Taylorians participate in food photography competition

theinkSlingersThursday, 28 May 2015 • IS#27:280515(2) • For internal circulation only
Taylorians participate in
Foodtography competition
Page 3
NEWS
Spiderman and Deadpool
at TBS welcoming party
Page 6
FEATURES
Upcyling for a better
tomorrow Page 11
NEWS
FEATURES
Easier access to public
transport for Taylorians
By PRETHIBA ESVARY SUBRAMANIAN
An artist’s impression of the BRT station and the busway. Source: Prasarana Malaysia Berhad
BANDAR SUNWAY: Construction
of an 800m-pedestrian bridge that
connects Taylor’s University (TU) to the
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)-Station 4 at
Sunway Medical Centre is expected to
be completed by the end of next month.
Prasarana Malaysia Berhad Group
Communications and Strategic
Marketing Department Head Lim Jin
Aun said an eight metre-long escalator
that will be constructed at the Taylor’s
end of the bridge is expected to be
completed at the same time.
In regards to both projects, Taylor’s
Administration Senior Manager Amir
Hamzah Abdullah said, “It’ll benefit the
Things to learn from
Avengers
Page 12
communityespeciallyTaylor’sUniversity
and its students, as it provides easier
access to public transportation.”
According to a media brief provided
by Prasarana, there is a “Park n’ Ride”
facility nearby BRT-Station 5 and
Monash University, which has 1,153
parking bays.
Amir said TU students are able to
park their cars at this four-storey parking
facility and board the BRT at station 5,
and switch to the pedestrian bridge at
station 4 to go to campus.
He said this ease of access to public
transport could lead to a reduction in
traffic congestion and parking issues at
Lakeside Campus.
Amir added that Taylor’s had
approached Prasarana to request for a
BRT route that goes directly to campus.
However, instead of a BRT route to
TU, both Prasarana and TU had reached
an agreement to construct a pedestrian
bridge as an alternative.
Prasarana Malaysia Berhad
spokesperson Azhar Ghazali said, “The
entire BRT route was determined after a
comprehensive Transport Study.
“The project was executed after
engagement with targeted stakeholders.
We even met resident associations to
secure their support and understanding
for the project.”
Azhar noted that the pedestrian
bridge will be lighted, elevated, covered
and secured with CCTV.
The entire BRT-Sunway Line is
expected to be completed by the end
of the month and begin operating next
month, he said.
According to the media brief, this is
the first BRT system in Malaysia to be
built on an elevated busway.
The brief stated that this public-
private partnership project by Prasarana
and Sunway Berhad aims to connect
residents in Bandar Sunway and Subang
Jaya to key locations around the area.
Azhar said students who apply for a
concession card will receive a 50% fare
discount when using the BRT.
The locations of the BRT stations
are as follows:
• Station 1 – Near Mentari Court &
Setia Jaya KTMB
• Station 2 – Near Mentari Business
Park & PKNS Flat
• Station 3 – Next to PJS 9 & Sunway
Lagoon
• Station 4 – Next to Sunway Medical
Centre
• Station 5 – Next to Monash
University
• Station 6 – Nearby Casa Subang
• Station 7 – Nearby future Kelana
Jaya LRT (connects to Putra Heights &
KL Sentral)
For further information on the
BRT project, users can also visit the
website: http://www.myrapid.com.my/
projects/brt-sunway-line or call +603-
2299 1999 / 2287 5959.
The pedestrian bridge connecting
Taylor’s to the BRT-Station 4.

2 NEWS May 2015
By LEE JIA ANN
CSI crowned champs in
Scholar’s Sports Day
Editor
Lee Jia Ann
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Slingers
By MOHAMED KHAIDIR MOHAMED ZARAAI
Care for students’ career development
SUBANG JAYA: Due to overwhelming
concerns over the career development
of Taylor’s University students, Career
Services has launched the Career
Ambassador Programme.
Theprogrammeiscreatedtoenhance
students’ career pathway, according to
its founder, Nicholas Woo Jiahui, 21.
Woo said, “Career Ambassadors are
the bridge of information, so students
have someone to look up to if they have
inquiries about career paths.”
They can then share career-related
topicswiththeirpeers,suchasinternship
and job application and how to write a
curricular vitae (CV).
The ambassadors will also receive
career coaching by managers from
Career Services.
Woo, who is an International
Business and Marketing major said, “In
cases where the ambassadors encounter
technical questions, they need to direct
it back to Career Services.”
Career Counsellor at Career Services
Elaine Loh said, “Psychologically,
people who have a caring personality
can see the word ‘care’ in career.”
Loh added that the word ‘care’
is significant as shown in the Career
Ambassador’s logo, highlighted in the
word ‘Career’.
“It is a test for the candidates during
the pre-interview, if they can see the
word ‘care’, they’re what we need to be
a Career Ambassador,” Loh added.
One of the candidates, Carmen Chia,
said, “I joined the Career Ambassador,
becausetheambassadors willgetthefirst
hand information from top companies.
“If the companies are recruiting
interns and employees, we will share it
with peers and we guide them on the
application,” the 20-year-old Finance
and Economics major added.
Loh said, “The minimum academic
requirement is 2.5 (CGPA) because
we don’t need them to be an excellent
academic scholar.
She said that the reason for such a
low requirement is because passion
cannot be measured by results, but at
the same time students who intend to
apply must not neglect their studies. Loh
added that self-belief and emphathy is
vital in future ambassadors.
SUBANG JAYA: A team consisted
of Taylor’s College’s Canadian Pre-U,
South Australian Matriculation and
International Baccalaureate (CSI)
students took home the first prize for
the Scholars’ Sports Day held on 24 and
25 April at Taylor’s University’s (TU)
Sports and Recreation Center.
CSI dominated the event by securing
23 points as they won gold medals in the
female ping pong, basketball, and male
fun run categories.
SUBANG JAYA: Taylorians splashed
colourful paint on canvases filled with
words of verbal abuse as a sign of
burying the words that have hurt them
with something positive.
Words such as “Cry Baby”, “Whale”
and “Sepet” (squinty eyes) were
previously spray painted on blank
canvases during the “INKED”, anti-
verbal bullying campaign.
Held on 8 May at the TU
Amphitheatre, the colourful paint
splash was a free admission event to
attract students and staffs.
The Talent Management Programme
of Taylor’s University (TU) organised
the four-week long campaign held in
front of the Student Life Centre.
Event project leader Amanda Woo
Meijze, 20, said, “The paint splash is the
climax to our awareness campaign where
we get people to splash bright colourful
paints onto the canvas containing the
stenciled words.”
She added that the idea for the
campaign was actually inspired by
musician, Avicii’s lyric video of the song
“The Days.”
Woo said, “The video depicted a
person spray painting words on the wall
and ended it with splashes of paints.”
She added, “We also hope that with
this campaign, victims of verbal bullying
will be empowered and be able to grow
positively from the bullying.”
Taylorians
splash aim
to end verbal
bullying
Medicine and Surgery major Mohd
Nor Ameerul Roselly (middle) in
the midst of dodgeball action for
TUSOM4
Finance and Economics major
Joel See Yue Jian (right), 20,
being interviewed for a Career
Ambassador role.
CAL from Cambridge A Levels
(CAL) came in second place with 21
points as they won gold medals in
netball, female fun run and futsal.
This year’s edition, co-organised by
Sponsorship Support Unit (SSU) and
Taylor’s College’s High Flyers Club, also
featured Taylor’s School of Medicine
(TUSOM) and Taylor’s Undergraduate
(TUG) participating as two different
teams for the first time.
“The separation is to increase the
teams’ quota to join the sports day,”
said organising committee member,
Muhammad Haziq Mansor, 20.
“Combining TUG and TUSOM will
cause a huge pool of players but only
small quota of teams can be sent to the
tournament,” Haziq said, who studies
Medicine and Surgery at TU.
Biomedical Science major
Muhammad Nur Alif Mohd Zamri, 21,
said, “TUSOM is my enemy during the
tournament but we are friends outside
of the tournament.”
In the futsal category semi-finals
match, TUG 3 defeated TUSOM 2 but
TUSOM 4 managed to get their revenge
as they defeated TUG 2 in the dodgeball
semi-finals.
TUSOM 4 emerged victorious by
winning the gold medal in the dodgeball
finals, beating ADP 2 from American
Degree Transfer Programme (ADP).
Despite being a new team, TUSOM
achieved third place position with an
overall score of nine points and this was
a huge accomplisment for them.

NEWS
3
May 2015
Taylorian foodies participate in foodtography competition
Free printing service for students by students
By SIM PEI XUAN
SUBANG JAYA: Taylor’s University
engineering students created solutions
to real-life challenges within three days
during the 48-Hour MakerFest.
Initiated by Asia School of Business
(ASB), the competition aimed to provide
undergraduate engineering students
with action learning experiences which
integrated technological skills and
business thinking.
Each of the nine teams was supplied
with a box kit consisting of basic
materials such as programming boards,
sensors, and LCD displays to kick-start
their projects.
Team Alpha Q, who came in at
second place, created the “Robotic
Gripper”, a mechanical flex sensor
gripper inspired by the challenge of
needing an extra hand to hold items or
to reach for distant objects.
“Time constraint was the tough part;
our prototype turned out to be less
SUBANG JAYA: Taylor’s Business
School (TBS) has led the way for
other schools to follow suit as their
implementation of buddies system has
been utilised well.
“Each senior will be assigned to three
to four juniors according to the selection
from juniors through a Facebook page.
Juniors will have to register online for
this privilege,” International Business
and Marketing major Mel Edzwan
Mashor, 22, said.
Such system is proving to be a
hit among the TBS students as it is
beneficial and rewarding for all parties.
Some students are using the system to
meet new people.
“It is a chance to meet new people,
especially for freshmen in this course
as certain freshmen tend to be loners
because they are new on campus and
they do not know everyone,” Mel added.
Students from other academic
schools are even starting to take notice
of such a system.
“It will help in terms of guidance
on assignments, as our lecturers always
refer to previous assignments by our
seniors. So might as well we have such
a system so we can approach them for
advice ourselves,” Tan Wee Kar, Hotel
Management major said.
While some are reveling in such a
system, there are minorities that feel
that the buddies system needs more
time to fully kick into gear.
“In my opinion, it might not work
for everyone because the truth is, not
every junior is friendly enough for the
seniors to approach,” International
Business and Marketing major Irene Hii
Sze Jing, 21, said.
TBS introduces
buddies system
By VINCENT WONG YEW SING
SUBANG JAYA: A Pharmacy major
was one of the winners of the Taylor’s
University’s (TU) “Foodtography”
competition, with her photo entry of a
salmon dish cooked by a friend.
Tiffany Lena Wong, 23, said, “It was
a dish created based on my liking for
salmon and when I look at that picture,
it reminds me of the many good
conversations over meals we’ve had.”
TU’s students and staff participated
in the competition and posted their
captioned images on Facebook and
Instagram with the hashtag #taylorsuni.
Five winners were selected and they
each received RM40 worth of vouchers
from Starbucks.
Software Engineering major, Sim
Hong Chun, 22, won with his entry of
a burger with bacon strips, taken at a
restaurant in the United Kingdom.
He dedicated the momentous coup
to his parents, because without them,
he would not even have the opportunity
By LEE JIA ANN
precise than intended because we did not
have enough time for the 3D printing
process,” Mechanical Engineering
student Nik Shazril Bakti, 20, said.
Apart from creating the prototype,
all teams were encouraged to figure out
an investment pitch that could generate
funding to transform their project ideas
into reality.
One project that received a judge’s
approval for its investment pitch was
the “Ultrasonic Distance Sensor” by
Team Halberd.
Foundation in Engineering student
Bryan Chang Xien Qiang, 19, said, “Our
project addresses the inconvenience of
measuring tape; the ultrasound sensor
in our device can measure distance from
one’s current location.”
During the workshop session,
students learnt new software programs
for designing and coding their projects,
guided by a mentor.
“Every day we see brilliant ideas, but
not every day we see them in practice,”
ASB Faculty Director for Action
Learning Prof. Loredana Padurean said.
to taste good food, and be able to enter
the competition.
Sim’s inspiration was to capture the
food, and remember it forever.
By BEGAIYM DZHANOVA
He said, “At some point we will
forget the taste of the food. Hence, the
best way to remember it, is to capture
and store it in my own photo album.”
Students solve real-life challenges within 48 hours
Team Halberd took home the title as the winner of 48-Hour MakerFest.
The winning shot photographed by Sim Hong Chun was taken in a
restaurant in the United Kingdom.
She said the insight gained through
the thinking process, teamwork, and
time management is the ultimate
achievement for the students.
SUBANG JAYA: A group of Taylor’s
University (TU) students has started a
company called FRUNI PRINT that
provides free printing service for other
students and helps to lower the cost of
their studies.
Founder of the company, Finance
and Economy major Alexis Ang Wei
Zhong said, “Students already paid
enormous school fees, living expenses;
and printing cost is an extra burden.
“Our initiative is an answer
to that problem,” he said.
FRUNI PRINT allows students
to submit their lecture notes through
Facebook page and receive printouts
the following week on a daily basis.
“The initiative was possible because
of sponsored advertisement by relevant
companies who would like to reach out
to university students,” Ang said.
Ang said they have received an
approval from Dean of Business School
Vinitha Guptan to operate on campus.
Students who have used this service
mostly give positive feedbacks.
“Itisquiteconvenientforusstudents,
so I decided to give it a try since this
service is free” Business Administration
major Ho Xin Yi, 26, said.
ElectricalandElectronicEngineering
student Ahmad Fakri, 24, said, “It saves
time if I want to print my lecture slides,
I can just send them through Facebook
and collect anytime I want.”
Ang said they plan to expand to
other universities as they aim to become
one of the leading suppliers in printing
throughout Malaysia.

4 NEWS May 2015
International Student Council is
organising their annual Cultural Festival
known as World Fest 2015 which will
take place on 5 June at the Grand Hall
from 6pm to 11pm.
Their aim is to attract 800
international students from Taylor’s
University as well as from other private
institutions in Klang Valley.
International Student Services
Senior Executive Mohamed Hussaini
Abdullah said, “The festival promises
to be action packed with local and
international performances and other
exciting activities.”
Tickets are now on sale and are
going for RM55. You can purchase
them from the World Fest Booth
outside the Student Life Central or
from any of the World Fest committee.
Cultural World Fest to
take place soon
Constellation-themed
ball happening soon
(TU) Annual Ball will take place on
6 June at Sheraton Imperial Kuala
Lumpur Hotel.
The organisers, TU Student
Council, has chosen Constellations as
this year’s event theme.
“This year it is all about the stars.
It is about seeing their brightness in
the darkness,” TU Student Council
Campus Integration Committee
Member and TU Ball Organising
Chairperson Mukund Rai said.
There will be live performances,
dances, games and a rave party during
the event.
“It is going to be a classic movie-
like prom night atmosphere with the
crowning of Prom King and Prom
Queen,” Mukund said.
IN BRIEF
By TRECIA TAN SHU HUI
SUBANG JAYA: It was a difficult time
for some Nepalese students in Taylor’s
University as they watched the place
they call home in ruins after two major
earthquakes struck the country in the
span of two-and-a half weeks.
“I found out about the news on
Facebook and I tried calling my family
back home immediately but I wasn’t
able to get hold of them,” Culinary
Arts and Foodservice Management
student Sudan Rai said, after the first
nerve wracking earthquake with a 7.8
magnitude on 25 April.
The 25-year-old said he was trying to
stay positive and he eventually managed
to contact his family after over 30 tries.
Sudan was not the only one who
went through the ordeal as International
Tourism Management major Niteesh
Shakya lost contact with his mother for
48 hours following the earthquake.
“I was so scared and I thought about
the worst case scenario because every
time I checked the news, the death toll
kept on rising.
“I had my phone with me the whole
time in case she called back,” the
23-year-old said.
When she finally called, she
informed him about the horrors of the
earthquake which took away the lives of
their neighbours.
Niteesh, who had not been home for
a year said, “My mom is staying with her
cousins now because there are cracks in
our house and it’s no longer safe to stay
there anymore.”
Despite the relief of knowing his
family was safe, Niteesh said he is still
worried about the aftershocks following
the first quake, and he feels helpless
over the situation in Nepal.
“I wanted to go back during the
mid-semester break but my mom told
me there is no point, and the money
for the flight ticket can be used to
buy necessities such as food and tents
instead,” he said.
InternationalBusinessmajorAanchal
Bhandari said she plans on starting a
fundraiser on Lakeside Campus with her
friends to help the earthquake victims,
especially after Nepal was hit by a
second earthquake with a 7.4 magnitude
on 12 May.
“Our country really needs our help
right now and we can’t do anything
from here except for this,” the 22-year-
old said.
“Many NGOs are only focusing on
helping the city while the rural villages
are not getting as much help.
“Sarvodaya Nepal is a credible
organisation that will directly assist the
rural communities that are affected by
the earthquake,” Aanchal said.
To support the Sarvodaya Nepal
Earthquake and Recovery efforts, visit
www.sarvodayausa.org.
SUBANG JAYA: Looking for
something surreal and wacky to watch
this June? SIFU Productions presents
to you: FIFTEEN, a play that acts out
different viewpoints of young adult
characters as they struggle to compete
in the rat race of the working world in
2015.
Director of FIFTEEN, Siti Farrah
Abdullah said, “This isn’t your regular
linear full-length play. FIFTEEN
features eight different situations of
KL folks. From the planning of a bank
heist to corporate job interviews.”
This play will show you the twists
and turns of things that can potentially
happen when you start working.
Catch FIFTEEN at KuAsh
Theatre, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail from
11 to 14 June at 8.30pm and 3pm
(Sunday only). Admission is RM53 for
adults and RM38 for students.
Niteesh could not contact his
family for 48 hours.
FIFTEEN: A glimpse
of the real world
Wong spoke up for the opposition against legitimising corruption during the
debate.
SUBANG JAYA: Student debaters
speaking against political bribery took
home the first prize for the Youth Speak
Up Debate on Integrity and Corruption
at Taylor’s University recently.
The opposition team, which
consisted of three leading student
debaters from different universities,
argued that it is not legitimate for
progressive voters to bribe politicians to
ensure some changes.
Deputy Prime Minister of the
opposition, Behrad Taadoli, 21, said,
“A bribed politician will never fight for
progression, as there is an expectation
of payment for him to do his job.”
Elaborating on his viewpoint, the
debater from Asia Pacific University said
benefits promised by corrupt politicians
are unreliable, as it is possible for them
to get more bribes from parties acting
against the interest of the people.
Also representing the opposition
were Taylor’s University Diploma in
Education student Felice Wong Jing-Yi,
20, and International Islamic University
Malaysia student Syed Saddiq Syed
Abdul Rahman, 23.
Syed Saddiq, who was awarded
Best Speaker, said, “With money as a
determinant of political work, people
who are unfortunately poor and already
under-represented will then be further
disenfranchised in a world which is full
of corruption.”
While the government team insisted
that bribery is a moral choice for
progression in a context where all means
have been exhausted, the opposition
rebutted that social movement is the
best line of defense that progressive
voters should fight for in the long term.
Aimed to raise awareness and
initiate open dialogue on the issue of
corruption, the debate was organised
by Transparency International Malaysia
(TI-M) in collaboration with the
Malaysian Institute of Debate and
Public Speaking.
“Based on a survey, 30.5 percent of
university students in Malaysia would
get involved in corruption if given the
chance,” TI-M President Dato’ Akhbar
Satar said, urging students to influence
their peers in combating corruption.
However, both teams of the debate
reinforced that the arguments provided
did not represent their personal
sentiments towards the issue.
Kelviin Manuel Pillay, 20, who spoke
on behalf of the government said,
“Generally bribery is not a democratic
idea that I stand for, but I am not all
out in the opposition side either; I think
bribing your way to make progressive
changes is an interesting idea, but I
don’t think it works.”
Youths win debate by speaking up against corruption
Nepalese students worry for home
after earthquakes
By SIM PEI XUAN

NEWS
5
May 2015
Underprivileged teens take up self-defense
Participants enjoying themselves on the castle. Source: Bounce Campaign 2.0
Bounce Campaign 2.0 relive childhood memories
By CINDY JUNOVICA
By CINDY JUNOVICA
SUBANG JAYA: A basic self-defense
class was conducted recently for
underprivilegedteenagersbytheTaylor’s
University (TU) Pharmacy Students
Society (TuPSS), in collaboration with
TU Muay Thai (TUMT) club.
Twenty-three teenagers from
Enggang apartments, Puchong who
are under the supervision and care of
local NGO Community at Heart, were
brought in for the session.
Community at Heart Programme
Director of Urban Community
Development and Welfare unit Margaret
Kogilavani said the teenagers from
Enggang are brought up in a rather
negative environment.
They are exposed to various social
issues, financial problems and lifestyle
inadequacies such as lack of food
supply, she said.
She added that self-defense is thus a
good opportunity for the teenagers to
build their motivation and to become
fearless people.
President of TUMT and lead
instructor for the muay thai session
Nigel Yeoh Eu-Haan said, “In muay
thai, there is defense and attack.
“For today’s session, we will focus
purely on defense techniques by
teaching them punches, push kicks and
techniques using the elbows and knees.”
Throughout the session held at TU
Sports Complex, it was observed that
while Yeoh was giving instructions
and providing demonstrations, the
teenagers were listening attentively and
were enjoying the lesson.
While the teenagers attempted to
mirror Yeoh’s movements, the other
instructors from TUMT guided them
on a one-on-one basis.
In the middle of the session, some
of the teenagers were seen engaging in
SUBANG JAYA: A Batman-themed
bouncy castle was set up at the Taylor’s
University (TU) Amphitheatre recently
to help Taylorians to relive their best
childhood memories.
TU Campus Welfare Director Lum
Kit May said, “Our vision is to give
Taylorians the best campus experience
ever and this is one of our initiatives.”
Lum added that The Bounce
Campaign 2.0 provided a chance for
people to channel their inner child
without worrying about self-image.
She said, “If university students were
to see a bouncy castle in the public area,
most probably they won’t go because
they are shy.
“But here, everyone can bounce like
a kid and experience their childhood joy
again without being judged upon.”
Apart from the bouncy castle
experience, free goodies such as snacks,
beverages, and stationeries were also
given away to the participants.
The variety of the giveaways like
Pocky snacks and Ribena drinks, which
were part of most people’s childhood
memories, also supported the whole
concept and idea for the Bounce
Campaign 2.0.
The first Bounce Campaign was held
late last year, and its aim was to help
students release any pre-exam stress
that they might have had.
students have been exposed to
deforestation and habitat construction
issues in Malaysia through a short
documentary titled Sunset Over Selungo
during the Anugerah Hijau campaign
held recently.
Taylor’s University Nature Club
(TUNC) in collaboration with the
local NGO EcoKnights aimed to
educate and inform students about
the environmental issues in Malaysia,
through the movie screenings.
TUNC President Lee Wei Liang
said, “Nature is a very valuable resource
and many people are trying to take
advantage of it for personal benefit,
especially in terms of money.”
Lee added that uncontrolled tree
loggings and illegal poaching have
affected some populations in Malaysia
such as Penan community in Sarawak.
The screening also served as a
forum discussion about environmental
matters, between the participants and
the speaker, EcoKnights Program
Director Fadly Ahmad Bakhtiar.
“We hope to provide everyone with
better insight about the issues and urge
them to take actions to preserve our
nature,” said Lee.
Along with this campaign,
EcoKnights announced its annual
Anugerah Hijau competition, which
challenges young adults to be creative in
promoting sustainability.
friendly fights with their friends, prior
to being taught on how to spar with
another partner.
The session conducted on April 26
was the third project under The Extra
Mile Project (TEMP), a community
outreach programme under TuPSS and
Community at Heart.
According to TuPSS President Alene
Yong Sze Jing, “TEMP is all about
teaching a man to fish, so that he will
have food for his life.
“It is not about giving them food,
but about leaving a legacy that will
catch on and continue to empower each
community we reach through positive
impact and relationship.”
TUMT member Cheah Kaxin, 21,
said, “We just want to do our part for
the community in need.”
TUNC educates students with short documentaries
Yeoh instructing and showing a demo of “punches” to the teenagers.

May 2015
Tenacious bottle boat makers champs of ADP-organised competition
Marvel superheroes welcome TBS newbies
By MARY CHRISTINA BRITTO
SUBANG JAYA: Marvel Comic hero,
Spiderman and anti-hero, Deadpool
along with Taylor’s Business School
(TBS) recently welcomed its freshmen
with games, food and dancing.
First Year Experience (FYE)
Committee Member Hou Hung Yen
said the welcoming party was held to
welcome and bond new intake students
from TBS, and allow them to interact
with their lecturers.
“It allows students to take a break
from their studies to have fun and enjoy
the free food, performances, games as
well as winning prizes,” the Finance and
Economic major said.
The FYE committee is made up of
lecturers from TBS, and the welcome
party is a semiannual event.
Committee member of FYE Goh
Kan Poh said the superhero theme was
chosen for the event, because it was
obvious and different.
Students and lecturers played various
games,andthehighlightof theeventwas
a highly energetic game of dodgeball.
Senior Law Lecturer Ambikai
Singam said, “I feel like a student and
students are seeing that lecturers are
approachable. This is important for
better communication between us.”
In the midst of the event a flash mob
filled up the square with the Spiderman
mascot twirling amongst the students.
InternationalBusinessandMarketing
major Kashyapa Naranpanawe, 20, who
is currently in his second semester,
attended the event.
Naranpanawe said, “It was different
seeing the lecturers play games with
students. It will definitely make it
easier for me to talk to them about any
problems I may face.”
The evening had performances from
the students, such as acoustic music,
beat boxing and dancing.
Spiderman and Deadpool battling
it out at the event. Photo credit:
Mohamed Khaidir Mohamed Zaraai
Trapped creates
human trafficking
awareness
By WONG SOW YEE
NEWS
6
SUBANG JAYA: Strive without
surrender brought victory for Penguins
4lyf from SMK Subang Jaya when
they won the Remote Control Bottle
Boat Challenge organised by American
Degree Transfer Program (ADP) at
Taylor’s University (TU).
Team leader Aaron Tan Kah Sam,
17, said, “The biggest challenge that we
faced was the servo, which is our boat’s
rudder, did not function.”
Tan said, water went inside the
potentiometer that was controlling the
servo’s motion.
“We were so upset and we thought
we were going to lose but we did make
it in the end by letting the wind at the
lake to turn the boat around,” Tan said.
Their boat traveled for only six
minutes around TU’s lake, but the team
managed to win a prize of RM900.
Tan’s team members were Amin
Farid Miskon, Neoh I-van, Chong Zia
Chee and Ng Zi Jun, all 17.
The boat challenge was one of the
three challenges held during the ADP
Engineering and Science Challenges
2015 competition, on 30 April.
The elated champs of the bottle boat competition, from left, Neoh I-van, Ng Zi Jun, Aaron Tan Kah Sam, Chong Zia
Chee, and Amin Farid Miskon.
SUBANG JAYA: Cases of minor
flooding in classrooms which occurred
lastmonthwereduetoheavydownpours,
according to Taylor’s University (TU)
Facility Management.
Facilities and Operations Manager
Pravin Murugaiah said, “The wind blew
the rain into the corridors and some of
the classrooms were affected by it.”
“The rain volume and wind velocity
were high, you could see that even the
roads experienced immediate flooding,”
he said.
He added that the way the academic
buildings were designed with spaces
between each building block was the
reason why flooding occurs whenever it
rains heavily.
“If we are able to cover up the areas
that are affected, we can eliminate this
problem,” Pravin said.
He added that the project planning
committee has proposed to install a new
roofline and they are still waiting for the
budget to be approved.
“For now, the only action we can
take whenever there’s a heavy rain is
to send the cleaners to mop the floors
immediately,” Pravin said.
Architecture student Tan Foo Wong,
21, was present during one of the
floodings in the classrooms on 25 April.
He said, “I think it is an issue, but it
rarely happens and I don’t usually use
this classroom, so I don’t feel the need
to file a complaint.”
Heavy downpour causes flooding in classrooms
Organising Chairman and Senior
ADP Lecturer, Dr Loh Kah Heng said
the objective of the challenges in the
competitionistoinstillinterestin science
and reverse engineering technology to
secondary school students.
The other two challenges were the
Spaghetti Bridge Project and Cabbage
Juice pH Indicator.
SUBANG JAYA: Trapped, an anti-
human trafficking campaign which
allows the audience to experience the
life of a human trafficked victim, was
held recently at Sunway Pyramid.
Event organiser and co-founder of
Change Your World, Kelvin Lim Teck
Kwang, said the campaign aimed to
increase awareness of the Tenaganita
(Women’s Force) hotline.
He said, Malaysians can dial
the hotline whenever they sense
anything suspicious happening in their
neighbourhood, and the caller will
remain anonymous.
SMK Seafield student Priscilla Lai
Wai Sum, 18, said, “This campaign
helped me catch a glimpse of what it is
like to be trafficked.
“Imagine how the victims would feel
like being in those conditions.”

7
May 2015 FEATURES
A learning journey for lecturers and students
A HUNCHED figure trudged the
long stretch of road to her car at the
end of Zone H, attracting open stares
and furtive glances from passersby who
noticed the tears that were streaming
down her face.
Mechanical Engineering student Lai
Shen Ai was crying because she had just
handed in a blank paper 10 minutes into
a test that she had trouble completing.
“It was already the ninth week of
the semester and yet I was still so lost.
It was as if the questions were written
in a foreign language,” Lai recalled the
episode which happened two years ago.
Since then, the 21-year-old had
bounced back from the lowest point
in her university life, all thanks to her
lecturer – Dr Abdulkareem Shafiq
Mahdi Al-Obaidi.
“I realised that I should’ve been
consistent in my studies from the very
beginning, so after a good cry, I emailed
Dr Abdulkareem and he replied,
‘Although it came late, I am truly happy
to receive an email from you.’”
“There were no harsh comments or
lecturing in the email, but instead, he
gave me warm words of encouragement
and asked me to set an appointment
with him immediately,” Lai said.
“I met up with Dr Abdulkareem the
next week and he asked me which part
of the subject I don’t understand. I said
‘everything’, and he literally taught me
the whole syllabus all over again.
“This is what I call a dedicated
teacher, and the world needs more
teachers like him,” she said.
Lai’s wish came true in the form of
School of Architecture, Building and
Design lecturer Delliya Mohd Zain, or
Ms Dee, as her students would fondly
call her.
Architecture student Surayyn Selvan,
21, blurted, “I hated Ms Dee when she
taught me during Foundation because
she was very hard on us, and I thought
to myself, ‘Oh my God, this lady is
making our lives a living hell!’”
“Only when I started my Degree did
I realise that she was just pushing us for
our own good, and the extra information
that we learnt in her class, which we
found unnecessary at that time, had
prepared us for what’s to come.
“In our Design and Visualisation
class, she always liked to tell us to just
‘be awesome’, and I think those words
encouraged us to not limit ourselves.
“She has trained me to take things
easy and in a more positive way,” he said.
Over time, Ms Dee had become
not just a lecturer to Surayyn and his
classmates, but she had turned into a
friend as well.
Surayyn shared that when he
graduates from university, he would not
only take with him the design knowledge,
but the life lessons he learned as well.
It is common for students to learn
from their lecturers, but there are
times when the tables are turned as the
students play the role of the teacher.
School of Computing and IT lecturer
Hemalatha Ramalingam once had a
student who taught her a life lesson that
she will never forget.
“There was this boy from Botswana
who opened up to me one day when
the other students had left the class. He
asked me, ‘What if I told you I have
AIDS? Would you sit far away from
me?’” she recounted.
“I told him I won’t stereotype him
that way, and he said to me, ‘Well ma’am,
I have AIDS.’ And at that point I asked
myself, ‘Why him and not me?’”
The student shared with her his life
story and his plan to use whatever time
he had left to make a difference by being
a part of an AIDS NGO back home and
contribute to the cause however he can.
“He taught me that everyone has a
journey to fulfill, and there will be an
end to that journey, but we can still
make a difference.
“His positive attitude on life also
taught me to look around and appreciate
what I have in my life,” she said.
Hemalatha pointed out that learning
is a two-way street because she believes
that a teacher cannot just merely enter a
class and teach.
“You come into class and all eyes
are looking at you, but what about you
looking back at the students and look
at what they are going through in life?”
she asked.
School of Education lecturer
Kasthoori Bai Munusamy Naidu echoed
the sentiment as she believed that it is
important for teachers to be connected
to their students.
“The most valuable lesson I can give
them is to teach them to establish this
connection with their future students,
and only then can they be the stimulant
of change to them.”
To Kasthoori, a teacher may not be
able to create a change in a student, but
they can be the catalyst of that change.
She said, “When I see my ex-
students changed for the better and are
successful in life, not just career-wise,
but successful in the sense that they
are doing what their heart wants and
leading a happy life with good values,
I think that’s the best gift a teacher can
ever receive.”
Taylor’s University lecturers smile upon receiving appreciation packages
from Orientation Leaders for Teachers Day. Photo Credits: Tan Xue Ying
An online platform to connect creative people
By MARY CHRISTINA BRITTO
IN order for “creatives” to realise
their dreams, it is essential that they
meet the right people to help them. The
Internet has made this much easier, but
who is to know which platform is legit
and which may lead to a large violation
of one’s personal rights?
Mow FM is a social media platform
that aims to connect creatives from
around the world, and its investor and
CEO Kapeniak Vasyl said, “The site
is picking up in Asia and Europe. The
point is to connect the East and the
West and see what comes out of it.”
Kapeniak explained, “Creatives
are people who play a role in using
imagination to express something. It can
be music, paintings, clothes, furniture or
jewelry. Connecting them is important
if we want to make a change.”
Josef Stanaway, the bassist of
Swedish Metal band Stygian Ascent, is
usually looking for ways to network with
people who are relevant to his field.
“I’ve tried many websites and the
problem was that it either required
payment or you meet people who were
wasting your time,” he said.
Mow FM is a site that does not
require payment and active users can
earn the rewards that come with the site.
It may not be as visually appealing
as the other social network platforms,
but it is convenient as the website is
categorised well.
“The administrators and I monitor
the profiles and we encourage users to be
as positive as possible when interacting
with each other,” Kapeniak said.
When registering with the site, it is
important to remember that there are
two kinds of pages.
The first, you create when you initially
register; a personal profile and can go
under your name. Then, you have the
option of creating as many “FM pages”
as you like.
Painter Susantha Steve
Sembacuttiaratchy said it was a little
confusing initially.
“I made myself a profile and didn’t
realise I needed a FM page to be sharing
my work publicly,” he elaborated.
A “FM Page” is a representation of
theartthatyouwanttoshare.Youupload
videos, photos, music and anything else
that is a depiction of your craft. Most
importantly, it should be able to be used
to sell your talent to people.
Being active on the pages entitle
you to “Fun Energy”, which is a virtual
ticket that can be converted to “Money
Energy”. “Money Energy” can then be
utilised to buy other people’s products
such as their personal music tracks or
concert tickets.
Other users can engage with you,
giving you “Fun Energy”. The more
energy you collect, the higher you climb
in the rank ladder.
The site is like a game, which is
interesting but does not make up for the
lack of visual elements.
“Once you get the hang of it, it is
possible to get sucked in. The downside
of this is it takes quite a bit of your
time,” Susantha said.
“I like it because you have everyone
here, even painters and stage artists,
who are all on equal ground, no fans
and idols,” Josef said.
No dream that is ever worth pursuing
comes easily but it is important to keep
trying. Remember not to feel let down
if one of the paths to success did not
work out. Simply keep trying until you
find one that works for you, whether it
be online or in reality.
To commemorate Teachers Day which falls on 16 May every year, The InkSlingers takes a look at a few of
the interesting learning journeys of both students and lecturers.

8 FEATURES May 2015
5 applications to beat mental blocks
HAVE you ever had moments where
you are focusing on a task at hand but
end up stuck? Sitting in your chair for
hours, thinking hard about what to write
next, yet not a single idea is coming to
fore? Rest assured this mental block
that you often experience is normal.
In fact, studies have proven that the
concentration span for an average
student is just over two hours.
The most common advice you will
probably get in this situation is to take
a break, rest or even a nap. However,
knowing students these days, they
will probably reach for their phones.
Catching up on Facebook and Twitter,
or even double tapping on friends’ latest
Instagram post – that is their definition
of taking a break. Next thing you know,
you feel even more tired from all the
scrolling and looking.
Instead of all that, the brains of
the modern era have provided us with
phone applications to counter mental
blocks, which will eventually assist you
in dealing with stress better. You can
check out these inventions and coming
up with ideas for assignments would not
be an issue at all!
Unstuck
Unstuck is like your very own digital
life coach. When you’re stuck with a
problem, the Unstuck application helps
you to reevaluate your predicament
and find a new perspective to tackle it
by asking you a series of questions to
further understand your situation and
the problem (e.g. asking you how you
currently feel); it categorises the “stuck”
that you’re facing and then provides you
with ideas to help you overcome the
problem. The core of the application
relies on four principles: seeing,
believing, thinking and acting. The
creators of Unstuck believe that these
four principles are essential in order to
face obstacles and make healthy changes
in your life.
InstaGrok
The application instaGrok is
essentially an “educational search
engine”. The application is extremely
handy when trying to gather ideas
regarding a certain topic (especially
when doing research). The app looks
up the keywords or phrase entered and
then it proceeds to create a mind map
that branches out with related concepts.
Basically, it helps you to compile all
the information needed and makes it
easily accessible and understandable.
The mind map includes key facts,
websites, images, videos and related
concepts all easily available through an
interactive visual interface.
Pocket
There will always be a time when you
are reading article upon article to write
your research paper, and eventually you
get frustrated just by looking at the
crazy number of tabs open on your
browser. Pocket allows you to save
articles, videos, images, pdf files (you
name it) for viewing, later. The best part
about it is that you can view everything
that you’ve saved, offline.
That’s right, you can view everything
on Pocket (be it on your phone or
laptop), anytime. There’s no need for
you to worry about the wifi connection
or your limited data usage. So, if there
was an article you’ve been avoiding,
Catfishing in the world of cyberspace
By SALIM HAMOOD AL-AFIFI
EVER since the dawn of digital
age, building a virtual relationship
was a norm in the land of cyberspace.
These interactions could be wonderful
experiences, but sometimes one ends
up falling for a catfish.
According to the urban dictionary,
a catfish is someone who pretends to
be someone they are not using social
media, particularly to pursue deceptive
online romances.
Countless reasons could contribute
to the formation of online persona;
the most common reason is having
no self-acceptance. Public Relations
major Yong Kah Kin, 22, said, “The
issue stems from low self-esteem which
the internet’s anonymous nature then
enables them to forget who they are.”
Loneliness is another motive. The
anonymity factor allows people to
fabricate stories to fulfill their romantic
relationship need, which hardens the
idea of letting go of their fake self.
International Business major Ayushree
Thapa, 22, said, “They create this
alternativeuniversewheretheypersonify
traits that they think other people like.”
Another reason is conning, which
has a major presence on social
media and dating sites. According
to Taylor’s University Counselling
and Psychological Services Center
(CPSC) Counsellor Kok Choon Foong,
scammers target lonely victims who
are in desperate need of affection, and
people have the tendency to believe
what they hear online. Additional
reasons include boredom, attention
craving, pathological lying and curiosity.
“Online identity is a fantasy, is
an imagination,” the counsellor said,
adding that they take an identity as a
way to escape from reality. Given the
reasons mentioned, catfishes require
help to overcome this predicament.
Yong said “Folks like these really do
need emotional guidance so that they
can embrace themselves for who they
are.” He added that society plays a large
and vital role in mending and developing
values that promote individualism and
self-development.
In order to help them, the counsellor
advised that we make them realise the
consequences of their actions, and what
sort of harm it causes to those around.
If loneliness is the cause, then one must
be active offline by learning how to
socialise better, make friends and build
relationships accordingly.
Another way to help them is to bring
them back to reality by encouraging
them to find a drive to motivate them to
work towards becoming closer to their
ideal self.
Preventing people from becoming a
catfish is important. According to Kok,
lowering down the character to someone
closer to ideal self can help you succeed
in achieving your goal, which prevents
opting for unrealistic personality.
As for victims of catfishing, they
must be alert at all times while building a
relationship online, especially on dating
apps such as Badoo and Tinder, which
are popular in the virtual dating culture.
Kok said that one must know how
to detect false identities by looking
at photos, asking questions, and
analysing stories’ consistency, as well as
appearance descriptions.
Business Administration major
Farhana Oberson, 21, said “It is
eventually bound to end because it’s
all built on lies.” A catfish can affect
anyone of us, regardless of age and
background. Therefore, we must learn,
prevent, and avoid this issue.
Illustration of false online identity.
Source: www.dtc-wsuv.org
you can finally tackle it outside, under
the tree, with a breath of fresh air and a
brand new perspective.
Cold Turkey
The best way to beat a mental
block is by allocating your time well.
This means, stop procrastinating, cold
turkey. The application helps you to
boost productivity, schedule breaks and
achieve better grades.
Cold Turkey does this by helping you
stay focused on the task by allowing you
to block websites and applications that
would normally cause distraction (e.g.
Facebook) for a certain amount of time.
It also reminds you to take a break
(yes, you need them) after hours on end
of studying, to maximise productivity.
Cold Turkey is all about prevention,
preparation and user control.
TED and TED books
A new source of inspiration is
incredibly helpful whenever you hit a
mental wall. TED is a great platform
to discover new ideas and material,
to refresh and reenergise your mind.
You can find thousands of motivating
TED Talks by experts in their various
fields (e.g. technological masterminds,
business gurus and others), that will
satisfy your curiosity and equip you with
a fresh mindset.
People from various ages, cultural
backgrounds and ethnic groups, world
and political views are often the speakers
at TED Talks, as they share about their
passions and inspirational things that
matters to them. If you are the type of
person who enjoys reading, you can also
look into the TED Books application.
The content in this application is fairly
short, and can be finished in a short
space of time. It is highly recommended
as it is not time consuming and probably
suitable when you are having intervals
while doing your assignments.
Having a mental roadblock? Ted Books can be your inspiration.

9FEATURESMay 2015
A checklist for entrepreneurial success
A SUCCESSFUL start-up
clothing company by 21 years old, a
multimillionaire by 24 and a Datukship
title by 26.
Listed as number 16 of the wealthiest
men in Malaysia by Forbes magazine in
2008, Datuk Dr Vinod B Sekhar is an
inspiration for the youth.
He was the man behind the creation
of the world’s smallest optic engine
for projectors, which was later sold to
global giant, Toshiba.
He also snagged the title of the first
and youngest Asian to be a part of
the US-based International Honours
Society for Education.
The 46-year-old President and
Group Chief Executive of Petra Group
shared a few pointers on how to become
a successful entrepreneur.
1. Be tenacious
According to an article by
Entrepreneur, to be tenacious, one has to
learn to deal with ambiguity and power
through hurdles that may come along
the way.
During Vinod’s inspiring and
informative speech at Mind Valley,
Menara Uoa Bangsar on 23 April, he
startled the audience when he said,
“Here is one guarantee. You will fail
at some stage.” In fact, according to
Vinod’s website, his lack of experience
in the field of farming had led him to
lose a staggering investment USD$40
million (RM143 million).
Vinod asserted that it is through
failure that one will be able to
differentiate between what is right
and wrong and to make necessary
amendments for a better business.
He said in order to become a
successful entrepreneur, “You got to
have that ability to fall, get up and walk.”
2. Temper your greed
Vinod believed that it is human
nature to have a greed for something.
He equated greed to a powerful engine
The rise and growth of modesty fashion
By NADIA AHMED ABDALLA
FASHION is a universal language
spoken and understood by everyone.
However, as fashion keeps evolving,
new genres start to grow and appear in
the fashion industry.
Who would have imagined;
mainstream fashion sharing a spotlight
with a new trend that would turn out
to be the epitome of the new fashion
world growth.
CoverTime Magazine USA Editor-
in-chief and Co-founder Stephanie
Khalil Al-Ghani said, “Mainstream
fashion is definitely open to accepting
Modest Fashion.”
However conflicting arguments
about what truly is Modesty fashion
is what puzzles people up to date. No
clear understanding has been summed
up of what this new trend is all about.
“Modesty fashion” is a reserved way
of dressing during a particular time or
among a particular group of people.
The modesty fashion trend has been
evolving in the 21st century, however
wrong perceptions have been inflicted
on various female fashion lovers.
InternationalBusinessstudentLubna
Malik, 23, said, “Initially I thought
modesty fashion was fully covered
fashion trends that were only suitable
for deep-rooted Muslim women.”
“After familiarising myself with
numerous Modesty fashion trends and
fashion bloggers, I realised that modesty
fashion can be embraced by anyone,”
she added.
As much as the modesty fashion
world is mostly embraced by Muslim
women, the trend has no limitation on
who can embrace it or not.
Just like mainstream fashion,
this trend offers many designs and
inspirations for women to open-
mindedly embrace it.
“Realistically, Modest Fashion caters
to more people than high fashion does
particularly in the way it is presented in
magazines and advertisements. Modest
Fashion has been seen in all faiths,”
Stephanie added.
So what are the criteria to place
outfits under this category?
Modesty fashion clothing are outfits
that would not draw out a woman’s
body shape or expose excess body skin,
such as long sleeved tops, knee or full
length dresses or skirts, boyfriend jeans,
turbans, and colorful scarves.
Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, and
Chanel are few of the well-known
designers who have embraced Modesty
Fashion Trends on the runway and in
their own personal designs.
Global Fashion Networker Franka
SoeriaNatanegra Semin said, “The
industry is overwhelming as everyone
is doing everything related to modesty
fashion. The number of bloggers is so
high and new brands and designers too.”
Countries like Kuwait, Dubai and
Qatar embrace modesty fashion;
Indonesia and Malaysia, too play a big
role in modesty fashion and creating
awareness for it in the mainstream
fashion world.
However, the real advocates of
modesty fashion who have millions
of audiences on social media are the
numerous modesty fashion bloggers
that exist, from the likes of Dina Tokio,
who is a designer, stylist and blogger
from the United Kindom, to Ascia Akf,
who is an American Kuwaiti Hybrid
blogger and designer.
Their constant advocacy for
modesty fashion on different social
media platforms has influenced a lot of
women to embrace their style and make
it their own.
Furthermore, they have spurred
the interests of a lot of international
fashion brands who are now endorsing
them with the intention of winning
the modesty lovers’ trust and likeness
towards their numerous designs.
Taylor’s University International
Student Council Vice President of
Community Farhana Oberson said,
“Now that we have modesty fashion
advocates, a lot of young girls out
there are finding it easier to fit in and
embrace the style as one of their own
without wanting to alter any part of
their bodies.”
like that of a Lamborghini Diablo,
which has a 6.0L engine.
“If you don’t know how to control
that car, you are going to crash it.”
He added that at some point, during
an entrepreneur’s journey, a really good
offer may present itself, but it may come
at the price of one’s soul.
Thus, knowing how to temper one’s
greed is crucial.
3. Control over money
Vinod advised that one should never
let money control them.
Hesaid,“Makingmoneythesourceof
your happiness won’t work.” Although,
he highlighted the importance of cash
flow in order to ensure profitability in
every business.
Properly understanding every aspect
of a business ensures control over the
business’s cash flow.
4. No specific formula for success
“It’s just one of those things that
happen,” Vinod said.
He advised aspiring entrepreneurs to
keep experimenting until they find what
excites them.
He specifically encouraged youths
to make mistakes as there would be less
room to fail when they are older and
bear more responsibilities.
5. Find who you are doing it for
According to Vinod, Petra Group
had given away 60% and soon will be
giving away an additional 20% of its
company ownership to charity.
While some may think this is an
absurd decision, Vinod did not agree.
He said, “Success cannot be about you.
You always have to think about how
what you are doing is going to impact
society and yourself.”
For him, it is his mojo that drives
him to do what he does and it is derived
from his family, his children and his
business partners.
He said the feeling of making a
difference in someone’s life is great.
Sekhar describing some of the challenges he faced throughout his journey as an
entrepreneur, during his speech at Mind Valley, Menara Uoa Bangsar.
Source: Jikey Wee
Designer and blogger, Akf dressed
chicly in a white full sleeve jacek, boy-
friend jeans, Source: Ascia Akf

10 FEATURES May 2015
Board games - the ones that are less played
By LEE JIA ANN
MENTION “Scrabble”, “Snakes
and Ladders” or “Monopoly”, even
non-board game enthusiasts would be
familiar with these names.
They were especially popular before
the rise of technology and recent
popularity of game applications such as
“Candy Crush” and “Temple Run.”
Hence, the question is whether
board games are a dying hobby, or can
they make a much-waited-for return?
Pharmacy major Ooi Wen Li, 23,
said, “Board games are already a dying
hobby as no one seems to talk about it.
“People are more interested in games
like ‘Candy Crush.’”
Ooi still occasionally plays board
games, however because of her course
workload, she does not have the time to
play it anymore.
Tourism and Events major Trisha
Toh Ee San, 22, said she does not play
board games anymore, but the one
exception is the board game “Risk”.
Toh said, “I enjoy playing ‘Risk’ at
parties with friends.”
Whilst board games are a matter of
individual preference, Toh said, “It’s a
dying hobby and it is unfortunate that
the millennials aren’t as exposed to
board games as much as we were.”
Interactive Multimedia Design major
Adrian Yap Wei Hsean, 23, said, “The
modern generation tends to gravitate
towards technology and any digital-
related objects.”
Board games were played more
by those from a generation whereby
technology was not as prominent as it is.
Yap said, “Board games in its
initial intention was to draw people
together and it’s a form of medium we
used to have fun before the birth of
‘#throwback’ and ‘likes’.”
Yap added that people do appreciate
the occasional conventional ways of
having fun.
With the increase of board game
cafes, especially in the Klang Valley area,
board games are now becoming much
more accessible than before. People can
still play without owning them.
PR and Marketing major Chien Su-
Lynn, 22, has patroned board game
cafes and stated that she enjoyed the
environment, as it was nice to see
everyone enjoying their company and
the games.
Spending hours at a café may
be costly, with places like Meeples
boardgame cafe in SS15 charging
approximately RM6 an hour.
Finding the best nasi lemak at Syopz Mall
By SHAZWANI CHE RAHIM
NASI lemak is listed in menus
as one of the main dishes in almost
every restaurant at Syopz Mall, Taylor’s
University. To find that one great nasi
lemak that tantalises your tastebuds is
not easy. It matters as one good meal
may cure one’s bad day.
Nasi lemak is a well-known Malay
breakfast that serves rice prepared
in coconut milk and pandan leaf.
It is accompanied by delicious
accompaniments like anchovies,
peanuts, boiled egg, slices of cucumber
and chili paste or sambal in a plate.
1. OldTown White Coffee
OldTown White Coffee is the only
restaurant that offers variety of nasi
lemak, such as Nasi Lemak with Turmeric
Fried Chicken or Fried Chicken, Curry
or Rendang Chicken, Nasi Lemak with
Sambal Sotong, Ayam Masak Merah and
Nasi Lemak Bungkus.
The Nasi Lemak Classic is served
warm and is medium-sized. OldTown
is one of the restaurants that offers a
sunny side fried egg in their nasi lemak,
making it a wholesome meal. The nasi
lemak tastes almost as good as it looks.
OldTown provides generous
amounts of sambal that produce sweet
and spicy flavours at the same time.
It tastes even better when mixed with
the fragrant rice as it reduces the sweet
and spiciness. The sambal has several
anchovies and big onions that make it
much tastier.
However, the sambal is oilier than
it should be which may thicken your
throat and the rice is salty.
The nasi lemak ought to be tried even
though it is a little too pricey at RM7.90.
2. JC’s Pancakes
At JC’s Pancakes, expect a thin and
tasty omelette on your nasi lemak rice. It
is delicious and is neither overcooked
nor oily.
The spiciness of the sambal can be
considered as very mild and is suitable
for breakfast. The sambal is less oily.
Unfortunately, the rice was not soft.
3. Star Teh Tarik
Nasi lemak at Star Teh Tarik or the
“Mamak” is one of the best, because of
its quantity and quality. This dish looks
deceiving; as it tastes better than it looks.
The sambal is blended well and goes
perfectly with the coconut milk rice and
the boiled egg it comes with.
Have your nasi lemak with mamak-
styled fried chicken for more allure.
Star Teh Tarik’s reasonable prices,
where the cost of a nasi lemak is RM4,
attracts a lot of students. Even if you
are health conscious, order a plate of
nasi lemak and a glass of teh tarik for the
perfect guilty pleasure meal.
4. Selera Penang Café
Nasi lemak at Selera Penang is just
plain rice and it uses a different kind of
sambal. Even so, the rice does not taste
very aromatic.
The sambal tastes decent but it is not
how a nasi lemak sambal usually tastes
like. It tastes similar to the sambal that
is used in a highly popular Indonesian
meal called Ayam Penyet.
The fried chicken saves the meal.
The meat is soft and the skin tender.
The flavour is just right to be eaten
with rice as it is not too salty nor sweet.
However, the meal is worth the RM 10
even if you do not really get a nasi lemak.
5. Kampung Cili
There is something unique about
the nasi lemak at Kampung Cili; it is dry
and has spicy sambal with anchovies
and flakes that tastes like shrimp. When
these are eaten together with the tasty
chicken rendang and the fragrant and soft
rice, the nasi lemak hits the perfect level
of spiciness, sweetness and saltiness.
The nasi lemak tastes totally different
than the other nasi lemaks at the Syopz
Mall and it deserves all of the attention
from you. If you do not like spicy food,
make sure you add very little sambal.
However the variety of games
that were otherwise too expensive to
purchase, justified the price.
Modern games has changed the way
that people play, with newer games such
as “Settlers of Catan”, “Saboteur” and
the very exciting “Shadow Hunter”,
becoming favourites amongst board
game patrons.
Chien said, “The concepts are unique
and challenging, and relevant to other
pop culture references.
“The design, look, and feel of the
games are also more engaging. Even
the classic board games are trying to
compete, like ‘Monopoly Deal’.”
She believed that modern board
games are gradually taking the place
of traditional ones, as people tend to
favour more complex games, which help
in creating a bond and also promotes
teamwork amongst the players.
Board games have received changes
over time. Hence, even when traditional
games are played lesser nowadays,
people are still interested to play the
modern ones, even at a price.
The games may be different now, but
the idea of playing it is still the same.
Ooi said, “Board games are really
good for any age because they make us
think and we interact more.”
Star Teh Tarik serves a generous portion of nasi lemak with fried chicken,
anchovies, peanuts and cucumber for only RM4.
Traditional old school boardgames are hardly played anymore these days.

11FEATURESMay 2015
Upcycling towards a greener planet
A SURVEY conducted with
Taylorians revealed that most of them
are not familiar with the term ‘upcycling’
and even if they did, they were unsure
of what it meant.
The Inkslingers thus took the
opportunity to meet with local non-
profit social enterprise, eHomemakers.
eHomemakers specialise in providing
a platform for homemakers, especially
disadvantaged women, to undergo IT
and skills-based trainings, in order for
them to work from home and generate
an income.
One of their projects include an
upcycling project, the Eco-Basket
Project, where pages of old magazines
are rolled and weaved to create beautiful,
handcrafted eco-baskets.
This project was established in
2002 by Salaam Wanita, an arm under
eHomemakers, and is called the
EnWeave Community. The handcrafted
baskets are sold to eHomemakers, who
will then sell it to clients.
Upcycling vs. recycling
eHomemakers Administrator
Rhonwyn Hagedorn puts it best by
saying that with recycling, the materials
are sent for processing before they are
made into a new product.
“With upcycling, the materials are
kept in their original state when they are
used to make a new product,” she said.
According to online retailer for
upcycled products, Hipcycle, “When
you upcycle an item, you aren’t breaking
down the materials. You may be
refashioning it, but it’s still made of the
same materials as when you started.”
Examples of upcycled products
from Hipcycle include drinking glasses
made from upcycled Coca-Cola Classic
bottles and vodka bottles.
Why is it important?
Hagedorn said, “In today’s society,
when people don’t want to use a product
anymore, they just throw it away. This is
not good for sustainability.”
According to Hipcycle, “When you
upcycle, you remove items from the
global garbage stream. Upcycling instead
of recycling is good because recycling
requires energy or water to break down
materials. Upcycling only requires your
creativity and elbow grease.”
Malaysia Book of Records
Last month, eHomemakers
established a large upcycling project
in order to raise awareness among
Malaysians about upcycling and educate
them on the importance of cutting
down on production of waste.
At the same time, the goal of the
project is to land the Malaysian Book of
Records for producing 3,000 baskets by
April next year.
Hagedorn said the Malaysian society
is not well educated about upcycling and
thus it is time they took responsibility
towards caring for the sustainability of
the environment.
She said the simpler eco-baskets
made by volunteer weavers during
this project, can be taken home by the
weavers themselves.
Types of group mates you might encounter in university
THERE are always various types of
reactions whenever a lecturer informs
the class that one of the assignments
for the module is a group project.
Some students would begin
whispering among their cliques to sort
out the groupings; some would make
eye contact with their friends across
the room and in just a single nod, the
partnership is sealed; while others
would just sit back, relax, and cross the
bridge only when they get to it.
If you have gone through at least
one semester of university, you would
realise that through group assignments,
you are able to meet various types of
people, some of whom you might end
up being friends with, and some you
might not enjoy working with as much.
Here are a few types of group mates
you might come across in university:
The Boss
As the title suggests, these are the
people whom you would automatically
answer “yes, boss!” to whenever a
task has been assigned to you. They
always don the role of the group leader
unquestionably because they simply
cannot switch off their natural tendency
to be in charge.
People in this category are
competitive high-achievers who usually
end up furiously editing their group
mates’ work because it is not up to their
usually high standards.
One of the perks of being in a group
with these people is that they would
drive you to do better and you would
most likely get good grades for almost
all your assignments.
The downside is that it would not
be surprising if the assignment ends up
being a one-man show if they find their
group mates incompetent.
The Procrastinator
It is easy to identify a procrastinator
because they would still be online in the
wee hours of the morning when the
whole world is fast asleep, just to meet
an impending deadline.
Even if they are given a whole year
to complete an assignment because they
would only begin working on it the day
before it is due.
These people secretly do not
welcome deadline extension as it is
akin to endorsing their behaviour since
they know deep down that they would
procrastinate even more.
Whentheyarefinallystruckbyanxiety
attacks, the last-minute adrenaline rush
is what motivates them to roll up their
sleeves and get the job done.
They are the risk-takers who will
always manage to pull through in the
nick of time, with a lighter weight on
their shoulders and darker circles under
their eyes.
The No-show
Elton John’s hit song says that “sorry
seems to be the hardest word”, but this
is not the case for the people who fall
under this category.
The word “sorry” seems awfully
rehearsed when it leaves their mouth
because they are always apologising for
not being around.
Whenever there is a group
discussion, these people conveniently
have an important errand to run or are
not feeling well.
In the worst case scenario, they
might not even reply to your messages
or phone calls, especially at the crucial
moment when the group leader has to
compile each and every member’s work
for submission.
The Chill Pill Popper
They live by the motto “Hakuna
Matata” because they do not seem to
have a single worry in the world.
It is nice to work with them because
they teach you how to kick back and
enjoy life a little when you are up to your
neck in assignments, barely surviving
the chaotic school week.
Nothing ever gets them worked up,
not even the impending deadline for
the assignment that count towards 40
percent of your overall grade.
There are many other types of group
mates besides the ones mentioned
above. If you are lucky enough, you
might meet someone who thinks and
operates in the same frequency as you.
And if that ever happens, here is a piece
of advice: latch onto them and never let
them go!
The better or more creative baskets
may be sold off for a low price and
the money collected will then go to the
disadvantaged women.
Student volunteers
EnWeave Community student
coordinator Tam Xueh Wei, 19, said,
“We currently have 18 student weavers
and 11 rollers from Methodist College
Kuala Lumpur.”
She said, “It is the experienced
underprivileged women under the
Salaam Wanita - EnWeave Community
projectthattrainsthestudentvolunteers.
“The role of a student volunteer
is to partake in rolling and weaving
the baskets in accordance to a fixed
measurement to enter the Malaysian
Book of Records.”
She added that weaving training
is RM40/pax (for students) while
volunteers are required to attend at least
four hours of training.
For more information on upcycling
and how to help and do your part to
make the planet greener, visit http://
dosomething.gd/event/malaysia-book-
records-number-baskets-made-paper/
Methodist College Kuala Lumpur students Joe Lew, 19 (left) and Lew Yu Yeng, 18
tearing pages off old magazines in preparation for the rolling and weaving session.

Life lessons from Avengers superheroes
By CINDY JUNOVICA
theinkSlingers
FEATURES
May 2015
When it comes to the opening weeks
for box office movie, the only one
that could beat the first-ranked Marvel
movie Avengers in the chart is its sequel,
Age of Ultron.
According to Washington Post, Age
of Ultron had been named the second
biggest film opening ever. Starring six
greatest superheroes of all time, there is
no way that the Avengers will disappoint.
The word ‘superhero’ will always be
closely related to cool weapons, infinite
power, and mind-blowing fighting
scenes and there is no doubt that the
Avengers can deliver all. However, apart
from all the physical actions, the movie
conveys certain life lessons that we, as
university students, can incorporate in
our daily lives.
1. Teamwork is important
As university students, the demand
to work in group is inevitable. There
will always be a time when we need to
work together with other people no
matter how great we are as an individual.
Like in the movie the Avengers, all the
superheroes ought to team up to fulfill
their ultimate mission – to save the
world from devastation. Likewise, in
order to achieve the satisfying outcome,
we need to work hand-in-hand with our
team members.
2. Think of others before
making a decision
When Tony Stark secretly discovers
an artificial intelligence and uses it to
complete his Ultron - a global defense
program, it turns out to be malignant.
He makes the decision without telling
the rest of the crew and his mistake
hazards other people, including his own
team. In this case, we need to learn that
sometimes, our actions do affect others.
Hence, we need to think not only for
our own benefit, but also for the rest.
3. Embrace the uniqueness of
each other and make the best of it
Thor and Iron Man have specialty of
flying; Hawkeye exceeds in archery; and
Black Widow has excellent martial art
skills. If you realise, each of the Avengers
charactersiscreateddifferent,butitdoes
Selfie Coffee cafe showcases unique coffee art culture
The scene from The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Source: collider
There is no doubt that the two
most common pictures found on social
media are: selfies and cafes. Going to a
cafe to have your daily fix of coffee is
becoming a very common routine, thus
it has prompted many to venture into
starting up cafes. Furthermore, with the
introduction of the front camera on
your smart devices, taking pictures of
yourself or with group of friends has
never been easier (sometimes with the
help of a selfie stick).
But what if you put the concept of
selfies and cafes together? When I first
heard about such idea, my initial reaction
was, “who on earth would want to drink
their own face?”
However, just like any other human
being, curiosity drove me to explore
the selfie café experience. And it must
be said that I am no coffee lover. But
the thought of having your face as the
topping on your beverage, who would
not be intrigued by that?
Besides, such new and refreshing
idea beats your typical coffee art on your
café beverages. Ask any café baristas,
they have probably run out of ideas for
new coffee art by now. But with this
concept, the baristas would not have to
worry about coffee art. Your face is now
THE coffee art.
So as I took my first steps towards the
Selfie Coffee café, my first observation
was that it is not situated strategically.
The café is situated along the side of
Sunway University.
Aside from facing potential
competition from other cafes along the
same row, they also face parking issues.
But as I approach the café, I was greeted
by one of the employees in a friendly
manner, which attracted me more.
Nothing beats good service. I saw a
bunting stating that the Selfie Coffee
café is the first of its kind in Malaysia,
but their concept were beaten to second
in the entire world.
The café has a very good ambience
to it. The dim lights dangle from the
ceiling, attached to thick ropes instead
of the typical wires, giving it a very
rustic and industrial vibe. Just like any
other cafes, they cater to both smokers
and non-smokers with the indoor and
outdoor sections.
As I approach the counter, I was duly
greeted by a friendly cashier who was
very helpful and informative. The price
for each product of the Selfie Coffee
café is similar to every other cafés in
and around the scene. After ordering
my drink, the employee instructed me
to head to a section to take my selfie
with a camera phone provided by the
café itself.
After taking my selfie, I was seated.
While waiting, a waiter provided me with
whiteboard markers and whiteboard
duster to entertain myself. TheTwo of the latest trends in a cup.
management actually allows customers
to draw on their glass table. And after
the customary few minutes of waiting,
my order arrived. I was just fascinated
by my face appearing on the beverage
I ordered.
When I asked the waiter the
ingredient used to produce the image on
my coffee, he told me it was edible egg,
further stating that they have a special
machine to print the image transferred
from the camera phone I initially used.
He did not reveal much though and I
do not blame him as revealing the secret
to their concept would be suicidal in the
business industry. He further explained
that the selfies taken can be printed on
both hot and cold beverages.
All in all, it was definitely an original
concept, a unique selling point and really
something you do not see every day.
And as the lives of the average youth
these days is swamped with assignments,
why not take them here as well? Multiple
workable plug points, relaxing acoustic
music and a cooling, almost soothing
environment, it is equipped with
what your necessary wants and needs,
whether it is assignment or leisure wise.
not mean that one is simply better than
others. Their various strengths make the
team successful. Likewise, in any group,
we will meet people with different skills;
one may be good in writing, another
may excel in photography. As a team,
we have to complement each other’s
diversity to accomplish the excellence.
4. Catch each other when falling
Remember the scene where Black
Widow falls off the building and Hulk
catches her? Yep, that is what a great
teammate does. Likewise, when one of
our group members is facing difficulties
or feeling down, we ought to help and
support them.
5. Own up to own your mistake
and fix it
Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch who
are firstly on Ultron’s side finally realise
their mistake and eventually join the
Avengers to save the earth. They had
a choice to run away, but they did not.
Likewise, the best way to learn from our
mistake is to admit it and set everything
right, rather than making excuses.

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