By PARK JUNG-A Lot of celebrities are also joining the campaign to reach to the parliament. | Photo Credit: R.age SUBANG JAYA | Last month, R.AGE, the youth news platform of local daily The Star, began reporting on child sexual exploitation in the country. Beyond the teams' reporting of sexual grooming, R.AGE took a step further by lobbying parliament to enact a new law against it.
“We are doing our best to engage with members of parliament in the parliament sessions every other day to continue to get feedback and reports on any progress. Hence, we can keep the discussion going and hopefully in the very near future, we'll have the laws passed,” said R.AGE journalist, Shanjeev Reddy. Reddy debunks the notion that people are distanced enough from sex predators in the community. "Everyone always seems to think it won’t happen to them. "Parents, children and the community have to do lots more within the household and community and R.AGE will continue to work on this (issue),” added Reddy. Beginning this year, team R.AGE released a video series titled Predator In My Phone. The videos, featuring the issue of sexual grooming, were produced after six months of undercover work. The project also aims to raise awareness about child sexual exploitation that is done through mobile chat apps. Since submitting the bill to parliament, the team is expecting the public to show their support for the anti-grooming law by pledging or sending a message directly to a member of parliament through the R.AGE homepage. “I am interested to take part in it if I can because I believe it's important to educate the younger generation to value themselves, and be exposed to sex education," said School Of Education student, Grace Tan Shu Ting, 22. “This is because we are part of society and if one person can help at least one child, I believe we can make an impact to the society," added Tan.
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By CLARABELLE AK LAWRENCE Students during the pledge signing to donate their organs in front of KKM representatives. SUBANG JAYA | Taylorians were educated on the awareness of organ donation in the recent ‘Miracle of Life’ campaign organised by Taylor’s University’s School Of Communication (SOC) Public Relation (PR) students held on 9 November at LT 12.
The campaign aimed to teach young Malaysians of their power in saving another human’s life through the act of donating their organs while correcting common misconceptions about organ donations. “Many of us are not educated on the process of organ donation. "We hope to change that perception and open the eyes of students about the difference they can make once they pledge their organs,” said SOC student, Shermaine Chong Shu Mae, 23, who is a member of the organising team. Derma Organ, the national transplant centre in Malaysia who collaborated with the organising team for the event, revealed that the percentage of organ donors in Malaysia is very low. Only 0.6% per million of the population are registered organ donors. School Of Computing And Information Technology student, Ezra Alamsyah Rezky Abdullah, 20, believes that young Malaysians hesitate to donate their organs due to religious concerns. “I was amazed that people of different religious beliefs pledged to donate since I thought that religion is a factor, especially for us Muslims where it does not allow us to donate our organs,” he said. Despite numerous misconceptions, the organising team managed to surpass their target with about 58 donor pledges, majority of which came from the attendees. “The pledge serves as a declaration of intent that you as an individual wish to donate all or certain organs to other suitable candidates in the transplant list in Malaysia. “You can donate organs at any age with the youngest being 21 days old and the oldest, 81,” added Chong. Organ donors can still have an open casket once their organs have been removed as the sutures are done internally and it is not very visible. By pledging your organs, one person can change the lives of up to eight people. By NATALIE CHAN XIN CI At the very first general meeting. | Photo Credit : Sarah Ngai Su Yin SUBANG JAYA | New term Student Council of Taylor’s University (TU) was remunerated last September and the president spoke on behalf about their plan to better the experience of the students in TU.
Student Council president and School Of Communication student, Sarah Ngai Su Yin , 21, stated that their short term goal is resolving as many concerns from the student community in order to provide a better university experience. However, Ngai stated that her team does not want to hold any promises as they have other personal engagements to deal with other than being in the student council. “I do not want to over promise any party, we as the council would try our very best to strike a balance to be able to solve as many concerns as we could and to also be able to enhance the overall state,” said Ngai. To what short term and long terms goal that are coming ahead, Ngai pointed out that at this stage it is difficult to provide a definite answer as everything is still in the planning stage. “It would also be a sustainable plan, which would evolve to long term goals that would enhance the overall experience in the university. “More collaborations with the clubs and society can be something of what we can guarantee; to also have more student centric activities,” said Ngai. Moreover, she stated through this she hopes that the student council will be able to create a better sense of belonging for the student community. Ngai added that there will be ups and downs throughout the process in carrying out her responsibilities but she believes if the team holds the same aim and moves towards a unified goal, goals are definitely achievable. The challenges she foresees are to have to sacrifice her personal and socialising time but nonetheless she believes that her friends are supportive to keep her through this journey as the Student Council president of TU. by KYLE ROSHEN JACOB The event introduced a mangosteen sherbet, an icy combination of both the sweet and sour taste of the fruit. SUBANG JAYA | Furley Bioextracts and Taylor’s University's (TU) School Of Biosciences (SBS) came together to organise the world’s first-ever Mangosteen Day.
“Not only did we want to promote the health benefits of mangosteens but we also wanted to create awareness about the products that we are consuming and purchasing from the market,” said head event organiser and Sales & Marketing Manager of Furley Bioextracts, Kelvin Soo Quai Siang. Soo stressed that people as consumers need to know what compounds are being used in consumer products and how important it is to understand nutritional labels. “We want people to be able to identify the compounds in certain products which can be harmful to our health, and to go for products with all-natural compounds,” he said. The event held on 12 November in front of the Student Life Centre (SLC) hosted a wide range of activities such as soap-making, slime-making and simple science experiments; all using mangosteens. Most of the event's attendees were families with children. “We found out about this event through Facebook and my husband and I thought it would be great for the kids to participate and to also just come have fun as a family,” said mother-of-two, Prem Pakirisamy, 40. Students from SBS handled most of the activities. “It was very fulfilling to teach these kids how to differentiate between products that use a lot of chemicals and products that are more natural-based,” said SBS student, Yap Chien Yee, 20. The health talks conducted by SBS lecturers and nutritionists, Dr Yan See Wan and Chew Lye Yee, educated the attendees on how to read nutritional labels and how to choose products wisely. Since its establishment in 2006, Furley Bioextracts has become a recognised industry leader of biotechnology in Malaysia. The company hopes to strengthen its relationship with TU and to organise more events focusing on a particular fruit or herb in the future. By SAMANTHA SIN Members of Projek57 aim to spread unity through selling merchandise. | Photo Credit : Dur e Nayab SUBANG JAYA | Students from Taylor’s Business School (TBS) collaborated with Projek57 through the Community Service Initiative module to encourage younger Malaysians to restore the founding values of Malaysia's independence year of 1957.
The values - tolerance, diversity, progressiveness and unity - were encouraged through Projek57 conducting activities such as selling T-shirts, holding community events and merchandising. “We wanted to provide the students with a social enterprise experience through a platform where they could receive real life business start-up encounters while raising funds for a social cause,” said Projek57’s chief operating officer, Debbie Choa. Through this collaboration, TBS students faced the same challenges of a start-up business with creating their own business plans and pitching them whilst understanding the difficulties and successes in marketing, sourcing the right locations, managing inventory as well as customer engagement. This project also served to promote teamwork amongst students and assisted in helping students discover their strengths and potentials. At the same time, this collaboration enabled students to be the ambassadors of the unity message as they reached out to fellow Malaysians. “We aren’t just selling these T-shirts to Taylorians but also to staff member and externals. “Based on selling the shirts, I noticed that our own people are not as active in supporting our country whereas working immigrants are the ones who support the cause and are more willing to purchase these shirts,” said TBS student El Umar-Mukhtar, 23. According to Choa, the reception on T-shirt sales was more than satisfactory when TBS students identified their target market. “The students reported that many of the Malaysians whom they approached were receptive to the message of unity, and that this project brought back memories of how well Malaysians got together,” added Choa. Choa expressed that students are the future generation of the nation and, if students believe that there is hope, a better future can be formed through projects like these. By ILI RUZANA IQBAL Armon ends the night performing his single, Thank You from his album. SUBANG JAYA | Taylor’s University (TU) Alumni Relations Office helped organised an alumni and local musician’s first album launch at the Experimental Theatre on 5 November.
Nigesh Armon, 32, aka Armon, being the main star of the night, said that he studied Cambridge A-levels at Taylor’s College back in 2012. He wanted his first album, Thank You to be launched at TU he wanted to make a comeback. “I had a lot of good memories here, so I contacted TU and asked if I could do it. “Most of my music journey started here, so being able to come this far, I thought it would be very special to have the launch at TU,” said Armon. TU’s Alumni Relations Office assistant manager, Joanna Shantamary Korilpillai said that they helped sponsor the venue for the event. “We try to help TU alumni as much as we can, encouraging them in whatever it is that they want to accomplish. “We are always there to aid them in terms of their self-development, especially for their future,” said Korilpillai. Life skills development specialist from the SHINE Award Centre, Laveenia Theertha Pathy, who is also Armon’s wife, expressed delight on the support shown by the Alumni Relations Office. “When it comes to Taylor's students making it out there for their own careers, TU provides them a support system to fall on. “This makes me proud to be a part of an organisation like this,” said Pathy. By TAN TEE MAY Fuel prices will see an increase. | Photo Credits : www.nst.com.my SUBANG JAYA | Fuel prices of RON95, RON97 and diesel have increased by 15 cents since the beginning of November.
RON95 is now priced at RM1.95 per litre, RON97 at RM2.30 and diesel at RM1.90 per litre respectively. Many students of Taylor’s University (TU) were affected by the price hike and several have expressed their dissatisfaction. “With the increase of petrol prices, I forecast other expenses will start to go up and it is an unnecessary burden on the students and parents as we have to spend more on petrol,” said a student from TU Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Finance and Accounting, Rachel Zahn, 20. Taylor’s Business School (TBS) student, Zulakmal Dabat, 26, remarked that the pressure on students to maintain money is extremely significant in college. “It’s almost impossible to save money in campus now because food is expensive, but if you want to drive out to eat you have to battle the jam and the cost of the food as well," he said. Zulakmal added the while he understands the government's need to remove subsidies, the increase in fuel costs would have the severe knock-on effects on the price of goods and services. “During times like these, it is easy for shops to take advantage of increased pricing. “They have already done so with the GST implementation,” he added. Fuel prices are managed by a float system in which the average crude oil price for the first 19 days of each month are monitored the to discern price revisions. An increase in crude oil price would trigger a recalculation in petrol and diesel prices for the rest of the month. Rachel emphasized that the fuel hike has cut deep and has cost more than most people thought. "Add it up to your total amount, and you’ll realize just how much it cuts into your budget. Let’s not forget we have other things to consider too. Petrol isn’t the only thing we are buying,” she added. TBS student in International Business and Marketing, Cheong Kar Mun, 21, remarked how spending has become curtailed and watched more carefully. "The burden to save will be heavier once we start working and we’re not even employed yet,” she said. Petrol pricing has been determined by the float system since 1 December 2014. Petrol prices were previously increased in September 2016, with RON 95 priced at RM1.70, RON 97 at RM2.05, and diesel at RM1.70. By KHALDOON ALWAN Amrit Agastia during the Taylor's Debate Open 2016. | Photo Credit: Amrit Agastia. SUBANG JAYA | Member of Taylor’s University (TU) Debaters Club, Amrit Agastia, 19, was selected by the Malaysian Institute for Debate and Public Speaking (MIDP) to represent Malaysia in the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation Debate (MCPF) on 23 October.
Agastia was chosen as TU’s representative, amongst five other debaters from public and private universities in the debate organised by MIDP in partnership with MCPF. “They (MIDP) wanted a representative from top private universities like Taylor's and since I am an accomplished debater, the former president of our debate club put me up for it,” said the American Degree Transfer Program student, Agastia. The MCPF university debate took place in University of Malaya and was about the motion 'This House Believes That the Malaysian Criminal Justice System Should Prioritize Rehabilitative Treatment Instead of Harsh Punishment'. Agastia debated in the affirmative team, comprising of other private university students; Kelvin Manuel Pillay from Brickfields Asia College and Mithrun Swaminathan from HELP University. Agastia and her teammates emerged as runners up of the debate and won a RM1,000 cash prize. “The debate was very engaging with issues regarding retribution, rehabilitation and justice being the focus. “Both teams excellently explored all areas with contrasting opinions and was one of the better debate that I have been in,” said Agastia. This is not, however, the first time Agastia is representing TU. She has debated in the Asian British Parliamentary 2016 and Universiti Teknologi MARA Intervarsity Debating Championship 2015. Agastia has also represented Malaysia in the World School’s Debating Championship 2015. By LYDIA GEORGE KOSHY Oman booth with their signature “ Basbosa" and “Omanis” chips. Photo Credit: Taylor’s University International Student Council SUBANG JAYA | Taylor’s University International Student Council (TUISC) organised Fiesta 360 on 28 October to provide students with a variety of different cultural backgrounds in a day.
“The main objective for this event was to provide cultural diversity on campus before 2016 ends,” said President of TUISC and student of Taylor’s Business School, Rayyan Muqthadi, 22. There was a total of 13 booths from different societies on campus such as booths from Korea, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Oman, Japan and many more. All the booths could sell their traditional cuisines and the funds collected from the sales were channelled back to each society for their future events. Fiesta 360 took place at 10am and ended by 10pm. The morning slot was taken up by the cultural booths while the night slot was filled with performances. “The outcome of the entire event was amazing. “It really helped international students to be more visible on campus by showing their respective cultures,” said attendee of Fiesta 360 and student of Taylor’s Communication School, Anel Satayeva, 21. Muqthadi expressed how the committee was worried about the number of attendees for the event as it was scheduled for a week before the mid - semester break where everyone would leave back to their respective hometowns in advance. “Despite that, we were satisfied with the outcome as we had a total of 200 people who registered for the event filled with different performances at night,” said Muqthadi. He further added that planning Fiesta 360 was manageable as he had a supportive and effective committee members throughout the entire period of the event. “I got to know so many unique facts about different cultures from the Fiesta 360 event in just a day. "I would definitely attend next year's cultural night if it was organised again,” said student of Taylor’s Business School, Daashini Subra, 22. Muqthadi shared how TUISC would organise an event similar to Fiesta 360 in 2017 if given the chance to do so bearing in mind to pick an earlier date for the event before any semester breaks. By FARHAH SYAMILAH MAZMIL The National Dodgeball team proudly holds the Malaysian flag before departing for the World Dodge Ball Championship (WDBC) 2016 in Australia with hopes to win gold. | Photo credit : Kok Wai Lynn SUBANG JAYA | The Malaysian women’s dodgeball team won its first gold medal in the 5th World Dodge Ball Championships (WDBC) held on 19 to 22 October this year.
Placed first in the world ranking among eight countries, the team took the spot by winning the final match against Canada, with a score of 6-5 at the recent tournament held in Melbourne, Australia. “We didn’t expect to win gold. “We just wanted to place top three in the world ranking,” said Vice Captain of the team, Kok Wai Lynn, 20, when asked about the results of the game. She added that the team only had three months to train for the championships. Kok, who was also the former captain of Taylor’s Lakeside Storm women’s dodgeball team as well as a School of Communication student, said she was extremely pleased with the team’s teamwork during the final match despite encountering a few difficulties during training before the finale. “It was tough because the team members were formed through the National Dodgeball Championships results and these players came from different dodgeball clubs in Malaysia. “As we’ve always played against each other and not with each other, the playing styles were different,” she said. Besides teamwork, the team also encountered other challenges such as the cold weather which caused the team players to have difficulties warming up their bodies. Fortunately, they managed to avoid any injuries during the matches. In regards to the team’s future plans, Kok said the team wanted to improve their training, recruit more players, increase all the team members’ skills to match national levels and maintain their status as champions. “Honestly, we were just really proud that we could do it for our country and were given the chance to represent in the first place. “Getting the gold was definitely a huge bonus for us,” said Kok. The women’s team performance during this year’s WDBC was their best, surpassing last year’s result where the team won bronze. Canada and the United States of America took the first and second runner-up spots. Teams representing Australia, Melbourne, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore also took part in the championships. |
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