Foul!

Many are quick to label mixed martial arts (MMA) as bloody and gruesome . But for Shareh Nasrullah Shareh Roselin, the full-combat contact sport has given him a new lease of life. The 26-year-old, from Alor Setar, Kedah, is among the eight Lekir Fitness & Mixed Martial Arts Academy exponents who will compete in MMA, kickboxing and boxing events in the  Ultimate Beatdown  at Plaza Sentosa Johor Baru on Oct 7. Alif Mokhtar (left) and Shareh Nasrullah at their academy in Kompleks Destar Arena, Ampang. Better known as Nasrul "Frankenstein Monster" in the cage, this will be his 10th professional fight (5 wins, 4 defeats). Shareh Nasrullah is also a coach at the same academy. The other coaches include national Muay Thai exponent Nidal "King Joker" Mahmoud (who recently competed in the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan), Alif "The Tank" Mokhtar, Nik "The Hound" Harris, Hidayat "The Striker&

When: Oct 14, 2017 Where: Nationwide. What's the plan? The Youth and Sports Ministry has several activities lined up. Two outstanding features of the celebration this year are: 1. All sporting venues and facilities owned by the ministry will be available on October 14, 2017 for FREE! - Hopefully venues belonging to the state government and state sports councils will also be made available to the masses on that day without any charges. Perhaps the private sector and gymnasium operators can jump on the bandwagon and market their services. 2. You will be sweating it out alongside our KL SEA Games medalists. - Efforts are being made to get our superheroes to return to their hometowns and join the locals for a fun day out. There will be several activities organised by other parties here and abroad. The list can be viewed here . So ditch your mobile phones and go sweat it out. Have real conversations, make new friends. The National Sports Day is just 15 days away

UPDATE 10.02am: FMLLP issued a statement on its Facebook page this morning. PINDAAN TARIKH DAN VENUE PERLAWANAN LIGA SUPER LS21 DI ANTARA FELDA UNITED DAN JDT Perlawanan Liga Super LS21 di antara Felda United menentang Johor Darul Ta’zim dijadualkan berlangsung pada hari Rabu, 27 September 2017 di Stadium Tun Abdul Razak, Jengka. Lokasi stadium ini unik berbanding stadium-stadium lain yang digunakan di dalam liga tempatan kerana ia mempunyai satu sahaja hotel yang boleh digunakan oleh pasukan pelawat yang berada kurang dari satu jam dari stadium tersebut. Walaupun stadium ini serba moden dan lengkap, jika pasukan pelawat tidak mendapat tempat di hotel tersebut, maka perjalanan pasukan pelawat ke stadium akan menjadi satu perkara yang tidak munasabah untuk dilakukan sebelum dan selepas sesuatu perlawanan profesional. Di dalam kes ini, pasukan pelawat tidak dapat menempah hotel berkenaan dan terpaksa mengalami perjalanan yang tidak wajar pada hari perlawanan. Pasukan pel

Ghaz Ramli (left) and Perak FA general secretary Ahmad Shahrul Azhar Sofian at the Perak FA office two weeks ago. If you are friends of Ghaz Ramli on Facebook, you would be wondering why is this Ipoh-born (now based in Perth) meeting football officials? The Perth Glory FC membership sales and service manager was in Malaysia for several days two weeks ago as he was seen in Kuantan, Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur. So I asked this former Malay Mail colleague of mine what was he up to. "I want to help professionalise fans," was his reply. Say what? Ghaz, who was a reporter before venturing into public relations and later settled down in Perth, believes his four seasons with Perth Glory will help M-League teams engage and service loyal fans. "When I was a reporter, I saw how the media was treated and I felt service to media personnel could be better. "So I quit and ventured into public relations and was able to service media personnel better. "I decided t

PRESS RELEASE Isyraf Danish Mohd Ghazali, the only Malaysian to be crowned event champion in the inaugural FIA Formula 4 Southeast Asia Championship, has a lofty goal for the second season which flags off on Friday.   “Nothing less than to be the overall champion,” said the supremely confident 16-year-old from Subang Jaya. “I’m also super excited we are one of the support races for the final Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix. “I’ve been waiting since I was five to race on the same weekend as an F1 event. “Hopefully I can continue my winning form in Sepang.” Isyraf Danish’s victory in the final leg of the 36-race series last season helped him be the event champion at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) in January. This year, there are five legs — Malaysia (Friday to Sunday), Clark International Speedway in the Philippines (Oct 20-22), Sentul International Circuit in Indonesia (Nov 24-26), Buriram International Circuit  in Thailand (Jan 12-14) and the finale back in Sepang

Several new and would-be parents are crying foul over Tung Shin Hospital's policy that sees a paediatrician on call, instead of a chosen paediatrician, attending to a newborn upon delivery. It is a talking point among parents who claim the policy by the Kuala Lumpur-based private hospital would mean paying for the services of a doctor which is not of their choice. Parents alleged the paediatrician of choice is only available after the baby is discharged. Some of these parents have welcomed their newborn while others are anxiously waiting for the arrival of their bundle of joy. They all insist they should have the right of choice as they are paying for the services.  For the record, the hospital's administration had put up notices of its policy at its premises.  Upon clarification, new mothers and/or new parents were informed they will be able to see their paediatrician of choice for their babies' following check-up. New and soon-to-be parents

Today is Awal Muharam - the beginning of the Islamic New Year. It's a public holiday. Hopefully, it will also be the beginning of more Malaysians showing their support to the para athletes competing in the on-going Asean Para Games (which ends tomorrow) by flocking the stands. Former national swimmer Khoo Cai Lin, had yesterday, tweeted: It was indeed a heart breaking message. So as Cai Lin rightfully said: Even other athletes including wushu exponent and SEA Games gold medalist Loh Jack Chang encouraged the masses to support our extraordinary heroes. Let's be inspired by our para athletes .

We boast to be a so-called soon-to-be developed nation, have some of the tallest and biggest structures in the region and world. Yet, we can't even get basics right - like enjoying uninterrupted water and telecommunication services. Water disruption occurs on a daily basis in the Klang Valley. Why must we subject ourselves to such incompetence? Are we expected to console ourselves by saying: "Oh this is Malaysia lah" or brush issues aside by cynically saying "Malaysia Boleh"? Are we supposed to whine and rant only to forget about such matters the next day? Are we to adopt the 'tidak apa' attitude, hoping someone else will do the job? Are we to leave the future of the nation to a bunch of incompetent individuals? Are we to keep quiet if we were given certain forms of incentives (may it be cold hard cash or projects)? Are we to allow our children to grow up in a confused, greedy and selfish environment? Malaysians are bigger and b

The government seems to have a very confusing stand when it comes to public transportation in the Klang Valley. On one hand, the Federal government is investing billions on the MRT. At the same time, they are approving highways and expressways projects. I have, for many years, insisted more highways will result in more vehicles on our roads. The highways and expressways will eventually be choked. And what do we do then?  The way forward is to encourage people to leave their vehicles at home and use a well-connected public transportation system. While much emphasis (and collaborations) has been made by the government over ride-sharing applications like Uber and Grab, nothing has been mentioned about Moovit . A good friend of mine Purwaiz Alam told me and another good friend of ours Graig Nunis about the transit application over lunch. It can even be used on your desktop or laptop. Moovit will tell you how to get from point A to point B using public transportation

May we Malaysians have the courage, hunger and strength of a tiger to further develop this beautiful nation. Selamat Hari Malaysia! Also, to our para athletes competing in the 9th Asean Para Games which starts tomorrow - may the spirit of the tiger inspire you to do your best. Show the world your Heroic Display, make every day a Happy Day!

PRESS RELEASE Iskandar Puteri in Johor will once again play host to triathletes from all over the world in the Challenge Iskandar Puteri, the sixth race in the global Challenge series of full and half triathlon races from Sept 21 to 23, 2017. The Challenge Family is the fastest growing global triathlon series, with 44 full and half distance races in iconic destinations in 26 countries across five continents. The series attracts some of the best athletes, with its flagship race in Roth, Germany (the home of triathlon) gathering an average 5,000 professional and semi-professional triathletes attending each year, with the event even creating a record of having the registration sold out within 57 seconds in 2015! Challenge Iskandar Puteri puts Malaysia in the spotlight as one of the only 3 countries in Asia to host the Challenge series (Thailand and Taiwan are the other countries in the series). The Challenge Iskandar Puteri race aims to be the number one triathlon ev

World Fashion Week Asia 2017 ended over the weekend. And the launch on Friday at Palace of the Golden Horses at Mines Resort City just outside Kuala Lumpur turned out to be a forgettable night. Why? It was poorly organised. Just as many are trying to get over the nightmare witnessed throughout the KL SEA Games , the organiser of World Fashion Week Asia 2017 has made it look like Malaysians seem to have lost it when it comes to hosting major events and hospitality. Here's why. Royal protocol ignored 1. The Sultanah of Terengganu Sultanah Nur Zahirah was invited to grace the event.     a. There was no holding room for the Sultanah and VIPs accompanying her.     b. The Sultanah was invited on stage without anyone accompanying her there (a big NO NO if anyone knows protocol involving royalty).  Sultanah Nur Zahirah at World Fashion Week Asia 2017 gala night on Friday.     c. The event dragged on till 11.30pm, way past the cut off point of the very many events I

Dear para athletes, I will never know what life is like in a wheelchair or to grow up in complete darkness. I can pretend to understand but I will never know what it will feel until the day I become special, like you. But what I, and many others, do know is that you have never used your disabilities as an excuse not to perform at the highest level. You have all been inspirational, super heroes in so many ways. You have proven that anything is possible if you put your heart and soul into your sport to achieve your goals. While we are still searching for the elusive Olympic gold medal, your fellow para athletes — Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi, Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli and Abdul Latif Romly — were given  a hero's welcome after bagging three Paralympics gold medals in Brazil last year. Ridzuan after winning his race in Brazil.  Ridzuan won the nation's first Paralympics gold medal since 1972 after winning the men's 100m T36 (cerebral palsy) race, clocking 12.07s