Dr Chai looks on as Dr Ong presents a cheque to a representative of D’Wira Child Care Centre founder Jap Siew Moi.
KUCHING: Chemists in Sarawak wishing to be registered with the Malaysian Institute of Chemistry (IKM) no longer need to travel to Kuala Lumpur anymore to sit for the Malaysia Institute Chemistry Licentiate (LMIC) course.
This is because IKM Sarawak branch will be holding the LMIC course starting May next year at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) campus.
IKM Sarawak branch chairman Dr Alvin Chai Lian Kuet said this course, in collaboration with IKM headquarters is opened to all non-chemist graduates and senior laboratory assistants who wish to become an IKM registered chemist.
“There is a need to conduct the course here in Sarawak as there are many senior laboratory assistants and professionals (engineers, biotechnologists, forensic scientists) who are non-registered chemists working in the chemical laboratories.
“They need the LMIC membership in order to sign the chemical test reports. This is the requirement under the Chemist Act 1975.
“All this while, this four-month course has been conducted in Kuala Lumpur. Participants from Sarawak need to travel to Kuala Lumpur during weekends to attend this course. This has caused financial burdens to the participants and organisations which have sponsored them,” he said.
He added the LMIC course in Kuching will be conducted by a team of experienced Unimas lecturers over the weekends. “The course will start in May and ends in August. IKM Sarawak will send out flyers to members and organisations in January 2015,” he said again.
Dr Chai also reminded chemists interested to join IKM to contact him at [email protected], or Hazalinawati at [email protected] or Haneefa Aniza Hassan ([email protected]).
On another matter, Dr Chai said IKM Sarawak had recently organised Chemistry Night 2014 at a leading hotel here which was officiated by IKM president Datuk Dr Ong Eng Long. Newly registered IKM chemists in 2013 and 2014 were also invited to the dinner.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of Chemistry Excellence Awards and prize money to students who have excelled in Chemistry in 2013 at SPM, STPM, Bachelor Degree and Master Degree levels.
Leading the award recipients was Dayang Nurul Qhalila Baling from Unimas who won RM400 for her master thesis on ‘Biochars from sago effluent and the applications’.
Dr Chai also announced that in 2015, IKM Sarawak plans to have two new activities including to sponsor four identified needy students at the ‘D’Wira Child Care Centre until they finish their secondary education.