Compiled by C. ARUNO, PANG SHIANG YIH and R. ARAVINTHAN

       THE popular cartoon characters, Upin & Ipin, inadvertently became orphans during their debut due to a tight deadline, Utusan Malaysia reported.

       “At that time, the show was only five minutes long. It was shown on TV9 during Ramadan in 2007, and the Hari Raya Puasa show had to be completed in a hurry.

       “Due to the limited time, the parents of Upin & Ipin could not be included,” said Burhanuddin Md Radzi.

       Burhanuddin is the founder and managing director of Les Copaque Production Sdn Bhd.

       According to the company’s website, the content for Upin & Ipin is co-written and supervised by Burhanuddin and his wife.

       The animated series has been on the air for more than 13 years. It is now into its 525th episode.

       Burhanuddin acknowledged that Upin & Ipin were not meant to be orphans.

       “The circumstances made it impossible for their parents’ characters to be ready.

       “So, as an alternative, the next episode started with a visit to the graves of the twins’ parents,” he said.

       The first season of the show received overwhelming response.

       It won the Best Animation category at the Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival in 2007.

       > A 30-year-old widow, who earns a living as a cooking gas delivery person in Terengganu, has won admiration for her strength in handling the cylinders, Kosmo! reported.

       “Due to a lack of workers, I started delivering up to 100 cooking gas cylinders to houses around Bandar Chukai and Bukit Kuang here since last year,” said Nur Khairunnisa Abdullah, 30.

       Nicknamed Mek Gas by the locals, she said that she was used to doing heavy work.

       “Apart from driving a lorry, forklift and lifting cooking gas cylinders, I used to work as a house builder and tile layer, ” she said, adding that she also has a licence to operate heavy machinery.

       A mother of two daughters aged six and nine, Nur Khairunnisa’s husband died of lung cancer three years ago.

       The family currently lives with her 74-year-old mother-in-law.

       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.