UMTECH

NEWS
Issue 3, October 2011

STRINGS OF DIWALI
Your EDUCATION, Our PRIORITY

MESSAGE FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR

Dear Colleagues, This coming Wednesday, the Indian community in Malaysia all over the country will be celebrating the sacred holiday of Hari Deepavali, the ancient Festival of Lights symbolising the victory of good over evil. On this Deepavali, let us remind ourselves how lucky we are as Malaysians and how fortunate we are to have other Malaysians from all walks of life at our side working toward a stronger, more peaceful tomorrow. As is always the case in our country, everyone will come together and jointly celebrate Deepavali, fully sharing in and collectively creating a happy festive atmosphere. This is indeed what makes our society special and our country unique. We must always strive to maintain, nurture and develop this spirit of interracial goodwill and cooperation because I firmly believe that it is this that will be our pillar of strength, our important example to the world. I understand that on this holy day, devotees around the country and across the world will light lamps that symbolise the victory of light over darkness. For us in UMTECH, it is my hope that in celebrating the emergence of light out of darkness, all staff will be inspired to face the challenges ahead of us with faith and vigor, so that we may achieve all our goals and aspirations.Together, we can fuse the rising optimism with which we face the future with a real desire and commitment with one aim to bring UMTECH to be one of the best universities in the region.So, let us put our act together, multiply our efforts and forge ahead with one objective irrespective of race and religion, to take our beloved UMTECH to ever greater heights of glory, distinction and excellence. May this divine light shower us with peace, prosperity, happiness and fulfilment. Last but not least/lastly/on that note/.......I would like to wish a very Happy Deepavali to all our Hindu friends in UMTECH. However and wherever you choose to celebrate this colourful festival, may Deepavali light up your day. Selamat Hari Deepavali and Deepavali Nal Vaazhtukal!

For UMTECH community, unity has a special meaning. It means uniting our efforts towards one goal providing a quality education to all.

Prof. Dato Dr. Mohamed Mahyuddin Mohd. Dahan Vice Chancellor

BUDGET 2012

The education sector proved to be a big winner with a staggering RM50.2bil being allocated for it under Budget 2012. Compared to last years allocation of RM39.5bil, the huge amount this time would be for a comprehensive spread across the board from schools to teachers, to students and parents. In his 2012 Budget speech, Prime Minister YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak said foreign investors would be able to take up to a 100 percent stake in companies in selected services sub-sectors. The Prime Minister, however did not identify them. This means that foreign firms can either set up their company here or acquire Malaysia ones, giving way to potential mergers and acquisitions. Analysts say private education and healthcare will likely be the most immediate areas to attract foreign interest following the governments move to further liberalise the service sector. So whats in for us?

The budget at a glance

RM232.8 billion for Government plans, including RM181.6 billion for management and RM51.2 billion for development RM29.8 billion for investment in infrastructure, industrial and rural development RM13.6 billion for the social sector, including education and training, welfare, housing and community development Total revenue for 2012 is forecast to increase 1.9% to RM186.9 billion Deficit for 2012 is forecast to decrease to 4.7% of GDP from 5.4% in 2011

Additional half month bonus for civil servants RM500 bonus for pensioner RM300 monthly for poor senior citizens, RM100 monthly for poor children and up to RM300 monthly for disabled people

Living The budget aims to help ease the burden of higher cost of living which has been the main the concern of the Rakyat nowadays by increasing subsidies in 2012 (RM33.2bn in 2012 compared to RM32.8bn in 2011). Other goodies include: One-off RM500 cash handouts to household with monthly income of RM3,000 and below

Education Realising that education is important in building a better Malaysia, the government will abolish all examination and school fees for primary and secondary school. This move will hopefully reduce school dropouts due to poverty and bright students from underprivileged families can have better opportunity to excel in their studies. Other goodies also include: RM100 for students in primary and secondary school RM200 book voucher to all university students Housing To make houses more affordable in the increasing property prices, the maximum house price limit eligible

for financing under My First Home Scheme is increased from RM220,000 to RM400,000. Other goodies include: 00% exemption on housing loan stamp duty More affordable houses will be built next year in areas such as Cyberjaya, Putra Heights, Seremban, Damansara and Bukit Raja

Health Free outpatient registration for senior citizens in hospitals Free immunisation against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) for all women to prevent cervical cancer Other goodies worth mentioning are the extension of retirement age for civil servants from 58 years to 60 years, allowing those experienced and still capable seniors to continue contributing to the country and the increase from 12% to 13% of employers EPF contribution for employees earning less than RM5,000 per month that will greatly help to increase the amount of savings for employees.

BUDGET 2012

Quick Thoughts

Haliza Mohd said Senior Lecturer Faculty of Hospitality & Tourism Management

2012 Budget is truely made for the Rakyat. It reflects the government initiatives in extending custom made assistance to meet the needs of the Rakyat as well as further accelerating economic liberization on the well being of the nation.

What I like best

A training allocation of RM10mil will be provided for women to develop leadership and managerial skills. This is a sign of governments commitment of accelarating upgrading of women work force hence increase women presence in top managerial positions in the nation. Book voucher worth RM200 will be given to Malaysian students in all private and public institutions of higher learning. This can encourage Malaysian youth to read more books. Abolish payments for primary and secondary education, making free education. This will lead to promoting national schools and to ease the school fees burden for family with kids in primary and secondary schools in the beginning of the year.

Budget 2012 will advance the nation in achieving its Vision 2020 target. It covers all aspects of country development including education and training, rural development, rakyat well-being, high-impact projects for entrepreneurs and private and public investments. In the process of implementing the Budget 2011 all Rakyat walk of like will beneffited the budget.

Could be better
Liberisation of Public Transportations networks extended not just in Kuala Lumpur but other major city in Malaysia i.e. MRT, LRT and other public transport to be developed in a more systematic and comprehensive manner.

RM13.6 billion has been allocated for the social sector, including education and training, welfare and community development RM50.2billion is allocated to the education sector so that it can continue to develop talented, creative and innovative people Government will give tax exemption for contributions to educational institution All of the above efforts indicate Government serious effort s in education and training in order to develop quality human capital. Education is an extremely important agenda of the government as it has been repeatedly mentioned in Budget 2011. Knowledge is the pillar of civilization and the foundation for excellence which contribute to nationbuilding processes. UMTECH as an education organization, has a big role to play and take up the challenge to offer quality education.

PMs quote of the day

National Transformation Policy: Welfare for the Rakyat, Well-being for the Nation. It is being observed as many Firsts in parlimentary and budgetary history, but without the First none can be achieved literally. Congratulations Prime Minister Najib!

Civil servants will be offered tuition fee assistance for part-time studies, including 5,000 masters and 500 doctoral schilarships. This facility to be extended to private sectors as this will accelerate and ensure the Governments objective to transform Malaysia into a developed nation by 2020 will be attained. With more than 50 private universities in Malaysia, private universities could together contribute to make governments aspiration become reality. 1 Malaysia - Transformation Successful, People Prosperous. This is the theme for 2011 of which a continuation of campaign One Malaysia. People First. Performance Now. . Such powerful quote is essential to drive through the effort and to ensure the success of the campaign. Budget 2011 encompasses efforts of the campaign.

BUDGET 2012: Reflections and Insights

By PROF. DR. CHEAH KOOI GUAN DEAN, GRADUATE SCHOOL The formulation of a budget is actually nothing extra ordinary. It is in fact a good practice for every individual or household to prepare a budget, which is a plan detailing its total expenses for a period of time based on its expected sources of funds/income. The rising cases of credit card and other household debts in our country are a sign that too many people do not plan their expenditure based on their income. On the other hand, most corporations do undertake some form of budgetary planning; and adherence to the budget enhances financial discipline. The University of Management and Technology (UMTECH) has just launched its preliminary budget sessions two weeks ago, and each department will be soon coming up, by November, with its budget for the year 2012. However, the annual budget announcement of Malaysias Federal Government in September or October each year attracts extensive attention, discussion and praises as well as critics. The ultimate concern about the Federal Budget, to most people, is obviously its possible impact on their pockets. Any increase in tax, for example, would most probably be passed on to the consumers in the form of higher prices. Another example is a reduction in personal or company income taxes, which would constitute savings for those affected. Moreover, the Federal Budget provides a wealth of information about our governments position and what it plans to do for the next year. The budget indicates: The governments take on the

prospects of the economy, both domestic and international, for the coming year: As citizens of a small, open and external trade dependent country, we are all concerned about the world economy, and would like to know how our government views the changing global economic scenario and its impact on Malaysias economic growth in the next year. In Budget 2012 for example, the Prime Minister acknowledged that the global financial and economic environment will remain highly challenging. But given Malaysias strong fundamentals, he was confident our economy would grow by 5% to 6% in 2012. Market reactions, however, indicate that this appears highly optimistic and probably unrealistic. The governments fiscal position: our Federal government has been spending more than its revenue collection (called fiscal deficits) every single year for well over a

decade. Naturally we are concerned about the governments fiscal position in the following year (2012). It is therefore heartening to note that Budget 2012 projects a significantly lower deficit of 4.7% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) next year, down from 5.4% this year. It should be observed, however, that this reduction is expected to occur despite next years Federal government total expenditure standing at a new highest record of RM232.8 billion compared to previous years. It should also be cautioned, moreover, that this projection would be influenced by continuously changing circumstances faced by the country, both domestically and internationally. For example, an unexpected worsening in European debt crisis (which does not seem to have been taken into account in Budget 2012) might prompt our government to inject additional money into the economy.

 The governments priorities: A perennial problem of any economic unit is that resources are always scarce (not sufficient) relative to our wants. Hence just like the family (or even our university), the government has to set priorities, and not acceding to the demands or wishes of everybody. In the run up to the Budget Day, we read of the wish lists of the rakyat in the newspapers. Various

also reflects the peoples expectations of the government. Weeks before the Budget Day, people would begin to express their wishes and speculate on the goodies or burdens of the Budget. On the Budget Day, which fell on 7 October this year, television stations provided live telecasts, and offered live commentaries. Panels of experts were invited to analyse and comment on it organised by television channels, newspapers, profes-

monthly income of RM3,000 and below. 2. RM100 to all primary and secondary students nationwide. 3. RM200 book voucher to all Malaysian students in public and private local institutions of higher learning, matriculation as well as Form 6 students nationwide. We should applaud the government for these caring measures. The three measures do indeed go a long way to

The three measures do indeed go a long way to ease the rakyats high cost of living, especially under todays rising cost and stagnating wages for a large segment of Malaysias population.
interest groups (such as industry groups, professional bodies and trade associations) prepared memorandums and sought audience with the Finance Ministry in the hope that their requests could be accommodated in the budget. One of the numerous calls was related to the improvement of public transport system. It was suggested that, besides the MRT project which will cost RM50 billion over a number of years, money should also be provided to improve the bus transport system. But Budget 2012 has not made any allocation on improving public bus services. The hype and attention given to the annual Federal Budget announcement sional bodies, associations, universities, etc immediately after the budget announcement as well as days and weeks after the event. All these demonstrate the peoples concerns and worries, as some groups will stand to gain and some others might lose in the sense of being made to pay more taxes or not getting as much benefits relative to the gainers. This article looks at several measures announced in the Budget 2012. But the discussion is not meant to identify winners and/or losers, but to rather highlight some related issues and implications. CASH HANDOUTS The 7 October Budget announced a number of one-off cash handouts: 1. RM500 to households with a ease the rakyats high cost of living, especially under todays rising cost and stagnating wages for a large segment of Malaysias population. The first measure above is estimated to benefit 3.4 million or 53% of total households, and costs the government an allocation of RM1.8 billion. The second measure is estimated to benefit 5.3 million students nationwide, and involves an allocation of RM530 million. The final measure above should benefit 1.3 million students with an allocation of RM260 million. In total, well over one half of Malaysian households will get some relief from the rising costs of living, and over 3 million students stand to receive some cash to tight over school related expenses.

However, such relief is only one-off and hence not sustainable. It is tantamount to giving the hungry a fish to eat instead of teaching them how to fish. While recognizing the complexity of imparting skills, we must remember that the lack of knowledge, skills and productivity is a major contributor to low wage and hence low income for a large segment of our workforce. The call of skills upgrading and productivity enhancement has taken on greater urgency in view of the governments plans to introduce minimum wage policies in the not too distant future. The impact of higher wages without commensurate increase in productivity is inevitably higher prices and inflation, thereby further exacerbating the rising costs of living faced by all rakyat. Among the possible uses of the RM6,090 million allocated to the above three cash handouts could be giving incentives to private sector training providers to offer courses aimed at upgrading the knowledge, enhancing the job skills and/or improving the work attitude/commitment of currently low waged workers. UMTECH has a Professional Development Centre that can undertake such trainings if appropriate incentives had been provided in the budget. TAX REFORM An apparent gap in Budget 2012 is the absence of efforts to undertake further tax reforms. For the past several dec-

ades, personal income tax, corporate 1. tax and petroleum tax constitute the Federal governments primary sources of revenue to finance its annual expenditures. Unfortunately, petroleum taxes are not sustainable since petroleum is a non-renewable commodity, whilst our 2. personal income tax base is far too narrow. While our workforce is close to 13 million people, less than one half have tax files at the Inland Revenue Board.

Lay the necessary groundwork to prepare for the ultimate (and inevitable) implementation of comprehensive consumptioncomprehensive consumption-based tax system, Considerably expand the tax base and enhance tax revenue collection, which could be used to either increase development expenditure or reduce the fiscal deficit.

Choices have to be made; and opportunity costs are incurred. However, a Federal government budget is much than an economic problem of choice and opportunity costs.

Those who actually pay income taxes CONCLUSION on an annual basis have been estimated As explained at the beginning of this to be no more than 10% of the work- article, a budget is merely a document force! It is therefore obvious that the that details the expected or foreseen Federal governments sources of reve- income and how it is to be used. The nue are not sustainable. The global economic definition of scarcity says trend today is a shift from direct in- that resources are scarce relative to come taxes to indirect taxes, especially our wants hence not all wants can be consumption taxes. met. Choices have to be made; and opportunity costs are incurred. HowOur government has announced for ever, a Federal government budget is many years the need and plans to ra- much than an economic problem of tionalize the collection of sales tax and choice and opportunity costs. There service tax into a broader based Goods are social, political and other considand Services Tax (GST). The GST cer- erations which may override the aptainly would constitute a crucial compo- parently rational economic decisions. nent of our tax reform. Budget 2012 We encourage you to delve into could have made some further head- Budget 2012, and to discover the intriway towards this goal, which would: cacies of financial decision-making and resource allocation.

IN CONVERSATION WITH . . .
Facts
HIGHEST QUALIFICATION : Ph.D in Hotel and Tourism

Prof. Nor Khomar

PERSONAL : 3 Children and 1 Grandson

FAVOURITE FOOD : Pies and Sandwiches anything with bread/pastry

FAVOURITE PLACE : Home

FAVOURITE TV SERIES: National Geographic, The Oprah Show Q: Its real pleasure to have you on our newsletter. First of all, can you tell us something about your career before joining UNITAR in the year 2006? I studied hotel management at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and began my career as an assistant lecturer there soon after graduation. That was in 1973. I stayed on and was fortunate enough to be part of the universitys development and transformation into the largest university in the country and also my own career development. I left UiTM as a professor in year 2000 to continue my services at Universiti Malaya. My career took a different turn then, focusing and contributing more towards the development of the hospitality and tourism education in the country. In my capacity as the president of the then newly formed Educators Association of Malaysia (TEAM) and my involvement as MQA panel of experts and member of the Social Science accreditation committee. I would like to think that I had been able, in my small way, contribute towards improving the quality of curriculum and education in the field. Q: Can you describe your work in FHTM in only three words? Enjoyable. Gratifying. Challenging. The FHTM staff, both academic and administrative, are exceptional anyone can be call upon anytime to discuss and execute any plans, whether for the faculty or for the university. Their positive attitude and willingness to extent a helping help in any university activities are noted and appreciated by the university community. I took special pride in their ability to plan and conduct group research, and recently in their ability to publish and share their research findings in international conferences.

CURRENT READING: Business Models Implementation, Business Cases

HOBBY & INSPIRATION : Entertaining my grandchild who provides me with a refreshing look on life.

Q: Who and what is your inspiration? As I progresses along in my life and my career, there has been numerous people that I have encountered who have shaped my way of thinking and my outlook on life and its purpose. Religion has always been the focal point, and the others - my late parents, my teachers and professors at college, my friends, my colleagues at work, and my children. They have inspired me to continue to reflect and be thankful, and to contribute to make my surrounding a better place. Q: Please tell us about philosophy of leadership? your

aligned with the organizationals interest. Fundamentally, leadership is doing service for others. Q: Where do you vacation the most often? Vacation? Thats a strange word! I enjoy the time spent with my family, mainly during weekends. Extended time off? Well... I do take a fews day off before or after conferences to do some sightseeing or shopping. Thus, there is no specific place in mind, but my friends would disagree with this. So I better be honest! I always like to go back to the US, sort of down memory lane since I spent the best part of my youth there as student at 4 different universities. Lately however, Im beginning to feel the stress of the longhaul flight. Q: Tourism Development: Hard Core of Soft Touch? This depends on which perspective you are looking from. From the developers perspective, it is hard core - the need to be concerned with

sustainable development and to be p rofitable. Plann ed tourism development ensures the availability of tourism facilities and infrastructures at destinations at a certain carrying capacity, and these require the examination of hard facts and figures. Providing the services to the tourists require the soft touch, but with a high tech approach so as to ensure timely delivery. The delivery of intangible assets such as culture and heritage would definitely call for a soft approach.

Leadership quality is determined by the quality of the team, as measured by the performance outcome tangible and intangible, as well as strategic and short-term. All these is reflected in the morale of the staff and the esprit de corp. The effectiveness of a leader is judged by the team that he/ she lead. The challenge is to ensure that the teams collective ideas are

Deans of Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management

IN CONVERSATION WITH . . .

Q: How does tourism affect our economy? How to improved tourism-related services? What can government do? Future of Malaysian tourism industry? To justify my responses on all the questions would demand that I write a book! I will try to answer in the shortest possible way. Yes, tourism is important for our economic development for its reaches out to the grassroots of the community. Currently, and for the last decade, it has been ranked second in terms of foreign earnings. But, more importantly, is the multiplier effect of the tourist ringgit and the opportunity it provided for just about anyone who want to participate from the kampung folks in the cottage industry, the story teller, the roadside stalls, members of dance troupe, the night market traders, the town coucil members, and many others. The importance of the tourism industry is not only in its ability to generate income, but more in terms of its ability to bring cultural awareness and pride back to the people. Improvement of tourism-related services this call for the creating of widespread awareness, education and training. Malaysia has always been known for its hospitality and friendly people. But, when it come to providing service as a business, we fail somewhere! Maybe, this has to do with the setting. In a natural setting, voluntarily we provide the best service. In an organizational setting, the intermediaries/ mediating factors have much to influence those at the frontline. In this case we have to do a better job in understanding and managing service organizations. The government has done an enormous job, especially in marketing and promoting tourism in the international market. We can attribute the success in positioning the country as a tourism destination to the governments effort. However, theres a lot to be done in terms of developing tourism product, especially the cultural and heritage aspects that could earn the extra mileage in supporting the quality of tourism products. A concerted effort at the national level needs is required to ensure the planned and continuing development of these intangible tourism assets. It is important, in acknowleging the importance of the tourism industry, that we do not overextended its role in the Malaysian economy. Malaysia is a small country and its ability to absorb the number of international tourists is limited. On the other hand, the role of tourism in providing the quality of life to the locals is endless. The country has several highly populated areas where the city dwellers need to be provided with fresh breathing hubs a short distance away. Tourist recreational sites should be developed with the complete range of tourism facilities for families for weekend getaways. As part of this effort, research at FHTM has specifically focuses on small down development as domestic tourists destinations.

Q: One of the governments initiatives under the tenth Malaysia plan is greatly emphasis on research and development in the country. Tell us more about the role of research in improving Tourism and Hospitality services. The government, through its various agencies, especially the Ministry of Tourism, has collected extensive secondary information and data on the industry hotel performance and tourists arrival statistics, productivity and labour information, training facilities, and others. Research activities and primary data collection in the Tourism and Hospitality field are quite recent phenomena, spanning back just about 6 or 7 years. As the number of academicians with advanced qualification and the number of graduate level programmes in the field increase, the quantity and quality of research should increased. It is interesting to note that universities have developed certain niche research areas, for example research at UiTM has focused on operational aspects, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia has focused on sustainable development, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak is on culture, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan has an entrepreneurial flavour, while at University of Management and Technology (UMTECH) the concentration is on tourism product development in small towns. These individual efforts have been recognised and published, but the results have yet to be translated into improved tourism services. However, the most immediate impact are brought about through consultancy activities carried out by the universities through its partnership with tourism operators and external agencies.

The government has done an enormous job, especially in marketing and promoting tourism in the international market. We can attribute the success in positioning the country as a tourism destination to the governments effort. However, theres a lot to be done in terms of developing tourism product, especially the cultural and heritage aspects that could earn the extra mileage in supporting the quality of tourism products.

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Q: As the country looks ahead to the unfolding of the governments Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to develop Malaysia into a high income nation by 2020, I learned that UCSI University through its Faculty of Hospitality and Management is spearheading EPP 10 parked under Education National Key Economic Area to improve the quality and quantity of workers within Malaysias hospitality and tourism industry. Is there any chance for us to collaborate with them? It not a question of whether we would/ should collaborate with UCSI, but more to complement the effort of each of the Higher Education Providers (HEPs) in the field of hospitality and tourism. The UCSI model is developed based on their needs and how best they think they should deliver their educational product. No doubt, the close rapport between industry and HEPs is necessary to enable the students transition from one to the another is smooth, but education and industry each has separate objectives. Providing skilled-based training by HEPs merges the objectives closer. There are already community colleges and polytechnics that have this goal. As the programmes offered move to the upper enchelons especially at the Universities, the need to provide education, as apposed to training, is deemed more important in order to ensure the industrys competitiveness and the industrys survival through the supply of entrepreneurs or graduates with the entrepreneurial mindset. The development in hospitality and tourism education in Malaysia is in line with the development in other countries such as the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand. As the hospitality and tourism education as an industry mature, each HEP would find its niche to support the growth of the hospitality and tourism industry.

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iPHONE - iPAD - iSAD

Early this month, the technology industry in particular, and the world at large, mourned the death of a visionary. Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs died at the mere age of 56, just one day after the unveilling of the companys latest iPhone and new operating system. Almost immediatelly after news of Jobs death broke, social media was abuzz, blogs were updated, some people changed their facebook avatars to mourn his death and there were old YouTube videos featuring Jobs speeches became popular, link to the webpages featuring his famous quotes were shared and images people had created in tribute of him and his work went viral. One of those images is a silhouette of Jobs with the Apple logo designed by Hong Kong graphic design student Jonathan Mak. It goes without saying that Jobs was one of the catalysts for all that to be possible, thanks to the technology he introduced to the world. By extension, it was these technologies that contributed to the success of social media, which enabled the news of his death to spread quickly, and made it easy for all those other elements to go viral. US President Barack Obama probably explained it best when he said in a statement: There may be no greater tribute to Steves success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.

Steve Jobs finds a place in the Bite - the design featuring Jobs silhouette incorporated into the bite of a white Apple logo on a black background, has gone viral on the internet since news of his death.

Those who have watched the YouTube video of his speech at the Stanford University commencement ceremony in 2004 would know that it wasnt the potential technology that made Apple what it is today. In that speech, Jobs talked about how sitting in on a calligraphy class during his college years led to the introduction of typography into the Macintosh system (which he alluded, Windows copied). It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way science cant capture, he said of calligraphy during the speech. As someone who has long admired Jobs, I feel that the biggest legacy he has left behind is not the Mac, or the iPhone or the iPad. It is the understanding and belief that technology cannot be seen in isolation of everything else in the world. Rest in peace,Steve.

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COVER STORY - String of Diwali

Name Indumathy Kasavan indumathy@umtech.edu.my

Department Academic Staff Development Centre

Indumathy shows that she has what it takes to play a traditional indian string instrument called Veenai. The Veenai is 1.5m long and is made from jackwood. It has a large, round body with a thick, wide neck, the end of which is carved into the head of a dragon. A small resonator is attached to the underside of the neck and the instrument has 24 metal frets embedded in hardened Beeswax, mixed with charcoal powder. Mention the word Vennai, images of an old lady playing the musical instrument usually come to mind. Many people think that those who play traditional instruments must be old as they are not only seen to be old fashioned but are hardly stylish says Indu. But Indu 29, is by no means old or old-fashioned. Infact Indu is modern, trendy, sporting bangs similar to that of the current mega stars from South India. The Veenai is a complete instrument and provides the basic components: sruti, laya and sahitya. Its main attraction is the mellow tonal quality which is capable of evoking a meditative atmosphere. The enchanting melody of the musical instrument of Veenai normally can casts a magical spell on the audience.

Life suddenly became more meaningful and playing this instrument is therapeutic for me says Indu. According to mythological legends, Goddess Saraswati is always seen to play musical instrument of Veenai. Indu confesses that she has become attached to her Vennai and carries the instrument wherever she goes and even sleeps next to it. Although my family members and friends joke about how paranoid I am about my Vennai, they also understand how much I value the instrument she says before ending the conversation.

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VISIT BY LIBYAN EMBASSY

On 19 October UMTECH received a courtesy visit by H.E.Dr.Bubaker A .A AlMansori, Libyan Ambassador to Malaysia and his special assistant,Mr.Esaam S.Gheblawi. The purpose of the visit is to foster closer relationship between UMTECH and Libyan Embassy and at the same time explore possibilities of collaboration. Graduate School also initiated a forum for Ambassador to get to know more than 30 Libyan students who are currently studying here.

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STAFF IN THE LIME LIGHT Zulhairi..

Researcher Khursiah Abd. Aziz khursiah@umtech.edu.my Objectives To identify to what extent are Malaysia hotels and resorts involved in Environmental Management Systems To examine the comprehensiveness of Environmental Strategies incorporated into Environmental Management Systems Awarding Body University Research Grant Co-Researcher Salbiah Abd Rahman salbiah@umtech.edu.my

This research is to determine whether the Malaysia hotel and resort have implemented environmental management systems (EMS) and to examine the comprehensiveness of environmental strategies (ES) incorporated into environmental management systems
Environmental concerns have been increasing in the hotel and resort industry. EMS consists of an environmental policy and a set of evaluation processes that requires organizations to assess their environmental impacts by establishing, implementing and monitoring environmental goals and outcomes as well as performing ongoing management reviews. An EMS includes commitment and policy, planning, implementation, measurement and evaluation, and review and improvement (Hersey, 1998). ISO 14001 is international standards on environmental management systems are designed to help reduce the environmental impact of businesses and improve its financial and environmental performance while improving management controls (Bansel & Hunter, 2003). Implementing the ISO 14000 standards giving a potential benefits include better customer relations, recognition from regulators, better control of environmental issues, and increased employee awareness of environmental concerns (Barnes, 1996). Recently, mid range and luxury hotels and resorts are interested in developing environmental systems and practices. Some hotels have further ahead adopted voluntary self-regulatory initiatives such as the international environmental management system (EMS) standard ISO 14001. In Malaysia, several hotels have adopted the formal environmental management systems (EMS) or the internationally recognised ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard but

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FROM THE FHTM KITCHEN

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STAFF MOVEMENT from 1 31 October 2011

Transfer: No Staff Name 1 En. Engku Mohd Shukri Engku Hatim 2 En. Rosli Mohamad AMin 3 Pn. Mawar Shamfalis Shamsuddin 4 Cik Muslima Wati Abdul Mubin

Designation Head Senior Executive Executive Receptionist

Department Student Accounts Department Procurement and Business Development Department Student Accounts Department Administration and Record Management Department

Transfer to Procurement and Business Development Department Student Accounts Department Procurement and Business Development Department Services and Facilities

Designation Head Head Executive Receptionist

Effective Date 10/10/2011 10/10/2011 13/10/2011 13/10/2011

OCTOBER HAPPENINGS
EVENTS
2022 Sept: FHM 2011 Competition 26 Sept: A Workshop on Marketing and Promotion 27 Sept: Majlis Hari Raya UMTECH

BIRTHDAYS
Ho Yee Chung (Tom) Kalaivanan a/l Jaya Krishnan Paul Chandra Bose a/l Selvarajoo Maizatul Ruzailah Binti Ahmad Musfirah binti Nor Azua Mohd Alwi Bin Hashim Norhani Binti Md Jamil Abd Halim Bohadean @ Bohari Zaid Bin Abdul Razak Nurul hidayah Binti Ismail Wan Noorashikin Binti Wan Abdullah Mizana Binti Muhamad Syahrul Danial Bin Zainol Fatimah Ibrahim Rozina Binti Mat Isa Noor Lees Ismail Puteri Nor Azani Binti Abdul Rahman Norazlita Binti Isa Mohd Rizwan Bin Nasir Sheikh Md. Yazid Bin Sheikh Md. Fadzullah Daing Zaidah Daing Ibrahim Rohani Binti Ab. Jalil Hanizan Shaker Bin Hussain Siti Nastrah Binti Mohamad Poat Salbiah Binti Abd. Rahman Nina Marlini Binti Idris

NEWBORNS
Parents Name
Pn Siti Nor Baayah Ahmad En. Syed Munir Barakbah Bin Syed Faozi Barakbah Pn. Siti Shuhada Zainol Abidin Pn. Rozina Mat Isa

Department
Faculty of Business Administration Faculty of Hospitality & Tourism Management Human Resource Department Sevices and Facilities Department

Baby Gender
Boy Girl Boy Boy

Date of Birth
3rd October 2011 16th October 2011 17th October 2011 24th October 2011

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less of ME more of US

Your EDUCATION, Our PRIORITY