Compiled by JUNAID IBRAHIM and C. ARUNO

       MALAYSIAN film director Chong Keat Aun, who won Best New Director at last year’s Golden Horse Awards, has been picked to serve as one of its judges, reports Sin Chew Daily.

       Chong, who had just finished promoting his film Story of Southern Islet at the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain, is observing a 14-day quarantine in Taiwan to attend the 58th Golden Horse Awards ceremony on Nov 27.

       The Kedahan wrote that he was invited to serve as one of the judges by Ang Lee, the award’s chairman and fellow film director, but hesitated at the thought of having to undergo quarantine for two weeks.

       However, he decided to grab the opportunity to serve on the same team as Lee before he steps down as chairman.

       “With the usual four-year tenure, this could be Ang Lee’s last term as chairman. “So how can I miss this opportunity to learn from my senior? It’s better to endure (the pain of) quarantine once more,” he wrote online.

       Chong explained that he underwent quarantine for a total of 56 days in the last year.

       Story of Southern Islet tells of a woman’s quest to find a cure for her husband who is thought to have been cursed by black magic, and was inspired by Chong’s experiences.

       The film had won two other awards in China’s 12th Youth Film Manual Annual Ceremony and bagged the International Federation of Film Critics Prize at the 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival.

       > Chinese singer Li Ronghao’s attempt at covering legendary Hong Kong rock band Beyond’s Cantonese tune Lover has been met with much scorn and criticism online, reports Sin Chew Daily.

       Fans of Beyond criticised how Li attempted to lengthen the song to seven minutes by adding a three-minute guitar solo and how he could not get the correct pronunciation for several wordse.

       Some wrote that his cover was emotionless, unlike the original sung by Beyond’s late frontman Wong Ka Kui.

       “Please could you stay away from Beyond,” a fan wrote.

       The band disbanded in 2005.

       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.