Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park is located in Sabah, Malaysia; it’s a marine park comprises of five islets and its surroundings.
The park is named after the first prime minister of Malaysia; it’s popular tourist spot for beach strolling, sunbathing, swimming, snorkelling and water-sports (parasailing etc.)
Some photos from my March 2009 visit at Mamutik Island and Sapi Island…
Japanese and Korean netizens are on war of words following allegations that Japanese figure skaters had repeatedly impeded Korean figure skater Kim Yuna’s warm ups before competitions.
The debate started on March 14th following a SBS (Korean Tv) report which indicated that Kim was obstructed by Japanese skaters during 4CC in February. English subbed video of the SBS news below…
To be frank the interview was ambiguous… we can’t be sure if Kim was implicating anything; and it was SBS that directly linked the Japanese skaters into the saga.
Regardless, damage has already been done; Japanese media has picked up on the news and retaliated on the matter… followed by battle of words between netizens.
Kim and Japan’s Mao Asada are hot favourites to win the gold at Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics; the duo are set to compete for the 2009 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles next week.
Will be having an adventurous holiday in the Sabah State in East Malaysia; leaving on Thursday (Mar 5), followed by a trip to Penang State to visit my sister and nieces.
The blog will not be updated for at least a week, probably two depending on internet availability; see you all again then. Meanwhile, sharing some Flickr photos of Mount Kinabalu, a 4000+ metre mountain that I am going to climb in Sabah…
Korean figure skating star Kim Yuna has set a new world record for the ladies’ short program en-route to winning the women’s single title at the 08/09 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships (4CC) in Vancouver, Canada…
The 18-year-old sensation scored 72.24 points on Wednesday (Feb 4), the highest total for a short program under the new judging system. Her performance at the long program (on Friday) was not as impressive, but it’s enough for her to claim the title.
On the other hand, Chinese figure skaters Pang Qing and Tong Jian won the pair skating title, making this event a rather successful outing for Asians.
[Update] Kim broke her record again in the world championship in March.
Some general news and info from various sources…
Australia – Rafael Nadal won first Australian Open crown, defeating Roger Federer [ATP]
China – Birth defects soar due to environmental pollution; a baby is born with physical defects every 30 secs in China [Chinadaily]
Enviromental – Many effects of climate change are irreversible [BBC]
Iraq – A fibreglass-and-copper monument (pic) is built in honour of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at Bush during a news conference [Youtube]
Japan – PM Taro Aso has announced a 1.5 trillion yen (USD17bn) aid package to help Asian countries weather the economic downturn [BBC]
North Korea – North Korea is scrapping all pacts with South Korea and warned that the downward relations has pushed the peninsula to the brink of war [Reuters]
South Korea – Asiana Airlines, Korea’s second-largest air carrier, is named Airline of the Year by ATW (Air Transport World) magazine [ATW]
Thailand – Deja vu… tens of thousands of protesters held a rally in Bangkok calling on the new Thai government to resign [Youtube]
Photos from the final race of Super GT Series (Malaysia) at SIC in June 2008…
Panning photos from the final race of Super GT Malaysia at SIC in June 2008…
Photos from the 4th round of Super GT Series at Sepang International Circuit in June 2008… a showcase of the race cars before the parade lap and real race.
