WEDNESDAY, 11 JANUARY - An E-print Intensifying Workshop in collaboration with Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) was held from 9 – 11 January 2017 at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). 

The main objective of this workshop was to improve UMS institutional Repository (IR) services to meet the needs of users and to improve the university’s performance in Webometrics ranking.

The activity organised by UMS Webometrics Team involved eight participants from the Department of Information and Communication Technology (JTMK) and UMS Library.

A sharing session on the best practices in systems and information management was held including a hands-on training on maintaining and operating of the systems.

This collaboration was the result of an earlier discussion held during a working visit to Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

This activity was led by Haji Shaiful Yazam and Muizzudin Kaspol of Tun Abdul Samad Library, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER – The ‘Grand Recital’ organised by the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Heritage (FKSW) made a come back recently after a long absence.

Organised as the curtain call for all the recitals held, the Grand Recital featured acts and performances by lecturers, tutors and students of Year Two and Three from the Music, Creative Arts, and Visual Arts Programmes.

Dean of FKSW, Prof. Dr. Ismail Ibrahim expressed that the Grand Recital is a programme to uncover the talents of students in various fields.

“The recital is a holistic programme, I hope it would continue to be organised to increase our knowledge,” he urged.

The opening act of the Grand Recital saw a sketch by lecturers, Associate Professor Dr. Low Kok On, Dr. Puad Bebit, Hajijah Lamiri and Salmie Jemon.

Among other dances featured were Joget Pahang, and Zapin Sebat that won the UMS Zapin Fiesta 2016, and captured the third spot at the UMS Labuan International Folk Dance and Music Festival.

Other recital included a performance entitled “Prebet Kabimbangan” that captured the Champions title at the Sabah Theatre Festival 2016 and the Malaysian Theatre Festival 2016, among many other awards.

Other performances included from lecturer, Sharip Zainal Sangkif Shek and his group Rhythm of Borneo who were champions at the 2010 World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA), a solo presentation by staff of FKSW, Felix Agus (Akademi Fantasia 3, 1^st Runner-up), with special appearance by lecturers, Associate Professor Dr. Baharudin Arus and M Fazmi Hisham. – FL

Source: Junior Kimwah, FKSW

FRIDAY, 9 DECEMBER  - An Occupational Safety and Health Week was held at the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Heritage (FKSW) from 7 to 9 December 2016, in line with the Occupational Safety and Health global theme, “Workplace Stress: a Collective Challenge”.

The event was organised by Second Year students of Industrial Relations Programme (HA12), FKSW.

Industrial Safety and Health Course lecturer, Salmie Jemon said the aim of organising this event was to promote awareness among students and staff on the hazards, risks and dangers, and mechanisms to minimise or eliminate these problems in the workplace.

“This programme also aims to increase the employability of our graduates, where it serves as a learning platform based on off-campus experience in the industry,” Salmie said.

An academic poster exhibition was also held by a total of 13 student groups where findings from their field work were featured.

“This programme also teaches our students on personal grooming, to think creatively and be innovative in solving problems, be dynamic in facing work challenge and be ready to tackle the fierce labour market in the fourth industrial revolution,” she added.

Among the activities held were talks by guests speakers who are experts in the field of Occupational Safety and Health, a demonstration by Bomba on fire-fighting and rescue operation, CPR demonstration by Malaysia Civil Defence Department (JPAM) UMS, free health screenings from Health Centre UMS, and a Blood Donation Drive by the Blood Bank of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu. – FL

Kota Kinabalu – The most comprehensive checklist of the largest reef-building corals in Sabah, the staghorn corals (Acropora spp.), was recently published by a team of researchers from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) in the November issue of the international journal Zootaxa (Magnolia Press).

The researchers reported 83 species of staghorn corals occuring in the waters of Sabah through review of published accounts within the last three decades by various research groups, and records of voucher specimens deposited in the Biotechnology Research Institute (BRI) and Borneo Marine Research Institute (BMRI) of UMS, and the Museum of Tropical Queensland, Australia.

The richness of staghorn coral fauna reported for Sabah parallels that of Indonesia and is comparable to the diversity reported in other neighbouring countries. It accounts for 70 per cent of the 120 staghorn species identified globally.

Former Director of the Biotechnology Research Institute and Principal Investigator of the project, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vijay Kumar, said:

"The number of staghorn coral species we tallied for Sabah is nothing short of impressive as its coastline is relatively much shorter in contrast to other coastal nations in Southeast Asia. Our findings further highlight the staggering diversity of Sabah's biological resources in the marine environment, apart from the terrestrial realm."

Twelve staghorn coral species in the checklist constitute first records for Sabah including a rare species, Acropora suharsonoi, which was collected during marine bioprospecting project undertaken recently by BRI.

"The highest number of staghorn coral species was recorded in Darvel Bay, followed by the Bangi group of islands, and the waters off Semporna. The corals of Darvel Bay are the best studied in Sabah and much of the current knowledge regarding its biodiversity is attributed to a 1998 scientific expedition led by researchers from Denmark and BMRI" said Rolando Robert who is the first author of the paper.

A third of the staghorn corals of Sabah are listed as threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Banggi group of islands was recently gazetted as the largest Marine Protected Area in Malaysia in the middle of this year, a decision influenced greatly by information imparted by various scientific studies on coral reefs at the site.

"The publication from UMS agrees with the decision taken by the Government in this regard, " said Dr Abdul Fatah bin Amir, Director of the Sabah Biodiversity Centre.

Dr Fatah added that the information disclosed in the checklist would promote deeper taxonomic resolution at which future studies concerning staghorn corals are conducted. Baseline information and continuous monitoring efforts are necessary to gauge for changes in the staghorn coral biodiversity of Sabah in light of intensified climate change and coral reef degradation occurring around the world.

The journal article was also co-authored by Dexter J. H. Lee, Kenneth F. Rodrigues, Muhammad Ali S. Hussein and Zarinah Waheed.

Source: Daily Express Sabah