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Malaysia’s Former Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi Has Dementia

MON, SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

Malaysia’s Former Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi Is Suffering From Dementia And No Longer Recognises Nor Remembers His Family Members, Said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

Khairy, who is the 82-year-old former Umno leader’s son-in-law, said Abdullah started showing signs of cognitive impairment shortly after retiring as Malaysia’s fifth prime minister in 2009 and his condition has progressively worsened since then.

“It has been challenging for us to see the deterioration in his cognitive function. Some people are aware but many are not. The family has decided to openly share this, partly to shine a light on dementia and cognitive impairment,” said Khairy on Twitter on Sunday.

Popularly known as Pak Lah, Abdullah resigned as prime minister in 2009 and was replaced by Najib Razak. Since then, he has kept a relatively low profile and been out of the public eye.

Earlier on Sunday, Khairy spoke about Abdullah’s “cruel” condition at the launch of the Malaysian Conference of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Practice Guidelines on Management of Dementia and Schizophrenia.

He said Abdullah is now wheelchair-bound and “cannot function normally anymore”.

“The body is there but the mind is not… He does not remember my name, my wife’s name,” said Khairy, who is married to Nori Abdullah. “The only reason I know he recognises me is the flicker in his eye when I visit him.”

“There are more bad days than good. So keep him in your prayers and we hope for better days ahead,” he said, as quoted by the local daily New Straits Times.

Tweeting after the event, Khairy elaborated: “This is also why he is no longer seen in public. Fortunately, we are able to provide professional care. Many others are not able to do so. It’s important for us to invest in social care to support families who have loved ones that require constant care.”

He added that the Health Ministry will push strongly for more investment in publicly funded social care for those who cannot afford it, in a bid to strengthen community-based care under the Health White Paper that is expected to be tabled in Parliament in November.

Dementia, an umbrella term for several diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, is one of the major causes of disability among the elderly, said Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation Malaysia.

The disease leads to deterioration in memory, impairs thinking and comprehension, changes behaviour, and affects a person’s ability to perform everyday activities.

A 2018 survey by the Health Ministry’s Institute for Public Health estimated the prevalence of probable dementia in people aged 60 years and over in Malaysia to be 8.5 per cent.

Following the news, social media was abuzz, with users expressing their get-well wishes for the former premier.

“Whether it’s dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or any other ailment associated with the aged, elderly and frail, the issue isn’t how they cope but how those around them, their loved ones, family and caregivers manage (for want of a better word) them. That’s the challenge. The person can’t ‘change’ or adapt, we have to understand how to deal with them,” said Twitter user @zazulazman in a reply to Khairy’s post.

“My family worked with Pak Lah as civil servants and diplomats, a kind, generous and humble man. It must be challenging for Khairy and Nori. Our prayers are with you all,” he added.

Nadirah H. Rodzi

The Star

Asia News Network

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Xi, Putin To Flex Their Muscles Against US, Europe In Meeting This Week

BY LINE : THE NATION

MON, SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

The World Will Closely Watch Russia’s Next Move After President Vladimir Putin Meets His Chinese Counterpart This Week, Especially In The Wake Of Moscow’s Worst War Defeat Last Week.

The Russian army was forced to abandon its main bastion in northeast Ukraine.

President Xi Jinping will leave China for the first time in more than two years for a trip this week to Central Asia, where he will meet Putin, Reuters reported on Sunday.

Against a backdrop of Russia’s confrontation with the West over Ukraine, the crisis over Taiwan and a stuttering global economy, Xi is due on a state visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Reuters added.

Xi will then meet Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, the Kremlin said.

Both Chinese and Russian authorities have declined to say what is on the agenda for the talks, though analysts believe Xi will use the meeting to underscore his clout, while Putin can demonstrate Russia’s tilt towards Asia. Both leaders will probably use the meeting to show their opposition to the United States, just as the West seeks to punish Russia over the Ukraine war.

Xi has met Putin in person 38 times since becoming China’s president in 2013. Their last meeting was in February this year, just weeks before Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

At that meeting during the opening of the Winter Olympics, Xi and Putin declared a “no limits” partnership, backing each other over standoffs on Ukraine and Taiwan with a promise to collaborate more against the West.

China has adhered to this partnership since and refrained from condemning Russia’s operation against Ukraine or calling it an “invasion”. Instead, China claimed that it is the West and the US who “provoked” Russia first.

As for Putin, he has made clear that Russia is turning towards Asia after the West imposed the most severe sanctions in modern history, especially a boycott on Russian oil and natural gas, their mainstream export products.

Putin said last week that Russia’s major gas exporter Gazprom has reached a deal to export natural gas to China via the new gas pipeline – the Power of Siberia 2.

The pipeline is capable of transporting gas to China at 50 billion cubic metres per year, around a third of what Russia usually sells to Europe.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which includes Russia, China, India, Pakistan and four Central Asian states namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is due to admit Iran, one of Moscow’s key allies in the Middle East.

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Abbey Was Important To Queen, Says Dean Of Westminster

MON, SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

In 1947 Westminster Abbey Staged The Wedding Of Queen Elizabeth And Prince Philip. Six Years Later She Was Crowned There And On September 19 Her Funeral Will Be Held In The Same Building In Central London.

On Sunday the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle said the Queen had discussed with him the abbey’s significance to her.

Hoyle recalled an audience he had with the Queen when she talked about her memories of the Abbey.

“There is a particular relationship between this building and our Queen. This is the place where she was married in 1947, this is of course the place of coronation,” Hoyle said.

“This building, and its long history, this is the church of coronation, this is the place where Nations and Commonwealth gather, so we’re stepping into the role we’re supposed to play. And I, all my colleagues in the Abbey, all of us share this sense of privilege and responsibility,”

Reuters

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Japan Liquor Businesses Turn To Non-Alcoholic Drinks To Attract Gen Z

MON, SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

In Tokyo, The Newly-Opened Sumadori Bar — A Play On The Japanese Words For “Smart Drinking” — Offers Elaborate, Sugary Mocktails Or Cocktails With Alcohol Levels Of Up To 3%.

The bar, managed by Japanese beverage giant Asahi Group Holdings, provides an environment where both boozers and teetotallers can enjoy a drink together.

The popularity of low- and non-alcoholic drinks has risen worldwide, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led many people to be more health conscious. The global market value for the segment rose to just under $10 billion in 2021 from $7.8 billion in 2018, according to market researcher IWSR.

The effect has been especially pronounced in Japan, where the older population — which tends to drink more — is shrinking rapidly. Just 7.8% of Japanese people in their 20s were regular drinkers in 2019 compared with 20.3% of that age group in 1999, according to government surveys.

“There are fewer drinking parties at my university club, so I don’t hear about drinking opportunities nowadays. Maybe that’s why there are fewer people drinking,” said 20-year-old university student Kurumi Takahashi, who was visiting the bar with a friend.

Mizuho Kajiura, a general manager at Asahi, said the pandemic has also played a part, limiting opportunities for colleagues to socialise after work.

Facing a steady decline in revenue from alcohol sales, Japan’s tax office in July launched a contest seeking ideas on how to stimulate demand among younger people.

Japan’s major drink makers are also looking outside the country for growth. The chief of domestic beer leader Asahi Group Holdings told Reuters last month he saw North America as a key market. Suntory Holdings Group is also looking to expand its canned cocktail business there.

At home, companies are coming up with new ways to improve the bar experience for non-drinkers.

On a recent afternoon in the entertainment district of Roppongi, groups of mostly young women gathered at a no-alcohol “beer garden” set up in the shadow of one of Tokyo’s tallest buildings.

Beer gardens are a summer tradition in Japan, but this one — promoted by Suntory and broadcaster TV Asahi — skipped the beer, offering patrons a lineup of mocktails and no-alcohol wine instead.

Masako Koura, the general manager of Suntory’s business strategy division, said people enjoyed the atmosphere as well as the alcoholic beverage they consume and they hoped to create a space where everyone can enjoy themselves.

Competitor Kirin Holdings Co also offers non-alcoholic wines, cocktails and beer. The company said sales of its booze-free beer were up more than two-fold in the three months through June compared with a year ago.

But for some, the new trend is a hard sell.

“Oh no, I cannot believe there are fewer people drinking. The people around me all drink,” said 61-year-old Satsuki Matsuzaki.

Traditional bars with lanterns, low lighting and cold beer live on.

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Royal Wardrobe: A Look At Queen Elizabeth’s Unique Fashion Style

BY LINE : REUTERS

MON, SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

From Diplomatic Dressing And Priceless Jewels, Bold Block Colours And Pearls To Tweed And A Headscarf – Britain’s Late Queen Elizabeth Was Known For Her Unique Wardrobe And Style.

Brightly coloured outfits with matching hats and umbrella trim, black pumps and her omnipresent handbag became staples for the monarch, who died peacefully at her home in Scotland on Thursday (September 8) aged 96.

“She has developed her own consistent signature style,” said Elizabeth Holmes, author of “HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style”, ahead of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022.

“She has the same shape hat, the same silhouette of coat, those fantastic block black heels, her three strands of pearls. But then also within those guardrails, she has a lot of fun with fashion… The queen is famous for her block colours.”

Those colours have ranged from canary yellow and bright green for the weddings of her grandsons Princes William and Harry to purple and pink for the horse racing at Ascot. She had chosen red, bright blue and orange on official visits.

“There’s a tremendous amount of thought put into the queen’s wardrobe and it’s so important because when she steps out of the car, everybody looks at what she’s wearing. Everybody wants to see the queen,” Holmes said.

At the start of her reign 70 years ago, Elizabeth’s outfits were made by royal designers Hardy Amies and Norman Hartnell, who created her wedding and coronation gowns. In her later years, personal assistant, adviser and curator Angela Kelly planned her wardrobe.

“The Queen has a fantastic understanding of clothes and fashion and is very aware of what suits her, what would be appropriate for any occasion,” Kelly wrote in her 2012 book “Dressing The Queen”.

LAYER OF MEANING

That meant choosing the right colours, embroideries for gowns, non-crease fabrics and ensuring necklines, sleeves and hemlines were the correct lengths. Kelly’s team also logged outfits and the queen herself reviewed designs.

For her historic 2011 visit to Ireland, Elizabeth wore a green outfit to meet then President Mary McAleese, while her evening gown for a state banquet featured silk shamrocks.

“Because the queen really isn’t supposed to say anything out loud, I feel that what she wears is really one of the only ways that she has of expressing her feelings,” Lydia Slater, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, told Reuters ahead of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022.

“Her brooches, which she has a huge collection of, are a way that she can potentially add a little layer of meaning to what she’s wearing,” Slater added.

For both William’s and Harry’s weddings, the monarch wore brooches “associated with … love and with happiness”, Slater said. For her Christmas address in 2021 – the year her husband Prince Philip died – she wore a brooch from her honeymoon.

For more casual looks, Elizabeth was often seen in brown or blue tweed and a headscarf.

“She’s just created a whole royal dressing look … It’s absolutely recognisable. It’s immediately visible. It’s used as a diplomatic tool and it’s comfortable,” Slater said ahead of the Platinum Jubilee.

“It just fulfils all her requirements and it will never go out of fashion because it’s sort of never in fashion. It’s just essentially itself,” she added.

Reuters