What`s Up 16 - Kolej Yayasan UEM

ISSUE
16
2015
PG
2
PG
PG
Duke ofrgh
Edinbu r
Qualifietion
Expedi
7
Chinese r
New Yea
Dinner
9
Rocket tition
Compe
PG
27
PG
Awards
Day
E
S
U
21 HO
T
r
i
p
2
Duke of
Edinburgh’s
International
Award Silver
Qualifier Expedition
(6th – 8th February 2015)
Day 1 -Kampung Garachi Trail
On 6th February 2015, our group
which comprises of Pei Yin, Liying,
Grace, Si Yan, Zhao Xuan and Mi
Xia went for our Silver Qualifier
Expedition at Kuala Kubu Bharu
and Bukit Batu Pahat. We departed
from our college at about 10.30 in
the morning. Everyone was very
excited and we were glad to have
the company of several Bronze
groups this time.
At our starting point, we were
introduced to our guide of the
day, Mr. Eddie, who was both
knowledgeable and friendly. In
high spirits, we set off for the Rizab
Perhilitan Ampang Pechah, passing
some Orang Asli houses along the
way. Then, we stopped for lunch
at a scenic spot near the pool.
After filling our stomach, we got
ready for the real challenge –into
the jungle! We carefully navigated
our way through the jungle with
Eddie’s guidance. We kept alert,
looking for orange markers and
cut signs on trees, which were very
helpful in guiding us to the correct
trail. Along the trail, we learnt some
jungle survival skills from Eddie. One
of the most interesting ones was
harvesting liana and drinking water
from its chopped off branches.
Liying got a taste of the water and
commented that it tasted a bit like
apple while others said it was bitter.
We travelled single file, keeping a
safe distance from the person in
front. There were some steep and
slippery paths which slowed us
down, but we avoided stopping
for too long and tried to keep
each other in sight to keep our
pace. Thorny vines and spiny
rattan all along the trail added
to the difficulty, as we had to
be extra careful not to injure
ourselves. After trekking for several
hours in the jungle, we came to a
fascinating bamboo forest. It was
soothing to be within a bamboo
ISSUE 16
3
forest, listening to the rustling of
leaves as the breeze caused the
tall bamboo stalks to sway back
and forth. However, some of our
members suffered from itchiness
upon touching the bamboo stalks.
Luckily, Eddie taught us to get rid
of the bamboo hair in our skin by
wiping against our own hair in the
opposite direction.
At the end of the bamboo forest,
we arrived at an Orang Asli village,
Kg Garachi. We visited an Orang
Asli house where we saw a woman
cutting bamboo sticks into strips,
which they will sell to candlestick
makers. We had a hands-on
experience of cutting the bamboo
sticks and we sympathized with the
indigenous people who only earn
a meagre income out of the job.
At Kampung Garachi Jaya, we
were relieved to have a break after
hours of trekking in the jungle.
After that, we picked up the
road heading down the steep hill
from Garachi. It was a pleasant
walk down the hill as we were
entertained with an impressive
view of the Kuala Kubu Bharu
dam, reservoir and the surrounding
mountain range. After walking
for about 1.5km, we arrived at a
parking bay where we took the
college bus to Sungai Chiling
Reserve.
As soon as we reached there,
we started pitching our tents and
preparing dinner. The campsite was
nice and some of us went frolicking
in the river by the campsite.
Together with the Bronze groups,
we had a great dinner at a hut as
a reward for completing our day 1
trek. Everyone had a fabulous time
hanging around.
4
Day 2 – Bukit Batu Pahat
We set off at 8.30am with our
guide Mr. Hadi. The first stretch of
our trek was along the highway
back to the Kampung Garachi
junction. The beautiful scenery of
Malaysia’s hills and forests and
the Sungai Selangor reservoir we
were rewarded with along the way
redeemed the otherwise incredibly
boring tarmac road. We crossed a
bridge, from which we had a bird’seye view of the rapids of the Sungai
Selangor river, a preview of the
rafting adventure we will embark
on Day 3.
After a short break, we dove into
the cool depths of the jungle,
just as the sun was starting to
burn brightly over our heads. The
tracks were steep at some parts
as we clambered up slopes. We
scaled over several fallen trees
and pushed ourselves through
fern bushes taller than us. We
were keeping a good pace
navigating ourselves through the
forest, equipped with a direction
list and compasses, and always
on a lookout for orange spray
paints and cut marks on trees. We
paused our trek for some snacks
when we caught up to the Bronze
group before us. There were thorny
bushes and spiny rattan along
the way, but those were few and
far between. Just near the end
of our trek, we passed through a
sparse, black patch of burnt forest.
Many of the trees were burned
down to their stumps. This area
was especially hot, without leaves
overhead to shade us against the
scorching heat. We climbed up
the incline to an opening and had
our lunch (tuna and peanut butter
sandwiches) at a flat opening.
Overall, the trek was much more
relaxing than the first day’s trek.
After lunch, we encountered a
dirt track that curved downwards
for what seemed like an eternity.
Our knees suffered much from the
never-ending descent down many
steep slopes. We spent more than
an hour taking wary baby steps
down the hill, for fear of slipping on
pebbles and incurring injuries from
rolling down the inclines.
As we approached the end of
our journey, the hot afternoon
sun rushed us on to our goal, the
campsite for Day 2 at the Pie Rose
Rafting Headquarters. We reached
at about 4pm and had the rest of
the evening to shower, cook dinner
and relax. We had a good night’s
restunder the starry sky, with the
cool night breeze gently lulling us
to sleep.
ISSUE 16
5
Pie on the do’s and don’ts of
water rafting before the real fun
began. We were taught a few
hand signals and were expected
to follow the commands given,
such as ‘Over Right, Over Left,
Forward Hard, Right Back’ and so
on. With an oar at hand, the six of
us, accompanied by two guides,
excitedly went into our raft.
The entire activity took about 3
hours, with a break for snacks by a
beautiful resting spot in between.
It was exhilarating. The current was
so strong that a few times, our raft
almost capsized but thank God it
didn’t. (Ours was the only group
whose raft didn’t capsize).
We had plenty of fun rafting.
However since we were
inexperienced, and couldn’t
respond to the commands given as
quickly, it became rather chaotic
in the raft when we were told to
go “Over Right” or “Over Left”. A
few times, we accidentally hit each
other’s heads with the oars. Luckily
for us we had our helmets on!
Once, we were given the chance
to float downstream in what was
called the ‘rapid’. All of us had a
go on that one and boy, was it fun!
We ended swallowing mouthfuls of
water but the experience of being
carried away by swift waters was
priceless. Along the river, one of the
guides managed to catch a bat.
Certainly our first time seeing a bat
up close!
Day 3 – White Water Rafting
After breakfast, we left for Sungai
Selangor at around 9am by bus.
Day 3 involved no rucksacks and
navigating, HUGE relief. Needless
to say, everyone was very excited
(and a bit nervous) of what was in
store for us.
safety floatation vests and helmets
each before teaching us how to
float in the river. We were told to lie
down flat in the river feet forward
so as to not injure our bottoms as
there were many rocks underneath.
The current was strong, yet our
enthusiasm was stronger. One by
one, we floated downstream.
When we arrived, we were
introduced to Mr Pie- the man in
charge of the activity. He gave us
Later, we gathered to listen to
an interesting briefing by Mr
Nearing the end of the journey, the
guides asked us to get out of our
raft and float back to our campsite,
which we gladly did. We were all
reluctant for the rafting to end,
especially Si Yan, who apparently
learnt how to float for the first time
in Sungai Selangor.
After changing into a set of dry
clothes, we concluded our Silver
Expedition with a hearty lunch
prepared by Mr Pie’s wife- Rose.
All ended well with the Silver and
Bronze groups happily chatting
(and sleeping) in the bus on
our way back to KY. What an
experience!
6
Kyuem Rugby
League 2015
T
he Sports & Co. Unit
and Rugby Club had
collaborated to organize
the annual KYUEM 10’
Rugby League 2015 on 7
February 2015. Among
the Colleges who
participated
namely Kolej
Yayasan UEM
(KYUEM),
Kolej
Mara
Seremban (KMS), Kolej Mara
Banting (KMB), INTEC Education
College and Nottingham University.
weaknesses to defend in last
quarter of the game to mark the
victory.
The league started at 9.00am and
ended at 5.00pm. All the teams
were at high motivation against
each other to ensure that the
league title is theirs. The league
was running smoothly under hot
and dry weather. The KYUEM team
who was a second runner up
for 2014 are determined to be a
champion this year.
Next, against Nottingham University
Team which had more physical
advantage. The players tried
their very best to compete with
opponent team. Our defence
can’t match and absorb the attack
which cost us a 10-5 loss.
The first match in the morning was
against the second runner up last
year, INTEC College. The KYUEM
seemed unable to with the speedy
opponent which showed a good
tactical and pacey game, which
resulted in a 20-15 score.
The second was closer, against
Kolej Mara Banting. Despite some
sloppy play and holes in defence,
KYUEM won the match 7-5. The
players used the opponent’s
The last match was against Kolej
Mara Seremban which had lost
their three games earlier. Despite,
we had few key player injured, the
KYUEM rugby team managed to
win the match by 10-5.
The headmaster of KYUEM, Dr.
Paul Rogers and Student Services
Manager, Pn. Halijah Ahmad were
delighted to spend their time
watching the game and presenting
the medals to the winners. The
overall champion for the KYUEM
Rugby League 2015 was INTEC
followed by Nottingham University,
KYUEM, KMS and KMB.
by: Amanda Wong
ISSUE 16
7
CHINESE NEW YEAR
DINNER
H
eld on the 11th of February
2015, the Chinese Cultural
Club once again presented
one of its most remarkable
events, the Chinese New Year Dinner.
The festival aimed to foster unity and
close bonds among the tight-knit
community of KYUEM, as well as to
expose the members of KYUEM to
this unique Chinese culture.
Themed ‘Year of the Goat’, the
Great Hall was decked out in
colourful lanterns and ribbons served
to give a festive air as Chinese New
Year soundtracks played in the
background.
At 8.30 pm, the festival was
kick started with a lion dance
performance followed by an
opening ceremony by Dr. Paul
Rogers and teacher advisor Ms
Marina Bull. Dr. Paul Rogers also
gave a lively speech, followed
by a motivating speech by Miss
Marina Bull and the director of
the festival, Liew Li Hong. Then
the moment which the students
had been eager for eventually
arrived. The students enjoyed a
variety of traditional Chinese food
prepared by staff of our dining hall,
like ‘bags of happiness’ and ‘nian
gao’. Chrysanthemum tea was also
prepared to quench their thirst.
Students were able to enjoy various
performances such as dancing and
duets performed by their fellow
students. The seniors also gave a
riveting dance performance that
was very well received. One of the
highlights of the night was a jiujitsu
performance by the newly formed
Jiujitsu Club, helmed by Mr. Aaron.
The dinner marked its end
approximately at 10 pm. This was a
memorable and meaningful event
to the members of KYUEM. The
committee hoped to bring more
joy and amusement to the KYUEM
members at the next Chinese New
Year Festival.
8
by: Nurul Athira Binti Al Zafry Mohamed Alnassif
Japanese
Cultural
Night 2015
T
he event started around
8:00 pm and it was raining.
Nonetheless, the event was
carried out successfully by
Japanese Cultural Club. There are
several activities held during this
event, concentrating on presenting
the beautiful Japanese culture
to KYUEM students. Among the
activities that were held on this night
are games, performances, miniexhibition and Japanese food stalls.
There were several food stalls set
up for the event such as Sushi stall,
Okonomiyaki stall and Ramen
noodle stall that were handled
by the Japanese Cultural Club
members. These traditional foods
that were rarely available here
attracted the students and made
the event merrier. While the crowd
was lining up for food, there were
singing performances from members
of the club and also volunteers to
enlighten the festive night.
Games and mini-exhibition were
staged to share knowledge and
information about Japan and its
culture. Yukata, Japanese traditional
clothes were displayed at one of
the information booths. ‘Tanzaki’, a
wishing card, was also introduced to
the students and were known for its
lore in Japan. Meanwhile, Japanese
online game battles and Japanese
traditional games were organized for
those interested in playing and have
some fun.
Overall, the night was handled
efficaciously by the committed
members and it is expected to be
as successful or better for the next
upcoming event.
Japanese Cultural Night (JCN)
took place:Date : 25th February 2015
Venue : Japanese Garden, KYUEM
Time : 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
ISSUE 16
9
The Science And
Mathematics Society
Water Rocket
Competition
T
he annual KYUEM water rocket
competition was held on 6 March
2015 (Friday) at the school field.
The event received enthusiastic
participation from both senior and
junior teams, with a total of 8 teams of
3 students each. The creative aspect
of the competition was apparent from
the names the students came up with,
ranging from ‘Interstellar’, to ‘Apollo
X’.
Zuan Yi, Aisyah Zaharah and Michelle
Low clinched the victory. Their rocket
travelled the entire length of the field,
64 metres.
There were two categories of
competition: furthest distance and
longest hang time using a parachute.
The rockets were launched using 2
different water pumps: one made
by the Science and Mathematics
Society, and another made by one of
the junior teams.
In the parachute category, the
winners were team ‘Bro Council
Rocket’, composed of Faiz Fitri, Adlan,
and Syafie Rahman. Their rocket
managed to deploy a parachute
that gave a hang time of 14 seconds.
Their innovative design included
several distinguishing features
that gave them the edge: for
instance, their use of curved
fins instead of straight fins on
the side of the rocket, and
their large and light plastic
bag that slowed down the
descent dramatically.
In the furthest distance category,
‘The Rocketeers’, composed of Chew
The Society wishes
congratulations to the
winners, and we
hope that it was
educational and
fun for everyone
involved.
10
KYUEM Sports Carnival 2015
T
he annual KYUEM Sports
Carnival 2015 was organized by
Sports & Co. Unit collaboration
with KYUEM Students Council.
This tournament started from 25
February and ended 4 March
2015. The main objective of the
tournament was to promote
healthy life style and also to provide
competitive sports competition
among the students.
There were 8 games in the carnival
namely Basketball, Football, Rugby,
Netball, Frisbee, Table Tennis, Squash
and Badminton. All the houses were
required to participate in all events
and the athletes in each house was
restricted involvement in two events
in the tournament.
The interhouse event had received
a good response from each house
and also from the students. Along
the 7 days the tournament was held,
all the venues were full with the
spectators. The teachers also took
this opportunity to give support to
the houses that they represent.
The winner for the KYUEM Sports
Carnival 2015 was Topaz, followed by
Diamond, Garnet and Sapphire. Dr.
Paul Rogers, Headmaster of KYUEM
was delighted and honoured to give
the medals to the winners during the
assembly on 23 March 2015.
ISSUE 16
11
OPEN
DAYS
T
wo Open Day sessions were
held over the past couple of
months – the first on March 7
and another on March 28.
On both Saturday morning
occasions, we at KYUEM received
many eager visitors who took their
places at the Great Hall after light
refreshments.
At 10.45am, an informative
presentation was provided by
Headmaster, Dr. Paul Rogers, to a
near capacity crowd.
During the Question & Answer session
which followed parents and students
were equally keen to find out more
about the college.
Soon afterwards, they were taken in
groups led by representatives of our
students for a tour to get a feel of
the college.
Their overall interest was an
absolutely positive indication we
strive to boost of our new intake of
students in July.
12
Student Council
Camp 2015
T
he Student Council and House
Captain Training Programme
has come some way since its
genesis in 2006. For the past few
years, the camp has been carried
out in three days. This was kept up for
2015’s Student Council camp, held
from the 6th till the 8th of March.
The newly elected members of the
Student Council and House Captains
face a steep learning curve and
a bumpy road ahead, filled with
numerous potential problems and
pitfalls. It was with this truth in mind
that the Training Programme was
instituted, and continues today.
We hope that by sharing the
experiences of seniors and alumni
gives them an avenue to brainstorm
and prepare themselves for the term
ahead. They will be able to hit the
ground running and thus perform
their duties and responsibilities more
effectively.
The programme kicked off on Friday
the 6th with an ice-breaking session
and a group activity (“The Best and
The Worst”). At 5.30 p.m., everyone
participated in outdoor activity
where facilitators got involved in the
games along with the participants.
That night, an “Agree to Disagree”
session was held where participants
learnt to respect the opinions of
others and the art of toleration which
are both keys in leadership.
On Saturday the 7th, the participants
and facilitators went to Hot Spring
Sg. Klah. We were joined by an
alumnus (Hizami) and the SS staffs
(Mr Zulkefli and Mr Khairol). The
participants engaged in a mock
event-planning and handling
activity. They were closely monitored
by the former Student Council
members led by Ilman. In the
afternoon, the former members of
the Student Council shared their
experience and advice with the
new Student Council members and
the new house captains. Hizami
ISSUE 16
by: Nik Nur Ainin Soffiya Nik Mat
also shared his experience as the
President of the Student Council
during his college days. Before
going back, the participants and
facilitators bonded over an-hour
session of water activity at the
Hot Spring pools. At night, the
participants played a game (“Yes
or no”) and had a “Heart to Heart”
session with their predecessors.
On the last day, the participants
got involved with roleplaying in a
hypothetical apocalyptic world in
which they had to make decisions
in a very stressful and demanding
situation. The fact that the activity
was done early in the morning did
not deter their enthusiasm and spirit.
After breakfast, the participants
were given a briefing by Mr Rizal,
the representative of the Student
Services department. They filled in
their expected roles outlined by the
Student Services manager herself.
After the short tea break, they had
a session with the Headmaster, Dr
Rogers who inspired them with his
talk and group activities. After the
closing ceremony, the participants
rested and at night, everyone who
was involved with the camp went
out to dine in Garden Seafood
restaurant in Tanjung Malim.
13
Overall, the event was successful.
The participants received many
useful inputs and they were, at least,
prepared for what was to come
in their way for their term. Special
thanks goes to the Student Services
department and the Student Council
members 2014/2015 for making this
last event of theirs a memorable
one.
14
by: Muhammad Syafiq Izuddin Mohd Nasir
Culinary Arts
Club Inter- House
Competition 2015
T
he Culinary Arts Club (CAC)
of KYUEM organized an interhouse cooking competition on
11th March 2015. This culinary
competition was intended to
induce a sense of teamwork among
students, especially the juniors. As
it was one of the first events of the
semester, it was intended that the
participants would develop an
understanding of the significance of
the house spirit and dedication to
their houses. Since this competition
had a time limit, participants had
to demonstrate the importance of
planning and organizing their tasks
effectively and improve their time
management skills. This also gave
them a chance to showcase their
creativity and cooking talent. One
judge from each house was chosen
to assess this competition. At 6.30
pm the tasting session started and
one presenter from each house
presented their dishes, answering
judges’ and Dr. Bano’s queries.
We are proud to say that the event
was a success and we would like to
thank Dr. Bano, and everyone who
helped us achieve it.
The results of this competition are as
follows :
4th place –Diamond ‘House of
Courage’
3rd place - Topaz ‘House of Rock’
2nd place - G
arnet ‘House of
Enthusiasm’
1st place - S apphire ‘House of Glory’
ISSUE 16
Australian
Education Fair 11th March 2015
11
th March 2015 saw
KYUEM’s first ever
Australian Education Fair
in its very own Great Hall
organised by the college’s University
Relations department. The growing
interest in Aussie universities amongst
the students especially the feepaying ones is becoming more and
more apparent thus a fair focussed
on Aussie universities was felt would
be beneficial for those seeking
further clarification. The University
Relations department in conjunction
with AUG Student Services invited a
range of universities to the college.
The fair received an overwhelming
response and received excellent
feedback from both the junior and
senior batches.
Among the universities that
represented at their designated
booths at the Great Hall are The
Group of Eight Universities namely,
Australian National University,
University of New South Wales,
Monash University, University of
Melbourne, University of Western
Australia, University of Sydney and
University of Queensland. Besides the
Australian Technology Universities
such as Queensland University of
Technology, University of South
Australia, RMIT and Curtin University
other universities that attended
are Macquarie mainly for Actuarial
Science degree, Bond University for
Law degree, Flinders for Speech Path
/ Health Science, UTAS for Medicine
and Pharmacy and LaTrobe for
Health Sciences.
15
16
Kolej Yayasan UEM
Fire Drill Exercise
I
n compliance with Occupational
Safety and Health Act 1994
(OSHA), employers are responsible
for protecting the health and
safety of their employees, students
and visitors in the college. The Act
required employers to provide a
workplace that is free of hazards and
to comply with occupational safety
and health standards and to create
awareness about fire safety among
staff and students.
The first fire drill exercise was done
on 27 February 2015 and the second
fire drill was done on 26 March 2015
to allow staff and students to learn
or be reminded about the sound
of the alarm, location of fire exit
routes, location of fire assembly
point and fire action procedures.
Furthermore, it is to comply with the
statutory requirement from Fire and
Resque Department of Malaysia. The
location of the assembly point is at
the football field. Time of evacuation
for the first fire drill is 10 minutes 21
seconds and the second fire drill
took only 8 minutes 34 seconds.
Committee that involved in this fire
Date:
27 February 2015 &
26 March 2015.
Time:
8.45 am
Alarm trigger:
8.45am – 8.50am
(5 minutes)
drill exercise is from Bursar’s Office
Team lead by Tn. Syed Hanafi bin
Syed Hassan (Bursar), En. Wan Mohd
Aliff Raimy (SHE Coordinator),
En. Rosman Ahmad (Senior
Technician), En. Hamdan Mat
(Senior Clerk), En. Hamizon bin Harun
(Bursar’s Office Clerk) and En.Ahmad
Zulkefli bin Zainuddin (Security
Officer).
ISSUE 16
Engineering Society
Trip to Petronas Oil
Refining (Melaka)
Sdn Bhd A
s aspiring engineers, we
were willing to wake up at
about 4.30am in order to
set off for a 4-hour journey
to Petronas Oil Refining Melaka Sdn.
Bhd. This trip, held on Wednesday,
the 25th of April, was organized
to deepen our knowledge about
the fractional distillation process
of petroleum, especially for those
who intend to pursue a career in
petroleum or chemical engineering.
Arriving at our destination at about
9.00am, we were served breakfast
and beverages before being
ushered into a hall for a briefing
on the oil refining processes. There
were two other colleges present
at the briefing, namely UiTM Shah
Alam and Politeknik Pasir Gudang.
The talk was very eye-opening as
we could relate to the things we
learnt in one of the chapters of
the Chemistry syllabus. Basically,
Petronas Oil Refining Melaka is
designed to refine the petroleum
into various other products including
17
diesel oil, bitumen, petrochemichals
and many more. Unfortunately, a
tour around the vicinity of the place
was not possible due to a hazardous
gas leakage. Even so, we were really
grateful of the opportunity to learn
on how raw materials could be
processed into day-to-day products
the we frequently use.
After the talk, we decided to go to
Melaka town to enjoy some sightseeing before heading back to the
college. From eating a quick lunch
at Mahkota Parade to gazing at the
ruins of A’Famosa, then returning
back to Dataran Pahlawan for a
spot of window shopping, our legs
definitely felt like jelly the moment
the bus came to pick us up at about
6.00pm. Finally, we bid our farewell
to Melaka in the hopes that we
could one day visit this superb state
again.
18
2015 MyQUEST
T
he Malaysian Quality Evaluation
System for Private Colleges
(MyQUEST) rating system was
introduced by the Ministry of
Education in order to evaluate the
performance of all registered private
colleges under the Ministry. It is one
of the mechanisms to encourage a
better quality and higher standard of
education in Malaysia.
The Ministry anticipate that MyQuest
will help private colleges to
determine areas of improvement
as well as open the opportunity
for continuous improvement. The
Ministry also hope that the MyQuest
rating will be able to assist the public
in selecting the best colleges in terms
of overall rating as well as specific
areas of interest.
MyQuest audit at Kolej Yayasan UEM
was held on Thursday, 21 May 2015.
The audit conducted by Prof. Madya
Dr. Mohd Fadlee bin A. Rasid from
Faculty of Engineering, Universiti
Putra Malaysia and Puan Noor
Hasniza binti Mat Salleh from Ministry
of Education. All representatives
from each Department were given
their scope in advance, which kept
the audit process running smoothly
and efficiently.
Besides assessing all the data
and related documentations, the
auditors, accompanied by our
Senior Management Team visited
the College’s facilities. After the last
audit in 2012, KYUEM has changed
a lot especially on the students’
accommodation. Indeed, both
auditors were overwhelmed with our
brand new Villas!
As a premier A Level College
in Malaysia, we are hoping for
a positive outcome from 2015
MyQuest. Let’s hope for the best!
ISSUE 16
19
Malaysia
Contruction
Industry
Excellence
Award
(MCIEA)
Date: 26 May 2015 (Tuesday)
T
he KYUEM new villas project
has been shortlisted for
Malaysia Construction Industry
Excellence Awards (MCIEA)
Award for IBS Category. The
assessment site visits are assessed
by panel judges from Architect
Malaysia Association, Board of
Engineers Malaysia, Construction
Industry Development Board (CIDB)
and Ministry of Education (MOE).
The panel judges chair by Y.B.
Datuk Dr. Abu Bakar Bin Mohamad
Diah, Deputy Minister of Science,
Technology & Innovation.
The purpose of the site visit is
to assess the construction and
completion of new students’
accommodation (Villas), and
refurbishment of the existing Chalets,
Cafeteria and Apartments. UEM
Builders Berhad lead by En. Lokman
Hamzah had given the opportunity
to brief the panel judges and KYUEM
represented by Tn. Syed Hanafi bin
Syed Hassan (Bursar) and En. Rosman
Ahmad (Senior Technician).
Time: 10.30 am
Venue: Common Room
20
TM Fan Run
KYUEM Staff – Ms Sharon
3rd Place , 15KM Womens Open.
TM Fan Run 2015 was held on 31st
May 2015 at Putrajaya. It was an
organised running event to show
support for our Malaysian contingent
competing in the 2015 SEA Games
in Singapore. Some of us runners
from KYUEM got to join in along with
the other 8000 participants where
we joined the sea of orange and
black (TM running shirts) and made
our early morning expedition in and
around Putrajaya. We completed
the course and were privileged to
represent KYUEM and be part of such
a compassionate event.
ISSUE 16
21
HOUSE
trip
22
by: Siti Aishah Mohd Khairi
Diamond House Day Trip 2015
T
he time of the year has arrived
again, when the Topazians,
Spideys, Garnetrons and
Diamonders take refuge from
kiasu-ing for exams, to have a little
time-out with our house family, on
the day right after the last paper, AS
Physics.
Organized by batch 17.0, with
Fafa as the director of this year’s
Diamond house day trip, the House
of Courage opted to set foot at
Gua Tempurung, Perak to gain
a new experience and taste a
whole lot of adventure. On June
11th 2015, Diamond’s courageous
cave explorers had to leave their
comfortable beds and chalets after
Subuh prayers. The journey from
Kolej Yayasan UEM (KYUEM) to Gua
Tempurung was not a short one.
However, all of us had a whale of
a time in the bus, as our time was
filled with games, laughter and
chatter. Amongst the four houses, we
reached our destination the earliest,
reckoning that it’s best to seize the
day as early as possible. We arrived
at the site at 9 o’clock. However,
we had to wait for quite some time
before entering the cave due to
some management issues.
While waiting, Ezzat distributed the
flashlights to some of us as promised,
bearing in mind that it is one of the
essentials for a stroll in the cave. To
get hyped up prior to entering the
cave, Irsyad conducted a mini warm
up session. Kudos to the one who
suggested the warm up idea as no
one were injured badly or sustained
muscle cramps in the cave! What’s
more, a memorable group photo is
an unforgettable ritual each time a
massive event is about to happen.
Just look at how excited the faces
were!
ISSUE 16
23
instructed to cross the bar off the
pavement, it was the turning point
of the journey. O boy, we never
expected slides and going through
holes and crashing against the water
were in the next agenda! When I
said it was unexpected, I meant it
was unpredictably dangerous yet
thrilling. The most amazing teamwork
moment we had was when the
burly boys carried our weights when
we were sliding down the slopes
twice. The ‘rescuing’ team of boys
was beating with one heart as they
diligently took us down, safely and
soundly.
When it was almost 10 o’clock,
the tour guide called upon us and
informed us that we’d be joining
with another tourist group, totalling
the whole to about 100 people.
Later, he continued with the safety
guidelines and told us the duration of
the exploration was 3.5-5 hours. We
could only pray that our breakfast in
the bus was sufficient for this energydraining activity.
promising our friends that we’d hold
each other’s backs. Alhamdulillah,
everyone reached the bottom of the
staircase smoothly albeit it was a tad
slippery and steep.
Along the way, we could not
help to feel awestruck by the
breathtaking beauty of the
stalactites and stalagmites and
the chill rivers flowing beneath. The
stunning marble stones stood there
magnificiently and we only hoped
For the first hour of the journey,
that in the near future, this cave
we mainly just strolled in a line
would be declared as a UNESCO
according to the pavement in the
Heritage Site as we believed that
cave and hiked the many zig-zag
the nature of the cave should not
stairs that certainly made us soak
be leveraged by irresponsible and
in sweat. At one point, we reached
the ‘top of the world’ after hundreds selfish human beings. Therefore,
more photogenics can capture the
of steps before plunging into the
beauty of the cave while posing
bottom of the cave, horrifying us
more when the staircase going down adorably in the photos.
was 100-feet tall. With some of us
After some time of just cruising
fearing heights, it was scary and
slowly, we were quite bored.
a good place to die, we thought.
Suddenly, when the tour guide
Carefully, we moved on together,
We completed our tour in 4.5 hours,
ending it for good at 2.30 pm.
Immediately, we headed to the
changing restrooms, took real good
showers and pampered ourselves
with the scrumptious and warm
burgers sold at a roadstall nearby.
Afterwards, the day continued with
us taking AEON Station 18. Many
of us enjoyed ourselves watching
Jurassic World and some of us just
chilled at the mall, enjoying the
shopping spree while the sale was
still on. At 8.30 pm, we left Perak,
returning back to college means
heading back to reality, which
we were probably not prepared
to go back to. However, this trip is
probably what we need to motivate
ourselves to strive hard for the future
endeavors and this trip also instils
that each and everyone of the
team is important for the whole lot to
achieve success.
24
E
HOtrUipS
Garnet
House
O
n Thursday 11th June,
the House of Enthusiasm,
Garnet, travelled to
Skytrex in Shah Alam for
their annual House Trip. Skytrex
Adventure provides the first of its
kind in Malaysia, a tree to tree ‘skytrekking’ experience where you can
fly, swing, glide and dangle on the
various aerial obstacles suspended
seventeen metres above the lush
tropical Malaysian Rainforest.
Despite many ‘Garnetrons’ having
a fear of heights, they successfully
managed to conquer their worries
by completing the tough challenges
that the twenty six obstacles of the
‘Big Thrill’ course provided.
by: Azizan Wazir
ISSUE 16
25
Sapphire House Trip 2015
O
n the 11th of June 2015,
the House of Sapphire
went on the house trip to
Chilling Waterfall in Kuala
Kubu Bharu. Juniors and seniors of
the house, in addition to several
members of other houses, and the
teachers of Sapphire journeyed
together to the lush jungle, in which
a breath-taking waterfall awaited us.
On arrival, we were lucky enough
to witness two fully grown bears
carefully preserving food for
consumption at a later time
(pictured right). We kept a safe
distance to avoid any unnecessary
injuries to students.
At base camp, we also saw a
congregation of Rajah Brooke’s
Birdwing butterflies – the national
butterfly of Malaysia. (Pictured left)
After a little while of prepping, we
were finally set to hike up towards
the waterfall.
E
HOtrUipS
On our trek, we had to wade across
rivers, brave through thick jungles
and fight thirst and hunger. At one
point of time, we had to cross a fast
current river – by walking across a
fallen tree. In the picture of said log
(right), we were fortunate enough to
encounter two members of a species
in the family, Boler.
After roughly one gruelling hour, we
finally reached the waterfall. Some
enthusiastic members climbed up
a low platform by the waterfall and
jumped into the deeper part of the
water. Some more laid back goers
decided to sunbathe and sleep on
a nearby rock. And others wadded
around in the water, scaring fish and
splashing each other.
After a tedious hike back down
to basecamp, we had our lunch –
biryani rice with mutton. In addition
to the scrumptious meal, we also
had barbeque chicken. Around
basecamp, I was lucky enough to
spot and photograph an uncommon
and beautiful Mapwing butterfly
(pictured left).
We departed from Chilling
Waterfalls at around 5:00pm and
arrived at KYUEM roughly around
6:30pm. Needless to say, it was an
unforgettable experience for us all.
26
Topaz House Trip
T
he day after being declared
‘free’ from a month long of
AS/A2 Exams, 53 of the Topaz
members set off to Bagan
Lalang Beach Resort, Sepang
on 11th June 2015 for the annual
housetrip. However, this year the
trip was conducted differently
as the students did not have the
opportunity of staying over at their
respective destinations.
The Topaz outing began at 1pm and
upon arrival, we gathered at the hall
then witnessed the rousing speech
by our House Captains. After that,
we were all given the green light
to roam as well as relax around the
beach, situated just 100 meters from
E
HOtrUipS
the Resort. The girls were glued to
the street vendors by the seaside
that sells a myriad of stuffs i.e. kites;
clothes and foods while the boys
were playing rugby, football and
volleyball at the sandside. Nearing
sundown, many had the chance to
witness the sun setting back across
the horizon.
entertainments, our dinner would
have been rather gloomy.
At 6.30pm, we walked back to
the hall to change for the night’s
BBQ. We indulged in local dishes
accompanied by the many talented
‘musicians’ from our very own tribe.
The fortuitous move of the boys
to come up with many interesting
performances deserves to be well
acknowledged, as without these
At the end of the day, the whole
committee relished the success
of a memorable trip, because
the objective of the trip that is to
enhance our bond and allow our
members to unwind came true! We
would like to thank all those whom
participated! Keep up the spirit
fellow Topazians!
To top it off, a bonfire was set up
merely from our bare hands just
to get the mood of camp fire into
place. 2 hours and a group picture
later, we were all called back into
the bus to head back to KYUEM.
ISSUE 16
27
Awards Day 2015
97.5% Of Kyuem Students
Received Conditional Offers
At World’s Top Universities
Students Obtained Best In World Status
A
remarkable 97.5 per cent
of this year’s graduating
students from Kolej Yayasan
UEM (KYUEM), Malaysia’s
premium A level college, have
received conditional offers from
some of the finest universities in the
world.
A total of 246 students received their
completion of studies certificates in
the annual Awards Day graduation
ceremony held on the 16 June 2015,
graced by Guest of Honour, Dato’ Sri
Jamaludin bin Ibrahim, Chairman of
Axiata.
academic institution for students
intending to study at prestigious
universities overseas.
These students followed the proud
example of the 2014 graduates,
who obtained the best results in
the college’s history, with 88% of
students obtaining A* to B grades at
Cambridge A level. These excellent
results exceed those of many top
quality UK colleges and confirm
KYUEM’s standing as an outstanding
KYUEM not only focus on
examination, the college has
a student-centred policy and
provides holistic education that
aims to produce well-rounded
graduates who are able to compete
academically, socially and culturally
on the world’s stage.
28
Headmaster, Dr. Paul Rogers, in his
welcoming speech, congratulated
all the graduates and said, “Their
achievements today set them on the
path to academic excellence and
a rich and fulfilling life ahead as the
leaders of tomorrow.”
Recalling last year’s successes, he
announced that 70% of grades were
at A* or A, 56% of students achieved
three A grades or above and 20%
managed to obtain an amazing four
A grades in their Cambridge University
A level examinations.
In addition, four students obtained
“Best in World” status in A level
Mathematics, while another four
Mathematicians and one Physicist
were acclaimed “Best in World” at AS
level. Finally, one student managed
the incredible feat of obtaining first
place across four different AS level
examinations.
At the graduation ceremony, five
unique students were presented with
Special Awards. Scholar of the Year
was awarded to Benjamin Lee Zhe
Min; Academic Excellence Award
(Science) was awarded to Lim Yi
Ying; Academic Excellence Award
(Arts) was awarded to Natalia Vera
Aw, while Vicknesh A/L Rajkumar and
Fatihahtul Hanan Bt Md Nor received
the Male and Female Sports & CoCurricular Awards respectively.
Individual students who achieved the
greatest success in specific subjects
were also presented with awards. The
recipients were Vicknesh A/L Rajkumar
(Accounting), Nur’aishah Farhana
Bt Hamdan (Bahasa Kebangsaan),
Shobha A/P Nagarathanam (Biology),
Lim Li Ying (Chemistry), Yuganesh A/L
K. Gopala Krishnan (Computing), Lim
Jay Yen (Economics), Benjamin Lee
Zhe Min (English Language), Natalia
Vera Aw (English Literature), Ong Yi
Chao (Further Mathematics), Nurul
Shamine Binti Shaifful Anuar (History),
Muhammad Amir Qayyum Bin Abdul
Rahman (Islamic Studies), Tan Si Yan
(Malaysian Studies), Wan Mohd Azril
Bin Wan Hasnuddin (Mathematics),
Wee Khui Chiang (Moral Studies),
Tan See Yee (Physics) and Fatihahtul
Hanan Bt Md Nor (Psychology).
The June, 2015 Duke of Edinburgh
International Award (Silver) was
presented to four students, while
another eighteen students received
the DoE Bronze Award.
Approximately 70% of KYUEM students
are sponsored by both government
and private organisations. The college
has an enviable record of preparing
students to read Accountancy,
Actuarial Science, Architecture,
Dentistry, Economics, Engineering,
IT, Law, Life Sciences, Medicine,
Pharmacy and many other, high
ranking undergraduate programmes.
KYUEM provides a safe and secure
learning environment in a beautiful
campus about 70 km north of Kuala
Lumpur. All students live on site in
modern, shared accommodation
and benefit from excellent teaching
plus enviable resources and learning
facilities.
The college is a non-profit educational
institution created by Yayasan UEM, a
charitable foundation established by
UEM Group Berhad.
ISSUE 16
Awards Day 2015
the team behind it
29
E
D
Dr. Paul Rogers
(522267-A)
Lembah Beringin
P.O Box 62, 35900 Tanjung Malim
Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia
Tel : +603 6460 1234
Fax : +603 6460 1122
www.kyuem.edu.my
I
T
O
Nona Julia Hashim
R
S
Norazlan Mohd Nordin