IEM Training Centre to have green building features according to GBI

Another green building in the making?

The IEM Training Centre in Kota Kinabalu (KKIP) is expected to be completed by the end of 2013, and it will have both passive and active features of green building according to the Green Building Index, GBI rating system.

According to the rating system, buildings will be awarded the GBI rating based on 6 key criteria:

1. Energy Efficiency (EE)
2. Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ)
3. Sustainable Site Planning & Management (SM)
4. Material and Resources (MR)
5. Water Efficiency (WE)
6. Innovation (IN)

According to IEM Sabah branch chairman, Ir. Lo Chong Chiun, the centre at the KKIP will have a 2-storey 16,000 square foot building comprising 6 classrooms and one auditorium. The building was planned to be utilised for capacity building and continuing professional development (CPD) at both the professional and sub-professional level.

Continuing professional education is important in view that the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) is in the midst of drafting amendment to the Registration of Engineers Acts with the indentation of accrediting, empowering, and at the same time regulating the sub-professionals to ensure specified quality and standard.

On the issue of globalisation, BEM had already made amendments to the Registration of Engineers Act to accommodate the liberalisation of professional engineering services and a road show of the amended Engineers Act 2012 would be held on Monday, November 5, 2012 at The Pacific Sutera, Kota Kinabalu.

Myself and few other colleagues will be attending the seminar entitled "Proposed Amendments to The Registration of Engineers Act 1967 due to Liberalisation"


The Green Mechanics: The setting up of a training centre is timely and is in line with one of the key result areas on human capital development. Making the centre a green building (well, almost) is a good gesture from the engineers towards preserving mother nature.

Let's hope that more private/government bodies and individuals will emulate such effort.

Download: Borang Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia - BR1M 2.0

Selaras dengan pengumuman kerajaan berkenaan pengagihan bantuan rakyat 1Malaysia, BR1M kali kedua, borang permohonan boleh didapati secara online di laman web Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri.

Muat-turun borang (PDF) anda di sini: Borang Permohonan BR1M 2.0 (Borang BK-01 [1/2012] )

Borang BR1M 2.0

Borang ini lebih kurang sama dengan borang BR1M sebelum ini, BK-01[1/2011] tetapi telah dikemaskini untuk memasukkan tandanama BR1M 2.0 dan syaray-syarat tambahan.

Permohonan yang sudah dilengkapkan boleh dihantar bermula kelmarin, November 1, 2012 ke semua pusat-pusat pengagihan borang yang telah diwartakan.


Syarat-syarat yang sangat mudah

Syarat kelayakan permohonan BR1M 2.0 (dipetik dari muka depan Borang BR1M 2.0):

1. Warganegara Malaysia
2. Lelaki atau perempuan yang menjadi ketua kepada isi rumah / ahli yang tinggal serumah dengan jumlah pendapatan kasar bulanan isi rumah RM3,000 dan ke bawah
3. Warga emas sebatang kara (berumur 60 tahun dan ke atas) dengan jumlah pendapatan kasar bulanan RM3,000 dan ke bawah
4. Bujang yang berumur 21 tahun dan ke atas dengan jumlah pendapatan kasar bulanan RM2,000 dan ke bawah
5. Tidak termasuk pelajar yang menerima Baucar Buku 1Malaysia
6. Sila kemukakan salinan MyKad / Kad Polis / Kad Tentera.

Sedikit nasihat: Sekiranya anda memenuhi mana-mana syarat mudah di atas, dan anda mempunyai soalan lanjut mengenai sama ada permohonan anda berkemungkinan ditolak, jangan berlengah. Kemukakan saja permohonan anda! Biar sistem yang menentukan layak tidaknya.

Anda juga boleh juga mendapatkan borang di semua Pejabat Daerah, kaunter LHDN, pejabat Jabatan Pembangunan Persekutuan, dan bagi anda yang tinggal berdekatan Kota Kinabalu dan Luyang, difahamkan LHDN ada membuka kaunter setempat di pejabat DBKK dan dewan DBKK Damai, Luyang.

Untuk pertanyaan, anda boleh menghubungi PUSAT KHIDMAT PELANGGAN (Nombor toll-free):

 1-800-88-5436

Selamat mengisi poket borang!

Microsoft says: Kids get on the phone well before starting school

Is your child one of them? Well, you are not alone. Microsoft says that young kids are learning how to use the phone (esp. smartphones) before their 3rd birthday!

I think it is a fair assessment.


Read the article from MIS Asia:
Kids get on the phone well before starting school: Microsoft

Children are learning how to use a smartphone before they can even spell their name or have started school, according to new research from Microsoft which shows many children are playing with their smartphones before they have started school or even learnt to spell their own name. Young kids are mainly playing with phones for games and entertainment, with 57 per cent of parents who have children under five years reporting that their child started playing with their phone before their fifth birthday and 37 per cent stating their child did so before their third birthday.

The survey, developed with Galaxy Research, found that 67 per cent of Australian parents allow their young children to play with their smartphones for entertainment and admitted it was a way to keep them occupied. The research also highlighted the need for smartphones to now be 'kid proofed', with one in three parents reporting some sort of mishap with young children using their smartphone, including accidentally changing settings, deleting contacts, making calls or downloading content their parents did not want them to access.

The research comes as Microsoft officially unveiled Windows Phone 8 yesterday, the latest version of the company's smartphone operating system, and the world's most personal Smartphone. It includes an in-built Kid's Corner, a child-friendly environment where kids can play the games, music or videos they like without the risk of accessing parents' private information. Microsoft's research found parents are looking for a way to better manage their child's phone use, with 55% saying they would like more control over the content their child can access. Two in three parents said they would consider a feature that allows them to restrict or monitor the content their child can access on their smartphone.

"As a parent I know that children love to play with smartphones for the games, music and entertainment, and for the most part its good fun," Microsoft Australia Windows Phone Business Group Lead, Megan Howard, said.

"That is, until they decide to text message your boss on your behalf or find the factory reset button on your phone! From settings, I can create my Kid's Corner and then pick their favourite games, input some music or videos and choose some appropriate Apps to keep them entertained."

"Then, from a locked phone, I simply open it by swiping open across, as opposed to up, and I have access to Kid's Corner. I enter into a safer environment where my children can even customise their corner to give it a name and change the theme colour. "They can rearrange and resize tiles to personalise their Start Screen so it's unique for them."


Source: MIS-Asia