Jumlah paparan: 4668

LABUAN: Ekonomi Labuan yang terjejas teruk dek penangan Covid-19 pada 2020, dijangka berdepan jalan sukar untuk pulih semula pada 2021, kata pensyarah kanan Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Dr Romzi Ationg.

Beliau berkata penularan wabak Covid-19 di pulau bebas cukai itu yang juga sebuah Wilayah Persekutuan seperti Putrajaya dan Kuala Lumpur, ibarat “menabur garam pada luka” - memburukkan lagi keadaan sepanjang 2020. 

Bagaimanapun, masih ada harapan untuk menangani impak pandemik itu sekiranya perubahan fundamental dilakukan ke atas kedua-dua aspek iaitu dasar dan juga kaedah operasi perniagaan, katanya kepada Bernama. 

“Terdapat keperluan untuk kerajaan persekutuan melaksanakan perubahan fundamental dalam menguruskan Labuan.

“Amnya dipersetujui, perubahan itu termasuk memisahkan hubungan kerajaan dan perniagaan serta institusi kewangan,” katanya. 

Romzi berkata pandemik itu memberikan cabaran besar kepada pembuat dasar serta mempunyai kesan langsung dan tidak langsung terhadap ekonomi global yang saling berkait.

“Labuan yang merupakan pusat perniagaan dan kewangan antarabangsa Malaysia dan menyumbang ratusan juta (ringgit) cukai kepada kerajaan, turut menerima kesannya,” kata beliau.

Jelasnya dari segi penawaran, jangkitan Covid-19 mengurangkan bekalan tenaga kerja dan produktiviti, sementara kawalan pergerakan pula mengakibatkan penutupan perniagaan dan gangguan bekalan.

“Dari segi permintaan pula, berlaku pemberhentian pekerja serta kehilangan pendapatan (ekoran dijangkiti wabak, kuarantin dan pengangguran) dan prospek ekonomi yang malap mengurangkan penggunaan isi rumah serta pelaburan oleh syarikat,” katanya.

Beliau berpendapat ketidaktentuan tentang laluan, tempoh, magnitud serta impak pandemik itu boleh menyebabkan satu kitaran yang menjejaskan keyakinan perniagaan dan pengguna selain mengetatkan syarat-syarat pembiayaan, sekali gus mengakibatkan kehilangan pekerjaan dan pelaburan.  

Katanya antara cabaran utama kajian bagi sebarang analisis ekonomi empirikal tentang Covid-19 ialah bagaimana hendak mengenal pasti kesan tidak linear pandemik dan limpahannya yang merentasi negara serta mengukur ketidaktentuan unjuran yang dibuat memandangkan pandemik itu tidak pernah terjadi sebelum ini. 

Beliau berkata yang pasti ekonomi Labuan telah mendepani laluan sukar sebelum kedatangan virus maut itu pada awal 2020. 

Pada 29 April 2019, beberapa dewan perniagaan Labuan menyerahkan memorandum kepada Kementerian Wilayah Persekutuan dengan senarai 15 isu ekonomi yang dikatakan ‘sine qua non’, iaitu elemen atau syarat penting untuk pemulihan ekonomi. 

Pandemik itu hanya memburukkan lagi keadaan.

Bernama sebelum ini melaporkan sekurang-kurangnya 29 pusat hiburan dan pusat sukan, termasuk pusat karaoke di pulau ini, berisiko ditutup setelah pemiliknya mengalami kerugian kira-kira RM6 juta sejak Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan bermula 18 Mac lepas. 

Kerugian tersebut menimbulkan kebimbangan mengenai masa depan industri hiburan tempatan.

Prof Madya Dr Geoffrey H. Tanakinjal daripada UMS Kampus Antarabangsa Labuan (UMSKAL) berkata berdasarkan data Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia, Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) Labuan berjumlah RM7.6 bilion pada 2019.

Peneraju utama ekonomi ialah industri perkhidmatan dengan sumbangan RM5.9 bilion (2018: RM5.5 bilion), diikuti perkilangan (RM1.4 bilion), pembinaan (RM177.2 juta) dan pertanian ( RM133.3 juta), kesemuanya melaporkan peningkatan nilai.

Situasi itu berubah pada 2020 ekoran wabak yang menghentikan aktiviti ekonomi global, kata Geoffrey, seorang pensyarah kanan di Fakulti Kewangan Antarabangsa.

“Disebabkan keperluan untuk kekal berada di dalam rumah, kehilangan pekerjaan tidak dapat dielakkan. Walaupun dilaksanakan kaedah bekerja dari rumah, hakikat bahawa syarikat tidak dapat membiasakan amalan menutup ‘pintu’ premis perniagaan mereka pada waktu perniagaan tidak berubah.

“Labuan juga bergantung pada orang luar untuk memacu kedudukannya sebagai pulau bebas cukai. 

“Pendidikan adalah segmen yang signifikan,” katanya.

Memberi contoh UMSKAL, beliau berkata institusi itu berkapasiti 1,900 pelajar selain 2,100 penuntut matrikulasi dan 500 pelajar masing-masing di Kolej Vokasional Labuan serta Institut Latihan Perindustrian, keseluruhannya ada sekitar 5,000 pelajar dari luar Labuan berbelanja di pulau itu. 

Kesan perbelanjaan pelajar terbabit terhadap persekitaran ekonomi Labuan adalah besar kerana melibatkan perbelanjaan langsung kepada premis perniagaan kecil.

“Bayangkan jika seorang pelajar berbelanja RM100 sebulan, keseluruhan perbelanjaan secara berkumpulan ialah RM500,000 sebulan atau RM6 juta setahun,” kata Geoffrey.

Sumber: https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/164013/perubahan-fundamental-perlu-pulih-ekonomi-labuan-pakar/ 

Jumlah paparan: 7134

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

KOTA KINABALU: Professor Dr Felix Tongkul, probably Sabah’s most well-known geologist, clocked out to his retirement as Director of Natural Disaster Research Centre at the Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, University Malaysia Sabah (UMS), yesterday (Wednesday). 

Asked what he considered was the greatest geological event in his career, he said:  

“Mapping the geology of Maliau Basin was one of the toughest and satisfying work I did. It was the toughest because of its remoteness.”

“We had to spend several weeks walking along the unchartered Maliau River and its tributaries to map the rock units and location of the waterfalls. We had to climb numerous waterfalls to continue upstream,” he recalled.  

The answer was quite a surprise because Daily Express expected him to cite the strong 5.9 Richter-Scale quake on June 5, 2015 which killed 18 people on Mt Kinabalu. 

Didn’t that strongest quake ever recorded in Malaysia shock him? 

“Not really. I expected something like that would happen,” he said.

Asked why he had expected something like that to happen, Tongkul added: 

“This is expected based on the return period of earthquake in the Ranau area, which is approximately 25 years for earthquake with magnitude above 5. Previous recorded earthquakes were in 1991 and 1996, although the 2015 earthquake was much larger than I expected.”

Asked what he thinks is Sabah’s greatest geological masterpiece and why, he said:

“The location of Sabah right at the juncture of three tectonic plates - the Eurasia, Philippines and the Australia plates - colliding with each other since 100 million years ago produced the magnificent geology of Sabah, where we have uplifted ancient oceanic crust, such as Mt Tambuyukon  and Mt Tavai in Telupid, uplifted deep water sediments, such as the Crocker and Trusmadi Ranges, uplifted shallow water sediments, such as Maliau Basin, the volcanoes, such as those in Tawau Hills and magma intrusion such as the Mount Kinabalu granite.”

 

Source: https://www.subscriber-dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?id=163921

Jumlah paparan: 4249

 
 
 
 
 

 

KOTA KINABALU: In the midst of shifting from conventional learning method to online learning, more conferences have moved to online platforms devoid of the hustle and bustle of physical attendance.

Two Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) postgraduate students from the Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy (FBEA) have proven that online presentation is not an obstacle for them to win and shine at international competitions.

Ng Yen Phin, a Ph.D candidate won the Best Presenter Award for the 3MT – 3 Minute Thesis Competition at the International Postgraduate Symposium in Tourism and Hospitality (IPSTH 2020), an international competition jointly organized by National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism (NKUHT), Taiwan and UCSI University, Malaysia.

Ng, who hailed from Lahad Datu, shared the content of her manuscript titled “The Meaning of Work for Tourist Guides” in three minutes using one PowerPoint slide, won the heart of the international panel of judges consisting of industry experts and academia from a total of 25 Ph.D students across Asia

Ng thanked her supervisors, Dr Balvinder Kauer Kler and Dr Oscar Dousin from FBEA for their guidance on script preparation and presentation practices over Google Meet.

Zhang Ke, an international student from China also won the Best Paper Award at the 1st Asian Tourism Research Conference, jointly organized by Mahatma Gandhi University, India and Sunway University, Malaysia.

Zhang, who is also a lecturer attached to Neijiang Normal University, China, is currently pursuing his doctorate degree in UMS. He presented a paper titled “Sunset, Seafood & Sea-gypsies in Malaysian Borneo: An Alternative Destination Image for China Tourists” during the conference via Webex platform.
Zhang co-authored the paper with his supervisor, Dr Balvinder received recognition from a total of 45 full papers presented at the three-day conference.

Being the supervisor for both students, Dr Balvinder expressed her joy on her students’ achievements.
The ceremony which is held through online platform was such a different experience to her.

“When the awards were announced, I was nowhere near my students and could only smile back at the screen,” she commented.

“Although the experience of celebrating was not the same, the key point is that we won, in which is a great end to 2020”, she added.

“Reading, for a Ph.D candidate, can be a lonely journey. So conference attendance is important in building confidence and motivation,” she said while informing her plan to celebrate the victories with her students once life is back to normal.

FBEA Dean, Prof Datuk Dr Kasim Hj Md Mansur was also pleased with the students’ achievements.
Kasim believed that the quality of postgraduate supervision at UMS will continue to thrive during the new normal.

Source: https://www.theborneopost.com/2020/12/30/ums-ph-d-students-shine-at-international-conferences/

Jumlah paparan: 3866

 
 
 

KOTA KINABALU: Some 4,639 Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) students graduated virtually through the university’s 22nd Convocation declaration, which was streamed live online on the UMS Facebook page and official website.

The declaration, which was made by Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin (pic) as UMS Chancellor, will enable the 2020 UMS graduates to receive their physical scrolls next year. 

“I would like to record my highest congratulations to the 4,639 graduates who will receive a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Master’s Degree, Doctor of Medicine, Bachelor’s Degree and Diploma,” he said in his speech during the virtual declaration, here, Wednesday. 

Juhar hoped the new graduates would utilise the knowledge gained during their studies to the best of their abilities.  

“Maybe the field you studied in university will not be the same as what you will face in the workforce later on. 

“Therefore, you must be flexible, be open to continuous learning so that you can become a more creative and innovative person, with integrity and committed to whatever field you pursue. 

“God willing, if all these things are always embedded in the heart, the graduates can face any obstacles in the increasingly competitive workforce and challenging economic environment,” he said. 

Meanwhile, UMS Vice Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Taufiq Yap Yun Hid was reported on Monday as saying that a physical convocation ceremony is proposed to be held in March next year for the graduates. 

The university, in a question and answer statement on its Facebook page, Wednesday, said however, it would be subject to how the Covid-19 situation develops. 

It added that the graduates’ scrolls and academic transcripts will be distributed via post next year on Jan 11 and physically on Jan 18. Physical distribution will be subject to the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMC0).

 

Source: https://www.subscriber-dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?id=163920

Jumlah paparan: 5077

 
 
 
 
 
 

KOTA KINABALU: Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s (UMS), Jacqueline Joseph, was recognised as the Best Participant in the “Department of Resource and Environment Economics (ESL) International Summer Course: Reducing Carbon Footprints from Individual to Global Actions” organised by Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) University, Indonesia, recently. 

The PhD student of Forestry at UMS’ Faculty of Science and Natural Resources beat 370 other participants from 70 international universities and received prizes in the form of money and certificate of participation.

“At first I just wanted to expand the network of cooperation with foreign researchers and participate proactively in assignments and partnerships with academicians from abroad.

“I feel overwhelmed and did not expect to be selected as the Best Participant apart from getting second place in the Learning Journal which was screened and selected by a panel from Indonesia and Australia,” said Joseph, here, Thursday.

She said the competition was held online using the Zoom application.

It is an international discussion platform involving academicians and students in global climate change mitigation and the implications of carbon emissions.

On what she feels about the success, the Tenom native woman said she was very happy to be able to make UMS famous internationally.

“I also hope UMS students do not miss the opportunity to participate in such programmes because it is one of the stepping stones for them to expand collaboration with academicians and students from abroad.

“Indirectly, it also dignifies the name of UMS in the eyes of the world through the involvement and contribution of the students themselves,” she said.

The competition in the form of a course from Nov 20 to Dec 5 involved participation from various countries including Australia, Russia, China, Brazil, Tanzania, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Nepal, Haiti, Indonesian and Myanmar.

 

Source: https://www.subscriber-dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?id=163070

(12 December 2020)

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  4. Geologist Warns Strong Earthquake to Strike Lahad Datu in 'near future'

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