TUESDAY, 30 AUGUST – Various activities were held by various organisations in conjunction with the Independence Day 2016 celebrations.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Centre for Sustainable Minds (PML) once again successfully held the Independence Day celebration, which was participated by the children of PML, staff and the Parents Teachers Association (PTA).

The event officially opened by the Registrar of UMS, No’man Hj Ahmad, saw the ‘Jalur Gemilang’ and Sabah flag prominently flown with the chilren at PML singing patriotic songs.

In his speech, he praised PML in organising such programme that was deemed useful especially in fostering a sense of independence early in the children’s life.

“This not only cultivate in them a deep sense of patriotism, but also in creating a society that is loyal to the country and will appreciate the true meaning of freedom,” he said.

He added that the present generation also need to understand the concept of independence in a broader perspective that is not only free from being colonised but also free from any form of influence and negative elements.

“Being independent is meaningless if our thoughts are still being colonised.  We need to be independent from external influences, independent and free from negative influences,” he added.

At the event, the children at PML dressed according to the theme of independence.

Also held was an Educational Talk on Being Debt-free, presented by the Director of Putra & Associates, Etiqa Takaful Berhad, Haji Pangeran Putra Haji Pangeran Omar.

Also present were the Director of PML, Aidah Noordin, and Assistant Registrar cum Chairman of the Independence Day Celebrations 2015, Faddili Kasin. FF (fl)

TUESDAY, 30 AUGUST – The ‘10 km Merdeka Run to UMS Peak’ organised by the Welfare, Recreation and Community Engagement Committee (KARIB), Centre for the Promotion of Knowledge and Language (PPIB) held recently saw a healthy sign-up of 80 participants.

The event featured two categories namely Men and Women categories, with the chance to win prizes such as hampers, electrical goods and kitchen items for those participating.

According to the programme organiser, Veronica Petrus Atin, the run was aimed at reinforcing the appreciation of independence day among UMS community and others, at the same time promoting a healthy lifestyle in conjunction with the Merdeka month.

The event saw Kenson emerged as champion in the Men’s Category, winning the cash prize of RM200, a trophy and certificate, whilst the Women’s Category was won by Bibot Juma.

The second and third places were won by Romario and Jowey for the Men’s Category, whilst the Women’s Category was won by Awina Khamis and Shenny Liaw, respectively.

They each brought home cash prize of RM100, a trophy and certificate for the 1^st runner-ups, whilst the third prize winners received RM50 cash, a trophy and certificate.

The first 25 runners who completed the run in each category received a medal and a certificate, with each participant receiving a certificate and race packs containing UMS t-shirt, running card and drinks.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs and Alumni, Associate Professor Dr. Ismail Ali flagged-off the event, accompanied by the Dean of PPIB, Associate Professor Dr. Jualang Gansau @ Azlan Abdullah. – (fl)

Source: PPIB

MONDAY, 29 AUGUST – Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) new student admission increased to 4,579 for the 2016/2017 academic session, a slight increase from 4,481 compared to the previous session.

According to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Datuk Dr. Mohd Harun Abdullah,  47% were from Sabah.

“Out of this number, 2,107 students are from Sabah, while 52 percent are from Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak with 1,927 and 377 students respectively.

“The rest are international students totalling 168 from several countries including China, Brunei, Germany, South Africa, Indonesia, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Jordan, Korea, Vanuatu and Timor Leste,” he said.

He explained that the admission for international students increased by 30 persons compared to the previous record of 138.

“This increase is due to the active promotion internationally by the university through education fairs in attracting foreign students to study  in UMS.

“UMS also collaborates with external parties and other agents to promote and get more international students to come to UMS,” he said.

He added that a total of 13 special needs students (OKU) were also admitted to UMS besides 100 places reserved for students who were from the bottom 40% of household income (B40) through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) UMS.

“This CSR is an initiative of UMS in fulfilling its responsibilities to ensure that poor students could continue their studies to university level,” he said. – (fl)

MONDAY, 29 AUGUST – Borneo Marine Research Institute (IPMB) Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) once again made history in the field of research when scientists successfully produced seedlings of the mangrove crab (Scylla Tranquebarica) species.

IPMB Director, Professor Dr. Rossita Shapawi said, this successful production of crab seed was a very significant achievement in the aquaculture industry and fisheries resources as this effort allowed for the production of crab seedlings for commercial farming.

“Unlike most of the fish supply that is obtained from aquaculture, crab supplies depend on the wild habitat caught from natural environment.

“Thus, this finding is significant in the development of the aquaculture industry in Sabah.  In contrast to Peninsular Malaysia. S. tranquebarica is a dominant species in the state and will always be found sold in markets and seafood restaurant,” she said.

She was speaking at a press conference on the announcement of this success at the Shrimp Hatchery, IPMB UMS, recently.

She added that efforts in breeding of mangrove crabs in a cages started since 2012 and at the initial stages, the team faced some problems which included infections resulting in mass mortality among the large number of brood stock.

“With the research conducted by the research team at IPMB, we have identified the source of infection of the disease and established preventive measures and improved the brood stock and larval management.

“Since then, we have successfully improved the maturity of the brood stock in captivity through crab holding cage through various efforts such as the enhancement of brood stock nutrition, simulation of tidal activity and habitat creation that mimic their natural habitat in the mangrove areas.

She added that IPMB continued to have close collaboration with Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology on mangrove crab larval production to achieve better results and contribute to the local aquaculture industry and fishery resources. – (fl)