Foul!

As published in Malay Mail today HARESH SAYS By Haresh Deol WATER gushed from the hose, splashing against the metallic silver car. Mr T was proud of his ride as he washed it almost every other day. I waved, while cringing inside, as I walked past him. To him, the wave was a signal to speak. “Wah, what’s happening in Terengganu? Menteri besar stripped of titles? Not too long ago, it was the Kedah menteri besar fiasco.” he said. He continued: “What you think of Sarawak? Time to ubah (change).” He had asked questions but was clearly not interested in knowing the answer. I smiled and told him we would chat soon. I genuinely had to rush. While all this was going on, water continued to flow out of the hose and onto his car. That two minutes saw at least three pails, if not more, of water wasted. If only he paid more attention to our weather than politics. Environmentalists and non-governmental organisations have repeatedly warned about a loomin...

As published in Malay Mail today Haresh Says By Haresh Deol DATUK SERI Paul Mony Samuel was a top notch international football administrator. He was a class act, one whose involvement in four World Cups — USA 1994, France 1998, Korea-Japan 2002 and Germany 2006 — was a testament of Fifa’s faith in him. When news broke that Paul, 71, had died on Saturday, many scrambled to find out more about the Kedahan, a former schoolteacher who later rubbed shoulders with royalty, world leaders and football stars. Sadly, Paul was remembered only by those who remember him. The FA of Malaysia’s (FAM) media team was quick to inform the press of his passing. But there was no mention on its website about the man who was FAM general-secretary for 15 years (1985-2000). The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) paid tribute to him and declared a minute of silen ce will be observed during this week’s AFC Champions league matches. It was an obvious tribute for its former general-secretary (2007-2...

As published in Mailsport today       By Haresh Deol   haresh@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — The death of Datuk Seri Paul Mony Samuel (pic) yesterday shocked the football fraternity as condolences poured in from all over the world, paying tribute to one of the nation's finest sports administrators.   Paul died at the KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital at   8.45pm   after suffering from Parkinson's disease for more than a decade. The former FA of Malaysia (FAM), Asean Football Federation (AFF) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general-secretary was 71.   One man who misses him dearly is his former “student”, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general-secretary Datuk Windsor Paul John.   "If I could turn back time, I would have advised Paul Mony to have a balance between football and life," said Windsor.   "But that is Paul Mony ... a man who lived and breathed football. He dedicated his soul t...

As published in Malay Mail today   By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — The prolonged heatwave is taking a toll on farmers as they face low yields compounded by water shortage.   The situation may force the government to import agricultural produce as demand is expected to surge ahead of Ramadan, which will be observed in June, and the Hari Raya celebrations the following month.   “Right now, most of the produce are from the earlier stock, so the prices are still ok. My worry is the new stock, especially in the next month or two,” said Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek.   “Farmers are not producing as much as they want and this is disrupting supply. Naturally, when demand is high and the supply is low, prices will increase.”   He said his ministry is in the midst of compiling information regarding the output of local farmers to see if they are able to meet the demand of traders and consumers, especi...

As published in Malay Mail today Malaysian in Italian football club buy unmasked By Haresh Deol and Pearl Lee mmnews@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR — The new funder behind FC Bari 1908, who has raised eyebrows here and in Italy, has been unmasked. Malay Mail can confirm Datuk Noordin Ahmad is a 59-year-old businessman from Manjung in Perak and is a close friend of Kelantan FA president Tan Sri Annuar Musa. “We’ve been buddies since 1972. We were classmates in Royal Military College and even played rugby together,” the Ketereh MP said. “We still keep in touch and in fact, I was just on the phone with him an hour ago.” Annuar spoke highly of Noordin. “He is a genuine businessman with vast experience in oil and gas, education, aviation and corporate restructuring. He has always kept a low profile despite being in the industry for 33 years. “Noordin was never with the government ... he was on his own the whole way.” Annuar, who is abroad, said...

UPDATE: News of my win appeared on the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) website . 2012 - 2011 Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM) Journalist of the Year & Best Special Report award. 2013 - 2012 SAM Best Report award. 2014 - 2013 Malaysian Press Institute Best News Report award. 2015 - 2014 SAM Best Commentary award. Yesterday - 2015 Siebel Award (Journalist of the Year) & Best News Report award. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am truly humbled.

If you’ve been procrastinating about getting a tattoo here’s a neat little AR app, called  InkHunter , that’s aiming to help you decide what and where to ink without having to regret that snarling wolf facial tat after the fact, reported Tech Crunch. The app includes a selection of designs by different tattoo artists that you can try out virtually via the automagic of smartphone-powered augmented reality placing pixels on your flesh in real-time. You can also upload your own sketches to the app to see whether your pen skills are sharp enough to merit leaving a permanent mark on your person. In a neat touch, the app asks you to put a little ink on your skin — think of that as part of the try before you buy process — because you need to draw a flat-lined emoji-style face (called Square Smile) on your person in the place where you’re considering the real deal. Then the AR tech uses your phone’s camera, combined wit...

As published in Malay Mail today     BEING FRANK By Frankie D'Cruz Anonymous whistleblower: Hello, this is John Doe. Interested in data? Newspaper: We’re very interested.   That cryptic message from a source to Munich-based newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, led to a massive data leak implicating the world’s ultra rich who are playing by different rules.   The murky offshore money and transactions linked to a cagey and highly influential Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, provided an insight into global corruption and secrets of the rich and powerful.   So, how did reporters pull off the Panama Papers, the biggest leak in whistleblower history?   Pause. When Daniel Ellsberg photocopied and leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times in 1971, those 7,000 pages of top secret Vietnam War documents represented what was then the biggest whistleblower leak in history — a couple dozen megabytes if it were contained in a modern ...

Great-granddad Jack Reynolds has set a new world record for oldest person to receive their first tattoo, after going under the needle on his 104th birthday.   Jack, from Chesterfield, UK, had "Jacko 6.4.1912" tattooed on his upper arm at local parlour Pete Who's. The former railway line foreman has already raised £2,146 for independent charity Ashgate Hospice which cares for terminally ill adults across North Derbyshire by attempting the record.   His daughter Jayne Goodwin, 55, and grandson Shane Spencer, 35, also got the same tattoo. Read more here .