TUESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER – Almost a thousand students joined in to celebrate Hari Raya Aidiladha held at the Student Residential College, Kolej E, recently.

According to the Deputy Head of Kolej E, Mohd Hilmey Saili, the event was organised by Nur Eman Club and the Exco of Personal and Human Capital Development of the Student Welfare Committee (JAKMAS) of the college.

“Besides helping themselves to the various food prepared, the celebration also had Lafaz Takbir Raya, a video presentation and Raya songs sung by the students.

“The event, which started from 8.00 am until 10.00 pm was also participated by students of Residential College Tun Mustapha and Residential College Tun Fuad,” he said in a statement today.

Mohd. Hilmey said the programme aimed to celebrate the occasion among residents of Kolej E who were not able to return to their hometowns to celebrate Hari Raya Aidiladha with their respective families.

“Programmes such as this would also be able to foster closer relationship amongst the college administrators and students especially those staying at Kolej E, UMS,” he further added.

The event was also attended by Fellows, JAKMAS, Council of Block Leaders (MKKB) and Council of Club Heads (MKKK) of Student Residential College, Kolej E. – (fl)

FRIDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER – Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Professor Datuk Dr. Mohd Harun Abdullah said the three-way cooperation is the best option at international level, to ensure sustainable development and ecosystem conservation management are integrated among developing countries.

He said, the move would be achieved through the Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) Sabah that is entering its third year this year.

“Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ITBC) as a training institution will coordinate TCTP activities with the state’s Natural Resources Office (NRO).

“The coordination of activities by NRO has the support of various agencies including Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Parks (TTS) and the Sabah Biodiversity Centre (SaBC).

“This training programme will also be put under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) which is currently under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia,” he said at the launching of the Sabah TCTP 2016 themed “Integrated Training Course and Ecosystem Conservation Training”, yesterday.

Datuk Harun said, MTCP and the Japanese Government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will jointly finance the training programme.

“TCTP participants this year comes from India, Uganda, Botswana, South Africa, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand,” he said.

He hoped that the collaboration would continue to exist among the organisations involved, thus making Sabah a model of excellence for conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems nationally, regionally and worldwide. – (fl)

FRIDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER – Pusat Minda Lestari (PML) Daycare Programme in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Library recently organised a colouring competition in conjunction with the Merdeka month.

Held at the Children’s Collection Room, UMS Library, the competition among others aimed at instilling patriotism amongst PML Daycare children.

The competition was divided into three categories; 4, 5 and 6 years old.

For the 6 year old category, the first prize was won by Ahmad Nadzhan Adzraei Hasmadi, whilst Nurul Hannan Dammed and Mohd Fauzan Harith finished second and third, respectively.

For 5 year old category, Nurul Junainah Muhammad Naseef emerged champion, whilst the second and third spots were each won by Nurul Safiyyah Zahira Mayga and Aryan Hasif Lai Latif Lai.

Irsyad Ruzaini bin Rahmat was the winner in the 4 year old category, whilst the second and third placing were won by Amanda Allisha Mohd Hilmey and Aisyah Humaira Mustapha, respectively.

Such competitions were often organised at PML to provide opportunities for socio-emotional development of the children whilst further developing their cognitive and fine motor skills.

Source: Sustainable Minds Centre, UMS

THURSDAY, 08 SEPTEMBER – A total of 100 participants comprising locals and foreigners participated in the 7^th International Borneo Business Conference (IBBC) that started yesterday.

Held at Dewan Bankuasi (Banquet Hall), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), the conference was organised by the Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy (FPEP), UMS.

The ceremony was officiated by Dean of FPEP, Associate Professor Dr. Raman Noordin.

In his speech, he welcomed all participants and hoped that the conference would offer useful input and output through the sharing of knowledge and presentations.

He also expressed his gratitude to the three panellists who deliberated on the subject, “Business Opportunities in a Challenging Environment”.

They were the Chief Executive of Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA); Chief Executive Officer of Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Sabah, Datuk Mohd Hasnol Mohd Datuk Ayub, and a Professor with FPEP, Professor Dr. Syed Azizi Wafa Syed Khaled Wafa.

The two-day conference ends today. – (fl)