Day: May 27, 2024

JINCHEON, South Korea, With the Paris Olympics two months away, the South Korean national fencing team said Monday its goal is to bring home multiple gold medals.

South Korea has won at least one fencing gold medal at every Olympics since 2012, with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals in Tokyo three years ago.

That lone gold came from the men’s team sabre event, with Gu Bon-gil, Oh Sang-uk, Kim Jung-hwan and Kim Jun-ho coming through for South Korea’s third straight Olympic gold in that discipline.

This time, Gu and Oh will have new teammates in Park Sang-won and Do Gyeong-dong. Kim Jung-hwan has not competed internationally this season, while Kim Jun-ho has retired from the national team.

The new-look sabre squad teamed up for silver at a World Cup event in Budapest in March, quelling concerns about their Olympic chances.

“Our goal is to win both the individual and the team gold medals,” said Gu, the senior member of the team at age 35, during the national team media day at Jincheon National T
raining Center in Jincheon, about 85 kilometers south of Seoul.

Gu said he loves the youthful energy that Park, 23, and Do, 24, have brought to the team.

“Sang-won is powerful and agile. And you’re not going to find a more fiery fencer in the world,” Gu gushed. “Gyeong-dong is very physical and it really helps him on the attack. These guys have proven themselves already. That’s why they’re going to the Olympics. I don’t think they should put any pressure on themselves. They should just try to do what they’re capable of doing.”

Both Park and Do said they picked up fencing after watching Gu and their head coach, Won Woo-young, win the sabre team gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

“It’s an honor to be going for the third straight Olympic gold medal with these teammates,” Do said. “I am looking forward to reaching the top of the podium.”

Park added: “I think my job is to fire up the team. I am a bit nervous about my first Olympics but I am ready to do my best.”

Coach Won wasn’t as brash in his predicti
on as Gu.

“The U.S. team has been on the rise, and Hungary has had the same group for a long time. These two teams will be tough to beat,” Won said. “We’ve been analyzing them closely. Winning three gold medals in a row would mean so much to us, and we’ll try to write history.”

No country has won three men’s sabre team gold medals in a row since Hungary collected seven straight Olympic titles from 1928 to 1960.

Won said while some young Americans have a ton of talent, South Korea has experience on its side.

“Experience counts a lot at the Olympics,” Won added. “I think that’s where we will have an edge over the U.S. Since we’ve been world No. 1 for a long time, a lot of teams have figured us out. But we’ve analyzed those other teams, too.”

For the second straight Olympics, both team and individual events in all three weapons for both men and women will be contested, instead of a rotation system for team events that left out the men’s team sabre and the women’s team foil events in 2016.

South Korea will
compete in eight events: the men’s individual and team sabre, women’s individual and team epee, women’s individual and team sabre, men’s individual foil, and men’s individual epee.

In the women’s epee, South Korea will bring back the same quartet that won silver in Tokyo: Song Se-ra, Choi In-jeong, Kang Young-mi and Lee Hye-in. Choi had retired last fall after winning the individual and team gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, but she has returned to the piste at age 34 in pursuit of her first Olympic gold.

“Winning an Olympic gold would be a dream come true, and the thought of getting to the top is what keeps me going through some rigorous training,” Choi said.

Choi said she enjoyed her time away from regimented training routines but a sense of responsibility for her teammates drew her back to Jincheon.

Her teammates welcomed her back with open arms.

“I tried to keep her around at first. And when she still left, I felt a little hurt,” said Kang, the senior member of the team at 39. “Now t
hat she’s back with us, there are no hard feelings. I am happy to have her.”

Song said the foursome still has great chemistry despite missing Choi for a few months.

“We’ve been pushing each other. And when I am struggling, my teammates always pick up the slack for me,” Song said. “I have so much confidence in my teammates.”

The women’s sabre team will be led by Yoon Ji-su, the only remaining member of the bronze medal team from Tokyo. Now 31, Yoon will be competing alongside Choi Se-bin, Jeon Ha-young and Jeon Eun-hye — all of them in their early to mid-20s.

“We’ve had a fairly smooth transition to a young generation,” Yoon said. “They were good enough to make the Olympic team, and I hope we can all compete without any fear. We should be able to get to the semifinals, and once we’re there, we can push for a medal.”

In Paris, the fencing competition goes from July 27 to Aug. 4.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) today announced that as of May 22, 2024, a total of 2.86 million applications to transfer the initial amount from Akaun Sejahtera to Akaun Fleksibel were received, involving an amount of RM8.78 billion.

According to the Corporate Affairs Department of EPF Media Desk, the option was opened to members on May 12.

Meanwhile, a total of 3.04 million withdrawal applications from Akaun Fleksibel were approved amounting to RM5.52 billion.

EPF chief operating officer, Sazaliza Zainuddin said, ‘EPF is expecting the number of applications from members choosing to transfer an initial amount from their Akaun Sejahtera to Akaun Fleksibel to continue to rise until the deadline on Aug 31.

‘We are also pleased to see the significant increase in applications via KWSP i-Akaun mobile app. This reflects our efforts to enhance user experience and accessibility, as we continue to innovate and expand our digital offerings,’ he said in a statement.

From May 12 to Aug 31, members
will have an option to transfer one-third of their savings balance from Akaun Sejahtera to Akaun Fleksibel.

The transfer of the initial amount to Akaun Fleksibel is based on the balance in the member’s Akaun Sejahtera on the application date. Withdrawals from Akaun Fleksibel can be made at any time for any purpose, with a minimum withdrawal of RM50.

As the closing date for the option to transfer part of their savings in Akaun Sejahtera to Akaun Fleksibel is on Aug 31, members are advised not to rush into making the transfer. Members who have yet to register with the KWSP i-Akaun are encouraged to do so to enable withdrawal transactions from Akaun Fleksibel.

For information on the EPF Account Restructuring and details on the option to transfer an initial amount, visit the EPF website at www.kwsp.gov.my, or call the EPF Contact Management Centre at 03-8922 6000.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has so far seen no connection in the awarding of the Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) pilot project contract by the Selangor government and Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.

MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said so far there was no wrongdoing according to the law following the award of the contract to Hannah’s husband.

“We see from the legal point of view when a person gets a contract or benefit from any government entity but the one who gets that (contract) has nothing to do with the duties and responsibilities (of the party raised)… that is not an offence.

“For example, as reported by the media about Hannah Yeoh’s husband who got a contract from Selangor and the minister has nothing to do with the state government

“But it would be different if it was KBS (Ministry of Youth and Sports) that gave the contract to the company,” he said at a press conference after the Malaysian Electricity Asset Management and Governance Coordinati
on Improvement Report signing ceremony here, today.

Also present were Energy Commission chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Razib Dawood and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) chief executive officer, Datuk Ir. Megat Jalaluddin Megat Hassan.

Last week, Selangor Investment, Trade and Mobility Committee chairman, Ng Sze Han stated that Asia Mobility Technologies Sdn Bhd was one of the two companies selected for the DRT pilot project.

DRT is a state government initiative to improve the effectiveness of public transport and mobility services in Selangor.

In a separate development, Azam said MACC had not yet received the property declaration notice from the two sons of the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said that MACC through the investigating officer is carrying out discussions with the lawyers of Tan Sri Mohkzani and Mirzan to obtain a time period to implement the notice.

“If I’m not mistaken, I haven’t received (the property declaration) but recently there was a discussion between the invest
igating officer and the lawyer to detail the time period,” he said.

Earlier Azam revealed that Mahathir was one of the high-profile individuals investigated by the MACC in connection with the declaration of assets which prompted both his sons, Mirzan and Mohkzani to be given a notice to declare their assets within the period specified in the notice under Section 36 of the MACC Act 2009.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PUTRAJAYA, The number of absent Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination candidates for 2023 was successfully reduced by 1.2 per cent compared to the year before, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said.

A total of 97.4 per cent of 373,525 candidates sat for the SPM examinations for 2023, which she attributed to interventions undertaken at every level, involving the state and district education departments and school authorities.

“The interventions were conducted last year and managed to bring a positive effect.

‘Even so, the Education Department (MOE) will continue to pay attention to candidates who were absent for their SPM exams in 2023,’ she said in a statement, outlining several immediate measures taken by the ministry, including locating the candidates and offering them a chance to retake the exam.

She also congratulated all 2023 SPM candidates, teachers and ministry staff who worked hard to ensure an overall increase in performance.

Fadhlina said the national average grade for SPM 2023 was 4.60
with 93.5 per cent of candidates managing to receive their certificates, and 11,713 candidates scoring straight As.

“This is a far better result compared to the previous year. The ministry is optimistic that the excellent 2023 SPM results will be a catalyst in the continuous efforts of reforming the country’s education (system),’ she said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency