Compiled by TEH ATHIRA YUSOF, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN
ROCK singer Datuk Awie (pic) has alleged that some companies are making easy profits by booking slots and dates at venues and then re-selling them for marked up prices.
Awie, whose real name is Ahmad Azhar Othman, said such a practice is a burden given the limited availability of concert venues, particularly in Kuala Lumpur, Berita Harian reported.
“Event or concert organisers must be sincere. Do not take advantage by booking a venue for a particular date, only to resell it to someone else at a higher price,” said the lead vocalist of Wings.
“Profiting without effort isn’t right. My partners and I prefer to have discussions before making any decisions.
“We don’t want to block or book dates without proper planning or organise haphazard shows.”
The 57-year-old also hoped venue owners would carry out stricter vetting to ensure concert organisers do not exploit the system.
“We don’t want to point fingers. But if possible, do some filtering. Really check their applications.
“This situation happened to us, and we had to pull out and find another venue outside of Kuala Lumpur,” he added.
> Thinking that his first hiking experience would be a breeze, a nurse who was lost for nearly 24 hours while climbing Bukit Lagong in Gombak, has urged the public to be fully prepared for any eventualities.
The ordeal saw Muhammad Danial Zulkepli spending the night in the jungle and drinking water from puddles, Kosmo! Online reported.
The 26-year-old from the National Heart Institute said he began his hike with two of his friends at 8am, and they planned to descend before 1pm.
Things took a turn for the worse when he lost his bearings during the descent causing him to be separated from his friends.
“I shouted for help but no one heard me. All I could think about was staying alive,” he recalled.
After depleting his water supply, Muhammad Danial looked for a river or stream to slake his thirst.
“Around 3pm, I saw a puddle. Even though it was murky and muddy, I had no choice but to drink it. I used leaves to make a cup and collected rainwater from it,” he said.
Muhammad Danial said he spent the night alone at the peak, taking shelter under a nearly collapsed roofed structure.
It was reported that he was found safe at 6.50am the next day.
> Social media content creator, Sofyank, known for his special visual effects videos, recently made another big Hollywood collaboration, this time with action hero Tom Cruise.
Sofyank or Mohamad Sofian Abdullah, 28, was initially nervous to work with the actor but said Cruise was a friendly and humble person who put everyone at ease, Astro Awani reported.
“Cruise is incredibly kind and approachable. His demeanour really helped us feel comfortable throughout the process.”
Sofyank, who previously worked with other Hollywood actors such as Will Smith, Paul Rudd and Jonathan Majors for his short special effects videos, filmed the project with Cruise in Japan.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.

