ABOUT KOH LIPE

Have you ever heard about Koh Lipe ? That is the question from my friend who recently just came back from backpacking to me. It is said the island is the " MALDIVES OF IN SOUTH EAST ASIA ". 

So, I have decided to do backpacking to Koh Lipe, as I am so in love staying in beaches :)

Koh Lipe Thailand - one of the most beautiful islands at the Tarutao Marine Park and currently one of the most sought after places for island lovers. This small island sits at the Southern most part of the marine park and the name Koh Lipe (pronounced Lee Pay) comes from the local sea gypsy name which means Paper Island. Koh Lipe is also known as the Maldives of Thailand as the waters here are amazingly crystal clear while the unspoiled beaches are donned with pure white sand. The paradise is also known by many other spellings such as Koh Lipeh, Ko Lipey, Ko Leepay and Ko Lipe.

Speed boat ferries arriving on the beach

Koh Lipe is also easily accessible as there are various ways from Phuket, Ko Lanta, Pak Barra and also Langkawi Island in Malaysia. I did an article on this and you can find out more information about Getting To Koh Lipe. There are no airports so the only way here is via the modern speed boat ferries. Journeys are estimated at about 1-2 hours depending on which point you choose.As for my experience, I have visited Koh Lipe during the high season via Langkawi and also during the low season via Pak Barra jetty in Satun which is in Southern Thailand. After you arrive at the immigration office for your passport chop and want to take a longtail boat taxi to your resort at the other beaches, they charge a fee of 40-50 Baht per person.

Being around for many years, this paradise island was originally settled by a band of sea gypsies from Malaysia, known as the 'Chao Lei' people and was once a secret little backpacker haven with only budget styled beach chalets while backpackers would bring wares to sell on the walking street and around the island. Some of the back packers would even camp out on the beaches back then.

Only until about 4-5 years ago, some businessmen saw the opportunity and started investing here opening up larger styled resorts and businesses. At the current moment, the island operates on two seasons, Low Season from May till September and High Season from October till April. You will find that during the rainy season, about 60% of the island comes to a standstill where prices are slashed to about 50-60% off peak rates.

Map of Koh Lipe showing the resorts and places

Things to take note before visiting Koh Lipe Thailand

• There are no ATMS there
• The nearest ATM Machines are in Pak Barra jetty or Langkawi jetty
• Some businesses on Lipe will do Credit Card Advances at 5%-8% commission
• Foreign Currency can be changed at most resorts but at terrible rates
• There is only one Immigration Hut located at the end of Pattaya Beach next to Bundhaya Resort
• A local Police Station is also available behind the Immigration Office
• The only way in and out of Koh Lipe is via Ferry or Speedboat
• There are no taxis or cars on the islands
• Do not participate in Fishing Trips as it is illegal
• There is only one small clinic at the local Chow Lay village called Topoe
• A helicopter landing area is there for major emergencies
• Visa on arrival over land or sea is only 14 days for foreigners
• Alternatively, you can do a visa run to Langkawi, Malaysia and back within a day
• There is a small local church available in the Chow Ley village

8 Cara Bagaimana Untuk Bertenang-tenang Selalu

Berikut adalah 5 cara untuk bertenang. Dalam ayat lain, kami paparkan 8 tips bagaimana melatih diri untuk bertenang selalu.

1. Mulakan dengan niat.

Untuk bertenang selalu dan untuk membina ketenangan dalam diri, mulakan dengan niat. Kenapa Anda mahu bertenang? Mesti ada sebabnya kan. Sebagai contoh, Anda mahu bertenang mungkin sebab Anda mahu mengelak dari stress, mungkin sebab Anda mahu melatih diri supaya bertenang selalu atau simply Anda mahu merasai ketenangan dalam apa jua perkara yang Anda lakukan.

2. Longgarkan otot, longgarkan sendi, longgarkan urat kening.

Elak dari mengerut kening ketika Anda sedang merenung, sedang berfikir atau ketika sedang melihat pada sesuatu misalnya skrin komputer atau skrin projektor. Jangan biaskaan diri mengerut kening sebab pergerakan otot kening ketika dikerutkan akan membuat Anda tertekan. Hal ini akan menyebabkan minda Anda terlalu fokus. Bila sudah terlalu fokus, tak ada ketenangan sebab minda Anda dipengaruhi oleh kerisauan dan kekelamkabutan. Sebaiknya, saat membaca sesuatu, merenung atau memikirkan sesuatu, cuba relaks. Bawak diri bertenang.

3. Kawal emosi.

Cara untuk bertenang adalah dengan bersabar. Bukan kawal marah, tapi bersabar. Ketika bersabar, Anda menahan diri supaya bertenang. Ketika menahan marah, Anda masih nampak marah cuma dalam amaun yang ditapis-tapis. Anda masih menampakkan marah diwajah Anda. Ketika bersabar, Anda memujuk diri Anda supaya bertenang tanpa ada keinginan mahu menampakkan yang Anda sedang marah tapi ditahan-tahan. Bina ketenangan dengan melatih diri untuk sentiasa bersabar. Kawal emosi dengan mengamalkan sikap bersabar.

4. Pernafasan.

Pernafasan terarah membuat Anda merasa tenang. Untuk melatih diri bertenang ketika jiwa Anda kacau bilau, tarik nafas melalui hidung, tahan sehingga 3 saat kemudian hembus perlahan-lahan melalui hidung juga. Ketika menarik nafas, penuhkan rongga dada dengan udara sehingga tak termampu, tahan 3 saat lepas tu hembus perlahan-lahan sehingga tak ada lagi yang tinggal. Ulang sebanyak 7 kali untuk impak maksima. Anda boleh lakukan teknik ni ketika membaca, memasak, memotong sayur, memandu, menaiki bas, ketika dalam lif, ketika dalam mesyuarat atau ketika sedang berbincang dengan seseorang.

5. Sembahyang.

Sembahyang dapat membina ketenangan. Ketika sembahyang, hati Anda, jiwa, fikiran dan minda dapat di tenangkan kerana Anda perlu khusyuk. Anda tak akan dapat merasai kekhusyukan sembahyang jika Anda tidak tenang. Cara paling baik untuk membina ketenangan dalam diri adalah melalui sembahyang.

6. Elak berpeluk tubuh.

Ketika sedang berpeluk tubuh, Anda sedang berada dalam posisi DEFENSIF. Mungkin Anda sudah terbiasa berpeluk tubuh ketika sedang menunggu,ketika menonton wayang, ketika berjalan, ketika duduk atau ketika sedang bercakap. Tahukah Anda berpeluk tubuh tak akan membuat Anda merasa tenang langsung? Solusi kepada hal ni adalah dengan menekup kedua-dua tangan di bahagian tapak lalu meletaknya di bahagian hadapan seperti mahu menyalam seseorang dengan kedua-dua tangan. Sebagai contoh, lihat kepada posisi tangan Dr. Irfan Khairi setiap kali dia ditemubual. Tangan kiri dan tangan kanannya diletak di bahagian hadapan kemudian ditemukan di bahagian tapak tangan seolah-olah mahu bersalaman. Cara ini membuat Anda merasa tenang, mengawal gugup, membuat fikiran jadi lebih rasional.

7. Dekat dengan orang yang tenang selalu.

Dekatkan diri selalu dengan orang yang tenang. Orang camni biasanya tak suka marah, tak suka bersuara tinggi dan sentiasa hormat pada orang lain tanpa mengira darjat, pangkat atau status. Bila Anda dekat dengan orang yang tenang, Anda juga akan merasa tenang. Terlihat wajahnya terasa ada getara di dalam jiwa kesan dari pancaran ketenangan yang terpamer di mukanya.

8. LET GO.

Ini adalah langkah terpenting. Let go semua masalah-masalah di fikiran. Lepaskan pergi semua kerisauan. Tinggalkan semua kegusaran. Lupakan hal-hal yang membuat Anda tertekan. Lupakan. Lepaskan pergi untuk seketika. Tarik nafas. LET Go untuk 3-5 jam seterusnya. Anda akan merasa tenang. Setelah itu fikirlah balik segala perkara yang Anda mahu fikir. Anda akan mendapat idea bagaimana untuk menyelesaikan masalah, Anda akan dapat ilham bagaimana mengatasi kegusaran, Anda akan mendapat suntikan inspirasi untuk mengatasi perkara-perkara yang membuat Anda tertekan.

Ketenangan membuat minda Anda bertindak cemerlang. Ketenangan juga baik untuk mengekalkan motivasi serta mengekalkan kebahagiaan rumah tangga.

Dalam perhubungan sesama manusia, ketenangan membuat Anda disenangi orang.

Dalam perhubungan antara Anda dengan Tuhan, pasti Anda dirahmati olehNYA.

Jiwa yang tenang adalah jiwa yang dengan dengan alam kemudian akan jadi dekat dengan pencipta alam, iaitu Tuhan.

How to study effectively for exams

Developing effective study skills is essential to success in school, regardless of your course of study. Impending exams often cause anxiety. However, getting good grades is within your reach once you learn a few important study strategies.

Team Up

Team work

Studying with others leverages your effort and helps yo to see bigger payoffs as you work to get better grades.

Tips
Team up with one other person, or even a few, and meet regularly to review course material. As an exam nears, ask your instructor to identify material that will be covered so that you have a clear idea of how to focus your study habits.

Quizzing and discussion
Pair up with a study buddy and quiz each other on the material. When alone, write and re-write material that seems especially challenging for you to learn. Listen to how other students answer questions when quizzed and ask for clarification to help fix the information in your mind.

Discussing the material with others also helps you to learn it better, and on a deeper level,so that recall will be easier.

Use Memory Tricks

Memory tricks

These can enhance your study techniques and offer you greater confidence when facing a test, as well as help you to remember the information.

Alphabet games

For lists of information, try to create a sentence using the first letter of each item in the list. One common example of this is the sentence, "Every good boy does fine." This sentence jogs the memory and helps people to remember the musical notes E, G, B, D, and F.

Association

Another memory trick is to associate the piece of information you need to remember with something you already know. For example, a psychology student trying to remember the function of the hippocampus might think of it as a hippo on campus. A campus is a place where memory is needed and that helps the student to remember that the hippocampus helps in the memory function of the brain.

Tips

There are many of these memory tricks and some are very common. A quick search on the web will turn up many widely-used tricks to remember frequently-used sets of information.

Explore your Textbook's Website

Study guides

Textbook publishers often maintain websites that contain tools to help students. If your textbook doesn't offer the website address in the textbook, do a search on the web for the publishing house, then look up the textbook from there. A treasure trove of tools may await to help you study for exams. These often include electronic flash cards, review questions, and practice tests.

Assignments Excel

Assignments Words

Tips : Cara menangani orang yang suka menyindir

Biasanya orang akan menyindir kita kerana orang yang menyindir itu datang dari golongan “zon selesa” (comfort zone). Kadangkala, kritikan dan sindiran itu datangnya dari orang-orang yang rapat dengan kita seperti kenalan, atau ahli keluarga sendiri. Sebenarnya mereka “tidak selesa” dengan kita oleh kerana kita berusaha untuk berjaya lebih daripada mereka. Sindiran dan kritikan yang bersifat negatif terhadap kita adalah semata-mata untuk menarik kita kembali kepada “zon selesa” mereka iaitu tidak berusaha untuk mencapai kejayaan. Ini bertunjang pada sikap dengki, khianat dan lain-lain yang negatif.

Apa yang kita boleh buat?

Secara diam-diam, kita biarkan sahaja (kononnya “memaafkan” mereka yang mengkritik dan menyindir kita). Sekiranya kita diam dan “memaafkan mereka”, kita akan merasa satu ‘bebanan’ hilang dari diri kita. Kita “memaafkan” mereka oleh kerana mereka tidak nampak usaha dan kejayaan  kita adalah untuk memperbaiki diri kita sendiri dan keterampilan diri kita. Setelah kita “memaafkan” mereka, teruskan usaha kita dan maju ke hadapan untuk mencapai lebih banyak lagi kejayaan, demi untuk faedah diri kita sendiri. Biarkan mereka bersendirian. Orang yang tidak ada tuju haluan dalam hidup selalunya akan sibuk untuk mengkritik atau menyindir orang lain. Semua itu kerana banyak sangat kekurangan dalam diri mereka dan sudah tentu mereka tidak berupaya menandingi diri kita.

Love Quotes

Lapan cara 'hijaukan' rutin harian kecantikanmu!

1. Berjimat ketika mandi 

Salah satu cara mudah untuk kekal 'mesra alam' adalah dengan berjimat-cermat menggunakan air. Anda boleh melakukan langkah mudah ini dengan meminimumkan masa mandi anda. Jika anda tidak mahu membazirkan air, pertimbangkan masa mandi anda daripada berdiri mengelamun depan cermin atau di 'kerusi termenung' dengan air melimpah ruah. Mulakan rutin mandi anda dengan memakai bersabun dan memakai syampu serentak. Apabila anda mulai menjadikan cara ini sebagai rutin harian anda, tanpa anda sedari anda telah pun menjimatkan bertan-tan air setiap tahun. Tahniah! 

2. Masker wajah segar dari rumah 

Percayalah, tidak akan ada produk kecantikan yang lebih hijau dan mesra alam daripada masker wajah buatan sendiri terus dari dapur. Masker buatan sendiri tidak hanya membantu anda menjauhi bahan kimia merbahaya, bahkan ia boleh membantu menyihatkan kulit wajah anda secara semulajadi. Mudah saja, buatlah pes wajah yang dibuat daripada soda penaik dan air atau epal dicampur dengan madu. Langkah mudah dan jimat ini bukan saja selamat, malah turut menjimatkan wang. 

3. Guna minyak kelapa, lupakan losyen! 

Daripada membelanjakan sejumlah wang membeli berbotol-botol losyen mahal, apakata anda cuba menggunakan minyak kelapa? Simpan ia dalam bekas yang dikitar semula atau isikan saja dalam bekas losyen kosong. Minyak kelapa adalah bahan pepejal, tetapi jika anda meletakkannya di bilik mandi, ia akan tersejat dan anda boleh oleskan kulit tersebut di seluruh tubuh. Jangan tak tahu, model Victoria's Secret merangkap isteri aktor Orlando Bloom, Miranda Kerr menjadikan minyak kelapa sebagai rahsia dan regim kecantikan hariannya. Menurut Miranda, dia menggunakan minyak tersebut daripada hujung kaki hingga hujung rambut malah turut membantunya menurunkan berta badan selepas bersalin. 

"Saya tidak boleh hidup tanpa minyak kelapa. Saya selalunya akan mengambil empat sudu makan minyak kelapa setiap hari, sama ada diletakkan di salad, dalam masakan atau dalam cawan teh hijau." – Miranda Kerr

4. Minyak zaitun sebagai penanggal mekap

Kebanyakan penanggal mekap mengandungi bahan pencemar kulit yang sememangnya menghilangkan kesan mekap, tapi dalam masa yang sama memudaratkan kulit. Walaubagaimanapun, jangan risau dan cuba selak kabinet rumah, ibu anda pasti ada menyimpan minyak zaitun. Ala, benda yang selalu guna buat salad dan spageti tu. Apa tunggu lagi, letakkan minyak zaitun di atas kapas muka dan mulakanlah kerja-kerja pembersihan wajah. Minyak zaitun merupakan penanggal mekap paling berkesan yang tidak hanya natural bahkan selamat pada kulit, Ianya dengan mudah menanggalkan kesan celak mata, maskara kalis air, kesan calitan gincu serta alat kosmetik lain. 

5. Haluskan kulit anda dengan witch-hazel 

Kebanyakan wanita daripada pelbagai lapisan usia pastinya akan berdepan dengan masalah jerawat di wajah, dada, leher dan pada bahagian belakang tubuh mereka. Jadi tidak hairanlah ramai yang terkejar-kejar untuk mendapatkan rawatan menangani masalah tersebut walhal kebanyakan daripada produk tersebut mengandungi bahan kimia yang sangat kuat. Witch-hazel atau lebih dikenali sebagai Hamamelis, sejenis tumbuhan berbunga kuning dan keras yang tumbuh renek di Asia dan Amerika Utara boleh menjadi produk alternatif merawat masalah ini. Selain merawat jerawat, ia juga boleh meredakan bengkak dan keradangan, senak dan kesan gigitan serangga. Gosokkan ia ke wajah, leher, dada dan belakang anda untuk merawat jerawat tiga kali seminggu. Sekiranya sukar mendapatkan tumbuhan ini, jangan risau kerana terdapat beberapa pengeluar produk kecantikan berasaskan bahan semulajadi turut menghasilkan krim dan toner diperbuat daripada witch-hazel. 

6. Beli produk mesra alam, ayuh selamatkan bumi! 

Selain malas, kesibukan kerja menjadi salah satu faktor masih ramai yang memilih untuk membeli produk kecantikan di butik-butik kecantikan atau kedai penjagaan kulit berbanding membuatnya sendiri di rumah. Kalau anda masih mahu meneruskan peranan anda sebagai L.M.G.B, belilah produk daripada syarikat yang turut mengamalkan prinsip 'hijau' atau 'selamatkan bumi' dengan kandungan bahan-bahan kecantikannya sehinggalah ke pembungkusan. Body Shop misalnya adalah salah satu jenama yang mengamalkan kempen hijau dan semulajadi. 

7. Back to basic – kembali kepada sabun buku 

Semakin hari semakin banyak syarikat yang menghasilkan aneka cecair atau gel mandian (body shower). Menggunakan sabun buku adalah satu pilihan 'hijau'. Apabila anda menggunakan cecair mandian, anda akan meninggalkan botol kosong yang hanya akan dibuang begitu saja sebaik gel mandian anda habis. Anda barangkali boleh menggunakan botol tersebut dan diisi semula dengan cecair mandian (isian semula). Namun ia tetap meninggalkan bekas semula yang selalunya diperbuat daripada plastik. 

8. Amalkan 2-in-1 

Bagi mengelakkan anda membeli pelbagai produk yang hanya memberikan anda hasil yang sama dan sebagai cara untuk mengurangkan penggunaan botol atau bekas berlebihan, cuba fikirkan bagaimana untuk mempelbagaikan fungsi produk tersebut. Sebagai contoh, perapi rambut boleh diguna pakai sebagai krim pencukur dan skrub muka boleh digunakan sebagai skrub bibir (guna dalam kuantiti yang sedikit).

Daddy will save me :)

Kidnap victim Nayati Shamelin Moodliar said yesterday the thought of his father rescuing him was what kept him strong through his week-long ordeal. 

“I knew daddy would get me home,” Nayati (picture) was quoted as saying yesterday by The New Sunday Times. 

Speaking about his ordeal for the first time, Nayati admitted he was initially afraid but later grew confident that he would be rescued. 

“There was only once I cried a little... it was on April 30, my mum’s birthday,” he added, prompting a hug from his mother, Janice. 

On his ordeal, Nayati said he was kept in a room with a mattress, pillow and blanket and had a computer which screened movies. 

As for meals, he always asked for chicken rice. 

“Each time they asked me what I wanted to eat, I said chicken rice, or sometimes it was just an apple,” he said. 

“My muay thai teacher told me that chicken would help build my body,” the gutsy 12-year-old added. 

He said he was allowed to shower, was given clothes and a toothbrush. 

Nayati was kidnapped by three people while walking to the Mont Kiara International School near his house here. 

He was found safe at the North-South Expressway rest area at Sungai Buloh at 7.55am after his family secured his release on May 3, from a group of kidnappers with a RM300,000 ransom, the mastermind slipped out of the country and escaped to France. 

It was reported that the mastermind had gone off on his honeymoon with his wife after collecting the ransom. 

His wife, however, came back last week after learning that the husband was wanted for Nayati’s kidnapping. She lodged a police report here. 

Police have recovered more than RM70,000 of the ransom.

Bersih used Marxist tactics, Pakatan wanted bloodshed

Former police chief Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor has alleged that Bersih used “Marxist” tactics, echoing his predecessor Tun Hanif Omar and accused the opposition of wanting bloodshed as it was not confident of taking over Putrajaya. 

Rahim called on the government’s panel investigating the violence at Bersih’s April 28 rally led by Hanif to probe the 84 civil societies that form the electoral reforms movement and “information” that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was inciting bloodshed at the rally for free and fair elections. 

“The panel must investigate the NGOs in the coalition. Check if the situation will become more severe,” Rahim said in an interview with Berita Minggu published today, when asked if there was potential for bloodshed if Bersih was allowed to proceed. 

“I received information of incitement, apparently the opposition is not confident of winning Putrajaya and chose instead a ‘bloodshed’ approach,” added the 68-year-old who was Inspector General of Police from 1994 until 1999 when he reisgned after confessing to assaulting Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. 

Rahim, who has previously likened the rise of civil society to communism, added that “while they might not be Marxist,” the Bersih movement used Marxist tactics, implying that it infiltrated NGOs to agitate the public. 

“The April 28 movement is ala-Marxist. At the peak of the Marxist movement, in the 40s to the 70s, they used underground groups to infiltrate associations, unions, schools and religious bodies. 

“They collect issues to damage the government and raise anger and anxiety among the public. I see that the country is not free from this threat,” he said. 

He described Marxist tactics as “Agitprop (agitation propaganda) and Agitpol (agitation politics)” and explained that “incitement and street protests are Agitpol” while allegations “that the prime minister will order the armed forces to do something if Barisan Nasional (BN) loses (the election)” is Agitprop. 

The so-called “Hanif panel” has been criticised as the former IGP “has already made two public comments... that communist sympathisers who were active demonstrators in the 1970s were involved.” “He has also agreed with Najib’s allegation that Bersih 3.0 was an attempted coup d’état against the government. By so doing, he has shown that he is biased and has already pre-judged the outcome of the investigation,” Bersih has said. 

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has also claimed that there were those at the planned sit-in who “wanted deaths,” a statement backed by police who have uploaded a clip on video-sharing site YouTube they claim is proof of the allegation. 

The April 28 rally, which saw tens of thousands gather at six different locations before heading to Dataran Merdeka, was peaceful until about 2.30pm when Bersih chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasanasked the crown to disperse. 

But the former Bar Council president’s call was not heard by most of the crowd who persisted around the historic square which the court had already barred to the public over the weekend. 

Just before 3pm, some protestors breached the barricade surrounding the landmark, leading police to disperse the crowd with tear gas and water cannons. 

Police then continued to pursue the rally-goers down several streets amid chaotic scenes which saw violence from both sides over the next four hours. 

Several dozen demonstrators have claimed that they were assaulted by groups of over 10 policemen at a time and visual evidence appears to back their claim but police also point to violence from rally-goers who also attacked a police car. 

The police car then crashed into a building before some protestors flipped it on its side. 

Rahim is also being sued by Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat after the New Straits Times carried a report quoting him as calling the Pas spiritual leader the “father of kafir (infidels)” in response to the latter’s defence of those who participated in the April 28 rally as fulfilling their Islamic obligation. 

But the former Inspector General of Police has since clarified in a letter to the paper that he had not uttered the words, but had only questioned PAS’s association with secularist DAP.

QPR Malaysian owned EPL football club

Loss-making Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has ended its multi-million ringgit shirt sponsorship deal withQueens Park Rangers, the English Premier League club owned by their former director Tan Sri Anthony Fernandes.

The reported RM18 million deal was initially set to last for two years after the flag carrier and AirAsia became joint jersey sponsors last September in a move that came just a month after the now discarded share swap between the two airlines.

The deal drew widespread criticism from business analysts and politicians from both sides of the divide with some warning that MAS, which later reported a record loss of RM2.5 billion for the financial year, was being dragged into AirAsia boss Fernandes' "football fantasy."

But the club announced on its website yesterday that Asia's biggest budget carrier will now be its sole shirt sponsor for the upcoming 2012/3 English football season.

"Queens Park Rangers Football Club is delighted to announce that AirAsia have signed a new contract as our Official Playing Kit Sponsor and Main Club Partner.

"AirAsia initially announced that the airline will be the Official away and third kit sponsor of QPR for the 2011/12 season. The relationship has developed and grown over the past season in the Premier League, and it was a natural progression to become the full kit sponsor," it said.

Previously, MAS's logo was emblazoned on the home jersey of the team that Fernandes purchased a two-thirds stake in for RM220 million and called a marketing vehicle for the two airlines which had just signed off on the share swap the week before.

“This sponsorship is the first major initiative of our new brand and marketing strategy that would see important advertising money spent on boosting our top line. This is a key component in our drive to regain global market share, profitability and pride for the people of MAS,” MAS executive director Mohammed Rashdan Yusof had said last September.

State asset manager Khazanah Nasional Berhad had swapped 20.5 per cent of MAS stock for a 10 per cent stake in Asia’s biggest budget carrier last August 9.

The swap enabled AirAsia bosses Fernandes and his partner Datuk Seri Kamaruddin Meranun to sit on the MAS board and ostensibly help turn it around although Khazanah has denied that AirAsia was bailing out MAS.

But Putrajaya aborted the tie-up just nine months after it was hailed as the best way to save the ailing national airlines, which has gone through at least two business turn-around plans in the past decade.

Sources told The Malaysian Insider the Najib administration's insistence to ensure no job cuts in MAS before the next general election and workers unhappy with AirAsia executives managing the national carrier had all but made sure the pact would not take off successfully.

The unwinding of the share swap will be cashless and based on the same swap ratio of 2.05 based on the prices when the share swap was announced in August 2011, where MAS was valued at RM1.60 per share and AirAsia’s share at RM3.95.

The Malaysian Insider reported as early as March that the government was having a relook at the share swap and was considering a special entity to take MAS off the hands of its then main shareholders, Khazanah and Fernandes' Tune Air, after the shocking losses reported earlier.

Ulama muda Umno sedia bertanding PRU jika diberi peluang

Ulama Muda Umno tidak menolak untuk bertanding atas tiket Barisan Nasional (BN) dalam pilihan raya sekiranya mendapat lampu hijau dari kepimpinan pusat.

Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kerja Sekretariat Ulama Muda Umno (Ilmu), Fathul Bari Mat Jahaya yang dihubungi The Malaysian Insider berkata, pihaknya bersedia menghulurkan bantuan jika parti memerlukan mereka, bagaimanapun menegaskan, pihaknya bukan jenis yang meminta-meminta, tetapi sedia membantu jika diperlukan bagi memperjuangkan prinsip Islam.

"Kami tidak akan menolak. Kami bukanlah jenis yang meminta-minta, jika parti perlukan kami, kami sedia berkhidmat untuk memperjuangkan prinsip Islam," jelasnya.

Kewujudan cabang ulama muda di dalam Umno dilihat masih baru berbanding PAS yang mempunyai Dewan Ulama sendiri, khusus untuk pemantapan ahli PAS dan penyertaan politik yang aktif.

Bagaimanapun, ulama muda Umno ini menjelaskan, kewujudan mereka tidak seharusnya dilihat sebagai satu entiti semata-mata, sebaliknya perlu dilihat dari konteks yang lebih luas.

"Kami bukan berjuang atas dasar peribadi, politik. Tetapi kami berjuang demi agama," tegas Fathul Bari.

Menurut bekas Penasihat Agama Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) ini lagi, pihaknya tidak berat sebelah dalam mengeluarkan kenyataan, sama ada melibatkan pembangkang mahupun kerajaan pimpinan Umno-BN, parti yang dianggotai mereka.

"Suara kami tidak pernah disekat. Umno tidak pernah menghalang kami, bahkan, kami turut mengeluarkan kenyataan yang tidak memihak kepada parti, tapi kami tidak pernah disekat," katanya lagi membandingkan kebebasan bersuara di dalam PAS.

"Bukan seperti PAS. Ramai ulama PAS yang dihalang daripada mengemukakan kenyataan yang bercanggah dengan pemimpin mereka. Kita lihat mereka bercakaran dalam Pakatan Rakyat (PR), tapi mana suara ulama, pemimpin PAS?", soal beliau lagi.

Fathul Bari turut menegaskan, segala kenyataan yang diutarakan ulama muda tersebut juga bukanlah atas telunjuk Umno, sebaliknya atas inisiatif mereka sendiri selaku umat Islam.

"Adakah kami keluarkan kenyataan mengikut kepentingan Umno?" Tidak," tegasnya, dan menambah, perjuangan kumpulan ulama muda tersebut adalah semata-mata kerana Islam dan masyarakat Melayu di negara ini.

"The Borneo Incident", jejak kaum pemenggal kepala

 Filem terbaru "The Borneo Incident" tidak berbunyi seakan-akan sebuah filem. Namun itu faktanya. Ia merupakan sebuah filem seram eskperimental pertama terbitan Maverick Media yang diarahkan oleh Michael Helfman.

Filem ini dibintangi oleh pengacara "The 8TV Quickie", Henry Golding sebagai watak utama. Bagi pengacara program 8TV, "Without Boundaries" ini, untuk sekali lagi masuk ke hutan menjalani penggambaran filem itu seperti tidak sukar. Walaupun pada kali ini dia menjelajah isi hutan bukan sebagai hos, tetapi sebagai pelakon, ia adalah sesuatu yang baru yang mengujakannya.

Selain Golding, Hansen Lee, Daphne Iking turut akan membintangi filem ini termasuklah pelakon dari Singapura, Fay Hokulani selain pelakon seksi Carmen Soo dan penyanyi Dennis Lau.

Menurut pengarah filem, Helfman, dia memilih Malaysia sebagai lokasi untuk filemnya ini kerana Malaysia mempunyai pelbagai kaum dan budaya dengan mempunyai permandangan yang memukau.

Filem "The Borneo Incident" ini menceritakan pengalaman lima orang sahabat yang mendokumentasikan pengembaraan mereka dari New York, Amerika Syarikat ke Borneo, Malaysia. Tujuan rombongan mereka adalah untuk menjejak semula keluarga Henry yang terkenal dengan kaum 'pemenggal kepala' Iban sehingga tersasar daripada matlamat asal setelah tersesat sehingga memasuki sempadan sebuah puak di Indonesia.

"The Borneo Incident" ini bakal berada di layar perak pada September tahun ini. Filem ini juga dikatakan akan turut dipertandingkan di Festival Filem Toronto sebelum memasuki Malaysia.

GAY ACTIVIST !? and a MUSLIM !? what !!??

A Canadian Muslim gay activist launched her controversial new book on liberal Islam in Muslim-majority Malaysia Saturday despite a government minister's attempts to shut down the event.

Irshad Manji launched "Allah, Liberty and Love" at a hastily arranged event in the capital Kuala Lumpur after two other venues pulled out of hosting her, according to local publisher ZI Publications.

"Fantastic event in KL! Great energy -- except 4 cops who told latecomers that event is banned. Didn't stop us. Congrats 2 all," Manji wrote on Twitter.

Jamil Khir Baharom, minister in charge of Islamic affairs, had said Islamic officials and the Home Ministry would not allow the author's roadshow in the country following complaints.

He was quoted by national news agency Bernama as saying earlier on Saturday that the book was offensive to Muslims as was Manji's ideology and openly gay lifestyle, which was deemed to be against Islam.

According to her website, the book, now available in the local Malay language, "shows all of us how to reconcile faith and freedom in a world seething with repressive dogmas... This book is the ultimate guide to becoming a gutsy global citizen".

The book has not been officially banned. Manji was due to fly to New York City late Saturday.

Her previous internationally acclaimed book, "The Trouble with Islam Today", is already banned in Malaysia, ZI Publications said.

Manji also faced problems while touring Indonesia before coming to Malaysia. Police shut down several events after the Islamic Defenders Front group held violent protests condemning her liberal views on Islam and her homosexuality.

It is also not the first time a foreign act has run into trouble in Malaysia.

In February, Malaysia banned a show by American singer Erykah Badu after a photo of her with body art including the Arabic word for "Allah" was published in a daily newspaper.

10 fast and fuel-frugal sports cars

It doesn’t take a market research maven to determine that with gas prices still hovering around the $4.00 mark, fuel economy remains of paramount importance among new-car buyers. But what if your vehicular preferences run more toward the fast and the furious – can a true sports car be both entertaining to drive and fuel efficient?

The answer, surprisingly, is yes.

While the sports car market is still populated with plenty of gas-guzzlers, there are a number of models – some of which are among the quickest rides on the road – that boast downright decent fuel economy.

And while it could be said that anyone who’s able to afford a costly sports car could well absorb sky-high gasoline prices, consider the environmental effects of choosing a “greener” alternative. According to the EPA’s figures, the aforementioned 911 Carrera S will burn an average 10.3 fewer barrels of oil and spew 4.6 fewer tons of greenhouse-gas emissions annually than will either the comparably performing Lambo or Aston Martin. Such emissions include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, which are said to be major contributors to global warming. (For fuel economy and emissions ratings for all vehicles, check the EPA’s website at www.fueleconomy.gov.)

We sorted through both the EPA’s official fuel economy ratings and posted 0-60 mph times for all sport coupes/convertibles sold in the U.S. to compile a formidable list of ten models that can reach 60 mph in well under six seconds, yet achieve an estimated combined city/highway fuel economy of 22 mpg or better. These include fleet-footed models like the Porsche 911, Boxster and Cayman, the Lotus Evora, Nissan 370Z, Audi TT, Mercedes-Benz SLK, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Infiniti G37 and an unexpectedly frugal version of the venerable Ford Mustang.

While most of these cars offer the choice of either a standard stick shift or an automatic transmission, you’ll note that many models achieve their quickest 0-60 mph times and top fuel economy ratings with the latter, particularly if it’s a sophisticated dual-clutch automated manual gearbox. While such racecar-inspired transmissions can be operated by hand for a quasi-manual effect, in fully automatic mode they typically shift faster and more precisely than most humans could muster.

One caveat, however. The EPA’s ratings are based on standardized tests conducted under strictly controlled conditions on a dynamometer, which is like a treadmill for cars. Out in the real world lead-footed motorists will likely never achieve any of these models’ lofty estimates. The EPA cautions that “aggressive” driving (i.e. the manner for which sports cars are built) can reduce a vehicle’s gas mileage by as much as 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent in the city. As they say, your mileage may vary.

Given that corporate average fuel economy regulations here and in Europe are scheduled to rise significantly in the coming years, expect sports-car builders to pay added attention to their models’ mileage down the road. This will likely include expanded use of lighter-weight materials like aluminum and carbon fiber; all else being equal, decreasing a vehicle’s mass by 10 percent enables about a three percent increase in fuel economy. Expect widespread use of technology like direct fuel injection and turbocharging to help make smaller engines perform like larger ones, as well as a so-called stop-start function that automatically de-powers an engine while the car is at idle to save fuel.

We’ll also be seeing more hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric sports cars in subsequent model years. The recently discontinued Tesla Roadster proved that a battery-powered sports car could maintain top performance (0-60 mph in around four seconds) and use no gasoline at all. Porsche is currently testing a plug-in hybrid 918 Spyder “supercar” it plans to introduce in the fourth quarter of 2013. While it’s expected to break the bank at a reported $845,000, Porsche says the 918 Spyder will boast the equivalent of over 770 horsepower and get around 78 mpg (three liters per 100 km).

Now that’s really fast and frugal.

hate snooring

Nobody likes the idea that they snore like a truck driver. But a lot of us do just that. In fact, it's been estimated that up to 50 percent of the US population snores at one time or another. And snoring is more than just a nuisance--it's been shown to disrupt the sleep of 90 million American adults and their partners. The good news is that lifestyle changes and medical advances can minimize the log sawing

Nine amazing outdoor hotel suites

Sheets, quilts, pillows may seem strange bedfellows for the open air, but these are cozy sleeping platforms that referee civilization and nature. Here are nine of the most spectacular hotel suites in the world.

Amangiri Resort
Lake Powell, Canyon Point, Utah

A full moon showcases the mesas against the sky. At night the occasional coyote yips, and at dawn bighorn sheep may troop by. Welcome to Amangiri, the extravagant 600-acre resort near the Navajo Nation in Utah as it cuts in near Page, Arizona. This is one of the best places in the United States for star-gazing: The air is clear and dry, and there's very little ambient light. If you'd like less exposure but a more focused relationship with the starry pitch above, six Amangiri suites have "Sky Terraces" – three protecting walls with the open sky above and a pool below you. With summer nights in the 60s and January nights in the mid-30s or lower, there's appropriate bedding – from silk and wool throws to plumped down quilts. Cocoa with a shot of brandy? Coffee at 5:30 a.m.? This is Amangiri (            435-675-3999      ; suites, $1,500–$3,500).

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg marries sweetheart

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg updated his status to "married" on Saturday.

Zuckerberg and 27-year-old Priscilla Chan tied the knot at a small ceremony at his Palo Alto, Calif., home, capping a busy week for the couple, according to a guest authorized to speak for the couple. The person spoke only on the condition of anonymity.

Zuckerberg took his company public in one of the most anticipated stock offerings in Wall Street history Friday. And Chan graduated from medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, on Monday, the same day Zuckerberg turned 28, the person said.

The couple met at Harvard and have been together for more than nine years, the person said.

Zuckerberg designed the ring featuring "a very simple ruby," according to the person.

The ceremony took place in Zuckerberg's backyard before fewer than 100 guests, including Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.

The guests all thought they were coming to celebrate Chan's graduation but were told after they arrived that the event was in fact a wedding.

"Everybody was shocked," the guest said.

Rather than his trademark hoodie, Zuckerberg wore a suit for the ceremony, while his bride wore a traditional wedding dress.

Food was served family-style and included dishes from the couple's favorite Palo Alto sushi restaurant. The two had been planning the marriage for months but were waiting until Chan had graduated to hold the wedding, the guest said.

The timing wasn't tied to the IPO, since the date the company planned to go public was a "moving target," the guest said.

Even after the IPO, Zuckerberg remains Facebook's single largest shareholder, with 503.6 million shares. And he controls the company with 56 percent of its voting stock.

The site, which was born in a dorm room eight years ago, has grown into a worldwide network of almost a billion people.

Zuckerberg founded Facebook at Harvard in 2004.

He was selected as Time's Person of the Year in 2010, at age 26.

Zuckerberg grew up in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.