Thesun 2008-11-21 Page08 Kings Of Tennis Fiasco State Govt Issues Legal Letter To Organiser

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theSun

| FRIDAY NOVEMBER 21 2008

news without borders Kings of Tennis fiasco

State govt issues legal letter to organiser by Himanshu Bhatt [email protected]

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has issued a legal letter to the organiser of the now cancelled Kings of Tennis event, giving it until the end of next week to do restoration works on the historic Esplanade. State local government, traffic management and environment committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the letter requires the makeshift arena to be dismantled and the clay court on the field to be dug out and grass replanted within 14 days. The letter was issued by the

state’s legal department last Friday, he said at the state assembly on Wednesday evening. All restoration works must be conducted under the supervision of the Penang Island Municipal Council’s (MPPP) engineering department and relevant officials. The organiser’s representative, Arianna Teoh, met the state government upon receiving the letter and has given an assurance that the conditions will be met, Chow said. If it failed to do so within the 14 days, the MPPP will do the works and charge the organiser for all costs. Chow also explained that the

MPPP had prepared a letter of undertaking, with terms for use of the field, for the organiser to sign.

We hope to exhaust all avenues to bring back Penang’s honour and position as an attractive venue for international events.”

- Arianna Teoh, organiser’s representative

The organiser, however, never signed the document, but proceeded to set up the structures

on the field. Meanwhile, Teoh said she is trying to ensure a tennis event with world-class players will still be held in Penang as soon as possible. Saying that she is talking to potential sponsors, she expressed hope that she can “salvage a position” that will make Penang proud, especially after much time and hard work had been spent. She added that the cancellation was “wounding” to the local organisers and the image of Penang. “We hope to exhaust all avenues to bring back Penang’s honour and position as an attractive venue for international events,” she said in a

statement on Wednesday. State opposition leader Datuk Azhar Ibrahim said the fiasco reflected the state’s poor sense of enforcement, even though it was only endorsing the project. “Now the whole world knows about the failure of this programme in Penang,” he said. BN assemblyman for Permatang Berangan, Shabudin Yahaya, described the affair as a disappointment that reflected on the failure of the state government to manage public property. “If the organiser did not sign the undertaking, how was the structure on the field allowed to be installed?” he said.

Guan Eng loses cool over phrase by Opalyn Mok [email protected]

PENANG: A dispute over the use of the phrase amal makruf, nahi mungkar led to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng losing his temper and challenging an opposition assemblyman to prove he practises nahi mungkar by supporting the call for abolishment of the Internal Security Act. “If you want to talk about nahi mungkar (forbidding evil), then what about the ISA? ISA is against all religions including Islam so why isn’t it abolished?” Lim (DAP-Air Putih) asked in the state assembly yesterday. “I hope you as a Muslim who said nahi mungkar meaning forbidding all evils, could prove to me, a non-Muslim, that

you practise it by supporting our cause in wanting the ISA to be abolished,” he challenged Shahbudin Yahya (BN -Permatang Berangan). To this, Shahbudin said ISA was legislated to bring good and not evil. “It was used to control undesirable things and the Barisan Nasional government had never taken the amal makruf, nahi mungkar phrase as a slogan but uses other methods to achieve the values of this phrase,” he said. In reply, Lim said it is not right for Shahbudin to say that ISA is good and is allowed under Islam. Finally, the Speaker, Abd Halim Hussain, intervened and said since Shahbudin disputed the use of the phrase even though the Mufti Department had said it

was not wrong for the state government to use it, other opinions should be sought. “I suggest that the issue be referred to the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia and the Fatwa Council so the issue will not be dragged on further here.” Lim’s outburst occurred after Shahbudin said the state government should ban all “evil” activities, from gambling to alcohol, if it really wants to follow the full meaning of the phrase. “There is no other option. Gambling is haram (illegal) so it must be wiped out completely if you use this phrase, otherwise it is an insult to the phrase,” Shahbudin said. The assemblyman said he is not objecting to the state government’s intention to “forbid evil” but the phrase should not be simply used.

Masseuse falls to her death during hold-up by Charles Ramendran [email protected]

KUALA LUMPUR: A masseuse, terrified by the sight of parang-wielding robbers, is believed to have jumped from the third floor of a building in Batu Caves, Gombak, late on Wednesday in a bid to escape.. Indah Surya, a 35-year-old Indonesian from Medan, who was operating the illegal massage parlour on the third floor of the Centrepoint building on Jalan 1/1, died at the Selayang Hospital about four

hours after the fall at 9.15pm. Gombak police chief ACP Abdul Rahim Abdullah said two of the robbers had gone to the massage parlour and sought the services of the victim. While one of the men went into a room to be massaged by Indah’s female worker, his friend waited in the hall. Police learnt that minutes later, an accomplice of the robbers stepped into the parlour armed with a parang. The trio then told Indah and her worker to hand over their cash and valuables.

Abdul Rahim said according to the worker, soon after Indah handed over her valuables, she ran to a window and fell to the ground although the robbers had not made any further threats. He said a post-mortem report revealed the victim had suffered a broken neck and head injuries. The case has been classified as armed robbery and sudden death. Police are compiling a photofit of the suspects and urged those with information to call the Gombak CID at 03-6126 2222.

M’sia to tell world its biscuits melamine-free MALACCA: The Health Ministry is to tell the world that Malaysian-made biscuits are safe to eat and free of melamine. Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said assistance would be sought from the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) to disseminate the information abroad. “Malaysian-made biscuits are exported to more than 50 countries and are guaranteed in terms of quality and safety,” he told reporters after the fourth bilateral meeting of health ministers of Malaysia and Brunei, here, yesterday. He said Malaysian-made biscuits were in high demand in a number of countries, and dominated 70% of the market in Brunei. Liow said the ministry was sensitive to the economic impact on exports following the discovery of melamine in biscuits. He said the ministry had acted swiftly in tracing the source of the melamine contamination to ammonium bicarbonate imported from China, and ensured that remedial measures were taken immediately by the industry. – Bernama

System to extract ink from recycled paper GEORGE TOWN: A Universiti Sains Malaysia researcher has invented a system to extract ink from recycled paper at low cost, using enzymes from sugarcane dregs and palm oil kernels. Prof Dr Darah Ibrahim, a deputy dean with USM’s School of Biological Sciences, said yesterday that the enzymes, known as xylanase and cellulase, are able to remove ink from paper that is being recycled to produce snow-white pulp that is completely chemical-free. He said his research found that the enzymes do not pollute the environment compared with other chemicals used in similar processes. “Using these enzymes in the recycling process can cut down cost by as much as 40%,” he said, adding the enzymes would be more profitable compared to using chemicals and the ink removed in the process can also be recycled and reused.