Last week, I was in Hong Kong to
watch the 56-year-old Sam entertain a crowd of 12,000 people, mostly
middle-aged, at the Coliseum. With the help of a friend from Hong
Kong, I managed to obtain tickets that were sold out within two
hours months earlier.

Michael, who is trying to make a comeback with his new
movie Three of a Kind, was a guest at the show. Living up to his reputation as
a sharp stand-up comic, he had plenty of political jokes – all targeted at
Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.

Midway through his routine, Michael announced that China
was trailing 1-2 against archrival Japan
in the Asian Cup final. Japan
went on to win 3-1 in the emotionally charged soccer match.

But at the concert hall, the crowd loudly roared with
approval on hearing China
was losing. In classic Cantonese humour, based largely on cynicism and the play
of tone and words, Michael said the blame fell largely on Tung.

He then urged the crowd to repeat after him as to who
should bear the responsibility for the loss. The crowd chorused "Tung". The
point Michael was trying to make was that Tung symbolises what was wrong with Hong
Kong now, particularly its moribund economy and his handling of
SARS.

Hong Kong is no longer the
financial centre it once was. That status has gone to Shanghai
where most of the Chinese leaders originate.

When Hong Kong clinched the deal
to set up a Disneyland theme park, there was renewed
hope. But it didn't last long because Shanghai
also announced that it, too, had the deal.

Hong Kong folk used to mock the
mainlanders for their lack of finesse and wealth but the territory is now
depending, to a large extent, on the spending power of 30,000 Chinese tourists
who arrive daily.

There were more punches from Michael. He said that 12
years ago when the brothers made their movies, they used to portray the
frustrations of Hong Kong people living in a place where
money was everything.

Times have changed, he said. When motorists get into an
accident, they still get uptight but they no longer fight – they probably blame
Tung for the accident.

Tung and the pro-Beijing politicians are certainly the
most unpopular people around. With Hong Kong holding its
legislative race next month, China
has reason to worry about intense anti-government sentiments.

Analysts expect voter turnout to surge beyond the 43.6%
of 2000. A total of 162 candidates have filed to contest the 60 seats, the
highest so far, in what has been billed as the fight between Beijing
loyalists and democracy champions in the territory. In 2000, 146 candidates
contested the polls.

The Legislative Council (Legco) is Hong Kong's
top lawmaking body – 30 elected directly and 30 chosen by largely pro-Beijing
professional and business groups.

Democrats command 22 seats now while the pro-Beijing
group has more than 30 seats. Voters get to choose 30 of the seats.

Surveys conducted so far show that the pro-democracy
candidates are ahead. Former radio host Albert Cheng – who quit the show after
receiving death threats – has joined the fray, a move that would irk China.

Talk is that the Democrats could end up with 28 seats,
which is not enough to form a majority.

The host of the popular Teacup in a Storm, who was sacked
by his employers, is contesting as an independent candidate but he could split
the votes of the Democratic Party.

The territory's top pro-Beijing party, the Democratic
Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, has acknowledged it would be a tough
election.

Said David Tang, the founder of China Clubs and Shanghai Tang:
"The most dangerous thing about our government is that Tung and his civil
servants constantly try to second guess what Beijing
wants. But none is smart enough to do so.

"The leadership in China
comes from a revolutionary background. Hong Kong only knows
how to survive in a bourgeois society. How can they think we are at the same
level?"

Mainland officials and pro-Beijing leaders have called
the pro-democracy politicians "traitors" and "pawns of the western powers",
accusing them of fanning separatism and tarnishing the Chinese image.

But the practical people of Hong Kong
prize the economy more than lofty ideals. At the same time, the voters also
want their leaders to stand up to Beijing
but not fight it. That's a tough call, for sure.

In short, these contenders speak their lingo and in the
coming party polls in September their showing would have an impact on their
political careers.

The Umno elections, rightly or wrongly, have been
considered as more important than even the general election.

The showing of Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr
Mohamed Khir Toyo must have surprised many observers. He is second out of the
110 Umno leaders nominated.

Securing 171 nominations, the Universiti Malaya-trained
dentist, who turned 39 on Friday, is said to have laid his groundwork over the
last four years.

In 2000, he scraped through the Umno Youth race, making
him the last candidate to be elected into the 15-member executive committee. He
was then just Tanjung Karang division Youth chief, a virtual unknown.

Barely four years as Mentri Besar of the most developed
state, he seems to have caught the attention of the delegates.

His supporters said his strongest card was the Barisan
Nasional's strong showing in the recent general election, where Umno scored
100% victory.

Except for two seats which went to the DAP, Barisan won
all 54 seats. The two sole PAS state assemblymen – vice-presidents Datuk Dr
Hassan Ali and Dr Shafie Salleh – lost their seats.

Other bright sparks in the supreme council race so far
include Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who was appointed
to the post after the March polls. The 48-year-old former banker, who spent 30
years in the corporate world, was the managing director of Cycle and Carriage
Bintang Bhd.

Then there is Datuk Dr Awang Adek Husin, the Deputy Rural
and Regional Development Minister. He made his political debut in the March
polls and wrested the Bachok parliamentary seat from PAS.

Despite the robust politics of Kelantan, the former
lecturer was returned unopposed in the Bachok Umno division. With Kelantan Umno
leaders like Datuk Mustapa Mohamad vying for the vice-president's post, Dr
Awang is in 19th spot with 121 nominations.

Also vying for a supreme council seat for the first time
is Datuk Azalina Othman Said, the Youth and Sports Minister. She is in 14th
place with 135 nominations. Just a notch up is Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul
Jalil.

Other notable figures include Deputy Tourism Minister
Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Noh Omar,
who both have more than 100 nominations.

Interestingly, old-timers like Rural Development Minister
Datuk Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin have also made an impressive showing – he leads the
field with 175 nominations.

The other leaders that have taken their places are Datuk
Seri Syed Razak Syed Zain, Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Datuk Abdul Kadir
Sheikh Fadzir, Datuk Seri Musa Aman, Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali and Datuk
Shafie Apdal.

The Umno race has also heated up with party president
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi declaring that vice-president aspirants who
lose may not be appointed into the supreme council.

The contenders include incumbents Tan Sri Muhammad
Muhammad Taib and Tan Sri Muyhiddin Yassin.

The others in the fray are Datuk Seri Mohamed Ali Rustam,
Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, Tan Sri Mohamed Isa Abdul Samad, Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob
and Datuk Shahrir Samad.

Last week, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar
declared he was withdrawing from the vice-president's race and would now
concentrate on a supreme council seat, which he has qualified to contest with
23 nominations.

Under the party constitution, Abdullah has the power to
appoint 13 members to the supreme council, including the treasurer, information
chief and secretary-general. In the past, losers were appointed to the supreme
council.

Six of the vice-presidential contenders have obtained the
required nominations to contest for supreme council seats but all eight are
expected to go for broke.

The Umno elections may be more than a month away but, as
the saying goes, a week in politics is a long time – and the nominations need
not necessarily be translated into votes.

It was a depressing start to the day. There has been too
much bad news over the past few months, even for seasoned journalists like me
who are seldom shocked by what we see or hear.

On Thursday, we learned that all the seven people on
board the Bell 206 Hornbill Skyways helicopter that crashed at Mount
Murud on July 12 had been confirmed
dead.

Just a day earlier, the media reported the gruesome
murder of a young couple, Pok Chua Wen and Chong Pui Wan, near an abandoned
pond in Bahau, Negri Sembilan. It was a senseless killing by two robbers.

Police, meanwhile, have yet to arrest those responsible
for the brutal murder of MCA Youth leader Mah Ann Ann. All five people remanded
over the case were freed last week.

Then there was the murder of final-year law student
Darren Kang at a restaurant in Sri Hartamas. A number of people, including
foreigners, have been arrested and charged in court.

At dinner functions, I have been asked why the media
continued to highlight such tragedies. Readers need cheering up, suggested my
fellow diners, adding that there must be more happy news to make newspapers
brighter.

I wish there were. Editors and reporters, at least those
in The Star, have agreed to strive for more feel-good reports that would put a
smile on the faces of readers in the morning. One editor even wanted a page to
be devoted to happy news, although he wasn't sure whether there would be enough
of such news.

Surely, there must be more inspiring stories like the
determination of medical student Lennard Lee who swam across the English
Channel. But, in reality, there are more sad stories to tell than
happy ones.

My friend, Datuk Kalimullah Hassan, the group chief
editor of New Straits Times, wrote recently that he, too, asked his fellow
editors for more happy stories.

I often have people telling me that the world is no
longer as safe as it used to be. This is not necessarily so. History students
would tell you that the world was worse before.

In Malaysia,
during the Japanese Occupation and the Emergency, no one could tell whether
family members would return home in the evening after work. Life was that
unpredictable.

We now have more access to information. We have watched
in horror on the Internet how Islamic militants beheaded their hostages even as
TV stations banned these visuals because they were too gruesome.

Newspapers have been blamed for reporting the spate of
crime but there is no point in shooting the messengers. We in the media also
feel that enough is enough.

It is time for Malaysians to join hands with the police
in fighting crime. We must be more concerned with the source and the root
causes of these crimes. Besides insisting on the presence of policemen
everywhere, Malaysians need to educate themselves on self-protection.

Bureaucrats and politicians should be more concerned
about solving cases instead of complaining about the media reporting on crime.
We should not sweep our problems under the carpet or pretend they don't exist.

Despite the many reports of snatch thefts and the media
printing pictures of bags women should avoid carrying, how many of these crime
prevention reports have been taken seriously by the people?

We advise our young to stay away from isolated and dark
spots but how many young people would heed such advice? We tell our children to
walk away from a fight but you would often encounter the rage of motorists if
you're a little slow in giving way.

More couples, we are told, have given up the institution
of marriage for career and personal pursuits. Families have broken up while
foreign maids have taken over the role of mothers.

Worse, we never had so many foreigners in Malaysia
before. The sadder part is that many seem to be able to obtain permanent
resident status despite being labourers and maids.

But I am an optimist. The news reports for the past
weeks, I believe, must have shocked many Malaysians. Things can improve if we
pray hard enough.

I was a guest on the political talkshow, representing the media. The show, coordinated by KJ and aired by NTV7, was different in many ways. It was in English and the producers invited opposition figures such as Tian Chua and R. Sivarasa to express their views.

Dateline Malaysia enjoyed a following with young political analysts like me believing that Malaysian voters should be allowed to listen to arguments from both sides before they cast their ballots.

I felt that if the speakers representing the Government could not convince the audience, then the votes should go to the Opposition. Barisan Nasional leaders should not shy away from debate – it was as simple as that.

But some ministers, I was given to understand later, did not like the idea of giving opposition figures access to primetime TV. It was also expensive to produce the show because advertisers shied away from sponsorship. In the end, the show was axed, and since then there has been no such programme.

I was struck by Khairy's intelligence, wit and analytical mind. His openness and ability to express his thoughts was refreshing to me, especially when many of us have to deal with graduates who struggle with English.

Khairy gave me a tough time during the interview. When the show was over, we laughed about it. With no age barrier between us, we got along quite well.

He was then not yet the son-in-law of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and certainly no one in Umno took notice of him, except maybe those who watched the talkshow. The Bahasa Malaysia version was conducted by Azalina Othman Said, now the Youth and Sports Minister.

When KJ joined the Prime Minister's Office, he called me about his appointment. I was happy for personal and business reasons: I now had a powerful contact there.

Not long afterwards, I learnt that love was in the air between Nori and Khairy. For a while, I did not broach the matter with him as I respected his private life but soon the couple began going out for dinner with my wife and me.

Thanks also to Dr Vincent Lim, the political secretary to the Prime Minister, who introduced Khairy to Nori. Dr Lim used to work at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies where Nori is now employed. The rest, as they say, is history.

I have stayed away from the debate over the ambitions of the 28-year-old KJ. Some have implied a schism between those with family connections and those without.

His detractors admit that Khairy is very clever but being an Oxford graduate does not necessarily make him future prime minister material. Fair enough.

Last week, an editor of an Internet news website wrote about favoured sons and sons-in-law inheriting positions in Umno. In short, nepotism was prevalent in the party.

I felt it was terribly unfair simply because no one has pointed out that in Parti Keadilan Rakyat, DAP and PAS, we find the immediate family members of these party leaders holding positions and contesting in elections. We do not have to name names but no one bats an eye simply because they are in the opposition.

Despite knowing Khairy for only a short time, we have talked about our concerns for the nation, including corruption, bureaucracy, lack of racial interaction, increasing crime rate and religious intolerance.

Irrespective of our political affiliation, Malaysians, I believe, share the same anxieties over what we see around us. The country needs politicians who are idealistic and committed to fighting the scourge of corruption.

It does not matter whether they are young, inexperienced or are family members of political leaders. What is important is that they are prepared to walk the talk instead of just talking for political expediency.

At a Christmas open house of a journalist friend in Petaling Jaya last year, Khairy pulled me aside and asked whether I had a Christmas wish. I nodded and told him that I would like to see a clean and reformed police force.

He smiled. Not too long later, Abdullah announced the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the role and responsibility of the police force in maintaining law and order, including in areas like work ethics, abuses, the welfare of policemen and women victims of violence.

I do not know the part about Khairy being the most powerful 28-year-old in the country but Malaysians do not want him to let them down.

He has asked for three years. No one can begrudge him that, since he has won a key political post that will allow him to do something for the country. He should be given that chance.

That dinner was held in honour of Norwich
(pronounced as noh rich) City players and officials who were making their first
visit to Malaysia.
The following day, I watched the team beat our Malaysian side at the National
Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

At the dinner, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who admitted he
knew nothing about football, could not resist taking a swipe at the Malaysian
team: Previously, the Malaysians used to beat the Japanese during the Merdeka
Cup matches but the Japanese are now performing so much better.

A lot of us will surely nod in agreement. The former
prime minister also said Malaysians were so soccer mad that they could rattle
off the names of soccer personalities but not local politicians. More so now
with the many newly created ministries.

Football is big in Malaysia,
especially the EPL which kicks off its season next month.

Proton has certainly scored by sponsoring Norwich
City. It means a global audience of
450 million in 150 countries watching Proton's Tiger logo on the team's
yellow-and-green jersey.

I may be biased but I think the sponsorship of Norwich
City is an even better investment
than Petronas' Formula One commitment because the audience spread is bigger and
we don't have to keep watching the same driver winning most of the time.

Proton's association with Norwich
City began when it bought over Lotus,
the international sports car maker. Norwich
City is the home of Lotus, which
employs almost 1,400 people.

Said Proton CEO Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Arif: "Norwich
City is certainly an underdog and
so is Proton. Both of us are challenging the top players in our respective
field. Not many know us outside of our home base.

"Both of us do not as yet have top names, but as a team
we work and support each other to succeed. This, I believe, is the key factor
for the success of both Norwich City
and Proton.''

Outside the hotel lobby during the dinner, a few cynical
journalists remarked that Norwich City
sounded like "Nowhere" and "No way."  One
of them was a Manchester United die-hard.

I was more sympathetic. I really hope that Norwich
City will stay in the premier
league and not just be a one-season wonder. That should be the realistic target
of the team; I don't think they are thinking of lifting any silverware this
season.

Norwich City's
opening match is against Crystal Palace,
another Division One team that won promotion to the premier league. A victory
would be a morale booster, although Norwich
will have to face Manchester United and Arsenal in the subsequent matches.

The club has had its glory days. It has reached the FA
Cup semi-finals three times in 1959, 1989 and 1992. The team won the League Cup
in 1962 and 1985 and were runners-up in 1973 and 1975.  As for the UEFA Cup, they were champions in
1993-94.

The team had been languishing until Proton-Lotus entered
into a sponsorship agreement with the Canaries during the 2003-2004 season.
Since then, it has gone places.

I was impressed by the attitude of the Norwich
City players when I met some of
them on Thursday night. Unlike the prima donnas of the bigger teams, they were
polite and unassuming.

I could see the young lads having a good time during the
dinner, especially when they saw the lovely Malaysian models in their
tight-fitting kebaya, but their joy was cut short when team manager Nigel
Worthington ordered them to retire for the day at 10.30pm.

The team had chosen the home of its sponsor for
pre-season warm-up. It's only right for us to consider Norwich
City as our home team.

If you are a movie buff, then you would have also watched
Chalize Theron in The Italian Job, which also used Venice
as the setting.

And who can forget watching Madonna squirming in a gondola
in her music video Like a Virgin.

Arriving in Milan
on Saturday, I was told that I could catch a train to Venice.
It would just be an hour's ride.

It was too good to resist. It would cost me only about 20
euro (RM94) and I could return to Milan
the same day.

Besides, the hotels in Venice
were too expensive. It would have been over-indulgence to stay overnight just
to join the rich romantics watch the sunset and drink expresso by the sidewalk
cafes.

With fellow journalists from the other press, we joined
thousands of tourists in the unbearable hot summer, leisurely admiring the
canals that had inspired poetry, art, music and literature.

The quaint cobblestone streets and medieval churches were
as quaint as I expected.

The movies captured those Venetian scenes well. If you
had watched The Talented Mr Ripley – which starred Matt Damon and Gwyneth
Paltrow – you would know what I mean.

Summer is really not the best time to visit Venice.
It's uncomfortably hot at this time and, while the Europeans love the sun,
Asians like me looked around for some shade.

The restaurant and ferry (and gondola) operators
overcharge you because it is the peak season.

Many of the eateries do not have air-conditioners. The
spaghetti dish I ordered was mediocre yet pricey.

I could never understand how the Italians could have
their pasta with tomato sauce alone – no meatballs, no seafood, nothing – and
at 20 euro per serving.

There were two Chinese restaurants but the idea of
sitting in Venice eating fried rice
seemed out of place, even ridiculous.

The souvenirs were overly expensive for us, bearing in
mind the ringgit-to-euro exchange rate, but the positive part was that none of
us spent our money unnecessarily.

To console ourselves, we agreed it was "patriotic" to be
thrifty and that it was not worth buying those tacky tourist rip-offs.

I had to tell the illegal African immigrants peddling
fake Louis Vuitton handbags not to bother me.

Like a two-hour movie, my one-day visit to Venice
was over by 6pm. We had missed the 4pm train back to Milan
because some of my colleagues lost their way in the maze of the Venice
alleyways.

As a result, we missed watching the Euro 2004 final
between Greece
and Portugal at
the Duomo Square where a
huge screen was set up for city folk.

We missed the train, the football final but, most of all,
we missed Venice.

We had arrived in Rome
ahead of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who was making a
working visit to Italy.

Despite being a seasoned traveller, I had a phobia about Italy.
A colleague was robbed in broad daylight some years back and arrangements had
to be made to send him some money because he was left penniless by the
small-time Mafia.

Before leaving Kuala Lumpur,
I looked at several websites on Rome.
Many of them warned first-time visitors like me of the dangers of the Italian
capital.

One item warned that on arrival at the airport, you may
be approached by people claiming to be employees of the Rome Tourist Board. I
had no such problem.

I read about the indifferent police officers who enjoy
sending victims from station to station just to lodge a report. Sounds
familiar?

Another item told of greedy taxi drivers ready to fleece
visitors. However, my ride from the airport to the hotel at Viale Castro
Pretoria, near the Coliseum, was a pleasant one.

Despite all the negative reports, particularly about the
notorious gypsy pickpockets, tourists from all over the world continue to visit
Rome.

Many like me would hold on tightly to our bags when we
visit tourist spots, fearing we would be relieved of our wallets.

In July 2000, ex-Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson lost
US$4,000 after being accosted by a small group of gypsy girls at the famous Via
Veneto – and they outran him.

Like Malaysia,
Rome has its fair share of snatch
thieves, too. Men in scooters often prey on tourists.

But Italian officials are not worried by these negative
reports. Some Malaysian officials, on the other hand, have tried to coax the
press into not reporting cases of snatch thefts, saying the publicity would
drive away tourists.

It is all very silly. By highlighting these issues,
tourists would appreciate our concern in fighting crime.

In Jakarta or
Manila, snatch thieves would not
make front-page headlines because they are so common.

But in Malaysia,
the public and the media are angry because our streets used to be safe. We want
the police to deal with these crooks effectively.

Rome reminds
me of New York. It is noisy,
dusty, dirty and chaotic. Even the Metro trains have similar graffiti painted
on them.

Unlike Singapore,
which is sterile but pretends to be hip and hot, Rome
oozes energy. But the Italians don't believe in rules; you only have to look at
the way they park their vehicles.

Italy
has one of the biggest economies in the world, producing some of the finest
names in cars and fashion but its government and social structure are
comparable to that of a banana republic.

Rome is a
city of contrasts. I attended the service at St Peter's where the aura of the
place, especially its pale rays of heavenly light, can move to tears tough and
cynical journalists like me.

I also "weep" later at the Vatican's
souvenir shop where nuns were selling expensive religious memorabilia. The weak
ringgit against the strong euro would make my stay an expensive one.

As I was about to finish this article, a colleague called
up to find out whether the cunning gypsies had got their hands on me.

Not as far as I know, I said. But give the gypsies time –
it was only my first day in town.

A few had stayed up to watch the games daily while the
others said they tried to watch the game but fell asleep even before the
kick-off.

Like schoolboys, a few wagers were placed as the debate
over the merits of the teams became more heated. A few of us were asked to be
witnesses and it was followed by plenty of good laughs over football jokes.

The poor Tan Sri who owned a golf course had little to
contribute because he confessed that he could never get excited watching football.
He was keen to talk about the US Open but few wanted to listen.

I have managed to watch only two games so far – the France
versus England
game on June 13 and yesterday's game where the French took on the Greeks.

As an ardent supporter of the Arsenal football team,
there were plenty of good reasons to watch the defending champion fight to keep
the cup. Watching Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera and Robert Pires – the stars of
Arsenal in the French team – has always been a delight.

A survey by Nielsen Media Research Telescope indicated
that the France
versus England
game on June 13 (telecast live on TV3 at 2.30am
on June 14) attracted an estimated 547,000 viewers although the next day was a
Monday. That game, however, did not draw the most Malaysian viewers. The
biggest surprise – like some of the results so far – is that 857,000 Malaysians
watched the Czechs beat the Latvians 2-1.

The Nielsen Media Research Telescope tracked the
television viewing habits of 2,590 individuals above the age of six in 670 randomly
selected households in Peninsular Malaysia. The research agency has named Euro
2004 as a winner for television stations broadcasting the matches. Those of us
who had been following the English Premier League weekly through Astro have
felt let down by the cable television network.

Like many Malaysians, I still find it hard to accept
three commentators sitting in a studio and talking about the games without
visuals. Astro has no doubt lost out in Euro 2004.

TV3, which has the broadcasting rights on Euro 2004, has
become the darling station of Malaysians. It consistently garnered more than
half the number of TV viewers whenever a game was showed live, according to the
survey. For example, the TV station captured 68% of the viewers for the opening
game between Portugal and Greece on June 13 but many of us who wanted to watch
the repeats had to do so on 8TV – the sister station of TV3.

It may be a corporate strategy to get us to tune to 8TV
but many Malaysians do not like the idea of having to install an antennae on
their roof. However, the survey reported that 8TV secured its highest number of
viewers (500,000) during the game between Greece
and Spain on
June 17, followed by Switzerland
and Croatia
(366,000) on June 14. The two games also gave 8TV its largest percentage of
viewers at 30%.

Football has become more than just a game for men. It has
become a passion, and the game has attracted women, too. It is no longer just a
sport; spin-offs include fashion and design.

Celebrity footballers now spread messages of goodwill,
peace and the fight against diseases. For example, if a politician talks about
peace at a stadium, only his supporters would show up. But if England
captain David Beckham were to speak on the same subject, you can be sure that
the stadium would be full. That's the power of football.

Euro 2004 has, to some extent, generated much goodwill in
the office as colleagues break the barrier of rank and seniority to talk about
the game and trade friendly insults on the teams they support.

Besides the media, mamak stalls and the pubs making money
from Euro 2004, Malaysian bookies are also raking in plenty of money from
pundits – some say to the tune of billions of ringgit. The authorities must
face the reality of betting on sporting events, especially football. At least,
allow existing gaming outlets to take bets. More important, the Government will
get good tax revenue from gaming.

As it is now, illegal bookies are making tons of money
that will probably be channelled to other illegal activities. Despite the
police announcing big plans to rope in the bookies before the start of Euro
2004, only a few have been nabbed so far.

Now that Les Bleus are out of the running, which team is
your favourite to win Euro 2004? Anyone care to bet?

Despite locking the steering wheel and activating the
anti-theft alarm, Khoo found his car stolen from a designated car park about
100 metres from where the function was held.

He was invited to the launch by PJ Utara MP Chew Mei Fun
whose house was burgled last year.

Khoo lodged a report at the Damansara Utama police
station three hours later.

Interestingly, snatch theft victim Cheryl Chow Bor Ling,
who was paralysed after the incident eight years ago, recalled that the snatch
theft occurred in front of the Damansara Utama police station.

Her father, Chow See Jeok, claimed that there had been
many such cases in the area.

Recently, I was told of an attempted snatch theft in
front of the Mont Kiara police beat base. The quick-thinking woman squatted the
moment she felt the bag strap being pulled.

The beat base was unmanned at the time and the victim
left the affluent area without reporting the case. The snatch thieves, who fled
on their motorcycle, were believed to be foreigners.

The point is this: the criminals are getting braver these
days and seem more ready to challenge the police.

Several top officers of the SEA
Park police station in Petaling
Jaya were transferred recently after Bukit Aman was informed that two illegal
Internet gaming outlets were operating 100 metres from the station. All these
cases give the force a bad image.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Bakri Omar must be
congratulated for sending a strong message to his men: change your mindset or
face the litany of public complaints against the force.

He said if the police ignored the call to change, society
would continue to complain about inefficiency and graft in the force.

"We are responsible for marketing our image. We must live
up to society's expectations of us,'' he said at the Senior Police Officers
College in Cheras on Friday.

An honest approach in tackling crime and the continuous
revamp of the force is necessary for the police to be effective.

No senior policemen should be placed in a particular
district for too long. The government must also support the request by the
police for more constables.

Modern anti-crime equipment such as closed-circuit
television is needed in the absence of policemen on the beat.

CCTV has been effectively introduced in many cities such
as London and Hong Kong,
with the police beat base acting as the control point.

Police vans equipped with monitoring facilities could be
used in busy areas, particularly near banks, tourist spots and shopping
complexes.

My greatest concern is that a week from now, when the
media has lost interest in the snatch theft issue, the authorities may lose
their zeal too.

There is plenty of hot air now with the usual statements
from politicians, social activists and non-government organisations, who seem
more interested in seeing their names in print than looking into the welfare of
Malaysians.

Worse, there are suggestions from minor bureaucrats that
the media should not highlight this issue because tourists would stay away from
Malaysia. In
short, they are asking the media to cover up these criminal acts.

The authorities should not wait for another victim to die
before they respond to public anger; the situation has reached boiling point
with 43 reported cases a day.

And it was public anger that made bystanders assault a
snatch thief in Klang (the man later died in hospital).

The public must not be allowed to take the law into its
own hands. Such mob mentality is a reflection, to some degree, of the lack of
confidence in the police force.

As Bakri correctly said, the image of the force is
important. Malaysians have passed remarks, rightly or wrongly, about cops
stopping motorists for bribes when they should be going after criminals.

Fighting crime, however, is not the job of the police
alone. They are already hard-pressed with the shortage of detectives.

Bakri deserves all our support to fight crime because we
know he is a no-nonsense and clean policeman.

They would also be given a tour of the hospitals and
exposed to the onerous working hours and conditions of medical officers.

Dr Shafie said he had discussed the idea of an admission
test with several ministry officials recently and would call for a meeting with
medical faculty deans. The proposal for MSAT, he added, would be presented to
the Cabinet soon for a decision.

I am sure Dr Shafie's intentions are good – the idea is
to ensure that the applicants with the right character, intention and aptitude
are accepted.

Whether we like it or not, the fact is that not everyone
can become a doctor despite being a top scorer. However, Dr Shafie ought to
speak to more doctors, lecturers, students and fellow Barisan Nasional
component party leaders before going ahead with his proposal.

For a start, it is nothing new. My alma mater, Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia,
introduced this admission procedure decades ago but it died a natural death
after a few years.

In many foreign universities, such admission tests have
also been introduced but the practicality of such an exercise has been severely
questioned. In the case of UKM, some lecturers who sat on the interviewing
board found that it was unfair to decide on the future of the applicants in a
30-minute interview.

No matter how many questions an applicant can be asked,
the crux of the discussion was on why the applicant wished to be a doctor.

The outcome from these interviews revealed that some
popular answers were given – namely they had scored the best academic results
and their ambition was to be a doctor. Having secured the best grades in the
STPM, these applicants felt they should be given the chance of studying
medicine, or at least dentistry.

Most felt that studying medicine was prestigious and
would provide them with a good future. Certainly no one would dispute that
reasoning.

Parental pressure was also a factor, while helping
society was the last priority. No one should be surprised with these answers.

Do not expect our doctors to be paid poorly in the name
of helping society and upholding the Hippocratic Oath of the Greek medical
philosopher. While there may be many doctors who have dedicated their lives to
help the poor, future doctors see a bright and financially sound future ahead
of them.

Based on experience, medical college lecturers have found
that, in reality, applicants do not know for sure why they chose medicine. It
is only after their second or third year that most medical students have a
strong inkling of the course they have chosen.

Lecturers also said there was nothing to stop applicants
from preparing themselves and telling the interviewers what they want to hear
during such admission tests.

Dr Shafie said the ministry also wanted to know what kind
of lifestyle they would lead as doctors. If politicians themselves cannot be
trusted to give an honest answer from such a question, I doubt Dr Shafie could
expect an honest answer from college applicants.

The ministry and the Cabinet should carefully study the
feasibility of the proposed MSAT because it may lead to controversy.

There are already calls to review the entry system – one
for matriculation students and another for STPM students. Malaysians do not
want the MSAT to be another source of discontentment if bright students
suddenly find themselves rejected on grounds that they failed the new round of
subjective examinations, where human interference comes into play.

Our bright students are undoubtedly aware of the less
glamorous aspect of studying medicine, but they must not be discouraged from
taking up the challenge.