I,Malaysian!

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) has been around Malaysia for only 6 years, yet it has gained a reputation from many people all over the nation as a university of diverse courses with attractive lower fees compared to other universities in the Country.

The establishment of UTAR began after KTAR was built in Setapak by The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) on 15 September 1952. Today, KTAR has an enrollment of about 33,000 students taking 110 courses on that 191-acre piece of land.

On 5 July 2001, MCA was invited by the Minister of Education, YB Tan Sri Musa Muhammad to establish UTAR. A steering committee, chaired by YABhg Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik was formed to draw out the blueprint. A working committee led by YABhg Tan Sri Dr Ng Lay Swee, who was then the principal of KTAR, prepared working papers for the formation of UTAR. After months of meetings, deliberations and research, a framework emerged.

UTAR would comprise the following:

1. Faculty of Accountancy and Management
2. Faculty of Arts and Social Science
3. Faculty of Information & Communication Technology
4. Faculty of Engineering and Science
5. Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
6. Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research
7. Centre for Extension Education

on 13 August 2002, UTAR was officially launced.

Today, the campus can be found in three places. Asia Jaya campus with two faculties which are Faculty of Arts and Social Science, and Faculty of Information & Communication Technology; Setapak campus with Faculty of Engineering and Science and Faculty of Medicine and Health Science; and Bandar Sungai Long campus with Faculty of Accountacy Management.

Why is UTAR so great? Because I,Malaysian! team are all from there. We are all from the Faculty of Accountacy Management in the Bandar Sungai Long campus studying different degrees relating to business studies. UTAR is now packed with many students. In our faculty alone, there are about 6000 students! Just in one faculty! Imagine that...

A new campus of UTAR has been constructed in Kampar, Perak. June has marked a historical event for UTAR as the new campus is now being opened to students to carry on with their varied studies. Kampar will become the main campus of UTAR in a few years to come, disowning other present campuses in Setapak, PJ, and Sungai Long to accommodate the campus with every faculty, every course they provide and every single fellow student.

We are proud of UTAR. Malaysia is proud of UTAR.

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Photos by: UTAR

I came across this cute news from The Star. Our prime minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi visited the Permata National Childcare Centre in Kepala Batas yesterday. He made this confession to drive home the point that naughty children will grow up to be useful citizens if they are loved and cared for in their childhood. He even confessed that he was a naughty child when he was a kid.

Let us correct them with love and care and not by yelling at them,” he advised parents when opening the Permata National Childcare Centre at Taman Seri Menerong here yesterday. He also said that parents should set a good example at home. Young children are usually a little adventurous and mischevious -- but it's a crucial part for them, especially when they are still undergoing the growth process. It is during that period where they start to develop their character and learn and absorb things fast, that's why parents shouldn't quarrel and yell at their children for no serious reasons as it will only pose as a stumbling block in their formative years.

“I am confident the Permata project will add value to the existing pre-school teaching efforts,” he said of the project, which is under the Prime Minister’s Department. Adapted from a curriculum used by the Pen Green Centre in Corby, Britain, it emphasises play activities, speech, exploration and creativity as the route to childcare.

Permata (which means “gem” in Malay) was introduced in March and offers an alternative approach in childcare and early childhood education for children below five years old. Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, the working committee chairman of the Every Child is a Gem of the Nation project, said it has been allocated RM20mil under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. Adapted from a curriculum used by the Pen Green Centre in Corby, Britain, it emphasises play activities, speech, exploration and creativity as the route to childcare.

Let's hope for the day the younger generation now rules this country with successfully dignity and pride.

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It's amazing what these people can do to earn money. They play around with mega markets and then earn mega bucks! These 10 richest figureheads are worth a few billion ringgit (yes, RM1,000,000,000+). They are included in the list of Malaysia's Billionaires Club 2007 and here are them:

1. Robert Kuok Hock Nien:
Kuok started off his sweet story in 1949 when setting up Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd to manage rice and sugar trading together with his brothers. His business soon escalated and has since been the creation of one of Asia's largest business empires. His staggering wealth extends from fast-growing plantation and timber companies (PPB Oil Palms), real estate properties (Kerry Properties), flourishing shipping and air transport services (Transmile and Malaysian Bulk Carriers), hotel business (Shangri-La Asia), together with his other sugar, trading, and media companies. He has been residing in Hong Kong since the 70s till today.
(Current Wealth: 31.504 billion)

2. Ananda Krishnan:
If you can't live without your daily dose of MTVs and live football matches, this is the person you should thank for. Because as low key as he is successful, Ananda Krishnan is the name behind Astro All-Asia Networks plc, Measat Global Bhd (satellite systems) and also Maxis Communications Bhd. The Petronas Twin Towers we see today were also one of his projects when he teamed with Petroliam Nasional Bhd to develop our pride and glory of Malaysia.
(Current Wealth: 19.044 billion)

3. Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay:
Son of Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, need I introduce more? Since rising to be the successor of his father in 2004, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay brought new visions to Genting Group as he seeks to diversify the business into interesting new areas. Just last year, he has successfully snagged the winning bid of a S$5.2bil casino/integrated resort in Singapore's Sentosa Island. Besides the gaming sector, Genting Group is also involved in oil & gas and power business.
(Current Wealth: 13.905 billion)

4. Tan Sri Datuk Lee Shin Chen:
Lee, known for being a tough businessman and a boss, is the executive chairman of IOI Corp Bhd. Having invariable interest in oil palm, he is recognised as the palm oil tycoon, and is setting far sights to make IOI Corp the world's largest oleochemical producer via Pan Century Group. Lee also has thriving Puchong township to offer, under the name of IOI Properties, which is easily one of Malaysia's top developers.
(Current Wealth: 9.199 billion)

5. Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan:
Being the second generation of Kweks, he is currently the head of Hong Leong Group. This ambitious entrepreneur has stretched his business into sectors from banking to construction/property and now even hotels and gaming. One of Quek's strengths lies in is his ability to purchase low, subsequently shaping the particular company before selling it off for a grand profit. Quek is also gradually positioning himself as the world's biggest high rollers and a top player in British gaming scenes.
(Current Wealth: 7.419 billion)

6. Tan Sri Datuk Teh Hong Piow:
His journey of success begun only as a bank officer at Singapore's Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd in 1950. Come the mid-1960s, he established Public Bank and that's when everything fell into place. As one of the leading financial institutions in Malaysia, Public Bank appeals to consumers as a safe bet for investment with confident returns.
(Current Wealth: 7.150 billion)

7. Tan Sri Francis Yeoh:
When one hears about YTL Corp Bhd, they are likely to mentally associate it with Bukit Bintang. About 6 years ago, YTL Group took over JW Marriot Hotel, Starhill & Lot 10, subsequently introduced Bintang Walk. Little does one know that YTL empire grew from construction business way back in 1955. Francis Yeoh, eldest son of Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay stepped into his father's shoes at a tender age of 24 in 1978 to manage YTL Corp, and is now a prominent person behind this group. The newest proposed plan on site is to build a US$3billion bullet train project linking KL to Singapore.
(Current Wealth: 6.141 billion)

8. Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary:
This man here prefers to stay in the background, shying away from public eyes. With the title of "reclusive tycoon", he has only partially surfaced but has equity in at least 13 publicly traded company. His flagship company being MMC Corp Bhd, is an investment holding company dealing with transport & logistics, energy & utilities and engineering & construction.
(Current Wealth: 4.180 billion)

9. Tan Sri Datuk Azman Hashim:
Credits go to him for his effort in making finance industry's first local bank (AmBank) to tie up with a foreign partner ANZ Banking Group. As the Executive Chairman of AmCorp Group Bhd, Tan Sri Datuk Azman Hashim intends to bring AmBank Group (subsidiary of AmCorp) to greater heights following the sale to ANZ.
(Current Wealth: 2.440 billion)

10. Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King:
Tiong is the classic example of rags to riches story where hard work and preseverance remained as drivers to wealth. Besides owning publicly traded timber and plantation companies, he is also the media mogul with Sin Chew Media, Nanyang Press and Ming Pao Enterprise under his belt. And if that wasn't enough, he has newspapers circulating in other regions including Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, and newspapers/magazines in Hong Kong, Canada and New York through Ming Pao. That's a long way to go for one who spent most of his teenage years tapping rubber.
(Current Wealth: 2.285 billion)

So there you go, the 10 richest people in Malaysia. Study hard, work smart, and you may be the next in the list. Who knows?

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Taken from The Star, 11/5/2007 (Fri)

There is no need for Muslims to be over concerned with the cutlery used in non-Muslim homes, says Perlis Mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin. He said as long as the food served was halal, there shouldn't be any worries consuming it, adding that some Muslims in Malaysia were known to have reservations using cups, plates and other utensils in non-Muslim homes.

These Muslims fear that the utensils used in non-Muslim homes could be stained with non-halal substances. But after some researches, it is founded that these are just "unseen worries" as no such substances were found in the researches.

Let's think of it this way. How are Malaysians going to unite together to form a friendly pot of mixed culture and races if Muslims are afraid of visiting non-muslim homes?

Dr Asri expressed his disappointment with the prevalence of the misconception, which he described as “rubbish”.

“I am disappointed with such interpretations of Islam. The religion urges us to think; it heightens our intelligence. But these opinions only make a person less than intelligent .”

He also said Islam viewed acts that promoted good-neighbourliness and the strengthening of social bonds with non-Muslims as a positive thing.

“For Muslims, there is religious merit in doing good to both other Muslims and non-Muslims. This is a humanitarian issue and concerns the values of a civilised religion,” he said.

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Extracted from The Star 4/5/2007 (Friday)

Members of the public have been warned to be wary of being cheated by certain irresponsible individuals selling portraits of the recently-installed Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Permaisuri Agong.

The official portraits of Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Tuanku Nur Zahirah can only be produced, printed and released by the Information Department and they can actually be obtained for free from state and district Information Department offices and public information centres.

Information director-general Datuk Abdullah Morad said some irresponsible parties had used super imposed techniques to produce and sell one set of King’s and Queen’s portraits for RM90 each through orders at certain bookstores in March before the installation of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“The individuals had superimposed the faces of Tuanku Mizan and Tuanku Nur Zahirah with the portraits of the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Permaisuri Agong before the installation of Tuanku Mizan. As a result, the medals on the royal attire do not match those of current Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” he told a press conference on the distribution of the official portraits here on Friday.

“This is an offence but the problem is some government agencies have bought the portraits before the installation.”

Abdullah said the department warned the irresponsible parties several times and even lodged a police report on the matter and another report to the Prime Minister’s Department's protocol division. He advised the public to report to the nearest district Information Department offices, if they come across cases of people selling the portraits.

Abdullah said the department had printed 500,000 sets of portraits of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong. “If not adequate, we will print some more,” he added.

He urged public and private agencies and organisations to get the portraits and display them on the walls of their offices as a symbol of loyalty to the King and the country, which is one of the tenets of the Rukunegara.

Trully, why would anyone want to do that? Don't Malaysian citizens have respect for the rulers of our country anymore? Although nowadays mostly everything is controlled by our Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, the symbol of the King and Queen should also be honoured and respected as remembrance of the heroes that fought for Malaysia long ago. Let's protect their status and honour them with all our hearts, Malaysians!

After the floods hit Johor Bahru twice. Now Malaysia is facing a possible drought with the expected prolonged hot and dry weather. The country is on high alert for peat and bush fire. Department of Environment (DOE) has also warned the public to start conserving water.


After the floods hit Johor Bahru twice. Now Malaysia is facing a possible drought with the expected prolonged hot and dry weather. The country is on high alert for peat and bush fire. Department of Environment (DOE) has also warned the public to start conserving water.

Two areas in Pahang, Muadzam and Tebu Hitam and 1 area in Selangor, Batang Berjuntai are identified as potential red spot. Country’s dams had enough water to last three months if there will be no rain at all. According to a Meteorological Department Spokesman, the hot weather will persist until next month.

As a Malaysian, we request every Malaysian try to save water. Don’t waste! Instead of waiting the country’s dams running out of water, situation becoming really bad, omly the people react to save water.

Day in day out, issues of our "be-loved" country became topic on the coffee table. How exactly wonderful is our country, as said by some foreigners, or how ugly can Malaysian's behave? This year, has been made Visit Malaysia year, and of course we would be expecting an energetic bunch of travellers. Nevermind the unethical cabbies, Malaysian actually rated the top few friendly people!

I, the truly fully Malaysian, would of course be in line with my group of team to share what Malaysian is.....wanna know more

Wait till then...........