Fit Siswi 2.0 - Get in Shape Ladies

UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA, 27 APRIL: Fit Siswi organizers came back with gusto with Fit Siswi 2.0 after the success of their first fitness event for the female students in USM. Fit Siswi 2.0 involved running and cycling around the campus keeping patriotism as their theme.

                                                    

                                                Caption: Poster of the event                              

The organizers, Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar Universiti Sains Malaysia (MPP) and Sahabat MPP USM stated that this event is organised for the female students who wants to exercise but find it uncomfortable to do so in the presence of male students.

Caption: Particants waiting for the event to start

Fit Siswi 2.0 started at 5.30pm at Tasik Fajar Harapan with about 30 participants. They kick started the event with energetic aerobic moves which got the participants into the active mood. After the aerobic session, participants got on the bicycles provided by the organizers and cycled and ran around USM leaded by the MPPs.

                              Caption: Participants running around Tasik Harapan

                                         

Caption: Participants getting ready to cycle around USM

Naimah Amira Naim, 22, one of the organizers shared that Fit Siswi has got 3 phases and they have completed two phases already. The first phase was held at Padang Kawad USM and it was a success. Fit Siswi 1.0 consisted of one hour of aerobics. Over 100 female students of USM participated in this event. The third phase which is Fit Siswi 3.0 is scheduled to be held next semester in a larger scale. They have planned to invite our Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin to grace this event.

       

    

The Diversity of Malaysian Seas

PENANG, 25 April: We see documentaries on National Geographic and marvel at the beauty of the marine life in a distant land. Little do we realize that Malaysia is incredibly rich with the same biodiversity as we see in these documentaries. In conjunction with Project Ocean Awareness organized by the Scuba Diving Club of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Professor Zulfigar Yasin, a senior lecturer of School of Biological Sciences as well as a scuba diver of 28 years of experience, was invited to speak on the wonderful diversity of Malaysian waters. He explains that Malaysia is extremely fortunate to be surrounded by the two biggest biodiversity giants, the Indian Ocean (west coast of Malaysia) and the Pacific Ocean (east coast of Malaysia). Large variety of creatures such as the manta ray, whale shark, tiger shark, cauri, flourescent corals, the giant clam (the largest clam in the world and an endangered species) and countless more.

He goes on to explain that in 1995, a team of USM biologist-including himself, was called in by the Johor state government to conserve the last giant clam in our country. Fortunately for giant clams, they are hermaphrodites and can therefore produce both sperms and eggs. 

Prof Yasin showing pictures of the giant clam releasing sperm

The team then went on to collect its gametes to breed more of its kind in the lab. 5 years later, they successfully released 900 healthy baby Giant Clams back into the sea. Prof Yasin says that we Malaysians are so rich, but do not know it and because of that, we are losing it. The very things that make us rich is depleting because of climate change and the indifference of human activity.

Shell of one of the baby giant clams that did not survive

There is still much to explore about these peculiar aquatic animals that live in our waters and much to learn from these amazing creatures. Without us knowing, the marine life of Malaysia is a large part of our heritage that has shaped our culture for many generations. Prof Yasin concluded saying, “If you understand the behaviour of animals under the sea, you realize that there are a lot more ways of doing things that are not familiar to us.” His brief presentation was a real eye-opener to the underrated beauty of Malaysian seas.

The audio of Prof Yasin's talk: https://sites.google.com/site/oceanawarenessmp3/ocean-awareness-mp3-25-april

Let's get healthy: Fit For Siswi

UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA PENANG, 27 April: FIT FOR SISWI is back! Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) with the help of Sahabat Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar (SMPP) organized a fitness event for all the female students of USM with a variety of fun-filled activities such as aerobics, kayaking and cycling at Tasik Fajar Harapan.

The main purpose of these events was to create awareness about healthy eating and the importance of exercise among female students of USM. With over 30 participants, Fit For Siswi kicks off with an exciting aerobics conducted by the members of SMPP. Later, with more than 30 bicycles provided by the organizer, the participants together with the MPP cycled around the USM area.

According to Naimah Amira Naim, one of the organising committee, said Fit For Siswi 2.0 was planned after the success of Fit For Siswi 1.0 which was held 2 weeks ago at Padang Kawad, USM. Even though the numbers of participant are less than the previous, Naimah Amira Naim was still pleased with the success of this event.

One of the participants, Dayana Julian, 21 said ‘I joined these events because even though we are so occupied with assignments and deadlines, but I think exercise is a must because exercise is good for your mental and physical. I have always enjoyed kayaking. So when the organized kayaking, I was really looking forward.    

Life under the Malaysia seas: A walk to the deep blue sea

Caption : The poster of the event.

Universiti Sains Malaysia Penang, 25 April. - How often do you get exposed about the biodiversity under the Malaysia seas? This free admission eye opener talk is one of the many activities under the event of 'Project Ocean Awareness' organized by the Scuba Diving Club of USM. The talk with 30 over audience was held in DK G31 and the speaker was Professor Zulfigar Yasin from School of Biological Sciences. The motive behind this event is to raise awareness and to educate more people about the biodiversity and ecosystem under the sea.

Professor Zulfigar Yasin, a marine biologist who is also a dedicated diver with 28 years of diving experience, was the first Malaysian Scuba diving instructor in United Kingdom in 1987. His field of research includes marine ecology, biodiversity, conservation, coral reef studies and environmental studies. He is also involved in numerous expeditions such as the Malaysia's first Antarctica Scientific Expedition (2002), Research on the South China Sea and Islands (ROSES) Expedition, Scientific Adviser for the Prime Scientific Expedition (2009) and Expedition Leader for the Straits of Malacca Expedition (2015). 

Prof. Zulfigar showing pictures of giant clam found in Malaysia seas.

The talk started off with visuals and videos shown by Prof. Zulfigar while he introduces to the audience the seas of Malaysia: Straits of Malacca, Sulu Sea, South China Sea and Celebes Sea. He then explained that the Malaysia seas are the most visited spot for divers due to the rare species that can be found such as the smallest sea cucumber (as small as 1 cm) and giant clam (about 500 kilograms). With twenty over years of knowledge and countless diving experience, Prof said "the slower you go, you more you will see", while he shared interesting encounters under the sea. There are many safety precautions to be considered before diving and he added "plan the dive then you dive the plan". It may look crystal clear from the top, but as you dive deeper, it is pitch black. 

Video of biodiversity under the water and fluorescent corals

The audience were then captivated by the beautiful fluorescent corals found in Langkawi Island. Prof. Zulfigar added, the protein extracted from fluorescent corals or jellyfish serves very useful medical purposes such as detecting cancerous cells under the ultraviolet light. Besides fluorescent corals, local population such as Suluk, Minang, Bugis uses medicine from coral reef.

Prof explaining the variety and pattern of shells

One of the cowrie shell Prof showed.

Towards the end of the talk, Prof showed us his collection of cowrie shells and clams he had collected during his expeditions. He also explained that these cowrie shells were once used as currency in certain countries. The talk ended with Q&A session.

Sparking Inspiration : The Journey to Exchange Programs

UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA PENANG, 28 April: A night filled with performances, free snacks and story-telling sessions, SPARK Night, hosted by AIESEC USM, was a success with over 100 participants. AIESEC is an international non-government organization that provides a platform to empower aspiring youths in varsities to develop their leadership skills, engage in volunteerism and encourage global cultural exchange experiences.

 

Caption: Bonfire props to create the laid-back ambience



Hosted in KOMCHA DPS2, the theme of the night was ‘Bonfire Experience’ with bonfire props and laid-back ambience created specially by the members of AIESEC USM. Participants were welcomed with an engaging flashmob, where participants were encouraged to join. Later, the participants were divided into a few smaller groups following the countries they have chosen at the registration counter for a story-telling and experience-sharing session. This session was dotted with short performances by the committee members at intervals.

Caption: Flashmob performance to welcome the participants

An AIESEC member who has recently gone on his first exchange to Taiwan after four years as a member, Gan Kenn Vun, 24, shared that he was glad that he finally spared some time for this program. “I was busy as an undergraduate but now that I am doing my Masters, I can finally fulfill my goals to travel the world,” he said. Gan has chosen Taiwan as his first choice because it has always been the place he wanted to go. He chose education as his cause as he wanted to spread the awareness of the importance of education to the rural areas in Taiwan.

When asked about his best and most disappointing experiences when in Taiwan, Gan laughed and cheekily said, “My best experience was surprising them with my fluency in Chinese. They seem to have a misconception that Malaysians are Malays and therefore cannot speak Chinese. My most disappointing one was definitely their night markets. They are so overrated!”

Caption: The committee members gathered for a group photo

 

The president of the organising committee, Yeap Qi Chen, 21, was very pleased with the success of the event. Yeap said that this event was to encourage students of USM to come have fun and listen to the stories by other students who have went for an exchange. “I am a first year student and I see a lot of my peers stressed out about studies. This program is to help relieve some of their stress and also to inspire non-AIESECers to join us on our wonderful team”. He said that the event was organised because AIESEC USM has opened an awareness booth for about a month in the university and he felt that it was time the organisation came up with something refreshing for the students.

The event was made free by the sponsorship from RedBull and AIESEC USM.