Ramasamy Suppiah leans back in his seat overlooking the Selangor Turf Club playing field, and contemplates why his son, Arul, has not played more county cricket matches this season.
"Too many foreigners," he concludes, without a hint of irony. Seven thousand miles away, Malaysia's first - and only - first-class cricketer is trying to plot his way into the Somerset first team in front of West Indians and South Africans with European law on their side.
Arul Suppiah, 24, is not the only player in top-level cricket to originate from outside of the game's recognised Test-playing nations. Yet, born and raised in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, he is certainly the most exotic.
His county commitments forced him to miss the ACC Trophy - won by Hong Kong after a final win over the UAE on Sunday - in his homeland, much to his compatriots' chagrin. Malaysia were also-rans without their star player.
"He could have brought some balance to our team, and we really missed him due to his domestic schedule. Somerset couldn't release him," says his brother, Rohan Vishnu Suppiah, a spin-bowler who is also the national team captain.
"Malaysian people know him. I think the whole of Malaysia is very proud of him being the first guy playing county cricket.
"He really came up the hard way. He had to move to England at the age of 12, and struggled at first.
"Now he is doing really well and we are very proud. Hopefully we will see him playing for England one day - that is his dream."
Suppiah Snr's suggestion that "too many foreigners" are barring his son's progress is not without truth. While the county game is awash with soldiers of fortune from Test nations flouting the Kolpak rule, Arul is almost entirely anglicised now.
He moved to one of England's premier sporting schools on a scholarship when he was aged 12 - after prompting by Sir Donald Bradman, among others.
"When Arul was 11-plus, he was sponsored to go to Lord's for a winter coaching clinic for a month," recalls his father.
"The MCC head coach gave him a fantastic report, saying, for his age, he had never seen such a fantastic cricketer.
"Millfield School [a public school which set sportsmen like Gareth Edwards, Simon Jones and the Hollioake brothers on the path to stardom] saw that report.
"The headmaster contacted me and offered him an unconditional 80 per cent scholarship, up to O-Levels, with a review before A-Levels.
"Another sports association in Malaysia said they would take care of the 20 per cent balance, so we just had to ask Arul if he wanted to go.
"It was a very big decision to make because he was only 12, going to somewhere which is 12 hours away by air.
"The first six months were very problematic, adapting to the climate, the culture, the food. After that, somehow or other, he blended."
The doubts that nearly held Arul back were dispelled by Greg Chappell, who had befriended the Suppiahs in the lead-up to the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games cricket competition.
The former Australia captain, who had played as an overseas player for Somerset, was behind Bradman sending a letter to persuade Arul to take his chance at the school. Mr Suppiah still has it framed at his home in Kuala Lumpur.
"He was selected to go to India as part of England's under-19s side," added Suppiah Snr. Arul's tailored England blazer had already been made.
"Two days before they left, they found out he had a Malaysian passport and they said he couldn't go. He needs a British passport. Somerset are working on him getting British citizenship. He has gone for the interview and passed the exam."
Despite Arul's success, it is still his father Ramasamy who is known as Malaysia's "Mr Cricket".
Rarely has a nickname been harder won. The Australian batsman Mike Hussey goes by the same moniker, mainly due to his assiduousness at nets.
Suppiah Snr is far more complete. He is the sports officer at the Selangor Turf Club cricket ground, as well as the honorary secretary of the Malaysian Cricket Association. His other son is the national team captain, while his wife, Banu, does the scoring.
"My two boys were born during the time when I was very active playing sport," he adds.
"We are just average people. We had no servants, or anybody to take care of them. So whenever I went to play cricket on Sundays, the boys and their mother would follow me.
"They would throw the ball around, and at lunchtime they would take a bat and start playing.
"When they were 10 they were already playing social cricket for my club. That is how they picked up the game and their mother picked up scoring."
@Email:pradley@thenational,ae
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
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Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312
