Latest news with #UCSIUniversity
The Star
6 days ago
- General
- The Star
Good homes not just for the rich
Proud moment: Chan receiving the valedictorian award from UCSI chancellor Tunku Zain Al-'Abidin. A PASSIONATE advocate for community architecture, sustainability and grassroots impact, Joanne Chan Wen Hui is on a mission to make life better for the marginalised. Addressing the Class of 2025 as valedictorian at UCSI University's first convocation ceremony of the year, Chan spoke about her mission to serve underprivileged rural communities through architecture. These families often have to live in environments that lack dignity and are poorly designed because they can't afford better, more comfortable spaces, she said. Good design should not be a luxury reserved only for the rich, she said, when delivering her speech at the varsity in Kuala Lumpur on May 10. That belief guided her tertiary education journey as she actively volunteered and contributed to various causes – serving people, communities and even animals over the past three and a half years at UCSI. In her first semester, Chan joined COLLAB, a student-led initiative advocating for architecture's civic responsibility. Through COLLAB, she helped build a kindergarten for refugee children. 'The children wanted to learn so badly despite their underprivileged circumstances. Seeing them affirmed my desire to use architecture to drive meaningful change for those in need,' she said. Since then, the aspiring architect has spent every semester break on COLLAB projects, including building affordable homes in remote highlands. She also collaborated with Paw's Eden, a local NGO and animal shelter housing over 200 stray cats and dogs. Through crowdfunding, she and her team raised over RM11,000 to customise wheelchairs for 20 mobility-impaired dogs. They also built a bamboo hut and improved the shelter's outdoor playground. Apart from dedicating herself to volunteer work, Chan also initiated the Study Buddy system to foster peer mentorship, cross-year collaboration and student-led workshops. She also served as president of Makelab, UCSI's architecture student society. 'My experiences as a student affirmed what I have always believed – that everyone deserves access to thoughtful, inclusive spaces. It is a necessity, not a privilege.' Driven by this ethos, Chan turned down higher-paying offers to work as an assistant architect at a local startup focused on sustainable and socially conscious design. She plans to pursue her master's degree, sit for the Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia III Examination and eventually establish her own firm to revitalise rural and educational spaces through culturally sensitive, sustainable design. Moved by Chan's choices and desire to make a change, UCSI vice-chancellor and president Emerita Prof Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir said, 'I'm proud to share that today, she is doing the work she believes in.' The university's 38th convocation ceremony also marked the installation of Tunku Zain Al-'Abidin Tuanku Muhriz as UCSI's second chancellor, following his tenure as pro-chancellor since 2021. The ceremony celebrated the achievements of 898 graduates in the presence of UCSI University council chairman and founder Datuk Peter Ng and UCSI Healthcare Group chairman Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
Nikkei Asia
28-04-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Malaysia's UCSI University to offer prep course in Japan for study abroad
SINGAPORE -- Malaysia's private UCSI University will provide a basic course in Japan starting in April 2026 to help prepare Japanese students seeking to study abroad, hoping to draw more to Malaysia. The school will partner with Japan's English Innovations to offer in-person classes in Tokyo, taking up to 60 students in the first year. This will be a "foundation course" similar to those provided by schools in the U.K. and Australia. The arrangement will reportedly be the first of its kind for a Malaysian university in Japan.
Free Malaysia Today
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Missing crescent, and a lack of compassion and integrity
From Mustafa K Anuar The criticism of a newspaper's mistake of publishing an image of the Jalur Gemilang without its crescent moon has reached a new level, much to the chagrin of especially those who have wished for critics not to go overboard. It is disturbing that the patriotism of individuals who called for a level-headed reaction to the issue has been questioned. As if this isn't enough, such people were urged to renounce their citizenship. In the heat of the flawed flag controversy involving Sin Chew Daily, along came UCSI University academic Tajuddin Rasdi to express his deep concern and dismay over the public reaction to the daily's blunder, prompting him to declare his shame in being Malaysian. The Umno Veterans' Club took exception to the professor's remarks, which it deemed unpatriotic and contrary to public sentiments condemning the Chinese newspaper. Tajuddin was challenged to give up his citizenship. Like some other concerned Malaysians, Tajuddin argued that the daily's apology should have been sufficient and duly accepted, given that it had taken action against the relevant editors and corrected the mistake in its following day's edition. It's a human and technical error, said the paper. Worrying ethnic twist One would think that the call for severe punitive action against the newspaper, such as the revocation of its publishing permit, should have ceased. What is also concerning is that comments on this controversy have somehow been given an ethnic twist, particularly those that emerged on social media platforms. That is why it has caused some Malaysians to wonder whether the journalistic mis-step has been made out to be too grave to be excused simply because it was committed by a Chinese newspaper. Such suspicion exists. Political opportunism In a society where the toxic politics of race and religion is part of a playbook of divisive politicians, this issue cannot be left to linger, for the sake of inter-ethnic harmony and national progress. Moreover, it should be of concern to us if right-wing political outfits, especially those who have been in the political wilderness all this while, wade into this matter so as to give themselves some much-needed public visibility and relevance. This political development may be harmful to national cohesion. This issue, to be sure, essentially concerns journalistic professionalism and ethics; it should be addressed accordingly. Let this be a lesson to other media outlets in the absence of an independent media council. To suggest, as a few did, that such journalistic oversight was underpinned by a lack of patriotism among the journalists or at the daily would be off the mark at best or mischievous at worst. Merchants of slander The sentiments expressed by Tajuddin should remind us that there were moments in our nation's history when it was indeed embarrassing to be Malaysian. For instance, many Malaysians felt ashamed when they were jolted by the fact that their beloved country was associated with the largest instance of kleptocracy that the world has ever known. There are, of course, other cases of corruption and abuse of power committed by government leaders and officers to the extent that the young in our midst might be misled into thinking that stealing from public coffers is the patriotic thing to do. Then, there are politicians acting as merchants of slander, selling lies as truths for political gain, to the detriment of our supposed national image of God-fearing people. While the national flag is to be honoured, we should also embrace certain values it represents, such as moral courage, compassion, justice, intellectual integrity, mutual respect, understanding, and unity. Mustafa K Anuar is an Aliran executive committee member and an FMT reader. The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
