UMS student receives sustainability award
KOTA KINABALU: Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Hoo Pui Kiat has been awarded the Freezailah Forest Sustainability Award 2018 for his thesis ‘Comparison of tree diversity and species composition across a multi land use and tree diversity carbon relationship in Luasong, Sabah.’
His research indicated that human modified land use can cause negative impact on tree diversity, changes in species composition and carbon stock.
He received RM2,000 in cash and a certificate of achievement from the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC).
Hoo, when receiving the award said that he was happy to be awarded the Freezailah Forest Sustainability Award.
“It is a great honour and will definitely motivate me and strengthen my resolve to do my part to contribute and promote sustainability in Malaysia. I hope all Malaysians will do likewise as forests are so important and crucial to our lives and wellbeing,” he said.
He added that the future of sustainability lies in the hands of the future generations.
“In this regard, we must do our part in preparing and engaging our next generation so that they will be able to see and embrace our vision for full implementation of sustainable forest management in Malaysia,” he said.
“Engaging them at the university level while they are young and eager to learn, promoting academic excellence and raising awareness of their shared responsibility in this endeavor is definitely a significant step in the right direction,” he said.
Meanwhile, the award is geared at promoting academic excellence and inculcating the love for the forests amongst university students.
MTCC has been collaborating with the Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, UMS in jointly determining the worthy recipient of the award.
“The Freezailah Forest Sustainability Award, named after MTCC founder chairman Dato Dr Freezailah Che Yeom, aims to recognize the achievement of outstanding students and to spur other students to pursue academic excellence in their respective fields of studies. This award is given to graduating students with the best academic achievement and a final year project thesis that meets the prescribed quality and a scope of study,” said MTCC CEO Yong Teng Koon.