PETALING JAYA: Penganjur Kongres Maruah Melayu berkata tafsiran pemimpin politik pembangkang yang mendakwa penganjuran program itu bertujuan menandingi Himpunan Penyatuan Ummah anjuran Umno-PAS adalah tidak benar.

Pengarah Pusat Kecemerlangan Melayu, Akademi Pengajian Melayu Universiti Malaya, Hashim Ismail berkata, kongres itu dibuat dengan kerjasama tiga universiti lain iaitu Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) dan Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) serta Persatuan Peguam Muslim Malaysia.

“Kalau isu ini dipolitikkan, mungkin itu pandangan dari ahli politik. Kita bekerjasama dengan setiap universiti ini dan saya pula hanya menjalankan kerja-kerja dari Naib Cancelor UM Abdul Rahim Hashim. Dia panggil kami dan memberitahu ada isu untuk digerakkan secara akademik, maka kami buat apa yang patut.

“Kongres Maruah Melayu ini antaranya membincangkan mengenai permasalahan orang Melayu melibatkan aspek pendidikan, agama, budaya, politik dan ekonomi. Kita sudah berikan topik ini kepada setiap universiti untuk ambil bahagian masing-masing,” katanya kepada FMT.

Dalam poster tersebar di media sosial, Kongres Maruah Melayu dijadualkan berlangsung pada 6 Oktober depan, di Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil. Perdana Menteri Dr Mahathir Mohamad dijangka akan memberikan amanatnya dalam kongres tersebut.

Sebelum ini, Setiausaha Agung Umno Annuar Musa mengkritik penganjuran kongres berkenaan yang berpandangan ia hanya menambah kekeliruan bangsa Melayu serta tidak menolak ia akan menjadi medan kepada perpecahan dan menjadi bahan ketawa bukan Melayu.

Hashim berkata, tidak dinafikan wujud pelbagai persepsi yang dikaitkan dengan kongres itu, selepas gambar beberapa pemimpin dari PPBM tular di media sosial, didakwa terlibat secara langsung dalam penganjuran kongres berkenaan.

“Tafsiran politik ini saya tidak mahu campur. Mereka ini penaja, ada macam-macam lagi pihak seperti dari syarikat tertentu. Kita mencari penaja, berdasarkan maklumat dari naib cancelor dijangka Perdana Menteri Dr Mahathir Mohamad akan berucap. Maka ramailah yang mahu bersama sekali,” katanya.

Mengulas lanjut, Hashim berkata pemimpin kini tidak boleh lari dengan hakikat kekhuatiran yang dibangkitkan rakyat, selepas pertukaran pentadbiran selepas Barisan Nasional kalah pada pilihan raya Mei lalu.

“Kita lihat dari aspek perpaduan nasional, kesan pemerintahan hari ini kepada ekonomi negara, hak-hak Melayu yang kononnya hari ini tercabar, kita lihat semua ini dari perspektif akademik. Ingin saya tegaskan, naib cancelor UM bukan ahli politik,” katanya.

Hashim berkata, berdasarkan perbincangannya dengan pihak pengurusan, program ini menyasarkan penglibatan orang muda, yang secara tidak langsung merupakan mahasiswa di universiti terbabit serta ahli akademik lain.

At first glance, The Gatekeeper, the debut novel by writer and broadcaster Russ Kane can be seen as a supernatural horror story.

However, the book is far more layered and nuanced than that. Yes, it is frightening, but it is also very funny, dark, mysterious and intriguing.

So what has this newly published novel got to do with well-being and mental health? The answer is, surprisingly, a lot.

The plot outline is that every 20 years, the gates of hell open and Lucifer and his hordes attempt to overrun the Earth. To counteract this potential Armageddon, one person on the planet is randomly chosen to be ‘The Gatekeeper’ and must endeavour to close the gates.

Some years they succeed and sometimes they fail. This time the task falls to a jaded, cynical, often worse-for-wear TV presenter called Nick Gold, who hosts a ludicrous ghost-hunting programme, ‘Nick Gold – Paranormal Detective’.

Gold despises the series, but after five years, has accepted that the income is essential to fuel his dissolute lifestyle.

Gold is presented as a flawed human being. A true anti-hero. He drinks far too much. He has lost any religious belief, despite studying theology at Oxford.

His girlfriend mysteriously died and he is riddled with guilt, angst and considerable self-loathing. It is Gold’s journey, his spiritual awakening, his personal sacrifices that engages you, intertwined with a fast-moving plot that traverses several continents.

Gold’s mental health, at a nadir when his girlfriend dies, gradually becomes stronger. You watch as he grows in stature as a hugely valuable member of society and as a man.

Bit by bit, the bitter cynicism that has haunted him throughout his life is chipped away until he has to face the monumental fact that everything he believed in was, in fact, false.

The questions that author Russ Kane poses here among the mystery and mayhem is “Do we need faith, and is having a belief system a key factor in achieving well-being?” Another is, “How much would you sacrifice to do the right thing?”

Gold, and the hard-bitten American lawyer that he meets, Lesley-Ann Trobe, are the products of our age. They don’t believe in anything.

The lawyer takes on a particularly hopeless case not to pursue justice, but simply, and openly, for the money. Gold continues to make television programmes that he inwardly loathes, again for pure financial gain.

They are both nihilists, bruised and battered by the lives they have led. It is only when they are faced with the seemingly impossible series of events that they encounter around the world that they begin to attain their true potential.

This is a parable of redemption, sacrifice and ultimately the power of love. How greatness can be achieved from very humble beginnings.

How the quest for material things can be replaced by the quest for honesty and truth. Some say that rather than being a supernatural horror story, The Gatekeeper is a deeply religious tale of sacrifice and redemption.

As with any work of fiction, the text is open to many interpretations. Is it a parable of modern times? Certainly, for it demonstrates how technology has changed our world in ways its inventors never even dreamt of.

How we are all slaves to the endless onslaught of multi-platform media and how this directly affects our well-being. The phone, once a genteel way of conducting a conversation, is now the very centre of our lives, controlling us instead of us using it as a tool.

How, in many ways, we have become like The Matrix, constantly plugged-in to a central core. If you disagree, just take public transport or walk down the street and witness this for yourself.

At face value, Russ Kane’s debut novel is a fast-paced, graphic, darkly funny supernatural thriller. Dig deeper and it addresses many of the core issues that mankind struggles with today.

Who are we? Why are we here? Who should we believe in? What are we, as individuals, prepared to do to make the world a better, safer place?

It is no coincidence that Russ Kane is also the co-founder of Men’s Radio Station and Women’s Radio Station, both devoted entirely to mental health and well-being.

Dennis Relojo-Howell is the world’s first blog psychologist and founder of Psychreg. As an international mental health advocate, he speaks at various conferences around the world.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — Eight areas in Penang Perak, Pahang and Terengganu recorded unhealthy air quality, bringing to 26 the total number of areas with Air Pollutant Index (API) readings of over 100.

According to the Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal, as of 11pm last night, the areas that recorded unhealthy readings were Minden (105) and Balik Pulau (115) in Penang; Tasek Ipoh (111), Pegoh Ipoh (104) and Tanjung Malim (113) in Perak.

Other areas are Indera Mahkota (106) and Balok Baru Kuantan (107) in Pahang; Kemaman (103) in Terengganu.

Meanwhile, the API readings in 18 areas remained unchanged since this afternoon with Johan Setia, Klang in Selangor recording the highest API reading at 168, followed by Batu Muda in Kuala Lumpur (162).

Four areas in Sarawak with unhealthy API readings are Sri Aman (135), Kuching (150), Samarahan (133) and Sarikei (104).

Also recording API readings of more than 100 were Cheras (155) in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya (148), Shah Alam (138), Banting (115), Klang (122) and Kuala Selangor (120) in Selangor as well as two areas in Negri Sembilan namely Nilai (138) and Seremban (126).

Putrajaya and Segamat in Johor had API readings of 139 and 128 respectively, while Temerloh and Jerantut in Pahang, registered readings of 103 and 107 respectively.

An API reading of between zero and 50 indicates good air quality; 51 and 100, moderate; 101 and 200, unhealthy; 201 and 300, very unhealthy and 300 and above, hazardous. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah last night attended the 14th National Literary Award ceremony at a hotel here.

Al-Sultan Abdullah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah were greeted on arrival by Education Minister Maszlee Malik.

Also present were Deputy Education Minister Teo Ni Ching and Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) director-general Datuk Abang Sallehuddin Abg Shokeran.

Maszlee introduced the recipient of the 14th National Literary Award Prof Siti Zainon Ismail to Al-Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah.

His Majesty then presented the award to Siti Zainon, making her the 14th national laureate, before she read out her speech.

Meanwhile, Siti Zainon in her speech said that unification through Malay language as a national language should be emphasised, with its use expanded through announcements via posters, signage and advertisements as well as prioritised in presentations, seminars or international dialogues.

Siti Zainon, a writer and cultural arts researcher, was chosen based on her contribution to the development of literature and impact on the spread of knowledge and leadership in the literary community.

She has written three novels, 25 collections of poetry, nine collections of short stories and 20 essays on literary research. — Bernama

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook said Friday it suspended “tens of thousands” of apps on its platform as a result of a privacy practices review launched following a scandal involving Cambridge Analytica.

The review started in 2018 after revelations that the political consultancy hijacked personal data on millions of Facebook users, and it included attorneys, external investigators, data scientists, engineers, policy specialists and others, according to a Facebook statement.

The suspensions are “not necessarily an indication that these apps were posing a threat to people,” said vice president of partnerships Ime Archibong, adding that some developers “did not respond to our request for information.”

Archibong said the investigation “has addressed millions of apps. Of those, tens of thousands have been suspended for a variety of reasons while we continue to investigate.”

The suspected apps were associated with about 400 developers, and many of the software programs were still in testing phases, according to Facebook.

The huge social network became the subject of intense scrutiny after acknowledging in 2018 that Cambridge Analytica misappropriated personal data on tens of millions of Facebook users as part of its work for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Subsequently, Facebook said it would review all apps on the platform to determine how they used data and if they respect its privacy rules.

“In a few cases, we have banned apps completely,” Archibong said.

Bans can be caused by violations including inappropriately sharing data obtained from Facebook or making data publicly available without protecting people’s identities, according to the social network.

App crackdown

“One app banned was called myPersonality, which shared information with researchers and companies with only limited protections in place, and then refused our request to participate in an audit,” Archibong said.

A year ago, Facebook said it had banned some 400 apps including one called myPersonality, which according to Archibong “shared information with researchers and companies with only limited protections in place,” and refused to accept an audit.

Facebook said a recent agreement on privacy with the US Federal Trade Commission, which included a record US$5 billion fine, calls for additional oversight on app developers.

It “requires developers to annually certify compliance with our policies,” Archibong said. “Any developer that doesn’t go along with these requirements will be held accountable.”

Facebook earlier this year filed a lawsuit against South Korean data analytics firm Rankwave in California to make sure it isn’t breaking the leading social network’s rules.

Revamping controls

Along with slapping Facebook with a record fine for data protection violations, the settlement in July called for Facebook to create a privacy committee within its board of directors to be appointed by an independent nominating committee.

This would end “unfettered control” of decisions on privacy by Facebook’s chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg, the FTC statement said.

Facebook also will be required to conduct privacy reviews of every new or modified product, service or practice before it is implemented, including for its WhatsApp and Instagram services.

“We have a responsibility to protect people’s privacy,” Zuckerberg said at the time.

“We’re going to set a completely new standard for our industry.”

As the news was announced by Facebook, Zuckerberg was in Washington meeting with policymakers on questions about privacy and antitrust issues, and held talks at the White House with President Donald Trump.