Thank you, Lee Chong Wei, you have done your best and there is nothing more we could have asked from you.

The table tennis teams at the 2016 Rio Olympics

Unbelievable, but it is true.  Whether the teams are from USA, Germany, Austria, Spain, Canada, Congo, Netherlands, Ukraine, Brazil, Australia, Poland, Turkey, Qatar, Sweden or Luxembourg, the players are all CHINESE.

"WORLD FOOTBALL RANKINGS." WHAT A SHAME.

INDIA 10 SPOTS AHEAD OF MALAYSIA IN WORLD FOOTBALL RANKINGS?
TIMOR LESTE AHEAD OF US?
COOK ISLANDS AHEAD OF US?...
 
WE NEED TO COOK SOME PEOPLE IN FAM.

Check out the FIFA world ranking here.

This is the letter written by HRH the Sultan of Selangor to Farah Ann

And it is written in English too.

Do we still want to host the 2017 SEA Games?

It is best not to host the SEA Games if we embarrass ourselves by making a fuss over the outfits athletes wear.

IN 2017 Malaysia hosts the SEA Games. But will we disgrace ourselves?

No, not because we may not top the table of gold medals as Singapore almost did in the excellent games organised by the city-state that ended recently.

Rather it is by the potential controversy – perhaps even disturbance – over the attire athletes wear to compete in the sport they contest.

If this is going to happen, it is best that we do not host the Games. The authorities had better not blandly say this will not happen as they have not come out to say categorically that any contention against what gymnasts wear in their sport is unacceptable. On the contrary, a Minister of the Government has conceded to the recalcitrants by stating that a dress code will be issued on what should be worn.

Rest assured it is not likely that Malaysia will win any gold medals if its team played hockey wearing the flowing jubah, or competed in the swimming pool fully clothed – if they are allowed on the pitch and in the pool.

Malaysia’s most successful body-builder Sazali Samad has won the Mr Universe title 10 times in nothing more than a tanga, revealing his six-pack and muscles without – rightly – a squeak about the barely hidden parts of his anatomy.

Clearly he could not have become Mr Universe dressed in a loose Baju Melayu. But, of course, he is male.

When the athlete is female, it would seem, the only focus is on parts of her anatomy that arouse impure thoughts in the male mind which then has the audacity to pin the blame on the innocent woman. Men cannot control themselves, but get on a hypocritical higher plane to obscure their base instincts.

When the XVI Commonwealth Games were organised in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 – the first in Asia and the last in the last century – we did not have the kind of nonsense and stupidity that followed Farah Ann Abdul Hadi’s superb gold medal performance in gymnastics in Singapore.

We have slipped further backwards since the last century. It is, however, complacent to describe the judgmental and holier-than-thou attitude on Farah Ann’s leotard as just nonsensical and stupid.

That attitude, along with the machinery that has been dangerously allowed to ride roughshod over Malaysian lives, has become pervasive and highly invasive.

How I wish my fellow Muslims will stop playing God. They must understand they should never judge the faith of others, especially of other Muslims, which is Allah’s remit.

These invasive Muslims also advise – indeed ordain – that their co-religionists not mix, even laugh, with others, that they do not venture out or open up to protect the sanctity of their faith.

Not venturing out is a sign of meekness, of not having self-belief. In the outcome you are diminished. The Chinese, for example, will go anywhere, meet anyone, be in any social or cultural circumstance. Yet, when they go home they remain Chinese. I wish that all Malays and Muslims would have the same strength.

Faith is strong when it is deep and internalised, not when it is loudly and aggressively proclaimed, like whistling in the dark, by someone afraid and uncertain.

I do wish our leaders would engage our people in sensible ways, to tell them about the depth yet simplicity of Islam. I fear they have also become afraid.

The current political situation is not likely to give them any courage to check the dangerous extremist and violating phenomenon in the Malaysian body politic, and to lead without short-term calculation for survival.

The zero-sum open political warfare now taking place in our country is causing extensive damage to Malaysia, and so does neglecting to address extremist religious threats which will overturn all the progress this country has made.

More than the personal animosity in this conflict, there is a distrust of normal processes of the political and administrative system. This is a damning indictment of whoever may have caused that system to be so distrusted.

More than that, there is a cry for change outside of that system.

This can take many forms – at worst, violent revolution – but the upshot is that, if there was a replacement of the incumbent Prime Minister, his successor would be equally subject to the same kind of political insurrection. This prospect does not provide for political stability.

Others will follow. He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.

This is not about one-man, one-shot, one-time. It is about political change and political change management.

The spectacle we are witnessing must shame the Malays. It does me. How we run and now threaten to ruin the country. How we pay little attention to detail because we are king of the castle. How we are now about to bring the house down.

If the threats of exposing past and present misdeeds are true, the ske­letons falling out of the cupboard will bury Umno – and the Malays.

While not all will mourn this, let us not forget it is this Malay foundation that gave Malaysia its stability.

What is different from the days of Tun Razak and Tun Dr Ismail is that the honour and justice that characterised the Malay leadership of this country seem to have been lost.

I cannot look into the eyes of a prospective investor at a roadshow and say: You can be assured of Malaysia’s political stability. Not long ago, that was our country’s strongest point above everything else.

When that everything else is also under considerable strain, in a challenging global economy, in the currency and volatile capital flows, there is all the more reason to work together and negotiate our way out of these dangerous straits.

Otherwise we will arrive in 2017 in a worse state than we are in now.

[Tan Sri Munir Majid, chairman of Bank Muamalat and visiting senior fellow at LSE Ideas (Centre for International Affairs, Diplomacy and Strategy), is also chairman of CIMB Asean Research Institute.]

Is this how Malaysia is going to compete in sports internationally?

Listed below are 36 sports and disciplines being featured in the current SEA Games. Basing on the 'aurat' issue, I don't believe that leaves much room for Malaysian Muslims to enjoy participating in full in all future events. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are those most likely to be out of bounds to Muslims, male and female alike, which will account for 17 of the sports or 47.2% of the overall games.

This is close to 50% of potential medals lost before the game even began. If such is the case, would it be any point to participate in future games?

However, I would like to stand corrected on the identification of the games for Muslims.

• Diving (*)
• Swimming (*)
• Synchronised swimming (*)
• Water polo (*)
• Archery 
• Athletics (*)
• Badminton (*)
• Basketball 
• Billiards and snooker
• Bowling 
• Boxing (*)
• Canoeing (*)
• Cycling 
• Equestrian 
• Fencing 
• Football 
• Golf 
• Gymnastics (*)
• Field hockey (*)
• Judo 
• Netball 
• Pencak silat 
• Rowing (*)
• Rugby sevens 
• Sailing (*)
• Sepak takraw 
• Shooting 
• Softball 
• Squash (*)
• Table tennis 
• Taekwondo 
• Tennis 
• Triathlon (*)
• Volleyball (*)
• Waterskiing (*)
• Wushu

Malaysian soccer violence at its worse

If ever the police were to catch the following persons, they can give them an all expense paid trip for the next round of the AFF Suzuki Cup tie at My Dinh Stadium on December 11. I sure would like to see the Vietnamese clobber the daylights out of them.

Ibrahim Ali is not the dog's best friend

Once again, our people have made an ass of themselves in front of the whole world, and this time it came from no other than that tin kosong, Ibrahim Ali.

Actually, the issue that he picked on was a non-starter to begin with but the way he made it out, sounded as though the Scots or the Commonwealth Games organising committee have committed a mortal sin against ALL the Muslims in the entire world, more so Malaysia, when dogs were used as mascots during the opening ceremony.

If he was so uptight about the issue, the proper thing for him to do was to urge our authorities to pull out from the Games or better still don't participate in future games at all but stay at home and watch the event from the telly.

Yes, dogs may be offensive to some Muslims, but certainly not to all Muslims as shown from the pictures posted here. The first pix shows a Malay student undergoing her studies in Veterinary Science at one of our local U's and the second pix shows Pak Mie of Pak Mie Animal Shelter who has 800 stray dogs under his care. His animal 'home' is located in Tanjung Bendara, Kedah.

In addition, I urge all my friends to visit the page of this kind soul, Muhamad Razeel Che Shamah, who has a tremendous soft spot for our canine friends, and cats too.  Click here.

One last word to Ibrahim Ali. Do you honestly think the Scots or the CG organising committee give two hoots of your feelings? Dream on.

The Great Bible Soccer Tournament

In view of the present craze over the World Cup, I have, therefore, taken the liberty to present to you our current Bible crisis using the game as an analogy.

IT'S THAT CRAZY WORLD CUP SEASON AGAIN

A note from a husband/boy friend/lover or to whoever it may concern ...

Dear Wife/Sweetheart/Girlfriend/Partner/Whomever it may concern -

1. Between 12 June and 13 July 2014, you should read the sports section of the newspaper so that you are aware of what is going on regarding the World of Soccer, and that way you will be able to join in the conversations. if you fail to do this, then you will be looked at in a bad way, or you will be totally ignored. DO NOT complain about not receiving any attention.

2. During the World Cup, the television is mine, at all times, without any exceptions. If you even take a glimpse of the remote control, you will lose it (your eye).

3. If you have to pass by in front of the TV during a game, I don't mind, as long as you do it crawling on the floor and without distracting me.

4. During the games, I will be blind, deaf and mute, unless I require a refill of my drink or something to eat. You are out of your mind if you expect me to listen to you, open the door, answer the telephone, or pick up the baby that just fell on the floor .... it won't happen.

5. It would be a good idea for you to keep at least 2 six packs in the fridge at all times, as well as plenty of thing to nibble on (excluding your body parts), and please do not make any funny faces to my friends when they come over to watch the games. In return, you will be allowed to use the TV between 12 am and 6 am, unless they replay a good game that I missed during the day.

6. Please, please, please!! If you see me upset because one of my teams is losing, DO NOT say "get over it, it's only a game", or "don't worry, they'll win the next time". If you say these things, you will only make me angrier and I will love you less. Remember, you will never ever know more about football than me and your so called "words of encouragement" will only lead to a break up or divorce.

7. You are welcome to sit with me to watch one game and you can talk to me during half time but only when the commercials are on, and only if the half time scores is pleasing me. In addition, please note I am saying "one" game; hence do not use the World Cup as a nice cheesy excuse to "spend time together".

8. The replays of the goals are very important. I don't care if I have seen them or I haven't seen them, I want to see them again. Many times.

9. Tell your friends NOT to have any babies, or any other child related to parties or gatherings that requires my attendance because:

a) I will not go,
b) I will not go, and
c) I will not go.

10. But, if a friend of mine invites us to his house on a Sunday to watch a game, we will there is a flash.

11. The daily World Cup highlights show on TV every night is just as important as the games themselves. Do not even think about saying "but you have already seen this ... why don't you change the channel to something we can all watch?" because, the reply will be, "Refer to Rule #2 of this list."

12. And finally, please save your expression such as "Thank God the World Cup is only every 4 years". I am immune to these words, because before and after this comes the Champion League, Premier League, Italian League, Spanish League, KPL, FA Cup, Euro Cup, etc.

P/S By the way, if you get stuck on the road, call the Police or AA.

Thank you for your cooperation.

No, no, I am not in Brazil attending the World Cup, but at the Bersih rally on April 28 2012.

Bersih Yellow + Lynas Green = Brazil !

Goodbyte Joe. Thanks for the memories

Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight champion who handed Muhammad Ali his first defeat yet had to live forever in his shadow, died Monday night after a brief final fight with liver cancer, reported The Associated Press.

Frazier was 67.

The family issued a release confirming the boxer's death.

Frazier, who took on Ali in three momentous fights in the 1970s – including the epic "Thrilla in Manilla" – had been under home hospice care after being diagnosed just weeks ago with the cancer that took his life, a family friend said. Until then, Frazier had been doing regular autograph appearances, including one in Las Vegas in September.

Smokin' Joe was a small yet ferocious fighter who smothered his opponents with punches, including a devastating left hook he used to end many of his fights early. It was the left hook that dropped Ali in the 15th round at Madison Square Garden in 1971 to seal a win in the so-called "Fight of the Century."

Though he beat Ali in that fight, Frazier lost the final two and for many years was bitter about the role Ali forced him to play as his foil.

Frazier was diagnosed last month with the disease, his personal and business manager said. Leslie Wolff, who has been Frazier's manager for seven years, said the boxer had been in out and out of the hospital since early October and receiving hospice treatment the last week.

Frazier was the first man to beat Ali, knocking him down and taking a decision in the so-called Fight of the Century in 1971. He would go on to lose two more fights to Ali, including the epic "Thrilla in Manila" bout.

Frazier was bitter for many years about the way Ali treated him then. More recently, he said he had forgiven Ali for repeatedly taunting him.

While the "Fight of the Century" is celebrated in boxing lore, Ali and Frazier put on an even better show in their third fight, held in a sweltering arena in Manila as part of Ali's world tour of fights in 1975. Nearly blinded by Ali's punches, Frazier still wanted to go out for the 15th round of the fight but was held back by trainer Eddie Futch in a bout Ali would later say was the closest thing to death he could imagine.

Frazier won the heavyweight title in 1970 by stopping Jimmy Ellis in the fifth round of their fight at Madison Square Garden. Frazier defended it successfully four times before George Foreman knocked him down six times in the first two rounds to take the title from him in 1973.

Frazier would never be heavyweight champion again.

The following is the fight between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali on January 28 1974 at Madison Square Garden.

It's a small cup after all

THE Prime Minister declared a public holiday. Just because the national football team won the AFF Suzuki Cup, involving Asean nations.

The Youth and Sports Minister said financial incentives would be given to the members of the team.

The MIC president asked for a datukship to be given to K Rajagopal, the coach.

The mainstream media went to town with its coverage of Malaysia’s victory over Indonesia in the final, with newspapers devoting pages to the news, including their front page, hailing the players as “heroes”.

Muzium Negara is going to hold an exhibition showcasing the team’s success in winning the Cup.

Please! We are going overboard!

Our football team did well and deserves to be congratulated. We should commend everyone who played a part in its victory and tell them they did a good job, and wish them future successes.

They should be praised for their courage in the second leg of the final for facing a hostile Indonesian crowd in Jakarta and losing by only 1-2.

And then we should move on.

What is the real agenda in declaring a public holiday? We didn’t win the World Cup; we merely won a tournament featuring the nations of ASEAN, a small regional grouping in the context of the big world out there.

Only eight teams participated in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 – the highest-ranked among them according to FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) was Thailand, at the 121st spot. Another participant, Laos, was the lowest among them, at number 167, out of 203 footballing nations.

Malaysia itself is ranked number 144.

So what’s the big deal in winning the Cup to warrant the declaration of a public holiday? If Malaysia had won the Asian Cup, that might have been something more to crow about. Although that still would not warrant a public holiday.

We sound like a desperate footballing nation clutching on to a small trophy and declaring it a blue ribbon. To outsiders looking in, we must appear a laughing stock.

Declaring a public holiday for a low-level achievement is sending out the wrong message and inculcating the wrong values.

It’s saying we don’t have to bother about standards, so we can celebrate mediocrity. The values cultivated from this are obviously negative: we don’t have to do really well in order to be rewarded handsomely. Hasn’t this been our national malady in the last few decades?

It’s also important to consider that one swallow does not make a summer. Our team’s victory this time in a competition involving Asia’s football minnows is not an automatic sign that bigger achievements are in the offing. As it is, we didn’t even qualify for the Asian Cup 2011.

By all means, we should give due encouragement to the team and build on their Suzuki Cup success, but big-scale celebrations are certainly premature. The rewards for now should be modest and proportionate to the achievement.

Giving a datukship to the coach would cheapen the value of such titles, if they are not already questionable in some cases. Let Rajagopal take Malaysia to the second round of the World Cup finals, then talk about giving him a title. That would be some achievement; although even to qualify for it is, at this point, unimaginable.

So why do we want to swell the heads of our footballers? Hasn’t it been the Malaysian hubris to laud sportspeople as heroes before their time has come? And then when they perform the next time on a bigger stage and falter, would it really be their fault if they failed to live up to our expectations?

So, instead of giving substantial financial incentives to the players, why not use the money to provide better training facilities?

Was Prime Minister Najib Razak acting responsibly in declaring a public holiday? Football is big in Malaysia, and especially among the youths, and he knows that. From the way it looked, he exploited the victory to score points and raise his popularity ratings, which could translate into votes for his party at the next general election.

But this time around, he took a cheap shot. And came out looking like an opportunist. Whichever Blue Ocean strategy he employed, it isn’t one that comes with moral considerations.

Leadership means imparting what’s right, not attempting to be populist. In fact, politics in this country has become so dirty that our leadership has lost sight of what it means to impart the right values. The most obvious example of dirty play is BN’s takeover of Perak from Pakatan Rakyat.

If that’s leadership by example, it’s no wonder that the people have also been influenced to play dirty. That’s what was manifested during the first leg of the Suzuki Cup final played in Kuala Lumpur – when Malaysian football fans flashed laser lights on the faces of the Indonesian players to distract them from playing properly. That was, to say the least, a despicable act. From whom did our football fans learn to play so dirty?

Addressing this moral issue is more important than winning tournaments. And it is this that Malaysian leaders should be doing rather than placing priority on the winning. They should be asking whether the Malaysian value system has deteriorated – and if so, why. They should be asking how it can be salvaged, and improved. And whether we have become so corrupt that we don’t know what’s right and wrong any more.

Coincidentally, as the Cup final was going on, news broke of a WikiLeaks disclosure about a government cover-up of a rape committed by a senior Malaysian Cabinet minister on his Indonesian maid three years ago. Could all this football hype be intended to distract Malaysians from that issue?

Conspiracy theorists believe it could be. If they are right, it would confirm how morally low we have sunk. Even worse if the rape report is true.

When just last week, former Israeli president Moshe Katsav was convicted on two counts of rape, sensible Malaysians would have taken heart and wondered if such a vindication of justice could ever happen in Malaysia, especially involving a former head of state. Going by the current priorities of our government, the jury is still out.

[Source: Kee Thuan Chye/Malaysian Digest]

Hitler and the FIFA World Cup

The scene may seem familiar but the dialog, well. it's something else, ha ha

The first 'casualty' of the World Cup; and Namewee

In his anger over Ghana's 1-0 victory over Serbia in a Group D World Cup match, a teenager kicked a ball towards a window which caused shards of glass to pierce his father's right ear in Ladang Chin Teck, last night.

The father, Rosli Mat Noor, 43, almost lost his ear after one of the main veins was severed by the glass.

Recounting the incident when met at the Gua Musang Hospital, Rosli said he was watching the 10pm game with his son, Mohd Rizal, 17.

"Suddenly, Mohd Rizal kicked the ball near his feet out of frustration and shattered our living-room window where I was sitting close to," he said.

Rosli said he did not realise he was bleeding until he felt a sting on his right ear and saw a lot of blood on his fingers after touching the ear.

"I called out to my wife for help and we got our neighbours to send us to hospital where I received three stitches," he said, adding his son who never thought his action would cause any harm, had apologised.

Rosli's wife Rosnani Daud, 49, said although there was excessive bleeding, she was glad her husband's ear was not damaged.

[Source: Bernama]