Bicara Negarawan with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

On Saturday, 30 March 2013 at 2.30pm, the Melaka State Government organised an event, “Bicara Negarawan with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’ at the Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM). The Malacca State Government provided a bus for SCM students and staff. Mr. K. Narayanasamy, staff and students took the opportunity to attend and to listen to Tun Mahathir’s inspiring talk on leadership among students, “Mahasiswa dan Graduan Pewaris Kepimpinan Negara”. At the end of this event, Tun Dr Mahathir was awarded the “Ikon Graduan Unggul” by UTeM. He also launched the Social Media Site of Malacca IPT Campuses. Our students were very happy to have the opportunity to meet Tun Dr Mahathir. It was a wonderful experience for our staff and students.

Students waving the National Flag

A group photo with wonderful memories

1Malaysia. Students shouting 1 Family of SCM

SOBA Career Day

The School of Business and Accounting conducted a Career Day on Thursday, 28 March 2013 at the SCPJ Jalan 223 campus to assist the graduating students to be gainfully employed upon graduating from the College.

Representatives from three companies held talks to provide information regarding their respective companies and the entry positions available in their organisations. These were followed immediately by on-site interviews for our students. Apart from SOBA students, students from the other schools were also invited to attend the talks and interviews.

Head of School, Mr Robert Cheong, welcoming

our guests, Senior Manager, HR, Mr Jack Hui

and Senior Manager, Technical Services Centre,

Mr Chee Hong Lee of Crystal Group, Hong Kong

The Career Day kicked off in the morning with the early arrival of five representatives from Crystal Group of Hong Kong headed by their General Manager Mr L. T. Cheng. This multinational company is in the branded garment/apparel manufacturing business and had a total turnover of USD1.3 billion last year. It employs Sales Associates (SAs) through its subsidiary Elegance Industrial Co. Ltd. These SAs shall be stationed at its production centre in Dongguan, Guangdong, China and draw a salary equivalent to RM 6,200 per month with hostel lodging provided. They brought along two Malaysian employees to relate their experiences with the organisation to the students.

The afternoon session commenced with representatives from Jazzcapital Financial Services introducing their organisation and their business model to our students. Jazzcapital basically provides outsourcing services to some financial institutions in securing customers for their financial facilities. They are basically looking for full-time as well as part-time agents, and compensation is through commission earned.

Our students listening attentively to the speaker

from the Crystal Group, Hong Kong

The last slot for the day was taken by representatives from a blue chip company, Ann Joo Resources Berhad, which is very strong in the local steel industry – both upstream and downstream. They’re looking for diploma and degree graduates from business, computing and engineering disciplines to fill the various entry positions available in the organisation (including private secretarial positions).

A talk on Reform of the Electoral Process in Malaysia by Dato’ Ambiga Sreeneevasan

Stamford College Students’ Council invited Dato’ Ambiga Sreeneevasan for a talk in Stamford College Petaling Jaya on Thursday, 28 March 2013. The topic was on ‘Reform of Electoral Process in Malaysia’.

The President of Stamford College Student Council, Dinesh Kumar Pillai, gave a welcoming speech expressing appreciation to the Guest of Honour, Dato’ Ambiga Sreeneevasan.

Dato’ Ambiga Sreeneevasan

delivering her speech

Dato’ Ambiga Sreeneevasan gave an inspiring talk and raised awareness of the upcoming General Election 2013. She emphasized on ‘Free and Fair’ election and alerted the audience to make a decision to vote for the future and integrity of the country. She gave a clear picture about voting rights, and the role of parties in a democracy. She highlighted that the existence of opposition parties is not necessarily a bad thing. Dato Ambiga encouraged the audience to make their own choice, be aware of what they want and be unafraid of changes, which is the only way for improvement. There was a Q &A session after the talk.

It’s time for questions from the

audience

A group photo of the organising

committee from the Student Council

A group photo for sweet memories

News from the Indian Cultural Society (ICS)

The Stamford Indian Cultural Society held their annual election on 22 March 2013 at the Auditorium in Stamford Jalan 223 to elect the new ICS committee members for year 2013/14. The event started off with a short speech by the Chief Adviser, Ms. Sarina Nair. After the short speech, the election committee members comprising Mr. Suresh Balasingam, Ms. Puvaneswary Kandasamy, and Ms. Maniyarasi conducted the election. Mr. Suresh who headed the election drive invited all the nominees onto the stage to introduce themselves to all the students present at the event. After the brief introduction of the nominees, the election was held and administered by the election committee members.

Lecturer-in-charge, Mr Suresh Balasingam

explaining the position of the council members

The following members were elected to head the Stamford Indian Cultural Society for year 2013/14:

1. President – Vimal Kumar
2. Vice-President (Jalan 223) – Sharrma Selvam
3. Vice-President (Jalan Barat) – Kamala Seerangam
4. Secretary – Vaesaline Muthukrishnan
5. Vice-Secretary – Nigel
6. Treasurer – Sunder Renganathan
7. Vice- Treasurer – Saarminie Krishnan

Exco members:

• Ashwini Gobal (UEL- International Business)
• Ramanan Maniam (UEL – International Business)
• Diliban (UEL – Computer Network)
• Geetha Krishnan (Diploma in IT)
• Puganeshwaran (Diploma in IT)
• Sivanesh (Diploma in IT)
• Shankari Sundrasekaran (Diploma in IT)
• Naveen Raj (Diploma in Media Communications)
• Thanusha (Diploma in Corporate Administration)
• Vikneswary Thangarasa (Foundation Studies in Business)

The newly elected President of the SC Indian

Cultural Society, Vimal Kumar and the Vice -

President, Sharrma giving their speeches

The newly elected committee members

Limelight Talent Show V2 on Thursday, 21 March 2013

This year’s talent show was held on Thursday, 21 March 2013. The limelight event was organised and planned by the Student Council with a vision to encourage students to explore and express their hidden talents, to build up their creativity skill and self-confidence in the spirit of competition.

The show aimed to kindle and foster interest in art and culture among the youth who may over the years hone their talents. Besides this, it also helped the college to create more talents for future events.

This year a record number of 13 contestants wowed the audience who had gathered together in the auditorium. The Talent Show boasted more than sheer entertainment value. It required an enormous amount of time on the part of the Student Council Executive Committee to organise and hold auditions. It required great courage for many of the students. Just imagine a 1st grader stepping up to the microphone and sharing his talents with an audience of 40 in the college auditorium. It gave our audience the opportunity to support their college mates sincerely and generously.

Amanda singing “Lady Marmalade”

Limelight V2.0 was officially launched at 2.00 pm with a welcoming speech by Dinesh Kumar, the President of SCPJ Student Council. Beside providing a talent search platform, Limelight v2.0 paid tribute to our English lecturer in SELC ,Mr Leon Maurice Connelly, the Limelight Committee Adviser, who had recently passed away.

Chris Jules playing the guitar and singing “Fall for you”

Comments on the overall performances and judging criteria were given out by the Judges, Ms Priscila Low from the Student Services Department, Ms Maniyarasi, the Adviser of Stamford Performance Art Centre and Ms Joanne Chin from the Student Support Centre. As mentioned, positive attitude of all contestants and future improvements are the most important concerns of the Talent Show.

A group photo with all the participants

After that, the Chief Executive Officer of Stamford College, Mr. U.K. Menon inspired the audience with a speech regarding overcoming shyness and believing in talents within every individual. The winners for the talent show were as follows:

Winner:  

Christopher Gerald Jules

1st runner up: 

Mun Yee

2nd runner up: 

Amanda

Consolation prizes: 

Anthony

Sharmila

Kevin

Participation prizes: 

Randy

Chong Che Kin

Katheryn

Aizin Aisya Bt Toreq

Industrial Visit to Carjen Food Sdn Bhd

The School of Secretarial and Administrative Studies (SOSAS) Club of Stamford College Malacca organised a visit to Carjen Food Sdn Bhd on 19 March 2013. All the students of Diploma in Executive Secretary (DES) including two lecturers joined this visit. The Marketing Executive of Carjen Food Sdn Bhd, Mr. Michael Tam Woh Fu, explained the history of the factory and the functions of each department, including the production process and the marketing activities, to the students. The objective of this visit was to encourage the students to learn more about the working environment and to gain experience.

The facade of the factory

The DES students with Mr Michael Tam Woh Fu

1 Million Women Purple Walk 2013

Sunday, March 17 was marked as the 1 Million Women Purple Walk in conjunction with International Women's Day. Our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak launched the event at Putrajaya while the Chief Minister did the same at the state level. In Melaka, Stamford College Malacca (SCM) staff and students took the opportunity to participate and be part of this great event. The aim of the walk was to show solidarity with the Government's commitment in empowering women in Malaysia and to celebrate the successes of Malaysian women in various sectors.

The event started with Senam Seni 1 Malaysia. The arrival of YAB Datuk Seri Hj. Mohd Ali bin Mohd Rustam, Chief Minister of Melaka and YABhg. Datin Seri Datuk Wira Hjh. Asmah bte Abdul Rahman, was followed by flagging off of 1 Million Women Purple Walk. The event ended with a speech by the Chief Minister.

Senam Seni 1 Malaysia marked the opening of the event

SCM staff and students who participated in 1 Million Women Purple Walk

World Consumer Rights Day 2013

March 15 is marked as the World Consumer Rights Day and it is celebrated all over the world. In Stamford College Malacca (SCM), the Diploma in Corporate Administration (DCA) Club took the opportunity to organise an event in conjunction with the World Consumer Rights Day. The aim is to create awareness and to educate our students on the rights of the consumers as well as other consumer related issues. It was held from 18 till 22 March 2013 with a few activities planned such as an essay writing competition, an exhibition and an educational talk by En. Tarmimi from the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operative and Consumerism who spoke on consumer rights and related legislations.

Students who were involved in the World 

Consumer Rights Day Exhibition

SCM’s presentation

En Tarmimi giving a talk on consumer rights and related legislation 

Zero Piracy Campaign 2013

Stamford College Malacca received an exclusive invitation from the Melaka State Government to witness the launching of the Zero Piracy Campaign on Thursday, 14 March 2013 at the Grand Ballroom, MITC. The Melaka State Government through the Information Technology Services Division (PBTM) planned to develop and transform Melaka into a high technology state with new and advanced technologies for industrial business to be more efficient and competitive.

Participants at the registration desk

Datuk Seri Haji Mohd Ali Bin Mohd Rastam

was the guest of honour delivering his talk

SCM’s lecturer, Mr Ahmad Taufiqq and the

students listening attentively to the talk

Stamford English Language Club Bowling Day Out

On 12 March 2013, Stamford English Language Club (SELC) lecturers and students of the December 2012, January and February 2013 intakes went to the Ampang Bowling Centre at Mahkota Parade, Melaka, for a bowling session. It was a day for the 2012 students to celebrate after receiving their certificate. Another objective of the event was to strengthen the relationship between the students and the lecturers.

That’s my lucky ball

I can strike 10 pins with this ball

Students and lecturers having fun in bowling

Tamil Stage Drama Competition

On 9 March 2013, Vanakkam Malaysia Dot Com Sdn Bhd organised a Tamil Stage Drama competition for students from IPTA & IPTS which was held in Tun Hussein Onn Ballroom, University of Malaysia in Batu Pahat. Two groups of students from SCM took part in this competition. They were given scripts from the epic of Tamil literature and they were to enact them. Nineteen colleges from the south zone, including students from Singapore, took part in the competition. Our students did their best, but we were not as strong as the universities and polytechnics. It was a good learning curve for our students.

Students did some preparation for the drama competition by enhancing their acting skills and script reading

Group photo of SCM team

All dressed up for the competition

English Week 2013

English Week was organised by Stamford English Language Club (SELC) from 4 – 8 March 2013. The activities of the week included singing competition, explorace, spelling bee and speech competition. The level of participation among the students was very encouraging. Most of the participants took the opportunity to show their talents and build up their confidence in the use of English Language.

Explorace – Listen to instructions and work as a team to win

Speed Challenge – the fastest with the correct answer

Spelling Bee – a test in spelling skills

International Women’s Day 2013

On 5 till 7 March 2013, the International Club organised the International Women’s Day event. Activities included a debate, crossword puzzle and a talk by Dr. Maria Rufina. The preliminary debate was “A Woman’s Place is the Home”. The final round topic was, “Men have Better Life than Women”. The crossword puzzle competition was also organised to test the students’ knowledge on women’s rights. The highlight of the week’s event was the talk by Dr. Maria Rufina who is the CEO of Cuepec Consultancy. She is a very successful entrepreneur and gave helpful tips and insights on how women are treated in the business world. The talk ended with a brief Q&A session.

Students wrote on the notice board their feelings 

which were displayed at SCM front lobby

FSB students debating DCA students on the

topic “ A woman’s place is at home”

CEO of Cuepec Consultancy, Dr Maria Rufina, and Mr K. Narayansamy giving away prizes to the Champion of the Debating Team

News from the School of Secretarial and Administrative Studies

ICSA Pathway workshop by Mrs Ngu, Deputy Education Director, MAICSA

The School of Secretarial and Administrative Studies organized a workshop for the DCA students, lecturers, counseling and administrative staff on Monday, 4 March 2013. It was held in the Activity Room, 1st Floor, SCPJ. Twelve DCA students, six DES students, four lecturers, one counsellor and two administrative staff attended the workshop.

Mrs Ngu, the former Head of the Secretarial School and currently the Deputy Education Director of MAICSA was invited to conduct the workshop. The objective of the workshop was to educate and to create a better awareness amongst the students and the staff on the ICSA pathway as an alternative route to the completion of the DCA programme.

Mrs Ngu started with an introduction of MAICSA as the Malaysian chapter and the countries where the ICSA examinations are offered. According to the latest statistics, there are 4,000 members, 3,000 students and 800 affiliates in Malaysia. She further added the ICSA is a professional qualification equivalent to any honours degree and that ICSA graduates can become company secretaries who are actually legal advisors to boards of directors on legal matters pertaining to companies.

As for career prospects, Mrs Ngu was very optimistic and emphasized that the prospects are very good. ICSA graduates can become Human Resource Managers, Chief Corporate Advisers, Corporate Managers, Corporate Administrators, Tax Agents, Management Consultants Company Secretaries and Chief Governance Officers.

Mrs Ngu also briefed the students on some of the main duties and responsibilities of Company Secretaries which include:

• Advising the Board and Management on Governance issues.
• Ensuring compliance of listings and related statutory obligations.
• Attending Board, Committee and General Meetings and ensuring the keeping of a proper record of minutes.
• Ensuring proper upkeeping of statutory registers and records.
• Assisting the chairman of the board in the preparation and conduct of meetings

She also pointed out that the DCA programme in Stamford College is the only programme in Malaysia where the students are given the most number of exemptions.

For ICSA graduates wishing to pursue a post-graduate qualification, Mrs Ngu said that they could do the MBA in Corporate Governance which is offered by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

Finally, she explained how the students could acquire an ICSA qualification using the DCA route which covered the following:

• The number of exemptions given on completion of the DCA programme.
• The need to pass the Business Strategies paper in order to qualify for the PDCA qualification and to proceed to the next level which is the IQS.
• How to become a member.
• When and where the ICSA examinations are held.
• Schedule of fees – membership registration and examination.

The students and staff raised a number of questions and found the workshop very informative and useful. Mrs Ngu passed some useful brochures and handouts on the Membership and Examination Fees and Schedule, Business Strategies Syllabus and Reading list as well as the ICSA pathway to the students and staff.

Refreshments were served at the end of the workshop which ended at 5 pm. The lecturers, staff and students thanked Mrs Ngu for conducting an informative and memorable workshop

Malacca IPT Sports Carnival 2013

On 3 March 2013, the Malacca State Government with the collaboration of Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) organized the Malacca IPT Sports Carnival. In conjunction with that, 32 IPTs took part in the carnival. Stamford College Malacca (SCM) participated in 14 events. SCM’s staff were involved in the events as committee members and team managers. The carnival was held at UTeM and the Malacca International Bowling Centre (MIBC), Ayer Keroh, from 8.00 am to 7.00 pm. SCM Night Organising committee members took that opportunity to operate a food stall to collect funds for the SCM Night. SCM Basketball team won the silver medal. Mr. K. Narayanasamy gave away the medals during the prize-giving ceremony to all winners, as SCM was the organiser of the basketball tournament in the carnival.

Male basketball players

Female basketball players

SCM basketball players