IM Nole sweeps top prizes at National Rapid and Blitz 2012

By Marc Raphael, PE 1st/2nd

Tronoh, 18^th November- It was a day of few surprises at UTP’s Multi-Purpose Hall, venue to the National Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships held on the 17^th and 18^th of November. The tournament’s highest rated participant, Pilipino player Rolando Nole (International Master) bagged first place in the Open category for both the Rapid and Blitz tournaments, with his compatriot and fellow tournament favourite Ian Udani finishing just behind him in both events. Nole, the only player that day with the coveted chess title of International Master (IM), left with total winnings of RM1500.

   IM Nole with receiving his grand prize

                  

UTP’s very own Cedric Lemuel Lee (CE, 1^st Year, 2^nd Sem) completed his first ever Open tournament with a respectable 3.5 points from a possible 8 in each event, taking home a special award for best UTP player. It was a considerable feat for the relaxed and jovial 19-year-old, as he was competing against experienced professional chess players. He had this to say of his small but meaningful triumph: “It’s pretty cool la. I really didn’t have anywhere else to spend my 60 bucks, so I took part, and now I’m UTP’s top player! Haha.” Cedric is a former district player from the state of Johor.

Cedric(right) in full concentration mid-game.

It was also a memorable day for young chess prodigy Jagathees Guna Balan, who produced a remarkable performance for someone his age in an Open event, finishing with 5 points in the Rapid tournament. Jagathees, whose father is a full time chess coach, is no stranger to overachieving in the chess arena, having previously represented Malaysia in the World Youth U-8 Championships, with his name also recorded in the Malaysian Book of Records for his exploits in simultaneous chess. His proud father, Mr Guna Balan, said he entered his son into the event because he believed Jagathees was ripe for this kind of exposure (in an Open event), having already won everything there is to win in his age group. Undoubtedly, young Jagathees Guna Balan is a name to start looking out for in the Malaysia chess scene.

              

Jagathees taking on his more experienced opponent.

Event organising committee member Lee Weng Soon (CE 1^st Year, 2^nd Sem) says that this is the first time UTP has organised a FIDE rated (tournaments recognised by international chess body FIDE, where players may improve their universal FIDE ratings with strong performances in the tournament) event. This year also marks the introduction of the Blitz format tournament, with previous UTP events having only been in Rapid format. The event was jointly organised by UTP Chess Dragon, Fundamental and Applied Science Student Ambassadors (FASSA), Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF), Persatuan Catur Negeri Perak (PICA), and Jabatan Belia Dan Sukan Negeri Perak.

Full standings for all age groups in both tournament categories and further information regarding the tournament can be obtained from the event website: www.nrbcc2012.blogspot.com. 

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Quiz Wise 2012

Tronoh, 19th November- Equip yourself with as much general knowledge as possible, show it off, and win something big!  That’s exactly how Quiz Wise 2012 went on at Undercroft recently. We would like to congratulate the champion group that swept away a whopping RM700 as the Grand Prize! 

“That guy wearing the black T-shirt, he is very intelligent. He knows the answers even before the questions are completed,” said Ammar Fahmi Abdullah (PE, Foundation 1st Sem.). Ammar was referring to Chandra Shekhor from group Armageddon which won the competition. Chandra (ME, 2nd Yr/2nd Sem.) was seen as the dominant participant in his group consisting of Ilaman Gulesenov (PE, 2nd Yr/ 2nd Sem.) and Annadurdy Anash (EE, Final Yr/Final Sem.), another two brilliant minds.

Chandra Shekhor from the group Armageddon answering a question.

Quiz Wise 2012 is the fourth instalment of the event which happens annually in UTP. The Project Manager this time around was 21-year-old Tareq Muhammad al-Shami (PE, 1st yr/ 2nd sem) from Yemen. Kudos to him and his committee members for making Quiz wise 2012, sponsored by Have It Late, a grand success. Have It Late is a small student-run convenience store in Village 4,  with operating hours of 11pm to 4am.

One of the main highlights of the event was a performance by Interbeats, UTP’s very own hip hop dance team. Besides that, there were performances from Mozambican students and a piano recital. During intervals, the audience was tested on their general knowledge, with souvenirs being handed out as prizes for correct answers.

A total of 35 teams, with 3 members each, took part in the event this year. The competition started with a knockout round at 6.00 p.m. In this round the groups had to answer 40 questions in 30 minutes on paper. The four teams that got through this round were Apple, Armageddon, Have It Late (not to be confused with event sponsors, Have It Late) and Tahu Sumedang.

Mr. Marfauza Bin Mat Jusoh presenting the mock-cheque worth RM700 to the champions.

Eventually Armageddon emerged as champions while Tahu Sumedang, consisting of Alfian Rachman, Rifqi Randi and Fakhri Akhdan, finished as 1st runner-up. Have It Late, consisting of Mahmoud Tareq Shaheen, Mochtar Bebaha and Aaron Chia Yun Zhen was the 2nd runner-up and 3rd runner-up was Apple, consisting of Nik Aieman Raziq, Muhammad Haziq and Muhammad Danial.

VIPs present at  this memorable event were Mr. Marfauza Bin Mat Jusoh (Senior Executive, Student Support Service), Mr. Saiful Hizam (International Student Adviser), Ms. Nurizzati Binti Ramli (Deputy President, Student Representative Council), Mr. Motasem Abdulaghader (Secretary 1, International Student Council) and Ms. Labina Patricia (Vice President, International Student Council).

All the participants of Quiz Wise 2012.

By Munir Jaman, Foundation

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SEDEX Intro Day

Tronoh, 7 November: SEDEX (Science and Engineering Design Exhibition)’s Intro Day was held as a jump start and ice breaking session for the upcoming SEDEX 31 by the new board of SEDEX’s high committee. Attended by at least 100 students, the event was held to promote and introduce what SEDEX to the new students. The introduction day started with an introduction of SEDEX 31's structure by the project director, Kanagesh. “This SEDEX is going to be different from the previous ones since this time we will be having more pre-events in order to make SEDEX more grand and successful” said Project Director, Kanagesh Manoharan (CE, 2nd/2nd).

Soon after, the committee played the SEDEX 30’s opening montage to give a small insight about SEDEX to the audience.

The pre-events that will be taking place as part of the build-up to SEDEX 31 are – 

·         National SEDEX,

·         Corporate Social Responsibility (Nurture A Project),

·         Company Sharing Session and Industrial Field Trips.

·         Youth Social Responsibility Event called Nurturing A Project (23rd Feb)

There was also an explanation of the National SEDEX, an event where SEDEX will allow participants from all over Malaysia to exhibit their projects and presentations in UTP. This initiative was introduced to help UTP reach the Research University Status by 2013. 

Project Director SEDEX 31, Kanagesh A/L Manoharan giving his brief introduction on the new aspects of SEDEX 31.

Meanwhile, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) will aim to aid school children to conduct and start their own science projects. This project will commence in schools around Tronoh and Taman Maju, says Assistant Project Director, Tan Loo Sen.

Project director Kanagesh then also introduced the Company Sharing Session, during which there will be presentations and sharing sessions with various companies from the industry.

There were also mini games such as ‘sky scrappers’ and ‘charade’ as part of the Intro Day. The committee recruitment session will be held very soon. 

SEDEX 31 HiCom

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Datuk Zainal Bids Farewell To Students With Parting Advice

Tronoh, 29^th October – After 7 ½ years at the helm of the university’s administration, it was time for outgoing Vice Chancellor Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Hj Kasim to make his last live address to students of UTP. Datuk Zainal Abidin was invited to share his experiences while on his long road to success at an event entitled “The Leadership Journey – My Experience”, held at Undercroft recently. Entry to the sharing session, a joint initiative by Rakan Masjid and MPPUTP, was open to all.

The VC cut a figure of humility and calmness as he made his unceremonious entry to Seminar room 7, going straight for the microphone, evidently not expecting any formalities to be observed on his account. The casually dressed VC began his speech by providing some background information on his education and also his career at Petronas, a company he has been attached to for 36 years. The audience, comprising students from all faculties and academic years, were constantly in stitches listening to the VC’s amusing anecdotes and impromptu humour. For many of those in attendance, this was a comedic side to the VC that they had never witnessed before. For S.Kesavarthiny (PE, 1^st Sem), the experience altered her view of the VC entirely. “I’ve always thought of him as a serious and quiet man. He’s actually a really funny guy! He gives very practical advice too!” said Kesavarthiny, who has been a student here since September.

As he went along, Datuk Zainal offered more details of his personal life, including photographs of his childhood and schooling years at Malay College Kuala Kangsar, of which Datuk Zainal is a proud alumnus. At this point he expressed his unhappiness with the severe lack of racial integration he observes here on campus, something that was never a problem during his time as a student. The VC also talked about the sacrifices he has made to arrive at where he is today, including having to spend a year away from his wife soon after marriage to complete his Masters. Datuk Dr Zainal is now a PhD holder, having completed his doctorate in Paris. Other topics touched on by the VC were how to deal with failure and on being a good leader. According to Datuk Dr Zainal, “The essence of good leadership is one’s character” and “It is not what you say, but what people hear that matters”.

After he was done, Datuk Dr Zainal began to take questions from the audience. When asked what his aspirations were for the future of the university, he humorously commented, “There are too many black-haired people here. I want to see more blondes!” to which he received an exuberant reaction from the crowd.  He went on to clarify that he meant that he hopes the university will one day begin to attract students from developed nations and Western countries as well. During the Q&A session, some senior students took the opportunity to express their long-standing admiration for Datuk Zainal and their regret at his retirement.

The event drew to a close with a short video montage prepared by Rakan Masjid, preceded by a gift-giving ceremony in which various organisations and clubs presented their tokens of appreciation to Datuk Zainal. 

By Marc Raphael, PE

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