Najib meets 'superstar' Rajnikanth, snaps selfie

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is visiting India, met with Tamil movie icon Rajnikanth at the latter's residence in Chennai.

Najib also posted a selfie of the two, with the caption: "Just had a very warm and friendly meeting with Mr Rajnikanth the Tamil superstar at his home."

On Wednesday, Malaysiakini quoted an Indian news portal The Telegraph as stating that Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor had requested to meet Rajnkanth during their visit.

The portal said the couple became fans of the actor, who is known as the "superstar" of Indian cinema, during his stay in Malacca for the filming of the movie "Kabali".

Following this, Rosmah's aide Rizal Mansor denied that such a request was made.

"Datin Sri Rosmah Mansor has the greatest respect for Rajinikanth and understands how huge a star that he is - both in India and in Malaysia.

"However, there is no truth in recent news reports that there was a request to meet M Shivaji (referring to Rajinikanth's real name).

"Neither is it scheduled for this visit to the country with one of the world's fastest economic growth this year.

"Speculation from unfounded sources is not helpful," Rizal posted on his Facebook page.

Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/377639#ixzz4csq1d64i

Najib: Modi a bold reformist

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has praised the bravery of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for implementing reforms.

"May I congratulate you for being a bold reformist, for doing things a lesser mortal would not have attempted

"If you are courageous enough to do the reforms you will reap the rewards in due course," Najib told Modi over video conferencing at a business conclave in Kuala Lumpur today.

Modi had recently embarked on a drastic reform measure to tackle corruption, by banning the use of Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes.

Earlier in his speech, Modi expressed confidence in Najib's leadership.

"Under the leadership of his excellency the PM of Malaysia the country will achieve its developed country status in 2020.

"It has also shown great resilience in facing the current economic climate," the Indian premier said.

Najib and Modi were speaking at The Economic Times Asian Business Leaders Conclave, which will be held until tomorrow.

The event seeks to foster better business ties between Asian countries.

Source: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/366134#ixzz4SrsZlPFE

Chennai names successor as thousands mourn 'Amma'

The party of Jayalalithaa Jayaram, a powerful Indian politician who died on Monday, appointed a loyalist to lead her southern state and keep her supporters together as thousands of them grieved in the streets.

Jayalalithaa, the five-time chief minister of Tamil Nadu state, ran her AIADMK party with an iron hand and appointed no second line of leadership or successor.

An hour after her party announced her death late on Monday after a cardiac arrest, state Finance Minister OP Panneerselvam was sworn in to lead economically important Tamil Nadu, a base for auto firms Ford Motor Daimler, Hyundai and Nissan and IT firm Cognizant

Panneerselvam had stood in for Jayalalithaa in the past, but made it clear he was not replacing her. He declined to take her place at the head of the cabinet table while she was ill and instead had her picture placed there.

His rise to the top job in Tamil Nadu would help allay fears of a power struggle in the AIADMK, built entirely around the cult of Jayalalithaa.

Tens of thousands of people gathered outside a memorial hall in the state capital, Chennai, where Jayalalithaa's body lay draped in the Indian flag.

Many wailed and beat their chests in grief. The funeral was set for later on Tuesday.

Widely known as "Amma" or "Mother", the film star-turned politician had a cult following and there were fears supporters would react erratically to her death.

A crowd had surged towards Apollo Hospital where she lay fighting for her life earlier on Monday on rumours that she had died.

"The level of reverence she inspired, few other leaders had," said a leader of the Congress party, Shashi Tharoor.

Jayalalithaa had gone into cardiac arrest on Sunday night, the Apollo Hospital said, following her admission with fever and dehydration in September. She was 68.

"She was not only our leader, she was our god," said Paasarai Jeeva, a woman who said she had been camping outside the hospital for a week.

State authorities ordered seven days of mourning, schools were shut and thousands of police deployed to prevent her supporters from creating public disorder or from harming themselves in grief.

In the past, when Jayalalithaa faced political problems such as a jail term for corruption, her loyalists threatened to immolate themselves or lie down in streets for buses to run them over.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was flying to Chennai to mourn her death along with several other cabinet colleagues.

"Jayalalithaa ji's connect with the citizens, concern for welfare of the poor, the women and marginalized will always be a source of inspiration," Modi said.

His ruling Bharatiya Janata Party as well as the Congress, the other national party, have little political presence in Tamil Nadu despite years of efforts to build a base.

Jayalalithaa's AIADMK and bitter rival DMK are the main political groupings, alternating in power.

Source- Reuters

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa dies

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has died, sparking an outpouring of grief in the southern Indian state.

The 68-year-old Jayalalithaa, one of India's most powerful politicians, was admitted to a Chennai hospital on Sept 22 with a fever, dehydration and a respiratory infection.

On Sunday evening she suffered a cardiac arrest and her condition deteriorated.

Doctors of Apollo Hospital, along with specialists from New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences, failed to revive her after she was put on life support.

"Every possible clinical attempt was made to sustain her revival. However, despite our best efforts, the chief minister's underlying conditions rendered her unable to recover and she passed away at 11.30pm on Monday (2am today in Malaysia)," according to a hospital statement.

The announcement came within hours of the hospital strongly refuting reports by local television channels that Jayalalithaa had died.

The state's ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party picked Jayalalithaa loyalist O Panneerselvam to succeed her as the chief minister.

As Tamil Nadu mourns the death of its iconic leader, there is high security in the state capital Chennai to control crowds and maintain order.

Indian television channels showed grief-stricken supporters gathering in many locations in Chennai to mourn Jayalalithaa's passing.

She is hailed as "Puratchi Thalaivi" (revolutionary leader) and known as Amma (mother) among her mass followers.

Jayalalithaa dominated Tamil Nadu's politics for three decades and served as the state's chief minister six times.

She was born into a Brahmin family in Mysore in Karnataka, a state bordering Tamil Nadu, and was a hugely popular movie star before formally entering politics in 1982.

Source- Bernama

‘Kabali’: IGP says advised censors to cut select scenes shot in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 — Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar has confirmed that police advised against the inclusion of certain scenes from the Tamil blockbuster Kabali.

He said Bukit Aman had given its input on some scenes in the Tamil movie starring superstar Rajinikanth, which led to an alternate ending to the movie.

“Yes. We gave advice on parts of the movie that were shot here,” he said when commenting on a Malay Mail report yesterday that police had a say in the deletion of certain parts of the movie largely shot here.

As a result, Malaysians also missed out on three other parts deemed unsuitable for viewers.
Film Censorship Board chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid said it was a normal practice to have police input in movies that had violence, gangsterism and derogatory elements.

“We normally have our own police advisory unit in the censorship board too. For certain movies that we feel need extra input from Bukit Aman, we will call them in for viewing too,” he said.
“The final say, however, would be from us.” he added.

Yesterday, Malay Mail revealed why Malaysia had a different ending to the movie and that parts had been deleted as police had felt the scenes would encourage gangsterism.

The movie screened here ends with the words “Finally, Kabali surrendered to police” on a black screen.

In the original ending, Tiger, a character played by Tamil actor Hari, is shown being dragged out of a lockup by a policeman who gives him a gun to shoot Kabali.

He then walks into a cafe and goes up to Kabali, a role played by Rajinikanth,  before the screen turns black and a gunshot is heard against the sound of the crowd shouting. It was not clear if Kabali survives.

Kabali is mainly about the Malaysian underworld

CHENNAI: The much-awaited Tamil movie Kabali is mainly about the Malaysian underworld, an actor involved in the film has revealed.

Kabali, which is expected to be release worldwide on July 15, stars India’s highest paid actor Rajinikanth in the lead role. Malaysian actors Rosyam Nor, Norman Hakim and Zack Taipan are also in the movie.

It will be released in four languages and is expected to hit 5,000 screens. It will also be dubbed in Bahasa Malaysia.

The teaser of the film received five million hits on YouTube on its first day alone. With over 20 million hits so far, it has already broken records of Bollywood hits such as PK, Dhoom: 3 and Salman Khan’s upcoming Sultan.

According to a report in The Hindu, the story covers the socio-economic and political past and the present of Malaysia. It quoted actor Kishore, who is one of three villains in the movie, as saying: 

“Director P Ranjit and his team of artists and writers did a lot of research on the background of Malaysian Tamils, who have remained workers in plantation sectors in rubber and palm estates. 

The film explains why a character like Kabali emerges in a certain milieu.”

In an interview with The Hindu, Kishore, who made his debut in the movie Kanti in 2004, said: 

“We shot for nearly 30 days (with Rajinikanth) in Chennai and Malaysia.”

Asked about acting with a legend such as Rajinikanth, he said he considered himself blessed, “for acting alongside him is something of a dream come true for any actor”.

He praised Rajinikanth for making his co-stars comfortable with his simplicity. “His nature is like that. He used to share lot of experiences during the shoots with all the co-stars. 

I have also worked with stalwarts like Kamal Hassan. The way both Rajini and Kamal introduce new talents to their audience is great. This is a rare thing in the film industry today.”

On his role, Kishore who acts in Malayalam and Telugu films as well, said: “I am a typical villain. 

I wear huge gold chains and bracelets! I am one among three villains in the film. To match a character played by someone of Rajini’s stature, the film needed three antagonists. I tried my best to do justice in my character portrayal.”


He said the heroine in the movie, Radhika Apte was an amazing actor and a thorough professional in her approach.


Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/06/10/kabali-is-mainly-about-the-malaysian-underworld/

Don't forget what our forefathers said about hudud

COMMENT Members of Parliament, on being elected as members of the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat), have to swear the following oath “...that I will faithfully discharge my duties as such to the best of my ability, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Malaysia and will preserve, protect and defend its constitution”.

The MPs must bear this oath in mind when deliberating on the Private Member's Bill introduced in Parliament recently by PAS MP for Marang Abdul Hadi Awang.

The bill seeks to amend Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1956 and is intended to extend the power of the syariah court to be able to implement the Kelantan Criminal Enactment (II) 1993 which provides for hudud punishments detailed in the Kelantan Enactment 2015 and include theft, rape, sodomy, etc.

Gabungan Professor Negara is reported to have said the proposed Private Member's Bill is not about hudud law and that the word 'hudud' (Islamic penal code) is not mentioned in the bill.

It is true that the word 'hudud' is not mentioned in the proposed bill but the aim of this bill is to empower the 'Kelantan Syariah Criminal Enactment (II) 1993 amended in 2015' to impose hudud punishments.

Thus, the aim of the Private Member's Bill is to empower states to be able to pass enactments implementing syariah laws and providing for hudud punishments.