The Sun

PASIR PUTEH (April 27, 2007): A housewife today took to task National Service camp administrators at Kem Kisana Beach Resort in Bali here for not allowing her daughter to take leave from training when her father was sick and for the funeral when he died two days later.

Semah Mat Ali, 52, claimed that her daughter Norliza Yusuf, 17, who is undergoing training at the camp, was allowed to visit her father, Yusuf Awang, 58, only for several hours last Saturday (April 21) when he was dying from stroke in Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital (HUSM) in Kubang Kerian and breathed his last on Monday (April 23).

This, she said, was despite the family producing a letter from the doctor to verify Yusuf’s condition, which they (camp administrators) said to be incomplete.

“When her father died, Norliza was also allowed to leave the camp for only a few hours and told to return after that for several reasons, although the distance between our house and the camp is only about 30 minute’s drive,” she told Bernama when met in her Kampung Gong Chenggal house, here today.

She said one of the reasons given was their (camp administrators’) fear that something untoward might happen to Norliza during the duration of her NS training at the camp.

Semah said Norliza, who is the fifth of six siblings, was very close to her father and was the one to bathe and feed him since she (Semah) had to go out to work in a tobacco farm in Tok Bali for income to support the family.

Norliza’s sister, Norihan, 29, also regretted the treatment by the camp administrators.

“Imagine how devastated she felt being the only one in the family who was not at our father’s bedside when he breathed his last,” she said.

She said the NS camp administrators should exercise compassion in such a situation.

“What saddened us more was when the camp administrators turned down my appeal for my sister to be given a few days leave even when I submitted our father’s death certificate,” she added.

Alang Bendahara
New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR: A motorcyclist went on a rampage and smashed the window of a car which had earlier grazed his motorcycle along the Federal Highway in front of the Angkasapuri complex yesterday.

Pictures showing the motorcyclist smashing the car’s rear window with his helmet and hurling abuse at the frightened motorist.

The irony is that he was in the wrong as he was supposed to use the motorcycle lane.

The man’s rage was captured by New Straits Times photographer Zulkarnain Ahmad Tajuddin, 42, who was heading for an assignment in Sungei Way.

In the 2.30pm incident, a Toyota Corolla had apparently grazed the motorcycle on the right-most lane of the highway.

The motorcyclist, believed to be in his 40s, blocked the car using his motorcycle and started to hurl abuse at the driver.
The terrified and lone driver locked the doors and was seen putting his palms together, asking for forgiveness.

It failed to pacify the motorcyclist, who took off his helmet before using it to smash the car’s rear window.

He then rode off towards Petaling Jaya.

The incident, which lasted for five minutes, caused a traffic jam on both sides of the highway.

Tham Choy Lin
Bernama

BEIJING, April 26 (Bernama) — The torch relay for the Beijing 2008 Olympics was unveiled Thursday night and ran immediately into a snag with Taiwan rejecting the route of what will be the longest journey of the Olympic flames in history.

The relay, a long-cherished tradition of the Olympics, is planned to kick off in April next year, across five continents with the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, among the 22 cities outside mainland China to be covered.

The route and the torch, designed like a rolled-up Chinese scroll with a lacquer red base, were unveiled at a fireworks-lit ceremony attended by International Olympic Committee board members and president Jacques Rogge.

The planned route will see Beijing receiving the sacred Olympic flames in Greece on March 31 for the start of the relay from Beijing through cities along the ancient Silk Road that served as a bridge between East and West.

Taiwan, which China regards as part of its territory, however rejected the proposed route. The torch was to enter Taiwan via Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City and exit to Hong Kong which is a special administrative region of China.

Jiang Xiaoyu, vice-president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (Bocog), told a news conference after the ceremony that the Taipei Olympic Committee had confirmed in writing at the end of last month to participate in the torch relay.

“To politicise the torch relay route goes against the spirit of the Olympics,” said Jiang, adding that Bocog would have further discussions with the Taipei Olympic Committee.

Ironically, the theme of the relay is “Journey of Harmony” accompanied by the slogan, “Light the Passion, Share the Dream” in sync with the 2008 Olympics slogan, “One World One Dream”.

The arrival of the torch for the opening of the Games aside, the highlight of the relay will be the attempt to carry the flames up Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, in May.

For this, a lantern with the Olympic flames from the Greek city of Olympia will be kept aside and taken by a special team to scale Everest sometime in May on a date dependent on the weather.

By the time the flames arrive for the opening ceremony, scheduled Aug 8 next year, the torch would have journeyed 137,000km over 130 days.

Kuala Lumpur is among three cities in Southeast Asia in the route. The torch is expected to arrive in the Malaysian capital from Bangkok on April 21 before going to Jakarta.

Within mainland China, the torch will go through 113 cities in all 31 provinces and autonomous regions. Among the stops is Shaoshan, the hometown of the late leader Mao Zedong.