Latest news with #Izzah
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Rafizi declines offer to be second PKR deputy president
AMPANG: Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli has revealed that he turned down a suggestion for him to be appointed as the second PKR deputy president. He said the proposal came from the party's newly elected deputy president, Nurul Izzah Anwar. The Pandan member of Parliament said he had long made up his mind not to accept any leadership position within the party. "Izzah met me and tried to raise the idea of appointing me as deputy president (to serve alongside her). "But whether it's the deputy president or even the president's position, I'm not interested," he said after attending the closing ceremony of the Karnival Belia Madani 2.0 programme in the Pandan constituency near Ampang Hospital today. On May 23, Izzah was elected as the new PKR deputy president with 9,803 votes, defeating incumbent Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli, who garnered 3,866 votes. Following his defeat, Rafizi submitted his resignation letter to step down as Economy Minister. He said his refusal was consistent with a decision he had made from the outset, which was already known to many within the party. "I had made it clear from the beginning that I would not accept any leadership position. This is not about holding office. "It's about the message and the struggle we want to carry forward," he said.
New Straits Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Emerging talents show promise at track cycling national meet
KUALA LUMPUR: National track cycling team head coach Harnizam Basri was pleased to see a number of young talents showing glimpses of their potential at the National Championships which ended in Johor yesterday (May 24). Harnizam listed boys' under-17 rider Irshad Farhan, who secured a prestigious double gold for Johor in the individual sprint and keirin, as well as Sarawak's Adib Adnan, who reached the men's elite keirin final, as among those to look out for. "Irshad was really impressive in the under-17 category and dominated his categories," said Harnizam when contacted today (May 25). "At the moment he is still training with his state team but we will be looking to bring him into the national backup squad when possible. He definitely has potential that can be further developed. "Adib, who was recently promoted to the national backup squad, showed he has potential but is lacking race experience. "This showed in the keirin final where he made the mistake of overtaking on the blue band. The more races he gets the better he will become." Adib, who joined the national backup squad this year, was relegated to last place from seven riders in the men's elite keirin final. Harnizam said there were no surprises among the elite senior riders as Izzah Izzati Asri (Kedah) and Ridwan Sahrom (Johor) dominated the team sprint, individual sprint and keirin events for their respective states. He was, however, pleased to see Aliana Azizan make a positive comeback in what was her first race since crashing during a local race in October last year which saw her suffering a fractured rib and concussion. "Izzah and Ridwan both lived up to expectations by winning all their main events," said Harnizam. "Their timings', however, were slightly off their personal bests. This was expected as all the elite riders have been going through a heavy hypertrophy phase in training recently and did not taper for this competition. "I was also pleased to see Aliana looking very comfortable on the bike here. She only started training seriously a month ago but has already been able to achieve some decent results." Aliana finished third in the women's individual sprint behind Izzah (gold) and Yong Ann Tung (silver) as well as silver in the 1 kilometre time trial behind Izzah. Ridwan's elder brother Shah Firdaus and Azizulhasni Awang did not compete at the National Championships in Johor. Shah is taking a cautious approach after undergoing rehabilitation due to tendonitis in his right knee while Azizulhasni is still on the comeback trail having not competed since last year's Paris Olympics. Riders from the national elite squad are expected to leave for a month-long training-cum-competition stint in Europe tomorrow (May 26). This is to prepare them for the World Championships in Santiago, Chile (Oct 22-26).
The Star
22-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
National rider Izzah and sister anchor Kedah to elite team sprint title
PETALING JAYA: Double Asian champion Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri (pic) got off to a winning start in the National Championships by leading Kedah to the women's elite team sprint title at the Johor Velodrome in Iskandar Puteri yesterday. Izzah, competing for the first time since her inclusion in the Road to Gold programme, partnered her younger sister Nurul Nabilah Mohd Asri and Phi Kun Pan to win the race in 51.444s.
New Straits Times
28-04-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Coach hopes to see bigger, stronger Izzah compete at World Championships
KUALA LUMPUR: National track cycling squad head coach Harnizam Basri is hoping to further strengthen rider Izzah Izzati Asri ahead of the World Championships in Santiago, Chile on Oct 22-26. Harnizam said Izzah's physique has vastly improved since she joined the national elite squad in early 2022 but made it clear there is still room for improvement. Maximising power-to-weight ratio is key for any track rider and is especially important for smaller riders such as Izzah, who stands at a diminutive 1.52 metres tall. "Izzah has gained a lot of muscle mass since she joined us a few years ago," said Harnizam recently. "When she started she was about 48 kilogrammes but now she has gone up to 52kg. "The goal is to get her to about 55kg by the World Championships, which I believe is an achievable goal. "We will, however, have to be careful when doing hypertrophy work with Izzah as her programme has been packed since last year and we do not want to risk any injuries." Izzah has been Malaysia's most outstanding female track rider in recent seasons. She won two gold, one silver and one bronze at the Asian Championships in February. Harnizam stressed that building muscle takes time and strength building programmes must be done in a way which develops the whole body. "I think in the past we focused too much on strengthening the lower body and rarely touched the upper body," said Harnizam. "This is because we did not want the upper body to become too bulky which would cause increased frontal (aerodynamic) drag. "But I believe the body needs to be balanced because we use the whole body when racing. So we will be doing upper body strength training as well to a certain extent. "Anyway, doing some strength work on the upper body will not cause you to become bulky up top overnight. It takes a long time to build mass." Harnizam added that the National Sports Institute provides the team with a strength and conditioning coach to oversee their gym programme. Izzah is expected to leave for a training-cum-competition stint in Germany at the end of June.
