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Anita Sarawak Had Spine Operation In 2013

More light has been shed on the life of Anita Sarawak, the singing legend who hit the headlines recently when she dropped out of sight and contact.

The New Straits Times (NST) reported on Friday (June 19) that the Singapore-born star had a spine operation in October 2013 and was hospitalised for four days.

She was already living in Las Vegas then, as she had left Malaysia in 2011, and not 2013 as widely reported, NST said quoting “a source close to the couple”.

The source also dismissed rumours that arose after it was reported that Anita, 63, had “disappeared”.

She has not separated from her husband, Mohamad Mahathir Abdullah, nor is she in debt.

On the contrary, the latest property she bought was a piece of land in Tuscany, Italy.

And while she is not as prolific as was in her heyday, she has come back to Singapore and Malaysia for a few singing engagements since 2011, the source said.

She also had a few shows at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas in February and March.

Once nicknamed “Asian Dynamite”, Anita came from a family of celebrities.

Her father is late actor-director S. Roomai Nor, and her mother Siput Sarawak was a prominent actress during the golden age of Malay cinema in the 1950s and 1960s.

But hers was not a charmed life. Her parents were divorced, and she met dad Roomai Nor for the first time when she was nine.

“Prior to that I didn’t know I had a dad,” she said.

She was also teased as a child for her trademark pucker.

“As a child growing up, I was always made fun of in school, they would mock my lips, saying it was as big as my neck. I didn’t have that many friends then,” she once said.

Anita has been married four times.

In 1972, Anita married musician Mohamad Abdul Samad. They divorced in 1976. She married late Indonesian singer-actor Broery Marantika in 1981. It lasted four years.

In 1995, she married American James Dean “JD” Nicholas, lead singer of US funk group The Commodores in a Las Vegas mosque. They divorced in 1999 but remain good friends.

She married her current husband Mr Mahathir, a Briton, in 2011.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 20, 2015
MUIS Announces Zakat Fitrah Rate For Ramadan

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has announced on Friday the “zakat fitrah” rates for this year’s Ramadan.

The normal rate is $4.90 for one person and the higher rate is $6.90. The rates are decided here by Muis, using the average price of 2.3kg of the grade of rice generally consumed by the Muslim community.

Zakat fitrah is a compulsory individual tax which Muslims pay during Ramadan. The money is distributed to the poor and needy among others.

Payment can be done by cash, cheque or Nets at all mosques, authorised Muslim organisations, Muis, AXS stations, through www.zakat.sg, and www.cimbclicks.com.sg.

Payment can also be made through a telephone service on 1900-112-3490 for $4.90, and 1900-112-3690 for $6.90, or through ATM and internet banking services by DBS or POSB banks.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 20, 2015
Two Friends Jailed Six Weeks Each For Gaffiti Spree

Two friends who went on a graffiti spree, vandalising public and private property, were each jailed for six weeks on Friday.

Security guard Muhammad Shukri Noordin, 26, and lab engineer Muhammad Ismail, 27, met during National Service and talked about their interest in graffiti.

At around 11pm on Feb 17 this year, they used a black permanent marker to vandalise a Land Transport Authority (LTA) overground street lighting box on North Bridge Road.

Four hours later they vandalised another LTA overground box along Hindoo Road, before targeting other areas including a pillar at the Singapore Pools Building at Middle Road, an SP Powergrid overground box, a wooden fence along Prinsep Street and a drainage wall beside Bugis MRT station.

Both pleaded guilty last month. Neither were represented in court on Friday.

They were each sentenced by District Judge Wong Choon Ning on four counts of mischief. Muhammad Shukri had five other charges taken into consideration, while Muhammad Ismail had four others.

Both have made compensation of $310 each to SMRT and SP Powergrid.

For mischief, they could have been jailed up to a year and fined.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 20, 2015
Malaysia’s Transport Agency Says CEO Misquoted On High-Speed Rail

The Malaysian transport agency said that it was misquoted in media reports that it wanted the proposed high-speed railway to end in Johor Baru rather than in Jurong East in Singapore.

Instead, it actually prefers to have the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur line end in Singapore’s central business district, said Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Commision (SPAD) chief executive Mohamad Nur Ismal Kamal in a press release late last night.

Earlier on Friday, Singapore’s Transport Ministry had issued a strongly worded statement to say that it was surprised that the SPAD had stated in media reports that it wanted the HSR to end in Johor rather than in Singapore.

Mr Mohamad Nur had said in a The Edge Malaysia on Monday that “we would prefer to terminate the line at the existing CIQ (customs, immigration and quarantine) complex. However, Singapore wants it to terminate in Jurong East and understandably so.”

The MOT said that terminating the HSR in Johor would undermine the objectives of the link.

“Our understanding is that Malaysia views the commercial premise of the KL-Singapore HSR project, and with which we agree, as being based on a direct connection between the two city centres.

“Terminating the HSR in Johor Baru will not achieve this objective,” it said.

In a statement released in response to media queries, MOT reiterated that last year, Malaysia had chosen its terminus to be in Bandar Malaysia.

But late on Friday, the SPAD chief said that he was “regrettably misquoted” in the report.

“We would have preferred to terminate the line at the CBD area. This will be closer to Orchard Road than Jurong East. However this is a joint project for the benefit of both countries and hence there has to be give and take,” he said.

Last month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak announced that Singapore’s terminus would be in Jurong East after their annual retreat.

MOT said both countries are also in discussions over the HSR’s commercial and operating models.

Singapore has proposed that the domestic transit HSR service, which will stop at the six stations in between Singapore and KL, be operated separately from the express non-stop HSR services between KL and Singapore, MOT said. This will give Malaysia autonomy over the domestic transit services to serve its domestic needs, it added.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 20, 2015
Remains Of TKPS Teacher, Student Arrive Home At Last

The remains of Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS) teacher Mohammad Ghazi Mohamed and student Navdeep Singh Jaryal Raj Kumar — the last of the 10 from Singapore who died in the Sabah earthquake to be identified — were flown home yesterday.

Although their remains were identified last week, further DNA tests prevented an earlier return. The 10 were on a trip to Mount Kinabalu when an earthquake struck on June 5.

A funeral was held yesterday for Ghazi at Kampung Siglap Mosque, attended by a large crowd that included Ghazi’s family, friends, colleagues and students. At one point, mourners had to queue to enter the auditorium where his casket was held. Inside the auditorium, a bouquet of white flowers lay on top of Ghazi’s casket. Mourners surrounded the casket, many of them silent in prayer.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the funeral, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said: “I thank the Malaysian authorities for expediting the work to allow us to bring the bodies of Ghazi and Navdeep earlier than we had expected.”

Among the mourners was TKPS student Isaac Lee, one of Ghazi’s former students. The Primary 3 student said he always looked forward to Ghazi’s physical education classes, describing them as really fun.

A friend of Ghazi, who declined to be named, said the teacher’s passing was “a huge loss to the school”. “There’s hardly anything negative to say about him,” he said. “He was a true, loyal friend who helped you when you were in need.”

Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim, who also attended the funeral, was one of the pallbearers who helped carry Ghazi’s casket into the van that brought the body to Pusara Aman Muslim Cemetery in Lim Chu Kang for burial.

Holding back tears as he spoke to the media, Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, said: “(He was) such a young man whom (according to) the stories you hear was selfless, very dedicated.”

He added: “I suppose the most important thing for us is … to perhaps take his spirit forward. The things that he has done for his schoolkids, for his family — you must find some way to (let his legacy live on).”

Speaking after the burial, Mr Mohd Faizal, one of Ghazi’s colleagues from TKPS, said Ghazi, who leaves behind a wife and three children, was “happy-go-lucky”.

“I never saw him under stress, and it rubbed off on all of us,” said Mr Faizal, 28. “I have lost an elder brother. He was more than a colleague, and that will never change.”

Mr Heng said support would continue to be provided to the family members and students affected by the earthquake. “Our students in Tanjong Katong Primary School are recovering well. They are doing fine, and the principal and school leaders have put up a plan to bring them back to school when school reopens so that they can continue with a normal routine,” he said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 20, 2015