OLYMPIC BEIJING

Our best hope

BEIJING (Aug 14, 2008): Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei is just a match away from an Olympic medal after breezing into the men's singles semifinals with an easy 21-9, 21-11 win over Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro today.

Chong Wei, the second seed behind China's world champion Lin Dan, will face either Bao Chunlai, also of China, or Lee Hyunil of South Korea in the last four scheduled for this evening at the

Lee Chong Wei gestures in triumph after defeating Sony

Beijing University of Technology gymnasium.

"Bao and Lee are two very tough players. I will not spend time thinking about them, how good they are. All I want is to focus and prepare the best I can," said the 26-year-old who is rated Malaysia's best medal hope from the onset.

Chong Wei admitted that being the sole shuttler left in contention has racheted up the pressure on him as he becomes Malaysia's second singles player to qualify for the Olympic semifinals after Rashid Sidek who returned with a bronze medal from Atlanta in 1996.

"I am not thinking of any medal now but to take one match at a time. I will take a rest and watch the television this evening when Bao and Lee play instead of coming to the stadium," he added.

Chong Wei had a tensed start against Sony, the Athens bronze medallist, but when he reached 11-8, the Malaysian played with better confidence and when he got into stride, his Indonesian rival buckled under the quick attacks and rapid pace.

"I didn't expect it to be an easy victory but today was not too good a performance from me. I chased every ball and my game strategy was to be quicker at the net," he said of the 32-minute encounter.

He is the only shuttler left after Thursday saw the exits of women's singles Wong Mew Choo and men's pair of Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong at the quarterfinal stage.

Malaysia is counting on the badminton team to get a rostrum finish. Since its inclusion in the 1992 Barcelona Games, it is the only sport to deliver one silver and two bronze medals but after the 1996 Atlanta Games, Malaysia had returned empty handed from Sydney and Athens.

But Lee played down his victory , and was circumspect about his chances of causing an upset over China to clinch gold, saying although he had beaten their three players before, they were enjoying home ground advantage.

"Maybe it's too tough for me but I'll try," he said of possibly reaching the final where, barring a major upset, he would meet world No. 1 Lin Dan.

To whet the appetite of the athletes to break the drought, the government announced before the departure to Beijing a RM1 million bounty for the first gold and RM300,000 and RM100,000 for the silver and bronze respectively.

SOURCE: http://www.thesundaily.com

MY STATEMENT WAS TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT

Khalid: My statement was taken out of context

SHAH ALAM: "It was blown out of proportion and taken out of context."

Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said this in response to the negative reaction to his suggestion that 10 per cent of places at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) be allocated to non-Bumiputeras.

Abdul Khalid said he made the suggestion in response to a question from the press about the admission of foreign students and non-Bumiputeras to UiTM.

He said it was made in the context of raising the standards of institutions of higher learning, so that the Malays and other Bumiputeras could improve their career prospects.


He said the suggestion was not a policy of the Pakatan Rakyat state government. The state government, he added, would continue to uphold the Federal Constitution and the special rights of the Malays.


He said his personal stand on the matter did not mean he was ignoring the special rights of Bumiputeras.

"It is regrettable that the issues had been taken out of context and made into a racial issue," he said after the weekly state Executive Council meeting yesterday.



He added that he was aware that UiTM was established to improve the status of Bumiputeras.



"In fulfilling the aspirations of Malays, UiTM should not merely focus on the issue of quotas but also on improving quality and facilities at the university so it will be respected."



He said the statement was not an apology. He said it was his belief that universities must be open in order to develop.

"All world renowned universities progress because there is openness and exchange of ideas."


ARTICLES SOURCE: http://www.nst.com.my

NO SIGN OF SODOMY

Doctor: No sign of sodomy

August 07, 2008 Categories: News




THE doctor who examined Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s accuser has reportedly proclaimed in a statutory declaration (SD) that he did not find any evidence that Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan had been sodomised.


In his statutory declaration posted on blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s website Malaysia Today, Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid says he stands “firm by my findings” that he found no evidence of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan being sodomised.

The portal also posted a medical report purportedly prepared by Dr Osman for his employer, Pusat Rawatan Islam (Pusrawi) medical centre, in which he had listed the chronology of Saiful’s visit to the centre on June 28.


The report states Saiful went to Pusrawi’s Emergency Department at 2.14pm that day and was sent to Dr Osman by an assistant called Hidayah.

The report, dated June 30, claims Saiful had complained he could not even sit down because of “pain in the anus for two days”.


It says that assisted by a nurse, Yazihan Yusof, Dr Osman examined Saiful’s anus and found it to be “normal”, that there was no sign of bleeding, piles, abcess, pus, injury, tear or discharge; that Saiful’s “anus was clean, dry and looked normal” and that “no abnormalities (were) seen”.


The report claims Saiful told Dr Osman that he had been sodomised by a VIP and wanted to report to the police, despite the doctor’s confirmation that he found no evidence of sodomy.


“I advised him to go and see a doctor at any government hospital because, according to his complaint, it was a criminal case,” the report says. “After that, he left the hospital. I didn’t prescribe any medication and didn’t gave (give) any referral letter.”

The posting of Dr Osman’s report was followed with the posting of his statutory declaration, purportedly signed before Commissioner of Oaths Mohd Annuar Mohd Salleh, on Aug 1.


In it, Dr Osman says he recorded his findings in Pusrawi’s standard medical examination folder.

“I later learned that the medical examination folder was widely circulated in the media and Internet, and I was shocked and surprised to find out that the exact medical examination folder, with its exact content, without amendment or addition, found its way to the media,” the posting says.

The statutory declaration also says Dr Osman was only aware that the medical report had been circulated after he went on leave.

The posting also says Dr Osman was visited by an officer from the Brickfields police station in July.


Dr Osman said he was asked to sign and stamp all “nine to 10 pages” of his statement to police, which the officer prepared in Bahasa Malaysia.

The posting says the officer returned a week later with a typed statement and asked Dr Osman to sign it.


“I read a few paragraphs and made a few amendments to the statement with the officer’s assistance,” the doctor says.

He also queried why Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s name had appeared in the statement when it was never brought up in the first interview.


He said he pointed out that Saiful had not named the alleged perpetrator. The officer, the posting says, then told Dr Osman that Anwar was the accused, and that he signed the typed statement because he did not want to have “any issues with the police”.


Dr Osman also claims that a female officer from the Jalan Hang Tuah police station visited him a week later to take another statement in Bahasa Malaysia, and that the officer had translated it into English before asking him to sign on it.


From the onset, he says, the officer told him he would be “charged” if he did not co-operate with the police.


Dr Osman also says in the statutory declaration that he decided to apply for leave after this, out of fear for his and his family’s safety. He is said to have left the country.


ARTICLES SOURCE: http://www.mmail.com.my