cost Malaysia aplace in the SEA Games finalinMay In thesemi-final against host Vietnam, Azri misjudged the directionofthe ball during asetpiecewhich resultedinthe Harimau Muda losing1-0 in extratime. That blunder was still fresh in Azri’smindas KL took on Viettel at the Thong Nat Stadium in Ho Chin Minh City Eerily, the game also ended 0-0 after full time –justlikeinthe SEA Games semi-final. But a more confident Azri gave an immaculate display, catching the eye withsome superb saves before stopping acrucial spot-kick by Bui Duy Thuong to help the CityBoysreach thefinal.

The four-team international tournamentis organised by theFootball Association of Thailand (FAT)and will be heldatthe 700th Anniversary Stadium in ChiangMai

“This is agreat result for KL. Over the two years KL have been creating history and now another piece of history has been added.’’

JDTcoach HectorBidoglio wasn’t surprised they faced such strong resistance from Terengganu, especially in front of their home crowd. “I knew it was going to be tough because Terengganu can playquality football and were eager to keep their unbeaten home record. “There were times when we struggled to maintain long spells of possession. “Butthe most importantthing is to get thewin. Moving forward, I’ve seen somethings we needto work on from the games we’ve played to keep our winning momentum.”

Terengganu are sixth with 17 points from 13 matches.

Meanwhile, captain Paulo Josue saidKL’s final against Makassar would be tricky despite the home ground advantage. “It wasn’t our best performance against Viettel, but we were disciplined and worked hard for 120 minutes to hold them. “Asfor thefinal, playing in Cheras will be an advantagebut we can’t takethat forgranted.’’ will sink their teeth into afour-team international tournamentinChiangMai,Thailand, from Sept 20 to 26 Malaysia have Thailand,Tajikistan and Trinidad and Tobago forcompany -three nations that are ranked higher than KimPan-gon’s meninthe FIFArankings Malaysia arenow ranked 147th while Thailand are111th, Tajikistan 108th and Trinidad and Tobago 101st Pan-gon is lookingforward to the tourney, as takingonhigher-ranked teams is the best wayfor hischarges to improve their performanceand quality. “After qualifyingfor the 2023Asian Cuplast June,weneed to continue to focus and look ahead. This will be auseful tournamentfor us before the 2022 Mitsubishi Electric AFF Cupin December as we preparefor theAsian Cupnext year,” he said. “Apartfromgettinggood results in ChiangMai, Ialso want to use this opportunitytorefine the pattern and philosophyofour game.’’

KL will takeonPSM Makassar in the AFC Cup Asean zone final at the Cheras Football Stadium on Aug24for aplace inthe Inter-Zone semi-finals against India’s ATKMohunBagan onSept7 Athrilled Azri choseto play down his heroics and saluted his teammates for the hard-earned win. “My save alone didn’t get the team to the final. We all worked our socks off to frustrate Viettel, who dominated the game,’’said the former Kedah and Perak custodian. “In theSEA Games,Malaysialostbecause of my mistake. And Ihaven’t stopped thinking about how Ican makeupfor that.When Igot the chance to playinthe AFC Cup, especially against aside from Vietnam, Iknew Ihad to do well.

“I must thank coach Bojan (Hodak), who believedinme. Apenalty shootout is tough because it’snerve-wracking for anyone. So I’m thrilled to makethe crucial save. “For someone who doesn’t get to playregularly in the league but is thrust into such abig game, Iwouldbelying if Isaid Iwasn’tnervous.But my mateswerealwaysthere to keep me calm.’’ Hodak madeaboldmove by picking Azri to start instead of first-choice keeper Kevin Mendoza. TheCroatainadmittedthat Azri was nervous before the match but grew in confidence and showed his qualities as the game progressed. “I know manypeople will question me on picking Azri over Kevin for the job but Ihave my reasons,’’ said Hodak. ‘‘I could only field four foreigners and kept Kevin on the bench to suit my match strategies. It was atough match but Azri stood tall on the night. “I had trust and faith in him as he was with me for two years in the Under-19 national team. ‘‘He has the capabilities and qualities to makeadifference.’’

Sport 27THE STAR, Friday 12 august 2022 T’GANU 1JDT 2 PW DL FA Pts JDT14122 0397 38 SABAH 15 11 13 25 13 34 N. SEMBILAN 15 85 2221329 K. LUMPUR 14 53 6192518 PAHANG 14 52 7202017 T’GANU 13 52 6151517 KEDAH 13 52 6182417 SELANGOR 13 44 5262316 MELAKA134 45 18 17 16 S’WAK UNITED154 110153613 PJ CITY 14 26 6152512 PENANG 15 14 10 17 31 7 super league results &standings KELANTAN 1PERAK 2 UiTM 4FAM-MSN 1 PW DL FA Pts KELANTAN 14 10 22 21 832 JDTII 11 81 2271225 T’GANU II 13 72 4201123 KUCHING CITY 12 62 4211720 K’TAN UTD 13 46 3121218 POLICE 13 53 5182118 UITM 14 42 8131914 SELANGORII 12 34 5125 13 PERAK* 14 51 813237 FAM-MSN 13 02 10 5212 *Perak were deducted nine points for failuretosettle arrears premier league results &standings abig hand to azri Keeper slayssEa gamesghost with heroic feat forKLinaFC Cup By T. AVINESHWARAN redemption: Kuala Lumpurgoalkeeperazrighani (ingreen jersey,No. 44)celebrating with teammatesafter they reachedthe aFCCup aseanzone final.— aFC Four-team tourney to whet Harimau Malaya’s appetite JDTjustcan’t go slow againstTurtles PETALING JAYA: TheHarimauMalaya

JDTremain topofthe league with 38 points from 14 games. Before the loss to JDT, Terengganuwere unbeaten in six games athome Terengganu coach Nafuzi Zain wasproudofhis charges’ display asthey were missingsomekey players.

THE STAR, FRidAy 12 AuguST 2022

WeeKiong dreams big with VShemon biggest stage. >26 SprinterAzeem gets sound advice from coach. >25 Philippines sprint legend Lydia passeson. >25

Published by Star Publications Sdn Bhd (202001037064) (1393385-K), MenaraStar,15Jalan 16/11, 46350 Petaling Jaya,Selangor Darul Ehsan. Printed by Star Media Group Berhad (197101000523) (10894-D), 2Jalan Astaka U8/88, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Copyright ©

Super start: Real Madrid’sKarim Benzemalifting theSuperCup aftertheybeatEintracht Frankfurt2-0 at Helsinki’sOlympic Stadium in Finland. —AP >24 We’reinthe final!: Kuala Lumpurgoalkeeper Azri ghanicelebrating with teammates aftersaving the crucialpenalty in the6-5 shootoutwin over Vietnam’s ViettelintheirAFC Cup Aseanzonesemi-final —AFC

Keeper for keeps IT wasaclassic taleof redemptionfor goalkeeper Azri Ghaniashis crucial save in apenalty shootoutsent KualaLumpurintothe AFC Cup Aseanzonefinal.In May, the23-year-old had cost Malaysia aplace in the SEAGames finaldue to his blunderagainst Vietnam. Andhow fittingitwas for himtoturnheroasthe City Boys edgedVietnamese club ViettelinHoChi Minh City fora showdown with Indonesia’s PSMMakassar. >By T. AViNESHWARAN on Pg 27