Tag: Universiti Teknologi MARA

The Covid-19 outbreak is a 21st-century global crisis for humankind that has led to catastrophic outcomes across the globe. The situation has caused governments worldwide to take on mitigation measures and strategies to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 calamity, the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia (UiTM), organized an outstanding virtual international discourse on “Policy Response to COVID-19 Pandemic: Malaysia & Indonesia experiences”. The program was organized by the Policy Analysis of Executive Master’s in Administrative Science students, led by Muhammad Syahzami bin Badd Saibi, and attended by more than 500 participants comprising UiTM students, academic staff, and members of the public via the Microsoft Teams virtual platform.

This program served two main objectives; to provide exposure to students on both Malaysia and Indonesia governments’ mitigation measures in dealing with the issues and challenges brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic and to compare both countries’ policy strategies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event was honoured to receive four distinguished guest speakers to share their experience and wisdom on the issue. The guest speakers consisted of academics and a high-level public officer from Malaysia. They were asked to share their views and experiences on how both governments are managing the ongoing crisis. A notable Professor in Political Science from Airlangga University, Indonesia, Professor Dr Kacung Marijan, also shared his views on the Indonesian government’s COVID-19 pragmatic policy approach in combatting the outbreak. The event was also made more special with the appearance of National University Malaysia’s Associate Prof. Dr Kartini Aboo Talib@ Khalid, the Deputy Director of Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), and Mr Abdul Halim bin Abdul Aziz; the Deputy General (Policy) of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), Prime Minister Office, Putrajaya. Also present was Associate Professor Dr Nor Hafizah Mohamed Harith, from the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. The session was moderated by Associate Professor Dr Azizan Zainuddin, also from the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.

The intellectual discussion focused on the ongoing policy implementation by the Malaysian and Indonesian governments to curb the COVID-19 transmission. Speaking from the lens of academics, the panelists from Airlangga University, National University Malaysia and UiTM drew attention to both governments’ proactive and pragmatic roles in managing the COVID-19 crisis. Interestingly, the main highlight of the webinar was the presentation by the Deputy Director of EPU, Malaysia, on the recent Malaysian Economic Strategic Action plan formulated to cushion the impact of the pandemic. The session was concluded with a question & answer session between the panelist and the audience of the virtual webinar. The webinar was impactful and provided knowledge to the UiTM students and members of the public on the importance of policy response to break the chain of COVID-19.

Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences (FSKM), Universiti Teknologi MARA recently organised an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Final Year Project (FYP) Award on the 9th and 10th of August 2021. The event was sponsored by IEEE Computer Society Malaysia Chapter and National Autism Research Centre (NARC), Universiti Teknologi MARA. Ten (10) Final Year Projects were shortlisted from a total of 405 projects produced by final year students from six different computing programs. The ten finalists were subjected to rigorous rounds of screening and they showcased their projects via a video presentation (available on Youtube) and pitched their ideas to a panel of judges from IEEE Computer Society Malaysia Chapter and FSKM.

Professor Ts. Dr Shukor Abd Razak, the Director of Research Management Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Ts Dr Fakhrul Hazman b Yusoff from UiTM represented IEEE Computer Society Malaysia Chapter. FSKM on the other hand were represented by Professor Dr Nursuriati Jamil, Chairman National Autism Research Centre Universiti Teknologi MARA (also serving as Chief Judge) and Associate Professor Dr Fariza Hanis Abd Razak.

Mohd Zharfan Norzamri received the Grand Award with his project SCABTRE: Supermarket Checkout Apps With Budget Tracker & Recommender Using Content-Based Filtering. Zharfan proposed a self-service technology with convenient checkouts and payment process equipped with budget tracker and options for comparable products. Students’ projects were timely, relevant to current technology and highly diverse, as the projects encompassed problems which involved E-voting system, quarantine monitoring, road safety, upcycling management, environmental awareness, shopping process, and depression assessment. The solutions proposed may contribute towards achieving good health and well being which is Goal 3 of the SDG.

The competition provided a platform to showcase students’ achievements, develop high-level technical skills as well as to develop research interest among students. Importantly, the competition environment promotes the opportunity to produce work of a quality well beyond their qualification level besides developing their confidence skills which are useful for their future careers. Additionally, it serves as a cornerstone to further strengthen the linkages between IEEE Computer Society Malaysia Chapter and FSKM.

On 19th of June 2021, the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies (FSPPP), Universiti Teknologi MARA, students from the Bachelor of Administrative Science (Hons) program, and the Pejabat Undang Luak Rembau and Lembaga Muzium Negeri Sembilan co-organized an International Seminar titled “Adat Perpatih Knowledge Sharing and Book Donation Collaboration With Undang Luak Rembau Community”. The program was part of the Service Learning Malaysia – University for Society (SULAM) initiative, considered one of the High Impact Educational Practices introduced by the Ministry of Higher Learning Education Malaysia. The book donation project, which started a month earlier, managed to collect books worth RM7000.00. The books will be donated to primary and secondary school students around Rembau once the Movement Control Order is lifted. Meanwhile, the webinar consisted of three sessions covering different topics that managed to gather excellent feedback from the viewers. The accumulated number of viewers for the three sessions were almost 12000. One of the comments from the live session stated that this webinar had opened his eyes to know more and sparked his interest in acquiring more knowledge on this unique custom.

Malay customs and traditional culture inherently strive to demonstrate good moral values and guidance to acceptable behaviour and conduct according to the norms of the society. A prominent example of such custom is the Adat Perpatih, which has been practised longer than the Common Law. The custom originated from the Minangkabau ethnic from Sumatra, Indonesia, and was brought and adopted in Negeri Sembilan. Adat Perpatih divides the lineage based on the maternal or matrilineal lineage system. Adat Alam Minangkabau has undergone three main forms of development, namely the Nan Tigo Law, Adat Tarik Baleh and Adat Tuah Disakato arranged by Datuk Perpatih Nan Sebatang. Another concept related to Adat Perpatih is Laras Nan Dua, which consists of Bodi-Cianago and Koto-Piliang. Historically, the concepts exist through the consensus between two community leaders marked with batikam stone and baling stone. Then, the two maternal lineage and paternal lineage systems merge and are known as Adat Tuah Disakato or Adat Alam Minangkabau. In Malaysia, Adat Alam Minangkabau is known as Adat Perpatih. The Adat Perpatih is a dynamic and comprehensive social system as it provides the space, opportunity and rules so it can be changed according to the time, situation and era.

This project was inspired by Dr Muhamad Fuad bin Abdul Karim, a senior lecturer and resource person of the course. The panelists for the first session, “Adat Perpatih dan Kepatuhan Syariah di Malaysia”, were Dr Suhaimi bin Hj. Abd. Samad, Deputy Rector from UiTM Seremban Campus; Dr Mohd Kamel bin Mat Salleh, Senior Lecturer from ACIS UiTM Seremban Campus; and Yang Mulia Dato’ Perba Abdul Razak bin Mohd Yassin, a representative from Balai Undang Luak Rembau. The second topic, “Urbanisasi dan Era Digital serta Kelangsungan Amalan Adat Perpatih” involved Dr Muhamad Fuad bin Abdul Karim, a Senior Lecturer from the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Dr Mohd Afendi bin Daud, a Senior Lecturer from Universiti Melaka, Yang Mulia Dato’ Raja DiRaja Haji Bahaman bin Harun, a representative from the Balai Undang Luak Rembau, and Drs Shamsudin bin Ahmad, the Director of Lembaga Muzium Negeri Sembilan as the panelists. For the third and final session, the panellists were Dr Nur Zafifa binti Kamarunzaman, a Senior Lecturer from the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies; Dr Mohamad Fauzi bin Sukimi, a Senior Lecturer from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Dr Sulikah Asmorowati, the Vice Dean II from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Airlangga Indonesia with the topic “Budaya dan Hubungan Etnik di Nusantara”. The opening speech was given by Drs Shamsudin bin Ahmad, the Director of Lembaga Muzium Negeri Sembilan and the Yang Teramat Mulia Dato’ Lela Maharaja Dato’ Haji Muhamad Sharip Bin Haji Othman (DTNS, PPT, ANS, PMC, PJK, PKL), Dato’ Undang Luak Rembau officiated the event. Meanwhile, the event concluded with the closing remarks by Yang Berbahagia Prof Madya Dr Abdul Jalil bin Mohamed Ali Dean Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA.

The Faculty of Pharmacy and Research Management Centre, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, are proud to have organised and hosted the prestigious ‘Virtual IBRO-APRC Associate School of Neuroscience UiTM 2021’ for the third time from the 2nd until the 6th of August 2021 via the Webex Cisco online platform. The theme for this year was “Gut Microbiota and the Gut-Brain Connection: There is Science in Gut Feeling After All”. The Associate School of Neuroscience Programme, generously funded by the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO), aimed to provide a holistic learning and research experience on the importance of gut microbiota and the Gut-Brain Axis for young aspiring neuroscientists from the Asia Pacific region.

The associate school, which covered three (3) subthemes: the influence of the Gut-Brain Axis on the CNS, in vivo models for the Gut-Brain Axis research, and the impact of lifestyle changes on the Gut-Brain Axis; provided both fundamental and translational knowledge on neurological disorders related researches to all participants. As one of the strategies to facilitate a holistic learning experience, each subtheme was accompanied by talks, short forums, skill development and workshops (Day 1-3). A mini-symposium was also held on Day 4 for participants to showcase their research outcomes. The symposium culminated with a wonderful sharing from the AGELESS Long Term Grant Scheme (LRGS) researchers and a theme talk presentation. Awards for best oral presenters were also presented to the IBRO-APRC associate schoolers at the end of the symposium. A virtual excursion was held on Day 5.

The associate school was also pleased to feature 22 speakers from local and abroad (i.e., Australia, Canada, Thailand and USA). Altogether, 32 applicants from India, Malaysia and Syria were shortlisted for this year’s associate school, out of which 30 of them registered for the event and 28 successfully completed the programme. The theme talks, which were also open for registration to participants from local and abroad, had also attracted more than 70 attendees on average.

Overall, the virtual IBRO-APRC Associate School of Neuroscience UiTM 2021 was a success. At least 70% of the associate schoolers strongly agreed that the training was relevant to them and the content of the talks/workshops met their expectations. More than 90% of the associate schoolers also strongly agreed to recommend the IBRO-APRC Associate School of Neuroscience to their colleagues.

The Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia, successfully organized a webinar on ‘Traditional & Complementary Medicine (T&CM): The Relevance of T&CM Practices in Malaysia and Indonesia’.

This first-ever webinar on T&CM was conducted as one of the online teaching methods for an elective course on Traditional & Complementary Medicine (PHC661) at the faculty.

This webinar was initially targeted at students registered for the course and aimed at allowing them to learn more from the experts; however, the organizers were pleasantly surprised when more than 500 participants, comprising of academicians, research scholars and students from both Malaysia and Indonesia, attended the webinar. The great interest and support shown by the attendees have indeed marked this event as a huge success.

The 3.5-hours webinar began with the opening speech by the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, UiTM, Associate Professor Dr Shariza Sahudin, followed by talks from three distinctive speakers. The first talk was given by Dr Dyanan Puvanandran, the Secretary of the Traditional & Complementary Medicine Council, from the Ministry of Health, Malaysia.

Dr Dyanan’s talk was on the topic of ‘Law & Regulation/Acceptance of T&CM in the Modern Health System’, which emphasizes law & policymaking and its enforcement on T&CM in Malaysia.

The second speaker was Associate Professor Dr Mahaneem Mohamed, a Senior Medical Lecturer at the Unit of Integrative Medicine & Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Health Campus, Malaysia.

Dr Mahaneem shared the current practices and challenges in T&CM in Malaysia. Meanwhile, the final speaker for the webinar was Prof. Dr Edy Meiyanto, a Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. Prof. Edy’s talk title was ‘Herbal Therapy as Adjunct Treatment for Cancer’, where he shared a lot of the ongoing and completed research work on cancer and herbs & other natural products at the Universitas Gadjah Mada.

T&CM although existed and been practised ages ago, is still not widely used and fully developed in Malaysia as well as Indonesia. According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey, 2015, less than 30% of the Malaysian population had ever sought any T&CM services. Thus, in order for the T&CM practices to reach a wider range of population, the Malaysian government established the T&CM division under the Ministry of Health in selected government hospitals that encourage the practice to co-exist with modern medicine.

The discussion also highlighted some of the challenges towards implementing the T&CM practices in Malaysia that include ensuring effective implementation of the T&CM Act 2016 and the introduction to statutory regulation of T&CM practitioners, lack of trained personnel, inadequate training facilities and appropriate mechanism to register T&CM without formal training.

The overwhelming response from the attendees was also translated into their active participation in the question and answer session at the end of each talk. The two-way communications with the speakers have turned the whole webinar into a more engaging and informative session.

Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Pahang Branch Campus and United Tropical Fruit (UTF) Sdn Bhd, via a virtual ceremony on 26^th August 2021, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Organic Musang King research and development.

The signatories were between the Rector of UiTM Pahang, Professor Ts. Dr Mohd Ilham Adenan and Managing Director of UTF Sdn. Bhd, Dr Raymond Samy. The signing was witnessed by Deputy Rector Pusat Jaringan Industri (PJI), Professor Madya Dr Wan Mohd Nazri, executive members of UTF Sdn. Bhd, executive members of UiTM Pahang branch campus and its top management.

UiTM Pahang expressed its appreciation and gratitude towards UTF Sdn Bhd for their willingness to collaborate in this research and consultancy program. This project is led by UiTM Pahang’s Rector, Professor Ts. Dr Mohd Ilham Adenan, supported by a research team from the Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology (FPA), two lecturers from the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FSG), and a lecturer from the Faculty of Business Management (FPP).

UTF Sdn. Bhd. is a Malaysian registered company formed through a joint venture between Dr Raymond Samy and Hong Kong Based Plantations International Agroforestry Limited. The company specializes in growing, marketing and selling Musang King durians and at the same time providing Musang King Durian plantation management and other related services in Malaysia.

One of UTF’s key ancillary activities is pioneering the development of Organic Musang King Durian, also known as Mao Shan Wang or D197. Even though the price of Musang King is high, it’s still the most sought-after durian variety due to its appealing thick and creamy texture, sweet and slightly bitter flavour, and the market demand.

Therefore, this collaboration and consultancy aim to establish an Organic Musang King Durian Research & Development Centre and set up an on-site nursery at UiTM Jengka Pahang, funded entirely by UTF. The nursery will grow the Organic Musang King breed saplings for UTF plantations to fulfil the requirement of improving the quality of Organic Musang King Durian for export purposes.

In addition, this MoU seeks to draw from UTF’s expertise and resources for UiTM’s researchers to learn and enhance their research and development capabilities, particularly in the production of Organic Musang King Durian. Moreover, this collaboration is hoped to extend internship opportunities for students from the Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology.

This MoU reflects the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 8, covering decent work and economic growth by technological upgrading and innovation to achieve higher levels of economic productivity. The collaboration between UTP’s expertise in durian plantation and UiTM’s research and development experience also aligns with SDG No. 9, which emphasizes building resilient infrastructure, promoting sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation that focuses on enhancing scientific research and upgrading industrial sectors’ technological capabilities.

In an effort to ensure that the community health and well-being are not neglected, The Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, conducted a ‘Virtual Health Fest 2021’ from 28th July to 6th August 2021.

The program is a health promotion program aimed to advocate overall good health and deliver educational messages to assist Malaysians to cope with the effects of COVID-19 and other health-related issues. Before developing and implementing the health program, a community health needs assessment was conducted with the population of Shah Alam to identify major health issues in the community.

This assessment allowed the organizers to strategically plan and establish objectives for the entire program, catering specifically to the community’s needs in Shah Alam and other communities in general.

The health fest was organised by the Department of Public Health Medicine headed by Associate Professor Dr Zaliha Ismail. This community activity is part of the Service-Learning Malaysia-University for Society (SULAM) initiative that aims to provide students with the opportunity to contribute their knowledge, skills, and competencies in their specialised area toward solving problems within the community.

Four different themes were selected to address the issues raised by the local community during the pandemic – physical activity and healthy eating, mental health awareness, COVID-19 immunisation, and domestic violence.

The first theme, “FIT4LIFE”, conducted by Madam Aimi Nadira Mat Ruzlin, was designed to increase awareness of the importance of being physically active and maintaining a healthy diet during lockdown/movement restrictions. The session provided information on the different types of physical activities (low, moderate, and vigorous physical activity) for all ages and tips on healthy eating.

The second theme, “Imunisasi Vaksin COVID-19: Imun Bersama”, led by Dr Chen Xin Wee, aimed to instil awareness of the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine and encourage the uptake of registering for the national immunisation program through various activities (e.g., “Vaksin COVID-19: Tak Kenal, Maka Tak Kebal” Dialogue with the expert panels, educational videos and poster exhibitions on COVID-19 vaccine myths and facts).

The third theme, “Depression and anxiety: It’s okay not to be okay”, was handled by Dr Ely Zarina Samsudin. It was intended to increase students’ awareness of depression, anxiety, and coping mechanisms while living in a pandemic and undertaking Online Distance Learning (ODL). These aims were achieved via an online forum with expert panels, educational posters, and videos on relaxation techniques and self-care strategies for managing depression and anxiety.

The fourth and final theme is “Monsters behind walls”, conducted by Dr Raudah Mohd Yunus. This theme aimed to increase awareness of domestic violence during the lockdown period and promote practices that foster healthy family dynamics.

The event was conducted through various social networking sites (SNS) such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Curious Cat, and others. The main objective of this health promotion programme is to empower the community about health-related issues by sharing information through innovative educational materials consisting of infographic posters, videos, games, and online quizzes.

This program is also a platform for medical students to improve their teamwork, professionalism, and leadership skills.

The 10-day program received good engagement and positive feedback from the community, indicating the relevance of the program. This outcome has motivated educators and healthcare providers to continually advocate innovative ways in promoting health and empowering the community.