Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in an announcement, said the two subjects will be taught in Bahasa Melayu in national schools and Tamil and Chinese for vernacular schools.

The Education Minister added that the changes would not affect Form Six and matriculation programmes.

“The government made the decision after studying closely research on PPSMI that shows that PPSMI could not be implemented as expected,” Muhyiddin told a special press conference here.

He said the decision was fair and made carefully after witnessing the implementation in the first six years after its introduction.

He also denied that the decision to scrap the policy was politically motivated.

“This decision is not political, we made the decision not for political mileage. What is Manek Urai compared to the future of our children,” said Muhyiddin.

He however denied that the PPSMI policy had failed.

“I wouldn’t say it was a complete failure, but it did not achieve what it was supposed to achieve,” he said.

Introduced in 2003, the policy has been heavily criticised by Chinese educationists and Malay-language activists, but a recent survey by the independent Merdeka Center showed that 58 per cent of 1,060 voters interviewed supported the policy.

Muhyiddin had admitted in Parliament last month that students had not shown significant improvement in the two subjects over the past six years.

But he said today the intention of the policy, which is to improve English language proficiency among Malaysian students, will continue to be upheld.

The measures to be introduced include recruiting some 14,000 new English language teachers. Currently there are more than 30,000 English teachers nationwide.

Muhyiddin also said the lesson duration for English language would also be doubled for lower primary students to 120 minutes a week, while for upper primary it would be increased from 90 minutes to 120 minutes a week.

For secondary students, the duration will be increased from 200 minutes to 280 minutes a week.

Technorati Tags: Education, english, malay language, mathematic, policy, pppsmi, science, teaching

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But Tuesday’s memorial was not for that Michael Jackson.

Instead, those closest to the legend gave us a glimpse of Michael Jackson the man.

In a poignant and serene service, the portrait they painted was of a human just as remarkable, making his loss doubly painful to bear for those who truly loved him.

“I just wanted to say … ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him — so much,” said Jackson’s 11-year-old daughter, Paris-Michael, before dissolving into tears and falling into the embrace of her aunt Janet.

It was a deeply emotional moment, the most profound part of a memorial that accomplished what Jackson could not in life: humanizing a man who for so long had seemed like a caricature.

How could someone who moved like he moved, sang like he sang, and reached musical heights no person has ever touched be as human as the rest of us? How could a man who threw a wedding for Elizabeth Taylor, had a chimpanzee as a companion, and wore masks to cover his surgically altered face be any part normal?

How can a man who admitted he shared his bed with boys — though he maintained it was never sexual, as others suggested — be a decent man, closer to saintly than devilish?

It took those closest to him, from his brother Marlon to his old friend Brooke Shields, to explain Michael Jackson to those who saw him as a talented freak — an image that deeply pained Jackson.

So while Motown founder Berry Gordy talked about the child prodigy he signed at age 10, and pronounced him not just the King of Pop, but “the greatest entertainer who ever lived,” he also talked about the little kid who played catcher during family softball games against the Gordys, who cracked jokes and frolicked in the pool. Magic Johnson talked about the perfectionist who made him achieve higher heights as a basketball player, but also told of sitting around and eating KFC at his home. And Shields talked about a friendship in which laughter was central to it all.

“We had a bond, and maybe it was because we both understood what it was like to be in the spotlight from a very, very young age,” Shields said, fighting back tears. “Both of us needed to be adults very early, but when we were together, we were two little kids having fun. … M.J.’s laugh was the sweetest and purest of anyone I’ve known.”

For Jackson’s family and the organizers of the memorial, it was a successful rehabilitation of the image of a superstar who had been derided for so long. The words “sweet” and “pure” had rarely been used to describe Jackson in the last two decades of his life, marked by allegations of child abuse, an ever-changing face, multiple lawsuits, eccentric behavior and what seemed to be one bad career move after another.

Only true Jackson fans, a number that seemed to be dwindling year after year, seemed to remember the man who dazzled us with “Thriller,” made us swoon with delight with infectious grooves like “Rock With You” and “Remember the Time,” and conversed with presidents, kings and queens.

Tuesday’s memorial reminded us of that Michael Jackson, too. The universally revered and admired former South African President, Nelson Mandela, offered words of condolences and love for Jackson in a statement read by Smokey Robinson.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, talked about how Jackson held court with African leaders in his bid to help slow the spread of AIDS there.

And Maya Angelou, who was also represented by her words instead of her presence, offered a loving tribute for the entertainer in remarks read by Queen Latifah.

“He took a pose on his toes for all of us,” Angelou wrote, remarking on his worldwide influence from “Birmingham, Ala., to Birmingham, England.”

For an entertainer known for his amazing music, song took a backseat to sentiment at the service. But when it was used, it was to great effect. His very biggest hits were not part of the program.

Instead, what we heard were the songs that reinforced Jackson outside of entertainment. Longtime friend Stevie Wonder — who summarized the thoughts of many when he said, “This is a moment I wished I didn’t live to see” — sang his own “Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer,” originally intended as a bitter breakup song but repurposed as a sad goodbye.

Lionel Richie, Jackson’s collaborator on the anthem “We Are the World,” sang a gospel classic, “Jesus is Love.” Another gospel hymn heralded the arrival of Jackson’s casket when a choir sang the lines, “Hallelujah, hallelujah, we’re going to see the King.”

Two of Jackson’s songs underscored his humanitarian side — the closing numbers, “We Are the World” and the anthem for his charity, “Heal the World.”

Usher’s heartbreaking rendition of “Gone Too Soon,” which Jackson wrote as a memorial for Ryan White, one of the early public faces of AIDS, captured the pain not only of his fans and friends, but of his family, as the Jackson brothers came together and gripped a sobbing Usher in their arms afterward.

And Jermaine Jackson’s version of “Smile,” which Michael Jackson had often used as a metaphor for his own tragic life, was a fitting epitaph for his brother.

But perhaps no one lifted up the image of Jackson more than the Rev. Al Sharpton, in rousing, church-like sermon that took Michael Jackson back from the tabloid headlines. Sharpton looked at Jackson’s children and declared: “Your daddy wasn’t strange — what he had to deal with was strange.”

Source : AP

Technorati Tags: king of pop, memorial, Michael Jackson

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Tuan Aziz, accompanied by about 10,000 supporters led by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, filed his papers at 9.05am, just minutes after the nomination centre at the Dewan Petra, Sekolah Menengah Sultan Yahya Petra 1 here was opened at 9am.

Mohd Fauzi, 50, also with about 10,000 supporters led by PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, submitted his papers at 9.17am.

Returning Officer Adnan Hussin received the nomination papers.

Parti Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (AKIM) president Hanafi Mamat, who was said to be contesting in the by-election, did not turn up for the nomination process.

The by-election is being held following the death of incumbent assemblyman Ismail Yaacob of PAS on May 22 of a heart attack.

In the 2008 general election, Ismail won the seat with a majority of 1,352 votes, beating BN’s Mohamed Zulkifli Omar.

This is the first by-election in Kelantan and the sixth in the country after the 12th general election in March last year.

Both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) enter the Manek Urai campaign today knowing full well that it will test their credentials with perhaps the most important demographic group in the country.

Rural Malays make up over 99 per cent of the 12,300 registered voters in the state seat and as fate would have it, Ismail Yaacob’s death on May 22 came at an awkward time for both coalitions.

The assemblyman’s demise has sparked a by-election that will take place against a backdrop of months of mutual mudslinging over alleged betrayal of Malay-Muslim interests.

Umno had taken advantage of the crisis triggered by its Feb 5 power grab in Perak to accuse the ousted PAS-led government of “derhaka,” or treason, against the decision of the Sultan in appointing a new mentri besar.

It also accused Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin of being a puppet MB to the Chinese-majority DAP in the state, a strategy that appeared to win back some Malay support in the Bukit Gantang by-election there, although BN was beaten as non-Malays backed Nizar strongly.

In recent months, PAS’s internal battle over proposed unity government talks with Umno has also led to Umno insinuating that PAS was not serious about Malay-Muslim issues.

That Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat was the strongest critic within PAS of any talks, which may have led to his recent attempts to hit back at Umno over Malay issues.

The PAS spiritual adviser likened the secular Malay party to communists and accused them of rejecting Islam.

Nik Aziz has also challenged Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak to a debate on why Umno has “rejected Islam and embraced nationalism, and what is wrong with the policy implemented by PAS, especially in Kelantan.”

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang too has recently criticised Prime Minister Najib’s decision to take away Bumiputera quotas in the capital market, and argued that Malays were still weak and needed help.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also sowed seeds of doubt among the Malays when he claimed that Najib was implementing measures that had caused him to be labelled a traitor to Malays and a Chinese agent when PR had first proposed similar economic liberalisation.

These policies and Najib’s still vague 1 Malaysia concept have led to anxiety within Umno that in trying to win back non-Malay support, it has inadvertently offended its traditional support base of rural Malays.

Source : Bernama and The Malaysian Insider

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The prince’s lawyers, Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar and Abdul Halim Bahari, filed both summonses at 11.50am at the Balai Islam here.

The summons for Manohara to be loyal was filed at the Syariah Lower Court under Section 8 (a) of the Syariah Court Civil Procedure (State of Kelantan) Enactment 2002 while the summons to claim the debt was filed at the Syariah High Court under the same enactment and section.

Zainul Rijal told reporters the Syariah judge had set Aug 2 for mention of both summonses.

He also said that a notice was also filed for an interlocutory application seeking approval for the prince’s lawyers to deliver the summonses and statements of claim outside the jurisdiction of the Kelantan Syariah Court as the defendant Manohara, who carries the title Cik Puan Temenggong, is in Indonesia.

Manohara, 17, a former model, returned to Indonesia on May 31 from Singapore where she had gone with her husband to visit the prince’s father, the Sultan of Kelantan, who is receiving treatment for a heart ailment at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

Manohara’s mother, Daisy Fajarina, has alleged that her daughter was physically and sexually abused when she was in Malaysia after her marriage to Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, 31.

The prince lodged a police report on June 11 claiming slander and on June 26, via a media statement, ordered Manohara to return to him by July 2.

The summons for Manohara to be loyal stated that she had ignored the order to be loyal and return to their residence at the Istana Mahkota in Kubang Kerian as well as discharge her duties as a wife as required by Islamic law.

The summons also stated that the defendant would be declared as having defied her husband if she did not comply with the order to return to him by July 2.

In the summons for return of the debt, the prince claimed that Manohara, before their marriage, had borrowed RM338,500 for herself and her mother.

He also claimed that after their marriage Manohara had continued to borrow money, up to RM634,250, for herself and her mother.

Zainul Rijal said he hoped that Manohara would be able to attend court on Aug 2 when the two cases come up for mention.

Source : BERNAMA

Technorati Tags: abuse, kelantan, loan, manohara, Mohd Fakhry, odelia pino, prince, sexual, summon, Syariah Court, tengku temenggong

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The Court of Appeal rejected the application and affirmed an earlier decision that the politically charged case should be heard in the High Court. The trial is due to start July 8.

Amid widespread doubts over the standards of Malaysia’s judiciary, Anwar’s supporters have said they fear authorities will be able to manipulate the case more easily in the High Court.

“The decision is not appealable. I am most disappointed with the decision today,” his lawyer Sankara Nair told AFP.

Anwar, 61, has repeatedly rejected sodomy allegations levelled by a 23-year-old former aide; the same charge that saw him jailed a decade ago, as a government conspiracy to derail his plan to topple the ruling coalition.

Sodomy, even between consenting adults, is illegal in predominantly Muslim Malaysia and carries a penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment.

Anwar is campaigning to unseat the Barisan Nasional coalition which has ruled Malaysia since 1957, after the opposition deprived the government of its two-thirds majority in an unprecedented performance in the 2008 elections.

The opposition leader is currently out on bail pending his trial but his supporters have expressed fears that it might be revoked during the hearing.

In a recent interview with AFP, Anwar voiced concern that false evidence could be introduced in a bid to jail him and end his political career.

The former deputy prime minister said however that the opposition alliance he leads would survive even if he is convicted and jailed.

Anwar was found guilty of separate sodomy and corruption charges a decade ago in a case widely seen as politically motivated. In 2004 the sodomy conviction was overturned, allowing him to go free after six years in jail.

Source : AFP

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It’s the opening salvo in a complicated battle for a fortune that includes a lucrative music catalog of the King of Pop’s own hits, the rights to songs by the Beatles, and the Neverland ranch that could one day be a tourist attraction.

There’s even an elaborate video production, dubbed the “Dome Project,” that was overseen by Jackson and finished two weeks before he died.

The high stakes and array of people involved will likely make the fight far more convoluted than recent high-profile squabbles over the estates of singer James Brown and ex-Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith.

“There’s no doubt that there’s going to be a big battle,” said Alexis Martin Neely, a Los Angeles-based estate attorney. “It’s going to be very messy and I don’t see anything comparing to this.”

Complicating matters is that few, if any, people know all the details of the reclusive entertainer’s financial affairs. His mother’s filing, for example, declares that Jackson died “intestate,” or without a will. But that is in dispute. Another person with knowledge of Jackson’s business matters told The Associated Press last Friday that there is a will, which would take precedent in court. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the material.

Becoming an estate administrator “puts a vast amount of power in one person’s hands,” said Roy Kozupsky, a lawyer with Smith, Gambrell & Russell. The person would have the power to sell assets, make deals and determine how to pay off creditors, he said.

At stake is Jackson’s 50 percent ownership in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a company itself estimated to be worth $2 billion; Jackson’s own recordings and songwriting rights, which could be worth more than $150 million; and his joint ownership of the Neverland ranch.

Katherine Jackson said in her filing she intends to use the estate’s assets for “the exclusive use of the decedent’s (Jackson’s) three children.” But the filing could also be the first move in contesting the validity of a will, if there is one, Kozupsky said.

Jackson, who died Thursday at age 50, left behind three children: son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and son Prince Michael II, 7. The youngest was born to a surrogate mother, while the first two were born to ex-wife Deborah Rowe.

The list of potential parties seeking a piece of Jackson’s estate is long, ranging from financial firms to the companies involved in his planned comeback. Among them is AEG Live, the concert promoter that booked Jackson for 50 sold-out performances at London’s O2 arena starting next month.

AEG Live reportedly gave Jackson a $20 million advance, which it may seek to recover from the estate. AEG Live declined to comment.

How much AEG can recover will likely depend on the wording of insurance policies it took out and whether they included protection against “medical conditions or another event,” said Mary Craig Calkins, a partner at Howrey LLP who handles insurance recovery cases for TV and film productions.

The promoter took out about $18 million in insurance through Lloyd’s of London, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.

A big part of determining what the estate is worth — and how much it owes in taxes — will depend on how much Jackson owed to creditors. Estimates put the tally around $400 million.

The federal government will be able to collect around 45 percent in tax on the value of the estate’s assets, minus its debts and administration costs including attorney fees.

It appears that the most valuable assets will likely remain in the estate’s control.

The Sony/ATV stake and 100 percent of Mijac, the company that controls Michael Jackson’s own music, were held in a trust whose beneficiaries are Jackson’s children. That trust is safe from creditors, said Al Malnik, its former trustee and Jackson’s business adviser from 2002 to 2005.

“The assets were protected through the trust against creditors,” Malnik said Monday.

Jackson used those assets as collateral to secure $200 million in loans from Bank of America in 2001. He then refinanced several times. Malnik said the loan total reached $275 million by the time he quit as trustee in 2005. Fortress Investment Group LLC, which took control in 2005, sold the loans off entirely “over a year ago,” said company spokeswoman Lilly Donohue.

It is unclear who holds the loans now, but one candidate is Colony Capital LLC, a Los Angeles real estate firm owned by billionaire Thomas Barrack, which also set up a joint venture with Jackson to own Neverland, the 2,500-acre property in Santa Barbara County that once included amusement park rides and zoo animals.

Barrack had lunch with Jackson brothers Jackie, Jermaine and Tito on Saturday at Neverland.

Jackson’s estate is still growing through record sales and songwriting rights.

So far this year, some 297,000 of his albums have sold in the U.S., and that’s not including last week, when sales spiked in the wake of the singer’s death. Jackson’s existing works will continue to sell well, said Keith Caulfield, senior charts manager for Billboard magazine.

“He’s good for at least a half a million albums a year,” Caulfield said.

Songwriting rights also keep earning revenue. Jackson wrote many of the songs he recorded including “Beat It,” “Bad,” and “Black or White.”

For the past three years, Jackson has ranked among the top-earning 100 U.S. songwriters for royalty payments collected by Broadcast Music Inc.

“Michael Jackson is the number one international songwriter in the world for BMI. He is it,” BMI chief executive Del Bryant said, adding that use of the singer’s songs outside of the U.S. earn more than $1 million dollars annually just for Jackson’s share of the royalties.

Warner-Chappell Music, a division of Warner Music Group Corp., is Jackson’s music publisher, meaning it promotes use of his songs and lyrics in commercials and TV shows. Jackson’s own works, plus scores of song rights he purchased, gross several million dollars per year.

Jackson also owns the master recordings of his own albums such as “Thriller” and “Bad” and had a distribution deal with Sony, according to a person familiar with his finances, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the material.

The surge in interest in his music could inflate the value of assets held by his estate, and the tax bill owed to the U.S. government.

“Unfortunately due to his demise, the value of these entities has increased substantially,” Malnik said.

Source : AP

Technorati Tags: fortune, Katherine Jackson, micheal jackson, son, song

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He said the scholarships would be given to the best qualified students irrespective of race, in line with the Education Ministry’s decision to review the award of government scholarships.

“Only the best will be get the scholarships. It is the government wish to place people first. We must consider the people’s interest,” he said at an MCA dinner at Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here tonight.

Najib said the national scholarship was not introduced this year as the Education Ministry had limited the subjects for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.

“The government will announce it next year, not this year as Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had announced the ten subject limit for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia candidates.”

He said Muhyiddin had been mandated to review the national education system as human capital was the catalyst for economic development.

“The new economic model introduced placed human capital development as the main criteria for the creation of higher revenue.”

Source : BERNAMA

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This was a better and more accurate way of reporting the pandemic to the public, he said. He added that many international media organisations such as the British Broadcasting Corporation, Voice of America and Australian Broadcasting Corporation as well as search engines like Google and Yahoo were using the term swine flu.

“As a responsible ministry, we should use both terminologies when explaining the issue.

“We in the ministry will continue to use the easy-to-understand term. We will use the A(H1N1) terminology but for subsequent mentions, we will proceed with the term ‘swine flu’,” he told reporters after the launching of the “1Malaysia” logo by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak here.

Rais said it would be up to the Health Ministry if it wanted to continue using the term Influenza A(H1N1) as stipulated by the World Health Organisation.

He also called on the media not to play up the swine flu issue as it could negatively impact the country, particularly its tourism sector.

Too much publicity would give the wrong impression among the public that the disease was more serious than dengue, which is still on the rise, he said.

Source : Bernama

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Craig Harvey, operating chief officer of the Los Angeles County Coroners office, gave a briefing on the results of the autopsy on the body of Michael Jackson.

A three-hour autopsy failed to reveal a cause of death and toxicology tests are to be carried out with the results expected in four to six weeks.

Coroner’s spokesman Craig Harvey said: “The cause of death has been deferred, which means the medical examiner wants additional tests, such as toxicology and other studies.”

Harvey said there were no signs of foul play or external trauma to the 50 year old singer’s body. He refused to comment on any drugs found in Jackson’s body until the completion of the drugs tests which can take up to six weeks to complete.

But Harvey did say the coroner was aware Jackson was taking some prescription medication.

“There was no external trauma or foul play,” said Harvey at a press conference outside the County Coroner’s office in Boyle City,Los Angeles. “We knew he was taking some prescription medication.”

His comments came as police in Los Angeles were preparing to interview a doctor to establish whether Jackson took a strong painkilling drug shortly before he suffered a fatal heart attack.

Detectives confirmed their intention to question the singer’s personal physician, amid reports that Jackson was already dead by the time paramedics arrived on the scene on Thursday.

Reports in the US suggested Jackson had stopped breathing after taking an injection of the prescription drug Demerol, a commercial name for pethidine, which can cause cardiac arrest if too large a dose is given.

The Jackson family’s lawyer said he believed “overmedication” may have been to blame for the pop legend’s death at the age of 50, adding that he was prepared to “name names” of those who allegedly “enabled” his drug use if a post-mortem examination showed that drugs had brought on the heart attack.

Police are treating Jackson’s home as a potential crime scene, sealing off the room in which he collapsed. A police spokesman said prescription drugs had been found inside the house.

Harvey said Jackson’s body can be released to the family from 6pm pacific time yesterday (9am, Saturday, Malaysian time), but as yet no one has applied to collect the body. Harvey said the Los Angeles Police Department had requested a “security hold” on the death to restrict the amount of information that is released until the final autopsy report is made public.

He said the extra tests would include neural and pulmonary tests. Harvey said Jackson was pronounced dead in the hospital emergency room. A death certificate has yet to be signed.

Officials from the Coroner’s office met with members of the Jackson privately before holding the press conference.

Dr Joshua Perper, the coroner who investigated the death of Anna Nicole Smith said the need for extra tests showed that drugs may have been involved.

A BMW car belonging to the doctor was one of two vehicles towed away from Jackson’s rented house.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery and Homicide Unit, which is conducting the investigation, said: “The car belonged to Mr Jackson’s personal physician.

“It was impounded as police have been unable to interview him and the car could contain medication or other evidence for the coroner.”

The police spokesman would not confirm the name of the doctor being sought for questioning, but reports last night suggested he had made contact with detectives.

The Los Angeles-based celebrity website TMZ.com, which first broke the news of the singer’s death, quoted an unnamed member of Jackson’s family as saying he was injected with Demerol at 11.30am, on Thursday local time (2.30am, Friday), more than 50 minutes before an emergency 911 call was made from the house. The website claimed there was evidence that someone had been performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation for “quite some time”.

A recording of the 911 call released last night began with an unidentified man saying: “I need an ambulance as soon as possible . . . we have a gentleman here that needs help, he has stopped breathing. We’re trying to pump him but he’s not breathing.”

The caller, who says the patient is 50 but does not name him, is asked whether anyone saw what happened.

“We have a personal doctor here,” he replies. “The doctor is the only one who was here.”

Police are anxious to take statements from everyone who was at Jackson’s rented home in the exclusive Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles, which was once owned by Sir Sean Connery.

Reports have been circulating for years that Jackson was addicted to several prescription drugs, including Demerol and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.

The Jackson family lawyer, Brian Oxman, compared Jackson’s death to that of Anna Nicole Smith, the former Playboy model who was found dead two years ago at a hotel in Florida, with an overdose of prescription drugs blamed for her death. Her boyfriend and a doctor are awaiting trial on charges of illegally supplying prescription drugs.

Oxman said: “I warned against this situation. I thought his problem was severe. I made reference to what happened to Anna Nicole Smith, but this exceeded it in severity. I warned everyone, and lo and behold, here we are. I don’t know what caused his death. But I feared this day, and here we are.”

Oxman, who was at the UCLA hospital with the Jackson family when he died, said Jackson first started taking pain medication after his hair caught fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in the early 1980s. The drugs became a regular part of his life, Oxman said, when Jackson later fell off a stage and suffered a broken leg and a cracked vertebra.

President Obama added his voice to the tributes to Jackson yesterday. A White House spokesman said the President thought Jackson was a “spectacular” performer and a “music icon” but thought aspects of his life were “tragic”.

Source : Daily Telegraph

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Lt. Fred Corral, the Los Angeles County Coroner said Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. Thursday.

He also said Jackson was unresponsive when he arrived at the hospital.

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family attorney, said he was told by brother Randy Jackson that Michael Jackson collapsed at his home in west Los Angeles, California, Thursday morning.

Family members were told of the situation and were either at the hospital or en route, Oxman said.

“I can only tell you that the family members are crying,” Oxman said.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda told CNN a 911 call came in from a west Los Angeles residence at 12:21 p.m.

Ruda said Jackson was treated and transferred to the UCLA Medical Center.

The music icon from Gary, Indiana, is known as the “King of Pop.” Jackson had many No. 1 hits and his “Thriller” is the best-selling album of all time. Jackson “as big as it gets” »

Jackson is the seventh of nine children in a well-known musical family. He has three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

At the medical center, every entrance to the emergency room was blocked by security guards. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying. iReport.com: Your Michael Jackson tributes

A large crowd was also gathering outside the hospital, according to video footage.

Outside Jackson’s Bel Air home, police arrived on motorcycles. The road in front of the home was closed in an attempt to hold traffic back, but several people were gathered outside the home.

Jackson also had some legal troubles later in his career.

He was acquitted of child molestation charges after a media circus of a trial in Santa Maria, California, in March 2006.

Prosecutors charged the singer with four counts of lewd conduct with a child younger than 14; one count of attempted lewd conduct; four counts of administering alcohol to facilitate child molestation; and one count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment or extortion.

Source : CNN

Technorati Tags: cardiac arrest, dead, jackson, king of pop, Michael Jackson, UCLA Medical Center

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