Friday 26th Oct 2007 - Events In Sabah

1. Diploma in Early Childhood Education organized by Persatuan Tadika Sabah on Nov 19(Monday). Details: Anne Wee 0165858173, Anne Lasimbang 0198806018.
2. The Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu and the Eye Clinic of Queen Elizabeth hospital jointly organizing a Diabetes Awareness and Sight Conservation project on Nov 17 (Saturday) from 8am to 1pm at the Atrium, Asia City Complex, in with the World Diabetes Day. Free screening for public members during the project. Details: Dr Molly Matthews 0198507190, Francis 0168128899 or Margaret 0198128390
   

Friday 26th Oct 2007 - Daredevils to show off skills on Sunday

K0TA KINABALU: Fans of “drifting”, an adrenaline rushing motor sports, will get the chance to see these drivers and their cars in action here, soon.

These daredevils will be showing off their skills during the Second Automotive & Motorsports Day 2007 to be held this Sunday at the Sabah Trade Centre car park in Likas.

Many may not know the meaning of ”drifting”, but those who watched the movie “Too Fast Too Furious” would definitely know what it means.

Drifting is a high-skill, high-powered motor sport that calls for drivers to control a car while it slides sideways at a high speed through a marked course.

It is similar to rally racing, but is done on a closed, paved course.
In fact, this fast-paced sport was the inspiration for the US hit movie “The Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift”, as well as the cult cartoon animation series “Initial—D”.

The sport is fast gaining popularity in Asia, especially in Japan.

Drifting is judged on execution and style rather than just who finishes the course the fastest, and is similar to skateboarding and freestyle motocross.
It takes all the thrilling moments of a traditional motor sports event and packs it together into non-stop competition.

According to Wong Lee Yee @ Alig, the organising committee chairman for this event which will be the second in Sabah, there will also be a drift clinic for drifting enthusiasts, a car and audio show, and drift show demonstration during this one-day event. This event is strictly organised by D1KKDC, associate with Dl Management and Look At Sabah. Members of the public as well as avid shutterbugs are encouraged to attend the event.


“Drifting is a sport that is gaining popularity with the local youths in Sabah. However, there has not been any proper venue for youths to practice their drifting skills, which prompts some to have illegal races during the wee hours of the morning.

“Illegal racing is dangerous as it is unsupervised and is usually held on the public roads,” he said.

Wong lamented the lack of a proper drift course in Sabah, stating that several places in Peninsular Malaysia have long set up drift race courses and training grounds for the West Malaysian drift enthusiasts.

“We hope that through such event, it will give more exposure to the public and the local authorities about what ‘drifting’ is, as a competitive sport as well as to educate budding drift enthusiasts about the dangers of illegal drifting and proper techniques of drifting.

“These techniques include how to control a drift car when it loses control, and to minimize the chances of accidents while drifting.

“With more exposure, we hope that the local authorities will provide a proper venue for amateur drifters to practice and to prevent youths from illegal racing due to the lack of a proper driving course.”


Wong, who has been a competitive drifter for six years, added: “Youths in Sabah nowadays have their own interests and hobbies, which are totally different from their parents’ generation. So, trying to prevent them from pursuing their passion and interests will instead drive them towards illegal racing, so why not provide a proper place for them to do it safely and under proper supervision?

“In the past, our State Government has been sensitive to the changing sports trends of the youths in Sabah, and have even provided a venue for in-line skaters, skateboarders and extreme sports fans at the park adjacent to the Sulaman highway,” he said.

He also described the local youths as “good kids”.

“I don’t think they would intentionally want to break the law by illegal racing, but there is simply no venue to practice. In time, we hope that the Government could also provide a safe place for drifters to practice their driving skills, and also as a venue for competitive drifting. Who knows, drifting might one day be a main sports event in Sabah,” he added enthusiastically.

The Second Automotive & Motorsports Day 2007 will be opened from 9am to 5pm and is free for the public. For further inquiries, call 016-832 3995.

Friday 26th Oct 2007 - Sabah handicrafts coming to Melaka shores

KOTA KINABALU: Kadaiku, the official retail outlet of Sabah Tourism Board and managed by its subsidiary Sri Pelancongan Sabah Sdn Bhd, will be bringing the best of Sabah’s ethnic crafts to the Melaka International Tourism Show 2007 (MITS) which will be held from October 26-28 at the Melaka International Trade Centre.



Organised by the Melaka Tourism Action Council, the aim of MITS 2007 is to promote the handicraft products of various states in Malaysia. This auspicious event will also give members of the tourism sector a chance to showcase their latest products and services.

The objective of participation in this exclusive exhibition is to sell and promote authentic traditional handicrafts and souvenirs which reflect the beauty of Sabah. It is also an opportunity to promote Sabah as one of the premier destinations in Malaysia.



More than 35,000 visitors are expected to come to the MITS which is one of the largest exhibitions in Malaysia and will be participated by both local and international tourism players.

Kadaiku is a full-range merchandise outlet, catering to both wholesale and retail needs from Orang Utan plush toys, traditional hand-crafted baskets of all shapes and sizes, t-shirts, hats, caps, books, musical instruments to intricately woven masterpieces which are unique to Sabah.

Traditional handicrafts are locally produced by villagers in their respective districts, thus ensuring the authenticity of each product.

Kadaiku, located at Sinsuran Complex here, also caters to festive needs and special events in which, customized hampers and door gifts are available, packaged to customers’ preference and to meet their needs.

Friday 26th Oct 2007 - Kota Belud to come alive this weekend

KOTA BELUD: Kota Belud will come alive with the annual Tamu Besar (Grand Market), highlighting the district’s exciting and colourful traditions through a myriad of activities, from October 27 to 28.








The festivities will begin on Saturday with a variety of telematches, exhibitions and cultural shows at the town field from 7am to 7.30pm.

Visitors can enjoy the 'tamu' at its grandest scale when in Kota Belud.

Local traders will be displaying and selling their best wares and produce, including fresh vegetables, local cakes and cookies, textile and a wide range of traditional handicrafts unique to this district.

The highlight of the event is none other than the grand line-up of Bajau horsemen in their colourful attire, displaying their outstanding horse-riding skills at the town field. The show will take place on Sunday beginning at 2pm.





Other events at the town field include the Buffalo Race and Horsemen Tug-of-War. Also not to be missed is the Serimpak Beauty Pageant, featuring local beauties in their traditional Bajau costumes and ornate golden headgear, called the Serimpak.





The pageant will be held at the tamu ground on Sunday with the first round starting at 8.15am.

Friday 26th Oct 2007 - Girl missing after going to night market

PENANG: Police believe 10-year-old Rekha Abdullah, who was reported missing since Monday, is still in Penang and have mounted a massive search for her.

Click to download poster to print and distribute (PDF - 65kb)
Ten-year-old Rekha Ahamad left her squatter home in Kampung Kolam alone at 9pm on Monday to buy a VCD at a nearby night market.

Penang Police Chief Datuk Koh Hong Sun said police would also distribute 650 posters of the girl in the state from today.

“We will also cooperate with RapidPenang to paste 150 of the poster in its buses while another 500 posters will be pasted at public places,” he told reporters yesterday.

Rekha, a Year Four student of Sekolah Kebangsaan (Perempuan) Island, Jalan Larut, here, was reported missing after going to a night market near her house, about 9pm on Monday, to buy a VCD.

After a futile four-hour search, her stepfather, Ahamad Omar, 49, lodged a missing person report of the girl at the Central Police Station about 4am on Tuesday.

Koh said Rekha was wearing a white T-shirt with the Spiderman and Ultraman characters printed on it and a pair of white shorts and slippers when she left the house.

“She is about 3 feet tall, fair-skinned and sports a shoulder length hair which is slightly longer than what is seen in her picture,” he added.
He said police had yet to make an arrest and was investigating the case under Section 363 of the Penal Code.

He urged those with information on the girl to contact the Northeast Police at telephone number 04-2282222 or 04-2188880, the state police contingent at 04-2691999 or the Rakan Cop at 012-4900999 or Investigating Officer Inspector Wan Salmizah Wan Jusoh at telephone number 016-6396784.

Meanwhile, Mohd Dahlan Sultan, 42, a gardener at Sekolah Kebangsaan (Perempuan) Island, said it was not the first time that Rekha had caused panic to her parents, teachers and those who knew her.

“We panicked and were worried when she went missing last year,” he added.
He said Rekha’s stepfather (Ahamad) found her missing when he went to fetch her after school.

“I can’t remember the date, but she got all of us, especially the school head, panicking” he told Bernama when met at the school yesterday.

He said a search was conducted but Rekha was not found.

“She appeared in school as usual the next day and according to her (step) father, she went home about 9pm (on the day when she went missing, after going to see a movie at a cinema,” he added.

Mohd Dahlan said Rekha could behaving some problems at home as he used to see her begging for alms at the Masjid Kapitan Keling compound during the last fasting month.

Meanwhile, a representative from the school, who declined to be named, said they were informed of Rekha’s disappearance on Wednesday.

“Today, two police officers came to school to talk to some of the school staff and Rekha’s friends,” she said, adding that Rekha had no problems in school and her attendance record was good.

Friday 26th Oct 2007 - Kitchen heat burns Nicol’s world title defence

MADRID: Malaysian squash queen Nicol David, the highest profile woman player in the history of the game, suffered her second startling upset within five weeks when her hopes of a hat-trick of world titles were shattered in the second round.

The world number one lost 9-0,9-1,2-9,3-9,9-6 to Shelley Kitchen, the tenth seeded New Zealander, which followed David’s stunning five-game loss from match point up in the fourth game against Rachael Grinham in the British Open final in Manchester last month.

But whereas the Australian recovered from two games down on that occasion, the New Zealander won by frustrating a tremendous comeback by David from a similar deficit.

It was a thrillingly up-and-down match. The champion was rocked by Kitchen’s early blitzkrieg attack, became edgy in the second game, but survived long enough in the third to prosper as the storm blew itself out, advancing steadily to a 5-0 leading the fifth game - and then still faltered.

A couple of David errors and a couple of questionable refereeing decisions got Kitchen back into the match, and when that happened the champion grew tense and edgy again. It helped Kitchen find a second wind and the energy for another series of fierce attacks, which this time they decided the match.

It was the first time since April 2004 and in 36 events that David had failed to reach the quarter-finals of a WISPA Tour event, and afterwards she looked as though a bomb had hit her.
“She’s always a strong opponent,” said David, who had also lost to Kitchen at the Commonwealth Games bronze medal playoff in Melbourne 19 months ago.

“I knew it was going to be a really tough game. She had nothing to lose and she really went for it.

“I tried to play off that, rather than forcing the issue myself upon her. But I got going in the third and fourth games, but in the fifth my focus was up and down, and I knew I had to fight.”




David mistimed an attempted kill to concede a penalty stroke to allow Kitchen back to 2-5 in the fifth, and then put a drop shot down with the court open to let Kitchen reach 5-5.




The champion was unfortunate on at least one occasion not to earn a let, but then hung on well to pull back to 6-6 as the rallies, long at the start of the match, and then sometimes shorter, lengthened dramatically again.

Kitchen then hit a fine forehand winner to regain serve, and kept the attacks going hard and consistently, driving well from both wings, first eliciting a drop shot down from David and then a sidewall boast down from the champion.

The final point saw David, clearly affected at how the match had lurched away from her, mis-hit a forehand drive into the floor, whereupon she dropped her racket and spun round in disappointment.

“I think she re-composed in the fifth,” David said. “I was still trying to work the ball. We both kept going on and on and on.

But it was not my day.”

David was suggesting that the hot and bouncy courts - used for the first three days before the tournament moves Thursday to the open air show-court in front of the Royal Palace - were a factor in the protracted nature of a 69-minute contest full of tortuous rallies.

“The ball sits up and she could hit it,” said David.

Kitchen agreed that the conditions suited her. “I just wanted to stop her volleying and I did that,” she said.

“And I could feel the momentum shift back to me at the end. But I’m speechless frankly. It’s hard to believe.”

Kitchen next plays Natalie Grainger, the former world number one from the United States who beat Engy Kheirallah, the second best Egyptian,9-2,9-0,9-0.

One of the Grinham sisters, either Natalie, the second-seeded Commonwealth champion, or Rachael, the third-seeded British Open champion, now looks likely to bring the world title back to Australia.


WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS-4TH UPDATE
(x denotes seeds):
2nd rd
Natalie Grainger (USA x5) bt Engy Kheirallah I (EGY x 13) 9-2, 9-0, 9-0.
Shelley Kitchen (NZL x 10) bt Nicol David (MAS x l) 9-0, 9-1, 2-9, 3.9, 96
Jenny Duncalf (ENG x 9) bt Vicky Botwright (ENG x 6) 9-4, 9-6, 4-3 retd
Rachael Grinham (AUS x 3) bt Alison Waters (ENG x 12) 4-9, 9-6, 9.4, 95
Vanessa Atkinson (NED x 8) bt Kasey Brown (AUS x 15) 9-5, 9-0, 9-0
Tania Bailey (ENG x 4) bt Laura Lengthorn (ENG x 11) 8-10, 9-5, 10-9, 9-3
Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY x7) bt Annelize Naude (EGY x16) 4-9, 10-8, 9-5, 9-4
Natalie Grinham (AUS x2) bt Rebecca Chiu (HKG x14) 9-5, 9.5, 9-4 .