STORY TO BE TOLD

Malaysia set for Asia's first Legoland

Asia's first Legoland theme park is on track to open next year in southern Malaysia, its builder tells AFP, as the region goes all out to lure tourists with a series of big ticket attractions.

Earthmovers have flattened a vast expanse of oil palm-covered hills to make way for the 31ha Legoland Malaysia, one of the main attractions of a new city and economic zone called Iskandar Malaysia.

The park, which will offer 40 rides, shows and displays of the famous Lego toy bricks of Denmark, is just across a waterway from Singapore, which opened South-east Asia's first Universal Studios entertainment complex in 2010.

Zainal Ashikin Muhammad, chief executive of IDR Resorts, the builder of Legoland Malaysia, said the new park will complement Universal Studios Singapore rather than compete with it for customers.

"Is there a saturation of theme parks? In this region, no. There's still a lot of growth for theme park development," he said during a recent media tour organised by Iskandar Malaysia.

European visitor attractions operator Merlin Entertainments, whose stable includes Madame Tussauds, the London Eye and Sea Life, has been roped in to operate Legoland Malaysia. When completed, Legoland Malaysia will be the sixth of its kind in the world after those in Denmark, Britain, California, Florida and Germany.

Photos courtesy of The Straits Times
Source: The Straits Times/ANN
Published Feb 27 2011

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Gutsy teen refuses to let the pain take over her life
By WONG PEK MEI
pekmei@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Chia Wei Yin may have suffered from constant pain and immobility as a child but the gutsy teenager refuses to let Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) stifle her life.

The 19-year-old has, since the age of two, been living with JIA which affects the joints or connective tissues in children below the age of 16.

It is similar to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in adults, which is a chronic inflammatory disorder that can damage the lining of the small joints in the hands and feet, causing painful swelling, bone erosion and joint deformity.

Before the pre-Law student received proper treatment at the age of 10, pain, stiffness and swelling were part of her life.

Despite the deformities of her hands and feet, she strives to be independent and is able to drive a car.

Wei Yin strives to excel in everything she does, including the simple task of writing.

“Sometimes what others do, I can do better. You know, my handwriting is very legible,” she said.

Wei Yin is optimistic about the future and dreams of becoming a criminal lawyer or family lawyer.

Wei Yin, one of the unsung heroes who wrote her inspiring story in the MY WIRA (Malaysian Women in Rheumatoid Arthritis) coffee table book, was at the launch of the MY WIRA campaign yesterday to raise awareness about RA among women.

The campaign was a joint effort of the Malaysian Society of Rheumatology, Health Ministry, Human Resources Ministry, Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and Abbott Laboratories Malaysia.

At the launch, Malaysian Society of Rheumatology president Dr Gun Suk Chyn said about 140,000 Malaysians are suffering from RA.

“However, only less than 10% seek medical treatment and many of them see us when it is too late as they have developed joint deformities,” she said.

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Siti Sarah Sah Bergelar Isteri Shuib

Oleh FERIDE HIKMET ATAK

KUALA LUMPUR: Hanya dengan sekali lafaz, penyanyi Sarah Raisuddin, 27, kini sah bergelar isteri kepada salah seorang ahli kumpulan Sepah, Shahmira Muhahamad (Shuib), pada majlis pernikahan mereka yang diadakan di Jeumpa D'Ramo, Bangsar, di sini, Sabtu.

Pasangan ini telah dinikahkan pada pukul 5.45 petang oleh Penolong Pendaftar Nikah, Cerai dan Rujuk Wilayah Persekutuan, Ustaz Mohd Nizar Mohd Nadzir, yang juga merupakan Pembantu Hal Ehwal Islam di Masjid Saidina Abu Bakar As-Siddiq, Bangsar.

Pada majlis yang serba ringkas itu, Sarah kelihatan anggun dengan busana rekaan Hatta Dolmat berwarna salmon peach menerima mas kahwin sebanyak RM1,000 serta lima dulang hantaran daripada pihak lelaki dengan berbalas tujuh dulang.

Bagaimanapun, jumlah wang hantaran dirahsiakan atas persetujuan kedua-dua belah pihak.

Momen bersejarah pasangan mempelai itu disaksikan oleh kira-kira 200 orang tetamu termasuklah ahli keluarga kedua-dua belah pihak serta kenalan rapat mereka.

Ditemui selepas majlis berakhir, Sarah yang kelihatan gembira sebaik selesai akad nikah itu melahirkan rasa syukur kerana hubungan cinta mereka yang terjalin selama enam bulan itu berakhir dengan sebuah ikatan perkahwinan.

"Alhamdulillah, segala perancangan berjalan dengan lancar. Sepanjang saya mengenali Shuib, dia seorang yang jujur dan telus.

"Kami seperti mempunyai satu hala tuju yang sama,” tutur Sarah.

Sementara itu, Shuib juga turut memanjatkan kesyukuran apabila majlis bersejarah mereka itu berjalan dengan lancar dan kini sah bergelar suami kepada Sarah.

“Saya harap hubungan ini berkekalan hingga akhir hayat. Sarah merupakan wanita pertama yang membuka hati saya untuk lebih serius dalam hubungan.

"Dia seorang yang sangat istimewa dan bukan mudah untuk saya dapatkannya. Pernah sekali saya sanggup berhentikan kereta di tepi lebuh raya semata-mata untuk memberitahu saya cintakan dia.

"Kalau nak tahu dia memang susah nak sebut perkataan sayang atau I Luv U. Sepanjang setahun tiga bulan perkenalan, hampir setahun saya terpaksa menunggu untuk dengar perkataan sayang daripada mulutnya," tutur Shuib sambil mengukir senyuman.

Bercerita tentang percutian bulan madu, Sarah dan Shuib ingin bercuti ke negara Ireland, tetapi masih belum tahu tarikh sesuai untuk ke nagara tersebut.

Beralih kepada soal anak, Sarah tidak menolak untuk mempunyai anak pada bila-bila masa memandangkan suaminya juga sangat menyukai kanak-kanak.

Sementara itu, bagi majlis resepsi pula, pasangan itu masih lagi mencari tarikh sesuai untuk meraikan hari bahagia mereka.

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Rossa Jatuh Tangga Selepas Persembahan

JAKARTA: Penyanyi lagu Tegar, Rossa mengalami kejadian buruk apabila terjatuh dari tangga ketika turun dari pentas dalam sebuah majlis ulang tahun sebuah stesen televisyen di Jakarta Convention Center, Khamis.

Bagaimanapun, penyanyi genit itu memberitahu hanya mengalami kecederaan ringgan sahaja.

"Alhamdulillah, saya tidak apa-apa, cuma badan saja berasa sakit-sakit selepas terjatuh. Doakan sahaja ia tidak berlarutan sehingga menganggu kerja," katanya.

Rossa juga memberitahu kepada peminat-peminat melalui Twitternya bahawa dia hanya mengalami kecederaan pada bahagian kaki dan badan.

"Saya sudah ke klinik dan sekarang saya sedang diurut, harap semuanya baik-baik sahaja," katanya seperti dipetik Kompas.com.

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NS trainees can be defenders of the country

KOTA BARU: The National Service Act 1952 provides for all NS trainees to join at least one uniformed volunteer unit in defence of the country during emergencies.

NS director-general Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil said the Act allowed the Government to prepare enough volunteers for national call-up to complement the army reserve unit, the civil defence corps and the police force.

“The participation of volunteers will breed patriotic citizens to defend the country in times of crisis.

“The NS programme is aimed at churning out a young generation of reservists to join the uniformed units in line with the Act,” Abdul Hadi told reporters after launching the civil defence and Rela office in Pasir Mas near here yesterday.

He said there had been encouraging response from past NS trainees to join these uniformed volunteer units.

He said 44,731 former NS partcipants had joined the armed forces reservist army since 2007.

He added that 44,095 had joined as police volunteers since 2009 and 4,755 had joined the civil defence corps, also since 2009.

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Mum and child perish in fire
By M. KUMAR
kumar@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Calven Loke Wai Hoong left home on Friday to carry out his political duties, not knowing that it would be the last time he saw his wife and daughter.

Yesterday, the Federal Territory Gerakan Youth secretary’s world came crashing down when he heard the news that his wife Annie Ong Yen Lee and daughter Artina Loke Xin Yu had died in a fire at their home here.

Loke had been in Malacca with his colleagues to support the Barisan Nasional campaign in the Merlimau by-election.

When he heard of the tragedy, the first thing he remembered was holding his wife and daughter and giving them what was now their last kiss.

Ong, 33, and Xin Yu were in the bedroom when the fire, believed to have started in the kitchen, raged through their single-storey house in Taman Sri Sinar in Kepong early yesterday.

The mother and child were found dead after firemen, who rushed to the scene at 6.11am, put out the fire. The victims were believed to have suffocated from the smoke.

Fighting back tears, Loke, 36, said he immediately rushed home after receiving a call from a neighbour about the fire.

“I kissed them goodbye on Friday morning before going to work,” he said.

“Due to the nature of my job, I am away from home a lot.

“But Annie never complained. She always understood.

“Now, I have lost everything. Artina was only a week away from her second birthday,” he sobbed.

A neighbour, A. Arindran, 34, said a loud explosion woke him up at around 5.45am and he ran out of his house to see the Lokes’ home on fire.

“I heard Annie yelling for help from her bedroom window. I could see that she was trapped.

“I tried to put out the flames with a garden hose but the fire spread quickly,” Arindran said.

A Federal Territory Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said they received a distress call at around 6.11am.

“However, we could not pass the barrier at the unmanned security checkpoint of the residential area.

“Precious minutes were lost as we had to cut off the chains to proceed to the burning house,” he said, adding that by the time the firemen reached the place, about 80% of the house was burnt and the roof had collapsed.

The bodies of the victims have been sent to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for a post-mortem.

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Rehearsing for the Academy awards

The Kodak Theatre was rocking as Gwyneth Paltrow, Mandy Moore, Celine Dion and other musicians ran through the numbers they'll perform on Sunday's Academy Awards.

Moore dueted with Zachary Levi on "I See the Light," the nominated song from Disney's "Tangled," as composer and eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken backed them on piano. Paltrow continued to show her musical side, singing "Coming Home" from her recent film "Country Strong." Oscar-winning Indian composer A.R. Rahman and British indie rocker Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine performed a haunting rendition of "If I Rise" from "127 Hours." Dion sang "Smile" as the In Memoriam packaged played on a big screen above her.

But an energetic group of 10-year-olds stole the show from all those stars.

The 64 fifth graders who make up the chorus at New York's Public School 22 on New York City's Staten Island arrived at the Kodak Theatre Friday to rehearse their performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." They'd flown in earlier that morning, many of them on their first-ever airplane trip. Wearing green or blue T-shirts that declared them to be an alto or soprano, they filled the theater with elementary-school enthusiasm.

"Justin Timberlake, oh my God!" one girl said when she saw the star's seat-saving placard. "When I'm up there, my eyes will be right here."

Then they tromped onto the Oscar stage and sang with such conviction and heart that they choked up an audience of Hollywood veterans.

Guided by stage managers and their teacher, Gregg Breinberg, the students practiced getting on and off stage and memorized their spots for the night. They marveled at the names they recognized in the audience. Sandra Bullock! Nicole Kidman! They looked around the big theater and had to be reminded to pay attention. But when they sang, it was clear they knew exactly what they were doing. They swayed and moved to the beat. They closed their eyes and gestured with their hands. They felt it.

"You're in this song. You're inside of it," Breinberg told them. "You're going to blow everybody away."

Moments later, the kids were the ones blown away when show hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco surprised them on stage. The actors hugged and high-fived them, then posed for a photo.

"Way to go," Hathaway told the group. "I love your dance moves."

Next up for PS 22? They're going to Disneyland Saturday, where they're set to perform in front of the famous Magic Castle.

"We didn't think we could beat the Oscars, but Disneyland is coming damn close," Oscar producer Bruce Cohen said.

Then on Sunday, the fifth-grade singers will walk the red carpet before making their Academy Awards debut. - AP

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14-mth-old girl trapped in bank vault

A 14-month-old girl who wandered away from her mother and grandmother spent several tense hours trapped inside a time-locked bank vault and authorities pumped fresh air through vents to the crying child until a locksmith freed her, police said.

The locksmith pried the toddler unharmed from the vault Friday night about four hours. She went missing while visiting a grandparent who worked at a Wells Fargo bank branch in the greater Atlanta suburb of Conyers, police said.

Authorities say police and firefighters couldn't free the toddler and feverishly summoned the locksmith after the child apparently strayed into the open vault as the bank was closing Friday - before an employee shut the vault door for the day.

Conyers Police Chief Gene Wilson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution it was a "very tense scene" as authorities stood by along with the relatives, and rescue workers pumped fresh air into vents leading to the vault.

Conyers police, contacted by The Associated Press early Saturday, said they would have no immediate updates.

The child was spotted on security cameras inside the vault, which has a time-release lock, Wilson said. He added that the locksmith used a large drill to breach the vault about four hours after it had been closed.

"That was one of the better moments I've ever witnessed," Wilson said, adding the girl was fine except for needing a diaper change.

He said the girl delivered a note written by her grateful mother to the locksmith before heading home.

Authorities did not release the child's name. - AP

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