Perasmian UiTM Kampus Balik Pulau

Tahukah anda bahawa Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) adalah universiti awam terbesar di Malaysia (dengan lebih 40,000 pelajar di kampus utamanya di Shah Alam sahaja atau hampir 120,000 pelajar semuanya di rangkaiannya di seluruh negara) ? Dan sejarah awalnya ialah bermula dari sebuah "Dewan Latehan (RIDA)" hampir setahun sebelum kemerdekaan negara lagi dan kemudiannya sebuah "Maktab MARA" (1965-67) sebelum menjadi "Institut Teknologi MARA" pada penghujung tahun 60-an, dan terkini sebuah entiti berstatus universiti sejak 26 OGOS 1999.

Saya sendiri hanya mengetahui tentang predesesor UiTM setakat ITM yakni seawal dekad 80-an apabila kakak saya mendaftarkan diri untuk program Ijazah "Art & Design" (Senireka & Senilukis) - antara program ijazah pertama ketika itu semasa ITM lebih tertumpu kepada kursus-kursus diploma. Pertamanya beliau ditempatkan di Arau (cawangan ketiga tertua UiTM yang ditubuhkan asalnya di Kangar pada tahun 1974, dan kemudiannya berpindah ke Arau pada 1980), dan seterusnya bersambung ke kampus utama di Shah Alam, yang mana saya sempat juga melawat ketika itu.

Kini, UiTM "mempunyai sebanyak 15 buah kampus cawangan, 9 kampus kota, 3 kampus satelit dan 21 buah kolej bersekutu, serta sebuah kampus pintar yang bakal didirikan. Dengan tenaga kerja seramai kira-kira 15, 000 orang dalam satu rangkaian yang besar, universiti ini menawarkan lebih daripada 300 buah program akademik..." - UiTM

Tentang UiTM dari WikiPedia:

Sejarah Universiti Teknologi MARA bermula sebagai Dewan Latihan RIDA yang beroperasi mulai November 1956 di Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Dewan Latihan ini ditubuhkan bertujuan sebagai pusat percubaan menawarkan kursus persediaan untuk remaja luar bandar aliran Inggeris. RIDA yang merupakan kependekan Rural and Industrial Development Authority, dibentuk pada tahun 1950 untuk membantu menaik taraf ekonomi penduduk bumiputera. Dewan Latehan ini merupakan inspirasi Dato' Onn bin Ja'afar, hasil dari lawatannya ke Ceylon (sekarang Sri Lanka), pada tahun 1951.

Tidak lama kemudian, iaitu pada bulan Jun 1965, Dewan Latehan RIDA diletakkan di bawah Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), dan namanya ditukar kepada MaktabOktober 1967, Maktab MARA ini mendapat nama baru Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM). MARA. Maktab ini terus berkembang hingga menjadi unit terpenting dalam Bahagian Latihan MARA, hinggalah pada 14 Oktober 1967, Maktab MARA ini mendapat nama baru Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM).

Seterusnya pada tahun 1996, ITM telah dinaik taraf menjadi sebuah universiti. Namun begitu, namanya tidak ditukar hinggalah pada 26 Ogos 1999, Institut Teknologi MARA dengan rasminya dinamakan Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).

UiTM mempunyai 2 buah lagu iaitu "UiTM Di Hatiku" dan "Wawasan Setia Warga UiTM".

UiTM juga adalah satu-satunya universiti di Malaysia yang mempunyai cawangan di setiap negeri termasuk Sabah dan Sarawak, yang mana kampus negerinya yang pertama ialah di Sabah pada tahun 1973 sebelum Perlis pada tahun berikutnya.

Kampus UiTM di Balik Pulau yang akan dirasmikan esok, 30 JANUARI 2011 di lokasi sementaranya di Kompleks Balik Pulau, Pekan Kongsi, akan menjadi sebahagian daripada Kampus Cawangan Pulau Pinang (ditubuhkan di Permatang Pauh, Seberang Perai pada 1996). Kampus tersebut telahpun mula beroperasi seawal JULAI 2010 menempatkan para pelajar pra-diploma yang diberi penginapan di kampus Permatang Pauh UiTM Pulau Pinang - beberapa bas UiTM dapat dilihat setiap hari pengajian membawa pelajar-pelajar tersebut ke Balik Pulau.

Orang ramai dijemput ke Majlis Perasmian Kampus Balik Pulau UiTM Cawangan Pulau Pinang yang akan disempurnakan oleh Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (JPM), YB Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop pada jam 9 pagi. Makan tengahari akan disediakan untuk semua ahli masyarakat yang hadir.

Bermulalah era baru Balik Pulau sebagai hab pendidikan tinggi....

SUMBANGAN BAKTI disampaian oleh DPS ROSMAH MANSOR

27hb Januari 2011, Pulau Betong - Datin Seri Paduka Rosmah Mansor telah melawat Pusat Sokongan ACS Stepping Stone untuk menyerahkan sumbangan kepada badan-badan kebajikan bukan kerajaan (NGO) Pulau Pinang yang terdiri daripada :

1. ACS First Step Intervention Centre
2. ACS Jom Mobile Toy Libary
3. Pertubuhan Rumah Kebajikan Seri Cahaya Pulau Pinang
4. Lion Resource & Education for Autistic Children
5. Bold Association for Children with Special Needs, Penang
6. LaSalle Learning Centre
7. Pertubuhan Kebajikan dan Kemajuan Sosial Pulau Pinang (Each One Teach One)
8. Mental Health Assocition of Penang (2 Way Centre)
9. Pusat Pendidikan Autisme Pulau Pinang
10. Pusat Harian Harapan Bakti, Balik Pulau
11. Pusat Harian Tunas Harapan PEKTAS, Butterworth
12. Persatuan Kebajikan Kanak-kanak Terencat Akal Seberang Perai Tengah
13. Persatuan Kebajikan Sinar Ceria, Bukit Mertajam
14. Pusat Harian Seri Murni, Nibong Tebal
15. Rumah Kesayangan, Bukit Mertajam
16. Pusat Intervensi NASOM, Butterworth
17. Handicapped Children's Centre Penang
18. Persatuan Down Syndrome Pulau Pinang
19. The Spastic Children's Assoiciation of Penang
20. Eden Handicap Service Centre
21. Penang Cheshire Home
22. St. Nicholas Home, Penang
23. Pusat Majudiri Y for the Deaf
24. Women's Centre for Change
25. The Lighthouse for the Homeless
26. Pusat Perlindungan Kanak-kanak, Pulau Pinang
27. Wisma Yatim Lelaki Islam
28. Wisma Yatim Perempuan Islam
29. Ramakrishna Ashrama, Penang
30. St. Joseph's Home
31. Salvation Army Penang Children's Home
32. Pure Lotus Hospice of Compassion (Children Palliative Care)
33. Penang Hospice Society
34. Rumah Sejahtera Permatang Tinggi, Seberang Perai Tengah
35. Darul Hanan Pulau Pinang, Kepala Batas.

Sebanyak  RM RM 392,941,04 telah diperuntukkan kepada badan-badan yang berkenaan.

Surat habaq Balik Pulau dah mai dah...

Gempaq saja... bukan suratkhabar, tapi makalah informasi "myBalikPulau" setebal 12 mukasurat membawa kisar tentang Balik Pulau yang baru segar dalam distribusi sekitar Pulau Pinang mahupun ke luar.

myBalikPulau ini adalah terbitan sulung badan NGO Persatuan Pendidikan Seni Pulau Pinang (ARTS-ED) yang berpusat di George Town, Pulau Pinang, mengumpulkan hasil-hasil karya puluhan sukarelawan muda berusia antara 10 hingga 20 tahun.

Makalah ini bertujuan untuk menyingkap rahsia-rahsia pekan-pekan kecil dan perkampungan sekitar Balik Pulau melalui sejarah-sejarah dari penulisan dan orang-orang lama berkaitan budaya, seni bina dan ekonomi penduduknya dari sewal abad ke-17. Isu sulung kali ini bagaimanapun menumpukan hanya Pekan Kongsi termasuk fokus senibina rumah kedai, sekolah-sekolah dan rumah-rumah ibadat berdekatan 'roundabout'.

Makalah yang diterbitkan dalam dua edisi berlainan bahasa yakni Melayu dan Inggeris ini boleh didapati daripada beberapa pusat sumber sekitar Balik Pulau dan luar termasuk di Perpustakaan Cawangan Balik Pulau dan Pusat Internet Desa Balik Pulau.

Gambar: Pengurus PID Balik Pulau, Siti Huraizah, dengan sekeping naskah myBalikPulau.

Aidil Adha di Kg Jalan Baru...

By Nur Aimidiyana Zuher

PENANG, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- The homestay holiday programme is nothing new only that each progamme is unique.

The homestays offer a different experience altogether, other than the beautiful panorama of nature and cottage products.

Recently the writer had the opportunity to participate in the homestay programme organised by RM Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd, and the Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) with the cooperation of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) for a three day two night stay in Kampung Jalan Baru, Balik Pulau, in Penang.

Kampung Jalan Baru located not far from seashore is a Malay village that still maintains Malay customs and traditions, and the green environment.

The programme is part of the Rail Tourism promoted by the Tourism Ministry, with 29 media representatives and tour operators in the group starting off from KL Sentral and reaching Butterworth six hours later using Express Rakyat.

Obviously the participants were excited especially on the opportunity to board the 'leisure coach'.

Aboo Hassan Maiden, an officer with the marketing unit of KTMB Inter City noted that: "The leisure coach can accommodate 36 passengers and is equipped with a PA system and a karaoke set where passengers can seek entertainment throughout the journey."

CELEBRATING AIDILAHDA DURING HOMESTAY

As for the writer, getting on the train with the group was nostalgic especially when the last train ride was quite a while ago.

Throughout the journey to Kampung Jalan Baru the green view accompanied the writer and the thought how the group is going to be received appeared repeatedly.

Exactly at 12.30 midnight the group arrived in Kampung Jalan Baru. The grand welcome accompanied by kompang beats and the bunga manggar made the group forget that they were tired. The writer was touched by the villager's gesture to wait for the group late at night though it was the eve of Aidildha.

SACRIFICE

The `takbir' or the chanting of Allah's name at the break of dawn was an unforgettable experience, what more when it was the first time the writer celebrated Aidiladha in a village that she was new to.

By 8 am about 20 villagers were carrying out the sacrifice of eight cattle.

Zainol Ahmad, the coordinator for the Kampung Jalan Baru homestay and the village headman, noted that the sacrifice ritual is carried out collectively.

The meat is then taken to the mosque to be cooked and distributed to the 315 houses in the village.

By the second day, the host family felt like own family and their wonderful hospitality made the writer feel right like at home.

The sumptuous kampung spread for lunch was too tempting to the extent that the writer forgot that she was on a diet. The kampung fare like sour and spicy sting ray (asam pedas ikan pari), chicken curry, mixed vegetables, fried sting ray and soy sauce tasted delicious.

Meanwhile Mahadiah Salleh, 69, or affectionately called Tok Ngah said the menu was prepared using condiments that she ground herself to ensure better taste and aroma.

The group also spent some time visiting the cottage industries in the village, among others the making of kuih bahulu, bedak sejuk (wet facial powder) and paper crafts.

For kuih bahulu entrepreneur Puan Faridah Ali, 42, she has been in the business for the last eight years and records sales between RM1,000 and 1,500 monthly.

"The kuih bahulu in north is different from the ones found elsewhere and it is soft and tastier, and moreover I don't keep them for long and only make them when there are orders," she said.

Have anyone tried wet powder added with sea cucumber, aloe vera, rambai skin extract or goat's milk?. If not Kampung Jalan Baru is the right place to source them.

While watching how the bedak sejuk is made the writer got to know the person behind the venture, Zaimah Jamaluddin, 34.

The idea to make the bedak sejuk cropped up when Zaimah visited her relatives in Kedah.

The Bedak sejuk is sold between RM2 and RM 3.50 and Zaimah is now planning to come up with bedak sejuk using cinammon that can help treat scars and acne.

PAPER CRAFT

Other than this, the writer also had the opportunity to see how old newspapers are used to make beautiful baskets or vases.

According to Penang Tourism Director, Jamie Yeoh, the homestay programme in the village is among the nine in the state.

"The unique offering here is the Balik Pulau durian, which comes into season from May to July," she said.

Jamie said this homestay programme that started in 2007 is expected to see between 5,000 and 10,000 visitors next year.

"We are in the process of encouraging homestay operators to come up with their own website, facebook and blogs to help promote their homestays, apart from the Ministry's official portal www.go2homestay.com," she said to Bernama.

Meanwhile, the advisor to Penang's Homestay Advisor Muhamad Farid Saad noted that the collective participation of the villagers will help boost the homestay offering and put their village in the tourism map.

"They not only can earn income from their home but also from cottage products, including seafood and agriculture," he said.

-- BERNAMA: A Memorable Homestay Experience In Kampung Jalan Baru (20 DEC 2010)

For whom are Balik Pulau homes?

WITH its idyllic villages and sprawling fields, Balik Pulau has always been known as the quiet, rustic side of Penang island, fortified by green hills from the hustle and bustle of George Town and other urban areas.

But anyone who thought that the cost of living and housing in this mostly agricultural area would still be relatively low would do well to think again. Since the end of the 90s, developers have descended on the area, making it a target for luxury and medium-cost projects, due mainly to the scarcity of land in other developed parts of the island.

And today, housing in Balik Pulau is probably some of the most expensive in the country for rural and semi-rural areas – with prices ranging between RM300,000 and nearly a million per unit.

The high prices have come about so suddenly that they have raised the ire of locals, many of whom contend that the projects are targeted mostly for people outside the area.

The situation climaxed recently in a livid diatribe by the MP for Balik Pulau, Yusmadi Yusoff, who said that residents of the district have become "mere spectators" as luxury housing projects way beyond their means crop up around them.

Yusmadi’s echoing of the concerns of Balik Pulau residents rings true of the overall housing situation on the island which is today flooded with projects whose prices are best described as "astronomical". The situation has been one of the key issues to be raised by the new generation of young state legislators.

Yusmadi’s colleague, Sim Tze Tzin, the assemblyman for Pantai Jerejak, called on the authorities and developers to build more affordable and livable homes.

"It is a trend that developers are building homes way beyond the means of the general population," said Sim, a member of the state housing committee. "Young working adults find it difficult to even afford a home."

The concerns are not far-fetched. Many projects that take up precious space in the limited land banks of the island are targeted at foreigners and wealthy Malaysians. In Batu Ferringhi, for example, a vast tract of forest on a hill was cleared some years back for Mediterranean-style villas priced in the millions; and snapped up mainly by foreigners.

The situation has spiralled so much that housing in Penang has generally become the most expensive for any state in the country. Link houses on the island are selling for RM600,000 each and above, while condominiums are sold for a minimum RM400,000 with many costing at least half a million.

"It is, without the slightest doubt, beyond the means of around 70% of Penangites," says Sim who, like Yusmadi, is himself in his 30s. He said developers continue to build three-storey "super-link" houses, semi-detached units and bungalows where "prices are astronomical".

"However, these homes are selling like hot cakes and driving the prices higher and higher."

And so what the state needs, Sim insists, are more homes between the range of RM100,000 and RM300,000, which are affordable and, he emphasises, have good living environment, especially for young people.

What makes the issue even more pressing is that the official Penang Structure Plan has projected that by 2020, the state would require 180,500 new houses to fulfil the needs of the burgeoning population. And to achieve this there needs to be an average of 12,300 houses built yearly.

For Yusmadi, what is happening in Penang epitomises the dark shadow of housing that is bound to engulf the country. Malaysia, he says, requires a new national policy on property rights to safeguard its population against rising prices and "market excesses".

The question that dogs legislators like Yusmadi and Sim is why the authorities who exercise strict control over housing plans do nothing to look into the issue of pricing. It is a question many youngsters as well as middle and lower-income Penangites are left to wonder about as they find themselves surrounded in their own state by homes they can hardly afford.

Himanshu is theSun’s Penang bureau chief. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

SOURCE: the Sun Daily - Affordable homes remain a dream
Updated: 09:54AM Thu, 02 Sep 2010