Meet the denizens of old KL

G Tangarasan was in no mood for casual chit-chat. It was mid-morning, both suppliers and customers were criss-crossing paths in his spices shop and he had ledger sheets to tally. “Take as many pictures as you want,” he said in mild irritation. “But I have no time to talk to you. Go ask my son your questions.”
The 36-year-old Krishnan Tangarasan is a fourth generation owner of VKM Traders, a spices shop his great-grandfather began in 1927.His family business is one of the many pulses of old inner KL that has defied the onslaught of modernity to claim a position as an unofficial heritage site.

“My great-grandfather arrived in KL from South India in the early 1920s,” Krishnan said. “He started this business but it was my grandfather who really established it.”“Our shop was originally located in Lebuh Ampang but that area is prone to floods so we moved here, to Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, in 2000.”
A glance around VKM Traders is like taking a peek back in time.From the heavy iron safe to the scarred iron paperweight, not much has changed over the years. Even his 59-year-old father prefers to use a calculator and ledger books instead of the computer in the little back room.

Msia wins AFF Suzuki Cup, PM declares Friday holiday

Malaysia beat Indonesia on a 4-2 aggregate to lift the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 for the first time in 14 years.

An elated Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced on his Twitter page that Friday will be public holiday to mark the victory.

Indonesia won the second leg of the final 2-1 at the Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, but was unable to overcome the three goal cushion set during their 3-0 lost at the Bukit Jalil Stadium, Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

The crime stories that make headlines

Court cases on the gruesome murder of cosmetics queen Sosilawati Lawiya, the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, Teoh Beng Hock's inquest and the graft charge against former Selangor menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo were the attention grabbers over the past 12 months.

However, the much-awaited Anwar Ibrahim's second sodomy trial was marked by application after application, mainly by the defence team headed by counsel Karpal Singh.

Palanivel should invite us, says sacked MIC man

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 29 - Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu (GAS) founder V. Mugilan urged newly-installed MIC president Datuk G. Palanivel today to prove his worth by inviting all members his predecessor had removed back into the party’s fold.The former MIC Youth deputy chief claimed to The Malaysian Insider this morning that during Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s three-decade reign, the powerful leader had removed, both directly and indirectly, at least 100,000 members.

Sore Indons hack Malaysian sites

PETALING JAYA: Indonesian hackers have attacked Malaysian websites after their country lost in a football match. The hacked sites include that of Universiti Teknologi Mara, an online furniture directory and the image gallery of a secondary school in Pekan, Pahang.Even an online directory on pet dogs was not spared from the Indonesian cyber wrath.

A group known as “kaMtiEz” has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which appear to be targeting websites with the “.my” suffix.Last Sunday, Malaysia defeated Indonesia 3-0 in the first leg final of the AFF Suzuki Cup at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

MIC warns leaders: Shape up or ship out

Three weeks after taking over the party's reins from S Samy Vellu on Dec 6, new MIC president G Palanivel appeared to be coming out of his former mentor's shadows.

At a retreat for party leaders in Selangor last week, he wasted no time in reclaiming the party's position as the champion of the Indians.

Palanivel took a tough stance by reprimanding “seat warmers”, some holding high positions in the MIC, and ordered them to get cracking in helping the community.

Weak laser beam won't affect goalkeeper's vision

A beam shone from far - from the stadium terraces to the playing field, for example - is weak and does not affect vision, an optometrist said today.

This is especially so if a laser pointer is used, Dr Zahimi Chik said when commenting on an incident during the first-leg of the Malaysia-Indonesia final in the AFF-Suzuki Cup in Bukit Jalil last night.

The match was stopped for five minutes after the Indonesian coach complained that Malaysian fans were dazzling his goalkeeper with a laser beam.

'Little India' still big on vice

BRICKFIELDS: Residents and business owners in 'Little India' feel the government should do more to make the place vice-free, especially at the red-light area of Jalan Thambipillay.When The Malay Mail checked the area on Nov 23, we saw prostitutes and pimps openly soliciting for customers, many of whom were foreigners.This was a far cry from the vice-free scenario in late October when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, visited the area.

Two cops arrested for alleged brutality

Two police officers, believed to have beaten and rob a businessman for allegedly carrying drug and for driving a car without a valid road tax last Saturday, were arrested today.

Selangor police chief Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah said the two police constables, aged 25 and 27, from the Damansara police station were arrested after Chia Buang Hing identified them in a parade of six people.

"Police view this case as serious because it concerns abuse of power among policemen and there will be no discrimination (against the accuser) if they are found guilty," he told reporters at the Petaling Jaya police headquarters.

Beaten and robbed by cops over expired road tax

For being frank with the police, 34-year-old Chia Buang Hing was detained for five days and beaten up until he vomited blood.

The businessman, who is frame-maker, narrated the "horrific" incident today, saying that the police bashed him up, threatened and robbed him of RM13,000 in cash he was carrying - all for the expired road tax of his wife's car that he was driving.

Chia's nightmare began about 11pm on Dec 18, as he was driving from his house in Tropicana to Kota Damansara, where traffic police had set up roadblocks.

Minus Samy Vellu, voters see stronger MIC

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 — Most voters in peninsular Malaysia believe Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s exit from MIC will help the party win back Indian support, according to a survey by the Merdeka Center this month. Fifty-three per cent of those polled said they believed MIC will be able to regain the trust of Indians now that the veteran politician has stepped down as party president, while only 19 per cent disagreed.
The remaining 28 per cent said they did not know.

Ex-PM has date with Shah Rukh on Xmas day

When former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad arrives in Mumbai on Christmas Eve, he will be a special guest of Bollywood heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan.

Mahathir and his wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, both on a private visit to India, will be arriving in the Indian financial capital today, where the famous actor will play host to the elder statesman.

"When he heard I was coming to India, he said I must go to Bombay (Mumbai).

Indian candidates to break the calm

KUALA LUMPUR: Indian candidates are expected to turn the upcoming Tenang state assembly by-election in Johor into a multi-cornered fight.While Indian social NGO Astivaaram Foundation vice-president R Sri Sanjeev  remained tightlipped over his candidacy, sources within the foundation confirmed that he would be contesting the seat.On the same note, PKR Kluang member S Jeevan told FMT that he might be running for the seat as an independent candidate.

Hindraf urges Indians to abstain from voting in GE

GEORGE TOWN: Ethnic Malaysian Indians should abstain from voting in the 13th general election unless the constituency offers a candidate from the Human Rights Party (HRP), which is the the political axis of Hindraf Makkal Sakti, said its chairman P Waythamoorthy. London-based Waythamoorthy said it was time for ethnic Indian voters across the country to teach existing political blocks – Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat - a lesson in electoral politics.

New MIC president not bothered with 'rivals'

Newly-minted MIC president G Palanivel said that other Indian-based political parties do not pose a threat to MIC because the party is far more established.

“To be very frank we are a very structured party. We are not worried about any form of competition. They are not our competitors, please la,” said Palanivel, who is also the Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister.

Palanivel said this when asked about the MIC's position following the growth of the Human Rights Party (HRP) and Malaysian Makkal Sakti Party (MMSP), during a press conference after chairing his maiden central working committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

Pala to create Indian millionaires

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 – Senator Datuk G. Palanivel is set to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor when he today offered to create millionaires in the Indian community.Palanivel took over the MIC leadership after Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu stepped down and ended his 31 years reign as party president.Samy Vellu’s tenure as president was marred with allegations of embezzlement and mismanagements of party linked companies including venture group, Maika holdings.

Najib's prompt response gives ex-estate workers hope .

PUTRAJAYA : Less than four hours after submitting a memorandum to the Prime Minister's Office, former Bukit Jalil estate workers were given a reprieve. According to Bukit Jalil action committee member K Balakrishnan, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had ordered the Human Resources Ministry and the Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Ministry to look into the matter, which had dragged on for two decades.

Man held for royal slur on Facebook

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — Police have detained the man owning the Facebook that allegedly insulted the Sultan of Johor and the state monarchy.
Director of the commercial crime investigation department Datuk Wira Syed Ismail Syed Azizan said the 40-year-old man was arrested here on November 29.

He told reporters that a task force was formed in August after several complaints were received about the Facebook page, which the man was believed to have created after the death of Sultan Iskandar Almarhum Sultan Ismail of Johor last January.Police seized from the man five cell phones and PDAs, five lap tops and a wireless router.

Syed Ismail said that investigations showed that the man, who is from Kuala Lumpur, was self-employed and was driven by certain ideals.The Facebook account had the e-mail address pendekar.bentan@gmail.com but the man had stolen the identity of a user who had not signed out.

Zeti receives lifetime achievement award

Bank Negara Malaysia governor Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award on Tuesday at the Annual Islamic Business and Finance Awards held in Dubai.

In her acceptance remarks, she said Islamic finance is one of the fastest growing segments in the global financial system.

"The industry remained resilient during the recent global financial crisis. It has continued to be competitive, providing financial products and services, to changing requirements of businesses and investors," she added.

Bukit Jalil folk to seek Najib's intervention

PETALING JAYA: Eight families of Bukit Jalil estate, facing imminent eviction by DBKL, are hoping for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to resolve their predicament. The residents are planning to submit a memorandum tomorrow to the Prime Minister's Department seeking Najib's intervention in their on-going spat with DBKL.S Thiakarajan, the residents' action committee secretary, was hopeful that the premier would take time out to listen to their grouses personally.

DPM rubbishes Pakatan's 100-day reform plan

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Pakatan Rakyat's reform pledges to be implemented within 100 days of seizing Putrajaya are “empty promises”.Muhyiddin said Pakatan can promise whatever it wants now because it is not in power and does not have to be accountable for the country's future.

“They probably think that the general election is close, so maybe they know better than us. They are just luring voters with their empty promises, like a supermarket sale," he said.“But all in all, this is an issue of governance, and the issue of the nation's future. If they just make this kind of offer without proper planning, it would be a lie and a huge deceit. So I hope that the people are not easily influenced by this."

Indians in PKR should end their charade

COMMENT For a time, Indian Malaysians in PKR looked like they had a case worthy of serious consideration, whenever they went berserk over perceived slights and wrongs against them in the party.
But the public sympathy they had - even from former MIC head S Samy Vellu - seems to have dissipated after the recent PKR polls. Their bluff has been called and their continued antics are driving Indian voters back into the gleeful arms of BN, if not the MIC.

Tactile path torn up, blind community cries foul

Visually-impaired pedestrians in Brickfields are up in arms over the removal of facilities that assist them.

Facilities such as tactile walking paths, pedestrian gates and junction ramps along Jalan Tun Sambanthan and Jalan Tun Sambanthan 4 were torn up without notice last week by the contractor, Malaysian Resource Corporate Bhd (MRCB).

Those concerned are now dicing with danger as they negotiate their way to work or home. A casualty was reported last Wednesday, when a visually-impaired pedestrian was injured when she fell into a construction hole.Nur Haryati was on her way to the Bank Simpanan Nasional branch in Jalan Tun Sambathan when the incident happened.

Bid to free 'whistleblower' Selvach fails

A writ of habeas corpus to free K Selvach Santhiran, a witness who implicated police in a death-in-custody inquest, was rendered academic following his transfer to the Batu Gajah detention camp in Perak on the Home Ministry's order.


Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Su Geok Yiam ruled that she has no jurisdiction to hear the matter as the writ had been filed to challenge the grounds of detention by the police.

22 dead in Cameron Highlands bus crash

KUALA LUMPUR: A bus carrying Thai tourists crashed on a highway today killing 22 people on board after a trip to the Cameron Highlands, authorities said. "We believe that 22 people were killed in the accident," said Aminuddin Abdul Rahim, spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Department, who was at the accident site.

'Ignore Indian woes and national unity crumbles' .

KUALA LUMPUR: National unity would be at risk if issues within the Indian community continue to be ignored, warned Asli Centre for Public Policy Studies chairman Ramon Navaratnam. Ramon said this in his speech at a recent book launch here.Titled “National Development Plans & Indians in Malaysia”, the book, authored by political analyst Denison Jayasooria was meant to act as a benchmark to assess whether the government had delivered its promises to the Indian community through its eighth, ninth and 10th Malaysia Plan.

Hindraf to refile suit against UK gov't

Self-exiled Hindraf founding member P Waythamoorthy is confident of being able to refile a class-action suit against the British government by July next year. In a summary of his research, read out during the launch of his brother P Uthayakumar's second book yesterday, Waythamoorthy said he had found 24,000 supporting documents in the UK Public Records Office. “He has been working 12 hours a day in London with the help of two volunteers in London to search for these documents,” the 400-strong audience was told.

Palani tells members to get more members .

SEREMBAN: MIC president Senator G Palanivel's main focus after taking over the party leadership is to get the Indian community who are eligible to vote to register as voters.He said there were currently about 400,000 of them nationwide who had yet to register as voters."We have launched the exercise last August and are mobilising party divisions to identify the persons and to get them to register as voters.

Bukit Jalil residents want a better package from DBKL

KUALA LUMPUR: The ongoing saga between residents of Bukit Jalil estate and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) looks set to continue with the residents rejecting the compensation package offered by the latter.The residents want a better housing scheme and a permanent land title for their temple and cemetary. They also want more facilities for the new Tamil school.

HRP to Pakatan: Give us 15 parliamentary seats

Hindraf-Human Rights Party (HRP) has issued an ultimatum to Pakatan Rakyat to back out and allow the Indian-based party to take on BN in straight fights in 15 parliamentary seats and 38 state seats in the next general election. In a letter sent today to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang and PAS president Hadi Awang, HRP pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar said that if Pakatan does not heed HRP's call, the opposition coalition will find itself in three-corner fights in the constituencies.

Retired Samy Vellu now more popular

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 — In a strange reversal, former MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu finds himself more popular now that he has retired, with Indians flocking to see and hear him speak at religious and cultural functions throughout the country.Many groups, temples and Tamil schools are inviting Samy Vellu, who retired on December 6 after 31 years as MIC president, for dinners, culture shows and Deepavali functions even though the festival is long over.

SPM candidates can re-sit History paper from 2014

History will be among subjects offered for candidates re-sitting for their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination from 2014, said Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin said the decision was made to give students an opportunity to achieve better results in their SPM.

"Currently only Bahasa Malaysia and Mathematic subjects are offered for candidates who wished to re-sit for the SPM," he told senator Yeow Chai Thiam in Dewan Negara today.

GAS men mull return to MIC

PETALING JAYA: Following S Samy Vellu's resignation as MIC president, former members of the now defunct Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu (GAS) movement are contemplating on rejoining the party. Former GAS coordinator V Mugilan said he had not thought about the matter yet as a lot of things had changed in the country's political landscape.“I must talk to my colleagues and supporters before deciding,” he added.

PM: Be bold enough to review decisions

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak wants government agencies to exercise boldness in reviewing decisions and conditions made in the public interest to ensure effective implementation.He said it might be felt that a decision was right when it was made but, with the imposition of conditions, there might be difficulty in implementation of plans or projects."What we have proposed in the 10th Malaysia Plan, Budget 2011 and other plans can be implemented, and when we know that something is not working, we must find out the reason.

S'gor kekal destinasi utama pelaburan Jan-Sept 2010 .

SHAH ALAM: Selangor kekal sebagai destinasi utama pelaburan apabila sebanyak RM6.53 bilion diluluskan di antara bulan Januari hingga September tahun ini. Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim berkata, dari jumlah itu sebanyak RM2.76 bilion atau 42% adalah pelaburan tempatan manakala sebanyak RM3.78 bilion atau 58% merupakan pelaburan asing.

Pakatan trio face six-month suspension

The federal government has recommended the suspension of three opposition members for releasing embargoed information on the probe involving opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.According to the Order Paper for today, the motion by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department is scheduled to be tabled against Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor), R Sivarasa (PKR-Subang) and Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) for violating Standing Order 85.This regulation states that any statement recorded in front of Rights and Privileges Committee must be embargoed until the decision is tabled before the Dewan Rakyat.

Expensive broadband discouraging Internet usage in Malaysia

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia is crawling along on the digital slow lane due to the high cost of Internet access according to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) lecturer Dr Ali Salman.Speaking at the 10th Pacific Sociological Association Conference of the Asia (APSA 10) recently, he said while the use of Internet in Malaysia had seen a major increase over the years, the high fees imposed by Internet access providers needs were causing a stagnation and needed to be brought down to an affordable level.

Mother of dead teen suspects cover up

KAPAR: Sixteen-year-old R Kishornath died last Saturday after purportedly falling ill during a camping trip organised by a welfare home at a waterfall in Hulu Selangor. The cause of his death was stated as leptospirosis but his mother, S Shanti, wants the authorities to conduct a thorough probe.According to a report in Makkal Osai today, the 36-year-old kindergarden teacher discovered bruises on her son's body, and suspects that he could have been assaulted.Kishornath was sent to the welfare home, Institute Kemahiran Serendah, in April after his parents separated.

Rights panel wants Anwar shelved for six months

Parliament's rights and privileges committee has recommended that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim be suspended for claiming that a public relations firm hired by the federal government had strong links with Israel. "The privileges committee has tabled its majority report which recommended that Anwar be suspended for six months," committee member Karpal Singh, the Bukit Gelugor MP, told a press conference in the lobby of Parliament this morning.

Police assault 'witness' detained without trial

The key witness to the R Gunasegaran inquest, K Selvach Santhiran, was today transferred to the Batu Gajah detention camp, without being given a chance to meet his family members.Suaram coordinator E Nalini (right) said police had called Selvach's family members last night, saying they would bring him from the Bukit Jalil detention centre to the FT police headquarters in the morning where they could meet him, before they took him to Batu Gajah.When they arrived at 10am, she said Selvach was already gone.

Police stations no land for the disabled .

PETALING JAYA: It isn't easy being a disabled person. Confined to wheelchairs and dependant on crutches, many have had the toughest of times in entering even the most public of places.V Murugesan, president of the Damai Disabled Association found this out the hard way after trying to settle his traffic summons at the Petaling Jaya police station on Dec 6.

No honeymoon for Palanivel .

One late evening, just a few months after the historic March 2008 general election, S Samy Vellu received a familiar visitor at his residence in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur.The 74-year-old MIC supremo listened calmly as the visitor, his former political secretary S Ananthan, told him that his time was up, that he must quit active politics and let another leader of his choice take over the reins of the largest party for Malaysian Indians.

Samy Vellu's 'tell-all' biography launched

In a "tell-all" biography, former MIC President Samy Vellu revealed how he tried in vain to stop the demolition of a Hindu temple in 2007, which the author describes sowed the seeds of a revolt against the party."A Life. A Legend. A Legacy" written by award-winning author Bernice Narayanan reveals Samy Vellu's greatest achievements and setbacks as well as "behind-the-scenes" events in his almost 50 years of active politics.

Samy to Indians: Go forth and multiply

Former MIC president S Samy Vellu wants the 1.8 million current Indian population in the country to boosted to 2.5 million to strengthen their bargaining power when it comes to sharing the economic wealth of the country.He said: "The 1.8 million Indian population is slowly rising to about 2 million now but this is not enough and the target of 2.5 million must be reached to have a stronger bargaining point."

No jobs or water, estate folks suffer .

SUNGAI BULOH : Abandoned by the plantation owner and the Selangor government, 24 families in Coalfied estate here are suffering. When FMT visited the estate recently, it was discovered that the residents were struggling without jobs and proper water supply.According to Coalfield estate's St Anthony Church committee chairman Peter Anthonysamy, the state government was reluctant in solving their woes.

10-year jail if employer punishes whistleblower

An employer could be hauled to court for engaging in retaliatory action such as dismissal, against a staff who spills the beans on him.This was one aspect of the Whistleblower Protection Act when it came into effect on Dec 15, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Liew Vui Keong.
He said, the staff could go to court and ask for an injunction and any other relief, and the government would cover the costs which would be taxed against the defendant.

New Tamil schools: Cheer in Johor, gloom in Selangor .

MERSING: In this season of gift-giving, some dreams do come true as in the case of the Mersing Tamil school. After more than 50 years of squatting on someone else's land, it finally received a gift of a three-acre plot to build its own school.According to Tenggorah assemblywoman T Murukasvary, Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman had on Dec 2 visited the school and informed the school authorities of their land allocation.

Hindraf duo to file suit against Najib

Two lawyers and Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders, P Uthayakumar (below, right) and M Manoharan, are scheduled to file a RM200 million suit against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak tomorrow over their allegedly unlawful detention under the draconian Internal Security Act law for 514 days.They will also name former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan and the government as the other defendants.

Dad to lead MIED and Aimst, son could be next info chief .

KUALA LUMPUR: Retired MIC president S Samy Vellu will lead the party's educational wing Maju Institute of Educational Development and MIC's "jewel in the crown" the Asian Institute Of Medicine, Science and Technology (Aimst).The combined worth of these two educational organisations, which was initiated by Samy Vellu during his 31-year tenure as president, was more than RM700 million and had been under constant attack from critics for mismanagement of funds.

New dawn for Vell Paari as sun sets on Samy

MIC Youth advisor S Vell Paari's fortunes in the party are set to improve now that his father S Samy Vellu has resigned as party president.It is an open secret that Samy Vellu had limited his eldest son's role in the party to avoid allegations of nepotism.Speaking to Malaysiakini yesterday, Vell Paari said that there are no longer obstacles for him to pursue a greater role in the party."In terms of my involvement in politics, when father was around he always felt that people will always talk of nepotism if I was around.

MMSP now BN affiliate, not eyeing seats

Although the newly established Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party (MMSP) has joined BN as an affiliate, it will not be seeking to contest in the general elections just yet, said president RS Thanenthiran. “We feel this is the first step as BN has opened up its doors to accept other component parties... In the past, the Indian community had only MIC but now there are other parties that can represent them,” he said.

Fuel, diesel, gas and sugar prices up

The government has increased the price of RON95 grade of petrol, diesel, liquified petroleum gas and sugar.
Sugar prices will be raised by 20 sen per kg while RON95 petrol, diesel and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) all go up by five sen. The breakdown of the new prices are as follows:

RON 95 grade petrol - from RM1.85 to RM1.90 per litre

Diesel - from RM1.75 to RM1.80 per litre

White refined coarse granulated sugar - from RM1.90 to RM2.10 per kg

Liquified petroluem gas - from RM1.85 to RM1.90 per kg

The new prices are effective at 12.01am tomorrow. This was revealed during a special briefing for editors in Putrajaya by the Performance and Delivery Unit (Pemandu).

Tony Fernandes named businessman of the year

Forbes Asia has named AirAsia Group's pioneering chief executive officer Tony Fernandes as its 2010 Businessman of the Year. Forbes said in a statement that the 46-year old Fernandes, a former record company executive, took over Malaysia's then-ailing AirAsia in 2001 and relaunched it as a no-frills airline that has now become South-East Asia's hottest global brands.

Palanivel to become 8th MIC president next week

G Palanivel is set to take over the MIC leadership from S Samy Vellu next week, making him the eight president in the party's 64-year history.Samy Vellu who has helmed the party for almost 31 years, is set to hand over the reins to Palanivel after the party's central working committee (CWC) meeting on Monday.

Youth beaten black and blue by 'tensed' traffic cop .

KUALA LUMPUR: Little did S Karthik suspect that an outing with his girlfriend would leave him black and blue after being allegedly beaten by a traffic cop, who was having a bad day.The 20-year-old mechanic filed a report with the Setapak police station yesterday.Speaking to FMT, Karthik said the 9.30pm incident occurred last Tuesday when he was travelling on his motorcycle with his girlfriend near Section 1, Wangsa Maju here.