All-England champ David Choong passes away

GEORGE TOWN (Sept 10, 2011): Malaysian badminton has lost another of its illustious shuttlers with the passing away of former All-England doubles badminton champion Datuk David Choong Ewe Leong.

David, 82, died at his Tanjong Tokong home here at 6.30am and leaves behind a wife, three sons and a daughter.

The stink in Malaysia's arms procurement: Guess who benefited most?

The continued revelations of corruption within the Defence Mininstry have caused much consternation amongst the public. Even WikiLeaks has reported a diplomatic cable between the US Embassy in Malaysia and the United States that alleges corruption in Malaysia’s defense procurement in which Umno politicians, agents, civil servants and military officials routinely receive 30 per cent “commission” on deals.

The US embassy also noted that many government tenders did not follow procurement rules. Instead, there were shadowy agreements without any tendering process, relying on “money politics” where awards were granted with a cut of funds circulating back to the politician or Umno through different channels.

Time to get rid of errant politicians: What an online survey and Facebook shows

It could be Nurul Nuha or other viable candidates in any of the contentious constituencies in the next general election. The candidate contesting against an errant incumbent lawmaker could in all probability win hands down.

In a democracy, a politician owes so much to those who have voted him in. A politician who fails to lend his ears to the voice of the people and even the party he belongs to could be unforgivably cast off. Being a politician is not one’s birth right. The moment he incurs the wrath of the people or party, it’s time for him to look for a quick trail out.

Deluding the voters and letting down the hope of the party is not a promising premonition in politics. The sign foretells that he would be booted out from his seat in any future political contest. If a lawmaker thinks otherwise - after betraying the party and voters - he should then have the decorum to go back to the people to get a fresh mandate to crown himself back as the rightful choice of the voters.

Sickly dad dumped at mosque during Raya

A SICKLY father travelled 60km by boat from the Kuala Penyu Hospital to visit his son during Hari Raya only to be dumped by the man at a mosque a few hours later.

Harian Metro reported that 71-year-old Wahid Husin travelled to his son's house in Labuan immediately after he was discharged from the hospital.

Duped into prostitution

KUALA LUMPUR - When Delima (not her real name) was told that she had secured a job as a domestic helper in Singapore, the Indonesian was elated.

Knowing that the job would be of great financial help to her family, the 25-year-old was willing to part with her elderly parents and siblings.

She was horrified when her employer turned out to be a pimp and her place of work and new home was a brothel in Bukit Bintang.

5-hour suicide drama

young woman was at the centre of a five-hour suicide drama last night.

The pretty 20-year-old blond hair Chinese national woman had threatened to jump from a ledge on the 14 floor of Bukit Batok Enterprise Centre at about 9.25pm last night.
A large crowd gathered to watch the drama unfold as police, negotiators and Civil Defence personnel arrived.

One-piece or two-piece for Miss Indonesia?

Putri Indonesia 2010 Nadine Alexandra Dewi Ames, 20, who represents Indonesia in the Miss Universe beauty pageant in Sao Paolo, Brazil, plans to steer clear of the stale issue of her choice to wear a one- or two-piece bikini, ahead of the final round of the pageant, an official says.

"Officially, we will let (Nadine) model a one-piece bikini. But, should she appear in a two-piece it should be done in the closed room," Putri Indonesia Foundation spokeswoman Mega Angkasa said Thursday as quoted in a phone interview by kapanlagi.com.

1M’sia shops death knell for other stores

Unemployment is expected to rise with the opening of more Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia shops

PETALING JAYA: Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) shops will spell the end for family-run grocery stores.

A report drafted by economist group Research for Social Advancement (REFSA) said that opening more KR1M shops will drive private stores out of business.

While the intention to help Malaysians hard-hit by stagnant incomes and the rising cost of living is admirable, these 1Malaysia stores and similar moves could lead to a negative cycle, the report entitled Pre-Budget 2012 – The Rakyat’s Guide said.

Koh wanted Gerakan out of BN

Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (pix) had wanted to pull the party out of Barisan Nasional (BN) three years ago after some Umno members desecrated his picture.

Party secretary-general Teng Chang Yeow said six to seven Gerakan leaders met on the night of Sept 8, 2008 after the former chief minister's picture was removed from the wall of an Umno division and torn into pieces during a press conference.

Teng said he was at the party pow-wow and Koh, like others present, was very angry.

Chua ribs PM over Rosmah speech

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak continues to draw ridicule from opposition leaders for allowing his wife, Rosmah Mansor, to deliver a Hari Raya speech that was broadcast on public television.

Johor PKR chief Chua Jui Meng said today that Najib was not fit to be a national leader because he apparently was not even in control in his own home.

Burnt body in Ampang that of college student, body identified

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have confirmed that the body of a woman with 80 per cent burns in Kampung Lembah Jaya Utara, Ampang belonged to a 19-year-old college student.

Ampang Jaya police chief ACP Amiruddin Jamaluddin said the confirmation was made possible after the victim's father identified the body at UKM Medical Centre here.

"The father lodged a report at the Setapak police station two days ago stating that the victim is his daughter who had gone missing for five days.

"He lodged the report after reading news reports on the case and information about the gold bracelet, tiny gold earrings and the remains of the baju kurung worn by the victim," ACP Amiruddin told reporters.

He said the father claimed that his daughter left home to meet a friend. "The victim is a student of a private college in Selayang and police are questioning all her friends to track down the suspect," he said. 

World's hairiest man looking for a wife

Yu Zhenhuan, the world's hairiest man from China, is looking for a wife.

The 33-year-old actor had a girlfriend of over two years, but they were forced to break up around February after the woman's family objected to the relationship due to his appearance.

On Thursday, Yu's agent arranged for him to meet with single nurses at a hospital in Changsha of Hunan province.

Who will grab Gaddafi’s oil?

THE bullets flying over Tripoli mark the end to Colonel Gaddafi's brutal reign in Libya.

And it gives the green light to the world's biggest energy companies – desperate to unlock some of the biggest oil and gas riches in the world.

Libya holds more reserves than any other country in Africa with more than 40billion barrels of "black gold".

Giants including BP all quit the country when the revolution started in February.

BP was just days away from drilling its first exploration well in a vast "block" – Ghadames – to the west of the country.

PAS or Umno losing support over Mat Sabu's remarks

KUALA LUMPUR - The heat is starting to become a bit too hot to handle for PAS after nearly two weeks of fire started by a remark by deputy president Mohamad Sabu, in which he allegedly made a hero out of a man who led the Bukit Kepong massacre, 61 years ago.

The remark put PAS in a position of having to defend Mohamad in the face of a wave of protests not just among the public but also veterans of the security forces and family members of those who were killed in the February 1950 incident.

This is not to mention a barrage of police reports -- over 500 and counting -- lodged against the controversial politician, known by his moniker Mat Sabu.

WikiLeaks: Anwar had "firm information" Najib's aide ordered Altantuya's killing

A leaked diplomatic note from the US embassy in Malaysia to Washington has asserted that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was convinced it was Prime Minister Najib Razak's aide-camp, who had ordered two of the PM's former body guards to kill Altanutya Shaariibuu.

The Mongolian translator, who allegedly helped in the Scorpenes deal, was murdered in Malaysia in 2006 and Anwar also said she had been lovers with both Najib and his close friend Razak Baginda.

The note also said Anwar had in his possession "solid" information, even "documentary evidence" that Najib's frontmen had received kickbacks from the Malaysian government's purchase of Scorpene submarines in 2002 and Sukhoi jet-fighters in 2003.

The US cable also points to the corruption and rot already existing in the Abdullah Badawi administration and eventually hallmarking Najib's tenure as prime minister. The abuse of power has not diminished but grown stronger as Najib fights to stay in power, with corruption and interference entrenching itself even further into all arms of the government machinery, the civil service and the judiciary.

And this perhaps explains the Pandora Box of events currently being played out as Malaysia heads towards its 13th General Election, widely expected to be called later this year or early next year.

I’m still a virgin because of my phobia of MEN

Androphobia ... Emily Day

WITH clammy hands and her breath catching in her throat, Emily Day was absolutely terrified.

It wasn't a fear of spiders or flying that had got her in this state.

For Emily, 26, the fear had been brought on by a MANknocking at the front door.

The recruitment consultant suffers from androphobia — a morbid fear of men.

Emily says: "This fear has stalked me all my life. I can't pinpoint when it started.

"I'm still a virgin. I'm not a lesbian and I'm in no way sexually attracted to women.

"I can look at pictures of men with friends and appreciate they are good-looking, but if I came face-to-face with a man I fancied I'd find it hard to be in the same room without being scared."

British paedo nicked... as child victims weep

Arrested ... Michael Leach stares as his cowering vistims comfort each other behind him

Moment the law caught up with civil servant

HANDCUFFED while his tearful child victims cower on a filthy bed beside him, this is the moment ex-Government policy adviser Michael Leach was unmasked as a predatory paedophile.

Arrogant Leach, 51, once a senior ministerial aide at the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), scornfully whistled after he was arrested in a seedy Cambodian guest house for having sex with three girls as young as TEN.

In a pitiful scene, two of the waif-like little girls then hugged and wept uncontrollably after their horrific ordeal as cops shackled their hulking abuser.

Yesterday justice finally caught up with the former high-ranking civil servant as he was caged for 12 years by a Cambodian court for using child prostitutes.

'Sexy nuns gave Silvio Berlusconi lapdances'

Nun-ga nun-ga ... sexy nuns danced for Berlusconi, it is claimed

PLAYBOY Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi was given sexy lapdances by women dressed as NUNS at his infamous "bunga bunga" parties, it is claimed.

Berlusconi, 74, is said to have lavished gifts and money on dozens of women recruited by half-British dental hygienist Nicole Minetti, 25, and two other friends.

According to a leaked statement from one of the guests, Miss Minetti and another guest, Barbara Faggioli, 25, dressed as nuns before performing a sexy striptease for Berlusconi.

Disabled man dies after being beaten up over cigarette

KUALA LUMPUR: He was just asking for a cigarette and scolded a man when his request was turned down.
But the physically challenged man was beaten up with a cane by the annoyed man in the vicinity of a club in Sungai Besi near here at about 11am on Saturday. 

Johor MB dishonest about Mat Indera, says constitutional expert

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — Professor Abdul Aziz Bari has accused Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman of hypocrisy after the Johor mentri besar insisted that Ahmad Indera was not a freedom fighter but a communist.

The International Islamic University (IIU) don said that as a former academic himself, Abdul Ghani’s statement had damaged the credibility of his own office and that of the state government which published a 2004 book titled “Pengukir Nama Johor” which names Ahmad, better known as Mat Indera, as a prominent Johor figure.

“It is not proper seeing as the book was published by the state government. It damages the state government... as mentri besar, he should know the contents of the book. It is shameful and foolish,” Abdul Aziz(picture) told The Malaysian Insider.

Pakatan pressures Putrajaya to sink mobile prepaid tax

The six percent tax on prepaid users will come into effect on september 15

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders have demanded that Putrajaya push mobile telecommunications firms to withdraw a proposed plan to pass on a six per cent service tax to prepaid users, or face a nation-wide campaign attacking it over the issue.    

Local telcos announced yesterday that they will begin levying a six per cent service tax for all purchases of prepaid reloads and starter packs beginning September 15.

The telcos also said the service tax on prepaid services was not new but had merely been absorbed by the companies since its introduction in 1998.

PR leaders argued that service tax for prepaid reloads will effectively “punish” younger consumers and those from the lower income group, and that only the telco companies benefited from the move.

Dr M pins Najib’s ratings slide on Bersih rally handling

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s recent approval ratings decline was due to his administration’s handling of the July 9 Bersih rally, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed has said.

The former prime minister agreed with the findings of Merdeka Center’s latest survey, which saw Najib’s approval rating slide to its lowest point of 59 per cent since last May’s high of 79 per cent.

Merdeka Center had then concluded that the ratings drop was fuelled by rising concerns over the surge in living costs and Putrajaya’s handling of Bersih 2.0.

FACTBOX - Sept. 11 conspirators: Where are they now?

EDITOR'S NOTE: (REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT OF THE VIDEO FROM WHICH THIS STILL IMAGE WAS TAKEN. Ayman al-Zawahri speaks from an unknown location, in this still image taken from video uploaded on a social media website June 8, 2011. REUTERS/Reuters TV)

It took 19 men to hijack four airliners and crash them in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people.

But a much larger network of conspirators was involved in planning, funding and carrying out the attacks, and governments around the world have been after them ever since.

Some have been captured or killed and some remain at large or unidentified. A decade later, more than half of those charged in the United States have yet to stand trial.

The following people have been convicted, charged, investigated or named as co-conspirators in legal proceedings connected directly to the Sept. 11 plot and attacks

Man in student assault video identified

KUALA LUMPUR: The man involved in the assault of two female student nurses exposed in a YouTube video has been identified.

However, one of the victims, who is believed to have been the assailant’s girlfriend, has refused to lodge a report.

Her reluctance has hampered police investigations, said Sabak Bernam OCPD Supt Noor Mushar Mohd.

Girl finds semi-nude photos of herself online

Oh dear oh dear

When they were in love all was good, now that they have gone apart.

And the guy, quite despicable also.

A girl recently found her own topless photos on the internet.

Not only that, she had found herself labelled as a "slut in Singapore".

Her ex-boyfriend, Mohamed Ansar (age 20), had allegedly posted the pictures online because he could not get over their break up.

'His hands were very sweaty'

There was panic in his eyes.

Pale and sweaty, the man hung on to the parapet.

Seconds later, he slipped from an elderly couple's grasp and plummeted seven storeys to his death.

There was nothing the couple could do to prevent the tragedy, which unfolded just outside their Choa Chu Kang flat.

The woman, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Han, recalled in Mandarin: "My husband and I tried to hold onto him.

Upset man uploads sex video of girlfriend

A MAN uploaded naked photos and a sex video of his girlfriend on a website after he claimed that he was cheated by her, China Press reported.

The man said he was cheated by the woman, who was from Selangor, after they were in a relationship for a year.

However, the woman denied this and planned to lodge a police report against the man, the paper said.

The man was said to have sought the help of web surfers to spread the pictures around after the website published 16 photographs and sex videos of the woman. It also contained her personal details.

The daily reported that the man also requested surfers to leave their e-mail addresses so that he could send the videoclips to them.

The woman, who is a sales assistant, admitted that the pictures were of her, but denied the man's accusations that she had cheated him.

She claimed that the man had also been harassing her for months.