Blaze Magazine VOL 01 ISSUE 02

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Contents

Advisor : Elizabeth Lee

Editorial Team : Jerrine Koay (Editor)Jacqueline M. Lim (Writer)Choy Ee Ling (Writer)Marilyn John (Photographer)

Contributors :Dr Teoh Hsien-JinMalenee JinadasaJeremy Ian HendricksMuhammad Izzat

Publisher :Sunway University College

Concept + Design :scratchdisk creative

Should you have comments orwish to be on the mailing list,kindly contact:

The Public RelationsDepartmentSunway University CollegeNo. 5, Jalan UniversitiBandar Sunway46150 Petaling JayaSelangorMalaysiaTel: 603-74918622Fax: 603-56358633Website: www.sunway.edu.my

Other educational institutionsunder the Sunway EducationGroup :

Sunway College IpohTel: (05) 5454398

Sunway College Johor BahruTel: (07) 3596880

Intec College, Kuala LumpurTel: (03) 79811102

Disclaimer:The views and opinions expressedor implied in Blaze are those o theauthors or contributors and do notnecessarily re ect those o SunwayUniversity College.

Printer:Ocean Trans er (M) Sdn Bhd

Blaze re ects the upgraded status Sunway University College (SyUC).This status was con erred by the Ministry o Higher Education in August2004. Both the institution and the magazine have since outgrown the

ormer Collegiate Chronicles magazine, which Blaze now supercedes.

Explanatory notes: Blaze was selected as its name signifes SyUCsburst o achievements in recent years. SyUC is a trailblazer in the areao excellence in education pursued with a aming passion in the hearts

o its sta and students.

Cover Story

4 A Wonder ul Cache o Books A Gi t rom DrGoh Cheng Teik to THOL

Features

6 Bringing a Sense o Pride to a SpecialStudent o SMK Bandar Sunway

8 Taking a School Under its Wing

9 Manchester Business School MBAs inFinance and Engineering now at SyUC

10 Students Cause a Stir in Kelantan

Alumni News

17 A Karachi Connection in SyUC

Hallmarks

18 SyUC Environmental Proponent Wins Award

19 Four Rounds o Brilliance by MUFY Sunway!

20 Seeing Double at the A Level Graduation atSunway

21 The SyUC CIMP - Nurturing Thinkers

Sports Scene

26 SyUC Tops Inter-Varsity TaekwondoTournament

27 Fast and Frenzied Football Daze in 2006

Living Well

22 Overcoming Procrastination

A Friendo the

Environment

SyUC is an earthfriendly institution.Please prolong theuse ulness o thismagazine by sharing itwith others or recyclingit when it has outlastedits use.

Your Say

24 Treading Care ully on the Lighter Sideo Courtesy

Happenings

12 A Colour ul Evening o Fun

13 Princeton Student takes Gap Year at SyUC

14 Terry, Terry, Quite Contrary

16 Seeking Out an Outstanding Literary Talent


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Some o Dr Gohs avourite hauntsor book browsing were the Harvard

Co-op and other bookstores atHarvard Square; He ers and Dillonsin Cambridge; Blackwells in Ox ord;Foyles in London; and SelectBookshop and MPH in Singapore.

The books were written by prominentand in uential writers gathered romall corners o the world and made animpressive addition to the existingTHOL collection o 130,470 items.

Dr Goh graciously explained In truthTHOL is doing me a great avour byaccepting my books. Finding spaceto shelve them is posing to be a majorproblem It is with a happy heart thatI donate all the books I have beencollecting or over our decades toTHOL, he added.

Being the mentor that Dr Goh is, he

said Since I have collected ar morebooks than I am able to read, I shouldshare them with those who have timeto do so, particularly students andlecturers. I can still re er to them at thislibrary when necessary

The total library expenditure on booksand materials over the past eight yearsamounted to RM22.7 million. Thebudget or this year is RM4.57 millionwhich is shared in the portions o RM2.059 million or SyUC and RM2.511million or Monash University, Malaysia.

This gi t rom Dr Gohs personalcollection is priceless as the bookswere well chosen, sourced by one o our ormer statesmen and re ect themind o a thinker. This would defnitelybeneft and inspire many studentswishing to improve themselvesintellectually said Ms Elizabeth Lee,Executive Director, SyUC.

The hard collection o books, print journals and newspapers at THOLis complemented by thousands o electronic and audiovisual materialswhich include more than 24,000 onlinee-books, 15,000 electronic journals and18 online e-databases.

The ISO-9001 certifed library (since

April 2003) serves the students andsta o both Sunway University Collegeand Monash University, Malaysia.

YBhg Tan Sri Dato Seri (Dr) Je reyCheah, Founder and Chairman o the Sunway Group, received thebooks. The ceremony was witnessedby the Guest-o -Honour, YB DatoSri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, theMinister o Education, Malaysia, whos

ather was Chairman o the Board o Governors, at SyUC in the early years.

Tan Sri Dato Seri (Dr) Je rey Cheahsaid Traditionally and especiallyduring the last 200 years, an educated

person was someone who shared acommon stock o ormal knowledge.It is however, increasingly recognised,that an educated person will besomeone who has learned how tolearn and throughout his or her li etime,continues to learn. Dr Gohs specialbook collection will there ore contributesubstantially to this continuous learningprocess

Dato Sri Hishammuddin Tun Husseinsaid It is obvious that Dr Goh is anavid reader considering the number o books he has donated today. Dr Gohis known not only or his achievements

as an academician, past politician andDeputy Minister, but an outstandingscholar and we can see his passion orbooks and knowledge in the range o titles he has read

Dato Sri added Libraries should beseen as students waterway to theocean. In this sa e, nurturing waterway,students should acquire the necessaryknowledge to enable them to learn toswim in the rough seas o the corporateocean

This supports the most o ten quotednotion about books.

The reading o all good books islike conversation with the fnest

men o past centuries

-Descartes

May we never cease to have theseconversations and we thank youDr Goh or allowing us a peek into yourworld o knowledge throughyour books.

COVER STORY

Dato Sri Hishammuddin fnds a book on his atherTun Hussein Onn at THOL. Ms Wong Sook Jean,Chie Librarian (in red) looks pleased.

Dato Sri Hishammuddin enjoying an in ormal chat with SyUC students, at the Student Services Department o Sunway University College.

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FEATURES

Bringing a Senseof Pride to aSpecial Studentof SMK Bandar Sunway

Their di fculties extend only to theuse and acquisition o oral, literacy,reasoning or mathematical skills

and are instrinsic to the individuals.Puan Hjh. Juairiah bt. Hj. Johari, thecoordinator o the special class o 71students, who has been involved withthem or the past 22 years, has beenthe driving orce in shaping this school-within-a-school.

Their unique curriculum is modifedrom the mainstream and includes

innovative training programmes. Veryo ten the curriculum is tailored to eachindividual. They learn basic reading,

writing and mathematics, living andsocial skills, religious and moraleducation, sports and preparatory skills

or vocational training explained PuanJuairiah.

Like most o us, these students needlinks with the world beyond theirclassroom added Puan Juairiah, whoholds a masters degree in specialeducation.

Seeing a need in the area o vocationaltraining, the Sunway Group pulledsupport rom some o its subsidiariesto provide jobs or the special students.

There are presently nine specialstudents under this project, our o them are working at the Petting Zoo,two at the Sunway Lagoon ResortHotel, two at the Pyramid ShoppingCentre and one, Siti Farhah Azyan BtBasiron is involved in ull-time trainingat the Sunway University CollegeSchool o Hospitality, Tourism andLeisure Management.

With the shared goals o stimulatingdevelopment, sel -esteem and

enhancing employment, as theSunway Group, the special class o SMK Bandar Sunway has, through itsG.O.L.D (Generating Opportunities orthe Learning Disabled) programmeset up a Bakery cum Ca also knownas Gold Street Ca and a Cra tCentre. This was made possible withthe generous help o the Kiwanis Cluband unds raised by the school. Atpresent it is the only special schoolwith such acilities or antastic learningopportunities.

Siti Farhah (right) during a culinary arts class under Che Mokhtars (centre)close supervision

The Sunway Group o Companies (o which Sunway University Collegeis a subsidiary o ) initiated a pilot project under the groups CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR) programme to teach skills and provide jobopportunities to a group o students in the special class o SMK BandarSunway. These special needs students di er rom the mainstream inhaving learning disabilities but are no di erent rom normal students intheir enthusiasm and irrepressible thirst or learning.

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FEATURES

The Ca and the Cra t Centre,which was built in 2004 at a cost o RM150,000 brings a sense o purposeto the everyday education o the

special students. The students learnbaking and simple ca operations atthe Ca and another group o students

ashion beauti ul fne china by handand fred in their own kiln. Theseactivities take place on Saturdays withteachers and volunteers. Parents areencouraged to join and assist them.

With the support o the AluminiumCompany o Malaysia Bhd (ALCOM),the special students are producing

estive greeting cards with handmaderecycled paper at the Cra t Centre. Thetask o making these high quality cards

rom scratch using unwanted papers

to the fnished product rests entirely inthe hands o the students and teachers.

ALCOM handles the marketingand distribution o the product tocompanies.

At the training kitchen o the Schoolo Hospitality at SyUC, 20-year oldSiti Farhah is busy preparing the

vegetables or the soup o the day.She is undergoing a closely supervised3 month individualised trainingprogramme in the basic techniques

o the culinary arts. A ter her trainingat the hospitality school, she will beattached to the Sunway Lagoon ResortHotel or on-the-job training oranother 3 months.

Her warm smile is an indication thatshe is com ortable here. When askedhow she ound her training, she repliedslowly but confdently It is great I amlearning a lot o things.

It means a lot to the students to begiven an opportunity to be involvedin real activities. The pay that somereceive in return or work is very much

appreciated by them said PuanJuairiah.

We are grate ul to the SunwayUniversity College or their supportthrough this excellent project and it isan ideal arrangement or the specialneeds students to have the opportunityto learn marketable skills and gain a

real perspective on the world right herein their backyard she added

Mrs Mae Tan, Head o the School

o Hospitality, Tourism and LeisureManagement said that Through SitiFarhahs presence in our programmes,it has re ocused our hospitalitystudents to the great need to helpthose who are less ortunate than themand someday as adult members o thesociety, we hope they will contributepositively towards the needs o thecommunity

Siti Farhah with a batch o reshly

baked pastries

Special student Razak Razali (right),17 and his mum (le t) at the Gold StreetCa s kitchen

Puan Juairiah (centre) guiding other students ShukriShukor, 17 (le t) and Wong Kar Weng,13 (right)

Expert paper makers, Ashra (le t), 18 andWilliam Lim (right), 19

Puan Juairiah at the wall o the Ca painted by students

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FEATURES

Taking a School

Under its Wing

The frst school chosen to be adoptedwith the launch o the school adoptionprogramme was SMK Subang Utama.The ceremony was graced by YB DatoChng Toh Eng, Permanent Chairmano Multimedia, Environment and NewVillage Development Committee. MsElizabeth Lee, Executive Director, SyUCsaid that it was an honour to welcomethe frst school into its amily, which

was selected due to the outstandingper ormance o its students andto the schools commitment tocomputerisation which it hadundertaken since 1995.

The objective o this programmeis or SCT to advise and assist ondevelopment o the In ormationTechnology (IT) in schools and toprovide IT support. SCT is committedto achieving 100 percent ICT literacyamong the sta o schools by providing

basic ICT training that will enable themto achieve academic excellence saidElizabeth Lee. She added I commendboth the sta and students o SMK Subang Utama in their ar-reachinge orts to embrace ICT and to make it amodel or others to ollow

In wanting its IT degree students totake charge o IT knowledge and not tobe its mere servants, Sunway UniversityCollege set up the ICT R & D Centresix years ago. The Centre has provided

students an avenue to develop andimplement research projects mainlyin the area o mobile solutions,multimedia production, timetablingsolutions, web-based solutions andaugmented reality.

Some o the very success ul projectswith SyUC students include aNuerosurgery Logbook or a medicalcentre, a web-based approval systemand the M-care Solution, a managedhealthcare application.

A library system so tware, knownas SyLibs was designed by theSCT students and sta recently.SMK Subang Utama was one o thefrst schools to success ully test theso tware at its library. This so tware isavailable as network and stand-aloneversions and has use ul eatures suchas stock-checking and the ability toimport data rom SMM which replacesthe need or time-consuming dataentry.

In most education systems in the West,in ormation technology is ormallyintegrated into the school curriculum.With the arrival o the Internet and thebroadband connections to school, theapplication o IT knowledge, skills andunderstanding in these subjects are setto take over and bring us to a di erent

place altogether. With the adoption,we hope to make a tremendous impactin ICT knowledge and its applicationson SMK Subang Utama students andsta said Elizabeth Lee.

A Memorandum o Understandingsigning ceremony was held between on22 July 2006 to seal an agreement orthe mutual commitment o obligationsbetween the two institutions.

Elizabeth Lee, Executive Director, SyUC (le t)presenting a token to Puan Fatimah Uni, Principal oSMK Subang Utama.

Ms Elizabeth Lee and Puan Fatimah Uni signing theMoU to ormalise the new parent-child relationship.Witnessed by YB Dato Chng Toh Eng (centre) andTuan Haji Yuso Bin Mohd Sani (le t), Chairman oPIBG o the school.

Touring the Schools acilities. (From le t to right)Puan Fatimah Uni, Tuan Haji Yuso Bin Mohd Sani,Dato Chng Toh Eng, and Mr Kanendran T. Arulrajah,Head o the School o Computer Technology, SyUC.

In tandem with the Ministry o Educations call to encourage schoolsto increase their e ciency through computerisation, the School oComputer Technologys (SCT) ICT R & D Centre at Sunway UniversityCollege (SyUC) has plans to adopt several schools in the neighbouringSubang Jaya/USJ vicinity to provide ICT support as part o itscommunity service.

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Manchester Business SchoolMBAs in Financeand Engineeringnow at SyUC

These MBAs have been designed to ftaround busy work schedules allowingambitious-minded individuals to pursuea highly sought a ter qualifcationwithout any interruptions to their career.

As an accredited partner o theManchester Business School (MBS)Worldwide, Sunway University Collegetaps into the 15 year track record o the MBS Worldwide in delivering a wellproven programme, blending sel -studywith ace-to- ace residential workshops.This prestigious course can bepursued at any one o the worldwidecentres namely Hong Kong, Jamaica,Singapore, United Arab Emirates,United Kingdom and now Malaysia.

Students get to attend intensiveworkshops which total about 200-250hours or the whole course led by theUK aculty. Extra local tutorial sessionso ered by SyUC and conducted as a

orum o discussions, enable studentsto gain a greater understanding o the subjects and topics. Faculty sta spend a f th o their time consultingwhich translates into up-to-the-minuteexpertise relevant to the workplace.

Assessment is by both assignmentsand open book examinations.

A programme such as this withcurrently over 3,000 studentsworldwide gives great opportunity

or networking with ellow globalexecutives in an active alumni andlearning rom academics o di erentbackgrounds. SyUC took in 20students in its inaugural intake in Julythis year.

Established in 1965, the ManchesterBusiness School is one o thelargest campus based business andmanagement schools in the UK.It enjoys a ranking o the 3rd topbusiness university in the UK, 7th

Dr Marie-Aime Tourres, Head-Manchester BusinessSchool Worldwide at SyUC, welcomes the frstbatch o the MBS Worldwide MBA students at theOrientation Evening in July.

FEATURES

in Europe and 22nd in the world,according to the Financial Times TopMBA Ranking 2006. It is one o the ewinstitutions to hold triple internationalaccreditations : AACSB (USA) , EQUIS(Europe) and AMBA (UK). All graduatesare awarded the same MBA as the on-campus programme in the University o Manchester.

The MBS MBA is an excellent plat ormor corporate-minded individuals to

develop themselves, expand theirhorizons and ace challenges head-on as they strive to gain as much aspossible rom this world class post-graduate course.

Applications close on November 15thor the January 2007 intake.

For more in ormation on thisprogramme, please visitwww.mbs-worldwide.ac.uk

New students having a bite during the in ormal dinnerat the Orientation Evening or the MBS MBA

One does not have to venture very ar to pursue a worldacclaimed Master o Business Administration (MBA). The

Manchester Business School Worldwide MBA programmes,one or nancial managers and nance pro essionalsand the other or engineering business managers; areavailable at Sunway University College (SyUC) as part-time programmes or global pro essionals wishing toacquire the crowning achievement that will be the ultimateembellishment to their already illustrious resumes.

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Per ormed principally in the state o Kelantan, it is a ritualistic, stylised orm

o dance and acting accompaniedby vocals and music played withtraditional instruments. The repertoireshave traditionally been transmittedorally by the per ormers o whichthere are only a hand ul today, muchless than when it was per ormed in itsheyday.

The Mak Yong is per ormed orentertainment and or spiritual and

healing purposes. It may also beper ormed in combination with theshamanistic Main Puteri ritual, ornon-theatrical healing. Many theoriesabound to explain the Mak Yongsorigins. Experts say it is steeped inthe supernatural, with segments in thedance traditionally having invocationsaddressed to spirits inhabiting theenvironment. These rituals leadto an improved sense o physical,psychological and emotional wellbeing.

FEATURES

Students Cause aStir in Kelantan

The 8 students rom SyUCs Diplomain Per ormance + Media (P+M)

programme were studying the Mak Yong and Wayang Kulit under theguidance o Shaari Abdullah, theleader o the Kumpulan Warisan SriTemenggong Troupe which staged theshow. Encik Shaari is a well respectedteacher and per ormer o Mak Yongand the Wayang Kulit.

The Mak Yong being per ormed or the students

A behind-the-scenes

look at the WayangKulit per ormance

Rey Buono (le t), Shaari Abdullah (centre) andPro essor Ghulam-Sarwar Youso (right)

In the idyllic quiet o a village not ar rom Kota Bahru,surrounded by padi elds and pondoks, a group o studentsare observing the intricate and grace ul Mak Yong, an ancientMalay dance-theatre orm.

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The trip was part o the requirementor the students Traditional Malaysian

Theatre in Per ormance module whichmust be ulflled. The objective o thisweek-long study trip, in late Februaryto early March was to involve thestudents in the immersion o research,observation and study o traditionalMalaysian theatre with a view to givethem a deeper understanding o thisgenre explained Rey Buono, theHead o the P+M Department whoaccompanied the students.

The group was also privileged tobeneft rom the presence o Pro essorDr Ghulam-Sarwar Youso , the Heado the Asian Cultural Heritage Centre,University o Malaya, who was on handto share his expertise with the students.Dr Ghulam is the worlds oremostexpert on traditional Malaysian theatre.

On 25 November 2005 underan application prepared with theconsultation o Dr Ghulam, Mak Yongreceived the honour o being one o 43 cultural masterpieces in the world

proclaimed by UNESCO as being apart o the Oral and Intangible Heritageo Humanity.

One o the students, Tengku AmaliaZahirah Binti Tengku Anuar Mussaddadsaid The Mak Yong is a beauti ul art

orm o the Malay culture that gives arich perspective o Kelantan. It is sadthat most o us will never get to see theMak Yong in its prime and all e ortsshould be made to preserve this dyingart.

The students intent on their studywere oblivious to the act that theywere in the centre o a controversycreated by the press. The next day,the show was mentioned in one o thenewspaper dailies and was re erred toas a banned dance. Contrary to whatthe press had said, the per ormanceviewed by the students was not apublic one and would not all in thecategory o a banned per ormance.

Shaari Abdullah or Pak Shaari as he ismore ondly known said We want toeducate the people on Mak Yong andmake it more accessible especially tothe younger generation.

Surprising developments a ter thebanned per ormance, has given hopeto Pak Shaari and many others. TheKelantan Local Government CommitteeChairman Takiyuddin Hassan saidMak Yong was not permitted or publicviewing but private shows were allowed

or students and tourists in Kelantan.He said there was a proposal to li t the

FEATURES

Pak Shaari playing the rebab (le t) or the

P+M students

Students learning the intricate movements o the Mak Yong

Some o the P+M students mingling with the Mak Yong per ormers a ter the show

ban on public shows i it containedIslamic values.

Another Mak Yong per ormance inKelantan ollowing this and scheduled

or April 8 was given the blessing o the Culture, Arts and Heritage MinisterDatuk Dr Rais Yatim. He said at thattime We want to bring arts to thepeople. I will be there at the plannedMak Yong show. I want to gauge theresponse rom the people o Kelantanand see i they accept the per ormanceor otherwise

On this visit to Kelantan, Rey Buonosaid The Mak Yong is truly magnifcentand the students presence hasinadvertently brought it the attention itdeserves rom the public. Im pleasedabout the outcome o not just thedebates and public attention but apositive change in the attitude o thestate and ederal authorities towardsthe Mak Yong and their attempts topreserve one o the most importantdance traditions o the world.

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HAPPENINGS

Princeton Student

takes Gap Year atSyUC

An outspoken young lady with agentle demeanour that hides a steelydetermination, Rina had her creditstrans erred easily to Princeton. I amreally pleased with that as it is a time-saver she said, which also attests tothe high standard o the Psychologyprogramme at SyUC.

Always ascinated about thescience o human behaviour, Rina,a Malaysian, frst came to knowabout the Psychology Department atSyUC when she became a researchassistant during her summer holidayslast year. She assisted in a surveyon Youth Li estyles in Malaysia byclinical psychologist Dr Teoh Hsien-Jin, Head o the School o Health andNatural Sciences, which oversees thePsychology Department.

22-year old Rina studied at SMK Damansara Jaya in Kuala Lumpur anddid well enough to win a pre-universityscholarship at the United World Collegeo the Americas in West New Mexicoprior to entering Princeton. Rina willreturn to Princeton next January whereshe will work towards gaining moreexperience that will put her in a betterstead to help others in the uture.She shared I am interested in childpsychology and hope to work withwomen and children when I graduate.It is ascinating to work with childrenespecially in their frst fve years, whentheir minds are easily shapedadded Rina.

Rina plans to spend the rest o her gapyear here continuing with her volunteerwork at the All Womens Action Society(AWAM) as a para-counsellor, providing

counselling and advice to women, onmany issues including relationshipsand abuse.

When asked what she would like tosee more o here, Rina replied I hopemore students will take time out tohelp the less ortunate. A student o any discipline should venture into thecommunity and not eel inadequate aseven at their level, their knowledge issu fcient to help others and they willlearn a lot in turn she said.

Rina Ayob speaking to Blaze at the Child Observation/Counselling Roomo the Department o Psychology, SyUC

The world has shrunk with the advent o global degree programmesaround the world with a common content, brought about by theshared goal o delivering a quality programme. SyUC was one suchinstitution when Rina Ayob, a psychology sophomore rom PrincetonUniversity took a gap year and completed a semester o studies in

the Psychology Honours degree course o ered by the Department oPsychology at SyUC.

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HAPPENINGS

Along comes Terry Soh, a cool, sel -assured student o Sunway UniversityCollege, to banish that thought.19 year-old Terry has just recently

completed the Canadian InternationalMatriculation Programme (CIMP) atSunway.

Do you know what is important tobecoming a good player? Terry posesthis question.

He lets a moment o suspense pass byand fnally says, Politics,

Politics? What does that have to dowith a collectible card game?

Being a part-time player, betweenbalancing studies and playing, Icant keep up with the latest gamestrategies, tips, etc, he explains, Soduring the international tournaments,I socialise with the pro essionalplayers to obtain this in ormation. Hispleasant demeanour no doubt maskshis intentions rom other unsuspecting

Magic players.

Terry and his younger brother, Soh Han Yuen, who is currently pursuing CIMPat Sunway and also active in Magic,have both been playing or aboutseven years now. The frst tournamentthat Terry took part in some yearsback in Subang Jaya was disastrous.I lost everything, he laughs good-naturedly. Since then, he has comea long way, ranking tops in many o

the tournaments held worldwide. Lastyear, Terry won the Magic InvitationalTournament, landing him the covetedprize - the right to design an MTG card,

eaturing his likeness.

Terry ew to his frst internationaltournament at the tender age o 15.Luckily his ather is open-minded. MyDad is a businessman. He wantedme to see more o the world and gainmore exposure Terry added, WhenI travel to the di erent countries orthese tournaments, I get to talk to morepeople. It builds my confdence andhelps me to be more analytical.

Seeing that he has the worldlinessand shrewdness that leans towardsa business calling, it seems apt thathe is now pursuing the Bachelor o Business Management Degree (Hons)at Sunway.

His success is in no small partattributed to old- ashioned hardwork and dedication. He usuallyputs in about 15 hours per week into

Terry, Terry,Quite Contrary

A ter completing the Canadian MatriculationProgramme at Sunway University College, Terryis pursuing the Universitys Bachelor in BusinessManagement Degree (Hons) Programme.

Terry gets the honour o having his ace

immortalised on this which appears in aMagic card.

When assigned to write on Malaysias own teensensation in Magic: The Gatherings (MTG) globaltournament arena, one cant help but jump toconclude that such a person would be a nerd. Onetends to have a pre-conceived notion that anyonewho can be obsessed with such games must beso, although very little is known by the mainstreampublic about collectible card games.

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HAPPENINGS

practicing, but when tournamentsdraw near he may spend 9 hourseach day with his cards - even morethan the hours o sleep we requiredaily. Consistency and discipline areimperative. A lapse in practice wouldmake him lose touch with tacticalplay and would require 2 to 3 days o intense training to regain.

Since Magic has expanded 3 yearsago to allow enthusiasts to battle it

out in cyberspace, Terry has seenmajor improvements to his skill. Localplayers are already amiliar with eachothers style. But playing online allowsme to play with a lot o di erent andun amiliar international personalities.I get more exposure to the game, heexplained.

The Magic tournaments held all yearround have a remarkably high payout.For the May 2006 Pro Tour held inPrague, Terry won USD 6, 000 (RM22,000) or ranking 11th place. This actalone would be enough to makeanyone consider a career change.

Besides cards, Terry has anotherlove - a Honda Integra DC5 - boughtand modifed using his gains romthe tournaments. Terry indulges witha ride in his car to look or a suitablephotography location on the Universitycampus.

Have you seen the movie Fast andFurious? he asks, as green trees,blue sky and staring aces whoosh byoutside the window. You know howthey inject NOS (common re erence orNitrous Oxide) into the engine to makethe car go aster? Well, this initiates it,he points to a bright red button on theright side o the dashboard. And onethought that ancy driving only exists inthe movies. Another misconception issmashed to bits once more.

A ter Terry obliges with some posesor the camera, he politely says his

thank yous and goodbyes. As hiscar disappears around a corner, Terryleaves the impression that he is nomere card player, but someone whoenjoys a good game and what li e hasto o er, which allowed him to grow inconfdence and wisdom. It was not thecards that made the man it incited thepotential in him to emerge.

Terrys success in cards uels his otherpassion a modifed Honda Integra DC

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HAPPENINGS

Sunway University College incollaboration with the Ox ord andCambridge Society o Malaysia onceagain hosted the annual OxbridgeEssay Writing competition heldrecently. Fi ty-seven (57) 4th and 5th

orm students rom 22 schools aroundthe peninsular rom the Klang Valley,Seremban, Melaka and Ipoh took partin the competition.

Ms Elizabeth Lee, Executive Director o Sunway University College, Cambridgegraduate and President o the Ox ord& Cambridge Society o Malaysiasaid We are proud and honoured towork hand-in-hand with the Ox ordand Cambridge Society o Malaysiain a quest to raise the standard onthe usage and mastery o the Englishlanguage in Malaysia

Competitors were given an hour tocompose an essay o a thousandwords on a topic selected rom a listo 5 questions on current issues. Thewinner was Varsha a/p Sivalingam

rom SMK Puteri, Seremban. Her essayresponded to the question In ourdetermination to be ahead o the otherswe have abandoned humanity, ethicsand decency. How ar do you think thisis evident in our society?

The Oxbridge judges were clearlyimpressed by the standard o thecompetition. The panel was made up o Dr Chua Hui Yen, Mr John Nicholson,Ms Sharon Saw and Ms Sue Wong

rom the Ox ord and CambridgeSociety o Malaysia.

From le t to right : Ms MargaretHall, Chairperson; Ms ElizabethLee, Executive Director SyUC; PnShireen Begum, teacher advisor o

the Champion school, ChampionVarsha a/p Sivalingam, SMK Puteri,Seremban; 1st Runner Up, SorayaKee, SMK Damansara Jaya; 2ndRunner Up, Tarrant Kwok SiewMing, Sekolah Wesley Methodist.

Pro Dr Noraini Tamin acilitating the frst part o an interesting workshop to a captivatingaudience on E ective Oral Communication Skills together with Mr Walter Jones.Pro Noraini is a Consultant to SyUC.

SeekingOut an

OutstandingLiterary Talent

The winning school bagged RM300,a trophy each or both the individualwinner and the school and a certifcateo commendation rom the Ox ord &Cambridge Society o Malaysia or thewinner.

The competition was also madeinto an Oxbridge English LanguageEvent that included workshopsconducted by a panel o distinguished

speakers who are graduates andmembers o the Ox ord & CambridgeSociety o Malaysia. The workshopswere: - E ective Writing Skills byMr. Mark Disney and Dato Dr M.Shanmughalingan and E ective Oral

Communication Skills by Mr. WalterJones and Pro Dr Noraini Tamin.

Time and again it has been said thatthe strength and advancement o anation depends on its people. Indeedthis is why; we are pleased to be parto this public service endeavour atSunway added Elizabeth Lee.

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ALUMNI NEWS

SyUC Alumnus

A KarachiConnectionin SyUC

It is the dream o every educator toreceive a call rom a ormer studentwho has made a notable impressionon the world. Such a call was receivedin April this year by Sunway UniversityCollege. It was City Nazim SyedMusta a Kamal, the Mayor o Karachiexpressing a desire to visit his almamater.

Sta s were in a state o excitementand looked orward to meeting this

ormer student. Any apprehensionthat may have been building up wassoon dissipated. When we met himwe were pleasantly surprised by acharming yet distinguished gentlemanwho was eager to share his memoriesat Sunway and to meet some o his

ormer lecturers said Mr Syed AbdulKadir, Lecturer o Pro essional Coursesat SyUC who lectured Syed Musta aKamal.

When he spoke it was obvious to allo us that he loved his time at Sunwayand it is a compliment to us thathe took the time o rom his tightlyscheduled business trip to visit usadded Mr Kadir.

Syed Musta a Kamal was born in hisnative Karachi in Pakistan in 1972. Hecame to Sunway College then as itwas known, to pursue an AssociateDiploma in Business Executive studies(ABE) rom 1996 -1998 and like mostinternational students, resided at theapartment hostels. He went on toearn an MBA in Marketing rom theUniversity o Wales. He once served asa Minister or In ormation Technologywith the Sindh Government in Pakistan.

Elizabeth Lee presenting a gi t to City Nazim SyedMusta a Kamal, Mayor o Karachi

City Nazim, a title equivalent to mayor,was earned by Syed Musta a Kamal inhis local elections in 2005. He bagged

1,493 votes against 800 votes o hisrival, ormer City Nazim NaimatullahKhan. He then took oath on October17, 2005.

It was such a proud moment or usto meet City Nazim Syed Musta aKamal and we are honoured to sharea close connection with him throughhis education said Elizabeth Lee,Executive Director o Sunway UniversityCollege. He is most welcome to visitus anytime again in the uture and welook to him as a link to help us orgecloser ties with the people o Karachiadded Ms Lee.

City Nazim Syed Musta a Kamal speaking toElizabeth Lee and Sta o SyUC.

I you wish join the SyUC Alumni, you may call the Students Services Department at 7491 8622 Extn 8021 (Adelene Goh) or 8069 (Elisa Dass). You may also emailyour details [email protected]. More in o can be ound at www.sunway.edu.my under Alumni.

VOL 01 ISSUE 02 / 2006 // 017


17/27

HALLMARKS

People should reduce their use o plastic bags said Dr Uthaya. Its sadthat we have reached a point wheresalespeople eel they have not servedus i they have not given us a plasticbag. Its a cultural norm now to expecta plastic bag but we can do our part toget the message across by reducingour dependence on plastic bagsJust keep saying no and i everyonere uses a plastic bag, the message will

eventually come through added DrUthaya.

Dr Uthaya Kumari K Raman is alecturer in Biology at the AmericanDegree Trans er Programme at SyUC.Recently, Dr Uthaya was honoured withthe K.Kumarasivam Endowment Fund(KKEF) 2006 Young EnvironmentalistInternship Award as the judges wereclearly impressed by her passion

or educating the community onenvironmental issues.

Her internship was a two-weeklong attachment with Village GreenEnvironmental Solutions Pty Ltd, inMelbourne, Australia. The companystrives to change peoples actionsboth at the work place and in thehome. Village Greens services includeassisting and advising SMEs andtheir communities on the best ways toreduce waste and increase energy andwater e fciency.

Dr Uthaya went on to explain thatplastic bags take a very long timeto degrade and when they do, theyrelease toxins into the soil andwaterways, polluting our environmentand even the water we drink. Some seaanimals eat the plastic bags thinkingit is ood but only to succumb sadly tochoking and dying.

I caterers and ca eterias would switchto non-disposable plates and cups,it would make a big di erence to theamount o garbage we produce andeventually reduce our landflls said DrUthaya commenting on the increasinguse o disposables during unctionsand parties.

Dr Uthaya has a degree in Botany romthe University o Malaya and a PhD in

Plant Physiology rom the Universityo Cambridge. It is time that eachindividual stops to think o how theiractions would a ect the environment.The simple act o reducing our wastesand changing the way we do things toa sustainable li estyle would contributeto help our ailing planet. We are indeedproud to have someone like Dr Uthayato steer us in the right direction.

With more and more companies jumping on the recyclingbandwagon in their e orts to project an environmentallyconscious image, it has now become essential or eacho us to understand that there is more to preserving theenvironment than recycling.

Dr Uthaya making a point on what wecan all do or the environment

SyUCEnvironmental

Proponent Wins Award

A Friendo the

Environment

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Four Roundsof Brilliance byMUFY Sunway!

The frst and second time it happened,they deserved applause. Clinching itthe third time vanquished any doubtsthat it was mere coincidence. Now,MUFY Malaysia has proven its mettleby receiving the Monash InternationalTop Scorer Award or the ourth time.The award has been presented only

our times thus ar and MUFY Malaysiahas won it on all occasions, a proudachievement indeed.

MUFY or Monash University Foundation Year is an Australian Year 12 equivalentpre-university programme that providesa smooth transition into highereducation. Graduates who achieve therequired grades will automatically beaccepted into the prestigious MonashUniversity.

The Top Scorer accolade is given tothe highest total score achiever amongall the MUFY students rom providersaround the globe. They span acrossdi erent countries, namely SunwayUniversity College (SyUC), Malaysia,Taylors College Melbourne andTaylors College Perth in Australia;and Vientiane College, Laos. Theoutstanding student this time aroundis Chee Aiying rom SyUC, whoreceived recognition during the MUFY Graduation Night recently.

HALLMARKS

Celestina Chin Ai Qi was chosen asValedictorian or her signifcant successin both academic and extra-curricularactivities, as well as possessingleadership qualities.

In addition, there are the MonashInternational Subject Awards,presented to the top scorers in eacho the nine subjects o ered amongstall the MUFY providers. The recentgraduation had SyUC studentssweeping six o them, with Aiyingbagging the Subject Awards orMathematics A, Mathematics B andPhysics. Serena Chua Yen Li, MarinaTan Su Min and Hardev Singh Dhillonwere the winners o the Subject Awardsin Economics, English and Biologyrespectively.

Among the Sunway MUFY students,Handy Santono emerged top scorer

or Computer Science as did Tan Hooi

Teng or Accounting. A total o 165students received their graduationcertifcates.

Aiying received a ull scholarshipto study Engineering at MonashUniversity Malaysia. Her proud parentswere present at the GraduationNight to witness their daughtersmoment o glory. They expressedtheir appreciation to the Universityand hailed its systematic programmestructure, well-organised and

comprehensive teaching methods, andwell-equipped acilities. In addition,the lecturers are knowledgeable anddedicated. They are not only greateducators but also great riends o thestudents, Mr. Chee praised.

Serena Chua and Handy Santonoreceived partial scholarships romMonash University Malaysia.

Apart rom academic opportunities,Sunway MUFY students have a chanceto meet international students throughvarious extra-curricular activites. SyUCis a melting pot o various nationalities,ethnicities and cultures, exposingstudents to di erent ideas andviewpoints in their daily interactions.

We teach the students to appreciatepeople. We want them to be able towork together and appreciate eachothers di erences, said Puan AdawiahNorli, Director o Sunways MUFY Thisprogram was and is continuing to bebuilt by di erent people, rom di erentplaces with di erent ideas. We haveused these di erences to make usstronger.

With lives just beginning or thesehope ul resh graduates, the oundationpaved by MUFY would undoubtedlyhelp them decide uture paths to take,leading them to success. Puan Norlisclosing words to them were, Whatyou must realize is that the educationthat you have received thus ar will bea oundation upon which you will buildyour lives. These arent the best yearso your li e. The best really is yet tocome!

Chee Aiying (right), receiving her award rom Lee HowChinh, Mathematics B lecturer.

MUFY Valedictorian Celestina (right) receiving heraward rom Puan Adawiah Norli (le t), Director oMUFY Sunway.

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HALLMARKS

Seeing Double at theA Level Graduation atSunway

Recently, during the graduationceremony in June this year, twostudents were glaringly exceptionaland were given the honour o beingthe class valedictorians. Both shone intheir di erent tur s and we just decidedthat there will be two valedictorians thisyear said Mrs Hor Poh Choo, Directoro the GCE A Level programme atSyUC.

Andrew Hoh Tjun Mee is one who

constantly sets high standards orhimsel . Andrew achieved As in allhis A level subjects. Not only is hea confdent, high calibre student, buthe enjoys the challenge o striking abalance between studies and co-curricular activities.

This was aptly demonstrated whenhe scored 10 As in his SPM whileproving himsel to be a talenteddebater. Andrew represented hisschool in interschool debates and was

the best speaker or the state o NegriSembilan. At SyUC he was presidento the Archery Club and the A LevelCommittee. Andrew will be pursuing

Accounting and Finance at the LondonSchool o Economics, UK.

Qu Hsueh Ming, another straight Astudent who shared the honour withHoh took an unusual combination o Mathematics, Further Mathematics,General Paper, Chemistry and

Economics or his A Levels. Describedas intellectually adventurous andperceptive, Qu is a talented writer,having won many international writingcompetitions. He emerged Championin the Ox ord and Cambridge EssayWriting Competition last year. Hewas also a shortlisted fnalist or theIMPAC Dublin Literary Award or YoungMalaysians this year.

Qu was the Secretary o the Sunway-Monash Chess Club and a member

o the A Level Committee. Recentlyhis brilliance was validated whenMENSA admitted him as a member. Itsno surprise that he will read Politics,Philosophy and Economics at Ox ordUniversity.

Valedictorian Andrew Hoh Tjun Mee delivered his thank you speechat the graduation ceremony. He is currently at the London School oEconomics reading Accounting and Finance

Valedictorian Qu Hsueh Ming presented his witty appreciation speech.Hsueh Ming is now pursuing his studies in Politics, Philosophy andEconomics at Ox ord University.

Sunway University College Cambridge GCE A Level programme hasalways had an excellent track record in its yearly academic results.In the June 2006 examinations, 33% o its students obtained 3 As

or better and ve o its top students were accepted into Ox ord andCambridge Universities.

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The SyUC CIMP -Nurturing Thinkers

The graduation ceremony was gracedby Mr. Bez Babakhani, ProgrammeManager o the Political Section o HighCommission o Canada, Puan Sri DatinSeri Dr Susan Cheah, EXCO Membero the Sunway Group and Mr Lee WengKeng, CEO Healthcare and Education,Sunway Group.

CIMP is an Ontario-based curriculumthat meets the requirements o theOntario Ministry o Education, Canada.The well-rounded course structure o this programme prepares the students

or the next level o their highereducation. More importantly perhaps,it grooms them to ace the real worldchallenges head on.

The class o 2006 commanded aremarkable 92% passing rate. Topstudent Eliza Tans outstandingacademic achievement made her a

HALLMARKS

recipient o both the Tan Sri Dato SeriDr. Je rey Cheah Award and GovernorGeneral o Canadas Medal.

Eliza agrees that the uniqueness o thisprogramme is that it stresses learningbeyond the classroom. CIMP is just sodi erent rom other programmes! sheenthused The students are expectedto not only grasp the knowledge but toapply it, which is so challenging andexciting. In the process o requiringus to apply our knowledge, CIMPsharpens our problem-solving skills,shaping us into becoming goodthinkers.

Nadya Erina, the Valedictorian o thegraduating class, sees eye to eye withTan. Through CIMP, I learned how tohandle real li e experiences, as wellas develop new talents and skills,she shared during her valedictorian

CIMP Valedictorian, Nadya Erina (right) about to get heraward rom Mr Lee Weng Keng, CEO Healthcare & EducationDivision o the Sunway Group

speech I would not be able to give thisspeech today i it wasnt or the manypresentations I gave in my classes!Besides achieving excellent academicresults, Nadya was actively involvedin extra-curricular activities includingthe Frisbee Club, Health Club,French Club, Talent Night OrganisingCommittee and the Society or thePrevention o Cruelty to Animals(SPCA) Charity Programme.

The graduates attributed their successto their lecturers, mostly Canadianand some local, who were care ullyselected or their qualifcations andextensive experience. The lecturersare so pro essional yet unbelievablyapproachable. And they are reallypassionate about what they teach,said Eliza.

Sunway CIMP graduates in thepast have success ully receivedscholarships and placements intoreputable universities in Canada,

Australia and many parts o the world.Eliza has been accepted into theUniversity o Melbourne to study Law.Nadya intends to pursue BusinessBanking and Finance, and Accountingat Monash University, Malaysia.

Eliza Tan (le t) a recipient o the Tan Sri Dato Seri Dr Je rey CheahAward receiving her Governor General o Canadas Medal rom MrBez Babakhani, Programme Manager o the Political Section o theHigh Commission o Canada in Malaysia.

One hundred and ninety-seven (197) graduates proudly walked onthe stage recently to receive the Ontario Secondary School Diploma(OSSD). This certi cation is awarded upon completion o the CanadianMatriculation Programme (CIMP), a premier pre-university programmeo ered at Sunway University College (SyUC).

VOL 01 ISSUE 02 / 2006 // 021


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OvercomingProcrastinationBy Dr Teoh Hsien-Jin

Does this scenario sound amiliar?

When people procrastinate, theyconstantly put chores and assignmentso . This is a very common problemamongst humans and it is not anew phenomena. There are severalcommon reasons or why this occurs.Here are some o the reasons:

Negative ThoughtsFeeling confdent is about believingin your abilities. This can get out o hand i you are continuously sayingnegative things about yoursel . Thesesel -de eating thoughts may sound likeI cant do it, I am a loser, or Im justno good. In the long run, you just eellousy about yoursel and cant bringyoursel to get started, because you donot have the confdence to do so.

Low Self EsteemHaving lots o negative thoughtsusually leads to low sel -esteem. Itlowers your mood, makes you eelunsure, and you just keep puttingthings o , either because you do not

eel you can accomplish the task orthat you eel you can get the job donelater.

Priorities in the Wrong OrderSuccess is not just about completingtasks. It is also about completing thesetasks in the right order. It all begins

with priorities, especially when you arehaving lots o things to do at the sametime. Draw up a list, think about whenthe projects are due, and put them ina list in order o what is due in termso deadlines, and also o di fculty.Generally, the more di fcult tasksshould rank as higher priority, and theless di fcult ones as lower priority.The assignments that are due frst, gethigher priority, and those that are duelater get a lower priority.

HistoryFamily and riends may be unwittinglycontributing towards a persondeveloping low sel -esteem. Have youever had relatives or riends who donot seem to have anything good tosay about anyone? They are alwayscriticising you, saying nasty thingsabout the way you do things, or sayingthat you could have done somethingbetter. As nasty as this sounds, it hasdetrimental e ects, and you mightbegin believing what these people aresaying which would eventually lead tolow sel -esteem.

What happens when youprocrastinate?When you procrastinate, and putthings o , you put the important tasksaside. This eventually ends up as outo sight, out o mind. Thus, you donot work on the assignment. Then

LIVING WELL

the deadline comes, and you beginto panic because you have not donethe task. It usually ends up in one o two ways. Either poorly completedbecause you have not given it yourbest shot or alternatively, it does notget completed. Either way, you eel

annoyed with yoursel , and guilty,and bad. All these negative eelingseventually lead to your sel esteemdropping urther.

SolutionsBeing a procrastinator is not the endo the world. Some people enjoyprocrastinating. The only problem isthat they never manage to get anythingcompleted. There are others whoknow that this is a problem. For thesepeople, here are some suggestions tohelp them.

Identify those negative thoughts

You cant be living li e on anautomatic mode. Be aware o whatyou are thinking. Keep a diary o the negative thoughts that are goingthrough your mind. The essence o control over li e starts with being awareo yoursel .

Prepare yourselfNo journey is ever completed i somepreparation is not done. Similarly,equipping yoursel with skills and

Serena was a student with lots o potential. She had good grades inSPM exams, spoke English fuently, and was a leader in all sorts osecondary school activities. She enrolled at Sunway University College,and commenced her degree programme with a good start. However,a ter a period o time her progress began to deteriorate. She was

always late or class, her assignments were never completed on time,and in the long run, she did not do well in her exams. When asked whythese things were happening, she just replied, I dunno, I just seem tobe putting things o , and am not always able to get started, then I eelguilty and hate mysel or it.

Dea

I still hav

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LIVING WELL

knowledge prepares you to aceadversity. Think care ully about howyou are going to handle a situationwhere you are either tempted to dosomething else, or when you eel likedelaying doing a task. I you havethought care ully through how you

are going to handle the situation, youare going to be a lot more preparedwhen the unexpected situationarises. Louis Pasteur, the amousscientist, once said Fortune avoursthe prepared.

Learn to reward yourselfI you have managed to overcomeprocrastination, then this new habitmust be maintained. It can only bedone i there is an incentive. True, theincentive should be the long term goalthat you set or yoursel , but it is alsoimportant to recognise the short termachievements, and to subsequentlyreward yoursel along the way. Thisway, you have something to look

orward to at various points along theway.

Break task down into smaller goalsLarge and exciting tasks may be niceto think about, but minds that havelimited memory processing power needsomething smaller to conceptualise,and to put into operation in the shortterm. Break your big goals into smaller

intermediate goals that last a week, oreven a ew days, and are a lot moremanageable and easier to put intopractice. There is a saying that goesA journey is made up o many smallsteps., similarly Eating a Big Macconsists o taking lots o little bites!

Have realistic expectationsWhilst it is important to have dreams,the dreams that are too big andunreachable become myth ratherthan act. Stop or a moment.Evaluate whether you think thedream is achievable and modi y itinto something that you think can beachieved. I your dreams and goals areunrealistic, you are only setting yoursel up or ailure. So get real!

Make appointments with YourselfEven the most high-level, high yingachievers fnd that they have so manyother important things to do, so theytend to put things o . Many thingsneed to get done and i they are outo mind they never get done or lacko time. Shape up, get the prioritiesright and make an appointment withyoursel , to put time aside to get thetasks completed. This is called time-tabling. Keep an appointment diaryand note down when you are going toget the task done.

es

H m m

. . . m a y

b e l a t e r

oday Tomorrow

Too late

Yesterday

.

Editors Comment:Dr Teoh Hsien-Jin is a ClinicalPsychologist and Head o the School o

Health and Natural Sciences at SyUC.The School o ers the Bachelor o Science (Honours) in Psychology.

VOL 01 ISSUE 02 / 2006 // 023


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YOUR SAY

Treading Carefullyon the Lighter Side of CourtesyBy Malenee Jinadasa

Did they think it was an invisible orcethat kept the door open? Or was door-opening part o the services throwninto my job specifcation when I joinedSyUC? In act, pondering about theway people generally treat one another,the situations below may sound quite

amiliar to most o us.

The elevator: An interesting place tohang out at. Firstly, the li t door opens(with you inside) to a colossal hordeo people who have been waiting orit, and be ore you get to poke a toeout, the said horde does what it doesbest they get in be ore you get out.I may not know much about elevatoretiquette, but the last time I checked(now I could be wrong here), theinsiders are supposed to get out frst?Secondly, another ba ing act peopleactually wait to board the li t, only to geto either one oor above, or one oorbelow. Now, I can per ectly understandit when I see people laden withequipment or armloads o paperworkor pushing trolleys, but come on cantsome people take the staircase or justone oor?

Littering: Another mind-bogglingoccurrence people litter despitehaving a bin located nearby. Is it trulyinconvenient to walk the 12 steps tothe bin? And what do some peopledo instead? Slip a sweet wrapper ortissue into some corner or crevice thatis handy. Another scenario - would weeven think o holding on to our rubbishwhile travelling in a car? Heaven orbid,why would we? - especially when we

have a wide, open space literally at ourdisposal. During an outstation drive,I have had longan skin come hurtlingdown to land on my windscreen,compliments rom the lorry driver onthe next lane.

Mobile phones: Why, despite so muchbeing said about phones in cinemas,do people keep answering it, andpersist in launching into whisperedconversations that can be heard atleast three ront-rows and two back-rows away (Hello? Watching movie loh- Sunway Pyramid. Huh? No - Pirateso the Caribbean lah - ya loh, 2 oclockshow - fnishing 3.30 - I call you back?Ok) Mobile phones ring during areligious service, when a speech isbeing made, during a meal, and in PortDickson, while swimming, I have seen aman with his body submerged in water,chatting on the phone unmind ul o thedanger he is in. Do we communicatebetter through the phone instead o

ace-to- ace? Scary thought.

Cutting a queue: You would haveencountered this scenario innumerabletimes you are patiently queuing up,care ully inching your way in the heavymorning or evening tra fc, boppingyour head to the tunes o Coldplayor INXS, and an inconsiderate chapslows down and stops alongside yourcar, indicating that he or she wantsto cut in. What do you do? (A) Glareand swear in vain as he/she skill ullymaneuvers the car in ront o yours (B)roll down your window and yell I knowkarate! (C) Play an inching game to

ensure he/she doesnt move in (D) Sitback and meditate.

General kindliness andconsideration: Weve been insituations where we know we shouldbe helping the poor sod who slippedand ell hard on his posterior, but wewere laughing too hard to be o anyhelp at all. And how are we in termso politeness? Are our conversationspeppered with thank you-s andplease or do we use our-letter wordsas part o our pre-fxes and su fxes?How considerate are we to the needsand com ort o others? Are we broughtup that way?

It is interesting to mull about peoplesattitude, and wonder what actuallymakes them tick. A lot stems romour own upbringing, and i it is thenorm in the amily or a parent tocasually toss rubbish out o the carwindow while driving, then we cannotexpect the child to grow up thinkingotherwise. However, schools, colleges,universities, companies, governmentdepartments and the media can helpto ingrain the practice o courtesyby implementing campaigns andawareness programs throughout theyear. This continuous e ort will not bea wasted endeavor; when the presentand new generations raise their young,the correct and proper values would behanded down.

Curious to know how Sunway sta andstudents rate? Check this out!

atdo they say?

1% of our staff would NEVER be caughtdead littering, while students who share the

ame thought rate 54%. The rest? 21% of both categories say they RARELY litter.Well, keep it up lets work on getting

a full 100% on maintaining aclean campus.

While walking along the campus corridor and reaching a door, Iinstinctively held it open and saw two people approaching rom theother side. As I kept the door open on the side I was standing, theywalked through - and kept walking with nary a backward glance ora nod. As I was about to step through, two other people appeared,chatting and laughing away in happy oblivion, and walked through thedoor - again with no word o thanks.

Onlittering

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YOUR SAY

Editors Comments: A courtesy survey was recently done at our campus, comprising a small group o students, academicand administrative sta . The result o the survey is an indication o the courtesy level at SyUC. It is grati ying to note that thelevel is relatively high. Lets keep this up, and make the campus a riendly place to be in. To those who took part in our courtesysurvey conducted in July 2006, thank you or your participation. Malenee Jinadasa is an Executive and Assistant Trainer,Sunway International Business & Management Sdn Bhd.

Whatdo they say?

We are proud that a hefty 89% of staff and5% of students would ALWAYS set their

mobile phones on silent mode if requestedto. Would they move away from the crowd

if they need to take a call? 39% of staff nd 35% of students would ALWAYS

do so.

On mobilephone

etiquette What dothey say?

57% of SyUC staff who participated in a survey say they ALWAYS hold the elevator door for others, and 64% say they ALWAYS make way for people who are exiting the lift before

they enter. How do our students who participated in the surveyfeel about that? 64% would ALWAYS hold the elevator doorfor others (sadly, 3% would RARELY do it. We would like tohink its because their arms are weighed down with books

perhaps?). As for making way for people who arexiting the lift, 50% of our students say they

ALWAYS do it.

ado they say?

SyUC sta have an equal score o 32% in NEVERand RARELY cutting queue in tra fc, and 93% NEVER

cut into an existing queue while making payment.9% o students however, eel they need to cut into

ra fc queues SOMETIMES, while 25% would NEVERdo it. As or cutting into an existing queue while

making payment, 61% o students would NEVERo it. Interestingly, we fnd 7% who say they

OMETIMES do it, so we fgure you arehighly confdent people who do not ear

being given a public dressingdown.

On cuttinga queue

What dothey say?

4% of staff say they ALWAYS indicate their thanks whenothers allow them to pass through while driving; students

who ALWAYS do that stand at 43%. 64% of staff say they RARELY hog a table after a meal when there are others waiting, while 35%f students say they SOMETIMES continue to hog the table, while

43% would RARELY hog the table. While using the publ ic mode of transportation, 71% of staff ALWAYS offer their seat to the elderly, thephysically-challenged and pregnant mothers, while 35% of students ALWAYS do so, with 50% of them who do so FREQUENTLY. As to

whether they would spontaneously extend help to a stranger,21% of staff and 28% of students would do so ALWAYS, with

the bulk of others preferring to extend their help onlysometimes (with crime rate on the rise, it is wiser

to extend help cautiously when in publicplaces).

Onconsideration

for othersWhat

do they say?

How polite are we in our daily language?4% of staff ALWAYS use polite phrases; 35% of

tudents respectively use polite phrases ALWAYSand FREQUENTLY. On whether or not you would

say thank you when paying for purchasesor services rendered, 79% of staff would

ALWAYS say thank you, and 64% of tudents would do it ALWAYS.

On being

polite

On elevatoretiquette

What dothey say?

40.4% eel that parents and teachers should lead by examplein inculcating the right values in children, and educate the young

bout discipline and good manners. 30% think that courtesy campaignsthrough the government and various media can play an e ective role

in promoting public awareness.19% believes that courtesy is somethingpeople can put into practice i they set their mind to it. In daily interaction,

treat one another with respect, smile and greet people around us, beppreciative when courtesy is extended to us and so orth. This positivea frmation o courteous behavior should continue until it becomes a

ocial norm. The remaining 10.6% con ess to having zero toleranceor inconsiderate and bad behavior, and eel the best way to

et the message across is by ticking o the culprit.How to improve

When asked what sort of measures canbe taken to improve courtesy, students

and staff had these opinions to give:

VOL 01 ISSUE 02 / 2006 // 02


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SyUC Tops Inter-Varsity Taekwondo Tournament

The standard o competition wasintense with many participantsimpressing the judges as theycompeted in good orm. INTI College(5 golds, 5 silvers and 6 bronzes)were the runner up and Asia PacifcUniversity College o Technology &Innovation (UCTI) came in at third place(4 golds, 4 silvers and 4 bronzes).

The other institutions who took partwere Kolej Damansara Utama (KDU),Sepang Institute o Technology (SIT)and Monash University Malaysia.

All the students who representedSyUC are members o the TaekwondoClub o SyUC. The members o thisclub, comprising students only andmembering more than f ty, train everyWednesday and Friday evenings.The students proved that the regulartraining sessions they had undergone

SPORTS SCENE

and a strong determination is aactor or the good per ormances.

Poomsae, which is a sequence o specifc actions and Sparring werethe two events o the tournament.

Taekwondo instructor Tony Lee whoholds a black belt with 6 dans andothers rom the Malaysian Taekwondo

Federation were the judges or thetournament. Sta Adrena Sicilza AbdulRahim rom the Pro essional CoursesDepartment, was the Technical Advisor

or the event.

SyUC students were involved astimekeepers and made up themajority o the organising committee,showed they were capable o hostinga memorable event that e ectivelypromoted this sport among the studentcommunity.

Monash University Foundation Year student,Husna launches o . Waiting in line is Yap Chai

Yi a Chartered Institute o Marketing student andSoo Wei Ann, Taekwondo Club President. Soois a Victoria University, Bachelor o Businessstudent.

Wen Xue, ACCA student, kicks while MohdEbrahim Sedeghianfmuzabd rom the A Levels,waits his turn. Kumaran Krishnan holds the bat.

In the rst ever Inter-varsity martial arts tournament organised recently,

SyUC success ully de eated ve other higher institutions to reach thetop o the medals tally with 7 golds, 7 silvers and 6 bronzes.

noth o the School o Computer Technologyairborne while Kumaran Krishnan rom the

artered Institute o Marketing programme,lds the bats (right)

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SPORTS SCENE

Fast and Frenzied

Football Daze in 2006

The event began in the group stages,with all teams setting their sights to go

through to the Quarter-Finals. Comerain, come shine, the players troopeddown to the feld to strut their stu

or the honour o their departmentsand schools. As the tournamentprogressed, 4 teams were singled outto be avourites to take the SyUC Cup,

ACCA, School o Computer Technology(SCT) A, School o ComputerTechnology (SCT) B and VictoriaUniversity (VU). However the A-Levelsteam pulled an amazing upset overSCT B team in penalties.

In the Semifnals, A-Levels was upagainst ACCA while VU was up againstSCT A. However ACCA was too strong

or the A-levels as they whipped them5-0. In the other semifnals, there wasmore competition as the VU team putup a strong challenge be ore goingdown 2-1 to SCT A.

The teams that made it to the fnalswere a dejavu scenario o the 2005fnals, SCT A versus ACCA. ACCA wonthe tournament in the last three yearsand last year they de eated SCT to takethe Cup by just one goal. The match

The best teams that Sunway University College had to o er tookcentre stage at the Inter-Programme Football Tournament 2006 held in

April. This was a great opportunity to handpick a selection o playersor the Sunway University College Football team. A total o 162 playersrom 9 teams took part in this major annual event.

continued on BACK PAGE

The players put in their heart and soul to the end

The action heats up on the pitch

VOL 01 ISSUE 02 / 2006 // 027


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Documents

Blaze Magazine VOL 01 ISSUE 02