9 Victoria Cross (VC) Valor Medals Stolen From A New Zealand Army Museum

Yep, shocking and outrageous indeed. :)

The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest valor award of the British army. Since its creation 200 years ago by Queen Victoria, only slightly more than 1000 VCs have been awarded to military personnels of Britain and its former colonies all over the world.

TheSTAR Online - World Updates - Tuesday December 4, 2007 MYT 11:29:55 AM

Reward Offered For 9 Stolen New Zealand War Valor Medals

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP): A British nobleman who owns the world’s biggest collection of Victoria Cross valor medals said Tuesday he is willing to offer a US$153,000 (euro104,000) reward for the return of nine of the medals stolen from a New Zealand army museum.

New Zealand officials said they were considering Lord Michael Ashcroft’s offer but discussing the matter with police before formally accepting it, with Prime Minister Helen Clark noting that such rewards sometimes can serve as an incentive for further thefts.

Ashcroft said he was “horrified and outraged” by the weekend theft of nine Victoria Cross medals awarded to gallant New Zealanders, including the Victoria Cross and Bar awarded to Capt. Charles Upham — which Ashcroft described as the “Holy Grail” of such medals.

Upham’s medals are the only such double award ever made to a combat soldier.

Inaugurated by Britain’s Queen Victoria in the mid-1800s, the Victoria Cross for gallantry in war remains the highest valor award in Britain and its former colonies.

Ashcroft said he was offering the reward for information leading directly to the recovery of the nine medals.

Clark said the offer from Ashcroft, who owns more than 140 of the rare medals, was generous but that she would need to take police advice on it.

“One of the issues that always arises is whether you should encourage the posting of such offers because it could in the worst of circumstances be an incentive to theft,” she said.

Defense Minister Phil Goff said most New Zealanders would not need the money as motivation. “They will provide the information if they know anything that will help the police,” he said.

Clark said earlier that the theft was “distressing to the nation” but that New Zealand has the means under international law to get back such stolen cultural items if they surface in another country.

Maybe the “thieves” or “burglars” who stole the 9 VCs (Victoria Cross) were professionals who are really good in what they are doing, but somehow I strongly feel that the security at the Army museum should have been tighter! For something as precious as a “national treasure” like the Victoria Cross, how could they be “allowed” to be stolen (and from an ARMY MUSEUM somemore!!!)? Why aren’t there guards on duty to guard them? Why were the criminals “given” the opportunity to attempt and eventually succeeded in stealing the valour medals?

“The Opportunity For Victory Is Given By The Enemy” - Sun Tzu’s Art of War

Anyway, I really hope that the 9 Victoria Crosses that have been stolen could be recovered soon and put in better secured facilities.

regards
hanyi

Technorati Tags: Victoria Cross, Victoria Cross Valor Medal, VC Medals, 9 Victoria Cross Valor Medals Stolen, Military Medals, New Zealand, JustNice.Org

The Passing Of A Great Man, Yang Bahagia Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong

The Passing Of A Great Man: Yang Bahagia Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong passed away 7 days ago:

TheSTAR Online: Nation Tuesday October 23, 2007 MYT 4:54:41

Genting Founder, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, Dies At 90

PETALING JAYA: Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, founder and honorary life president of Genting Group, passed away at 11.20am Tuesday at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre.

The tycoon, who turned 90 in April this year, was renowned for his vision in transforming Genting Highlands from an unexplored hilltop to one of the world’s most successful casino resorts.

The fifth child in a family of seven children, Lim migrated from China’s Fujian province in 1937 at the age of 19 with only a small suitcase and US$175.

The idea of a hill resort was chanced upon by Lim amidst the crisp air of Cameron Highlands in 1964. Lim was then working on a hydro-electric power project at the popular hill resort, patronised mostly by British colonials seeking cool refuge from the tropical heat, when he foresaw a prosperous Malaysia of the future desiring a cool mountain holiday resort within the reach of all Malaysians.

To date, Genting Highlands Resort has five hotels and two apartment blocks at the hilltop and Awana Genting Highlands Golf and Country Resort.

The company, founded in 1965, has since expanded and diversified from its initial hotel and resort activities to plantations, properties, paper manufacturing, power generation, oil and gas, electronic commerce and information technology development under Genting Group.

According to Forbes Asia, the Genting Group founder was third richest in the country with a net worth of US$4.3bil (RM14.6bil).

Lim is survived by wife Puan Sri Lee Kim Hua, and their six children and 19 grandchildren.

And today:

TheSTAR Online: Nation Monday October 29, 2007

Cortege to pass places that Goh Tong loved

GENTING HIGHLANDS: Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong’s final journey will take him to places that he loved and up the hill where he had spent much of his life.

From Gohtong Villa, the cortege, accompanied by some 600 family members and association representatives, will travel up Genting Highlands stopping at Chin Swee Caves Temple and Genting Hotel.

Special prayers will be performed at the stops.

At the villa, MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting will be giving a eulogy together with Genting Group and Resorts World Bhd deputy chairman Tun Hanif Omar and representatives of FoxWoods Resort and Casino, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tung Shin Hospital.

At Genting Hotel, staff will pay their final respects to Lim before the cortege is brought back to the memorial park for a private burial.

Meanwhile, in line with Lim’s long-held philanthropic philosophy, the family decided to make monetary donations towards charitable causes.

However, due to the time constraint, details of the donations would only be announced later, a statement issued by the funeral management committee said.

And one piece of news that finally brought tears to my eyes:

TheSTAR Online: Nation Monday October 29, 2007

Native American tribe to honour Goh Tong for his help

GENTING HIGHLANDS: The late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong’s legacy does not only live on in Genting, but halfway round the world in the Native American tribe of the Mashantucket Pequot.

Unknown to most Malaysians, in 1991 the late Goh Tong helped the tribe – that was struggling to grow cabbage – by investing in their idea of building a casino, the Foxwoods Resort & Casino, which has now become the largest casino in the world.

The chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, a sovereign nation within the US located in the state of Connecticut, Michael Thomas said the tribe owed a great deal to Lim for his vision and his confidence in them.

“When we wanted to start the casino, we approached 23 lending institutions who all turned us down because there was no guarantee we would pay back the loans,” he said.

As a result of a meeting with the business partner of Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, Nicky Brown, Thomas and his tribe were introduced to the late Goh Tong who turned out to be the only one who would help them.

“He heard about our situation and actually came to our place to meet our people and see for himself what we were about and what our values were,” he said after meeting with Lim’s family for over two hours at the wake yesterday.

“Within 48 hours of meeting us, he agreed to give his support in the form of a US$$60mil (RM200mil) investment,” he said, adding that Americans widely credited the Pequot tribe for opening the doors for hundreds of other Native American tribes to open their own gaming centres.

Thomas said the success of the Pequot tribe, together with another Native American tribe, now created USS$2.7bil (RM9.02bil) in revenue for the Connecticut state government from “taxes” levied from their slot machines.

Thomas, who led a nine-man delegation from the US, arrived yesterday without some of his luggage as it had been delayed, apologised for his informal dress and said that he would be dressed in traditional attire when giving a eulogy at Goh Tong’s funeral today.

“A number of customs that are only extended to our own people have been and will be bestowed on Goh Tong to mark his passing,” he said.

Thomas said this included all buildings in the nation flying their flag at half-mast for a week, while a sacred stone called Wampum which is sourced from a clam called the Quohog would be given to the family.

“The stone is valuable because it is usually only given to our leaders,” he said.

Thomas said it was important for the world to know that it was the faith Goh Tong had in them that allowed them to succeed beyond their wildest dreams.

Pequot tribe vice-chairman Kenneth Reels said Goh Tong’s help allowed their nation to be self-sufficient while creating some 10,000 jobs there.

“As a nation, if you have to be dependent on somebody else then you are not exercising sovereignty to the fullest.

“He has enabled us to do that. We are here today because we feel it is appropriate to pay our respects to someone who gave respect to us.”

“He is part of our history and we have a family relationship that we will cherish forever. His family is part of ours as ours is part of theirs.”

Yep, the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong has indeed touched the life and helped change the destiny of many. He is truly one of the greatest minds in Malaysia (and definitely Asia and the world) and gracious heart that is indeed an inspiring model for other successful business men and women all over the world.

“Yang Bahagia Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, Man4 Zou3 Le4 (Selamat Jalan)!”

sincerely
Hanyi

ps. btw, you may sign your condolence at the “Online condolence book in memory of the late YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Lim Goh Tong“.

Technorati Tags: Lim Goh Tong, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, Goh Tong Lim, Lin Wu Tong, Lin2 Wu3 Tong2, Genting Highland, Genting Highland Malaysia, Genting Group, JustNice.Org

Happy 50th Birthday To MALAYSIA

Happy 50th Birthday To MALAYSIA :)

cheers

hanyi

MPH, Popular, Harris And Times Boycott Sales Of “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows” At Their 100 Outlets Malaysia Nationwide

Yep, the launching of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” (the 7th and FINAL instalment of the Harry Potter series of bestsellers by J. K. Rowling) on the 21st of July 2007 worldwide, is an event that millions of children (and their parents) all over the world have been eagerly waiting and looking forward to.

But unfortunately for Malaysia, this “magical” event that many have been waiting with much excitement and anticipation, has been badly ruined by very poor business judgment. Here, read it for yourself:

POTTER PRICE WAR: Penguin, Hypermarts Respond (3rd update)

Friday July 20, 2007 TheStar Online

PETALING JAYA: The distributor of Harry Potter books said that local bookstore chains should not be overly concerned by hypermarkets’ cut-throat pricing of the seventh and final instalment in J.K. Rowling bestselling series.

The hypermarkets would incur losses by selling the novel at a cheaper price, as their purchase price is higher, said Penguin Singapore and Malaysia managing director Eddy Teo.

He said there would be no replenishment on top of the opening order due to unavailable stock, and the British publisher of the novel, Bloomsbury, had no plans at the moment for reprints.

“We are confident that readers will choose to buy their books from other retailers across the country.

“Avid fans are looking for a magical atmosphere rather than just cheap price,” he said when contacted in Singapore Friday.

MPH, Popular, Harris and Times at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur at 4pm announced that they would not sell Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in protest against Carrefour and Tesco selling the book at a hefty discount.

The recommended retail price of RM109.90 is being violated by hypermarkets advertising and selling it at RM69.90, the bookstores said.

The four chains, with a total of 100 outlets nationwide, said they were protesting the indiscriminate discount and wanted to show customers that they were not “blatantly profiteering” from them.

However, they said they would honour all pre-orders.

“This means the book will no longer be available for sale at these stores nationwide from tomorrow (Saturday) following the worldwide release,” MPH Bookstores chief operating officer Patricia Chen said.

“All events related to Harry Potter will be cancelled,” she said.

When asked if the move was to pressure sole distributor Penguin Books to remove the book from the hypermarkets, she said that it was not fair to allow hypermarkets to sell such a popular book when they were not in the book business.

When contacted, Carrefour Malaysia corporate communications and public relations manager Yuswanis Yusof said they wanted to provide the best for their customers.

She said besides selling groceries and other essential products, the hypermarket wanted to provide a chance for their customers to purchase the book at a lower price.

“It all depends on how one markets and promote its products,” she added.

Tesco Malaysia division manager Janice Chan when contacted said they wanted to make sure their customers could read the book at a cheaper price.

“We are popular for selling products at a lower price, and books are no exception.

“The other retailers have their own marketing strategies by providing freebies and other promotions, this is our way of pleasing our customers,” she added.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows goes on sale nationwide — well, except for the four bookstore chains above — from 7.01am tomorrow.

Unbelievable isn’t it? *sigh*

Just like what a fellow blogger said, a phenomenon cannot be discounted. Yep, there is a price to pay for a phenomenon like Harry Potter. Either you are for it or against it. But definitely not in between. Somehow, the “magic” seems to be vanishing …..

regards

hanyi

ps. If I want to get a copy of this worldwide phenomenon … if I want some of the “magic”, I will definitely buy it from MPH, Popular, Harris or Times. :)

ps. btw, today happens to be 20072007 hehe, yep, 20th of July 2007 (20.07.2007). interesting date :)

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K.Rowling, J K Rowling, Final Harry Potter, Seventh Harry Potter, MPH Bookstores Malaysia, Popular Bookstores Malaysia, Times Bookstores Malaysia, Harris Bookstores Malaysia, JustNice.Org