My 2008 Chinese New Year wish..

hopefully DAP & PKR could reach a compromise soon to take on BN one-on-one in this coming General Elections which is expected to be held before April 15 2008. The Oppositions should not fight among themselves as the beneficiary in this tussle will none other than UMNO-led BN.

行動黨秘書長林冠英指出，他將于下週與公正黨顧問拿督斯里安華會面，希望兩黨之間的談判，可在農曆新年之前有結果。

他說，雖然行動黨從黨領袖至基層，都對公正黨華裔高層領袖的做法感到不滿，不過，他還是有和安華保持溝通。

“我們兩天前才通電話，我會把眼光放得比較遠大，兩黨合作不只是黨高層領袖，而是由上至下的。”

他說，兩黨在議席談判的事件上，已達成協議，只有3名領袖可對外發表談論而已，即公正黨顧問拿督斯里安華、主席旺阿茲沙及他本身，而行動黨至今都有遵守這協議，避免破壞協議的默契。
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2007年度十大勁歌金曲頒獎禮得獎名單

《2007年度十大勁歌金曲頒獎禮》得獎名單

最受歡迎男歌星：陳奕迅

最受歡迎女歌星：容祖兒

金曲金獎：《花落誰家》李克勤

亞太區最受歡迎香港男歌星：陳奕迅

亞太區最受歡迎香港女歌星：Twins

最受歡迎男新人獎

金獎：林峰

銀獎：陳柏宇

銅獎：洪卓立

最受歡迎女新人獎

金獎：江若琳

銀獎：裕美

銅獎：鐘舒漫

最受歡迎組合獎

金獎：Twins

銀獎：EO2

銅獎：HotCha

最受歡迎唱作歌星

金獎：王菀之

銀獎：孫耀威

銅獎：張繼聰

2007年度傑出表現獎

金獎：張敬軒

銀獎：關心妍

銅獎：鄧健泓

2007四台聯頒音樂大獎歌曲獎：《花落誰家》

作曲：Eric Kwok

填詞：林若寧

主唱：李克勤

新人薦場飆星獎：小肥

最受歡迎華語歌曲獎

金獎：《小小》容祖兒

銀獎：《淘汰》陳奕迅

銅獎：《四人遊》方大同、薛凱琪

最受歡迎廣告歌曲大獎

金獎：《心花怒放》容祖兒

銀獎：《永久保存》陳柏宇

銅獎：《你的味道》Hot Cha

幕后大獎：《富士山下》

最佳作曲：澤日生

最佳編曲：陳珀、江志仁

最佳填詞：林夕

最佳歌曲監製：梁榮駿

十大勁歌金曲

《酷愛》張敬軒、《愛回家》古巨基、《逼得太緊》吳雨霏、《零時零分》容祖兒、《富士山下》陳奕迅、《男人KTV》側田、《化》楊千嬅、《無心戀唱》泳兒、《花落誰家》李克勤、《木紋》何韻詩

World's cheapest car goes on show

Tata Motors has unveiled the world's cheapest motor car at India's biggest car show in the capital, Delhi.

The vehicle, called the Tata Nano, will sell for 100,000 rupees or $2,500 and enable those in developing countries to move to four wheels. The four-door five-seater car, which goes on sale later this year, has a 33bhp, 624cc, engine at the rear. It has no air conditioning, no electric windows and no power steering, but two deluxe models will be on offer.

Tata will initially make about 250,000 Nanos and expects eventual annual demand of one million cars. The price will be slightly more than the 100,000 once tax and other costs are taken into consideration. The Nano release comes as India's domestic car market is predicted to soar in the coming years on the back of the country's fast-growing economy and increased consumer wealth.

Malaysia bans recruitment of Indian workers after unrest by ethnic Indians

(08 Jan 2008) -Malaysia has frozen the recruitment of Indian workers, including temple priests, sculptors and musicians, an official said Tuesday, in a move apparently linked to unrest by Malaysia's ethnic Indians.

The decision, made by the Cabinet on Dec. 18, became public the day India's Defense Minister A.K. Antony ended a three-day visit, which both sides hailed as a boost to rapidly growing bilateral relations, including military links.

The decision was not conveyed to Antony during his talks with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, and apparently caught the Indian High Commission by surprise.

The Cabinet decision was made Dec. 18, but was not officially announced. It was confirmed by a Home Ministry official only when reporters called for clarification on a statement by a religious group that Indian temple workers were being denied permission to work in Malaysia.

An Indian High Commission official said the mission is in touch with the "authorities concerned on the reported circular." The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing protocol, did not elaborate.

The Home Ministry official said Indian workers who are already in the country will be allowed to carry on, but their permits will not be renewed.

He said the ban is related to a recent unrest by the country's minority ethnic Indians, who are demanding racial equality in the Muslim majority country. The official also spoke on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.

About 140,000 Indians from India work in Malaysia, constituting the third largest foreign work force. Most work in low-paying jobs as waiters, barbers and gardeners. however, some hold top professional posts in banks and information technology industries.

The ban did not specify whether professionals were also included, but the order is believed to cover all categories of workers from India, the Home Ministry official said.

He said the three categories of Hindu temple workers were specifically mentioned in the order because some of them were believed to have fanned emotional anger in the local Indian community through their sermons and support.

About 20,000 ethnic Indians, most of whom are Hindus, demonstrated on the streets on Nov. 25 in a rare and open challenge to the government. Subsequently, the government arrested the top five leaders of the group that organized the protest, the Hindu Rights Action Force.

They are currently being held under a law that allows indefinite detention without trial.

Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad couldn't be reached for comment.

Ethnic Indians in Malaysia say they face discrimination in jobs, education and business because of an affirmative action program for the majority Malays, who are Muslims. The Indian also say their religious rights are being trampled by Islamic officials.

Malays form about 60 per cent of Malaysia's 27 million people while ethnic Indians make up eight per cent.

Malaysia bans Indian recruitment
Malaysia bans intake of India, Bangladesh workers

Areas that are favourable to DAP (II)

(click image for larger view)

Despite losing the contest in 2004, i am confident DAP will have a very bright chance of capturing Rasah parliamentary seat coming this GE; based on the voters' sentiments which i heard from some of my network of friends living there.

Rasah, which includes state assemblies of :-
Labu (won by BN-UMNO with a majority 2,668),
Bukit Kepayang (won by BN-Gerakan with a majority 430),
Rahang (won by BN-MCA with a majority 1,756),
Mambau (won by BN-MCA with a majority 1,517) &
Senawang (won by BN-Gerakan with a majority 4,640).

Malaysian police break up fourth rights rally

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police broke up a human rights rally on Saturday for the fourth time in three months, arresting at least one person and using a water cannon to disperse a group protesting against the use of internal security laws to silence dissent.

Malaysia has drawn international criticism for its use of a colonial-era security law in a crackdown on public protests which have brought more than 20,000 people onto the streets since November.

The spate of protests in this normally peaceful country comes at a delicate time for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government, which has seen its popularity fall ahead of snap polls expected in the coming months.

A witness said an ethnic Indian man was arrested at Saturday night's protest after defying police orders to disperse. A police spokesman said there was no record of arrests so far.

The Malaysian rights group Suaram criticised police for using water cannon and deploying riot police to break up the peaceful candlelight vigil.

"It's totally unnecessary. They provoked the crowd by lining up the riot police with batons and shields and tried to push people away," Suaram executive director Yap Swee Seng told Reuters.

He said at least two people were arrested.

About 300 protesters, mostly lawyers, holding lighted white candles had earlier gathered near the city's main square, handing out leaflets calling for the abolition of internal security laws.

Their march to the square was halted by police who had earlier sealed off the area. Most protesters soon left, but a group of about 30 Indian men challenged police to arrest them with cries of "We want action", another witness said.

Police fired water cannon to break up the rally and chased protesters away, prompting shopkeepers to shutter their stores.

Last month the government invoked the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for indefinite detention without trial, to detain five members of a Hindu rights body that had organised a rally of more than 10,000 ethnic Indians in November.

The Indian protest, which complained of racial discrimination by the government, was one of the largest in a decade. It shocked authorities who accused the organisers of trying to incite racial tensions.

Police had said the organisers of Saturday's rally did not have a permit.

Malaysia bans public assemblies of more than five people without a police permit. In practice, police deny permits to anti-government protests but often issue them for protests aimed at foreign governments such as the United States.

Areas that are favourable to DAP

-3-corner fight resulting in favour of BN.
-Loss of respect for M.Kayveas lately.
-current political scenario.
-if DAP could put a strong candidate from Perak state to contest in Taiping parliamentary seat, most likely the Taiping seat could fall into Opposition's hands
(Ong Chee Keng had already defected from DAP to PPP).

A Wi-Fi Virus Outbreak? It's Possible

here
& here

Telescope spies newborn planet

Astronomers have discovered a newborn planet in a solar system that is still in the process of forming - the first example of this ever found.

Planets are believed to develop within swirling discs of dust and gas around nascent stars.

So studying very young examples could tell astronomers much about the birth and evolution of planetary systems - including our own Solar System.

Details of the discovery, by a team in Germany, appear in the journal Nature.

Johny Setiawan, from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, and colleagues say the planet has nearly 10 times the mass of our Jupiter; and it circles TW Hydrae, a nearby young star which is only eight to 10 million years old.

The planet orbits the star with a period of 3.56 days at a distance of about six million km (four million miles), inside the inner rim of the system's dusty disc.

The researchers tell Nature the study shows how planet formation can occur quickly before a burgeoning star has had time to clear debris from its neighbourhood.

"This demonstrates that planets can form within 10 million years, before the disc has been dissipated by stellar winds and radiation," they write.

The observations were made using the 2.2m Max-Planck-Gesellschaft telescope at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla facility in Chile.

TW Hydrae is is situated about 182 light-years away in the constellation Hydra.

Oil hits record $100 a barrel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices vaulted to a record $100 a barrel on Wednesday as violence in Nigeria, tight energy stockpiles and a weaker dollar triggered a surge of speculative buying, dealers said.

Oil's climb to the psychologically key triple-digit price helped send stocks tumbling on Wall Street and further darkened an already gloomy economic outlook in the United States, which has been battered by a housing crisis and credit crunch.

"Oil hitting $100 a barrel has sparked some concerns about the consumer and inflation," said Todd Salamone, vice president of research at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

U.S. crude traded once at $100 a barrel, up $4.02, before easing back to settle $3.64 higher at $99.62. It remains below the inflation-adjusted high of $101.70 hit in April 1980, a year after the Iranian revolution.

London Brent crude rose $3.99 to $97.84.

"Oil could rise further from here. It's simple supply-and-demand fundamentals," said Kris Voorspools, energy analyst at Fortis in Brussels.

The White House said it would not open up the nation's emergency crude oil reserve to lower prices. Two members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said the cartel was powerless to bring the market down from its lofty height.

Crude prices jumped 58 percent in 2007, the biggest annual gain this decade. Oil prices have nearly tripled since 2000 -- driven by rising demand in China and other developing countries, tight stockpiles and geopolitical turmoil.

他是否真有悔意?

“錯在住同一酒店”
蔡細歷提醒大家要小心

（布城2日訊）衛生部長拿督斯里蔡細歷醫生承認，他最大錯誤就是為了方便，去同一家 酒店、同一間房間。

受詢及政治人物隱私權，應受更大的保障時，他說，不只是政治人物，而是每個人。

“如果今天你們去酒店，你們有想到這只是一個 酒店房間…可是我最大錯誤，就是去同樣 酒店、去同樣房間，以為方便。”

他也勸告其他人，若去同一間酒店的同一間房，要好自為之。

蔡細歷在記者會也說，健康政治文化是要涵蓋很多領域，不是只局限于服務期限。

“健康政治文化，不是說你做了3屆，你（現在）沒有做，就是健康政治文化。”

他認為，若只是在任期限，那就是健康政治文化太簡化了。因為還必須涵蓋貪污、道德和個人行為。

“這些大原則，我相信很多人都會接受，但是，是不是黨有能力來監督？若有能力監督，是不是黨有那種…可以說，有效的方式，而不能引起疑問的方式，來評估、衡量一個人行為。”

蔡細歷也說，每人對個人行為有不同看法。他舉例，回教徒可娶4個老婆，華裔同胞卻不可以。

“你多一個，人家就說你沒有道德。”

所以，他說，當馬華定下健康政治文化目標時，也要有個強大的背后支持在監督，否則是藐視了打造健康政治文化的口號。

Malaysian minister says in sex video

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian minister admitted on Tuesday he was featured in a widely circulated sex video, triggering a fresh scandal that could deeply embarrass the government ahead of snap elections.

Health Minister Chua Soi Lek said he has apologized to the prime minister and other party leaders over the scandal, but added that he would not resign from the cabinet.

"I am the man in the tape. The girl is a personal friend," the 60-year-old Chua said in a statement released at a news conference in his home state of Johor bordering Singapore.

His admission came hours after the local Star newspaper said two DVDs, showing a man resembling a senior politician and a woman engaging in various sexual acts, were being widely distributed in the state.

Chua, who is married, said he did not make the DVDs, which the Star said were closed-circuit recordings in a hotel room. One DVD lasted 56 minutes and the other 44 minutes.

"I would like to emphasize I did not make the tape myself," he said. "Who have done this is not important. What is most important is that my family, wife and children have accepted my apology."

Chua, a leader of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), part of the ruling coalition, said he had met the prime minister over the incident.

"I have seen Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Deputy PM Najib (Razak) and MCA president Ong Ka Ting and I have personally apologized to them."

"I appeal to the press to give me and my family some space during this difficult time."

Abdullah's four-year-old administration has been saddled with major political problems lately, a sign he may be forced to delay elections beyond March, when many had expected them to take place.

In late November, more than 10,000 ethnic Indians took to the streets in an unprecedented protest to complain of racial discrimination.

[well, we made it to world headlines again, but for the wrong reason. Malaysia Boleh!]