Malaysia government has told the concert promoter for Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne to postpone her concert because her performance is not aligned with our independence day celebrations. [via Malaysianinsider and Reuters]
The decision echoed PAS Youth’s objection against the concert. Kamarulzaman Mohamed, a party youth official, said that Lavigne’s show was “considered too sexy for us” and would promote the wrong values just before Merdeka.”
PAS said something, and UMNO government agreed with it… how often did this happened in the past? Seems like the secret meeting a few weeks ago between the two parties is bearing some fruits.
Update - the ministry have changed their mind; the concert will go on.
Malaysia International Fireworks Competition is back in 2008. Arguably the most successful domestic tourism event in 2007, MIFC 2008 is set to wow the crowds again.
The show will be running on August 12/16/20/24/29, with teams from Malaysia, China, Canada and Spain participating. Check out more details on MIFC’s website, and also check out some pics from MIFC 2007.
The 10th edition of the Petronas Malaysian F1 Grand Prix was successfully held over the weekend, which marks a decade of success of the event. It has been a wonderful decade for the Sepang race, as it has managed to put Malaysia on international map for good reasons.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen claimed this 2008 title, which also saw BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica finished on the podium… the first podium for the Petronas sponsored team at the ‘home race’.
The 2008 Malaysian F1 might be the last daytime race in Sepang, as race organisers Sepang International Circuit (SIC) is eager to stage their first ever night race as early as 2009, two years ahead of schedule… another kiasu rivalry against Singapore that are going to run the night race in September 2008.
Kuala Terengganu was officially declared on Jan 1, 2008 as the 12th city in Malaysia.
Following the declaration, the local authority is now known as the Kuala Terengganu City Council, or Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu (MBKT). Datuk Mat Razali Kassim is appointed the first Kuala Terengganu’s mayor.
Here’s a challenge for you… name me the other 11 cities that have been granted the city status in Malaysia. I bet you can’t… I couldn’t. [Answer on Wikipedia]
Three paratroopers, two of them women, drowned while 11 others were injured during a training session that went awry at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) 2007 exhibition here today (Dec 2). [Bernama]
Three paratroopers of the 10th Para Brigade drowned and five others were injured at about 10.30am when they parachuted into the sea off Kuala Muda after they were blown off course by strong winds when training for the opening of LIMA 2007.
My condolences to the victims’ family.
2007 has not been a good year for Malaysian soldiers; first the Nuri crash, now the paratroopers… 9 soldiers have lost their life from these 2 accidents.
Opposition politicians and some bloggers have been heavily criticising the Monsoon Cup which is set to run on 27 Nov - 2 Dec 2007 in Pulau Duyong, Terengganu… but is Monsoon Cup really that bad?
FYI, Monsoon Cup is the last stage for this season’s World Match Racing Tour, a Grade 1 event recognized by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). Although sailing is not popular in Malaysia, the event is not as insignificant as some politicians claimed.
I can remember the criticism about organising F1 in Malaysia prior to the first race in Sepang, but organising the F1 race is probably one of the best decisions Malaysia has made in the 90s. The return is not just the financial gain during the race, but involves global branding which could help attracting foreign visitors (and probably investors) constantly.
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World number 1 and 2 tennis players Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will play against retired legend Pete Sampras and Frenchman Richard Gasquet respectively in series of exhibition matches in Malaysia in November.
The games are part of Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka celebration.
Federer will play Sampras on Nov 22, while Nadal vs Gasquet on Nov 20; both matches will be held in Melawati Stadium, Shah Alam. The tickets’ price is ranged from RM83-RM443.
The Malaysia International Fireworks Competition (MIFC) has surpassed my expectation. I went there last Wednesday with Kuanchong for the Australian show, which was decent. I am quite amazed with the number of crowds though, I didn’t expect so many people turning up for the show on a weekday.
Here are some MIFC fireworks’ photos and links from various bloggers and netizens…
Italian on August 25 (Image courtesy of
Kuanchong)
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