Inspection Visit: Ventilation Piping of the Chemical Cabinet at the CREG Laboratory

Last week, I was approached to assist and provide professional advice regarding the ventilation piping system of the chemical cabinet at the CREG Laboratory. The request was made following the advice of Dr. Kamarizan Kidam, the Safety Head at the Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, who emphasized the need for a Professional Engineer to inspect and provide input on the matter. After agreeing on the date and time, I arrived at the lab as scheduled today (3 pm after Friday prayer).

This laboratory holds a special place in my journey at UTM, as it was the first lab I worked in—initially as a Research Assistant in 1999, then a Research Officer in 2000, followed by my Master’s studies from 2001 to 2002, and later as a PhD student from 2009 to 2013. Because of this long-standing connection, I felt a deep sense of responsibility and urgency to contribute and help.

Upon inspection, I observed that the overall condition of the lab remains largely unchanged. However, I noted that many critical components, including the fume hood, chemical cabinet, ducting system, ventilation fans, and electrical systems, are aging and require attention. Most notably, the ducting system is in urgent need of an upgrade to ensure full compliance with current laws and safety regulations. While there is a strong intent to make these improvements, cost remains a significant challenge.

Following a discussion with the lab team, I offered several preliminary recommendations. These include:

  • Engaging a qualified consultant to conduct a full technical assessment and provide expert recommendations.
  • Performing a site visit to the recently upgraded Faculty of Science laboratory, which has implemented a new ducting and stack system, to learn from their setup and vendor engagement.

These initial steps will help the team formulate a clearer upgrade strategy that is both compliant and feasible within their budget constraints.

Earlier the same day, I attended the Jawatankuasa Tetap Senat (Penyelidikan & Inovasi) Meeting (Bil. 3/2025) held at Dewan Senat, UTM, which commenced at 9.00 a.m. and concluded at 11.45 a.m. The meeting involved the discussion and approval of several important planning documents and policy papers.

A key highlight of the session was the deliberation on budget planning for research and innovation activities within the university. The chair addressed the ongoing challenges of sustaining UTM’s status as a Research University, especially in the face of reduced financial allocations compared to previous years. Strategic measures and prioritization frameworks were discussed to ensure that research excellence and impact can still be upheld despite the budgetary constraints.


Other tasks of the day:

  • Updating the JKPD LPB and agenda for the upcoming meeting this coming Monday.
  • Evening discussion with my MKKL Master student – ALCOA+ in pharmaceutical industries.
  • Getting an update on our staff visit to SPRM yesterday.
  • Checking the copyright document made by my postdoc.

#20242025 Day 011

#Friday

Plastic Wastes from the West is Poisoning Our Neighbour Indonesia!

Indonesia has become a dumping ground for plastic from Australia, Europe and North America. The waste is burned as fuel by local communities, causing respiratory illness and other long-term health problems for people who inhale the polluted smoke. Research shows pollutants have contaminated Indonesia’s food chain. This situation must be stop urgently. As a neighbour to Indonesia, we must be extra alert before our country gets similar punishment. This is because Malaysia is also presently a trash dumping ground from other modern countries.

Continue reading by clicking the link below:

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/12/plastic-waste-indonesia-pollution-health

Issue: Malaysia losing more tech talents to Singapore on better opportunities

LOCAL talents in the technology sectors are moving to Singapore for better opportunities especially for start-up companies, industry experts say.

Alsid technical director for Asia Pacific and Japan Kenneth Teo said the maturity of the tech industry in Singapore provides a fertile ground for startups to flourish.

“Both Malaysia and Singapore are attractive for new start-ups to establish their bases. However, I see a better business opportunity in Singapore because businesses are more willing to invest in new technology and government policies have made it easier for start-ups to thrive,” Teo told The Malaysian Reserve in a recent interview.

Teo added that from his experience, companies in Singapore are more willing in adopting new technology, while its neighbours usually adopt a ‘wait-and-see’ approach, thus hindering early progress for tech firms.

Although lower tax for companies in Singapore could be one of the reasons for the move, he does not think that it plays a significant part.

“I don’t think companies were drawn in to Singapore just because the tax is lower. It is good to have many benefits, but business competitiveness and maturity are more important.

Complete article can be read from the following link: https://themalaysianreserve.com/2019/09/26/malaysia-losing-more-tech-talents-to-singapore-on-better-opportunities/

Beban Tugas Staf Akademik

UTM has developed a tool / system called Beban Tugas Staf Akademik (BTAS) which can be accessed via my.utm.my portal. This tool is imperative in assessing the work load for an academician serving the university. Following is my BTAS score for 2017. At the moment, the system is showing the data for 2017. I hope in future, the system can be improved and show other years as well.

 

Control of Industrial Major Hazard (CIMAH) Modular Package Workshop

First task of the day is the workshop of Control of Industrial Major Hazard (CIMAH) Modular Package, which was held for one day in IFOG Meeting Room, N29A. Participants of the workshop include Hj Arshad, En. Adha, Dr. Kamarizan and myself. It is our main goal to develop a quality CIMAH Module for the nation. InsyaAllah.

Simple Act to Help, Do your Part…

Zuhair, a final year chemical engineering student from my faculty shared a simple yet informative information about 8 hazardous chemicals detected a Sim Sim river, Pasir Gudang, Johor.

He prepared the notes in Bahasa Malaysia to help dwellers in affected areas (and others) know, learn and aware about the tremendous danger from the chemicals.

What Zuhair has done yesterday was spot on when there was no proper explanation or elaboration on the 8 hazardous chemicals explained publicly in a simple version, which could be clearly understood by normal people.

His notes was shared and viraled, and detected by a local newspaper. The newspaper published his notes. It can be seen in the link below:

https://www.gpsbestari.com/…/bekas-pelajar-smk-sungai-tiram…

Well done Zuhair Ozil 🙂

For the rest of us, lets contribute whatever we can… such as…

– Solat hajat & prayers
– Donations (money, time, energy, food etc)
– Knowledge & expertise
– Volunteer work of any kind
– Advice, suggestions etc formally to authority
– or anything to help…

In short, lets hope and pray all the best for Pasir Gudang speedy recovery.

In a different note, we condemned the massive terrorist attact in New Zealand earlier today. May Allah protect us all. Amin.

#prayforpasirgudang
#chemicalengineeringutm
#safetyfirst
#chemicalengineeringworld

Process Safety Consideration in Palm Oil Industry Training

Join me in this training. I strongly believe this is the first of such training in Johor.


Waste Water Treatment Talk and Hands On by Chemopharm

Today we had this “Waste Water Treatment Talk and Hands On” by Chemopharm at our Visiting Professor’s Room. The talk was attended by mostly postgraduate students and postdocs. They presented about the new technology on the waste water treatment plant (WWTP) industry as well as the latest tools to measure important parameters in the WWTP.


Officiating EngineFest 2018 Organized by IEM UTM Student Chapter

It’s an honour to officiate our Junior / Student Institute Engineer Malaysia (IEM) Chapter program last Saturday (5th May 2018). The program is held every year, but from what we were informed, the programs and activities vary from year to year. This round, the program was held at Faculti Alam Bina (Architecture Faculty) in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

Some of the contests were Water Rocket Challenge, building bridges from spaghetti string, submarine competition and many more. It’s amazingly interesting to see the efforts, joy, spirit, commitment as well as the creativity and innovation of the students (committee and participants).  In my speech, I wish that this event can be continuously organized in future to encourage and entice our younger generation to embrace science, technology and engineering. InsyaAllah.


Code of Ethics For Engineer Talk to our 1st Year Chemical Engineering Students


Code of Ethics For Engineer Talk to our First Year Chemical Engineering Students was delivered on a Wednesday afternoon (22nd November 2017). There was about 150 students in the DK5 hall in N11a.