TMI Ups its stake in Excelcomindo

Just read from Reuters of Telekom Malaysia International is raising its stake in Excelcomindo to 83.8%.

Apparently, the increase stake was through the purchase of shares from Khazanah at a cost of RM1.43 Billion for 16.8%. This would also mean that currently the stake of TMI in Excelcomindo is worth RM7.13 Billion.

In the same news, TMI is also buying from Sunshare Investment Ltd on the 49% share that it doesn't own for MobileOne. This is worth another RM155 Million.

With the disposal of this stake, Khazanah would own shares in TMI instead of direct owning of shares at TMI's subsidiaries.

For full article with link above,
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KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 (Reuters) - State-controlled Telekom Malaysia (TLMM.KL: Quote, Profile, Research) has agreed to buy 16.8 percent of PT Excelcomindo Pratama EXCL.JK for 1.43 billion ringgit ($442.7 million), raising its stake in Indonesia's third-largest mobile phone operator to 83.8 percent, Telekom said on Wednesday.

Telekom, through its unit Indocel, is buying the stake in Excelcomindo from its own parent, Malaysia's state investment agency Khazanah Nasional.

Khazanah has a 36.1 percent stake in Telekom, Malaysia's largest fixed-line operator.

Telekom's mobile arm, TM International, has also agreed to buy the remaining 49 percent interest in SunShare Investments Ltd that it does not already own from Khazanah for 155 million ringgit, Telekom said in a statement.

SunShare, a joint venture firm between Telekom and Khazanah, holds a 29.7 percent stake in Singapore's third-largest mobile phone operator, MobileOne Ltd (MONE.SI: Quote, Profile, Research).

Shares of Telekom closed unchanged at 11.40 ringgit on Wednesday.

Telekom said Khazanah would get new TM International shares for its disposals of the two stakes.

The acquisitions were in line with the group's strategy for earnings enhancements and stability, Telekom said.

Last September, Telekom said it would spin off its mobile business into a separately listed firm, TM International, to help unlock the value of its fastest-growing operations, separating it from its more staid fixed-line and broadband units.

TM International will house its domestic Celcom mobile unit and operations in nine other countries, including India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Earnings growth at Telekom, Malaysia's sixth-largest firm by market value, has mainly been driven by revenue from Celcom, Malaysia's second-largest mobile phone firm, and Excelcomindo.

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Year of the Rat

It's The Year of the Rat already!!! Time really flies... I'm 27 already also.. It just seems that soon, I would leave my youth and my being in generation of 20s.. :(

It just flew by so fast.

What should be my resolutions for this year?

I guess first and foremost is definitely to reduce weight. That would take away the excess of several kgs... A few kgs? More like a lot of kgs, but guess lets try to take away as many kgs as I can. I chip off 2-3 kg in January, so hopefully, I won't gain it back during this CNY. Am still hoping to reach 80kg by June. Am around 84kg now.

In June, I would still have my CFA Level 3. So, would keep my fingers' crossed that I would be able to pass it. Really hope to go through all of those at one go.

Come March 1st, hopefully, I would be able to get promotion for my current job, to move on to the next level, as Consultant.

Of course, in this new year, I would want to have more time for myself to relax and enjoy myself. Youth would not wait for me, so I better make better use of it, while it is still here (or it has gone)

This CNY, somehow seems like there is less firework. I'm biased. Am based on what I could hear from my house. :P Is it due to stricter enforcement? Is it due to the economic situation?

Lets hope that my country - Malaysia, would be peaceful and able to develop progressively. Hopefully, that the upcoming General Election would be smooth and Barisan National, especially MCA would be able to win convincingly. Hopefully, MCA would be able to do better than the last General Election, under the capable leadership of YB Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting, a very sincere and humble leader.

To everyone, Happy Chinese New Year!!!


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Vote for KL in Monopoly

Kuala Lumpur has been nominated as one of the 68 cities to be selected among top 20 for the new World Edition of Monopoly. Currently, Kuala Lumpur is ranked on number 50, with 0.7% of the votes. Besides Kuala Lumpur, Singapore was nominated in the list too. And we are even behind Singapore at 36 with 1.1% of the votes.

Lets all play our role, to vote for Kuala Lumpur to bring it up to top 20. Lets use our power of blogging to do so!

Vote for Kuala Lumpur at Monopoly

You can nominate wild card cities too, for those not in the list, so we can nominate Penang, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu etc cities into the list too!

Lets try our best to bring out the spirit of nationalism! Use your blog to spread the words for Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia!

Voting closed on 29th February 2008.

You can vote once a day!


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Principal Software Engineer

Obtained this from a Stanford Malaysia Forum mailing list

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Hi,
I am representing a Media company based in San Francisco looking for a Principal Software Engineer. I am in touch with the VPE, helping him to build his team.

Job description:
This is a very senior technical position in this organization. You will elevate the level of the people around you, and you will provide thought leadership on system architecture and design. You have a broad software development background and the experience to make informed decisions about technical direction.
As member of this engineering team, you must be disciplined software engineer with the ability to communicate very effectively in a cross-functional group, and possess a strong testing mentality. You'll use practices like test driven development, continuous integration, and pair programming. You'll build systems that are elegant in their simplicity, inherently scalable, and focused on delivering value optimally. This is a small team that works efficiently to get a lot done.

What You'll Do:

· Lead the software design effort on major new system features and components

· Write software that leverages your expertise in highly scalable and performant server systems

· Coordinate the interaction of and interfaces between components in all layers of the system architecture

· Mentor other members of the team on system architecture and design

What You Know:
Required
· B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science.

· 10+ years experience in software development

· Expert Java skills and object-oriented design experience

· Expert in the design and development of distributed systems and hosted applications

· Experience building Java web applications using Servlets/JSP, Struts, and Tomcat

· Experience developing software in C/C++

· Strong experience with source code control systems like CVS and Subversion

· Software development under Linux and Windows

· Experience with Spring and Hibernate

· Experience with Apache-Jakarta tools and libraries

· Experience with agile development processes such as XP or Scrum

Desired
· Experience developing Apache modules

· Experience with database design and SQL, PostgresSQL is a plus

· Experience with video/audio codecs

How You Think:
· You are agile, adaptable, and like to be involved in a variety of technologies

· You favor simplicity over "elegance"

· You like to test as you go

· You prefer incremental development over the big bang



If interested, please email me your resume (word document) and a table of your expertise (skills, rank and for how long).
Sincerely,
Michelle Mermelstein
Senior Account Manager
Mind Diggers
michelle@minddiggers.com

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Northeast Malaysia Forum

I blogged about Northeast Malaysia Forum here and here .

The website for Northeast Malaysia Forum has been launched. To access it, go to here .

The full speaker schedule as of now is:-
Northeast Malaysia Forum 2008
Date: March 29-30, 2008
Theme: Changing Freedoms in Malaysia
Venue: Boston, MA

Confirmed Speakers/Teleconferencees:

Invited Speakers:

Zainah Anwar, Executive Director and founder, Sisters in Islam (SIS)
Azly Rahman, Doctorate in International Education Development at Columbia University
Meredith Weiss, Research Fellow, East-West Center Washington DC
Teleconferencees:

Malik Imtiaz, human rights lawyer
Steven Gan, editor-in-chief, Malaysiakini.com
Mark Chang, CEO Jobstreet
Jeff Ooi, blogger
Colin Nicholas, Coordinator, Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC)
Tentative Agenda:

All times Boston (EST).

Saturday 29th March - Day 1

8.00 a.m. Registration
8.30 a.m. Opening Speech and Welcome
9.00 a.m. Teleconference Sessions
1.30 p.m. Lunch
2.30 p.m. Invited Speakers
5.30 p.m. Break for dinner
7.00 p.m. Reception/Mixer (semi-formal attire)

Sunday 30th March - Day 2

8.00 a.m. Breakfast
8.30 a.m. Workshops and Discussion
11.00 a.m. Presentation of Proposals
12.00 p.m. Departure

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Happy Chinese New Year

To all readers of my blog,
Happy Chinese New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

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China Synergy Programme Deadline Extended

Blogged about China Synergy Programme For Outstanding Youth earlier.

The application deadline has been postponed to 15th February.

Do visit China Synergy Programme's website for more details on CSP 9, which would be held from 1st to 17th July 2008.

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Mind Tools Newsletter 93 - Are You Ready for Your Next Promotion?

Are You Ready for Your Next Promotion?  Mind Tools Newsletter 93 – February 5th, 2008 This newsletter is published by Mind Tools Ltd of 2nd Floor, 145-157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY, UK. You have received it because you have subscribed to our double opt-in newsletter. To subscribe or unsubscribe, just click the links at the bottom of this email.    Contents: In this Newsletter Get Ready for Promotion In the Club A Final Note   Welcome to our February 5th Newsletter! Ready or not, that is the question today! If you are not keeping yourself up-to-date and ready, you could be letting promotion opportunities pass you by. Often, it's not good enough to BE good enough; you need to make sure people KNOW you are good enough. And, if there's even a hint of competition, you need to stand out from the crowd. In This Newsletter... Put in these terms, your next promotion is something that you need to be thinking about now, even if it feels like something that's years away. So to help with this, we've chosen today's featured article "Get Ready for Your Next Promotion": it helps you prepare for your next promotion, whatever stage in your career you are at. As well as this feature, we have another new article for you at the Mind Tools site – on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Decision making can be difficult enough when you can objectively weigh up the decision making factors. Imagine how complex things can become when you have to evaluate things subjectively! It's not for the faint-hearted, but AHP offers a structured way to do this, and you can read the article in full here. More resources... If you're interested in developing your career even further, then you might also want to look at the new resources in the Mind Tools Career Excellence Club. The latest articles, podcasts and training lessons are listed below, with more about joining the Club. We hope you enjoy today's articles! James Manktelow   Rachel Thompson   To find out about new tools on the Mind Tools site the moment they're uploaded, click here to subscribe to the Mind Tools RSS feed (you'll need an RSS newsreader installed), or here to find out more about RSS.   Editors' Choice Article: Get Ready for Your Next Promotion Showing What You Can Do You do your job faithfully every day. You may even do your job exceptionally well. Why is it, then, that you've been in the same position for three years while others – seemingly less-deserving people – have been promoted? The people who have been promoted may know one critical thing that you don't. Promotion isn't just about doing what you're paid to do. It's not necessarily even about being the best "widget" maker you can be. Promotion is about pushing the limits of your current position. It's about showing that you have outgrown your current responsibilities, and that you're ready to take on new ones. Think about it. If you're busy working away, producing more widgets per hour than anyone has ever produced, why should I promote you? Clearly, your value to the company is your efficiency. If I promote you, my production output may suddenly fall! Focusing on simply what's expected of you may be a great strategy to keep the job you have. But going beyond what's expected, and stretching yourself beyond your current role, can lead to a new job with more responsibility. Now, before you head out to stop being effective at anything, remember – in your pursuit of a promotion, you still have to perform well and meet your current job requirements. The key is identifying ways to add more value to your contribution. Organizations move forward by solving problems. Discover ways to be more involved in the solutions: that may move you forward too. Understand Your Organization To prepare for a promotion, you have to really understand the drivers of organizational success. It doesn't necessarily mean doing more things – it means doing more of the RIGHT things. Ask yourself these questions: What are the strategic goals of the organization? How does your department's work fit into the overall strategy? How is your boss's performance measured? What critical functions do other people in your team currently perform? You may even want to make lateral moves – to similar positions in different departments – to increase your overall appreciation for what the company does. If your exposure is broader, you may also see and be considered for more promotion opportunities. For example, if you're a communications manager and feel that there's no place else to go with your job, gain experience in other areas of the company. When you have the right mix of experience and skill, promotion to a more senior level may become a realistic goal. Increase Your Responsibility Typically, managers are given responsibility for something, and they then delegate various pieces to their staffs. They delegate in order to have more time to work on higher-level tasks. These higher-level tasks are what you want to get involved in. To gain access to them, you first have to prove that you're capable of handling the increased responsibility. Here are some ways to prove your capabilities: Complete your work thoroughly and with as little supervision as possible. This involves working well as part of a team, while also demonstrating individual competence. When you have questions for your boss, come prepared with solutions as well. Expand your skill set. Determine what you need to learn to add more value, and make a plan to acquire those skills. Also, find out about the skills you'll need in the new role, and make sure you learn these. Get up-to-date, and stay current in your field, perhaps by reading the industry press. Find opportunities to continue your learning and education. Become aware of the economic and business pressures facing your organization. Use good judgment when carrying out your responsibilities. Think about cost versus benefit, review bottom-line results, and know how your role impacts the company as a whole. Then, look for opportunities to lead projects. This can help you practice your leadership skills and demonstrate your ability to take on new responsibilities. Try the following: Volunteer to take on new projects and other opportunities, to learn and practice other skills. For example, offer to cover a co-worker's responsibilities while he or she is on vacation. Identify opportunities to delegate your own work. This frees up your time and allows you to practice supervising others' work. Offer to take on tasks that you know your boss dislikes, or is weak in. You'll expand your range of experience, and you'll make your boss's job easier – it's a win-win! Get Innovative To prepare for a promotion, always think about how to do things better. That's one of the defining characteristics of leaders. How can you do something cheaper, or faster, or with less waste? Consider the following: Demonstrate critical thinking when you report to your boss. Rather than accept things as they are, think how you can improve them – and come up with innovative ways to do those things better. Understand the big picture, and incorporate it into your decisions and solutions. Look for things that aren't being done at all. Innovation isn't always improving things that already exist – it's often adding something of value as well. Put forward your ideas, even if you aren't sure of the response. This demonstrates both your imagination and willingness to take risks. Be prepared for many of your ideas to not be accepted. If you prove that you're interested in improving organizational performance and that you can come up with some original ideas, this can be a great way to set the stage for promotion. Learn more about innovative thinking in Practical Innovation. Set Promotion Goals Ultimately, you're the one who needs to work proactively to make a promotion happen. If you rely on someone else to make it happen, you'll probably end up disappointed. Take action with these steps: Identify your career goals within the organization. Talk to people who hold the kinds of positions and levels of authority that you want. Find out what they did to get where they are. The more you learn from other people's experiences, the better. Evaluate your strengths, and set goals to learn the skills you need for success. Take note of who your internal competition might be – others in your company who may want the same position you want – and work hard to distinguish yourself and make yourself stand out. Look for a mentor within the organization. Having someone to talk to, and who might champion your ideas, is a great benefit. See Finding a Mentor for practical steps and strategies. Set your goal, and follow it through! See Personal Goal Setting for practical tips. When you run into obstacles, find ways to work around them. A positive attitude can go a long way toward helping you reach your goals, and get noticed for your ability to inspire and motivate. Communicate Your Desire Doing all of the above will likely be met with great appreciation. That won't guarantee a promotion, though. Let people know what you want, and then proactively work to achieve it. Here are some steps you can take to make your wishes known: Identify a role or position toward which you want to work. Using your knowledge of the organization, find out what experience and skills are needed to get that job. Work with your boss to set performance objectives so that you can achieve the necessary skills and experience. Network with people in the company. Let as many people as appropriate know what type of role interests you. Seek advice on how to prepare for that role. Ask for the promotion when it becomes available. If you aren't ready yet, use this as an opportunity to develop the skills you need. As you execute your promotion plan, let others who have influence over the decision know what you're doing. You have to be your own best champion: Preparing for a promotion is no time to be quiet and shy. You need many people to know what you're capable of and what you want. Key Points Earning a promotion is partly within your control. Simply doing what's expected of you, and even being the best at what you do, are not guarantees of advancement. To prepare for promotion, increase your value to the organization. Be smart about the type of value opportunities that you create. Understand what drives your company's success, take on more of the right responsibilities, expand your skill set, and communicate your promotion goals to others. By being proactive, you can do a lot to create the path to the position that you want. In the Career Excellence Club... New "All Readers' Articles" like the one you've just read, are published every week at the MindTools.com website. To take your personal and career development to the next level, the Career Excellence Club has a wider resource set that includes our Premium Toolkit, downloadable Bite-Sized Training lessons, podcast Book Insights and Expert Interviews and expert-led Coaching Clinics. Plus, you'll get individual help and support in the Club forums. If you are already a member, simply click on the links provided below to access the recent resources in the list. If you are not yet a member, take our tour to find out more. 4 Feb Mon Fooled by Randomness, By Nassim Nicholas Taleb Find out why we insist on imposing meaning on what are really random events, and learn to avoid the pitfalls in doing so. Premium Members' Book Insight Premium Members: Read More >> Take the Club Tour >> 31 Jan Thurs On the Defensive When someone comments on what you do, do you get defensive? Consider alternative ways of dealing with these situations for a more positive outcome. All Members' Coaching Clinic Members: Read More >> Take the Club Tour >> 30 Jan Wed Keep It Simple – Avoiding Confusion and Complexity Simple is memorable. Simple is understandable. Simple gets results. Meet the challenge of making something complex into something simple. Premium Members' New Tool Read More >> Take the Club Tour >> 28 Jan Mon Think Strategically Strategy is the art of thinking about the future, and deciding the best way forward. Follow this learning stream and discover the tools you need to do this. Premium Members' Learning Stream Premium Members' Read More >> Take the Club Tour >> 24 Jan Thur Learning Strategies There's no escaping it - to grow and develop in your job you have to learn. Learn how to learn better in this training session. All Members' Bite-Sized Training™ Members: Read More >> Take the Club Tour >> 23 Jan Wed Benchmarking – Comparing Your Performance with the Best How does your performance really measure up? Find out, and discover a continuous source of best practice information. Premium Members' New Tool Read More >> Take the Club Tour >> A Final Note from James One of the real joys of Mind Tools is hearing success stories from readers and members about their achievements – whether it is a challenge overcome, a major personal goal achieved or a well-deserved promotion. It takes dedication and hard work to keep on growing in your career – and if it's a promotion you are aiming for, I hope today's articles helps you on your way! I wish you success in whatever career goals you pursue! James Manktelow email us Mind Tools Essential Skills for an Excellent Career! PS: If you know anyone who might benefit from this newsletter, please tell them about it! Just go to http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_TAFN.php and let them know. I'd really appreciate it! Privacy Policy: Mind Tools will treat your email address with complete respect and will not circulate it to any third party. To unsubscribe, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this email. If you are not already a subscriber and you would like to be one, please visit http://www.mindtools.com/subscribe.htm. © Mind Tools Ltd, 2008. This newsletter is published by Mind Tools Ltd of 2nd Floor, 145-157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY, UK. You have received this email because you have confirmed that you want to receive it using our confirmed opt-in process. To unsubscribe, please use the link at the bottom of this email. Mind Tools Ltd (Company Number 04829074, VAT Number: GB 840 1273 62) and Mind Tools (North America) Ltd (Company Number 05610859) are companies registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Hardwick House, Prospect Place, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1 3LJ, UK. If you have enjoyed this issue, please do email it on to your friends and co-workers. Also, you are very welcome to post this issue of the newsletter to your own web site. If you do, you must leave it completely intact, include copyright information, and include both the URL of the Mind Tools site (http://www.mindtools.com) and the subscription email address for the newsletter (http://www.mindtools.com/subscribe.htm).

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Entrepreneruship@Cornell Celebration

Entrepreneruship@Cornell Celebration

April 10th and 11th 2008

Entrepreneurship@Cornell Celebration is the milestone annual entrepreneurship event that brings together over 500 students, alumni, faculty and staff. With nine colleges and programs participating, this year’s event promises to be the most collaborative and comprehensive yet. The two days will include: symposia from all nine participating groups, the final stages of two business idea contests, a showcase of technologies that are being commercialized, and a celebration of Cornell's Entrepreneur of the Year, Howard Milstein ’73.

For more details, go to here

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Facebook Apps by Su Yuen

Su Yuen, our ever hyper active and creative friend, has created her facebook applications. This is her 2nd facebook apps already.

Lets give her support, by trying it at here

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Turn Off Light For An Hour on 29th March 2008

Got this from a facebook event here

Lets create an awareness in Malaysia too! Go to Earth Hour for more details.

On how you can make a difference, go to here

Do spread this in your blogs/forum too! This is a WWF initiative.

They manage to get 2.2 Million Australia people to participate last year, and it reduced total energy consumption in Sydney by 10.2% for an hour, so lets make this happen in Malaysia or whereever you are too!

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Who: YOU! Everyone around the world
What: Earth Hour
When: March 29, 2008, 8pm your local time
Where: In your own home and/or workplace
Why: To create AWARENESS about energy consumption

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW BEFORE ASKING WHERE THIS EVENT IS TAKING PLACE.

This happens in your home or your workplace at 8pm (your local time) on March 29th WHEREVER YOU ARE IN THE WORLD by simply turning off your lights, your TV, your dishwasher, your heating or a/c. You don't have to be in Toronto (they won't let me not put something in that spot) or a major city to participate.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On March 29th, 2008 at 8pm local time Earth Hour will commence ALL AROUND THE WORLD.

Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a POWERFUL MESSAGE about the need for action on global warming.

Be part of making Earth Hour 2008 a huge, global success by telling your friends and family. Remember, every single light makes a statement and makes a difference.

Last year, on 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney (Australia) businesses turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour.

++Pledge your support for Earth Hour and find out more about the lights-out campaign at earthhour.org, the official website. Earth Hour

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Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting's Biography

Blogged about Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting's Biography earlier.

China Press is currently on the series to publish the whole books over 30-40 days.

As of now, 3 articles have been published.
China Press - Article 1
China Press - Article 2
China Press - Article 3

Would continue to update as more articles appear.

You can get more current updates of this from Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting's website

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Solving the mystery of crawling cells

Obtained this from one of the blog readers. Really appreciate you guys sharing with me interesting articles to add in my blog.

This is about a cutting-edge research done by Brain Research Institute at Monash University at Sunway campus.

For full details, go to Monash's Website

Full article is quoted below:-
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Solving the mystery of crawling cells
29 January 2008
Researchers at Monash University's Sunway campus are using Southeast Asia's only Live Cell Imaging microscope to solve the riddle of how cells migrate from one location to another and stop at precisely the right location for their purpose.

"At present, science does have some answers to how cells 'crawl' from one location to another in the brain, but not what tells them to stop," said neuroscientist Professor Ishwar Parhar.

He said understanding how this happens could shed light on how to tackle a number of problems in medicine, especially the spread of cancer.

Professor Parhar, who is one of the world's leading neuroscientists and head of the Brain Research Institute at Monash Sunway (BRIMS) said the Live Cell Imaging microscope is being used to watch the migration of certain brain cells in mice foetuses.

"In a growing foetus, certain brain cells are first created at a spot in the nose. From there, these cells migrate to the brain and live there for the rest of our lives."

"We're using this migration to understand the migration process and solve the riddle of how cells migrate and eventually stop at a precise place in the brain," said Professor Parhar, adding that the state-of-the-art Live Cell Imaging microscope offers an environment that can preserve cell life and allow for long-term observation of the cell's activity.

He said researchers at BRIMS are using a delicate technique developed by the institute to extract individual cells from a tissue or examination.

"We pioneered and developed the single-cell extraction technique to allow better study of specific cells that we have genetically tagged for easy detection and further developed it into single cell gene expression studies using a laser-capture microscope."

The laser capture microscope, which is already in service at BRIMS, uses a very thin computer guided laser beam to extract individual cells from brain tissue. "This allows us to pick up and study specific cells without having to deal with unnecessary surrounding cells," he said.

Established in 2006, BRIMS is leading the study of neuroscience in Malaysia and the region, carrying out frontier research in six major areas: behaviourial neurogenetics; brain imaging; nanotechnology; neuroinformatics; molecular morphology; and proteomics & genomics.

Located at its Sunway campus, it is Monash University's leading centre for the study of neuroscience.

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Dato' Siew Nim Chee passed away

It is with great regret that Dato' Siew Nim Chee, the first Malaysian to get into Cornell, passed away peacefully on 3rd February 2008, at the age of 86. Dato' Siew Nim Chee obtained his postgraduate degree in Industrial relations in 1953.

Blogged about Dato' Siew Nim Chee before.

Among the positions held by Dato' Siew included:-
a) Asst Lecturers of Dept of Economics, Universiti Malaya (and then Head of Dept of Economics, UM till 1959)
b) Economist and head of of Bank Negara Department of Economic Research
c) Founder of Persatuan Ekonomi Malaysia
d) Treasurer of Esso Malaysia 1965
e) Magnum
f) Advisor/Consultant of Genting (till 1985)
g) Victorian of th Year by Victoria Institution in 2002.

Dato' Siew Nim Chee has made donations/contributions to Cornell Club of Malaysia before and he was there to cut our Cornell Club Anniversary Cake in 2005 at INTEKMA.

Dato' Siew has also endowed The Milton L. Barnett Scholarship Endowment to promote Malaysian studies at Cornell, the endowment provides support for Cornell students, either Malaysians enrolled in Southeast Asian Studies or other students whose focus is on Malaysia. A portion of this fund is also used to purchase books related to Malaysia.
Click here for more details

With deepest condolences to Dato' Siew's family.

His wake would be held at the Nirvana Memorial Centre, No.1, Jalan 1/116A, Off Jalan Sungai Besi, 57100 Kuala Lumpur (03-79818899) on 4th and 5th February 2008 from 2pm to 11pm.

The memorial service will be on Wednesday, 6th February 2008 from 9:30am to 11am.

This would be followed by cremation services at the PJCCA Crematorium in Jalan 229, Petaling Jaya.

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25th Annual CEAA Engineering Conference

25th Annual CEAA Engineering Conference

Sustainable Energy Systems: Investing in Our Future

March 28–29, 2008



Please join us for:

• Talks by leaders in this vitally important subject

• Highlights of research by Cornell faculty

• Showcase of Cornell’s efforts in sustainable energy

• Student research project and team presentations

• Annual CEAA Awards Banquet


The Speakers for this year are:-
Dr. Richard Allmendinger '75, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University – Climate Change
Mr. Red Cavaney, President, American Petroleum Institute – Energy Challenge
Dr. Frank DiSalvo, Interim Director, Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future, John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science
Mr. Daniel P. Goldman '87, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of GreatPoint Energy, Inc.
Dr. Michael Graetzel, Director, Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, Institute of Chemical Science and Engineering Faculty of Basic Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Mr. Andrew Hunter, Lecturer, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University - Making Investment Choices
Dr. James Lyons '84, Chief Engineer, Electronics & Energy Conversion, GE Global Research Center
Dr. Theodore Marston, Principal, Marston Consulting
Dr. Danielle Merfeld, Manager, Semiconductor Technology Laboratory, GE Global Research Center
Mr. Dan Miller '78, Managing Director, The Roda Group – Energy and Climate Change
Mr. Amin Nasser, Senior Vice President, Exploration and Production, Saudi Aramco
Dr. Rob J. Routs, Executive Director, Downstream (Oil Products and Chemicals), Shell Chemicals – Global Dynamics of Energy
Dr. Robert W. Shaw, Jr. '63, President, Aretê Corporation
Dr. Jeff Tester '66, H. P. Meissner Professor of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory for Energy and the Environment, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Larry Walker, Professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University


Cornell Engineering Alumni Association

256 Carpenter Hall

Ithaca, NY 14853-2201

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Obituary to Tan Sri Murad

Tan Sri Murad, an eminent educationist who has transformed the scene of our education system, passed away a couple of weeks ago. After reading it, I planned to blog on it, but somehow it slipped my mind.

Read about it in NST just now, so the following is a full quotation from NST.

In our history, we would have read about Murad Report, and Tan Sri Murad was also instrumental in starting 3R Education for Primary School, which millions of us have gone through it.

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TAN Sri Murad Mohamed Noor, one of Malaysia's eminent educationists, died on Jan 22. He was 78.

He died at the Intan Gleneagles Medical Centre in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, two weeks after being admitted for a lung infection.

The passing of the former director-general of education is described as a great loss to education and the country by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

"Murad was always willing to give advice and ideas on issues related to education as he wanted the national education system to develop and improve further," says Hishammuddin.

Murad was known to liken the changing of the education system to the changing of one's attire, rather than the patching up of the same one.

He had spearheaded a nationwide sociological research on the problems of school dropouts, and highlighted ways to address the problem in the Murad Report in 1973.

The first of its kind in Southeast Asia, at the time, the document not only dealt with the reasons why more than 30 per cent of students did not make it to Form One but also tackled topics such as community differences in patterns of attendance, the allocation of education resources and compensatory education.

Born on April 10, 1930, in Penang, Murad was the eldest of seven children.

He attended Sekolah Ibrahim, in Sungai Petani, Kedah, and Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid, in Alor Star, before getting his Diploma in Education and Bachelor of Arts (honours) degree from the University of Malaya.

Murad was also responsible for bringing about the New Primary School Curriculum (or its Malay acronym KBSR) in 1983, which emphasised the three Rs -- reading, writing and arithmetic.

He retired from public service in 1985 but was still active in the field of education in other ways.

He joined Taylor's College (now Taylor's University College) as its chairman in 1985, a nod to his many years in the field of education where he was teacher, headmaster, and held several posts in the Ministry of Education.

In 1992, he was conferred an honorary doctorate in education by Universiti Sains Malaysia.

In 2002, he headed a special committee on Islamic education, where he was instrumental in turning the country's religious schools into national schools.

Murad was given a Special Award for Education Leadership in conjunction with the 2004 Teachers' Day celebrations.

He leaves behind his wife Puan Sri Azizah Aiyub Ghazali and four children.

LimKokWing Brings Malaysian Education Around the World

LimKokWing University of Creative Technology is certainly creating waves around the educational scenes around the world. By end of 2008, it would have 10 campuses in 8 countries around 4 continents of the world (Asia, Europe, Africa and America) at :-
1. Malaysia (Cyberjaya and Kuching)
2. Indonesia (Jakarta and Bali)
3. Cambodia (Phnom Penh)
4. China (Beijing)
5. Botswana (Gaborone)
6. Lesotho (Maseru)
7. United Kingdom (London)
8. United States of America (Manhattan, New York)

This is definitely a great breakthrough for Malaysia, bringing our culture and education to the world! It is another Malaysian brand that can stand tall around the world. Who knows one day, LimKokWing would get into top 200 or top 100 in Times Higher Education Supplement Ranking.

For full article, go to NST

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Limkokwing University of Creative Technology plans four more campuses abroad, reports SUZIEANA UDA NAGU



A different kind of learning experience, says Lim

LIMKOKWING University of Creative Technology is spreading its wings to at least four more countries this year.

The university, Malaysia's first fully-fledged institution of higher learning to be established overseas, is setting up campuses in Maseru, Lesotho; Manhattan, New York; Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Bali, Indonesia in the next 12 months.

It currently has campuses in five countries including Malaysia (Cyberjaya and Kuching); China (Beijing); Indonesia (Jakarta); the United Kingdom (London) and Botswana (Gaborone).

Founder and president Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing explains that New York's vibrant environment is the reason why the university has chosen the city that never sleeps.

"If you were to set up a campus in North America, where would you go to give students a one of a kind learning experience? It has to be New York.

"New York is possibly the most aggressive in terms of the use of innovation and the arts. America produces the most knowledge and entertainment content and Americans are known to be very creative. So setting up a campus there will give students a different kind of learning experience," he says.

Although the university will only finalise the location for its North American campus mid this year, Manhattan is likely to be the location for the site, says Lim, after the university's graduation ceremony in Gaborone, Botswana recently.

Some 26 students from the class of 2006/07, who had completed their programmes at the Cyberjaya campus, received their scrolls from Lim in a ceremony filled with song and dance.

Botswana's third president Festus G Mogae also received an honorary Doctor of Humanity award at the event.

Lim says that Mogae and Batswana (the people of Botswana) have supported the university since its establishment in Gaborone a year ago.

"We have had lots of Batswana coming to Malaysia to study. When they go back (to Botswana), they say good things about us."

Just like in Botswana, the Lesotho government also has been "very encouraging", says Lim. The university in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, will open in July whereas the Phnom Penh campus will have its first intake in February.

The university is also setting up a campus in Bali as part of its expansion plan in Indonesia.

"Bali is a holiday destination for people to have fun and do nothing. No one has ever thought of setting up a university there. I thought it would be a good idea (to do so)," says Lim.

As for the New York campus, the programmes offered there will be media and design driven. Lim anticipates challenges in setting up a base in the Big Apple.

"In New York, you are competing with the best in the world. Any institution which can survive there will survive in the world," he says.

He concedes that the university would have to offer something unique to stand out in New York.

"We will bring Malaysia and Asia to New York. We will bring Indian, Malay and Chinese music there. This is not something that the American colleges can do," he says.

Despite the challenges, Lim is certain that the New York campus will attract students.

"We will get students there, for sure, for a number of reasons. Firstly, Asia is on the rise as countries like India, China and South Korea are moving ahead rapidly. Very soon, the Asian economy will be much larger than the European and American economies.

"Instead of us going to the West to study, they will come to our part of the world to be educated. When we go (abroad) and bring an Asian university there, I think they will appreciate it," he says.

As with its existing foreign campuses, those in New York, Maseru, Phnom Penh and Bali will feature local teaching staff.

"On that basis, we are on the same level as the people there. In Gaborone, the lecturers are 99 per cent Africans. Malaysians (staff) come to Gaborone only to train them. Malaysian staff helped plan the graduation ceremony but it was the locals who spoke and performed," he adds.

Close to 6,000 students attend the Gaborone campus. As many as 5,000 prospective students turned up on the first day of registration indicating a great demand for education in creative areas in the African continent.

To Lim, this suggests that Malaysian education is widely accepted globally.

"Now, foreigners are attending a Malaysian university in their own countries. They could hardly pronounce the university's name but you can see that they're happy to be studying in a Malaysian tertiary institution."

Lim takes this as a sign of international acceptance of Malaysian education and brand which defies the notion that local tertiary institutions are not ready to go global.

"In the past, Batswana worked with Westerners and now they are working with Malaysians. If that is not acceptance of Malaysian education or brand, than what is? We should be proud of that," he says.

NiEXUS - an e-learning site to learn English

Thanks to a reader for forwarding this to me.

This would be another good initiative to promote the learning of English Language, to strengthen the level of English for primary and secondary school students in Malaysia.

The link of this article is at NST

Full article as follow
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NiEXUS, the latest addition to the New Straits Times' Newspaper-in-Education programme, is a new English e-learning site for primary and secondary school students.

Built as a self-access learning site, NiEXUS has content that teaches English through fun, animated games and news-based exercises.

The site also provides web space for the sharing of views and creative expression while helping students enhance their IT skills and general knowledge.

The site contains more than 10 links to various language activities that complement the English language syllabus in schools.

Central to this site is News Flash, where four major news events from around the world are highlighted each week.

Clicking to this section will enable users to learn more about the countries involved, read the featured articles, and test their language skills through the given exercises.

The stories are presented in a simplified format with a glossary of difficult words for weaker students.

More advanced students can also access the published article for reading through a PDF link.

The Language Games section teaches grammar, vocabulary and writing via animated games.

Students at any proficiency level can access this section, regardless of their prior knowledge.

After finishing their activities, students would have improved their language skills to some degree, thanks to the short explanations after each answer.

Students can challenge their creative and critical thinking abilities via The Continuing Tale, Writing Prompts, My Say and Creative Twists sections.

For the more adventurous, NiEXUS hosts two links -- My School Rocks and A Day in Your Life -- that give students the experience of newspaper publishing.

Students can design their own front page using the tools given.

These are among the first journalism-based activities made available online for Malaysian students.

Teachers, too, can download ready-to-use NIE lessons from the site and monitor their students' NiEXUS activities online.

A progress chart is automatically created for every registered student.

NiEXUS is an authorised site so only schools registered with NIE will be able to access its activities.

Access is free to schools under NST School Sponsorship Programme (SSP), and to those subscribing to the NST this year (for the period of their sponsorship and subscription respectively).

Schools not under either category but who are interested in participating can register with a fee of RM150 per school year.

The NIE unit is currently holding teacher briefings around the country.

The new NiEXUS site has got teachers excited, as its first briefing session proves.

Jacob Matthew, from SMK Subang Utama, Petaling Jaya says it is an interesting and attractive portal with a good selection of activities where students will enjoy writing on the happenings at their school in this portal.

Sri Wahyuni Mohamed Kham, a lecturer at a teachers training college, is enthusiastic about what the students can do on the site.

The Continuing Tale is a very creative way to get students to think critically and creatively.

"And the beautiful part is that students are encouraged to write," she says.

My School Rocks, A Day in Your Life and My Say are great ideas to get students to write and express themselves, providing an excellent opportunity for students to have their work published and shared.

The Teacher Site is good in helping teachers monitor their students' progress and providing generous amounts of NIE activities.

As NIE facilitator Jagdish Bain puts it: "I think it is an excellent way to get students involved in the net. Even I am excited!"

For more details on NiEXUS and to subscribe, call Hanna Sheikh Mokhtar or Kulwant Kaur at the NIE Unit at 03-2056-9615/9692 or fax 03-2282-2335.

NiEXUS can be accessed at NiEXUS

University of London to set up Campus in NS

Thanks to a reader for forwarding me this news.

Read this in The Star a few days back as well. I personally do not know much background of Royal Holloway. Any reader here mind share on it? I would look at this setting up of branch campus as a positive step forward.

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Quoted from The Star

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Friday February 1, 2008


University of London to set up campus in Negri

KUALA LUMPUR: A prestigious British university has agreed to set up a branch campus here by next year.

Royal Holloway, University of London, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with KLEC Ventures Sdn Bhd to set up its first offshore campus in Asia at Bandar Enstek, Negri Sembilan under the KL Education City project (KLEC).

KLEC is planned as an integrated and self-contained education city that will feature a mix of international, local and regional education institutions. Royal Holloway is one of the constituent colleges of the University of London and is a leading research-based university.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, who witnessed the signing of the MoU, described the proposed branch campus as a milestone in the development of Malaysia as a higher education hub.

“Such collaborations will help Malaysian institutions move up the value chain and improve the quality of our higher education.”

Mustapa added that Royal Holloway would be the fifth foreign university to have a branch campus here. The other branch campuses are Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne University of Technology.

“This new branch campus would result in more foreign students coming to Malaysia. There are about 8,000 students studying in these four branch campuses, and about 25% of their enrolment is made up of foreigners.”

He said Malaysia had always had strong links with Britain in the field of education.

“Currently, there are 12,000 Malaysians studying in Britain and 80 British institutions have cooperative programmes here,” he said.

Signing on behalf of KLEC was its group managing director Kahlil Anwar Kamal while Royal Holloway was represented by vice-principal (academic affairs) Prof Rob Kemp.

Tzuo Hann's Bike For Malaysia

Blogged about Tzuo Hann's Long Way Home Adventure here .

The details for Bike For Malaysia is now out!

Do read it at here

Hope to see many would sign up!

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