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UMT invites community to explore underwater world

UMT invites community to explore underwater world

Thursday, 16/06/2022

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Kuala Nerus, 12 Jun 2022 – Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) is currently organizing its World Oceans Week (WOW) for this year, with the theme “A World Under the Sea: Stories from the South China Sea”, in conjunction with the World Oceans Day (WOD) celebration observed on 8 June each year.

WOD’s main aim is to have all citizens in the world appreciate the oceans’ contributions to humans and the environment, while at the same time finding ways to conserve the oceans for a better future for the next generations.

UMT’s WOW celebration had already begun on 6 June at Batu Buruk Beach. The programme was continued with the holding of RRC@INOS Open Day 2022 until 16 June. The event that is facilitated by the Reference and Repository Centre at the Institute of Oceanography and Environment (INOS) is intended to provide the community and school students with the opportunity to explore the underwater world.

“RRC was established to showcase the marine-related discoveries whereby specimens are systematically kept and managed, allowing learning and knowledge transfer regarding the specimens studied by researchers to take place,” said UMT Vice Chancellor Professor Dato’ Dr. Mazlan Abd Ghaffar.” Historically, RRC was formed in 2004 as Biodiversity Museum.”

Per Professor Mazlan, the research, knowledge discoveries, knowledge transfer, and knowledge sharing at UMT is focused on an aquatic ecosystem and environment, since UMT’s niche is marine science and aquatic resources.

“Lecturers, researchers, and students at UMT will interact closely with the organisms and their environment to understand the ecological process and its influence on humans as well as the effects of human activities on the environment,” he said. “This requires the specimens, be they animals, plants, soil, or sediments to be brought back and kept as references or to be further studied.”

“This is where RRC plays an important role, where it keeps the specimens in their original forms for future use,” he added.

Professor Mazlan also said that most species from Malaysia are currently kept at repositories in neighbouring countries, Europe, and America, which means that a great deal of information on Malaysia’s treasures is in foreign countries.

Thus, RRC is providing an important service to the country by acting as a library that keeps all physical evidence of Malaysia’s diverse nature. Many scientific papers based on the specimens kept at RRC have been published.

RRC aims to create an interactive and fun learning platform for students, youths, even adults. With this, RRC hopes the public will be more aware of its existence and its functions to the society and the country, and its potential to become a world-renowned marine reference and repository centre.

Activities held during RRC@INOS Open Day 2022 provide added value to everyone, especially students and the community. RRC is also open for visits by students and the community any other day.

Meanwhile, INOS Director Professor Ts. Dr. Mohd Fadzil Mohd Akhir said that presently RRC has almost 50,000 specimens comprising zoological (animals), botanical (plants), geological (sediments and fossils), and genomical (for genetic studies).

There are also 70 specimens categorized as type specimens, which are used to name new species in science. All the specimens are valued at almost RM7.5 million.

He also said that specimen and data management at RRC adhere to the international practice based on the National Park Service (USA) format, and this format is being used by many nature museums in various countries. RRC has also upgraded its database and is currently using Proficio software, the same software used by the Smithsonian Institution, USA.

Helping UMT organize the programme are two agencies, Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) and UNIQLO. SOA is a global community consisting of youths, entrepreneurs, experts, and researchers, all working together to solve ocean-related issues.

UNIQLO, a Japanese clothing company, is also willing to be involved in the campaign to create more awareness among the Terengganu community towards the importance of maintaining marine environment sustainability. In addition to sponsoring RRC@INOS Open Day, UNIQLO also donated a Plastic Upcycling machine for plastic recycling.

UMT is ready to collaborate with UNIQLO for improvement in all aspects, such as reducing carbon footprint in the clothing and fashion industry.

Also present during the officiating of WOW were representatives from UNIQLO Malaysia and SOA, UMT principal officers, school students, and the local community.

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Corporate Communication Office
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu