M’sia gets first woman palm oil factory boss

NOR Azian Anuar became the first woman in Malaysia to be appointed as a manager for a factory processing palm oil, reported Berita Harian.

The Universiti Sains Malaysia chemistry engineering graduate was appointed by Sime Darby Plantations to manage the Tanah Merah Oil Palm factory since June 2016.

Men make up 90% of the 112 staff members.

Nor Azian, 36, said she joined the Guthrie Group Bhd before it merged with Sime Darby Bhd and Golden Hope Plantations Bhd in 2007.

> The daily also reported that busker Abot, known for her song Camar dan Kasihmu, said she was not ashamed of singing on the street.

Abot, 43, real name Narimah Mohamad, said busking gave her the space to express herself.

“Being a street singer teaches me to rein in my ego and keep positive even though sometimes our performance is ignored,” said Abot, who has been busking for five years.

Called The Chor Buskers, Abot and her husband Jax (Mohd Rafli Mohd Desa) have performed at Avenue K, Kenanga Wholesale City and Cheras Stadium.

Jax is also the guitarist for rock group FTG.

Abot was appointed as the icon busker by the Malaysian Buskers Club (MYBC) in 2012 together with Tam Spider.

MYBC has been trying to get permits for street performers to be recognised by the authorities.

> To protect themselves from men, women from the Apatani tribe in Arunachai Pradesh in India make themselves ugly by stuffing wooden objects into their nostrils and drawing tattoos on their faces, reported Harian Metro.

Traditional tales say that beautiful women were kidnapped from the village, and so they came up with the tactic to protect themselves.

However, the Indian government banned the practice in the 1970s.

Milling for positive change: Nor Azian states in Sime Darby Plantation’s website that having a woman in a position of authority shakes up the industry’s status quo, improving it in the process.