MONDAY, 23 DECEMBER – A talk presented by leading preacher, Ustaz Don Daniyal Don Biyajid was well received by more than 200 participants at a seminar entitled ‘Prayers and Invocations With Ustaz Don Daniyal’ which was held at the Main Lecture Hall 2, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) recently.

The one-day programme which was jointly organised by UMS and Selangor International Islamic University College analysed the history and the philosophy of prayers and its importance to Muslims.

In his talk, he emphasised on the importance of keeping prayer regardless of rank and status of a person. He added that prayer is the key pillar in ensuring security in the world and the hereafter for a Muslim.

“A Muslim should know the immensity and beauty of prayers through the 13 Pillars of prayer,” he said. He also explained to the audience the wisdom of prayers in our daily life.

The Anti-Corruption Secretariat UMS, Abdul Khaidir bin Mohmad Adli; Head cum Main Committee member of the seminar was pleased with the response given by participants of the seminar.

He said the participants were not only from UMS but also from outsiders which clearly showed that programmes such as this would garner interest among local community.

“I hope we had helped unlocked the problem of understanding and confusion on prayers,” he concluded. – SM

 
Media Division
Chancellery Department
 

MONDAY, 23 DECEMBER – Prudent spending of allocation given by the Federal Government is the responsibility of all organisations in order to curb wastage.

As such, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) held a workshop on UMS Budget Consultation 2013 which was held recently to expound the financial position of UMS based on the budget approved by the Ministry of Education Malaysia (KPM).

The workshop which was organised by the Bursary Department of UMS among others also looked at ways to earn extra income at the same time reduce operating costs through strategic financial planning and cost-cutting measures.

UMS Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohd. Harun Abdullah said at the opening ceremony of the workshop; as a statutory body, we should manage and spend according to the policies and regulations set by the government.

“It is the responsibility of the Treasury (PTJ) Head to implement activities based on the concept of ‘prudent spending’, and should be used based on our accountability as the controlling officer according to the Financial Procedure Act 1957 and Treasury Directive including the Finance and Accounting Rules of UMS,” he added.

Haji Rizal Othman also presented the 2013 and 2014 UMS Budget Scenario on budget and approval, comparison of income and expenditure as well as income generation for the university. – ZMD

 

Media Division

Chancellery Department

 

FRIDAY, 20 DECEMBER – Student Digital Screen Festival (FSDP) Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) which ended last night saw ‘Tanduo’ captured 6 awards including Best Film.

The movie ‘Tanduo’ which centred on the struggles of young children defending their village from the attack of intruders clinched the award for Best Visual Special Effects, Best Sound, Best Screenplay and Best Original Story, Audience Choice and Best Director.

“I am happy,” said Mohd Sopi, director and producer of the film ‘Tanduo’ who is also a third year student of Visual Art Technology Programme, School of Arts (SPS), UMS when met by Chancellery media.

“It took three months for me and 11 members of the production team to complete the film with many challenges such as budget, time, weather and lack of equipment,” he said.

He added that the idea of producing this 18 minute film initiated from the intrusion on Lahad Datu, Sabah that occurred earlier this year and that idea was translated into visual form which was well received by the audience as well as the panel of jury.

“I am fortunate and grateful to our lecturers who always give comments, criticism and advice throughout the making of this film,” said the winner who will be producing a sequel to ‘Tanduo’ in the near future.

According to the Festival Coordinator, M Fazmi Hisham, the organising of the event was to recognise the creativity and film production of UMS students.

“Besides recognition, students would be able to showcase and share their film production with students and audience through FSDP,” he added.

He further informed that the feedback from audience and viewers was to have FSDP open its doors to Public and Private Higher Learning Institutions in Sabah so as to have a healthy competition with the hope that it would produce better quality films.

The first of its kind, FSDP which offered 14 awards up for grabs received a total of 18 entries altogether, produced by students of SPS including entries from students of Labuan School of Informatics Science (SSIL), Labuan International Campus UMS.

Assistant Director of FINAS Industrial Training Unit, Zainuddin Aman officiated the FSDP award ceremony and also presented prizes to winners.

Also present was the Dean of SPS, Assoc. Prof. Abdul Jamal Abd. Hamid, Deputy Dean (Student Affairs), Dr. Zairul Anuar Md Dawam and lecturers from SPS, who also presented some of the prizes to the winners. – CD

 

Media Division
Chancellery Department
 

WEDNESDAY, 18 DECEMBER – A total of 20 Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) students celebrated the completion of the Mandarin course in Tianjin, China recently.

The three-month language course was part of the Malaysia-People’s Republic of China Student Mobility Programme for six months after the last of their university semester.

The course was organised by the Centre for Industry Excellence (Retail and Wholesale), Education Ministry in collaboration with the National Advance Training Centre (NATC) and Tianjin Foreign Studies University (TFSU), China.

According to the Head of the Centre for Industry Excellence, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hartini Ahmad, the Malaysia-People’s Republic of China Student Mobility Programme was aimed at increasing the employability of graduates in the field of retailing and wholesale.

“With their Mandarin language speaking ability, they would have an edge to be employed in the industry. This was evidenced by a number of local industries that had shown interests in taking them after the programme ended,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dean of the College of International Exchange (TFSU), Professor Xiang Cheng-Dong said Malaysian students had shown outstanding performance to be able to communicate in Mandarin very well in a short period. He sincerely hoped that this programme would be continued in future.

NATC Business Development Director, Noor Azli Yusof reasoned the pairing with local students which was a first, as a factor for the fast learning of this batch of students compared to the first batch last year.

Meanwhile, one of the students when interviewed said the programme was not only on the learning of language but also an exposure to the unique Chinese community culture.

Also present at the ceremony was the Deputy Director of the Centre for Industrial Relations UMS, Dr. M. Kamel Wan Ibrahim who praised the students for their commitment shown and who were willing to miss their convocation day just to be able to join this programme.

All the students will be placed in a number of industries such as retail network such as Parkson China and Aeon Mall, China starting 2 January 2014. – SS

 
Source: Centre for Industrial Relations, UMS


Media Division
Chancellery Department