Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has captured his 8th Australian Open title, coming back to defeat Austrian Dominic Thiem in five sets, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, in Melbourne Sunday.

It is the 17th Grand Slam title for Djokovic, ranked number two in the world.

After winning the first set, Djokovic dropped the next two but was able to come back and take the final two sets during the nearly four hour match.

“Definitely my favorite court, my favorite stadium in the world and I’m blessed to hold this trophy once again,” said Djokovic.

For Thiem, it is the third time he has come up short in a Grand Slam final, with his other two losses to Rafael Nadal.

“I fell short today but I hope soon I can compete with you again,” he said.

Thiem had defeated the top seeded Spaniard Nadal in the quarterfinals in the Australian Open this year.

Source: Voice of America

KUALA LUMPUR, Vietnam, as the ASEAN Chair for 2020, will focus on enhancing ASEAN solidarity, economic integration and identity while being more responsive by promoting ASEAN pro-activeness, under the ASEAN 2020 theme, Cohesive and Responsive.

The key agenda for Vietnam this year includes boosting intra-ASEAN trade and investment through regional dialogues and discussions; the development of the circular economy through a best practices sharing platform; and the development of a Digital Integration Index to monitor and improve the key areas under the ASEAN Digital Integration Framework.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

As part of Japan’s Friendship Ties Program JENESYS 2019 promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 165 young students (Boys and Girls) who have interests in Rugby and officials from Rugby association of ASEAN countries (Brunei , Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and Timor-Leste will visit Japan from September 13th to 21st.

The group will visit Shizuoka prefecture and interact with High school students and University students of Shizuoka thorough Rugby. Moreover, the program provides lectures on the theme (Relationship between Japan and ASEAN through Tag Rugby, Rugby World Cup 2019, and Activities on Rugby in Shizuoka etc.). It is expected to exchange across the countries through Joint Training and Friendly Match of Tag Rugby.

Source: NAM News Network

As part of Japan’s Friendship Ties Program JENESYS 2019 promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 165 young students (Boys and Girls) who have interests in Rugby and officials from Rugby association of ASEAN countries (Brunei , Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and Timor-Leste will visit Japan from September 13th to 21st.

The group will visit Shizuoka prefecture and interact with High school students and University students of Shizuoka thorough Rugby. Moreover, the program provides lectures on the theme (Relationship between Japan and ASEAN through Tag Rugby, Rugby World Cup 2019, and Activities on Rugby in Shizuoka etc.). It is expected to exchange across the countries through Joint Training and Friendly Match of Tag Rugby.

Source: NAM News Network

The prime minister said the people should be mindful that whatever they say and do should not affect the sensitivities of any racial group in the country.

We have to be careful when we say something so that we do not touch on racial sensitivities.

What we do, what we say must not evoke racist feelings, he said in a four-minute video clip entitled Apabila Dr Mahathir Ditanya Mengenai Merdeka (When Dr Mahathir is asked about Merdeka) which was uploaded onto the Chedet Official YouTube.

Dr Mahathir gave the reply to a question on what’s the most difficult thing he has to face as the prime minister that was asked when he interacted with a group of seven youths of various races by the Putrajaya Lake.

Dr Mahathir shared with them that the fact that the country is multiracial makes it a challenge for him as the prime minister in governing it.

In this context, he emphasised the importance of youths being aware of the situation in their own country.

Realise, especially, that this country of ours is multiracial and that we have to have close ties among the races, and we should not intentionally incite any race, he said.

On the question of the importance of celebrating independence, Dr Mahathir said that with independence, the people can determine their own destiny.

We are those who govern, we strive to develop our country (now) we can choose our government, he said and shared the difference in colonial times when the people did not have any say at all in the administration of the country.

Reflecting on independence, Dr Mahathir said it was most exciting when the people were finally free from the clutches of the colonialists and were able to celebrate all over the country.

Asked whether Malaysia is truly independent, Dr Mahathir, who is helming the country for the second time, said: Yes, we are truly independent but, nowadays, we are influenced by the information that we get.

Malaysia celebrates National Day on Aug 31.

Source: Office of the Prime Minster Malaysia

BANGKOK, Malaysia welcomes ASEAN’s move to launch a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034, a first for this region.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad said five ASEAN countries had mooted the idea during the 34th ASEAN Summit here.

We felt that alone (single nation bids), we will never have the chance in hosting the World Cup. Maybe (with) all ASEAN together, we will be able to hold the World Cup.

Of course, games can be played in all ASEAN countries like when Japan and South Korea played host in 2002, he told the Malaysian media after concluding his four-day visit to the kingdom.

Earlier, ASEAN Chairman, Gen Prayuth Chan o-cha said all 10-ASEAN member countries have agreed to launch a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034.

I wish to inform our ASEAN people that today, the leaders supported the shared wish of ASEAN to develop a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034.

In this regard, I wish to invite all ASEAN people to collectively support the national football associations of ASEAN Member States with a view of realising this dream together, said Prayuth, who is Thailand Prime minister, said at a press conference.

Last year, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, who was a former FIFA executive committee member, said Malaysia could be part of a joint bid from four ASEAN countries to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

The media reported the King as saying that the football governing bodies from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam had expressed their interest in a joint bid for the global sporting event.

Although he was unsure then about Malaysia’s stand on the matter, he felt that Malaysia should face no problems co-hosting the event.

Source: NAM News Network

PUTRAJAYA, May 14 (Bernama) � The Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre (GIACC) has proposed that the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) include asset declaration in the key performance indicator (KPI) of ministers, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said all ministers must also ensure that members of the administration under their ministries declare their assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

All ministers and deputy ministers, and we will also extend it to all members of parliament, even if they are in the opposition, he said in a press conference held after chairing the eighth Cabinet Select Committee on Anti-Corruption (JKKMAR) here today.

He said opposition members of parliament must also declare their assets as they also had certain powers including the power to criticise the government.

So, for the ‘fee’, they also must declare their assets, he said, adding that the government would have to go through the Dewan Rakyat Speaker before the initiative could be implemented.

Dr Mahathir also said that all ministers must also draw up and implement a policy on accepting gifts in their ministries.

He said the ministers must sign an undertaking to issue the instruction and ensure the policy on accepting gifts is implemented.

Now you cannot accept a lot of gifts, when I was the (fourth) prime minister, I received 26 cars, so I returned them. If you want to see, go to (Galeri Perdana) Langkawi, he said jokingly.

Dr Mahathir said at present members of the administration cannot accept gifts worth more than RM500, but they can accept gifts in the form of food and flowers.

They wanted to send me one tonne of dodol. They have sent so much so I had to redistribute. I don’t know whether that is corruption or not, he said in jest.

Dr Mahathir said all ministers must implement the anti-corruption plan at their organisations and ensure it is successfully developed.

The ministers must also chair a meeting to enforce governance, integrity and anti-corruption at the ministry level at least twice a year, he said.

Dr Mahathir also said every minister must also ensure the transparency of procurement and reduce the risk of corruption in their ministries.

He said the ministers must make sure that the information of the person who submit the successful tender through the open tender system and approved by the Ministry Procurement Board for all categories of procurement is displayed on the myProcurement portal.

Asked who will monitor these initiatives, Dr Mahathir said the GIACC will carry out checks based on complaints from the public.

He said the JKKMAR meeting will be held each month as the government feels that corruption was a crime which could hinder national development and requires action from various agencies and every member of the administration.

Everyone plays a role in preventing corruption and must know what they can do to prevent it because we have meetings to check the reports of the progress that has been made, he said.

Source: Office of the Prime Minster Malaysia