Foul!

“Ini janji kita kalau BN menang, hari ini kita menang, esok kita akan berikan stadium kepada FAS. Menteri besar Selangor perlu hormati pasukan ‘The Red Giant’. “Pasukan ini sudah puluhan tahun mencipta nama. Bayangkan kalau pasukan bola yang mempunyai ribuan penyokong, akhirnya dikecewakan kerana ada unsur politik." Those were the words of Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar. Read the full article ' Hari ini menang, esok serah Stadium Shah Alam, kata Noh '. And this was my immediate respond to the article on Twitter : I don't know if Noh Omar will claim he was misconstrued. Such 'U-turns' occur quiet often among politicians. But following his views, as reported by the online portal, Noh Omar joins a list of politicians who love scoring own goals. We all know the politics revolving Selangor FA even before Noh Omar jumped on the Shah Alam Stadium bandwagon. And it's sickening. PKR's Azmin Ali, the man who has blocked me from Twitter, i...

As published in Malay Mail today HARESH SAYS By Haresh Deol SO what’s brewing in Selangor? Plenty. There’s the widely speculated rift between Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail ahead of the Sungai Besar by-election. Residents in Petaling Jaya are up in arms over the proposed construction of an elevated highway which has been dubbed Kidex 2.0. Football fans are disappointed the state team, the Red Giants, have turned into dwarfs in the M-League. It is understood the Selangor Ruler, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has been keeping close tabs on the situation. PKR is experiencing yet another internal turmoil. It heightened after party secretary-general, Rafizi Ramli, lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and submitted evidence pertaining to allegation of graft and “requests for women” in dealings involving the state government. He was accompanied by several party members including Pa...

As published in Malay Mail today HARESH SAYS By Haresh Deol A NASTY pothole in Section 13, Petaling Jaya, did more than just create a loud thud on my way back from work on Saturday. It dented my rim pretty bad. I had arranged a series of meetings on Monday and they had to be cancelled as I had to visit a service centre nearby to get the rim inspected. I could have taken my car to my regular tyre shop but I did not want to jeopardise the vehicle’s warranty. Such paranoia stems from reading letters sent to Malay Mail Hotline by those taking issue with car manufacturers that cancel warranties over minor jobs carried out by third-party workshops. I drove to the service centre, parked my car, obtained a number and waited for my turn. A young chap attended to me and I showed him the rim. He said: “Sorry sir, but we don’t repair rims here. I suggest you take it to a tyre shop to get it fixed.” I looked at my watch. Thirty minutes wasted. I went to my regular tyre...

As published in Malay Mail today. Haresh Says By Haresh Deol I ENJOY my daily walks with my Golden Retriever. It’s the best time of the day where I get to unwind and enjoy the cool midnight breeze. Occasionally my neighbour Mr Wong will join me. The retiree has plenty of exciting tales to share. Our conversations mostly revolve around politics and the nation’s economy. But lately, it has been about the hunger to build highways in Selangor. “Many say highways are good as it will ease traffic but it is a temporary measure. The population in the area will eventually increase and so would the number of vehicles on the road. And then what ... we build another highway on the highway?” questioned Wong. I share his sentiments, as highlighted in my previous column ‘Highways no more than cosmetic effect’ on Oct 15 last year. I had then said we must study our transportation system thoroughly and this includes providing quality public transportation service that connects ever...

As published in Malay Mail today HARESH SAYS By Haresh Deol SPORTS and politics in Malaysia have always enjoyed an “incestuous” relationship,  as I pointed out in an article ‘ Sport has no place for political ideologies ’ last Dec 24 in which I took issue with politicians who unashamedly gatecrashed the sporting arena for personal gain.   Today, I reinforce that stand in the wake of the Selangor Sports Council using #KitaLawan! (let’s fight) as its 2016 Malaysia Games (Sukma) battle cry.   I am appalled. It’s a political hashtag that emerged after Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to five years’ jail for sodomy on Feb 10. It has no place in sports.   A logo, complete with the motto, was unveiled during a Sukma briefing last Friday and Sunday Mail that first broke the story has Selangor executive councillor for sports Amirudin Shari on record saying it was a “non-issue”.   He said the battle cry was to motivate...

Going Nuts as published in Mailsport today WRESTLING was once described by respected English journalist James Lawton as finely orchestrated fake violence — with real injuries. He forgot to mention the compelling drama, brilliant scripts and formidable actors aka the wrestlers who make docile grandmothers scream and spit at their television sets while watching the “action” unfold. Wrestlers can be the face (good guys) one day and heel (bad guys) the next and there doesn’t have to be a reason why one switches from one character to another. Similarly, Azmin Ali was seen as a “heel” when he took over from Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor menteri besar two months ago. Since then, however, the 50-year-old Gombak MP has gone on a charm offensive in a bid to become a “face”. His recent move to give the state’s 12 opposition MPs RM200,000 each to use for their constituency plus a Toyota Camry worth RM200,000 to opposition leader Datuk Mohd Shamsudin Lias including...

As published in Sunday Mail today. By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my SHAH ALAM — The Selangor palace is left amused over Azmin Ali's supposed role in the return of the 321 seized bibles to the Christian community on Friday. Sources, who were in the thick of the negotiations between the palace and religious groups, instead questioned the Selangor menteri besar's part in the episode, adding he only sought an audience with Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah during the weekly meetings. They also stressed politicians were not included in the conversations but were "kept updated". "What meetings ... other than his weekly menghadap (seeking of audience) sessions?" said a source close to the palace when asked if Azmin had attended any meetings during the negotiations. "Azmin did not play any role other than responding to queries from the media about the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex), water and bible issues." "It is amaz...

As published in Malay Mail today Selangor palace played big role in return of bibles, say insiders By Haresh Deol  haresh@mmail.com.my KLANG — The Selangor palace played an instrumental role in ensuring the return of 321 bibles seized from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) during a raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) on Jan 2, sources said. Insiders, who were in the thick of the negotiations involving the palace, Jais, Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) and Christian groups, said talks were held months earlier, even during Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim's tenure as menteri besar but stalled because of the power struggle in the state.  Khalid was later replaced by Azmin Ali as menteri besar. “There were many meetings, rounds of negotiations … all done under wraps so as to not offend any party. It was supposed to be concluded earlier but the menteri besar crisis delayed it as the palace was preoccupied," the source ...