Malaysian Paper www.thesun.my RM1.00 PER COPY RM1 FRIDAY FEB 23, 2024 SCAN ME No. 8465 PP 2644/12/2012 (031195) 10 fresh remixes for your taste buds - P23 WEEKLY FOCUS MONDAY Discover cuttingedge world of Gaming and Tech TUESDAY Ultimate guide to Travel and Leisure WEDNESDAY Latest in Fashion and Beauty sense THURSDAY Inside the world of Social Media Influencers FRIDAY Culinary delights and Beverage trends FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 Editorial T: 03-7784 6688 F: 03-7785 2625 E: [emailprotected] Advertising T: 03-7784 8888 E: [emailprotected] SCAN ME INSIDE p INSIDE 12 Paws and priorities INSIDE p 23 Bring out the lantern p 21 Readers’ CNY memories Salad anthem Ringgit’s struggle against US, Singapore dollars notwithstanding, opportunities abound for Malaysia’s economic growth and expansion, say experts. Cause for optimism optimism Jail, fine for teacher with fake ID Non-citizen sentenced to 10 months in prison and fined RM6,000 for using fake identity card to work as teacher at a school in Tenom, Sabah for the last 29 years. Stop jailing drug users: MAF ‘Treat and support’ better option as current approach of incarcerating addicts clearly ineffective and even harmful, says foundation. Ministry mulls first AI polytech Technical varsities will collaborate by transferring, sharing of skilled personnel and cutting-edge technology: Minister Report on — page 3 Report on — page 4 Report on — page 2 Report on — page 5 The ringgit was traded at RM4.7925 against the US dollar and RM3.5688 against the Singapore dollar yesterday. – ADIB RAWI YAHYA/THESUN
FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 2 SOLEMN OCCASION ... Funeral prayers being held for former Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud at the family cemetery in Demak Jaya, Kuching yesterday. Among the dignitaries present was the Sultan of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. – BERNAMAPIC Cause for optimism despite ringgit’s depreciation PETALING JAYA: The government has been urged to manage spending more effectively, maintain low inflation and ensure a stable interest rate environment to halt the ringgit’s depreciation, which is also caused by external factors beyond Malaysia’s control. Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior research fellow Dr Azmi Hassan said there remains optimism about the country’s long-term economic trajectory. “Sound fiscal management and structural reforms in stabilising the economy and boosting investor confidence are vital.” While acknowledging the hurdles faced by the ringgit, Azmi stressed that Malaysia remains economically resilient despite having to embark on measures to address current challenges. “Policies aimed at enhancing productivity and fostering economic growth are essential to strengthen the ringgit. While it struggles against major currencies like the US and Singapore dollars, there is still room for economic growth and expansion.” oExperts: Currency’s struggle against US, Singapore dollars notwithstanding, opportunities abound for economic growth █ BYSIVANISVARRY MORHAN [emailprotected] Delegation of MPs visit Egypt to support Palestine PUTRAJAYA: A five-member delegation of parliamentarians, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin, is on a special visit to Egypt from Feb 21 to 24 to reiterate Malaysia’s staunch support for the Palestinian cause. The delegation members include Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh (Ledang-PKR), Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman (Sik-PAS), Datuk Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy (Kalabakan-Umno) and Senator Datuk Dr Mohd Hattta Md Ramli (Amanah), said the Foreign Ministry in a statement. The delegation will visit the Rafah-Gaza border checkpoints through which the emergency and humanitarian relief supplies from Malaysia are channelled into Gaza. “This arrangement is undertaken in close collaboration with the Egyptian government and Ops Ihsan.” Other programmes include a courtesy call on Egypt’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hamdi Loza, a meeting with Egyptian Red Crescent CEO Dr Rami Al Nazer and a visit to a hospital managed by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). “Discussions will also be held on cooperation with Ops Ihsan to assist affected Palestinians, including those seeking medical treatment in Egypt,” the statement added. There will be a symbolic ceremony to hand over donations from Malaysia to the Egyptian Red Crescent and PRCS amounting to US$250,000 (RM1.2 million) and US$500,000 (RM2.4 million), respectively. A total of 100 tonnes of humanitarian assistance (worth RM5.6 million or US$1.2 million) was successfully flown to the El-Arish Airport in November and December. The items delivered included medicine, medical equipment, food and winter supplies such as blankets, tents and clothing. The humanitarian aid was made possible via contributions by the Malaysian public, agencies and companies to Akaun Amanah Kemanusiaan Rakyat Palestine. Reject fanaticism, Muslims urged PUTRAJAYA: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar has advised Muslims to avoid fanaticism and instead always adhere to a balance of knowledge and facts. He urged all parties to refer to state Islamic Religious Departments on matters concerning the qualifications of preachers. “Fanaticism in any matter is dangerous to both oneself and society. It will cause someone to be easily influenced by claims made by certain individuals or groups,” he said in a statement yesterday. Mohd Na’im said the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) is following the developments reported by a local newspaper on the lineage of the Prophet. He said the Islamic Development Department would cooperate closely with Islamic religious authorities, especially state Islamic Religious Departments and the police to investigate the revelations by the newspaper. “The Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) will not compromise with any party attempting to exploit religion for personal or group interests.” Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said yesterday the authorities would continue monitoring an Algerian man claiming to be a descendant of Prophet Muhammad, and who has given religious talks in the country. He said the ministry would cooperate with state authorities to take action against the man, identified as Mawla Muhammad Amin al-Idrisi, if he has breached any law. – Bernama King attends Rulers conference KUALA LUMPUR: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia attended the second day of the 265th Meeting of the Conference of Rulers yesterday at Istana Negara. The Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah presided over the meeting. Also present were the Sultan of Terengganu Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, the Sultan of Kedah Al-Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah, the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah and the Yang diPertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir. Johor was represented by the Regent of Johor Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, Perlis by the Regent of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail, Pahang by the Crown Prince Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin AlMustafa Billah Shah and Kelantan by the Crown Prince Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra. Penang Governor Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, Malacca Governor Tun Mohd Ali Rustam and Sabah Governor Tun Juhar Mahiruddin also attended the meeting. Sarawak Governor Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar was absent as he was attending the state funeral of his predecessor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was also in attendance. – Bernama Yesterday, the ringgit was traded at RM4.7925 against the US dollar and RM3.5688 against the Singapore dollar. Commenting on the strength of Malaysia’s trade despite the ringgit’s fall, Azmi said the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation reported last month that trade surpassed the RM2 trillion mark for the period from January to October 2023, and reached RM2.181 trillion. “Exports amounted to RM1.186 trillion, while imports were valued at RM995 billion. Official projections of Malaysia’s economic growth this year stand at 3.5%. These figures further cement our long-term viability.” Economist Prof Geoffrey Williams expressed optimism that the ringgit’s depreciation provides growth opportunities. “It is important to note that currency value is influenced by a multitude of factors, including domestic economic conditions, global market dynamics, geopolitical developments and investor sentiment.” He said while US monetary policy plays a significant role in shaping an economy, it does not directly influence currency exchange rates as commonly believed. Williams called for a comprehensive approach to strengthen the ringgit by boosting exports and reducing the trade deficit. “These two measures alone will contribute to a stronger currency. The government can support export-oriented industries by providing them incentives, facilitating access to international markets, negotiating favourable trade agreements and investing in trade-related infrastructure. “Diversifying export markets and products can also help reduce reliance on a few key trading partners or commodities, making the economy more resilient to external shocks, supporting currency stability. “Also, we must remember that Japan aims to invest more in Malaysia and deepen comprehensive strategic partnerships between the two countries this year. “Japan has been Malaysia’s fourth largest trading partner for eight successive years since 2015. Trade with it accounted for 6.4% of Malaysia’s total trade at US$41.26 billion (RM197.64 billion). More of such investments will help further strengthen the ringgit.” The Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry is optimistic that 2024 will be a stronger year for foreign direct investments in Malaysia. See also page 13
FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 3 Stop jailing drug users: MAF o‘Treat and support’ better option as current approach of incarcerating addicts clearly ineffective and even harmful, says foundation KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian AIDS Foundation (MAF) has called on the government to “decriminalise drug offences” and reconsider jailing drug users in favour of treatment and support instead. Its chairman Prof Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman made the call at a Drug Policy Reform Media Workshop on Wednesday to enhance better understanding of existing drug policies while advocating policy reforms. “We should decriminalise drug offences to stop jailing the users and instead provide them with treatment. The reason for this is clear because even after 50 years, it’s evident that the current approach (of jailing drug users) is ineffective and even harmful. Thousands of HIV cases occur annually because of drug use and needle sharing. “A study shows 50% of individuals who enter prisons without receiving adequate treatment or support will relapse into drug use within six months of their release.” Adeeba said the government’s approach to drug abuse by jailing addicts is ineffective, as it only leads to prison overcrowding, increased prevalence of disease, and higher costs including expenses for managing thousands of daily court cases and conducting urine tests. The Prisons Department said prisons in the country are experiencing a surge in overcrowding particularly due to the rise in the number of individuals linked to drug abuse. As of September last year, the prison population in the country reached 75,379 persons, surpassing its capacity of 69,816. Notably, 70.4% of the inmates, or 53,072 persons, were convicted of drugrelated offences. Adeeba said the National AntiDrugs Agency reported that Malay inmates constituted the largest proportion of prisoners at 80.4%, followed by Chinese at 6.4% and Indians at 4%. “Individuals aged between 19 and 39 comprised the majority at 59.6%, followed by those over 40 at 39.9%. Adolescents aged between 13 and 18 constituted 0.4% of those charged with drug offences.” MAF drug policy programme director Palini Narayanan said the average daily cost to house and feed a prisoner jailed for drug offences is between RM38 and RM41 or between RM726,024,960 and RM794,222,480 annually for all those jailed for drug offences. “While imprisonment remains a viable option for those heavily dependent on drugs, only between 10% and 20% of those imprisoned exhibit severe dependency issues related to drug use. “This underscores the importance of considering other interventions based on the individuals’ specific needs and circumstances, rather than having a default prison term as the primary solution.” He said there are numerous treatment options available for individuals struggling with drug use, including counselling and monitoring their usage. “Treatments should be tailored to individuals based on whether they are experimental users, regulars or dependent on it. “We have community-based treatment services such as Pengasih that offers a good residential programme that includes counselling, group therapy, religious teachings, vocational and family support.” Palani said a different mechanism should be enforced within the criminal justice system, such as a Drug Use Prevention and Treatment Commission where experts can assess a drug user to identify if he is an experimental, regular or dependent user. “This will ensure they get the right treatment. The healthcare aspect requires improvements and it is crucial to review existing drug laws, many of which are outdated.” Palani said the transition towards a healthcare-oriented approach that also addresses peer support and community assistance is essential in this endeavour. “With this approach, individuals struggling with drug dependency can receive comprehensive support that extends beyond medical treatment alone.” AI among new methods to address flooding issues: Zahid OSAKA: Malaysia is set to adopt several new methods utilised by Japan in disaster management, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and big data, to address flooding issues in the country. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi stated that such approaches have proven effective in tackling natural disasters, particularly in the long term. Ahmad Zahid, who is also the National Disaster Management Committee chairman, said these efforts will be coordinated by the National Disaster Management Agency and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage. “I believe the experience here in Osaka is crucial for us to prepare long-term plans so that flooding problems can be managed effectively.L “To address flooding problems, it’s not just about providing welfare to flood victims but also about how irrigation, drainage and flood control should be carried out together with new technologies,” he said. Ahmad Zahid, who is on a seven-day working visit to Japan, said this to Malaysian media after receiving a briefing on disaster management in Osaka. Commenting further, he noted what was learned from the local authorities in Osaka can be applied in Malaysia, including in flood mitigation and the installation of large-capacity water pumps, which have been carried out here for the past 45 years. “Long-term solution issues must be addressed when the costs for installation, repairs, modifications and upgrades are not too high compared with when they are done for the next 30 or 50 years,” he said. – Bernama Suggestion to extend passport validity gets thumbs up PETALING JAYA: The Home Ministry’s move to explore the possibility of extending the validity of Malaysian passports to 10 years has been hailed as one that will convenience frequent travellers. Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail recently said the department is studying the viability of Malaysia keeping in line with the 10-year passport renewal period as adopted by Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. “I believe we could obtain the information from the survey and come to a policy decision on extending the validity of our passport to 10 years,” he said. Clara Sebastian, 48, said: “This extension to 10 years will be a great help to those of us who travel frequently. It will help us save money on frequent passport renewals and bring our passport rules in line with global standards.” She said the extended passport validity will also allow for the planning of long-term travel itineraries. Hello Holidays Sdn Bhd managing director Tai Poh Kim said increasing the passport validity to 10 years will be convenient for frequent travellers. “With the frequency of renewals reduced, the public can save money and gain from greater convenience. It will also reduce the workload at passport offices.” Tai said the availability of online passport applications had already reduced congestion at immigration offices, and extending its validity will further reduce it. “Longer passport validity means fewer passports printed over time, which can contribute to saving paper and printing costs as well. “It will also facilitate smoother travel arrangements for the public, enhance their global mobility and foster stronger international connections. “While the proposal is still under consideration, it holds promising implications for individuals and the nation as a whole,” he said. TECH SHOW ... Visitors looking at a drone at the Malaysia Technology Expo where innovators showcase their innovations and latest technologies at the World Trade Centre , Kuala Lumpur for three days beginning yesterday. – AMIRUL SYAFIQ/THESUN █ BYQIRANA NABILLA MOHD RASHIDI [emailprotected] █ BYSIVANISVARRY MORHAN [emailprotected] MOH mulls health clinic hours PUTRAJAYA: The implementation of a pilot project to extend the operating hours of clinics near hospitals last year has been reviewed, and the request to continue the payment of the locum allowance is currently under consideration by the government. The Health Ministry (MOH), in a statement, said at present, medical officers directed to work on Saturdays and public holidays are still eligible to claim the locum allowance, while on Sundays, involving working hours from 9am to 1pm, they can claim replacement leave subject to the department head’s approval. The MOH said the pilot project was implemented from March 25 to Dec 31 last year, taking into account congestion issues in hospitals. – Bernama Tourism pillar in MalaysiaUzbekistan ties KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism is considered one of the pillars of cooperation in the bilateral relations between Uzbekistan and Malaysia, said Uzbekistan ambassador to Malaysia Karomidin Gadoev. He said the tourism industry is essential for both Uzbekistan and Malaysia’s economic sectors. “Uzbekistan has a rich history, culture, architecture and cuisine. We have a visa-free policy for citizens of Malaysia for a period of 30 days,” he said during Malaysia-Uzbekistan business-to-business meeting here attended by tourism players of both countries yesterday. He said Uzbekistan’s tourism industry presents various segments of tourism, including culture, ziyarah (visit), gastronomic and winter, as well as meeting, incentives, conferences and exhibitions or MICE-tourism, and other packages for Malaysians. – Bernama
FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 4 @thesundaily FOLLOW ON TWITTER Malaysian Paper Popular Bayan Lepas waterfall site in state of neglect GEORGE TOWN: The Bayan Lepas Waterfall, also known as Pak Lah’s waterfall, was once a favourite spot among the locals for picnics and recreational activities. However, it is now neglected and unkept . The site where former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi enjoyed swimming during his childhood is marred by rubbish, and the once-clear water is murky and polluted. A check found that the signboards at the entrance of the waterfall, about 400m from the main road, were in poor condition. The road leading up to the site is overgrown with weeds, indicating that it had not been maintained for a long time. Kampung Bukit resident Daud Abd Rani, 60, said the situation posed a safety threat to locals. He expressed worry that poisonous animals such as snakes might make the area their habitat. “We used to bathe there when we were kids. Back then, the water was clean, and there were even freshwater prawns and fish. “Pak Lah (Tun Abdullah) also used to swim here when he was young. This place was well taken care of when he was in office, and many people came for picnics. But after his tenure as prime minister, this place was neglected and became overgrown with weeds,” he said. Another resident, Khazari Abdul Shukor, 30, said villagers have stopped swimming at the waterfall since a housing project was developed next to the area over 10 years ago. He claimed that since the flat project was completed, foreign residents would dump rubbish from their homes onto the hillside, tarnishing the scenery and creating foul odours,” he said. Penang Island City Council Mayor Datuk A. Rajendran said the waterfall is under the jurisdiction of the Irrigation and Drainage Department. The council had conducted a site visit on Feb 14 and would take short-term measures to address the issue of illegal dumping. “We will organise awareness programmes for the surrounding residents. The council will also conduct operations to clean up the rubbish along the road leading to the waterfall,” he said. – Bernama RM2b levy collection highest in 2023: HR minister KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) collected levies totaling RM2.2 billion in 2023, compared with RM1.81 billion the previous year. Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said the levy collection for the past year is the highest record since the establishment of HRD Corp in 1993. Sim said the corporation also achieved its best performance in approving financial aid grants of RM1.78 billion, and facilitating over 2.2 million training slots last year. “As a comparison, HRD Corp collected levies amounting to RM1.81 billion, approved over RM728 million in training fund claims, and approved 1.15 million training slots in 2022,” he said during his speech at the 2024 HRD Corp Chinese New Year celebration on Wednesday night. Sim said the Human Resources Ministry was committed to providing quality training programmes to all Malaysians to enhance productivity and the country’s economy. “This aligns with our 3K focus to improve Welfare, Skills and Productivity among Malaysian workers,” he said. Sim (fifth from right) joins the tossing of Yee Sang at the HRD Corp CNY celebration. – COURTESY PIC Ministry mulls setting up of first AI polytechnic KUALA LUMPUR: The Higher Education Ministry will look into the establishment of a dedicated polytechnic for the country’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) programme, its minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said. Discussions were held with Polytechnic and Community College Education Department director-general Dr Mohd Zahari Ismail during their visit to the University of Tsukuba in Ibaraki, Japan recently, he said. The university is a leading research university in Japan with an AI research centre. “We have reached an agreement to collaborate in the field of AI through the transfer and sharing of skilled personnel and relevant cutting-edge technology. “Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Malacca, representing the Malaysian Technical University Network (Mtun), along with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, oTechnical varsities will collaborate by transferring, sharing skilled personnel and cutting-edge technology with Japan: Zambry School to get temporary building JOHOR BAHRU: The Education Ministry has approved an allocation of RM6 million for the construction of a temporary building for Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Perigi Acheh, Pasir Gudang near here. Johor Education and Information Committee chairman Aznan Tamin said the building would be constructed near the school’s original structure in June and would be fully completed by Dec 1. He said the original wooden structure of the school had been closed since July 30, 2021, as it was no longer safe for learning sessions. Since then, all students have been accommodated at SK Tanjong Langsat, Pasir Gudang. “The temporary building will be ready for the 2025 schooling session,” he said after visiting SK Perigi Acheh yesterday. Aznan said the state government, together with the Johor Education Department, is applying to the Education Ministry for the reconstruction of SK Perigi Acheh under the Rolling Plan 5 of the 12th Malaysia Plan this year. The state government is also allocating RM50,000 for the transport costs of SK Perigi Acheh students to SK Tanjong Langsat on each schooling day. – Bernama Restoration move for watercraft IPOH: The Perak State Development Corporation is in the final stages of handing over the Balai Gambang Cempaka Sari watercraft to the Public Works Department (PWD) for restoration and maintenance purposes, with an estimated cost of RM100,000. The corporation said in a statement the initiative is also to preserve and maintain the watercraft as a heritage asset of the state. “Perak PWD had identified its damage in November last year, such as decayed pillars and walls, torn wallpaper, as well as floor leaks in the middle section of the structure. The corporation is also in discussions with the Perak Museum to make the watercraft a heritage exhibit,” it said. The watercraft was built on May 13, 2015, in conjunction with the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah’s installation ceremony, as a symbolic representation of the Perak Malay Sultanate. – Bernama which is developing an AI Studies Centre in Malaysia, will be involved in this collaboration,” he said in a statement. Zambry had accompanied Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on a seven-day working visit to Japan from Feb 17. Zambry also said Malaysia is the University of Tsukuba’s choice to open its branch at Universiti Malaya, which is expected to be operational in September. “The opening of this campus will attract more foreign students to Malaysia, and the internationalisation of higher education processes like this will help boost the country’s economy. “At the same time, the university has an Artificial Intelligence Research Centre established seven years ago,” he said. Zambry also suggested that all higher education institutions consider formulating a Social Implementation Education programme in the national higher education system, as practised by the National Institute of Technology, Tokyo College (Tokyo Kosen). He noted that this was because in Kosen, students aged 15 and above are allowed to unleash their creativity, generating solutions for Japanese societal problems, thereby aiding the government in effectively addressing specific issues, Bernama reported. He said the five-year programme implemented by Kosen is capable of producing graduates who are always in demand by major companies such as Panasonic, Sony and Honda. Zambry also said a new collaboration will be formed between his ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), focusing on funds from Jica in the field of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). “This provides an opportunity for Mtun universities and polytechnics to explore TVET areas more extensively.” He said there is also an agreement to explore collaboration in the fields of the Internet of Things, AI, and Information and Communication Technology between Tokyo University of Science and several local universities and polytechnics. Sim also asked HRD Corp to make training programmes accessible to all segments of society, especially micro, small and medium-sized enterprise entrepreneurs, as well as individuals in rural areas, to ensure that no one misses the opportunity for training and development. He also hopes that HRD Corp will continue forging partnerships with other stakeholders to push and promote skills development in the country so that Malaysia will one day achieve Ivy League status in training and development. HRD Corp chairman Datuk Abu Huraira Abu Yazid said all the success achieved last year would not have been possible without the help and support from other organisations. “Our open house is a show of our appreciation to every registered employer, training provider and all our stakeholders for working together to support the government’s nation-building agenda,” he said. – Bernama
FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 5 Teacher’s 29-year career ends in jail time oSentenced to 10 months in prison, fined RM6,000 for possessing fake identity card while working at a school KENINGAU: A man was sentenced to 10 months in prison and fined RM6,000 by the magistrate’s court yesterday for using a fake identity card to work as a teacher at a school in Tenom, near here, for the past 29 years. Magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani imposed the sentence on Ridal Abdul Kadir, 53, after the accused pleaded guilty to the charge. Ridal was ordered to serve the sentence from the date of his arrest on Jan 29, and that failure to pay the RM6,000 fine would result in a six-month imprisonment. The accused settled the fine. He was charged under Section 25(1)(e) of the National Registration Regulations 1990, which provides for a maximum imprisonment of three years or a fine not exceeding RM20,000, or both. According to the facts of the case, a document inspection was conducted in the parking area of the school’s teachers quarters leading to the accused being arrested on suspicion of possessing a fake identity card with the number 700711-12-5369 under the name Ridal Bin Abdul Kadir, Bernama reported. Checks by the National Registration Department (NRD) revealed that the accused had used the counterfeit national identity card with the stated number and name to work as a teacher at the said school. A review of records found that an identity card with the same number and name had been MACC records statement from former finance minister KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner, Tan Sri Azam Baki announced that the statement of a former finance minister has been recorded to aid in investigations into corruption allegations related to a government fleet project worth RM4.5 billion. He mentioned that the former finance minister was summoned to explain the awarding of contracts for the supply and management of government vehicles to Spanco Sdn Bhd (Spanco), the sole concessionaire for supplying and maintaining government vehicles. “We will call anyone, including former prime ministers and former ministers, involved in authorising the project,” he said after the 10th Certified Integrity Officers convocation ceremony at the World Trade Centre. The ceremony was officiated by the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali yesterday. Azam said the former finance minister summoned by MACC had served in the government administration from 2020 to 2021. “Many witnesses have already been called, except for the former prime minister. I leave it to the investigators to decide when (if necessary) to call him,” he said. Most recently, MACC had summoned over 20 witnesses to assist in investigations into the case on Feb 6. When asked whether the Spanco issue had a political agenda, Azam stated that as MACC chief commissioner he is responsible for carrying out his duties based on legal obligations, complaints and allegations received by his office. “For now, it is my responsibility that anything given (as a complaint) to us will be investigated,” he said. In January, the media reported that MACC would investigate the involvement of certain individuals in the government concerning allegations of corruption in the procurement and management of the Malaysian government’s vehicle fleet. – Bernama Man arrested for beating mother KUALA LUMPUR: A 36-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly beating his mother with a steering wheel, believed to be due to his dissatisfaction that a shoe cabinet had blocked access to his room. Ampang Jaya district police chief ACP Mohd Azam Ismail said in the incident at 12.30am on Tuesday night, the 74-year-old victim suffered broken teeth and injuries to her head. He said the elderly woman was reportedly asleep when the suspect approached and began beating her. “Upon witnessing the incident, the victim’s younger brother, who is in his 30s, intervened to calm his brother down, but he also ended up being punched,” he said in a statement. The suspect, who is unemployed, was arrested shortly after his mother lodged a police report about the incident. – Bernama Muhyiddin’s son-inlaw charged with CBT Thrill-seeker busted for ‘drifting’ BATU PAHAT: A thrill-seeker was held for a dangerous stunt after a viral video showed his “drifting” manoeuvre with his car hitting a fourwheel drive parked at Jalan Desa Botani 1, Taman Desa Botani. Batu Pahat acting chief of police Supt. Shahrulanuar Mushaddat Abdullah Sani said the 20-year-old local man was suspected of executing the drift at 12.15am on Feb 20. He said the Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Division of Batu Pahat was alerted to a 37-second viral video on Facebook showing the suspect’s prowess at the manoeuvre of controlled skidding and powering the car out of a steep bend. “Acting on further investigation, the man in question, who is a factory worker, was tracked down and arrested though a urine screening found him negative for drugs. “We will apply for a remand order on the suspect at the Batu Pahat Magistrate’s Court,” he said. Shahrulanuar said the case will be investigated under Section 42(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for reckless and dangerous driving. – Bernama Ridal being led out by an NRD officer after sentencing in court. – BERNAMAPIC KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s son-in-law Datuk Seri Muhammad Adlan Berhan, is required to return to Malaysia to face several criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges. Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the commission is ready to charge him in court but it cannot be done as the man has not been located or returned to Malaysia. “The MACC has submitted the investigation papers for prosecution in court,” he said after attending the 10th Convocation of the Certified Integrity Officer Programme at the World Trade Centre yesterday. Last October, Bukit Aman CID chief Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said police submitted the documents required for the issuance of the Interpol Red Notice against Muhammad Adlan and his lawyer Mansoor Saat. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. Muhammad Adlan, 48 and Mansor, 69, are being investigated by the MACC concerning misappropriation in the registration, recruitment and biometric storage of foreign workers. MACC said records showed that Muhammad Adlan and Mansoor left the country on May 17 and 21, respectively. – Bernama Fined for selling diesel to unlicensed company IPOH: A diesel wholesaler company was fined RM95,000 by the sessions court yesterday after recording a guilty plea to a charge of selling diesel, which is a scheduled controlled item, to an unlicensed company two years ago. Judge Azizah Ahmad imposed the penalty on Chin Kah Hei, the director of Chin Kok Keong Trading, and further ordered a six-month prison term if he failed to settle the fine. Chin, a business partner at the company, was charged with selling 10,920 litres of diesel to K2 Bitumen Sdn Bhd, which did not have a license or written approval from the supply officer at Taman Perindustrian Tungzen, Kampung Kepayang in Batu Gajah, between 8am and 5pm on Dec 28, 2022. The charges were filed under Regulation 9(2) of the Control of Supplies Regulations 1974, andh is punishable by a maximum fine of RM1 million or imprisonment of up to three years or both. – Bernama Director obtains passport for business trip KUALA LUMPUR: The sessions court yesterday granted the application by the Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd director, Datuk Abdul Hamid Shaikh Abdul Razak Shaikh, to temporarily obtain his passport for a work-related trip to the US and Germany. Judge Suzana Hussin allowed the temporary return of Abdul Hamid Shaikh’s passport, from yesterday until Mar 20 after his lawyer Weera Premananda informed the court that his client needed to go on a business trip to the US from Feb 23 to Mar 1 and to promote Malaysia at the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents exhibition in Berlin, Germany, from Mar 5 to Mar 7. On Apr 5 last year, Abdul Hamid Shaikh, 50, was charged with offering a bribe through Datuk Tan Ser Lay, 60, as an incentive to Tan Sri Annuar Musa, who was then the communications and multimedia minister, to expedite the takeover of the management and administration of the Kuala Lumpur Tower concession by Hydroshoppe. – Bernama issued by the NRD, though with a temporary resident status. Further scrutiny also revealed that the accused possessed a temporary identification document with the same number and name, and his birth certificate showed he was a noncitizen. Earlier during proceedings, NRD prosecuting officer Mohd Naser Mohd Nadzeri requested for a deterrent sentence to be imposed based on public interest and social justice, emphasising that possessing a counterfeit identity document is an unethical and irresponsible action. However, Ridal’s lawyer, Korventt Wheezar, requested leniency, highlighting that throughout his 29 years of teaching at the school, the accused had a clean record and consistently displayed good behavior, in addition to pleading guilty to the charge.
FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 6 Enclosed is my payment of RM payable to SUN MEDIA CORPORATION SDN BHD. Please WhatsApp your bank-in slip to 0182929936 or email to [emailprotected] *Not inclusive of vendor service charge Stay informed with the latest news and trends All the best articles from Monday to Friday 32 pages full colour Subscribe now for Monday-Friday copies of theSun newspaper 6 month subscription (128 issues) for only RM110* (Normal price RM128) 1 year subscription (258 issues) for only RM200* (Normal price RM258) 1 year subscription at normal price RM258* (258 issues) + RM50 administration fee to get 2nd year free PERSONAL PARTICULARS Name: NRIC: Race: Malay Chinese Indian Others Profession: Commencement date: Delivery Address: Residence Ofice Postcode: State: Tel: Mobile No: E-mail: DETAILS OF CURRENT NEWS VENDOR (IF ANY) Vendor name: Contact no: For your convenience, you may call or send in your subscription particulars via any of the following: Tel: KL/PJ 03-7781 4000, 03-7784 6688 (9.30am - 5pm, Monday to Friday) Fax: 03-7781 4484 Post: P.O. Box 179, Jalan Sultan, 46720 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan Attn: Subscription Email: [emailprotected] *Terms & Conditions apply Important note: SMCSB reserves the right to revise the price at any time without prior notice. (*Limited to ffrst 1,000 subscribers) Pay to Maybank ( Account number 508177700420 ) Account name ( SUN MEDIA CORPORATION SDN BHD ) Nov 8 to Nov 10 Malaysian Paper www.thesun.my RM1 WEDNESDAY NOV 8, 2023 No. 8389 PP 2644/12/2012 (031195) SCAN ME Casino chip heist: Five more identified Police have detained a total of 10 suspects, including a Chinese national, in connection with the RM4.6m theft at Genting Highlands on Oct 28. Congratulations! You are holding the first edition A new sunrise of our new 32-page paper featuring more of the great content you have loved for the past 30 years. Copies will be free until Friday and will be available via subscription and at newsstands beginning Monday for only RM1. Muruku Buntong entrepreneur’s Deepavali snack, made from a still a national favourite 60-year-old recipe, is constantly in high demand. Chicken price float benefits consumers A week after subsidies ended, market prices are competitive and lower than subsidised prices, says expert. Full report —on page 3 Full report —on page 6 Full report —on page 4 Citing protection of country’s interests in terms of diplomatic, economic relations and security as reasons for joining meeting, Anwar says he remains steadfast in defending justice and rights of Palestinians. I will show up at Apec Story on page 2 Full story -on page 2 SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE Celebrating Jade Emperor’s birthday KLANG: The tiny backwater fishing village of Bagan Sungai Lima in the east of Pulau Ketam comes alive during the wee hours of the ninth day of Chinese New Year when its predominantly Hokkien community celebrates the birthday of the Jade Emperor. In fact, the celebrations on the first two days of the lunar calendar in this village are relatively quiet. For the Hokkien community, Ti Gong Dan or the birthday of the Jade Emperor is the most significant event during the 15-day Chinese New Year festivities. In Chinese mythology, the Jade Emperor is the supreme ruler of the deities and beings that dwell in the realms of heaven, earth and hell. The excitement leading up to Ti Gong Dan was evident recently at the Pulau Ketam jetty in Port Klang as family members and relatives of the villagers were seen taking the 25-minute ferry ride to the village on the eighth day of Chinese New Year (Feb 17). The highlight of the Jade Emperor’s birthday celebration is the special prayers, known as Bai Ti Gong, which starts at midnight on the ninth day of Chinese New Year (Feb 18) and continues until dawn. Bagan Sungai Lima third-generation resident and homestay operator Oscar Lee, 45, said the Chinese New Year festivities in A resident showing her display of offerings to the deities on Ti Gong Dan. – BERNAMAPIC oVillagers offer special prayers to express gratitude to deities for protection his village usually peak on the eighth day. “Typically, we do not celebrate much on the first and second days. We would just have a feast on the eve (of the first day). “In fact, most of the family heads here (who are fishermen) would venture out to the sea on the third day and return home only on the seventh or eighth day.” Lee said the quiet fishing village that is populated mainly by senior citizens becomes vibrant on the eve of Ti Gong Dan, Bernama reported. “The two main Taoist temples in the village hold festivals in honour of their respective deities during the fifth and 10th month of the lunar calendar. “We have 18 Taoist temples and shrines here, and we believe the deities have been protecting us since the establishment of our village 50 years ago.” For Bagan Sungai Lima resident and retired logistics manager Ng Aik Foo, his wife and their five children, Ti Gong Dan is an obligatory event during Chinese New Year. He said they start preparing for the celebrations a day earlier, including buying various prayer items and making special dishes such as roast pork, boiled chicken, roast duck and seafood, which are given as offerings during the midnight prayers. Ng, 62, said conducting special prayers on Ti Gong Dan is their way of expressing gratitude to the deity for protecting the Hokkien community in Fujian, China from pirate attacks during the Ming Dynasty. “The incidents occurred (during) the lunar new year and the villagers would hide in the sugar cane fields for nine days to escape pirate attacks. “On the ninth day, the pirates dispersed and the people felt safe. Coincidentally, the ninth day was also the birthday of the Jade Emperor. “Since then, the Hokkien community believed they were protected by the Jade Emperor who allowed them to seek refuge in the sugar cane fields. Therefore, it is mandatory for us to have sugar cane stalks for the birthday celebration,” Ng said. According to historical records, the Hokkien community from Fujian formed part of the early Chinese immigrants in Malaya, who established settlements in coastal areas including Pulau Ketam.
FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 7 UN expert says Myanmar govt increasingly desperate GENEVA: Myanmar’s military government has “doubled down” on civilian attacks while showing signs of becoming “increasingly desperate” by imposing military service, the UN special rapporteur on the country said. Earlier this month, the military said it would enforce a law allowing it to call up all men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 to serve for at least two years, as it struggles to quell opposition to its 2021 coup. “As the government forces young men and women into the military ranks, it has doubled down on its attacks on civilians using stockpiles of powerful weapons,” the UN’s Tom Andrews said in a statement. The military government faces widespread armed opposition to its rule three years after seizing power from an elected civilian government and recently suffered a series of stunning losses to an armed alliance of ethnic minority groups. He said that with the conscription law, the junta was trying to justify and expand its pattern of forced recruitment. In recent months, young men have reportedly been kidnapped from city streets or otherwise compelled into joining the military’s ranks, Andrews said. “Young people are horrified by the possibility of being forced to participate in the reign of terror. The numbers fleeing across borders to escape conscription will surely skyrocket.” Former US congressman Andrews is the special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar. Special rapporteurs are mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but are independent figures and do not speak for the United Nations. Andrews deplored the “inaction” of the UN Security Council and urged countries to strengthen measures to reduce the junta’s access to money and weapons. He also called on the international community to increase humanitarian aid to the conflict-stricken country. “Now, more than ever, the international community must act urgently to isolate the junta and protect the people of Myanmar.” The military government came to power in the February 2021 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government, ending a 10-year experiment with democracy and plunging the Southeast Asian nation into bloody turmoil. – AFP Claim of intrusion ‘inaccurate’, says Philippine coast guard MANILA: A Philippine coast guard official yesterday described as “inaccurate” its Chinese counterpart’s claim that a fisheries vessel “illegally intruded” into Beijing’s waters. The Chinese coast guard said earlier yesterday it drove away a vessel of the Philippines’ Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and accused them of “illegally intruding” into its waters near Scarborough Shoal. “This statement is inaccurate. The BFAR vessel, BRP Datu Sanday, continues to patrol the waters of Bajo De Masinloc. The vessel is actively ensuring the security of Filipino fishermen in that area,” said Commodore Jay Tarriela, the coast guard’s spokesperson on South China Sea issues. Located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, the Scarborough Shoal is also claimed by China. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than US$3 trillion (RM14 trillion) in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal said China’s claims had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has rejected. – Reuters Protests force Seoul hospitals to turn away patients SEOUL: The emergency departments at three of South Korea’s biggest hospitals were on red alert yesterday as trainee doctors vowed to stay off the job in protest at government plans to increase medical school admissions to boost the healthcare sector. The protest by almost two-thirds of the country’s young doctors, which began this week, has forced hospitals to turn away patients and cancel procedures, raising fears about further disruptions to the medical system should the dispute drag on. So far, more than 8,400 doctors have joined the walkout, the Health Ministry said, equivalent to about 64% of the entire resident and intern doctors in South Korea. The government has threatened to arrest the doctors leading the walkout. The physicians are protesting against a government plan to increase the number of students admitted to medical school in a bid to bolster the healthcare system of one of the world’s most rapidly ageing societies. The doctors say the real issue is pay and working conditions. Park Dan, head of the Korea Interns and Residents Association which is taking part in the protest, said he was willing to be arrested, so that the doctors’ demands are heard. “Everyone is angry and frustrated, so we are all leaving hospitals. Please hear our voices,” he said in a radio interview, adding they were open to dialogue if the government was Doctors on their rounds at Severance Hospital in Seoul. – REUTERSPIC oGovt threatens to arrest walkout leaders B R I E F SDUO CHARGED WITH TRAFFICKING WASHINGTON: US authorities on Wednesday charged the leader of a Japanese crime syndicate with conspiring to traffic nuclear materials from Myanmar for expected use by Iran in nuclear weapons. Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, and co-defendant Somphop Singhasiri, 61, trafficked in drugs, weapons and nuclear material, “going so far as to offer uranium and weapons-grade plutonium fully expecting that Iran would use it for nuclear weapons,” said Anne Milgram, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Both men have been ordered detained. Ebisawa is accused of conspiring to sell weapons-grade nuclear material and lethal narcotics from Myanmar and to buy military weapons on behalf of an insurgent group, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said. “It is chilling to imagine the consequences had these efforts succeeded,” he said. The two men were charged in 2022 with narcotics trafficking and firearms offences. The new charges were contained in a superseding indictment. – Reuters META: VOLUNTARY NEWS POSTS ARE FREE JAKARTA: Facebook parent Meta Platforms said it understood it was not required to pay for content of news publishers posted voluntarily by users in Indonesia, following a regulation seeking a sharing of profits between digital platforms and media firms. Indonesia’s president signed a regulation on Monday requiring digital platforms to pay media outlets that provide them with content, a move aimed at levelling the playing field between big tech companies and the media industry. Rafael Frankel, Meta’s public policy director in Southeast Asia, said in an emailed reply that after consultations, it understood it was not “obliged to pay for news content posted by news publishers voluntarily to our platform.” The regulation, which is expected to take effect within six months, stipulates that digital platforms are required to strike a partnership with news companies to share “revenue from the use of news by digital platforms produced by press companies”. Usman Kansong, a senior official at Indonesia’s Communications Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. – Reuters 15 KILLED AFTER TRUCK FALLS INTO RAVINE MANILA: Fifteen people died and two were injured when a truck carrying livestock traders veered off a winding road and plunged into a ravine 40-50m deep in central Philippines, the provincial police said yesterday. “The driver lost his brake and lost control,” Stephen Polinar, spokesperson of Negros Oriental’s provincial police office, told DWPM radio station. “It was raining for two days so the road was slippery.” Rescuers rushed to the accident area on Wednesday, and all passengers were accounted for, he said. The driver has been hospitalised and could face charges. The Philippines is notorious for its lax rules on public transport, including passenger overloading, and poor roads. – Reuters ready to hear their demands. Government officials are calling on doctors to stop their protests and prioritise their patients. Hundreds of Seoul doctors planned to hold a rally late yesterday in front of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office, according to the Seoul Medical Association. Many Koreans support the government’s plan, with a recent Gallup Korea poll showing about 76% of respondents in favour, regardless of political affiliation. The protesters, however, say South Korea has enough doctors, and that the government needs to increase pay and reduce the workload, particularly in key areas such as paediatrics and emergency medicine, before recruiting more students. Motel rooms and rental houses were fully booked near Seoul’s major hospitals by patients from the countryside whose procedures have been delayed. – Reuters
FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 8 their activity and reading private messages. It also laid out how the firm’s hackers could take over a person’s computer remotely. Other services included ways to breach smartphone systems, as well as custom hardware – including a powerbank that can extract data from a device and send it to the hackers. “The company listed other terrorismrelated targets the company had hacked previously as evidence of their ability to perform these tasks, including targeting counterterrorism centres in Pakistan and Afghanistan,” SentinelLabs analysts said. The leaked data also revealed the fees that hackers could earn, they said – including US$55,000 (RM263,588) from breaking into a government ministry in Vietnam. The FBI has said that China has the biggest hacking programme of any country. Beijing has dismissed the claims as “groundless” and pointed to the United States’s own history of cyber espionage. Pieter Arntz, a researcher at Malwarebytes, said the leak could possibly cause a shift in international diplomacy and expose the holes in the national security of several countries. – AFP BEIJING: A tech security firm was able to breach foreign governments, infiltrate social media accounts and hack personal computers, a massive data leak analysed by experts this week has revealed. The trove of documents from I-Soon, a private contractor that competed for government contracts, shows that its hackers compromised more than a dozen governments, according to cybersecurity firms SentinelLabs and Malwarebytes. I-Soon also breached “democracy organisations” in Hong Kong, universities and the Nato military alliance, SentinelLabs researchers wrote on Wednesday. The leaked data, the contents of w h i c h AFP was unable to immediately identify, was posted last week on the online software repository GitHub by an unknown individual. “The leak provides some of the most concrete details seen publicly to date, revealing the maturing nature of China’s cyber espionage ecosystem,” SentinelLabs analysts said. I-Soon was able to breach government offices in India, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea, Malwarebytes said in a separate post. I-Soon’s website was not available yesterday, though an internet archive snapshot of the site from Tuesday says it is based in Shanghai, with subsidiaries and offices in Beijing, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It contains files showing chatlogs, presentations and lists of targets, analysts said. Services offered to potential clients included breaking into an individual’s account on X – monitoring Private moon lander reaches lunar orbit LOS ANGELES: A moon lander built by Houstonbased company Intuitive Machines reached lunar orbit on Wednesday, heading for an attempt at the first US touchdown on Earth’s nearest celestial neighbour in more than 50 years, and the first ever by a private spacecraft. The six-legged robot lander, dubbed Odysseus, entered a circular orbit 92km above the lunar surface after firing its main rocket thruster for nearly seven minutes in an orbital insertion manoeuvre, the company said in an online statement. The spacecraft was expected to begin final descent with another blast from its main engine about an hour before landing, with touchdown planned for today at crater Malapert A near the moon’s south pole, according to Intuitive Machines’ latest flight plan. The vehicle is carrying a suite of science instruments and technology demonstrations for Nasa and several commercial customers designed to operate for seven days before the sun sets on the polar landing site. Odysseus remains “in excellent health”, the company said, adding that for the duration of its lunar orbit roughly 384,000km from Earth, mission controllers in Houston would monitor flight data from the spacecraft and transmit images of the moon. Odysseus, a 4 metre-high NOVA C-class lander, was launched six days ago, on Feb 15, atop a Falcon 9 rocket built and flown by Elon Musk’s California-based company SpaceX from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. If the landing succeeds, the IM-1 mission would represent the first controlled descent to the lunar surface by a US spacecraft since Apollo 17, when Nasa’s last crewed moon mission carried Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt landed there in 1972. It also would mark the first “soft landing” on the moon ever by a commercially manufactured and operated vehicle and the first under Nasa’s Artemis lunar programme, as the US races to return astronauts to Earth’s natural satellite before China lands its own crewed spacecraft there. – Reuters B R I E F SMARX’S GIFT TO DARWIN RETURNS HOME LONDON: A rare book gifted to Charles Darwin by Karl Marx in 1873, which may not have been read by its recipient, is returning to the English naturalist’s home for public display after conservation work. The founder of communism had sent the father of evolutionary theory a copy of Das Kapital, his critical analysis of capitalism, personally inscribing on the opening page: “On the part of his sincere admirer, Karl Marx”. But the bromance appears to have been one-sided. English Heritage, the charity that cares for Darwin’s home in Kent in southeastern England, said most of the book’s pages remain uncut, where pages remain connected at the top from the binding process. That suggests Darwin gave up any attempt to read it, the charity said. – Reuters ELTON JOHN ITEMS FETCH US$8M AT NEW YORK AUCTION NEW YORK: Nearly US$100,000 (RM479,250) for Elton John’s monogrammed silver boots and around US$2 million for a triptych by street artist Banksy from his collection: the music icon’s personal items brought in almost US$8 million at auction on Wednesday here. Christie’s auction house is running a series of eight sales, both in person and online, through Feb 28 for the collection of the 76-year-old’s belongings, including an ivory and gold glam rock jumpsuit from the early 1970s designed by Annie Reavey, which sold for US$12,600. As enthusiastic collectors made bids, John’s grand piano fetched over US$200,000, while a pair of sunglasses, a key element of the singer’s signature look, found a buyer for US$22,680, 10 times more than the initial estimate. The legendary musician wrapped up his farewell tour last year. – AFP Leak shows tech security firm hacked govt offices oDocuments analysed by experts show breaches Praise for ‘rock-solid’ Taiwan-US partnership TAIPEI: US Representative Mike Gallagher, who chairs the House of Representatives select committee on China, told Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in a visit to Taipei that the trip was to show bipartisan support for Taiwan. Gallagher, who arrived in Taiwan yesterday with a delegation of four other lawmakers, has been a strong friend of Taiwan and a fierce critic of China, which has ramped up military and political pressure to force the democratic island to accept its sovereignty. “Today we come, as Democrats and Republicans, to show our bipartisan support for this partnership, which thanks to your leadership is stronger and more rock-solid than ever,” Gallagher told Tsai in the presidential office. “Today, freedom is under attack from authoritarian aggression and we need to be more vigilant than ever if we want to pass on this gift of freedom we have been given to the next generation,” he said, calling Tsai “a leader within the free world”. China views Taiwan as its territory. The government in Taipei rejects that position, saying only the island’s people can decide their future. Beijing routinely denounces visits by foreign lawmakers to Taiwan, believing it seeks to stoke tensions and interferes in China’s affairs. Taiwan says it can invite whomever it wants and that China has no right to speak for Taiwan’s people. In the meeting, Tsai thanked the US government and parliament for continuing to help Taiwan strengthen its defences and said she hoped to see more Taiwan-US exchanges this year. In a separate meeting, Vice-President Lai Ching-te, who won election as Taiwan’s next president, said that facing great pressure from China, Taiwan will continue to enhance its self defence. In response, Gallagher said the United States will deepen partnership with Taiwan as Lai assumes presidency and that if China attempts to invade Taiwan the effort would fail. In December, Gallagher’s committee issued a list of bipartisan recommendations to reset US economic ties with China, setting out legislative goals for 2024 that it said would prevent the US from becoming the “economic vassal” of its chief geopolitical rival. Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said the US government has issued a notice for a US$75 million (RM359 million) arms sales to help Taiwan upgrade its Link-16 communications systems, which the ministry said will help coordinate its combat forces. – Reuters FIRE AND ICE ... Visitors pose for pictures near a dragon installation following snowfall at Shichahai lake in Beijing. – REUTERSPIC
FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 9 Brazil condemns ‘paralysis’ on Gaza, Ukraine oG20 meeting opens with deep divisions RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil criticised the “paralysis” of the UN Security Council on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine as it opened a G20 meeting on Wednesday where the international community’s deep divisions were on display. The outlook is bleak for progress on the thorny agenda of conflicts and crises gripping the planet as foreign ministers from the world’s biggest economies gather in Rio de Janeiro for the Group of 20’s first high-level meeting of the year. Opening the two-day meeting, which featured US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Brazil’s top diplomat, Mauro Vieira, said the explosion of global conflicts shows international institutions like the United Nations are not working. “Multilateral institutions are not properly equipped to deal with the current challenges, as has been demonstrated by the Security Council’s unacceptable paralysis on the ongoing conflicts” in Gaza and Ukraine, Vieira said, adding the situation was costing “innocent lives”. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell for his part warned multilateralism “is in crisis”. The Security Council has failed to act on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, held in check by Russian veto power, and has struggled to find a response to the war in Gaza, with Israel’s ally the United States using its veto to block calls for a ceasefire, most recently Tuesday. Brazil, which took over the rotating G20 presidency from India in December, has voiced hopes the group could be a forum to make progress on such questions. But that likely took a hit when Lula ignited a diplomatic firestorm Sunday by accusing Israel of “genocide”, comparing its military campaign in the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust. The comments drew outrage in Israel, which declared him persona non grata, and could overshadow Vladimir Putin’s invasion approaches. Despite a push by Western countries to condemn the invasion, the G20’s last summit ended with a watered-down statement denouncing the use of force but not explicitly naming Russia, which maintains friendly ties with India and Brazil, among other members. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he planned to use the Rio meeting to “call out Russia’s aggression” directly to Lavrov, as Britain announced sanctions on six Russian officials over opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death in prison last week. Lavrov lashed out at the West for “pumping Ukraine full of arms”. “Neither Kiev nor the West have shown the political will to resolve the conflict,” he told Brazilian newspaper O Globo. Blinken voiced pessimism on the chances for diplomacy on Ukraine in his meeting with Lula. “We don’t see the conditions for it right now,” a US official said. Brazil also wants to use its G20 presidency to push the fights against poverty. There will also be space for bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the gathering though a BlinkenLavrov encounter looks unlikely, given soaring tensions. Founded in 1999, the G20 brings together most of the world’s biggest economies. Originally an economic forum, it has grown increasingly involved in international politics. A Brazilian government source said that after recent G20 struggles for consensus, the hosts axed the requirement that every meeting produce a joint statement with the exception of the annual leaders’ summit, scheduled for November in Rio. – AFP Palestinians radio loved ones in Israeli jails RAMALLAH: Palestinians with relatives in Israeli prisons have been deprived of visiting rights during the Israel-Hamas war, opting instead to send messages to loved ones on a radio programme. “Hello, this message is for my brother Islam. How are you, my brother?” said one greeting sent via a Palestinian radio show called Messages for the Prisoners. “Your house is ready. When you get out, you will be all set to find someone to marry!” The show on popular Palestinian station Radio Ajyal, based in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, features personal messages from families that often end with the sentence: “We hope you will hear these words.” Campaigners say the number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has swelled to around 9,000, from about 5,200 before the Oct 7 attack that triggered the war. After waves of arrests and tough restrictions on detainees followed the attack, the radio station has been inundated with messages from relatives. In response, it has extended the show by more than an hour. “We get messages from everywhere as many families no longer have any news of their loved ones in prison,” said Walid Nasser, Radio Ajyal’s editor-in-chief. “Dear dad, I can’t wait for you to come back to take me to school,” said one of the messages, which are often read by children and sometimes marked by a suppressed sob. “Everything is fine at home, everything is fine at university, don’t worry,” said another message. The show’s host, Maysam Barghouti, who reads out some of the messages herself, said many families “are looking for hope to hold on to”. “The show is really the only means to communicate with a loved one or to get information.” Israeli prison authorities announced a “state of emergency” after Oct 7 to prevent potential involvement of inmates in any further unrest, cutting off visiting rights and barring phone calls. Radios have also been banned, but the families, as well as Radio Ajyal staff, hope that prisoners are still somehow able to tune in. The Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group said visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have also stopped. Both the ICRC and Israel declined to comment. While some Palestinians are detained without known charges, the most common grounds for arrest range from online calls for violence to alleged militant activity. Prison conditions have deteriorated since the start of the war, several rights groups have said based on official Israeli data and accounts from former inmates. – AFP Russia continues attacks on towns and villages B R I E F SRAFAH HIT BY AIRSTRIKES GAZA STRIP: Israel launched air strikes yesterday on southern Gaza’s Rafah after threatening to send troops against Hamas militants in the city where around 1.4 million Palestinians have sought refuge. Global powers trying to find a way to end the Israel-Hamas war have so far failed, but a US envoy was expected in Israel yesterday in the latest attempt to secure a truce deal. The war has also triggered mounting violence in the occupied West Bank, where three Palestinian gunmen opened fire yesterday on cars in a highway traffic jam, killing one and wounding eight including a young pregnant woman. The attackers were shot dead at the scene, near a Jewish settlement east of Jerusalem. Israeli far-right politicians quickly called for more citizens to carry weapons and for even greater restrictions on Palestinian West Bank residents. – AFP U.S. TAKES DOWN HOUTHI MISSILES WASHINGTON: American forces launched “self-defence strikes” against Houthi missiles and launch positions in rebelcontrolled Yemen that posed threats to commercial shipping and naval forces in the Red Sea, the US military said. The Iranbacked Houthis, who control much of war-torn Yemen, have been harassing the vital shipping lane since November in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war. – AFP AVDIIVKA: Ukrainian soldiers dug in around new positions outside of Avdiivka say Russian forces who captured the eastern Ukrainian town last week are pressing on towards nearby towns and villages. “It doesn’t end with them taking Avdiivka. They continue assaulting (our positions),” said Andriy, a Ukrainian drone pilot of the 47th Mechanised Brigade, sitting quietly in a darkened area. “After Avdiivka, the villages nearby are next. And then, Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk, the nearest larger towns.” Russian forces secured Avdiivka after months of bombardment reduced the town to rubble. It was Russia’s biggest battlefield victory since its forces captured Bakhmut in May 2023. The capture of Avdiivka, after months of little change in the front lines, indicated a change of momentum as the second anniversary of the Russian invasion nears. President Vladimir Putin says Russian troops will push further into Ukraine. Russian forces, Andriy said, have “a lot of manpower. There is lots of shelling. And KABs (guided aerial bombs) still bomb us as they used to. Well, perhaps there is a little less, but still a lot.” A member of the unit launches an FPV (First Point View) drone from a wooded area and, wearing goggles, controls its trajectory on a monitor. The whine of the drone eventually turns into a slight thud, indicating that an explosion has occurred. – Reuters A Palestinian woman pleads for justice near debris and destroyed vehicles yesterday in Rafah. – AFPPIC any bid to de-escalate the conflict via the G20. Blinken, who met Lula on Wednesday in Brasilia before heading to the G20, “made clear we disagree with (his) comments”, a senior State Department official told journalists. The secretary of state and Brazilian leader had a “frank exchange” in their more than 90- minute meeting at the presidential palace, the official said. More than four months after the Gaza war started with the Oct 7 attack in Israel, there is little sign of progress toward peace. The outlook is similarly grim on Russia’s war in Ukraine, which also has G20 members divided as the second anniversary of President
10 FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 Watch out for dengue warning signs THE recent surge in dengue cases reported nationwide underscores the importance of remaining vigilant of the warning signs associated with the illness. Dengue symptoms According to the Health Ministry’s Clinical Practice Guideline on dengue infection management, warning signs that individuals should monitor include abdominal pain, persistent vomiting (more than three times a day), persistent diarrhoea (more than three times a day), drowsiness, breathing difficulties, bleeding from gums or nose and black-coloured stool. Patients, especially those from the vulnerable group, should seek medical attention immediately if symptoms persist. Other primary signs include headache, body aches, rashes and pain behind the eyes. Although these symptoms may resemble those of the common flu, dengue fever is accompanied by severe muscle and joint pain and can advance to severe complications such as hemorrhagic fever (DHF) or dengue shock syndrome (DSS). DHF and DSS are characterised by severe internal bleeding, low platelet counts, plasma leakage and organ impairment. The typical diagnostic process for dengue fever involves a combination of clinical assessment and laboratory tests. Initially, the doctor will assess the patient’s symptoms and inquire about whether the patient resides in dengue-endemic areas or has recently travelled to regions with dengue outbreaks. Additionally, the doctor will examine the patient’s hemodynamic Malaysia reported an 86.3% increase in dengue cases last year compared with 2022. – ADIB RAWI YAHYA/THESUN Guiding parents in prioritising childcare Q: I am worried about the health of my 10-month-old granddaughter. While I deeply love my son and daughter-inlaw, during my recent visit, I noticed their house was filled with trash and mouldy food stuck to the carpet as well as dirty diapers spilling from the rubbish. Despite being old enough to start crawling, my granddaughter is confined to an infant seat to prevent her from going near these unhygienic conditions. Should I express my concerns over these troubling health hazards? Focus on the Family Malaysia: It is often advisable for grandparents to withhold advice unless solicited. However, given the severity of the situation you have described, it is probably time to intervene. It may be a good idea to enlist the support of another trusted adult, preferably someone your son respects, to advocate for your granddaughter alongside you. Raise the subject delicately yet directly. Help your son and daughter-inlaw understand that this extends beyond mere housekeeping preferences. It is about safeguarding their child’s health and well-being. Offer your assistance with the cleanup and provide support where needed. If they remain resistant or if improvements are not forthcoming within a reasonable timeframe, it may be necessary to strongly recommend professional cleaning services to reset the state of the house. Your son and daughter-in-law will benefit from practical child care training, and counselling may be warranted although this should be determined by professionals. As a grandparent, your priority is to facilitate the necessary support and services to elevate your son’s family to a higher level of functioning. Q: I have been married for six years, and while our relationship is generally good, my wife’s impulsive spending habits consistently stress me out. We have the same argument every month when we receive the credit card statement. She apologises and promises to change but then continues spending. What steps can I take to address this issue? Focus on the Family Malaysia: You have likely heard the adage that “insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results”. It seems evident from your description of your marital situation that a new approach is necessary. Money is undeniably an emotionally charged topic, often cited as a leading cause of marital strife and divorce. People spend and save for a variety of reasons that are often rooted in needs such as security, comfort, relational power and validation. Therefore, when you and your wife engage in your monthly credit card confrontations, it is more than just a discussion about finances. Instead of reacting to the bill each month, consider taking a proactive approach to address the issue. A good place to start is prioritising the essentials while collaboratively working on a budget that you and your wife can agree upon. Additionally, seeking guidance from a financial adviser can provide valuable assistance in navigating this challenge together. Given the emotional and relational tensions inherent in financial matters, it may also be beneficial to enlist the support of a skilled and empathetic marriage counsellor. Investing in counselling can yield significant dividends by strengthening your relationship. Wish you the best as you navigate this journey together. This article is contributed by Focus on the Family Malaysia, a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting and strengthening the family unit. It provides a myriad of programmes and resources, including professional counselling services, to the community. For more information, visit family.org.my. Comments: [emailprotected] “As a grandparent, your priority is to facilitate the necessary support and services to elevate your son’s family to a higher level of functioning.” UNDER ONE ROOF COMMENT status and check for signs of bleeding. Given that the clinical diagnosis of dengue is inconclusive, laboratory confirmation is necessary for a definitive diagnosis. Laboratory testing includes pointof-care with rapid dengue combo tests, dengue serology (used to identify antibodies against dengue) and dengue viral RNA detection (used to detect the genetic material, and RNA of dengue virus in the blood). Other blood tests include measuring the platelet count, red and white blood cells and hematocrit levels. Low platelet and low white cell counts are common findings in dengue. Additionally, renal function or liver function tests may be conducted to evaluate organ impairment, especially in severe instances of dengue. Imaging techniques, such as chest x-ray or point-of-care ultrasound, are performed to assess for evidence of fluid accumulation caused by damaged blood vessels and to evaluate the extent of organ damage. Through clinical assessment and laboratory testing, the doctor can ascertain the likelihood and phase of dengue infection, and evaluate the severity of the illness. Stages of infection During the febrile phase, lasting three to five days, patients will experience fever along with symptoms such as joint pain, muscle pain and headaches. The first notable change in the complete blood count is a progressive decrease in the total white cell count, followed by a reduction in platelet levels. Subsequently, the patient may enter the critical phase, which can last between 48 to 72 hours. At this stage, the patient may experience varying circulatory disturbances. In severe cases, the patient will exhibit serious complications such as internal bleeding, water retention in the lungs or stomach, low blood pressure, kidney and liver failure and can go into a coma, which can lead to death. However, in mild cases, the patient usually will not experience circulatory abnormalities and can recover spontaneously. After the critical stage, patients will enter the recovery phase, during which dengue symptoms will gradually subside, and blood platelets and white blood cell counts will return to normal levels. It is paramount for patients infected with the dengue virus to seek medical attention at healthcare facilities for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. For example, patients who take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, and continue to use them after being infected with dengue may heighten the risk of bleeding. It is imperative to consult a doctor promptly to navigate through this challenging period safely. Mitigation measures According to the Health Ministry’s statistics, Malaysia reported an 86.3% increase in dengue cases last year compared with 2022. Earlier this month, Health Minister Director-General Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan revealed that in the first five weeks of this year, there were 18,247 reported dengue cases, marking a 65.6% rise from the 11,127 cases recorded during the same period in 2023. Recent statistics from the Klang Valley indicate a substantial surge in dengue cases, with Kuala Lumpur witnessing a 72.8% increase and Selangor experiencing a 69.9% increase this year as reported by news sources. Climate factors, such as temperature and rainfall patterns, play a significant role in the transmission dynamics of dengue in Malaysia. Warmer temperatures and increased rainfall create favourable conditions for mosquito breeding and viral replication, leading to higher transmission rates. As mitigation measures for preventing dengue fever, especially for those living in high-risk areas, using mosquito repellent containing diethyltoluamide and installing a mosquito net or screen when sleeping are highly recommended. Eliminating stagnant water sources is crucial as these are the areas that can turn into mosquito breeding grounds. Aside from that, wear long-sleeved clothes and maintain cleanliness in our living environment. The article was contributed by Dr Aaron Lai Kuo Huo, the emergency physician at Sunway Medical Centre at Sunway City. Comments: letters@thesundaily
LYFE LYFE FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 12 /thesundaily FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK Malaysian Paper Pawsitively healthy PETS hold a special place in our lives, offering companionship, love and joy. It is the responsibility of pet owners to maintain the health and wellness of their animals. This article aims to shed light on common health issues affecting pets and provide guidance on preventive measures and responsible ownership practices to maintain their well-being. Understanding common health issues Pets, like humans, can face various health challenges throughout their lives. From minor ailments to more serious conditions, being aware of these issues is crucial for early detection and effective management. Some common health issues in pets include obesity, dental problems, allergies, arthritis and infectious diseases. Obesity Obesity is a significant concern among pets, leading to various health complications such as diabetes, joint problems and a reduced lifespan. Factors contributing to pet obesity include overfeeding, a lack of exercise and unhealthy dietary habits. To prevent obesity, it is essential to provide a balanced diet, regulate portions and engage pets in regular physical activity. Dental problems Dental issues are prevalent among pets, often resulting from poor oral hygiene and inadequate dental care. Dental problems can lead to pain, infection and systemic health issues if left untreated. Regular brushing, dental checkups and providing dental treats or toys can help pets maintain good oral health in pets. Allergies Pets can develop allergies to various environmental factors, such as pollen, dust mites or certain foods. Allergic reactions may manifest as skin irritations, itching, sneezing or digestive problems. Identifying and avoiding allergens, along with veterinary guidance, can help manage allergic conditions in pets effectively. Arthritis Arthritis is a common ailment in ageing pets, causing joint pain, stiffness and decreased mobility. It can significantly impact the quality of life for pets if not managed properly. Strategies to alleviate arthritis symptoms include weight management, exercise tailored to joint health, joint supplements and pain management medications prescribed by a veterinarian. Happy pet equals happy home. - 123RF oPreventive petcare and responsible ownership for fruitful relationship █ BYTHASHINE SELVAKUMARAN Pets experience stress and behavioural issues due to changes or past traumas. - 123RF Infectious diseases Pets are susceptible to various infectious diseases, including viruses, bacteria and parasites. Vaccinations play a critical role in preventing many of these diseases, such as rabies, distemper, parvovirus and feline leukemia. Additionally, routine parasite control measures, such as flea and tick prevention and deworming, are essential for maintaining pet health. The importance of regular veterinary care Regular veterinary check-ups are fundamental for ensuring the overall health and well-being of pets. During these visits, veterinarians can conduct thorough examinations, administer vaccinations, perform preventive screenings and address any emerging health concerns. Early detection of health issues enables prompt intervention and improves treatment outcomes. Vaccinations Vaccinations are vital for protecting pets against serious infectious diseases. Vaccination schedules may vary based on factors such as species, age, lifestyle and geographic location. Pet owners should consult with their veterinarians to develop a tailored vaccination plan that aligns with their pet’s needs and potential exposure risks. Parasite control Parasites pose significant health risks to pets and can transmit diseases to both animals and humans. Effective parasite control involves a combination of preventive measures, including topical or oral medications, environmental management and regular screenings. Implementing a comprehensive parasite control programme is essential for safeguarding pet health and preventing infestations. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle Beyond preventive care measures, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is crucial for promoting long-term pet health and wellness. This includes Regular exercise keeps pets healthy and happy. – PICS BY PEXELS Proper nutrition is vital for pet wellness. Routine veterinary check-ups ensure preventive care. Mental stimulation and love enhance well-being of pets. providing a nutritious diet, regular exercise, mental stimulation, socialisation and a safe living environment. Building strong bonds with pets through positive interactions fosters emotional well-being and strengthens the human-animal bond. Mental and emotional well-being Mental and emotional well-being are equally important. Pets, like humans, can experience stress, anxiety and behavioural issues due to various factors such as changes in routine, lack of stimulation or past traumas. Providing enrichment activities, such as interactive toys, puzzles and regular playtime, can help alleviate boredom and prevent behavioural problems. Additionally, positive reinforcement training techniques and creating a safe, comforting environment can promote emotional stability and strengthen the bond between pets and their owners. Ensuring the health and wellness of our pets requires a proactive approach. By raising awareness about common health issues and advocating responsible pet ownership practices, owners can help pets live longer, happier and healthier lives.
FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 Editorial T: 03-7784 6688 F: 03-7785 2625 E: [emailprotected] Advertising T: 03-7784 8888 E: [emailprotected] SCAN ME Trade, investment targets for 2024 achievable: Tengku Zafrul oCurrency fluctuation a factor but Malaysia’s major fundamentals remain appealing and investors look long term in making decisions, says minister KUALA LUMPUR: The government is optimistic that the trade and investment targets set for this year are achievable despite the ringgit’s current depreciation versus the US dollar, as many other major fundamentals remain attractive and appealing to global investors. Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said investors would look at the long term and fundamentals in making their decisions. “Ringgit is one of the major factors. They want to see the stability of the ringgit and I think we are within the stable range,” he told reporters after launching BYD Malaysia’s latest electric vehicle marque, BYD Seal. Tengku Zafrul said investors would usually take between six months and up to one year to decide on their investments, and up to two years to set up their factory in the respective country, therefore they would not look at currency fluctuations too much. Investments are important for economic growth, he said, noting that investments currently account for about 22% of Malaysia’s national gross domestic product (GDP). “To make investments one of the key engines of growth, we need to double the amount. When the percentage of investment to GDP increases, it will boost Malaysia’s economic growth. “We can’t just depend on consumption and government spending,” he added. Tengku Zafrul said the government is looking at a 5% growth in trade this year, slightly higher than the 3% global trade growth projected by the World Trade Organisation. Meanwhile, BYD Malaysia Sdn Bhd revealed its prices for the newly launched electric vehicle (EV) sedan BYD Seal – RM179,000 for the premium variant and RM199,800 for the performance variant. BYD Seal is the first model equipped with innovative cell-tobody technology, seamlessly integrating the blade battery into the vehicle’s structure, ensuring stability and safety under diverse conditions. In his speech, Tengku Zafrul called for multinational EV companies with existing investments in Malaysia to foresee long-term business and leverage the country’s compelling proposition to expand their investments here. He said the global EV automakers are welcome to consider making Malaysia their regional hub to access the fastgrowing Asean EV market. “We have been collectively and actively working to create an enabling environment for the EV ecosystem to thrive, from providing incentives to local assembly and manufacturing of EVs to facilitating the development of the nation’s EV charging infrastructure. “Our efforts are aimed at creating a sustainable and robust EV ecosystem in Malaysia,” he told reporters after the launch. Tengku Zafrul said the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry hoped to double the number of EV charging stations nationwide by the end of this year from 2,000 units currently. He also said the increase in sales and service tax, which will go up from 6% to 8% starting March 1, would not have an impact on sales of EVs in Malaysia as the government has exempted the tax on EV purchases until 2025 to promote the development of the industry. – Bernama PUCHONG: The Arnott’s Group (TAG), an Australian multinational food manufacturer and producer of Prego and Kimball, has partnered with 7-Eleven Malaysia Sdn Bhd to introduce Prego Instant Pasta Bowl. The new offering marks TAG’s entry into the ready-to-eat meals market and it aims to capture more than 60% share of the segment in Malaysia by 2026. TAG’s CEO, George Zoghbi said the partnership demonstrates TAG’s dedication to growth in Malaysia for the long term and plans to collaborate with other entities to expand its availability. “Consumers want a product that tastes great, has nutritional value and is convenient for on-the-go consumption. This product hits all three areas, which is why we’re optimistic about its prospects. Pasta is not new to us, and we’ve now added the convenient factor with Prego Instant Pasta Bowl,“ he told reporters after yesterday’s launch. He said pasta-based products are experiencing the fastest growth in the market, which is why they are now reflected in its offerings. “Our Prego brand is no stranger to the pasta business. We are the largest in this market as well as for our pasta sauces. For pasta sauce we have 92% market share in Malaysia. So we are the leader in pasta sauce. And even in dry pasta we are the leader,” he said. TAG’s managing director Asia, May Lim, said the aim to capture more than 60% of the local instant pasta meals market share by 2026 is in line with the success of its Prego Quick Cook pasta, which captured more than 62% of market share within two years of its introduction. Revenue in the ready-to-eat meals market in Malaysia is expected to amount to US$2.15 billion (RM10.1 billion) in 2024, with a 6.83% compund annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2024 to 2028. Kuala Lumpur is TAG’s Asia hub. Its Asian business currently contributes a turnover of more than RM1 billion which equates to a quarter of TAG’s total annual turnover. Annual revenue is estimated to reach RM2.5 billion in 10 years’ time. Meanwhile, revenue in the readyto-eat meals market across Asia is expected to amount to US$360 billion (RM1.72 trillion) in 2024, with CAGR of 6.89% from 2024 to 2028. Currently, TAG is exporting readyto-eat meals to Singapore with plans for other countries in the future. “We’re going to be a participant in a very large and growing segment in the Asian market when it comes to meals on the go. And we like that opportunity,” Zoghbi said. Targeted at young working adults, university students, and busy mothers, Prego Instant Pasta Bowl can be served in five minutes. It will be available across all channels nationwide in June. More support policies needed to elevate semiconductor sector in value chain: MSIA KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA) reckons that the National Semiconductor Strategic Task Force (NSSTF) needs to develop more strategies and policies to enhance the electrical and electronics (E&E) ecosystem for the semiconductor sector to move up the value chain in strategic areas. This is to allow the country to determine the path of the semiconductor sector, therefore all stakeholders need to be involved, MSIA president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai said in an interview. He said MSIA is looking forward to contributing to the NSSTF as it is seen to be established at the appropriate time amid the current hypercompetitive environment. “Given the contribution of the E&E industry to the Malaysian economy and Malaysia’s critical role in the global supply chain, all stakeholders must work together to maximise Malaysia’s full potential in this industry. “Malaysia can do it, with the 50 years of industrial experience, its talent pool and the collective effort of all stakeholders,“ he told Bernama. He added that Malaysia needs to develop and attract investments with advanced technology and talents. The establishment of the NSSTF is to ensure that the implementation of investment into the country will achieve the Madani Economy’s objectives, including placing Malaysia in the world’s top 30 largest economies, and the top 12 in global competitiveness within 10 years, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said in January. The nation aims to achieve the goals by focusing on greater regionalisation and competitiveness and moving up the value chain. From left: TAG commercial director MYSG and Asia export Bong Tian Ming, Lim, Zoghbi, 7-Eleven Malaysia general manager merchandising Felicia Wah, 7- Eleven Malaysia category manager merchandising Rosemary Kok and 7-Eleven Malaysia senior executive grocery merchandising Ong Yuen Lynn at the launch. – AMIRUL SYAFIQ/THE SUN █ BYHAYATUN RAZAK [emailprotected] Arnott’s Group, 7-Eleven Malaysia in ready-to-eat meals tie-up
BIZ & FINANCE BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 14 project. The development profit from one of the group’s property development projects in Singapore is expected to be recognised upon completion and handover of the project in first-half 2024. The accumulated progressive profits for the project amounted to RM108.9 million as at end of December 2023. The healthcare group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation grew 33% in FY23, fuelled by strong operational performance at Sunway Medical Centre (SMC) Sunway City and SMC Velocity. SMC Penang which started operations in November 2022, exceeded expectations and achieved breakeven at the profit after tax level during the current quarter. The group declared a single-tier second interim dividend of 3.5 sen per ordinary share for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023. The Dividend Reinvestment Scheme (DRS) will be applied to the entire second interim dividend, in which shareholders may elect to reinvest their entire dividends into new Sunway ordinary shares, in lieu of receiving cash. For FY23, the group declared a total dividend of 5.5 sen per ordinary share, including the first interim dividend of 2 sen per ordinary share. In addition, it declared a preferential dividend of 5.25% per annum (based on the issue price of RM1 per irredeemable convertible preference share in respect of the financial period from July 1, 2023 to Dec 31, 2023. Sunway Group president Tan Sri Chew Chee Kin (pic) said, “The group continued its strong growth momentum in the final quarter of the year, anchored by stable domestic demand, resilient labour market and improved tourism sector.” He added that the group is confident about its financial performance for 2024, building from the growth momentum of the previous year. “The healthcare segment continues to be one of the main growth drivers for the Group. Its three operating hospitals are expected to perform well, and their expansion as well as new hospitals will add capacity, catering to the demand for quality healthcare and medical tourism. In particular, SMC Damansara and SMC Ipoh are on track to commence operations in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025 respectively, and will provide additional capacity of up to 600 beds,” said Chew. In the southern region, he added, recent developments including the proposed establishment of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and the group’s partnership with Equalbase to develop an RM8 billion logistics facility in a first fully carbon-neutral free commercial zone in Sunway City Iskandar Puteri augur well for the township. READ OUR HERE /thesun Malaysian Paper Sunway FY23 revenue at record RM6.14b PETALING JAYA: Sunway Bhd posted record high revenue of RM6.14 billion for the financial year ended Dec 31 2023 (FY23). The group said in a statement yesterday profit before tax (PBT) increased 9%, from RM909.2 million in the previous financial year to RM993.2 million in FY23. In the fourth quarter (Q4’23), the group’s revenue increased by 22% to RM1.87 billion, attributable to higher contributions from its core segments. PBT rose 18%, from RM296.4 million in Q4’22 to RM350.4 million in Q4’23. The higher PBT was fuelled by the property investment, construction, quarry, trading and manufacturing operations, which more than offset the lower profit contribution from healthcare and other segments. The property development segment posted revenue of RM499.4 million in Q4’23, a growth of 13%. The better performance was underpinned by higher sales and progress billings from local new and ongoing development projects and the completion and handover of a oFourth-quarter profit before tax rises to RM350.4 million, group declares single-tier second interim dividend of 3.5 sen E&O’s financial results improve PETALING JAYA: Premier lifestyle property developer Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O) recorded revenue of RM92.2 million for the third quarter of financial year ending March 31, 2024 (Q3’24), up 13.6% from RM81.2 million in the corresponding quarter last year, due to the higher revenue recognition of its ongoing projects, as well as encouraging sales of new properties. In addition, the hospitality segment posted a stronger performance, attributed to higher average room and occupancy rates. Accordingly, the group’s profit after tax (PAT) rose by 11.9% to RM35.2 million, compared with RM31.5 million in Q3’23. For the cumulative nine-month financial period ended Dec 31, 2023 (9M’24), E&O’s revenue jumped by 19.3% from RM252.8 million in the corresponding period last year, to RM301.5 million. The property and the hospitality segments were the growth drivers, with revenue up 20.7% to RM220.2 million and 15.1% to RM77.4 million, respectively. The group delivered a PAT of RM103.5 million, an increase of 195.6% compared with RM35 million in 9M’23. The surge was primarily due to higher revenue recognition during the period under review and unrealised foreign exchange gain of RM37.8 million, in comparison to the unrealised foreign exchange loss of RM26.7 million in the previous corresponding financial period. Managing director Kok Tuck Cheong said that E&O has continued its revenue growth trajectory and exceeded their property sales target. “Andaman Island Phase 1 continues to garner positive responses reflected by its strong sales performance of Arica, which achieved a 95% take-up rate within 10 months of its initial launch, along with our recently introduced landed homes on the island.” In the coming months, E&O plans to design and launch a range of curated product offerings catering to market expectations. “Our upcoming project comprising 261 units of low-density luxury condominium is targeted for launch in the second quarter of 2024. The remaining reclamation work for the 507-acres Andaman Island Phase 2 is progressing steadily and is on schedule. We are encouraged by the ongoing performance and expect this momentum to persist into the next quarter,” said Kok. Sime Darby Plantation’s 2023 earnings 25% lower KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Plantation Bhd’s (SDP) net profit eased by 25% to RM1.86 billion in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023 (FY23) from RM2.49 billion in FY22, mainly due to lower recurring profit before interest and tax (PBIT) and higher finance costs, partially mitigated by the higher non-recurring PBIT. SDP said finance costs increased by 47% due to higher benchmark lending rates but were partially mitigated by 6% lower average borrowings. It said the average interest rate stood at 5.4% per annum, as compared to 3% per annum in the previous corresponding period. Revenue declined to RM18.43 billion against RM21.03 billion previously, it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday. The group said the upstream segment reported a lower PBIT of RM1.15 billion for FY23, largely due to lower crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK) average realised prices, which declined by 15% and 35%, respectively, and higher estate and mill operating costs, adversely affected by an increase in labour costs. “For the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (Q4’23), the group registered a net profit of RM200 million from the previous corresponding quarter’s RM562 million. This was due to lower recurring profits which were mitigated by profits from nonrecurring activities,” it said. The company said finance costs reduced slightly in the quarter, driven by lower borrowings, despite higher interest rates due to the increase in benchmark lending rates, with the average interest rate standing at 5.8% per annum, as compared to 4.3% per annum in the previous corresponding quarter. “The upstream segment reported a recurring PBIT of RM198 million, a decline from the previous corresponding quarter’s profit of RM702 million. “The major factors that contributed to the lower profits are a decline in CPO and PK average realised prices as well as lower compensation from government acquisition and rental income. “The downstream sector reported a higher PBIT of RM183 million in the current quarter as compared to RM89 million in the previous corresponding quarter, driven by higher margins and volume demand in the European operations,” it said. It noted that this mitigated the weaker results in the Asia-Pacific bulk and differentiated refineries due to lower margins. As for FY24 outlook, SDP said CPO demand is expected to remain steady in the longer term, but seasonally high stockpiles in key destination countries may impact short-term demand. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the group remains positive as it looks ahead to another satisfactory performance in FY24. The group has declared a final dividend of 6.05 sen per share, which, together with the interim dividend of 3.25 sen per share and the special interim dividend of 5.70 sen per share, translates into a total single-tier dividend of 15 sen per share for FY2023. – Bernama BNM’s international reserves rise to US$115.4b on Feb 15 KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) international reserves rose to US$115.4 billion (RM552.7) as at Feb 15, 2024 from US$114.8 billion as at Jan 31, 2024. In a statement yesterday, the central bank said the reserves position was sufficient to finance 5.5 months of imports of goods and services, and was 1.0 time the total shortterm external debt. The main components of the reserves were foreign currency reserves which stood at US$102.9 billion, followed by International Monetary Fund reserves (US$1.4 billion), special drawing rights (SDR) (US$5.8 billion), gold (US$2.6 billion), and other reserve assets (US$2.7 billion). Total assets stood at RM634.18 billion, comprising gold and foreign exchange and other reserves, including SDR (RM529.72 billion), Malaysian government papers (RM13 billion), deposits with financial institutions (RM1.31 billion), loans and advances (RM24.48 billion), land and buildings (RM4.13 billion) and others (RM61.53 billion). – Bernama TNB embarks on development of hybrid hydro-floating solar PV projects KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) is embarking on hybrid hydro-floating solar (HHFS) photovoltaic (PV) projects under the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) at its hydro dam reservoirs. TNB CEO Datuk Seri Baharin Din said the company is motivated to carry out the HHFS PV projects after the success of its pilot project at Stesen Janakuasa Sultan Azlan Shah (SJSAS) in Manjung, Perak. “As the country moves towards a low-carbon future and environmental sustainability, TNB, through TNB Power Generation Sdn Bhd (TNB Genco), is planning to build 2,500 megawatts (MW) of HHFS PV projects. “This responsible energy transition initiative offers sustainable energy solutions with positive ecological impacts,” he said in a statement yesterday. The company plans to expedite the implementation of the 2,500MW HHFS, beginning with 30MW at its Chenderoh hydro reservoir (Perak), to be closely followed by its Temenggor (Perak) and Kenyir (Terengganu) hydro reservoirs. “Floating solar farms can complement other renewable energy sources to power the national grid with the potential to boost clean power significantly,” Baharin said. According to the statement, TNB has signed partnerships with Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Perak and Terengganu Incorporated to ensure that the HHFS development is carried out successfully and responsibly. Since 2019, TNB’s floating solar PV on a 175- hectare ash pond in SJSAS has generated more than 600 megawatt-hours of energy. The 288 solar PV modules installed comprise 105.12 kilowatt peak of capacity, equivalent to a reduction of 390 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) during four years of operation or CO2 uptake by 15,624 trees. The electricity generated from this system can meet the needs of 30 houses. Baharin said by utilising bodies of water for solar installations, the company can conserve land usage, preserve land natural habitats, reduce water evaporation, minimise pollution and support biodiversity with minimal disruption to the aquatic ecosystems. – Bernama
BIZ & FINANCE BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 15 Or download app on the AppStore or Google Play ENJOY A SEAMLESS READING EXPERIENCE. Read our iPaper at https://www.thesun.my/ BlackBerry, SANS Institute to enhance M’sian cybersecurity PETALING JAYA: BlackBerry Ltd and the SANS Institute have formed a new partnership in Malaysia, offering SANS training courses through the soon-to-be-opened BlackBerry Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (CCoE) in Kuala Lumpur. To help bolster national cybersecurity capacity in Malaysia, the partnership will offer advanced technology and training to help upskill Malaysia’s cyber-defenders, with a particular focus in critical areas like forensics and incident response. Now open for registrations, the SANS Secure Malaysia 2024 inaugural training will take place from March 11-16, and the first featured course will be SEC504: Hacker Tools, Techniques, and Incident Handling. This new partnership with SANS marks the first major milestone in BlackBerry’s landmark cybersecurity oPartnership will offer advanced technology and training to help upskill local cyber-defenders Gentari activates green integrated app in Malaysia, plans regional rollout PETALING JAYA: Clean energy solutions provider Gentari Sdn Bhd through its subsidiary Gentari Green Mobility Sdn Bhd launched the green integrated app Gentari Go, aimed to unify its clean energy ecosystem. Currently featuring green mobility and renewable energy solutions, the app is now activated in Malaysia with a regional rollout planned for Southeast Asia and India later this year. According to CEO Shah Yang Razalli, it targets to become the platform of choice for every consumer starting their clean energy journey. “We’re pioneering the integration of clean energy, extending beyond electrical vehicle (EV) charging to home energy solutions,” he said in a statement. Its conceptualisation anchors on core features that address the pains of consumers – both individuals and businesses, and its ecosystem will continue to be developed towards its vision of building a unified clean energy community. “It offers simple interfaces that guide first-time users through discovery, activation and payment processes. For seasoned users, we’ve integrated advanced features like our charging curve, providing real-time insights into energy consumption during charging sessions,” he added. Building on the partnerships with EV Connection and ChargeEV which provide consumers access to over 70% of charging points in Malaysia, Gentari Go now empowers cross-border charging from Singapore to Thailand, in partnership with CDG Engie, City Energy Go, EVolt and Virta for comprehensive charging solutions. PCG, Sarawak Petchem to do feasibility study on low-carbon ammonia, urea plant in Bintulu KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PCG) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sarawak Petchem Sdn Bhd (Sarawak Petchem) to conduct a joint feasibility study to develop a lowcarbon ammonia and urea plant in Bintulu, Sarawak. Under the terms of the MoU, the two companies will conduct a joint comprehensive study on the technical and commercial aspects, among other considerations, in meeting the rising demands for cleaner energy solutions by tapping into the renewable energy potential within the region. Sarawak premier Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari said the plant will have a future capability to produce ammonia with a very low carbon footprint and is a strategic initiative to capitalise on opportunities within the global energy transition market. Sarawak Petchem chairman Tan Sri (Dr) Abdul Aziz Husain said, “This collaboration allows us to capitalise on synergies, optimise costs, and share the risks, thereby maximising value for Sarawak and Malaysia. This further exemplifies our prudent business practices and collaborative mindset. This joint development initiative serves as a catalyst for economic development in Sarawak, driving job creation and fostering sustainable growth in line with the objectives outlined in the Sarawak Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030.” Sime Darby to capitalise on RM4.2b industrial order book KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) expects Sime Darby Bhd to continue to leverage its industrial segment in the second half of its financial year 2024, underpinned by its higher order book of RM4.2 billion and the consolidation of UMW Holdings Bhd. The investment bank said 66% of its order book is attributed to the Australian market, mainly the mining sector due to the still highly profitable coal prices, while margins are expected to sustain on strong demand for maintenance and overhaul services. “Demand for construction equipment may see some recovery trend as Malaysia and Singapore start implementing mega infrastructure projects,“ it said in a note. Sime Darby will fully consolidate UMW Holdings from Q3’24 onwards, which will further support its earnings growth. In the near term, UMW will be managed as an independent business unit, while management continues to explore potential synergies and integration of business models. Meanwhile, RHB Investment Bank Bhd reckoned the industrial division will record robust numbers, supported by the full contributions from Australia’s Cavpower. “Its China industrial unit is expected to remain weak given the current macroeconomic headwinds while electric vehicle (EV) overcapacity may see the price war going on for longer. “In Malaysia, we expect the motor segment to chart stronger results – driven by a flurry of new EV launches, while the UMW acquisition should increase its overall earnings base moving forward,” it said. – Bernama deal with the Government of Malaysia, announced at the Apec Summit in San Francisco in November 2023. In addition to Malaysia’s deployment of the full suite of trusted BlackBerry® cybersecurity solutions, BlackBerry is opening its world-class CCoE in the first half of 2024 to help Malaysia educate, train and upskill cyber professionals and grow the cybersecurity ecosystem. SANS Institute Asia Pacific strategy and business development director Matthias Chia said that as a leading provider of cybersecurity education, SANS knows first-hand that training, upskilling, and establishing a culture of continuous learning and innovation is crucial for any nation to build adequate cyber-resilience in this complex digital age. “We are proud to partner with BlackBerry in Malaysia to offer our globally accredited training programmes to help upskill cyberworkforces and enhance technical capabilities among cyber professionals, but also train new students wishing to carve out a career in this exciting field,” he added. In addition to the SANS programmes, BlackBerry will offer its own curriculum at the new CCoE, as well as partner with Malaysian universities and other institutions to offer a wide range of courses, certifications, and other programmes to help build skilled cybersecurity workforces in Malaysia and across the Indo-Pacific region. John Dimitropoulos, senior vicepresident of strategy, business development and operations, BlackBerry Cybersecurity said, “With nearly 40 years’ experience in protecting global governments from cyber-attacks, espionage and data leaks, BlackBerry has seen global demand for cyber skills and expertise explode, particularly in areas such as machine learning and AI.” He added that SANS Institute’s training courses will be offered via their BlackBerry Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence in Malaysia.
BIZ & FINANCE BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 16 Japan’s crazy 1980s bubble a dim memory oNikkei index hits record high last seen three decades ago TOKYO: As Japanese shares finally reclaim past peaks it harks back to a time when everyone in the country seemed to be a stock market millionaire – a Tokyo car park was worth more than New York’s Central Park and the future looked like one endless party. It is difficult now, after three long decades of deflation, to imagine how truly wild the 1980s’ bubble was in Japan, and how speculation upended its strait-laced culture. Kazukuni Yamazaki, an 87-year-old investor and a former Nomura Securities employee, remembers there used to be a digital board showing stock prices on the first floor of his building. “Everyone, including groups of young office ladies, was standing there, checking stock prices and squealing in excitement. “It was really crazy that everyone was talking about wanting a golf club membership that cost ¥500 million (RM16 million) when none of us was really into golf.” “It was totally normal to take a day trip to Hokkaido just to eat ramen for lunch,” Yamazaki said. Hokkaido is 831km north of Tokyo, so the journey is like popping out from Paris to Barcelona. The Nikkei index started 1980 at 6,867 and ended the decade at 38,915. It rose every single year that decade, sucking in speculators and culminating in gains of 40% for 1988 and 29% for 1989. At the peak, Japanese shares accounted for 45% of the global stock market. This was ahead of the US at 33%. These days, Japanese shares accounted for 6% and the Nikkei is not even worth as much as tech firms Apple and Nvidia combined. The Japanese frenzy also spread to the ground beneath their feet. Land values in Tokyo rose 58% in 1987 alone so that a single square metre of the prestigious Ginza shopping precinct changed hands for ¥32 million. “I spent US$1,000 (RM4,777) for a cat as a present to my girlfriend, and I wouldn’t spend US$20 on a present for my wife now,” said Mike Allen, a research director for Azabu Research who started with Qantas says profit down but reputation rebounding SYDNEY: Qantas reported a slide in half-year net profit yesterday but said its reputation had “bounced back” under a new leader after taking a battering since the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the drop in profit, the 103-year-old airline said customer satisfaction had improved as it reported its first results under new chief executive Vanessa Hudson. Her predecessor, Qantas veteran Alan Joyce, took early retirement in September as the once-beloved carrier suffered sustained criticism over its service, soaring ticket prices and its treatment of staff. “We know that millions of Australians rely on us and we’ve heard their feedback loud and clear,” Hudson said. “There’s a lot of work happening to lift our service levels, and the early signs are really positive. “Our customer satisfaction levels have bounced back strongly since December and we have more service and product improvements in the pipeline.” Qantas said its net profit dropped 13.2% year-on-year to A$869 million (RM2.7 billion) in the six months to Dec 31. Revenue rose 12.3% to A$11.1 billion, it said. But overall costs climbed, pushed up in part by higher spending on fuel, aircraft operations and salaries. Qantas said travel demand was strong, led by the leisure sector but with business travel now approaching pre-Covid-19 levels. Fares had fallen by more than 10% from a late 2022 peak. Qantas said it saw “strong demand” across its business. Unit revenue was expected to remain stable in domestic operations and “continue to normalise” for international flights as market capacity expanded, it said. Seat capacity in Qantas’ international operations is now at 90% of pre-pandemic levels, the airline said, up 25% from a year earlier. A day before announcing its results, Qantas named corporate executive John Mullen its new chairman-elect from July 1. – AFP Sri Lanka repays US$20m Iranian oil debt with tea COLOMBO: Cash-strapped Sri Lanka said on Wednesday it had exported tea worth US$20 million (RM96 million) to Iran to partially repay its US$251 million oil debts, with Colombo saying Tehran’s visiting foreign minister had expressed “satisfaction” at the deal. “So far, US$20 million worth of tea has been exported to Iran under the barter trade agreement,” Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said in a statement after talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. The tea-for-oil deal was agreed upon in December 2021, but exports were delayed by Colombo’s economic crisis that forced then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down in July 2022. The barter deal allows sanctions-hit Iran to avoid having to use scarce hard currency to pay for imports of popular tea. It also allowed Sri Lanka to pay with tea, as the country was short of foreign currency. Sri Lankan officials have previously said that the tea-oil swap did not break US sanctions on Iran, since tea was a food item and the deal did not involve Iranian blacklisted banks. The island defaulted on its US$46 billion foreign debt in April 2022 and secured a US$2.9 billion IMF bailout early last year. Ceylon tea, known by the island’s colonial-era name, made up nearly half of Iran’s consumption in 2016. – AFP Hudson speaking to the presss as she stands in front of a Qantas Airbus A220 at Kingsford Smith Airport in Sydney yesterday. – AFPPIC Byju’s founder gets court relief in fight against shareholders MUMBAI: Indian edtech firm Byju’s said on Wednesday a court had given it temporary protection in its fight against a group of shareholders trying to sack the company’s billionaire founder. Byju’s, which is controlled by CEO Byju Raveendran, was once one of India’s most valuable start-ups as demand for its online learning products boomed during the Covid pandemic. Once valued at over US$20 billion, Byju’s has seen its valuation crash by an estimated 90% over the last year. It lost support of key investors and has faced a series of crises, including the resignation of its auditor Deloitte and a legal fight with US lenders over a US$1.2 billion loan. Earlier this month, a group of shareholders, including tech investor giant Prosus, requested an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) set for Feb 23 to oust Raveendran and appoint a new board. But Byju’s said a court in Karnataka state had ordered that any decisions taken by shareholders at the EGM would be “invalid” until the next hearing. Investor sources told AFP that the court order did not prohibit the shareholder meeting from taking place or declare it illegal. The sources added that the EGM would go ahead and investors would still push to remove Raveendran as CEO. Byju’s has alleged that investors, including US growth equity firm General Atlantic and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic venture founded by Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, had violated their shareholders’ agreement by calling the EGM. – AFP sector, a major reason the resulting economic downturn lasted so long. These days, decades of sub-par economic growth, miserly wage and a rapidly ageing population have left the Japanese in no mood for bubbles, whether in markets or bottles. “In 1989, it was Japan itself that was convinced that nothing could go wrong, that Japan was going to take over the world,” Monex Group global ambassador Jesper Koll said. “That’s obviously hugely different this time around, because yes, I’m fully aware that global investors think Japan offers a lot of opportunities, but domestic investors are still extremely sceptical.” – Reuters Barclays in Tokyo in 1987. “People did stupid things with their money because we just thought it would never, ever stop. “We all knew this had gone crazy, but we didn’t really know why.” The rising tide of wealth and industrial might led to a spate of best seller books and Hollywood movies on how Japan owned the future. However, the land bubble was inflated by a mountain of debt, with property loans from non-bank lenders growing from ¥22 trillion in 1985 to ¥80 trillion at the end of 1989. When prices crashed, that debt turned into bad loans and became a millstone around the financial Pedestrians walking past an electronic board displaying the Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange above 39000 points on a street in Tokyo yesterday. – AFPPIC
BIZ & FINANCE BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 17 Nvidia profitsoars on chip demand SAN FRANCISCO: Nvidia on Wednesday said its profit soared to US$12.3 billion (RM58 billion) in the recently ended quarter on record high revenue driven by demand for its chips to power artificial intelligence. The Silicon Valley chip titan reported profit of US$12.3 billion on record revenue of US$22.1 billion in the quarter than ended late January and record high revenue of US$60.9 billion for the fiscal year. Profit in the same quarter a year ago was US$1.4 billion, while revenue in the same three-month period a year earlier was US$6 billion, it said. “Accelerated computing and generative AI have hit the tipping point,” Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said during an earnings call. “Demand is surging worldwide across companies, industries and nations.” Nvidia shares shot up more than 8% to US$732.99 in after-market trade that followed the release of the earnings results. “The AI Revolution starts with Nvidia and in our view the AI party is just getting started,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors. Wedbush expects 60% or more of businesses to “head down the AI use case path” in the coming decade, spending an estimated US$1 trillion on the technology, according to Ives. Money taken in by the Nvidia unit specialising in data centre computing hit a record of US$18.4 billion in the quarter, more than quadruple the amount from the same period a oAccelerated computing and generative AI have hit tipping point, says CEO year earlier, according to the chip maker. “Our data centre platform is powered by increasingly diverse drivers,” Huang said. “Vertical industries – led by auto, financial services and healthcare – are now at a multibillion-dollar level.” The company said it expects total revenue of US$24 billion in the current quarter. Huang said Nvidia chips are at the heart of data centres transforming into “AI generation factories” with data a “raw material” turned into experiences such as prompt-generated videos made using OpenAI’s new Sora tool. In regions outside the United States, “sovereign AI” systems are adding to demand for Nvidia chips, according to chief financial officer Colette Kress. She described sovereign AI as large language models made using regional data and supported by local research and business “ecosystems”. Sovereign AI infrastructure is being bult in Canada, France, Japan and many other countries, according to Huang. “The reason for sovereign AI has to do with the fact that the language, the knowledge, the history, the culture of each region are different and it belongs to them,” Huang said on the earnings call. “They would like to use their data to create their own digital intelligence.” Demand for the company’s chips for data centres was strong everywhere except China, where revenue dropped significantly following ramped up American export controls imposed in October last year, according to Kress. Calls to further close the supply chain grew after the world discovered the powers of AI with the launch of ChatGPT, a tool that debuted in November 2022. Also causing alarm in Washington was news that China-owned Huawei had released a new smartphone that featured a powerful home-grown advanced chip. When announcing the beefed-up curbs, US officials insisted they were intended to close loopholes and prevent China’s development of AI for military use. China said at the time that it was “strongly dissatisfied” and “firmly opposes” the curbs. Nvidia paused shipments of restricted products to China, but is exploring selling alternatives that do not require licenses, according to company executives. “We reconfigured our products in a way that is not software hackable, and that took some time,” Huang said. “So we reset our product offering to China and now we’re sampling to customers in China.” US export control regulations aimed at China and other markets including Vietnam and parts of the Middle East were expected to continue to cause sales of Nvidia data centre chip to suffer in those markets. – AFP ChatGPT cranks out gibberish for hours SAN FRANCISCO: ChatGPT spewed nonsensical answers to users’ queries for hours from Tuesday to Wednesday before eventually returning to its senses. OpenAI, which makes the world-leading generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool, said a software tweak had “introduced a bug with how the model processes language”. “Upon identifying the cause of this incident, we rolled out a fix and confirmed that the incident was resolved.” ChatGPT was giving “peculiar” responses, generating non-existent words, incomplete sentences and general gobbledygook, developers using the tool said in a discussion forum on the OpenAI website. “It gives me meaningless words followed by a bizarre list,” one developer lamented. “It feels as if my GPT is haunted or something has been compromised, either on my end or at OpenAI’s (end).” It was not until more than 16 hours had passed that OpenAI updated the page with a message that ChatGPT was operating normally. The San Francisco-based technology firm replied to an AFP query by directing it to the ChatGPT status page. OpenAI recently concluded a deal with investors that reportedly valued the start-up at US$80 billion or more after a roller-coaster year for the tech firm. The agreement, reported by The New York Times but not yet confirmed by OpenAI, would mean the value of the company – a world leader in generative AI – would have nearly tripled in under 10 months. OpenAI led a revolution in AI when it placed its ChatGPT programme online in late 2022. The immediate success of the interface sparked tremendous interest in the cutting-edge technology, capable of producing text, sounds and images upon demand. The company – which also makes the image-generating DALL-E – recently released a new tool named Sora, which can create realistic videos of up to a minute long via simple user prompts. Microsoft has invested around US$13 billion in OpenAI, using the start-up’s technology in its search engine Bing and other services. Microsoft is locked in fierce competition with Google to roll out new AI-infused tools, to the point that the US Federal Trade Commission last month launched an investigation into the enormous investments by Microsoft, Google and Amazon in such specialised startups. – AFP US Fed divided on risk of cutting rates too soon WASHINGTON: The US Federal Reserve was divided last month over the risks of cutting interest rates too soon or too late, although most members voiced concern about moving early, according to minutes of the meeting published on Wednesday. At the meeting, the Fed voted unanimously to hold interest rates at a 23-year high, keeping monetary policy tight in a bid to bring inflation down to its long-term target of 2%. During the deliberations the Fed, which has penciled in three interest rate cuts this year, continued discussions about when might be the best time to start cutting rates, with members divided over the risks of moving too fast or too slow, the minutes showed. “Most participants noted the risks of moving too quickly to ease the stance of policy and emphasised the importance of carefully assessing incoming data,” the Fed said. “A couple of participants, however, pointed to downside risks to the economy associated with maintaining an overly restrictive stance for too long.” The divisions suggest the Fed’s rate-setting committee is likely to be less united as it looks to unwind its tight monetary policy stance than it was when it moved to rapidly hike rates to tackle surging inflation in 2022. However, most analysts do not expect any change to the Fed’s interest rate at its next interest rate decision in March, and many do not expect it to move following the meeting in May either. Futures traders now assign a probability of less than 35% that the Fed will cut rates by May 1, according to CME Group data, pushing back expectations of an interest rate cut until June. Speaking earlier on Wednesday, Federal Reserve governor Michelle Bowman said the American economy was not yet ready for interest rate cuts. “I think it will be time at some point to begin the process of lowering rates,” she told a meeting in Washington. “But given the uncertainty in the data, I’m just not confident that it’s – well, it’s certainly not now.” – AFP Intel signs Microsoft as customer, says on track to overtake TSMC SAN FRANCISCO: Intel said on Wednesday that Microsoft plans to use its services to manufacture a custom computing chip and that the company expects to beat an internal deadline of 2025 to overtake its biggest rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), in advanced chip manufacturing. The American chipmaker also gave new details on how it plans to maintain a lead over TSMC into 2026 and beyond. Intel made the disclosures at an event in San Jose, California, at the first technology conference for Intel Foundry, the contract manufacturing operation it established to compete with TSMC. Intel said it plans to retake the mantle of making the world’s fastest chips from TSMC later this year with what it calls Intel 18A manufacturing technology and extend that lead into 2026 with new tech called Intel 14A. It said Microsoft will use its 18A technology to make an undisclosed chip and that it now expects US$15 billion of foundry orders, up from the US$10 billion that the company had earlier told investors to expect. TSMC said it had “no comment on the competitiveness of our advanced technologies” beyond what its CEO C.C. Wei said at the company’s last investor conference in January. The news of 14A technology is the first time the Silicon Valley company has given details of its plans beyond 2025. That is the deadline Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger had set to regain the chipmaking crown when he took the reins three years ago. For decades, Intel made chips only for itself and used its lead in manufacturing to create a Gelsinger giving new details about the firm’s Intel Foundry manufacturing business at the event in San Jose. – REUTERSPIC cycle in which it made chips with industry-leading performance and charged a premium for them. Those margins, in turn, helped fund manufacturing advances. But when Intel lost its manufacturing lead, its chips became less competitive and margins slipped, sapping the source funding for a manufacturing rebound. Now, Intel is counting on potentially billions of dollars in US government subsidies and business from outside customers to help it get back on track. It is hoping some customers will be enticed by its long history of operating cutting-edge factories on multiple continents, especially those with concerns about TSMC’s practice of keeping its most advanced factories clustered in Taiwan. “It’s a sales pitch that’s resonating right now,” Stu Pann, who oversees Intel Foundry, said of the firm’s geographic diversity. – Reuters
BIZ & FINANCE BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 18 /theSunMedia FOLLOW ON YOUTUBE Malaysian Paper YouTubers split over video tool Sora PARIS: US firm OpenAI debuted a tool last week that can generate highly realistic snippets of video from just a few lines of text, leading content creators to wonder if they are the latest professionals about to be replaced by algorithms. Reactions to the tool, called Sora, have ranged from head-over-heels enthusiasm to alarm over the future direction of the industry. YouTuber Marques Brownlee called it “frightening” and oSome wonder if they are about to be replaced by algorithms Nestle net profit up 20.9% last year, aided by price hikes ZURICH: Swiss food giant Nestle said yesterday net profit last year rose 20.9% to 11.2 billion Swiss francs (RM61 billion) after increasing prices of its products to offset growing costs. The maker of Nespresso, Maggi seasonings, Purina pet foods and the Smarties range of sweets said turnover fell 1.5% to 93 billion Swiss francs due as a rising Swiss franc and a slight fall in sales volumes balanced out higher prices. Currency moves knocked 7.8% off global revenue. Stripping out currency effects and acquisitions or divestments, sales grew 7.2% in value terms and fell 0.3% in volume. The results were marginally below expectations. Analysts polled by Swiss news agency AWP had on average expected net profit of 12.1 billion francs. “Unprecedented inflation over the last two years has increased pressure on many consumers and impacted demand for food and beverage products,” Nestle chief executive Mark Schneider said in a statement. “Looking to 2024, we are prioritising volume- and mix-led growth with increased brand support, as the company enhances value for consumers through active innovation and renovation, premiumisation, affordability and more nutritious options.” The company said it is targeting organic growth of 4% this year and a slight increase in operating margins. Nestle is proposing a dividend of three francs a share, up 0.05 francs from the previous year. – AFP The Nestle logo on the company’s headquarters in Vevey, western Switzerland. – AFPPIC German economic downturn unexpectedly deepens BERLIN: Germany’s economic downturn deepened this month as a slight improvement in services activity was unable to compensate for a surprisingly sharp deterioration in manufacturing, a preliminary survey showed yesterday. The HCOB German Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, fell to 46.1 in February from 47.0 the month before. That was in contrast to forecasts in a Reuters poll for an increase to 47.5. Minister of Economics and Climate Protection Robert Habeck presenting the Annual 2024 Economic Report for Germany in Berlin. – AFPPIC EU answers telco industry’s call for sector overhaul BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) on Wednesday dialled up its focus on modernising Europe’s telecoms sector, with proposals it hopes will create “stronger European players” and a level playing field. The European Commission also wants EU states to bolster their coordination for the security of underwater cables it said were “potentially under threat in the context of the war in Ukraine and tensions with Russia”. The telecoms sector has long called for the European Union to heed their demands for a revamp of the industry with massive investment for better infrastructure. The commission proposes ways to make cross-border operations easier for telecom firms and to fund the necessary upgrades to infrastructure including the rollout of 5G. The plans are in a document that will form the basis of a new law but the EU invites feedback until June 30 before any regulation’s creation. “The telco sector suffers from a fragmented marketplace, a lack of single market,” European Commission vice-president Margrethe Vestager said during a press conference. She pointed to connectivity gaps at borders as well as “27 national markets with different network architecture, different levels of network coverage, different national spectrum markets and management” and to a certain extent, even regulation. “Only if we remove all these differences, we can see the emergence of a true single market for telco,” Vestager said, adding that “true pan-European players will emerge stronger”. Currently there are around three or four operators in most European Union states. Vestager said the obstacles for the sector were not competition rules, but “the burden of having to deal with different regulations”. After a draft of the document leaked last week, there had been speculation that it meant the European Union would ease merger rules but officials dismissed this interpretation. Vestager’s comments come a day after the European Union approved a merger of Orange and MasMovil in Spain, on condition they take steps that would also strengthen their competitor Digi. – AFP “threatening” to see an AI doing his job. On the other hand, Caleb Ward, one half of AI filmmaking duo Curious Refuge, told his YouTube followers he could not wait to get his hands on the tool. Yet both Ward and Brownlee agreed that it was a massive moment for their industry. “I can’t stress enough how big a deal this is for the filmmaking and creative world,” said Ward, who recently went viral with a trailer he created for a Wes Anderson-style Star Wars movie. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, said in its announcement that Sora was not yet available to the public. The announcement did not specify use cases but said “a number of visual artists, designers and filmmakers” had been chosen to help test it. The firm accompanied its statement with sample videos including a stylish woman walking along a Tokyo street, a cat waking up its owner in bed and a group of charging woolly mammoths. The internet immediately lit up with awe and praise, as is common with OpenAI products. “I was shocked by their quality,” said Anis Ayari, an AI engineer and streamer known as Defend Intelligence. He suggested the tool could one day be used to create entirely virtual presenters. But there were also plenty of dissenters who felt the videos were still firmly stuck in the “uncanny valley”, where glitches in otherwise photo-realistic images can leave viewers feeling queasy. Commentator Ed Zitron wrote that in OpenAI’s cat video “the owner’s arm appears to be part of the cushion and the cat’s paw explodes out of its arm like an amoeba”. He wrote in his newsletter that AI video tools were too expensive and resource-hungry to ever be genuinely useful. And styles of clips could not be harmonised, making the tools useless for creating anything other than tiny snippets. Sora enters a marketplace that is heating up, with Google, Stability AI and several other smaller players already in the game. YouTube itself announced last September it was developing a tool to let creators make AI-generated videos and background pictures. However, the tools already available have hardly taken the world by storm. French streamer FibreTigre said he had tried AI video tools but ended his experiment. He said he was worried about the ethics of using tools trained on other artists’ work, and ultimately the programmes did not do their job well enough. “They’re just ugly,” he said of AI videos. He said he could see a future where viewers would have a “huge amount of fatigue” with AI and would cherish anything that was not artificial. – AFP February was the eighth month in a row with a reading below the 50 mark, which points to a contraction in business activity, and marked the fastest rate of decline since last October. The composite PMI index tracks the services and manufacturing sectors that together account for more than two-thirds of the German economy. “After a glimmer of hope in recent months, the German industry is feeling pretty bleak now,” said Tariq Kamal Chaudhry, economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank. Business activity in the manufacturing sector fell to 42.3 in February from 45.5 the month before, well below analysts’ forecasts for a rise to 46.1. Falling input prices and shorter delivery times, which at first seem positive in light of price pressure and the Red Sea crisis, underscore chronic weakness in demand, Chaudry said. The services PMI rose to 48.2 in February from 47.7 the month before, beating analysts’ expectations for 48.0, but still in contraction territory. The Hamburg Commercial Bank economist was more optimistic about services. “We can see a light at the end of the tunnel, but it might take until the second quarter to reach it.” – Reuters
LYFE LYFE FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 22 @thesundaily FOLLOW ON Malaysian Paper INSTAGRAM Safeguarding fortune CHAP GOH MEI, the Lantern Festival, is the glorious crescendo of the Chinese New Year celebrations, brimming with cultural significance, traditions and a sprinkling of superstitions to navigate. This is the time of the year when families and friends come together to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new one with open arms. Amid the lantern-lit streets and festive cheer, it is crucial to tread carefully to ensure good luck and prosperity for the year ahead. Here are five Chap Goh Mei taboos and the superstitions behind them. The hair havoc In the rich tapestry of Chinese superstitions, the act of cutting one’s hair during Chap Goh Mei is believed to sever one’s connection to good fortune for the rest of the year. This ancient belief stems from the notion that the hair represents one’s vitality and energy and snipping it away on this auspicious day is akin to chopping off your luck at the roots. So, resist the allure of the salon chair and let your locks flow freely until after Chap Goh Mei has passed. Sweeping shenanigans As the Lantern Festival dawns, the temptation to embark on a spring cleaning spree may beckon, but heed this cautionary tale for sweeping on Chap Goh Mei is a surefire way to sweep away your good luck and prosperity. According to folklore, the sweeping motion symbolises the act of casting away fortune and blessings, leaving your home vulnerable to ill luck and misfortune. So, let the dust bunnies frolic and the cobwebs linger a while longer as you revel in the festive spirit without sweeping. Porridge predicament As the morning sun rises on Chap The Lantern Festival marks the conclusion of the Chinese New Year festivities. – 123RF oFive taboos to avoid on Chap Goh Mei █ BYTHASHINE SELVAKUMARAN It is believed that cutting hair could symbolically cut off one’s luck and prosperity for the coming year. – PEXELS People refrain from sweeping the floor on this day to ensure that they retain the blessings and good fortune for the rest of the year. – PEXELS Avoid eating food associated with poverty such as congee on Chap Goh Mei. – PEXELS A commonly observed superstition on Chap Goh Mei is to avoid doing the laundry on this day. – 123RF Goh Mei, resist the comforting embrace of a warm bowl of porridge or congee for breakfast. These humble dishes are associated with poverty and scarcity, believed to beckon financial hardships in the year ahead. Instead, opt for dishes rich in symbolism, such as dumplings or noodles, which are thought to signify prosperity and longevity. Let your taste buds dance to the tune of fortune as you savour each auspicious bite. Argument avoidance On Chap Goh Mei, the air is imbued with harmony and goodwill, making it the perfect time to mend fences and nurture positive relationships. Engaging in arguments or conflicts on this sacred day is believed to attract negative energy and discord, inviting misfortune into your life. Instead, channel your inner peacemaker and focus on fostering understanding and reconciliation. Remember, a harmonious heart is the key to unlocking a year filled with blessings and abundance. Laundry limbo Amid the hustle and bustle of Chap Goh Mei preparations, resist the urge to tackle that mountain of laundry piling up in the corner. According to ancient Chinese superstitions, washing clothes on this auspicious day is believed to wash away your good fortune, leaving you high and dry in the luck department. If laundry duty simply cannot wait, approach it with caution and discretion, ensuring that your luck remains firmly intact. Chap Goh Mei is a time of celebration, reflection and renewal, but it is also a time to navigate the intricate web of superstitions that weave through Chinese culture. By heeding these five Chap Goh Mei taboos and understanding the superstitions behind them, you can safeguard your fortune and usher in a year filled with prosperity, joy and boundless blessings. So, as you revel in the lantern-lit festivities and bask in the warmth of loved ones’ company, remember to tread lightly and embrace the whimsy of Chap Goh Mei superstitions with a smile and a sprinkle of good luck.
LYFE LYFE FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 23 Salad game I N the culinary world, salads are a versatile canvas for creativity and nutrition. From refreshing summer salads to hearty winter bowls, there is a salad for every season and palate. Read on to explore 10 essential salad types that everyone should know, each offering a unique blend of flavours, textures and nutritional benefits. Classic Caesar salad Originating from Tijuana, Mexico, the Caesar salad has become a classic favourite worldwide. Crisp romaine lettuce, crunchy croutons and tangy Caesar dressing make for a winning combination. Enhance it with shaved Parmesan cheese and anchovy fillets for an authentic touch. This salad is perfect as a starter or a light main course. Greek salad Bursting with Mediterranean flavours, the Greek salad is a colourful mix of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, Kalamata olives and feta cheese, all dressed in olive oil and oregano. It is a refreshing option that’s packed with vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. Serve it alongside grilled meats or enjoy it as a standalone dish for a taste of the Greek Isles. Caprese salad Simple yet elegant, the Caprese salad celebrates the beauty of fresh, seasonal ingredients. Sliced o10 must-know salad varieties █ BYTHASHINE SELVAKUMARAN Greek salad – DELISH Caprese salad – FOOD NETWORK Nicoise salad – EATING WELL Kale salad – EATING WELL Cobb salad – ALL RECIPES Asian-inspired salad – NATASHA KITCHEN Waldorf salad – ALL RECIPES Mexican street corn salad (Esquites) – TASTE OF HOME Mediterranean chickpea salad – JOY FOOD SUNSHINE tomatoes, creamy mozzarella cheese and fragrant basil leaves are drizzled with a balsamic glaze and olive oil, creating a harmonious blend of flavours. This salad is a delightful way to showcase the bounty of summer produce. Nicoise salad Hailing from the French Riviera, the Nicoise salad is a hearty and satisfying meal in itself. It features a medley of ingredients such as tuna, hard-boiled eggs, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes and Nicoise olives, all arranged atop a bed of crisp lettuce. Dressed with a Dijon vinaigrette, this salad offers a perfect balance of protein, vegetables and complex carbohydrates. Kale and quinoa salad For a nutritious powerhouse packed with vitamins, minerals and protein, look no further than the kale and quinoa salad. Massaged kale leaves, cooked quinoa, roasted vegetables, nuts, seeds and a zesty dressing come together to create a satisfying and nourishing dish. This salad is ideal for those looking to incorporate more plantbased foods into their diet. Cobb salad Created in the 1930s at the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, the Cobb salad is a beloved American classic. It features rows of ingredients such as chopped lettuce, grilled chicken, crispy bacon, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, tomatoes and blue cheese, all arranged neatly and drizzled with a creamy ranch dressing. This salad is a meal in itself, offering a perfect balance of flavours and textures. Asian-inspired salad Drawing inspiration from Asian cuisine, this salad combines crunchy vegetables, protein-rich tofu or chicken and a flavourful dressing infused with soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and garlic. Additions such as edamame, mandarin oranges and toasted sesame seeds enhance both the taste and nutritional profile of this vibrant dish. It is a refreshing option that is perfect for light lunches or dinners. Waldorf salad This classic combines crisp apples, juicy grapes, crunchy celery and toasted walnuts, all tossed in a creamy dressing made with mayonnaise and a hint of lemon juice. The Waldorf salad offers a delightful contrast of flavours and textures, with the sweetness of the fruit balancing the richness of the dressing. It is a perfect accompaniment to a variety of dishes or as a light meal on its own. Mexican street corn salad (Esquites) Inspired by the flavours of Mexican street food, this salad features grilled corn kernels tossed with creamy mayonnaise, tangy lime juice, spicy chilli powder and crumbled cotija cheese. Fresh cilantro and diced red onions add a burst of freshness and colour to this vibrant dish. Whether served as a side dish or enjoyed as a standalone snack, Mexican street corn salad is sure to be a hit at any gathering. Mediterranean chickpea salad Packed with protein, fibre and Mediterranean flavours, this salad is a satisfying and nutritious option. It combines chickpeas, diced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onions, olives and crumbled feta cheese, all tossed in a lemony vinaigrette. Fresh herbs like parsley and mint add brightness and depth to this vibrant dish. Serve it as a light lunch or alongside grilled meats for a complete meal that is both delicious and filling. Salads are not only delicious but also versatile and nutritious. By mastering these seven essential salad types, you will be equipped to create an array of flavourful and satisfying dishes that are sure to impress family and friends. So, grab your ingredients and get ready to elevate your salad game to new heights. Classic Caesar salad – ALL RECIPES
SCAN ME powered by Contributing Editor Keshy Dhillon / [emailprotected] Editorial T: 03-7784 6688 F: 03-7785 2625 E: [emailprotected] Advertising T: 03-7784 8888 E: [emailprotected] FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 Sheerdriving pleasure driving pleasure SPECIFICATIONS Engine: 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder, VTEC, Turbo Power: 319PS @ 6500rpm Torque: 420Nm @ 2600rpm 0-100kph: 5.5 seconds Top speed: 272kph (Limited) Price (as tested): RM399,900 Everything. Might be the last of the fun Honda cars. Honda Civic Type R for the 90s kid who is getting old but don’t want to grow up ) The turbo VTEC engine makes 319PS and 420Nm of torque. º The Type R generates 100kg of downforce at 200kph. █ BY KESHY DHILLON
MOTORING MOTORING FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 25 THE year 2024 is not a good time to be a car fan. Sure, you have some mega cars from the likes of Bugatti, Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin, but you have to have deep pockets to be able to indulge in those. The advent of technology has made it possible to create stratospheric power and aerospace levels of aerodynamics to ensure a car never leaves the ground. But all of this comes at a price, numbers that would leave some rich folks short of breath. On the other hand, the 90s and the noughties were probably the best times for car fans. Technologies from the 80s such as turbochargers and all-wheel-drive systems had been perfected and came together to create such monstrosities as the Nissan GT-R, the Lancia Delta Integrale and even Audi’s RS series of power-mobiles. And car companies thought of the regular man as well. Ford created the Focus RS, Renault had the mighty Clio, Peugeot with its 308, Mazda its MX-5 and Honda had its Type R. Closer to home, even Proton had something that just about anyone could appreciate – the beloved Satria GTi. And then something changed somewhere. In the ever-evolving world of automotive tech, cars needed to produce more power, be faster, look better and stick to the road like a lizard to the wall. And unfortunately, this meant that cars that were once fun and affordable had become more expensive because evolution requires tech and tech is not cheap. We wouldn’t go so far as to say that electric car’s stole all the fun, but there does lie some blame there. But that’s a debate for another time. Back tracking to the time when cars were cheap and cheerful, the Civic Type R (CTR) was introduced in 1997 and was based on the EK9 Civic. While some of its competitors relied on force induction to create massive power, Honda took a different route and refined its popular VTEC technology. The B16B engine of the EK9 Civic is still one of the finest small displacements, naturallyaspirated engines ever made and is still highly sought after by enthusiasts. It created most of its power at the upper end of the 8000rpm redline, which meant that you had to keep the engine on the boil to extract every bit of horsepower. That, combined with a livewire chassis and grippy tyres, provided a driving experience that is extinct in today’s cars. Then came the evolution of Type R models such as the Integra Type R with legends such as the DC2 and DC5. Arguably one of the most memorable of the Civic Type R’s is the 2007 FD2 which was very much a race car for the road with its ultra-stiff suspension, specially developed tyres and once again, an engine that screamed so loud that it would put your former lover to shame. The subsequent iterations were softened a little as European legislations creeped in. Things like carbon and noise emissions began to threaten the purity of the Type R brand, but fortunately we Asians got none of those models except in the parallel import market. Then came the Civic Type R FK8R. It was the second CTR model that came with a turbo engine after the FK2. And despite being developed in Europe, it was heavenly. But it was unlike older CTR’s, it was heavy, came with adaptive suspension and drive modes, and it was comfortable, a word that could never be used in the same sentence as a Honda Type R. It did not forget the driver though, for the initiated, it offered one of the greatest manual gearboxes ever made and the turbocharger complemented Honda’s VTEC system perfectly. Fans of Honda’s naturally-aspirated engines had a hard time faulting it. It also became the fastest front-wheel-drive car to lap the legendary Nurburgring-Nordschleiffe in Germany. And just when fans and enthusiasts thought that it could not get any better, Honda took the wraps off the Civic Type R FL5 – arguably the greatest Type R, ever. The new CTR FL5 shares a lot with its predecessors, particularly the powertrain and suspension components. But while the older model had aggressive styling such as the double spoilers, fins and wings that just looked rude, the newer model is refined and socially acceptable. It looks more matured with its styling, which is every bit as functional. In fact, at 200kph, the design of the CTR FL5 generates 100kg of downforce to further push the car down to maximise grip. Just like before, there are several vents and fins that channel air in and around the car to also keep things like the engine and brakes cool. The real spectacle though is inside the car and in the way it drives. Current Honda Civic owners will find the interior to be quite familiar, but that is to be expected considering that all Type R’s are built upon the base Civics. So, your Civic Hybrid has the same dashboard as the Type R, except that the Type R only comes with a six-speed manual gearbox. So, you could spend RM80,000 on a body kit for your Civic, but it will never be a Type R. On the topic of manual transmissions, the gear knob in the old FK8 is circular and made of aluminium. The one in the FL5 is also made of aluminium but is shaped like a tear drop and it weighs 230 grammes more. The reason behind the heavier gearknob is that Honda apparently figured that by adding more weight to the knob, it makes the shifts feel more natural, sleeker even. And after jumping into the FL5 after hours behind the wheel of the FK8, the shifts are buttery and precise. The steering column too has been reworked and this makes it feel lighter, faster and more communicative at the same time. The Alcantara wrapped steering wheel is always twitching and chatting with your palms, sending little nuggets of information back to your brain about what is happening with the tyres. In comparison, the steering of the FK8 feels heavy and dull. The real show begins when you drive. Both cars have drive modes – Comfort, Sport and R. But the newer CTR has an individual mode that lets you customise how you want the car to feel – you can have the suspension set to comfortable, the steering set to sport and the engine set for maximum response. The new car also feels more eager to get off the line. Both are powered by the same 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-VTEC engine, except that the new CTR produces 319PS and 420Nm while the previous one offered 310PS and 400Nm. That’s not a lot of power difference but the FL5 has other tricks up its sleeves. The turbocharger for one has been re-engineered and now responds quicker. The flywheel is also 18% lighter and this helps to reduce inertia by 25%, which ultimately results in a car that feels more eager and accelerates harder. In terms of numbers, the new model reaches 100kph from a dead stop in just 5.5 seconds, while its predecessor took 5.7. You may think that 0.2 seconds can barely be felt, but the FL5 just feels wilder from the moment you take your foot off the clutch. The FL5 is a bigger car too, much bigger than a Golf R or a Mercedes-Benz A45S AMG, and perhaps closer in size to a BMW 3-Series. But in Sport or R mode, it dances at the edge of grip and rarely feels like it is about to edge into an understeer. Some describe the FL5 as a grip gorilla; we can understand why as it can charge into corners with the rear neatly tucked in and slingshot out where previous models would just slide into the barriers when you overload the tyres. But you can also take it easy with the new CTR, and that makes us think that Honda has made a sports car for those 90s kid that are growing old but never want to grow up. These people need space for the family, so Honda fitted a huge booth with foldable rear seats. These people also need space for the family, so the rear seats come with ISOFIX mounts and cupholders. They need to keep the family comfortable, so the suspension does a great job at keeping the occupants comfortable, though the very audible tyre roar is a clear indication of what this car really is underneath. And on Sundays when the kids and the wife are asleep, these ‘kids’ wake up at 6am to go barrelling down their favourite road with the rev-match function making them feel like driving gods as they carve corner after corner, appreciating the decades of engineering that has gone into making one of the finest driver’s cars this decade has seen. By 11am, they are back home, and the car has mellowed down and is ready for Sunday lunch with the family at the local banana leaf shop. On the way, the wireless Apple Carplay or wired Android Auto keeps the occupants entertained. There are safety systems to keep the family secure while features like adaptive cruise control and ultra-comfortable sport bucket seats make long journeys bearable. It is a pity that the world has evolved into a place where such cars may soon go the way of the Dodo, but we can all be thankful that there are manufacturers like Honda who still care about driving pleasure. The only thing that stands in the way is the RM399,900 asking price. The interior feels purposeful yet comfortable. The steering wheel is wrapped in Alcantara leather but is otherwise the same as a standard Civic. The digital meter panel changes colour and design to match the chosen drive mode. Air-conditioning controls are identical to the standard Civic. Multiple USB ports and charge pads make it quite ideal for road trips. The 6-speed manual gearbox is one of the best in the industry with buttery shifts.
MOTORING MOTORING FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 26 MERCEDES-AMG is set to captivate enthusiasts with the unveiling of a stunning special model for the A 45 S 4MATIC+, aptly named the “Limited Edition”. The price for the extensive additional equipment is €14,280.00 (RM73,176.85) and will hit the market in April 2024, with the offer extending until the end of the year. The defining feature of the “Limited Edition” is its exclusive paintwork in “AMG green hell magno”, a striking colour previously unavailable for the compact class. Adorned with eye-catching foiling featuring the AMG logo and prominent “A 45 S” lettering on the doors, as well as the AMG crest on the bonnet, this edition rides on matte black 19-inch AMG forged wheels in a seven-twin-spoke design. Yellow accents highlight the rim spokes, complemented by glossy black brake callipers with white AMG logos. Adding to its allure, the “Limited Edition” boasts refined details such as an exclusive fuel cap with the AMG logo and a light projector that illuminates the AMG coat of arms onto the ground upon entering and exiting the car. Enhancing its appeal further, three equipment packages elevate the “Limited Edition”. The AMG Night Package features striking black and high-gloss black design elements, including the front splitter, exterior mirror housings, and beltlines, along with thermally insulating darktinted window surfaces from the B-pillar. The AMG Night Package II is highlighted by darkened struts on the radiator trim and black chrome typography on the front fenders and tailgate, as well as exclusive black door handles and Mercedes stars in the wheel hub caps. The AMG Aerodynamics Package, developed in the wind tunnel, includes special add-on parts and a fixed AMG rear wing to increase contact pressure and enhance driving characteristics at high speeds. Inside, the “Limited Edition” showcases distinctive design elements, including black AMG performance seats upholstered in a combination of Artico man-made leather and Microcut microfibre, accented by yellow decorative stitching. The AMG performance steering wheel, aluminium trim elements with AMG pattern, and illuminated AMG door sills further elevate the interior ambiance. Completing the upgrades are AMG floor mats with “45 S” lettering and yellow decorative stitching. Under the hood, the A 45 S 4MATIC+ packs a punch with its 421hp output, sprinting from 0 to 100kph in just 3.9 seconds, with a top speed limited to 270kph. The AMG 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo engine offers spontaneous response, while the fully variable AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive with AMG Torque Control enhances dynamic driving with its variable distribution of driving force between the front and rear axles, as well as selectively between the left and right rear wheels. Audi teases revamped S3 AUDI enthusiasts are in for a treat as the brand teases the highly anticipated new Audi S3, accompanied by camouflaged photos showcasing both the Sportback and Saloon variants. Powered by a robust 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine, the S3 promises nothing short of an exhilarating driving experience, boasting 328hp and 420Nm of torque at your command. Thanks to recent enhancements, the 2.0-litre TFSI four-cylinder engine receives a notable boost, delivering an additional 23hp and 20Nm of torque. This ensures abundant power for dynamic drives, with robust pulling force and spirited acceleration available across a wide RPM range from 2,100 to 5,500rpm. Accelerating from 0-100kph takes a mere 4.7 seconds, with the top speed gracefully capped at 249kph. Adding to the excitement, the turbocharger receives a pre-boost, ensuring rapid and smooth power delivery. Whether cruising or gently accelerating, the turbocharger maintains a steady spin, guaranteeing a consistent stream of power. Moreover, with the throttle valve remaining open during high-performance moments, drivers can anticipate enhanced engine responsiveness. The extended duration of the throttle valve’s openness translates to accelerated torque delivery, resulting in an even livelier engine response, particularly noticeable in dynamic mode or with the new dynamic plus profile engaged. Equipped with a torque splitter, the Audi S3 promises enhanced agility and stability, complemented by larger brakes and performance tyres to elevate handling prowess. Furthermore, a sportier transmission featuring Audi’s seven-speed S tronic transmission adds to the driving thrill, promising seamless gear shifts and heightened performance on every journey. More power, enhanced performance ASTON MARTIN, renowned for its iconic Vantage model, unveils an updated iteration of its revered two-door GT car after 74 years of craftsmanship. The latest generation, introduced in 2018, undergoes a substantial update, focusing on significant mechanical enhancements alongside aesthetic refinements. Beyond surface-level changes, Aston Martin aims to deliver a refreshed appearance coupled with elevated performance that resonates with enthusiasts. At the heart of the new Vantage lies a Mercedessourced 4.0-litre V8 engine, now tuned to deliver an impressive 656hp, marking a substantial increase of 153hp from its predecessor. This power surge is not merely the result of heightened boost pressure but stems from meticulous adjustments, including new camshafts, enlarged turbos, and a modified compression ratio. Furthermore, three additional heat exchangers and an enlarged oil cooler manage coolant and charge air temperatures more effectively, ensuring optimal engine performance. The powertrain is mated to the trusted 8-speed ZF automatic transmission, transmitting power to the rear wheels via an electronic limited-slip differential. With a shortened final drive ratio of 3.083:1, the new Vantage achieves swifter acceleration while maintaining an impressive top speed of 325kph and a blistering 0-100kph sprint time of just 3.4 seconds. Structural enhancements bolster the Vantage’s rigidity, with a revised underbody and repositioned front cross-member contributing to increased torsional stiffness. Additionally, a lighter and stiffer strut brace enhances chassis stiffness, complemented by improved rigidity at the rear. These modifications pave the way for the new Bilstein DTX adaptive dampers to optimise handling and ride quality. Software refinements further enhance performance and driver engagement, with Aston Martin fine-tuning traction management modes, launch control system, and electronic power steering. Inside, the Vantage cockpit is sleek and elegant, with clean lines and a spacious feel. The seats are comfortable and supportive, designed for an enjoyable driving experience. Standard features include an 11-speaker audio system, while audiophiles can opt for the upgraded Bowers & Wilkins system with 15 speakers and 1,170W of power. The Vantage also comes with Aston Martin’s latest infotainment system, which includes a 10.25- inch touchscreen with online connectivity. Owners can interact with their Vantage through the Aston Martin app, which offers features like vehicle monitoring, location tracking, and community engagement. Despite the extensive enhancements, the essence of the Vantage remains unchanged – a timeless two-door GT car offering a captivating driving experience. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in Q2 2024, with pricing details expected to be announced concurrently, enticing Aston Martin enthusiasts eager to experience the all-new Vantage firsthand. GWM announces arrival of ORA 07, Tank 300 GWM MALAYSIA is expanding its product offerings with the introduction of two new models, which are the ORA 07 and GWM Tank 300, providing Malaysian consumers with a broader selection of models to choose from. The ORA 07, a sleek electric coupe, is set to debut in the Malaysian market in the first quarter of 2024. Boasting a stylish design and electric powertrain, the ORA 07 is expected to appeal to consumers seeking a modern and sophisticated driving experience. Joining the lineup is the highly anticipated GWM Tank 300, scheduled to arrive in 2024. As China’s top rugged SUV, the Tank 300 is designed to conquer tough terrain with ease, offering durability, performance, and versatility for adventurous drivers. By introducing these new models, GWM Malaysia aims to meet the diverse needs and preferences of Malaysian consumers, providing a range of stylish, efficient, and capable vehicles suitable for various lifestyles. In addition to the new models, the ORA Good Cat has gained significant popularity in the market, thanks to its striking design and impressive performance. In response to customer demand, GWM Malaysia introduced the vibrant Pistachio Green colour option for the ORA Good Cat, further enhancing its appeal in the market. ‘Limited Edition’ offer
SPORTS SPORTS FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 28 DALAM MAHKAMAH TINGGI MALAYA DI PULAU PINANG PETISYEN PERCERAIAN NO:PA- 33-417-10/2023 Dalam perkara berkenaan dengan seksyen-seksyen 53, 54, 57, 88 dan 106 Akta Membaharui UndangUndang (Perkahwinan dan Perceraian) 1976 Dan Dalam perkara berkenaan dengan Kaedah-kaedah Prosiding Perceraian Dan Hal-Ehwal Suami Isteri 1980 Dan Dalam perkara Petisyen Perceraian Di antara TEOH KIAN YIH (Suami) (NO.K/P: 791025-07-5353) … Pempetisyen Dan HONG THI THI (Isteri) (Passport Vietnam No.: B4653978) …. Responden NOTIS Kepada: HONG THI THI (Passport Vietnam No.: B4653978) AMBIL PERHATIAN bahawa satu Petisyen untuk Perceraian telah dikemukakan terhadap kamu di Mahkamah ini oleh TEOH KIAN YIH (NO K.P: 791025-07-5353) beralamat di No. 12, Lengkuk Beduk, Taman Sri Aman, 14200 Sungai Bakap, Pulau Pinang, dan Mahkamah telah memerintahkan supaya Petisyen untuk Perceraian tersebut diserahkan kepada kamu dengan menampalkan Sesalinan benar Petisyen Perceraian dan Perintah Penyampaian Ganti di papan kenyataan Mahkamah Tinggi Pulau Pinang dan menyiarkan notis ini di dalam akhbar THE SUN untuk satu (1) hari dan penyampaian sedemikian adalah dianggap penyampaian yang baik dan mencukupi ke atas kamu 8 hari selepas tarikh penampalan atau pengiklanan tersebut. DAN SELANJUTNYA AMBIL PERHATIAN bahawa Petisyen Perceraian tersebut akan di dengar di Mahkamah ini pada 4 haribulan Mac 2024 pada pukul 9.00 pagi pada hari yang mana kamu dikehendaki hadir, dan jika kamu tidak hadir Mahkamah boleh membuat perintah perceraian terhadap kamu dalam ketidakhadiran kamu. Petisyen Perceraian itu boleh diperiksa oleh kamu atas permohonan kepada Mahkamah ini. Bertarikh pada 9 haribulan Februari 2024 t.t ….………….....……… TIMBALAN PENDAFTAR MAHKAMAH TINGGI PULAU PINANG Notis ini telah diiklankan oleh Tetuan Veon Szu & Kok Thye di No. 1442, Tingkat Atas, Jalan Besar, Taman Sungai Bakap, 14200 Sungai Bakap, Pulau Pinang Peguambela dan Peguamcara bagi Pempetisyen yang dinamakan di atas. [Ruj No.: JW/ VSKT/2023-105/TKY/CSC/AM] Tel No.: 04-5822190, Fax No.: 04-5822524 322 Notices Sweet revenge for Swiatek World No. 1 downs Svitolina in Dubai, Gauff reaches quarterfinals I GA SWIATEK avenged her defeat to Elina Svitolina from Wimbledon last year with a commanding 6-1, 6-4 performance yesterday to blast into the Dubai quarterfinals. The Polish world No. 1, who bagged a third consecutive Doha title on Saturday, needed one hour and 23 minutes to defeat the 20th-ranked Svitolina, who returned this week from a back injury she sustained at last month’s Australian Open. “I really wanted to improve my focus compared to yesterday,” said Swiatek, who had a tougher time in her Dubai opener against Sloane Stephens the night before. “I’m happy I didn’t lose my focus and I remembered what I have to do and it worked. So I was a little bit calmer than I was yesterday.” Meanwhile, US Open champion Coco Gauff snapped Karolina Pliskova’s 11-match winning streak, claiming a hard-fought 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win to reach a second consecutive Dubai quarterfinal. Gauff had a lengthy argument with chair umpire Pierre Bacchi late in the second set but did not allow the backand-forth to derail her as she set up a last-eight clash with Anna Kalinskaya. “It definitely felt like a good win,“ said Gauff. “Hopefully I can continue to use that to build my confidence going into the rest of this week.” Gauff said the heated exchange with Bacchi spurred her on after losing the first set. “It definitely gave me some adrenaline,” said Gauff. “I’m glad I was able to reset. I think it just fuelled me. “It’s just one point. It happens in tennis. Players make mistakes, everybody makes mistakes. “I was trying to tell myself to stay calm the next point. Sometimes I get angry and I go for too much. I was trying to let that not be the turning point for the set. “Maybe I dragged it out a little longer than I needed to, but I did what I felt was best in that moment.” Fourth seed Elena Rybakina was made to work in her 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-4 victory over Magdalena Frech, needing two hours and 40 minutes to overcome the in-form Polish qualifier. “I’m happy that I’m still winning the matches. But I can see by the level that of course physically and everything it’s dropping a bit. I don’t know how much I can push and how much I can recover in this half day,” said Rybakina. Earlier on Centre Court, Italian world No. 26 Paolini claimed the 10th top-20 victory of her career by knocking out eighth seed Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 21 minutes. The win earned Paolini a place in a WTA 1000 quarterfinal for just the second time, having reached that stage in Cincinnati last summer. “I feel really confident. I just don’t think about my opponent’s ranking. I just think about what I have to do on the court,” said Paolini, who dismissed 11th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia and former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez in her opening two rounds in Dubai. – AFP Alcaraz says he’ll be ready for Indian Wells WORLD NO. 2 Carlos Alcaraz says the ankle sprain that forced him out of the ATP Rio Open will sideline him for “a few days” but he’ll be ready for his Indian Wells title defence after an exhibition against Rafael Nadal in Las Vegas. “I just had an MRI on my ankle after yesterday’s injury,” Alcaraz wrote on Instagram. “After the meeting with my doctor and my physiotherapists the diagnosis is a grade II lateral sprain. “I have a sprain that will keep me out for a few days! See you in Las Vegas and Indian Wells!” Alcaraz was injured on the second point of his firstround match against Brazilian wild card Thiago Monteiro, his right foot catching in the red clay surface at the Jockey Club Brasiliero. After falling hard he limped to his chair, where during a medical timeout a trainer taped up his swollen right ankle. He returned to win the interrupted opening game but after dropping his serve in the second decided to call it quits. Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference that physiotherapists had indicated the injury was “not serious” and yesterday’s further tests bore that out. He still intends to play a made-for-Netflix exhibition on March 3 in Las Vegas against 22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal. The fixture at the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort is part of Nadal’s return to the courts after missing almost a year with injury. Main draw play begins on March 6 at Indian Wells, where all seeded players have a first-round bye. – AFP LIV golfer Joaquin Niemann has accepted a special invitation to play the Masters along with Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen, Augusta National said yesterday. Chile’s Niemann said after his victory in the LIV season-opener in Mexico – where he shot a first-round 59 – that he hoped to have a chance to contend in majors even though his world ranking has dropped because LIV events don’t carry world ranking points. He was already qualified for the British Open thanks to his victory in the Australian Open in December, and Masters officials cited that Australian triumph in announcing they had extended an invitation to the 25-year-old to play in a fifth Masters. “The Masters Tournament has a long-standing tradition of inviting leading international players who are not otherwise qualified,” Masters chairman Fred Ridley said in a statement. “Today’s announcement represents the tournament’s continued commitment towards developing interest in the game of golf across the world.” Niemann, who first played the Masters in 2018 as the top ranked amateur in the world, has made the cut in three of four Masters appearances. He has top-five finishes in each of his three European Tour starts this season, including his playoff win in the Australian Open. With LIV golfers still banned from the US PGA Tour Niemann has used European Tour events to try to bolster his ranking, which now stands at 81st – outside the top 50 that will automatically qualify for the Masters. Hisatsune, 21, is ranked 78th. He spent a year on the Japan Golf Tour before qualifying for the European Tour, where he won the French Open and finished high enough in the Race to Dubai to earn a place on the US PGA Tour. He’s the first Japanese player to be named the European Tour’s rookie of the year. Olesen is an eight-time winner on the European Tour. He has played in three previous Masters, but this will be his first since he was cleared in December 2021 of charges of sexually assaulting a woman on a transatlantic flight. – AFP BRIEFS Woods’s son to play in PGA pre-qualifier CHARLIE WOODS, 15-year-old son of 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, will play in the prequalifier for the US PGA Tour Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Charlie Woods will play at Lost Lake Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida, one of four pre-qualifying sites. The top 25 players and those tied will advance to the Monday qualifier for next week’s PGA Tour event, which will be played Feb 29-March 3 at PGA National's Champion Course. If Charlie Woods can make it through both stages of qualifying he would earn his first US PGA Tour start. Tiger Woods was a 16-year-old amateur when he played his first US PGA Tour event at Riviera Country Club in 1992. Murray beaten in Doha ANDY MURRAY suffered another setback with a marathon loss to Czech teenager Jakub Mensik in the Qatar Open second round yesterday. Former world No. 1 Murray ended a six-match losing streak in the opening round on Tuesday, but was edged out after almost three and a half hours on court and three tie-breaks, losing 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-4). “I’m just happy. It was a tough match today,” said Mensik. “Andy is an unbelievable player, I know that. When I was young, I watched him win Wimbledon two times, so it’s unbelievable that he can still compete with the best players in the world.” Australia down Kiwis in thriller TIM DAVID hit a four off the last ball to give Australia a nail-biting six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the first Twenty20 international in Wellington yesterday. Having been set 216 to win, Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh hammered 72 off 44 balls before batting partner David (31 not out) sealed a thrilling last-gasp victory. “I thought we were done, to be honest,” admitted the relieved Marsh. “Timmy David is extremely calm and had a lot of confidence in his ability towards the end. We are very lucky to have him. It was a great game of cricket.” Rachin Ravindra had earlier put New Zealand in the driving seat by hitting 68 runs off 35 balls to claim his first half-century in the format as the hosts finished on 215-3. Marsh finished with best bowling figures of 1-21 before leading the charge with the bat, hitting seven sixes and two fours in his unbeaten knock. “I thought we didn’t bowl too bad, but the power they possess all the way down is the reason why they are pretty good,” New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said of Australia. Poland’s Iga Swiatek in action during her round of 16 match against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina (not pictured) yesterday. – REUTERSPIX Niemann. – REUTERSPIX Niemann among trio invited to play Masters
SPORTS SPORTS FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 29 VICTOR OSIMHEN was described as “a huge player” after marking his return for Napoli with a goal that gave the Italian champions a 1-1 draw with Barcelona and hope that a dreadful season might have reached a turning point. Nigeria forward Osimhen rolled home the leveller with 15 minutes left of the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, in his first match since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations. The 25-year-old equalised Robert Lewandowski’s 60th-minute opener, which seemed likely to be the decisive goal as Barca were for long periods the better team, with Napoli’s first and only shot on target. “He’s a huge player for us,” said Napoli skipper Giovanni Di Lorenzo to Amazon Prime Video. “He’s come back with the right attitude. We knew he would though as he’s a great player and professional. He’ll give us a hand in the matches to come.” Calzona had less than 48 hours to prepare for his first match in charge after replacing Walter Mazzarri on Monday night, and Osimhen gave Napoli a chance of progressing despite a disjointed performance by his team. “What I liked best was the desire to get back into the game. We need to work on tactical things, but I also got good responses from the substitutes so I’m happy,” said Calzona. “We could have lost but we drew, and we even had a chance to win. So I’m pleased.” “Playing against Barca is difficult for everyone but the draw keeps us in it. We want to go through because Napoli have to have that that ambition. It will be a difficult match for us.” “We know that we need to do more but we’ve taken a step forward and now we have a chance in the return leg. It’s all to play for.” For Barca meanwhile it was the latest misstep of a complicated campaign at the end of which coach Xavi will leave, assuming president Joan Laporta doesn’t sack the coach before then. The away side had the better chances but couldn’t put Napoli away and could yet pay for their wastefulness. Xavi’s team were agonisingly close to getting a last-gasp win when Ilkay Gundogan’s low shot whizzed just wide. “Playing like this we have a good chance of going through. We played well in attack and defence, and after the goal we created more chances,” Xavi told reporters. “We deserved to win but this is the Champions League, if you give them a space then you can be punished. “It’s a shame that the result didn’t reflect the play. But I’m satisfied because we applied what we have worked on. I’m proud of the image the squad gave of itself. We’re ready to compete in the return leg.” Barcelona centreback Ronald Araujo added: “We’re a little disappointed with the result because we could have come out with a win. “Napoli had a lot of the ball in the last 15 minutes but they barely created a chance. The Champions League is like that.” – AFP Education remains an important pillar of Malaysian society; it equips students with the skills needed to become productive and useful members of society. We invite you to showcase the best of education and the difference your institution has brought to the education landscape. Education matters so join us in 2024! Contact us now for special deals on digital, video and print advertising. Malaysian Paper 03-7784 6688 [emailprotected] Osim gives Napoli hope All to play for, says Calzona as Italian champions hold mighty Barca New Mercedes nicer to drive: Russell GEORGE RUSSELL declared Mercedes’ new Formula One car nicer to drive than last year’s tricky offering after racking up 122 laps of Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit on the opening day of testing yesterday. The Briton, who hands over to seven times world champion team mate Lewis Hamilton for today’s session, said it had been a positive debut for the W15 car. The day’s work included a full race simulation in the afternoon. “From hitting the ground it felt like we had a good foundation to start from,” said Russell, who ended the day 12th overall. “We completed lots of laps and have plenty of data to go through tonight. We ended the day in a reasonably good spot and we can build from here over the next two days.” Russell, whose November 2022 victory in Brazil remains the former champions’ last race win, said the focus will be on maximising mileage. “Overall the W15 does feel nicer to drive than last year’s car,” he added. “We know that it’s not about the feeling, but the speed. Nevertheless, today was about learning and not about chasing performance. “We’re focused on ourselves at this test and it will only be next week where we see where we stack up against the others.” Mercedes finished second overall behind runaway champions Red Bull last year but failed to win a race for the first time in 12 years. Technical director James Allison said at the car’s launch that last year’s weaknesses had been addressed with a big effort to improve the ‘spiteful’ rear axle and providing more reassurance for the drivers. The season starts in Bahrain on March 2. – Reuters THREE-TIME world champion Max Verstappen gave his struggling rivals little hope for optimism ahead of the new Formula One season when he dominated the first day of winter testing yesterday. The Red Bull driver was more than a second faster than Lando Norris in a McLaren with Carlos Sainz, about to start his final year as a Ferrari driver, in third spot at the Sakhir track where the season-opener takes place on March 2. “It feels good to be back in an F1 car again and I had fun out on track today. We covered a lot of laps and tried quite a few things with the car, which was important, so happy overall with how it went,” said Verstappen. His performance was a boost for a Red Bull team reeling from an investigation into team chief Christian Horner who has been accused of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female member of staff. Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff described the investigation as “an issue for all of Formula One”. “Red Bull has started as an independent investigation, if this is done in the right way with transparency and with rigour, I think that’s something that we need to look at – what the outcomes are and what it means for Formula One, and how we can learn from that,” Wolff told a news conference. “We want to talk about racing cars and we want to talk about the sport rather than these kind of very critical topics, that are more just a team’s issue, it’s a phenomenon or it’s an issue for all of Formula One and in general for every individual that works out there.” – AFP Verstappen dominates testing Napoli’s Victor Osimhen celebrates after scoring during yesterday’s Champions League round of 16 first Leg match against Barcelona. – AFPPIX
SPORTS SPORTS FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 30 SIR JIM RATCLIFFE accepts Manchester United have a lot to learn from their “noisy neighbours” Manchester City and Liverpool but is determined to “knock both of them off their perch” within three years as he set out his vision to rebuild the Red Devils. Ratcliffe, 71, is now co-owner of the club he has supported since the age of six after completing the purchase of a 27.7% stake which delegates control of football operations to his company Ineos. He set out his ambition to challenge City and Liverpool for domestic and European silverware but called on United fans to be patient, insisting it will take two or three seasons at least for Ineos to get the club to where he wants them to be. In the longer term, he is looking to work with the public sector on either building a new £2 billion (RM11.6b) stadium to regenerate the area around the Old Trafford, which he envisages hosting England games and FA Cup finals, or redevelop the existing site at a cost of £1b (RM5.8b). “We have a lot to learn from our noisy neighbour and the other neighbour (Liverpool). They are the enemy at the end of the day,” Ratcliffe said. “There is nothing I would like better than to knock both of them off their perch. Equally, we are the three great northern clubs who are very close to one another. “They have been in a good place for a while and there are things we can learn from both of them. “They have sensible organisations, great people within the organisations, a good, driven and elite environment that they work in. I am very respectful of them but they are still the enemy.” Asked about the timeframe to make United truly competitive, Ratcliffe added: “It’s not a light switch. It’s not an overnight change – it’s going to take two or three seasons. “You have to ask the fans for some patience. I know the world these days likes instant gratification but that’s not the case with football really. “It’s not a 10-year plan. The fans would run out of patience if it was a 10-year plan. But it’s certainly a three-year plan to get there.” – The Independent /thesuntelegram FOLLOW ON TELEGRAM Malaysian Paper ‘This is their Barcelona’ LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp evoked memories of their famous win over Barcelona in 2019 during their “thunderstorm” second half comeback to beat Luton 4-1. Trailing to Chiedozie Ogbene’s 12th-minute header, Klopp’s side were a different prospect after the break with Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliott bringing up 100 goals for the season. While it by no means matched the magnitude of their Champions League semifinal comeback after losing the first leg 3-0 to the Catalan giants, it was significant in terms of the title race – re-establishing a four-point lead over Manchester City – and the invigorating atmosphere which the team will undoubtedly have to lean on during the run-in. “Tonight is one of those nights where it is difficult to stop talking. I am so happy,” said Klopp, who was without 11 first-team players including forwards Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez who remain doubtful for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea. “We had to ignore the fact we were 1-0 down and use the things that are good and improve the counter-press. The second half was a thunderstorm. Wow. “I will mention this game from now quite a few times. I promised my team a few months ago that I would never mention or use the Barcelona game as an example and I used it again today so I broke my promise. “Just because before the game, it was kind of similar. Many players missing, stuff like this. The team that time ignored the fact who is missing and I want us to ignore the fact who is missing. “That is difficult because the public got the whole knowledge of who is missing only tonight. It’s like… I needed a few minutes to process it when I got all the news. “But from that moment on, when you know how you can deal with it and sort it for this game, it feels really good. That is what I wanted the boys to show. “This is an example tonight. This is their Barcelona, now against Luton. A difficult situation, plenty of reasons to give up in moments: not tonight and I saw only a super group fighting. “If you don’t limit yourself with bad thoughts, you can fly. And that’s what the boys did.” Luton head coach Rob Edwards, whose side were impressive in the first half, admitted scoring so early just made their task harder. “We just made them angry,” he said. “Overall it was a really good first half. Second half I thought we saw Anfield, saw Liverpool, saw their full-throttle football. Their counter-pressing football was amazing. “In the end, it was a great learning curve for us to see what the best looks like. I know they had some players missing, but their second-half performance was like the best out there. “I thought we were very, very good. They were better.” – The Independent Skipper Van Dijk salutes outstanding Reds reaction VIRGIL VAN DIJK hailed Liverpool’s “outstanding” reaction after roaring back from a goal down at half-time to beat Luton 4-1 at Anfield. The Liverpool’s captain, 32, who began the comeback with his 56th-minute header, said, according to livescore.com: “Nobody was satisfied with the first half. We were rushing in the final third and we didn’t find the right pass. “Obviously it is quite normal to become nervous upfront when you are not making the right decisions. “The reaction shown today was outstanding and something we need for the rest of the season – today was a big one. “Luton are a good side and they play football taking some risks and when we won the ball we had to punish them.” Liverpool’s focus now turns to Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea in what is their first chance to lift silverware this season. “It is important for us to look ahead who we face but today was an important and difficult one in many reasons,” the Dutch centreback said. “I don’t think there was any injuries from tonight and now it is time to focus on the final.” Liverpool named their youngest Premier League starting XI since February 2018, with Elliott, Connor Bradley and Jarrell Quansah all impressing. Academy graduates Bobby Clark, James McConnell and Jayden Danns were also brought into the fray later on in a positive night for the academy. And manager Jurgen Klopp was pleased to see his lesser-established players step up in the absence of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota. “Luis Diaz put it in the back of the net, Cody Gakpo – what a game and Ryan Gravenberch too – they were all exceptional,” Klopp said. “Quansah has stepped up. Same with Connor and Bobby, James McConnell, a massive improvement in our young boys. “The kids came on and did an incredible job. It is cool how culture educated the next generation.” – Agencies Ratcliffe out to knock City, Liverpool off their perch █ BY CARL MARKHAM █ BY JAMIE GARDNER MATCH-BY-MATCH FACTS and stats ahead of the next round of English Premier League fixtures (all in Malaysian time/11pm unless stated): TOMORROW Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest – Home win Forest went on a winless run of nine Premier League games against Villa before winning 2-0 when the sides met in November. Villa have lost just two of their last 14 League games against Forest (W6 D7) but have lost their last two League home games. Brighton vs Everton – Home win Everton have won their last two League games at Brighton but are winless in their last eight League games (D4 L4) while the Seagulls are unbeaten in their last 10 home League games (W5 D5). Crystal Palace vs Burnley – Home win Burnley have won just three League games all season to sit 19th (D4 L18). Both sides have beaten each other six times in 15 Premier League meetings (D3). Palace’s new manager Oliver Glasner, who replaced Roy Hodgson on Monday, will be on the sidelines for the first time in tomorrow’s match. Man United vs Fulham – Home win Fulham have managed three wins against United in 33 Premier League meetings and only one at Old Trafford. The Cottagers last defeated United in 2009, losing 15 of their 18 meetings in all competitions since then. United have won their last four League games. SUNDAY Bournemouth vs Man City (1.30am) – Away win Bournemouth have suffered defeats in all of their 13 Premier League meetings with City, including a 6-1 loss in their last game. City and Arsenal have the most away wins (eight) in the League so far this season. The Cherries are on a four-match winless streak with three draws and one loss. Arsenal vs Newcastle (4am) – Home win Newcastle beat Arsenal 1-0 in their last clash in November but their last visit to the Emirates in January 2023 ended in a goalless draw. The Gunners have 34 wins over Newcastle in their 57 Premier League meetings (D11 L12). The Magpies have lost seven of their 12 away games this season, winning three. Wolves vs Sheffield United (9.30pm) – Home win Both clubs have two wins each out of a total of five Premier League meetings between them. Sheffield United have conceded the most goals (65) and own goals (four) this season and have won only one away game this season.They were beaten 1-0 by Wolves in their last visit in 2021. TUESDAY West Ham vs Brentford (4am) – Away win Brentford have beaten West Ham in all five of their Premier League clashes. The Hammers are currently on a six-game winless streak, having lost their last three games without scoring. The Bees secured a 2-0 victory in their last visit to West Ham in May. Reuters PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEWS & PREDICTIONS Klopp compares Luton comeback to famous victory Luton Town’s Gabriel Osho (left) fights for the ball with Liverpool’s Luis Diaz during their English Premier League match yesterday. – AFPPIX
theSun is published and printed by Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd (221220-K) of Lot 6, Jalan 51/217, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel: 03-7784 6688 • Tel (Editorial): 03-7784 6688 Fax: 03-7785 2625 Email: [emailprotected] • Tel (Advertising): 03-7784 8888 Email: [emailprotected] MIKEL ARTETA bemoaned a lack of aggression from his Arsenal side in the Champions League defeat at Porto but said it would be “cruel” to judge their return to the knockout stages on the last-gasp goal that settled the contest. The Gunners’ hopes of reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in 14 years suffered a blow as Galeno’s fine late strike saw Porto win 1-0 in the last 16 first-leg tie. With the second leg at the Emirates Stadium on March 12, Arteta now knows his side must win on home soil to reach the business end of the Champions League on their long-awaited return. Arsenal, more than anyone, know there are no easy games at this stage of Europe’s elite club competition – having fallen at this hurdle seven years in a row under Arsene Wenger. This is their first time back at this level since the last of those in 2017 and it proved much more challenging than the recent Premier League thrashings of West Ham and Burnley for a team inexperienced on these occasions – Kai Havertz the only player from the starting XI with any previous appearances in the Champions League knockout phases. The vistiors failing to register a shot on target on a tough night at the Estadio do Dragao with Porto more than a match for the Gunners, frustrating the visitors for much of the evening and ultimately capitalising on some lapse defending to secure a late victory. “Obviously I am very disappointed the way we gave the game away at the end,” Arteta said. “Not managing that situation well enough. You get punished in the Champions League. If you cannot win it, you don’t lose it. “We really dominated the game but we lacked purpose, especially in the first half. You need to have much more aggression, you need to break lines, to play forward and generate much more threat on that backline. “We will learn from it. Now it is clear, it is half-time. If you want to be in the quarterfinals you have to beat your opponent and that will be the purpose and the plan.” Asked if his team were naive to fall to defeat in such a way, Arteta added: “Well it’s only the last ball, so if in 94 minutes they haven’t had any naivety other than that one. “I think it’s a bit cruel to judge it. But it’s true that it has had a big impact on the result. “A lot of other things they did for the first time here were very good. When you give the ball away three times in that area – you cannot do it.” Porto, captained by 40-year-old Pepe, appeared much more streetwise to the task at hand, leaving head coach Sergio Conceicao happy with the result. He said: “The team understood perfectly the spaces they had to step into to condition our opponents and also what we had to do up front to hurt them. “It was a good game, a Champions League game. Our opponents had more of the ball, but Porto were always more dangerous.” Conceicao also hit back at Arteta’s suggestion that his team had “no intention of playing”. When asked about Porto’s tactics, Arteta said: “We are very used to playing against defensive blocks… teams with no intention of playing.” When asked about Arteta’s assessment on Porto’s approach to the game, Conceicao said: “It’s an opinion. They wanted to play, we wanted to win. Arteta is from the (Pep) Guardiola school, who is the coach with the most titles in the world. “They think that the best way to beat their opponents is to have more possession of the ball, but that depends on the team and the performers they have. “We had 40%-60% possession of the ball, which is not a scandal. I didn’t mind having 30%-70% and winning too. “It all depends on what you do with the ball within the strategy defined to score goals.” – The Independent/Agencies SCAN ME FRIDAY | FEB 23, 2024 or download app from the App Store or Google PlayTM . www.thesun.my Free access to iPaper PDF Download SCAN ME Malaysian Paper Read iPaper at Malaysian Paper Malaysian Paper -Story on page 29 -Story on page 2 Shell-shocked Shell-shocked Gunners Gunners Arteta irked by lack of aggression in Arsenal’s first-leg defeat at Porto -Story on page 28 Sweet revenge for Swiatek This is their Barcelona Osim gives Napoli hope █ BY MARK MANN-BRYANS Porto’s Wendell (left) and Otavio (right) in action with Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard during their UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match yesterday. – REUTERSPIX Story on page 30
