Foul!

As published in Malay Mail today. By Vijhay Vick vijhayvick@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR — First it was the Under-21 athletes, now eight strong men have been implicated in Malaysia’s latest sports doping scandal. Seven of the eight bodybuilders, whose identities have not been revealed, tested for banned substances from samples taken after the Mr Malaysia 2014 contest in June. Another, who was due to compete in the Mr Asia physique class last month, was withdrawn from the competition after out-of-competition tests indicated the use of prohibited substances. “Eleven samples from the Mr Malaysia contest were taken and seven of them were positive,” said Malaysian Anti-Doping Agency (Adamas) unit head Nishel Kumar. “Some had up to four different types of banned substances.” The test results from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada)-accredited lab in New Delhi were discussed at Adamas’s results management committee earlier this month and the findings were forwa

As published in Malay Mail today. KUALA LUMPUR — Forget denim jeans and leather jackets. Get Steppenwolf’s "Born to be Wild" out of your head. Instead, imagine gentlemen donning suits and neck ties. Some may have their better half dressed immaculately as pillon riders on custom and classic motorcycles — accompanied to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s "New York, New York". Such a sight will be seen worldwide tomorrow as thousands of riders in 57 countries will participate in the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride 2014. In Malaysia, more than 300 riders have registered for the event on the official website but organiser of the Kuala Lumpur chapter Naked 13 Cafe Racer are expecting more than 450 motorcycles to hit the streets in and around the city. Several enthusiasts have also organised another leg in Kuching. The ride is a campaign to support research of prostate cancer. The international organisers had earlier aimed a fundraising goa

As published in Malay Mail today. The back page on Sept 24, 2014 celebrating Nicol's success PETALING JAYA — Another day went by at the Asian Games in Incheon with the girls saving Malaysia the blushes. National shooter Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi celebrated her 32nd birthday yesterday by winning a silver medal in the individual 50m rifle prone after equaling her personal best of 620.6 points. She finished behind Mongolia’s Narantuya Chuluunbadrakh, who gunned down 624.1 points. She also helped Malaysia secure the team bronze medal. Nur Suryani, together with Nur Ayuni Farhana Abdul Halim and Muslifah Zulkifli, scored a total of 1,853.6 points — behind South Korea (1,855.5 points) and China (1,854.1). “I was disappointed in failing to reach the final in the 10m air event on Monday. But I put my emotions aside to concentrate on the remaining events,” the Royal Malaysian Navy officer told reporters. This is the first time a Malaysian had won a silver medal in shootin

As published in Malay Mail toda y PETALING JAYA — Ten vehicles, mostly luxury cars, were neatly parked at the police district headquarters yesterday but it was a van belonging to the National Sports Council (NSC) that stood out. The van, belonging to the government agency under the Youth and Sports Ministry, was among those recovered when police busted an international serial car theft syndicate, known as Taiwai, with the arrest of six individuals this month. Interestingly, all five men and one woman had been charged with car theft at the Petaling Jaya magistrate’s court in April and released on bail. An NSC spokesman confirmed  its vehicle was stolen on September 6 after the driver parked it in front of his house in Seri Kembangan. “The driver went home in the afternoon and he was supposed to send several athletes to a sporting event later that day,” he said. He said the council was glad police managed to retrieve the new van. Petaling Jaya OCPD ACP Azmi Abu Kassim said

 Dread going to the lawyers for a simple sales-and-purchase agreement? Ever wish you could divorce your spouse from the comfort of your living room? If so, then you’re in luck. A lawyer is attempting to make his profession “obsolete” — in certain matters — by developing template agreements and apps that people can use themselves instead of relying on lawyers to handle property purchases, divorces, or the preparation of wills. Edmund Bon (pic) explained that documents such as sales and purchase (S&P) agreements for property purchases, uncontested wills and probate, accident claims, divorce petitions as well as mitigation and bail in criminal cases are not as complicated as imagined. In fact, he said, these are generally standardised to such an extent that they that can be prepared by the general public once they have access to the documents’ framework. “It’s do-it-yourself law,” Bon told Malay Mail Online in a recent interview. Read the full article here . Meanwhile, Chief Ju

As published in Malay Mail today By Vijhay Vick vijhayvick@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA - Police have opened an investigation into the case of the loss of RM3.8 million from the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM).   Brickfields police chief ACP Muhammad Azlee Abdullah confirmed the case was being reopened by their Commercial Crimes Investigations department, which took statements from suspended PCM president Datuk Zainal Abu Zarin and secretary-general Siti Zaharah Abdul Khalid.   It's also understood police have requested for the findings of a previous investigation by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as well documents from a PCM's probe.   The case of the missing funds were brewing in PCM since 2011 when PCM council members questioned the transfer of RM4 million from PCM coffers to Paralimpik Ventures Sdn Bhd - a company set up to invest the council's funds in 2008.   In June 2011 , Malay Mail lifted the lid on the story w

As published in Sunday Mail today. KUALA LUMPUR — The Royal Malaysian Customs Department has embarked on a full-scale exercise to weed out bad officers including a move to rotate personnel in high risk areas such as entry and exit points in the country. Sources said dozens of officers have been implicated in illegal activities since the recent bust-up of the billion-ringgit cigarette and liquor syndicate by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). They said information on corrupt practices were concentrated in areas where there were heavy movement of import and export activities. "Due to lack of evidence, MACC has handed the Customs department a list of names to enable the department to conduct internal investigations," said the source. "The officers will be rotated to ensure they would not be exposed to unwanted elements. How long they would remain at a particular place ... that has yet to be determined. "There will be plenty of move

KUALA LUMPUR - The High Court, had on Friday, dismissed a defamation suit filed by former Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) examination director Khalid Yusoff against the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) and two others. High Court Judge Datuk Yeoh Wee Siam made the decision in chambers in the presence of all the parties and ordered Khalid to pay RM12,000 in costs each to Bernama and the other two defendants, New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd (NSTP) and online news portal Insight News Sdn Bhd.   Khalid was represented by lawyer Afiq Mohd Noor, while counsel Bhag Singh and Rueben Mathiavaranam appeared for Bernama and NSTP , respectively. Afiq told Bernama that his client had instructed him to file an appeal over today's outcome. Khalid filed the suit on July 5 last year, claiming that Bernama had defamed him through an article titled "Court upholds jail term on former CLP director", published on April 20, 2009. He said the article was republi

UPDATE Sept 20 (11.28am):  The National Sports Council's sport management director Datuk Abdul Jalil Abdullah is anxious over Sukma drug abuse. Read more here . ---- As published in Malay Mail today. KUALA LUMPUR — Jelinie Empera could be stripped of her Sukma gold medals after the 21-year-old Sarawakian tested positive for steroids. The test results of another two athletes were also being scrutinised. Sukma, featuring athletes 21 and below, is seen as an avenue for young hopefuls to showcase their talent. Sarawak emerged the overall winners of the games after picking up 66 gold, 55 silver and 44 bronze medals. Questions have now been raised as to who could have provided Jelinie with the drugs and the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) has pledged to ban all, including officials, involved in the fiasco. Her coach, Edmund Yeo, who was also the state coach, claimed he is baffled as to how Jelinie had traces of the banned drug in both her urine sa

As published in Malay Mail today.  Court rules blog posting not defamatory THE High Court has struck out a defamation suit filed by a lawyer against a journalist on grounds the case was an abuse of the judicial process. The ruling was made by judge Datuk Yeoh Wee Siam in chambers yesterday. The suit was filed by Datuk Mohamad Bustaman Abdullah against Malay Mail executive editor Haresh Deol on August 15, 2012, over an article posted on the latter’s blog Foul! ( www.hareshdeol.blogspot.com ). Haresh had in the posting “Judge Walks Out” on June 27, 2012, republished a Malay Mail article “Judge walks out as question turns personal”, a hyperlink to an article “Ethics vital for lawyers” published in The Star Online on June 27 and a YouTube video clip titled “Hooligan lawyer assaults client”. Mohamad Bustaman, had claimed the Malay Mail article, which was a court hearing between National Sports Council (NSC) and Mesuma Sports Sdn Bhd, was defamatory to him. He had acted

Haresh Says, as published in Malay Mail today. THE walls at Block E of the Danau Kota flats in Setapak were decorated with graffiti as residents cramped into the small lift to get to their homes. There was utter silence in the lift, as those within were accompanied by rusty lift doors and a wooden floor. Once the doors opened at the 10th floor, I stepped out only to be greeted by an old discarded mattress. I found my way to the given address, and there was Dinesh Rajasingam who greeted me with a big smile on Monday night. The Harimau Muda D player had, just hours earlier, returned from Bangkok after competing in the Asian Football Confederation Under-16 tournament in Bangkok. It was a painful journey home as the team lost 2-1 to Australia over the weekend en route to ending their chances of playing in the Under-17 World Cup. Dinesh’s father S. Rajasingam — who is a technician with Tenaga Nasional Berhad —had yet to return home to meet his son. “He would only be back at 6am

KUALA LUMPUR - "Pada Sukan SEA 2017 kita akan raih pingat emas. "Mulai tahun depan, anda akan mula melihat peningkatan ditunjukkan oleh sukan sepaktakraw." Itu janji Datuk Ahmad Ismail sebaik sahaja berjaya mempertahankan jawatan Presiden Persatuan Sepaktakraw Malaysia (PSM), semalam. Dalam mesyuarat pemilihan di Johor Bahru itu, Ahmad, yang lebih dikenali sebagai Tok Mat dipilih untuk menerajui PSM bagi penggal 2014-2017 menerusi kemenangan mudah ke atas pencabarnya, Mohd. Shapian Ali. Ahmad, 50, yang menjadi Presiden PSM sejak Disember 2002, meraih 50 undi, berbanding hanya 20 diterima Shapian, yang juga Presiden Persatuan Sepaktakraw Negeri Terengganu (PSTNT). Read more here . Bernama, meanwhile, reported: The youth and sports ministry will call on the Sepaktakraw Association of Malaysia (PSM) to amend its constitution, especially on its committee election process to strengthen the association in the development of sepaktakraw. Minister,