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Inside Stories

Columns pg. 2 Happenings pg. 3


Musings of the Mind Malaysia Turns 53
I’m Sure I’m Teaching MMK July 2010
Mind Your English
10 Things I Can’t Say Goodbye To Spotlight pg. 4
(page 4) A Better Life Through
Entrepreneurship

The Tapestry of
Colours Concert Board of Editors
Patron:
Tuan Haji Mohamed Noor Rosli
bin Baharom

Advisors:
Muhamad Syazwan Amarjit
Kan Wai Choong, PE Yr. 2 Sem. 1
Redha Fadzil, PE Yr. 3 Sem. 1

HOT Board:
Editor-in-Chief:
Timmy Ong, ICT Yr. 2 Sem. 1
Co-editor 1:
Steward Baba, CE Yr. 2 Sem. 2
Co-editor 2:
Mellissa Lee Ai Lin, BIS Yr. 2 Sem. 1
Designers:
Muhamad Faiz Ishak, CE Yr. 3 Sem.
1
Photographers:
Amir Ehsan Mohamad, CV Yr. 2
Sem. 1
Awang Muhd. Nasuha, ME Yr. 1
The UTP Chinese Orchestra, accompanying a singer on the stage of the Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS.
Sem. 2
By Steward Baba, CE Yr.2 Sem. 2 (UPAG), the UTP Chinese Orchestra After the interval, the show continued with Ong Wen Sher, EE Yr. 4 Sem. 2
(UTPCO), the UTP Gamelan Group and also more dances—local and international—by
Boon Ee Juan, PG Yr. 2 Sem. 1
Kuala Lumpur, 8 August: A musical extrava- the UTP International Cultural Group the UPAG and UICG, as well as a medley of
ganza titled “Tapestry of Colors”, in support (UICG). They performed a series of songs songs from the 13 states in Malaysia by the
of Yayasan UTP (YUTP), was held at the and dances that showcased Malaysian mul- UTP Virtuoso Group. The night ended with For any feedback, reach us via:
Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (DFP) from 6 tiethnic cultures and the formation of the a special performance of You Raise Me Up, heartoftronoh@gmail.com
- 8 August 2010. The performers comprised nation. The show started off with a and finally, Stand By Me, during which all
127 students of Universiti Teknologi performance by UPAG entitled ‘Malaya – the performers went onstage again, carry- Also, find the HOT group on
PETRONAS (UTP). The concert was jointly The Beginning’, which portrayed the main ing with them flags of the Malaysian states, Facebook.
organised by YUTP, DFP, UTP and UTP ethic groups in Malaysia. as well as flags of other countries.
Alumni. The concert was organised as part
of wider fundraising efforts by YUTP. The Following it was a session entitled ‘Crossing For all three days, the ending aroused the
foundation receives donation and adminis- Cultural Boundaries’, in which the UTP audience to sing along on their feet, sway- Editor’s Foreword
ters funds towards supporting the goals of Gamelan Group played a series of percus- ing to the music at their seats.
promoting the education of Malaysians. sive instrumental music. Next, the UTPCO UTP students are really something.
performed six songs of different styles and MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 3 You don’t get into this university for
The performers included the UTP Virtuoso genres, illustrating the settlement of the nothing. If you are in UTP, there must
Group, the UTP Performing Arts Group Chinese culture in the land of Malaya. be something within you that is
different than others. The recent per-
formance at the Dewan Filharmonik
PETRONAS only reinforces that point.
Group photo: MedTech facilitators and Chot Touch (third from left). DAC Workshop Who would have thought future
By Daphnee Lo, ICT Yr.2 Sem. 1 engineers could be such amazing
musicians, dancers and performers?
Tronoh, 28 August: A workshop for photography,
graphic design and video montage production was Perhaps living in this brilliant
held at the Undercroft, UTP. community, we do not realise how
gifted we all are, as we witness all
The workshop was organised by the UTP Media and sorts of genius everyday—but the
Technology Club (MedTech) under the Digital Art people who turned up for the
Competition (DAC) 2010, in collaboration with Youth Tapestry of Colours concert must
Fiesta and Helwi. This workshop featured special more or less be stunned by the
speakers from Street Candid Malaysia (Chot Touch, the amount of talent that UTP students
founder), KukuBesi Manipulasi (members of Malaysia’s have.
Greatest Photographers) and Motiodesign.com (a
creative solution, motion graphic designer). Well, I hate to brag, but we seriously
are some awesome people. If you are
The workshop allowed participants to learn more not feeling special today, that’s
about photography, graphic design and video montage okay—others think you are amazing
production. anyway. Shine on, dear UTPians!
2
Columns

live in and there is no way to slow it everyone is our friend, but how many of us can actually
down, pun intended. admit to greeting most of those ‘friends’ in reality? Or
giving an actual birthday gift and card instead of the
The path to Hell is lined with good cheap message or comment? Is a static profile picture or
intentions, or so they say. And though text descriptions equal to the tone of a person’s voice, the
instant-ness does have an appeal to it, cute way that girl plays with her hair, the odd bounce in
are there adequate measures in place to that guy’s walk, or that unstated quality that person has,
A regular column ensure that the quality of the end product is not adversely that makes you feel comfortable around him or her?
affected by the higher speed? The appropriately-termed
By Arif Amin Bin Ahmad Puzi, PG Yr. 2 Sem. 2 fast food that we eat, for instance, though convenient and A common grouse is that “there just isn’t enough time!”
arguably tasty, are laced with preservatives and chemicals Even with the pace we live our lives today, 24 hours seem
THE SIMPLE LIFE—In this world of SMSes, wireless Inter- that can only be harmful to our health. Unconvinced? Go to be too little to complete everything that we strive for.
net and social networking sites, the word ‘instant’ has watch the comedy documentary entitled “Supersize Me” And that’s taking into consideration the hours we steal
become synonymous with ‘better’. Likewise, ‘bigger,’ which clearly shows the dire consequences on one’s from our recommended 8 hours of sleep. Things would be
‘faster,’ and ‘more’ have also been given positive make- health of a diet of solely McDonald’s food for one whole so much easier if there were more hours in the day.
overs with pictures of unlimited wealth and sunny sum- month. Who knows? A UTPian could be inspired to come
mer days springing to mind. But if to err is human and to up with a Maggi Mee version of it. The renowned Stephen Covey once said, “Where you are
forgive divine, what would you call adding the ‘-er’ suffix headed is more important than how fast you are going.
to a word? Folly, if you asked me, as I strongly believe that Technology has also expanded in leaps and bounds. The Rather than focusing on what’s urgent, learn to focus on
less is truly more. level of connectivity that we experience today is unprece- what is really important.” Many of us are doing our work
dented, with the thoughts of a paddy farmer in Thailand just for the sake of it. We have lost the satisfaction in our
“What’s the point of a race?” well known to a samba dancer in Brazil with only the use work, and to make up for that, we decide to burden our-
“To see if I’m better than the other guy.” of 140 characters. It has never been so easy to keep in selves with more work, as more equals better. We believe
“Just proves you’re faster, that’s all.” touch with our loved ones and ex-schoolmates as it is now that happiness will ensue from the hard work we put in.
(Quoted from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) through Facebook. Have a question for Musings of the However, without aiming for your own goals and dreams,
Mind? Just check out my formspring. With the exception the workload will become a burden, the hard work a
Even with speed, success isn’t guaranteed. Try asking the of that last example, as it does not exist, the world can waste, and the happiness suffocation. It is better to
hare who slept his win away. Speed does give one an ad- truly be called borderless. Geographical borders are conduct one event that truly achieves its objectives and
vantage, but is it worth the time for stopping and smelling redundant as technology has paved the way for globaliza- gives a long-lasting impact than many so-so events that
the roses? That’s the kind of reality we are living in. Every- tion. nobody will even remember.
one is constantly on the go—where to, only the Lord
knows. If you are not moving, you are practically dead. If Yet, while certain boundaries have diminished, others Human life existed from a man and a woman (or apes, if
you are slow, you’d be left behind. If you decide to take a have developed to take their place. Ironically, social that’s what you believe in); we ate fruits, hunted animals
walk, you’d better be at a park. It’s a cut-throat world we boundaries are more prevalent now than ever. Virtually, and lived in caves. Life is simple, let’s not forget that.

Contribute to us by sending in your articles to:


heartoftronoh@gmail.com, with the subject “Columns”, Mind Your English
and your attached file named as the title of your article.
Include your name, year and programme in the article file. A regular column not possess the habit of checking the dictionary for the
By Henry Yew Guo Zheng, CV Yr. 4 Sem. 2 correct pronunciation; we merely assume that our
guess on the pronunciation is correct and just “move
I’m Sure I’m Teaching Previously, I have mentioned that students (and some- on with life”.
times staff) commit some errors in English that should
By Joan Rocafort Valenzuela Also, students must remember that the plural for the
be avoided altogether. In this issue, I would like to
address some common misconception that students word “equipment” is still “equipment”, and never
So you came here for the last lecture. Technically not the have when it comes to the English language. “equipments”. Likewise, we can have “one piece of
last because there’s never been a lecture. furniture”, or “ten pieces of furniture”, but never
First of all, it is important for every student to differen- “furnitures”.
Oh, so, if not a lecture, how do you call this last “thing”? tiate between the word “effect” and “affect”. These
Last meeting? Last session? Last class? And how would you two words cannot be used interchangeably, and However, perhaps the most important word to learn in
call me when your juniors ask about who I was to you: A though they might seemingly bear a similar meaning, this issue of “Mind Your English” is the word “faeces”.
lecturer? A tutor? Or a teacher? their usage is different altogether. “Effect” is a noun Although it is not wrong to use words like “stool” or the
which can be defined as “a phenomenon that is caused four-letter word, I firmly believe that lecturers and
I can’t tell you how you should call me because that’s your by another phenomenon”, while “affect” is a verb even other professionals would very much prefer
choice. But neither am I a tutor nor a lecturer, and I’ve long meaning “to have an effect upon something”. We say “faeces”, especially in your project dissertations and
ceased to be a teacher. that a musical keyboard can produce many sound presentations. The four-letter word should always be
effects, and they can affect people emotionally and avoided because it brings a derogatory connotation,
Perhaps you’re wondering, what’s all the fuss about this psychologically. although its meaning is well understood. I have had
not lecturing, not tutoring, not teaching, not being called a friends who used the four-letter word instead of
person who does these three distinct human activities? Another error commonly found during presentations is “faeces” in their presentations, and their examiners
Well, something occurred to me: the power of our the pronunciation of the word “determine”. There is a were quite displeased at their choice of vocabulary.
language use. In most occasions our language use shapes tendency, especially among Malaysian students, to
us and determines the ends of what we do. divide the word into three syllables: “de – ter – mine” At the end of the day, my message for all readers is
and pronounce them independently. Hence, many that you must start correcting your errors now so that
If I call myself a teacher, I’d teach you and that’s one thing would pronounce the word as “di – ter – main” ( pro- you do not commit them in your later years in univer-
I’m not sure I should do. In most classrooms teaching nounced using the Bahasa Malaysia pronunciation) sity. It can save you a lot of trouble and embarrass-
means depositing knowledge to the passive knowers as if because the word “mine” in English is pronounced as ment, besides boosting your reputation and confidence
they’re empty receptacles. Teaching is well-planned: A “main”. Unfortunately, this is not the case for the word as a top-notch university student. You should make
teacher wields and enjoys the power to structure the “determine”, and it should be pronounced as “di – ter – good use of the dictionary as the main reference to
whole learning process. In many schools (and universities) min”. The word “develop” should be pronounced as definitions and pronunciations.
I’ve been to, teachers tend to believe that and behave as if “di – ve – lop” and not as “dae – ve – lop”.
they know virtually everything, learners almost nothing. In the next issue of “Mind Your English”, I hope to be
Besides that, there are many other words that are able to share with you on how to pronounce certain
If I call myself a lecturer, then I’d lecture on literature, and often mispronounced, which include words such as words correctly, and touch on the subject of stresses,
that’s like teaching as well. It’s an insult to the intellectual “engineer” (yes, it’s true!), “entrepreneur”, “depot”, which plays an important role in the pronunciation of
capacities of students to show them tons of PowerPoint “quay”, etc. The problem with a lot of us is that we do words.
slides on concepts that they can understand themselves.
Once I made a mistake of defining “literature”—there are
many definitions out there and a strong preference for one stifle the students’ creativity. For example, I’ve jettisoned cornered lab. But I see the classrooms and halls I step into
eliminates a whole range of (alternative) meanings. Should most forms of restrictive work sheets which students are three times open spaces, sans walls and corners.
I choose what to define and how it’s going to be defined? asked to accomplish. There’s a postmodern view that the
Or should I allow my students to define that word in their author is dead and texts are meaningless; thus, when So how do I call myself? TO BE CONTINUED
own words/worlds? readers are compelled to read through another reader’s
eyes—usually a teacher-reader’s—a text and find the Mr. Joan Rocafort Valenzuela teaches English language
If I call myself a tutor, I do not know exactly what this label meaning in it, then, readers get disempowered. Readers courses to engineering students at Universiti Teknologi
denotes. Tutoring as I have seen people do it is a very close are creators of meanings. PETRONAS. He enjoys books, films, and running.
monitoring of what and how students do things. But in the
context of experiencing literature, such close contact may Maybe this act called tutoring works in a walled and four-
3
Happenings

Malaysia Turns 53
By Kan Wai Choong, PE Yr. 2 Sem. 1 Professor Dr. Ahmad Murad Merican and Ustaz Saidi
Adnan Bin MD Nor were the other two speakers in
Chancellor Hall, 30 August: The breeze of independ- the forum. YB Ustaz Saidi mentioned that Malaysia
ence lingered among the many that had turned up is on the right track, and we should not only look at
to celebrate the coming of our nation’s 53rd the physical side of independence, but truly under-
Independence Day, better known as ‘Hari stand and embrace the meaning of this freedom.
Kemerdekaan’. With the burning spirit of ‘merdeka’, Prof Dr. Ahmad Murad encouraged the audience to
the Chancellor Hall became the site to usher in this read the Federal Constitution to grasp a better un-
joyous and memorable occasion. derstanding of our independence and to learn more
about the rights that the people possess.
The night of the celebration began with a poem
recitation by two UTP students, followed by the Closing the forum, YB Dr. Jins Shamsuddin
opening speech from the project manager, Shazlin concluded that to understand a country, one should
Afiza bt. Sopian. The PETRONAS commercial entitled read the history. He went on to emphasize that by
‘Kereta Buruk’ (Lousy Car) was later shown to the reading and understanding the history, the person
audience. Bearing the theme, ‘1Malaysia Menjana can fully stand forward for his nation. He ended the
Transformasi’, translated to English as generating session with a poem.
transformation for the betterment of the country,
the night continued with a forum moderated by the The UTP Choir Group along with several Indonesian
president of the Student Representative Council students performed for the anticipating audience.
(SRCUTP), Muhammad Haniff. The countdown was then initiated, and at the stroke
of midnight, sounds of ‘Merdeka’ echoed through
YB Senator Tan Sri Dato Dr. Jins Shamsuddin, the Chancellor Hall. The forum guests and the
famous for his work in patriotic movies such as audience were invited to the foyer of the Chancellor
‘Bukit Kepong’ and ‘Sarjan Hassan’, was one of the Complex to witness a display of fireworks that
speakers in the forum. He defined independence as illuminated the night sky.
more than just freedom; it is a responsibility that
every citizen carries, to strive for the holistic excel- Happy 53rd Independence Day!
lence of the country and to give unbending support
to our beloved nation.
The giant ‘1’, symbolizing 1Malaysia, set up in the IRC.

Students crowded Pocket D for the three days of MMK.

MMK July 2010


By Denson, EE Yr. 2 Sem. 1 & Mostafa, EE There were four sub-events under MMK:
Yr. 1 Sem. 1 the Martial Arts Workshop, a PC fair, the
Smart Life Campaign and the Zero
Tronoh, 3 August: A new semester, a new Summon Campaign. Mr. Rofans Beleam
start. Minggu Mesra Kampus (MMK) was Hillisebua Manao, project manager of
held by the Student Representative Coun- MMK, said that the purpose of having
cil (SRCUTP/MPPUTP) at Pocket D. Smiling these few sub-events was to attract more
faces spread around every corner; enthusi- crowds to the event. The strategy worked,
astic people promoted their clubs and as Pocket D was congested with students
organizations; colorful booths went all for 3 days.
around the place, filling it with creativity.
MMK induced a variety of responses from
The booths acted as platforms for clubs to the student body. The majority of the
promote their activities and attract new clubs were satisfied with the responses
members. MMK lasted for 3 days and that they received. MMK for July 2010 was
included stalls by a number of electronic a great success and students are looking
device retailers, and food and beverage for more interesting ideas for the next
vendors. semester’s Minggu Mesra Kampus.

Photos from Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS FROM PAGE 1 Photos by Khalid Asyrid Ismail
4
Spotlight

A Better Life Through Entrepreneurship


By Boon Ee Juan, PG Yr. 2 Sem. 1 increased by 300%! Not forgetting to mention, Puan What are the reasons that make you and your team
Fatimah has expanded her curry puff business from daily members willing to sacrifice time and put in effort into
UTP Students In Free Enterprise, also known as SIFE UTP, sales to frozen curry puffs! It was a great leap in her implementing the projects?
has made UTP proud by emerging as one of the four final- business. It is about personal character-building and the willingness
ists in the recent “SIFE National Competition 2010” held in to improve ourselves. To be able to help others, we must
KL. The reward: Zeffree Kan bin Zainal Kan, the president The third project was the TiEC, where the creative and first improve ourselves. It is just like, before we can guide
of SIFE UTP and his seven-member team will be going to innovative spirit of vibrant teens was put into the conser- others on business management, we must know the
Los Angeles in October to represent Malaysia in the “SIFE vation of the environment. Secondary school students business well. Besides, we get satisfaction from helping
World Cup 2010.” Let us find out how this leader made it. around Perak were invited to come up with their very own others. When the families report to us about the
nature-friendly products made of waste materials. The increment of their sales, we are motivated to reach out to
What is the core business of SIFE UTP? waste materials could be organic or inorganic. With the even more unfortunate people to change their lives
SIFE UTP is not about running a business to make profit. It guidance of SIFE UTP, the products were successfully through entrepreneurship .
is a non-profit organisation that carries the responsibility marketed. This shows how business opportunities can be
to implement programs that create real economic oppor- created from waste materials—and at the same time, it Let us talk about the SIFE National Competition. How
tunities for the community members through entrepre- saves the environment. For example, SBPI Gopeng made was your team evaluated?
neurial education and training. By optimizing the available an organic fertiliser from cow dung and rice husks. They evaluated us based on our presentation on our
resources, we help the families that have financial difficul- projects. They took the results of the three projects into
ties in setting up a business for additional income. Business always involves money. How did your team get consideration too. Besides, our creativity in addressing
funding for it? and solving the local community’s problems was also been
Your team has made it to the finals in the “SIFE National We helped them secure funding from government agen- judged. As I said before, this competition is not evaluated
Competition 2010” in July. What is so special about your cies or social corporations, such as MARA and Baitulmal. on ideas on paper but on how successful we implement
projects? MARA also provided them machines to increase their the projects and yield the best results. The projects are
We brought three out of six projects for our presentation productivity. In the case of planting Markisa fruits, we continuous, and we have to present the annual results in
in the competition. They were the “Corporate Social found a partner who had successfully grown the fruit and the competition.
Responsibility Challenge (CSR Challenge)”, the “Business marketed it as a nutritious product to guide the family.
Expansion & Empowerment Program (BEEP)”, and the
“Teens in Environment Corporation (TiEC)”. In the CSR
Challenge, we adopted seven low-income families within “To be able to help others, we
30km radius of UTP. To make their life better by increas-
ing their income, the families were introduced to must first improve ourselves. ”
business. They were taught the basics of financial literacy, - Zeffree Kan bin Zainal Kan
which includes how to differentiate between revenue and
profit, book-keeping, and how to spend from their
business profit. For example, we had families doing a cup- The success of these three projects is sweet, but nothing
cake business, planting Markisa fruits and turning it into a can be successful without obstacles. What was the most
nutritious product, starting a kerepek production, and challenging part for your team?
many more. We must know what type of business suits I think the most challenging part was the implementation
the families and whether they have the capability to of the projects. SIFE’s projects are not just ideas on paper.
develop them [the businesses]. Unlike the usual business competitions like the “ARIES
Malaysia Business Case Competition” where the organiser
For BEEP, our focus was on business for single mothers. gives you a problem and a time limit to solve it, SIFE’s
We collaborated with the Persatuan Ibu Tunggal Nur projects need to be implemented, yielding the desired
Kasih, Ipoh to centralize all products produced by single results. I still remember the difficulty we faced in persuad-
mothers. With the brand name of “Nur Kasih”, we drafted ing the seven families to join our CSR Challenge project.
out marketing and promotion strategies for them, which When we first approached the families with our business
included blog publications. Recently, I heard that the ideas, they didn’t trust us because we are students and
organisation created an online ordering webpage for their have no experience in doing business. They were reluctant
products such as handicrafts, and the business profit has to change and afraid to venture into business.

10 Things I Can’t I mean. Speeds up to 3-4 Mbps are not uncommon, and
can easily put your Streamyx at home to shame. A word of
boast scrumptious and cheap food. Having only RM500 to
spend monthly, finding cheap and good food becomes the
Say Goodbye To advice to all who will be doing their FYP, stay back during
your semester break and finish your work. With internet
primary survival mantra for almost all of us! Some of the
best food items you can find here are the Oblong and
(10 things in UTP, that is) connection this quick, it is impossible not to finish your Liverpool burger, nasi lemak kukus, hokkien mee, sambal
work early. If you are lucky, UTP servers might just have chicken rice, mee goreng at mamak stalls, Pak Ali’s
By Elangeshwaran Pathmanathan some websites unblocked, which makes researching for economy rice and the mouth-watering roti bakar telur
your project a breeze. manis, aka RBTM (with cheese if you fancy some cheddar).
As the seconds tick away, minutes become hours; hours
become days, and days become weeks. The next thing you 8 – Lectures, tests, quizzes, exams. Ah, the anticipation, TO BE CONTINUED
know, it is just less than a month away to saying au revoir the hard work, the burning of midnight oil. I wonder if I
to UTP. As we know it, UTP comes in a package, more like will ever get to do this again. (Unless pursuing Masters by
dark chocolate, a bittersweet mixture that you just coursework opens up as an option in the future). Yes, the
couldn’t say goodbye to. To me, the contents of this preparing and the waiting for results is horrendous, but to
package include 10 things to which I find impossible to bid me attending a lecture, finishing up a quiz, completing a
my farewell. Well, they have been with me for the better test, or wrapping up a final paper gives a sense of
part of the five years spent here, so it is only natural. The achievement that deserves rewards in the form of
countdown commences: midnight movies!
UTP events:
10 - Waking up at random times. Yes, we have our fixed 7 – The sunset by the lake. People have commented that I
schedule to follow, but as the semester progresses these have lost much weight lately. Well, to let the cat out of 18/9 - 23/9 Youth Fiesta 2010
so called “fixed schedules” tend to become fuzzy with all the bag, I have been working out very rigorously (jogging 21/9 - 30/9 SRM (Sekretariat Rakan Muda)
the changes of time and venues. 8.00am classes are rare is my favorite cardio exercise). Partially, the reason is to
Gegar!
occurrences among us final year seniors. Perhaps the ACS witness the sunset by the lake every evening. It is truly a
sympathizes with the pain we endured for four years, and magnificent phenomenon which puts an end to the 27/9 Green Day (National Green
decides to give us a break. Whatever the justifications question: what is God? - An artist with an infinite palette. Convention 2010)
may be, I fear that waking up late may not be possible Apparently I am not the only one who thinks so, scores of 29/9 Entry Submission Deadline for
upon graduation; unless one opts to work at flexi-hours or aspiring photographers flock to the lake daily to capture Digital Art Competition 2010
from home! this awesome spectacle.
5/10 - 6/10 National Green Convention 2010
9 – UTP’s superfast Internet. No this is not a joke; try 6 – Mamak stalls’ “mee goreng”. I believe I speak for the
staying back for the semester break and you will see what majority when I say that Tronoh, Sri Iskandar and Ipoh

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