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Muzika Musim Luruh 2010 is set to rock Melbourne this autumn with competing musicians from interstate and live performances by favourite Malaysian singers and bands.

Come April 7, the Prince Bandroom in St Kilda, Melbourne will be abuzz with up to 500 Malaysian youths as the venue plays host to Muzika 2010. Previously known as Muzika Musim Bunga and Muzika Musim Salju, the competition that aims to  explore and showcase the musical talent of Malaysian youth in Australia is known this year as Muzika Musim Luruh 2010.

With the introduction of many firsts designed to invigorate the contest and elevate the event, 2010’s songfest is returning bigger and better. Muzika Event organisers say fans this year can expect a variety of melodies in a musical battle that will be more intense and livelier than before.

For the first time in the competition’s history, participation in Muzika is open to Malaysian youths from across Australia. Previously, only contestants residing in Melbourne and Victoria had been allowed to take part.

Event co-ordinator Azrina Iqbal explains that by pitting local musicians not just against one another, but with talents from throughout the country, contestants will be inspired to sharpen their performances.

“This will heighten the level of competition between contestants, and in turn provide a good show for everyone at Muzika,” she says.

The competition this year is split into three categories: Band, Acoustic, and Minus One, with cash prizes awarded to the best act in each segment. Additionally, other prizes stand to be won by the best guitarist, drummer and vocalist, with the winning band clinching a slot on the lineup at Malam Gemilang 2010.

Another first for 2010 is a tie-in with the KUAM Cup, a soccer tournament with teams from throughout Australia coming to compete in Melbourne. By scheduling both events very closely, Muzika organisers are expecting the influx of interstate visitors to translate into a larger gig audience.

Azrina says such fresh moves will make this year’s Muzika much more inclusive and accessible to a broader group of Malaysian youth downunder.
“We want Muzika to be a platform for Malaysian youth studying or living in Australia to share their music. By inviting participants from all over, contestants will have a wider scope to learn from and explore one another’s music,” she says.

There will also be live performances by homegrown bands from Malaysia this year.Alternative rockband Hujan leads the event’s diverse playlist. Also rostered to perform are bossa nova singer/songwriter Liyana Fizi of Estrella, punk rockers The Pilgrims, and surf band Kugiran D’Tepi Pantai will be playing beach-infused tunes infused with pop yeh-yeh and 1960s melodies.

The simple, honest and warm melodies of Bo’s Bedroom Sanctuary, and the energetic yet heartmelting music of Broken Scar round up the evening’s arrangement. All will be flown to Melbourne courtesy of AirAsia X.

“By bringing in established musicians from back home, contestants will be inspired to make greater music and everyone will enjoy live performances from their favourite bands,” Azrina says.

In a close encounter of the musical kind, the luckiest Muzika fans will also be offered the chance to house their favourite musicians through a homestay programme that will provide a unique Melbourne experience for the roaming rockers.

Tickets for Muzika are already on sale with discounts for earlybirds. A special package deal consisting of admission and exclusive event merchandise is also on offer, but only to the first 100 takers. For more information contact www.muzikamelbourne.com

Muzika Musim Luruh 2010 (Muzika in Autumn 2010) is organised by Kelab Umno Australia Melbourne (KUAM) and supported by other Malaysian student organisations throughout Australia. This event is proudly sponsored by AirAsia X, Kedai Satay, and Secret Recipe.

KNUKE, or Kugiran Negara ke UK Enterprise (KNUKE), which brought indie bands Hujan to the United Kingdom in 2008, and last year, Estrella and 7 Collar T-Shirt, now brings power pop group Couple to three British cities for performances in March.

Couple will showcase its Malaysian brand of pop to an international audience and also to the many Malaysians studying or residing in the country. Couple will be playing in:

Manchester — at the Students’ Union, University of Manchester on March 19;

Liverpool — at the Backroom @ The Bumper on March 23;

London — at The Fiddler’s, Camden on March 28.

Couple is no newcomer to the music scene having over 10 years experience and having done countless shows throughout Southeast Asia. It has been highlighted as among Myspace’s best 25 bands by Rolling Stones magazine, USA and secured a distribution deal with a record label in New York.

Couple’s power pop sound is very accessible to international audiences and even though their latest album is all in Bahasa Malaysia, a recent favourable blog review from the US just goes to show that language is no barrier.  Couple’s latest album is Pop Tak Masuk Radio.

About KNUKE:  KNUKE (Kugiran Negara ke United Kingdom Enterprise) is an enterprise supported by student bodies across the UK (specifically Malaysian students) in promoting and organising gigs for Malaysian Independent bands in UK.

KNUKE started out as a passionate project, where five friends got together to bring Hujan to the UK in 2008  in a five city tour, exposing the otherwise unknown indie band to  Malaysians as well as the locals. In 2009, in collaboration with Laguna Records, KNUKE initiated the second tour with veteran indie band Seven Collar Tshirt as well as Estrella, to London, and Manchester.  The founders of KNUKE were originally based in UK as students, and were active in the music scenes in their respective cities.

Their network of friends as well as links with Malaysian Societies throughout the UK is something that KNUKE leverages on. Recently in 2010, KNUSA was formed (Kugiran Negara ke United States of America) with the objective of organising shows in the US.

The KOMAS  FreedomFilmFest 2010 (FFF10) began its annual campaign in promoting socially conscious films with the launch of the film proposal competition on March 11.

This annual competition which carries the slogan ‘DARE TO DOCUMENT’ encompasses the spirit of activism through filmmaking and it is the first of its kind to be organised in Malaysia. It has created opportunities for local filmmakers and social activists to use their filmmaking craft to express social concerns and human rights issues.

The Malaysian public is encouraged to pen down their thoughts or issues they feel strongly about in the form of a film proposal. Three of the chosen best film proposals will be awarded a grant of RM6,000 each and will be supported by KOMAS to transform their proposals into a film.

Winners will also receive the Justin Louis Award and have their films premiere at the FFF2010 screenings in November 2010. Finally one of these winning films will be selected as the “Most Outstanding Human Rights Film”.

Entry details:

Eligibility: Malaysians aged 18 and above (if below 18 you must submit your entry under a willing and responsible guarantor who will deal with KOMAS for all legal and administrative matters).

Video Format: Documentary / Docudrama / Animation / Graphic

Video Duration: 15 – 30 minutes.

Video Language: Any widely used dialect in Malaysia but must include English/Bahasa Malaysia subtitles.

Deadline:  17 May, 2010.

For more information on the competition and tips on writing  a good proposal, visit http://freedomfilmfest.komas.org

For further inquiries, email freedomfilmfest@komas.org

From the same zany people who brought you Pop TV and That effing show, here’s the music video that has taken the nation by storm…heck!Its even  got a porsche in it too!!

And then learn the “kool” macha-rena moves with the complete step-by-step guide with Elaine padley

Here’s some info we dug up from the Junk magazine (junkonline.net) site which had the story about the song and videos

Dont forget to join the 10,000 strong Facebook group

We support the right for all Malaysians to refer to each other as “macha”

How did “I Am A Macha” come about? (Ezra Zaid speaks)

The idea initially was to shoot a bad-ass music video (a la what Adam Sandberg and the people at Saturday Night Live do) as one of our skits. Then we realized we needed more than just an idea: we needed a song, a theme, some music and lyrics, a group dance … and we needed it to be funny.

Hip-hop, and especially the music videos, leaves us with a lot of room — lyrically and visually — to be funny and creative in telling the story.

The “macha” theme came about as identifying something that bound us as Malaysians that had some street-cred attached to it, not with something that was pasted on billboards and commercials. Also, more than 10,000 folks joined the “macha” Facebook group: that is just hilarious, honest and impressive all at the same time, so that strengthened the idea.

What about the macha-rena?

The principles behind the original Macarena dance were useful for us — get a big group of people, do some simple gestures while moving in place, change direction, repeat ad infinitum, annoy people.

We asked one of the top dancer-choreographers in the country — Elaine Pedley — to come in and work with our machas.  Don’t play, she has worked on Malaysian Idol; in Germany, UK, France, China and Singapore … but never in a mamak! So we were more than happy to give her a break.

Why a mamak?

Coz machas and mamaks go together like roti canai and dhal curry!

watch more wacky stuff on That Effing show

The prevalence and tradition of turtle egg consumption amongst locals may contribute to the eventual extinction of our turtles unless urgent action is taken according to a report by WWF-Malaysia.

The report commissioned by WWF-Malaysia and prepared by TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, entitled “Marine Turtle Egg Consumption and Trade in Malaysia”, shows that the market demand for turtle eggs exceeded the supply. It was estimated that a total of 422,000 eggs were traded in Terengganu alone in 2007, indicating a trade volume that is two times higher than the number of green turtle nestings in the state. It has been reported that turtle eggs from outside the state were being sold at markets in Kuala Terengganu.

The report aims to provide a better understanding of consumer profiles and to identify the source and trade routes of the eggs to further enhance WWF-Malaysia’s efforts in marine turtle conservation.

The study team focused on consumer surveys in Terengganu where turtle egg consumption is widespread and eggs are openly sold in markets, to obtain a more in-depth understanding of turtle egg consumption patterns as well as the profile and perceptions of egg consumers.

“One of the contributing factors to the leatherback turtles’ disappearance from our shores is egg consumption. We wouldn’t want the same thing to happen to our green and hawksbill turtles,” said WWF-Malaysia Executive Director/CEO Dato’ Dr Dionysius Sharma.

Out of the 396 households surveyed, 245 (about 61%) are of Malay ethnicity and had consumed turtle eggs before. According to the results of the survey, people who eat turtle eggs come from all walks of life – irrespective of gender, age groups, professions, educational levels and income levels.

The majority of the survey respondents consumed turtle eggs once or twice annually and bought between one to five eggs each time. The consumption of turtle eggs is a family affair with each family member eating one to two eggs at a time. Turtle eggs are sourced from local markets with 91% sourced from Pasar Payang in Kuala Terengganu.
Most consumers eat turtle eggs as a “delicacy” and for pleasure and less so as a source of protein or for traditional and medicinal reasons as well as an aphrodisiac, contrary to popular belief.

Turtle egg consumers, though aware that turtle populations are declining, believed that consumption would not cause population decline as turtle eggs were still abundant. Nonetheless, a majority of them would stop consuming if they knew that egg consumption would adversely affect the turtle population.

In 2008, the Department of Fisheries launched “The National Plan of Action for Conservation and Management of Sea Turtles in Malaysia” to strengthen sea turtle conservation and management in Malaysia.

“All the time and effort spent on doing research and putting together an action plan that is supposed to show results by 2012 will be of little value if action is not taken soon – Malaysia’s sea turtles need our help right now,” said Noorainie Awang Anak, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia’s Senior Programme Officer.

It is hoped that the results from this study will contribute towards the key priorities of the action plan which include a national ban on consumption and commercial sale of turtle eggs and other products, as well as enhancing public awareness and facilitating participation of local communities in conservation programmes. However, a national ban on consumption and trade can only be put into effect if there are Federal Laws allowing such an action. This is the reason why WWF-Malaysia is advocating for an amendment to the Federal Constitution that would give the Federal Government jurisdiction over turtles and thereby be allowed to impose such actions.

“A change in attitude and behaviour is needed to turn the tide if we want to ensure the survival of turtles,” added Dato’ Dr Sharma.

To download the full report, please visit: wwf.org.my

Aspiring young scholars nationwide sweated it out at Written Tests held in Johor Bahru, Ipoh, Kajang, Kuala Lumpur and Penang last weekend – all for a chance to battle it out on ntv7’s new educational talk show Mandarin Battle Star. Mandarin Battle Star is the nation’s first ever TV game show featuring Chinese primary school students outdoing each other in their Mandarin language and general knowledge skills to emerge as the best. Endorsed by the Ministry of Education, and sponsored by BESTA and co-sponsored by HSBC, the fun and educational one-hour 13-episode variety show is slated to air on Sundays, 7.00 p.m. starting 16th May 2010.

A total of 234 schoolchildren from 78 schools nationwide, ranging from Standard Four to Six, took the Writing Tests, which consisted of 150 questions on various topics, from general knowledge and current affairs to grammar and science. Out of the 78 schools, 16 were shortlisted based on the test results to be part of the gameshow.

One of the shortlisted schools is SJK (C) Pui Gin from Sandakan, Sabah. According to the headmaster, Lim Yin Vui, the cost to fly over for the Written Test was borne by the school itself and the participants’ parents.

Lim is enthusiastic about the show and expressed full confidence in his students’ abilities. He adds, “Our school organizes a General Knowledge competition on a yearly basis; enrolling my students in Mandarin Battle Star is a good platform for them to exchange learning experience with the rest of the competing schools, especially with the Chinese Primary schools from West Malaysia. I am sure that while enjoying an educational yet fun game show, they will also perform their best – they are full of confidence!”

“We are thankful for the good response from schools nationwide and the top 16 truly earned their place in the show by answering a series of tough questions,” says ntv7 General Manager, Airin Zainul. “Backed by the Education Ministry, sponsor BESTA, and co-sponsor HSBC, we look forward in realizing the show’s potential to be a major annual scholastic event for Chinese schools and community in the country.”

“With such high standards seen from the participants, we certainly look forward to an exciting battle of wits on Mandarin Battle Star,” she adds.
At the programme launch held in February announcing the Ministry of Education’s endorsement of the game show, Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong was full of praise for the game show, saying that it will encourage students to polish up not only their knowledge of Mandarin but general knowledge as well.

“I think this is a great way to show students that in order to be a good student, textbook knowledge alone is not enough. I believe students nowadays are too exam-oriented, and have little interest in general knowledge and knowing what’s going on in the world,” added Wee.

Mandarin Battle Star is open to all students of national Chinese primary schools from Standard 4 to 6. Targeted to primary school students, families and educators, and hosted by Chan Wei Wei and Lim She Ting, the show encourages the improvement of primary school students’ general knowledge and Mandarin proficiency albeit in a fun and lively way. Judges for Mandarin Battle Star will be from the education industry, experts from Chinese language and cultural associations, and Mandarin 7 news anchors.

Contestants will be tested on vocabulary, pronunciation, comprehension, common mistakes, grammar and general knowledge. All participants will be awarded a certificate of participation from the Ministry of Education. On top of trophies and sponsored items from BESTA worth RM100,000, the winning school will get a RM25,000 cash prize channeled into the school fund, courtesy of co-sponsor HSBC.

To polish up on your Mandarin and general knowledge, tune in to Mandarin Battle Star on ntv7 every Sunday, beginning 16th May 2010, at 7.00 p.m. For more information, go to www.ntv7.com.my/mbstar.

Cloth and Clef and Resistiv3 are proud to present ‘Bootleg Market & Request Allowed Allowed Not!!!. ‘Last Kopek’ on SATURDAY 13th March from 5PM to 3AM at Cloth and Clef. We bring together massive collaboration of underground electronic music, comprising Dub, Dubstep, Trip Hop, Downtempo,Experimental, Breakcore, Drum & Bass to Jungle. This is not all about music but music blends well together with arts and fashion. Check out:

Live performances by:

* Hud Evil Hud (Live PA) feat. Luna & Syko G
* Skware-1
* Mushroom Buttons
* MC Reza
* Soundwize
* STNGMK
* Al Zi Nizi
* Reezalt
* Flica
* Nujita
* Anowl
* Mac
* Le Boob
* Rogue Squadron
* Basil
* Chi-Pulp
* E
* Az-1
* Jony

Live Visual by;
*PerezOldSkool
*Efozy
*ZulamranHilmi

Graffiti arts by;
* PHBKLK
* Phiberwryte

Clothing by;
* Phobia Klik
* Rawkabilly – Trash to Treasure
* Barf
* Cloth & Clef
* Loops Collective
* KR Clothing

Night of Mayhem will be:

Day: Saturday 13th March 2010
Venue: Cloth&Clef
30 Jalan Changkat Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur
Time: 5PM-3AM
Admission: RM20 (include 1 soft drink & resistiv3 mix CD)
RM40 (include 1 soft drink, resistiv3 mix CD & 1 PHBKLK t-shirt)

“What a great and fun way to start this Friday as we have exactly RM5,000 to giveaway on this day. Why? Simply because we want to, “says JD. We are giving away RM5,000 this Friday for Red FM’s RM1,000 Minute. So, make sure you tune in to win big bucks. JD says, “It will only last for a day! If you could guess them all correctly, the money will be all yours.”

Besides that, we are also concentrating on the 90’s this weekend. So, on every show except for the Fresh Forty chart which plays today’s freshest music, expect to hear great songs from this particular era.

Red FM proudly brings you the best of the 90’s. This weekend, it’s all about the 90’s.

It was an era where Pokemon became a major household name. This was also a year where a lot of our sport heroes retired. Take for example, Micheal Jordan the basketball player aka No 23 retired in the 1990’s. As for fashion, various selections of sleeves and shorts attracted the ladies while the more outgoing ones went for shiny clothes, dyed their hair and wore earrings.

Alas, the music was of a culture of where many a one hit wonders came out just like how the music of the 1960’s were like. This was the generation of kids who made faces at us while we “bop” to their music.

Terry who hosts Red FM’s ‘Drive’ and is now the newest host for ‘Skool Daze’ says,” Are you missing the best songs from the 90’s.No sweat! Because we are playing it for you all weekend long.” This weekend, you will get to hear Boyzone’s Love me for a reason, Mama by Spice Girls, Always be my baby by Mariah Carey and Miss you like crazy by The Moffatts.

If you are feeling emotional, you can have a listen to the Fugees when they sing their rendition of Killing me softly. Or how about the classics of the 90’s as well like Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion and many more.

These are just a few songs to date. To find out more, log on to www.red.fm .Have a great time listening to Red FM,The fastest growing English radio station in Malaysia to go back in time and have a sweet time re-living the 1990’s again. Dilly ends this read for you by saying, ”So, just like what they say in the 90’s,come join us cos we are all that and a bag a chips.”

Red FM is operated by The Star.

Red FM’s Station Frequencies: ? Kedah and Perlis: 98.1FM ? Pulau Langkawi: 98.1FM ? Georgetown, Pulau Pinang: 107.6 FM ? Taiping, Perak: 98.2FM ? Ipoh, Perak: 106.4 FM ? Southern, Perak: 104.9FM ?Klang Valley: 104.8FM ? Kuantan, Pahang: 91.6 FM ? Negeri Sembilan: 106.0 FM ?North Johor and Melaka: 98.8FM ? South Johor and Singapore: 92.8FM

New WD SiliconEdge™ Blue™ Drive Designed as High Performance, High Reliability Storage for OEMs and Technology Enthusiasts. WD® (NYSE: WDC) today announced that the company is shipping its first consumer-oriented solid state drive (SSD) with the new WD SiliconEdge™ 2.5-inch SSD family. WD SiliconEdge Blue™ SSDs offer fast read/write speeds and high SSD capacities, making them an ideal storage solution for read-intensive applications requiring high performance and plug-and-play compatibility.

WD SiliconEdge Blue SSDs, in capacities up to 256 gigabytes (GB), feature a native SATA 3.0 gigabits per second (Gb/s) interface with read speeds up to 250 megabytes per second (MB/s) and write transfer rates up to 170 MB/s. Fast and rugged, WD SiliconEdge Blue SSDs accelerate application performance and deliver maximum tolerance for drops, shock and vibration along with silent and low-power operation.

“The development of the WD SiliconEdge Blue product family leverages WD’s extensive experience in designing and manufacturing highly reliable storage products and the company’s worldwide sales and distribution network to accelerate SSD technology adoption by OEMs, technology enthusiasts, gamers and road warriors,” said Michael Hajeck, senior vice president and general manager of WD’s solid state storage business unit. “Customers who demand the ultimate in performance will find the WD SiliconEdge Blue SSDs exceed all their requirements.”

The new WD SiliconEdge Blue product family has passed WD’s extensive functional integrity testing procedures, which subjected the WD SiliconEdge Blue SSDs to over 250,000 hours of testing to ensure they meet the industry’s highest data integrity, reliability and compatibility standards. Designed for both read-intensive client/consumer applications and write-intensive, 24/7 OEM applications, WD’s new multi-level cell (MLC) -based SSDs feature patented and patent-pending technologies, such as advanced wear-leveling and error correction control, as well as TRIM and NCQ (Native Command Queuing) command support to ensure maximum drive performance and endurance with easy plug and play compatibility.

Price and Availability
WD SiliconEdge Blue SSDs are available through select distributors and resellers. The manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP) for WD SiliconEdge Blue SSD 64 GB (model SSC-D0064SC-2100) capacity is RM 979, the 128 GB (model SSC-D0128SC-2100) capacity is RM 1,859 and the 256 GB (SSC-D0256SC-2100) capacity is RM 3,499. The WD SiliconEdge Blue drive is backed by WD’s world-class technical support and comes with a three-year limited warranty. More information on WD SiliconEdge Blue SSDs may be found on the company’s Web site at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=789.