by | Apr 17, 2019 | Public Lecture
Waste Management Through Anaerobic Digestion – Opportunities and Challenges from Malaysia’s Perspective
The waste management using anaerobic digestion (AD) not only help protect the environment but also produces useful biogas for energy production. For this regard, the interest in the AD process has increased rapidly worldwide, particularly in Malaysia. Depletion of fossil fuels and environmental deterioration has led to extensive research and development activities to explore renewable energy such as biogas generation from anaerobic digestion of waste for power generation. It has been proven to be a promising alternative to waste disposal and a valuable technology for renewable energy recovery. Although anaerobic digestion is proven to be a feasible and economically viable technology for renewable energy generation of wastes, there are challenges in implementing this technology in Malaysia. This presentation reviews the opportunities and challenges from Malaysia’s perspective the potential for biogas production from various wastewater treatment and waste management industries in Malaysia. It also discusses the benefits and barriers for anaerobic digestion technology deployment to harness the biogas energy potential to support the renewable energy target in Malaysia. In the past, the technical competence and high capital investment required for industrial-scale anaerobic digesters have limited their uptake, but recent advances have made smaller-scale systems more viable through a greater understanding of optimising bacterial metabolism and productivity. Broader issues such as life cycle assessment and energy policies to promote AD are also discussed. Moreover, the application of AD in palm oil mill’s in Malaysia has shown tremendous potential for electricity generation and emission avoidance. Biogas generated from AD of palm oil mill effluent (POME) can replace palm kernel shell and mesocarp fibre which has higher economic value as boiler fuel; upgraded to be used in the gas engine for power generation. This presentation also included the elaboration on the potential of POME as a source of renewable energy and the challenges faced by the palm oil mills in Malaysia which deter the development of biogas plants in the mill.
Pengurusan Sisa Secara Pencernaan Anaerobik – Peluang dan Cabaran dari Perspektif Malaysia
Pengurusan sisa menggunakan pencernaan anaerobik (AD) bukan sahaja membantu melindungi alam sekitar tetapi juga menghasilkan biogas yang berguna untuk menghasilkan tenaga. Menyedari kepentingan ini, pengunaan proses AD telah meningkat dengan pesat di seluruh dunia, terutamanya di Malaysia. Kekurangan bahan api fosil dan kemerosotan alam sekitar telah menjurus kepada aktiviti penyelidikan dan pembangunan yang meluas dalam bidang tenaga yang boleh diperbaharui seperti penjanaan biogas daripada pencernaan sisa anaerobik untuk penjanaan kuasa. Ia telah terbukti menjadi alternatif bagi pelupusan sisa dan teknologi yang berharga untuk pemulihan tenaga yang boleh diperbaharui. Walaupun proses anaerobik terbukti menjadi teknologi yang baik dan ekonomik, terdapat cabaran dalam melaksanakannya di Malaysia. Syarahan ini mengkaji peluang dan cabaran dari perspektif Malaysia mengenai penghasilan biogas dari pelbagai industri olahan air sisa dan pengurusan sisa di Malaysia. Ia juga membincangkan manfaat dan kekangan penggunaan teknologi ini dalam bidang tenaga biogas untuk membantu menyokong sasaran tenaga yang boleh diperbaharui di Malaysia. Di masa dahulu, kecekapan teknikal dan pelaburan modal yang tinggi telah menghadkan penggunaan rawatan anaerobik berskala industry. Namun begitu, perkembangan teknologi pada masa sekarang telah menjadikan sistem berskala kecil lebih berdaya maju melalui pemahaman yang lebih luas seperti mengoptimumkan metabolisme bakteria dan produktiviti. Isu yang lebih besar seperti penilaian kitaran hayat dan dasar tenaga untuk mempromosikan AD juga dibincangkan. Selain itu, penggunaan AD di kilang minyak kelapa sawit di Malaysia telah menunjukkan peningkatan yang tinggi dan berpotensi menjana elektrik. Biogas yang dijana dari AD untuk efluen kilang minyak kelapa sawit (POME) boleh menggantikan shell kernel kelapa sawit dan serat mesokarp yang mempunyai nilai ekonomi yang tinggi dan boleh dinaik taraf untuk digunakan dalam enjin gas untuk penjanaan kuasa. Syarahan ini juga merangkumi huraian mengenai potensi POME sebagai sumber tenaga boleh diperbaharui dan cabaran yang dihadapi oleh kilang minyak sawit di Malaysia.
by | Apr 17, 2019 | Public Lecture
Rural Planning for the Well-being of Society
Abstract
Since independence, rural development has always been considered as an important agenda for national development to address the state of poverty, deprivation, rural disadvantages and rural-urban disparity. Rural planning and development are main drivers to the sustainable process of economic, social, cultural and environmental change that enhance the well-being of rural society. This lecture examines the role of rural planning & development in achieving well- being of society. The first part of this lecture reviews the concepts of rural planning & development and paradigm shifts of rural development, influenced by the changes in development thoughts. It also reveals the experiences in Malaysia which shows several shifts of emphasis and approaches to rural planning and development such as from top-down approach to community empowerment, and from infrastructure development and economic centric to human centric. Rural development has tremendously reduced poverty and improved the well-being of the rural society. However, the persistent of imbalanced development due to the process of continuous urbanization in metropolitan regions has created new challenges from the depopulation of the rural areas.The second part of the lecture focuses on the contributions of the author in the field of rural planning and development. These include teaching, research, consultancy, publication, and community engagement. Efforts to enhance knowledge and experiences in rural planning and development were expedite through the establishment of the Rural Research and Planning Group that bring together local and international experts and practitioners to exhange knowledge, and experiences as well as establishing networkings and collaborations.The final part of the lecture present some suggestions and views with regard to rural planning and development pathways in the future. These include approaches to rural planning, research direction, development agenda and rural governance for achieving the long term well-being of rural society.
Perancangan Luar Bandar Untuk Kesejahteraan Masyarakat
Abstrak
Sejak mencapai kemerdekaan, pembangunan luar bandar telah menjadi agenda penting dalam pembangunan negara bagi menangani masalah kemiskinan, kekurangan, kelemahan dan jurang bandar-luar bandar. Perancangan dan pembangunan luar bandar menjadi teras kepada kelestarian proses transformasi ekonomi, sosial, budaya dan alam sekitar ke arah kesejahteraan masyarakat. Syarahan ini mengupas peranan perancangan dan pembangunan luar bandar dalam mencapai kesejahteraan masyarakat. Bahagian pertama syarahan ini mengulas tentang konsep perancangan dan pembangunan luar bandar dan anjakan paradigma pembangunan luar bandar dengan pengaruh perubahan pemikiran pembangunan. Pengalaman di Malaysia juga menunjukkan terdapat peralihan penekanan dan pendekatan dalam perancangan dan pembangunan luar bandar seperti dari pendekatan ‘atas-bawah’ kepada pengupayaan komuniti, dan dari pembangunan berpaksi infrastruktur serta ekonomi kepada pembangunan berpaksi manusia. Pembangunan luar bandar telah berjaya mengurangkan kemiskinan dan meningkatkan kesejahteraan hidup masyarakat desa. Bagaimanapun, kewujudan jurang pembangunan yang disebabkan proses urbanisasi secara berterusan di kawasan metropolitan telah mewujudkan cabaran baru berkaitan dengan pengurangan penduduk di kawasan luar bandar. Bahagian kedua syarahan memberi fokus kepada sumbangan penulis dalam bidang perancangan dan pembangunan luar bandar. Ini termasuk pengajaran, penyelidikan, perundingan, penulisan, dan penglibatan komuniti. Usaha untuk memartabatkan ilmu perancangan dan pembangunan luar bandar telah dilaksanakan oleh penulis melalui penubuhan Rural Research & Planning Group (RRPG) yang turut mengembleng pakar-pakar antarabangsa dalam aktiviti pertukaran ilmu dan pengalaman serta jaringan kerjasama. Bahagian ketiga syarahan mengemukakan beberapa gagasan dan pandangan penulis mengenai laluan pembangunan luar bandar pada masa hadapan bagi mencapai kesejahteraan. Ini termasuk pendekatan dalam perancangan, hala tuju penyelidikan, agenda pembangunan serta tadbir urus bagi mencapai kesejahteraan jangka panjang masyarakat luar bandar.
by | Jan 16, 2019 | Public Lecture
There is a proverb that says: “We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors, instead we borrow it from our children”. Preserving our earth through sustainable development is crucial in assuring the stability of the Earth’s systems. Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their needs which essentially are based on three fundamental pillars: economic, environmental and social. However, sustainable development has become amajor global challenge, which is further inflated by the occurrence of natural
disaster due to the current climate change. These issues are critical for Civil Engineers to design and construct sustainable structures. In Geotechnical Engineering (as a discipline in Civil Engineering), enormous efforts, particularly in soils as construction materials and construction on or through soils are taken to tackle these global environmental issues. Through extensive and in-depth research, breakthrough in technology has contributed significantly in addressing the concerns of sustainability in the turbulent world in the twenty-first century. Additionally, curricular integration of sustainability in higher education plays a role in producing sustainability literate graduates who are equipped with wide-range of skills and knowledge in putting its principles into practice. The question is, do these efforts sufficient? This talk will look into the past, present and future efforts in saving the earth for our future generation from the Geotechnical Engineering perspectives.
by | Aug 13, 2018 | Public Lecture
This inaugural lecture will discuss Learning Theories vs. Educational Technology: Which Influences Which? With the emergence of new media in Educational Technology, learning theories have been influenced, since the ways people learn and think have changed. Therefore, in this lecture, the development of educational technology and learning theories and the matches and mismatches between them will be discussed from research perspectives. In addition, the emergence of learning theories, frameworks and pathways caused by the emergence of media in educational technology will be shared and new knowledge and “new learning skills” will be introduced. Most of the research findings throughout 23 years in research on Educational Technology and Computers and Education will be discussed in this session.
by asjad | Apr 27, 2018 | Public Lecture
Title : Harnessing Microbes for Sustainable Environment
Harnessing microbes for sustainable environment explores the potential applications of microorganisms in maintaining our ecosystem.For the management and recycling of materials and wastes,microorganisms play critical roles; successful biological treatment however,depends on the development and maintenance of highly acclimatised, mixed microbial population in the system.Their abilities to survive in waste-water containing toxic organic pollutants can be utilized for the breakdown of highly complex organic compounds into simpler degradable compounds or even mineralization for safety discharge of the effluent.Versatile groups of microorganisms were selected and applied as free-floating,biofilms and biogranules for the treatment process. Intensive research on the biological treatment process ed to development of highly adaptable group of bacteria able to treat real waste-water that is highly coloured,recalcitrant organic pollutant and toxic heavy metals.The diversity of their metabolic activities can be also be utilized to produce renewable energy such as biohydrogen,biolelectricity,biofuel and value-added renewable materials such a bacterials nanocellulose and bioplastics. Bioinformatics was further studied to intensify fundamentals research on the biocatalysts (enzymes) and genes having major roles in the treatment process.Having developed effective treatment process will contribute significantly to an overall treatment process that is eco-friendly,innovative and sustainable.
by asjad | Apr 4, 2018 | Public Lecture
Title : Corporate Property Asset Strategy of Public Sector : Unleashing the
Tangible and Intangible Benefits
Corporate Public Property Assets (CPPA) constitute all government property
ownership viz. land and buildings in use to provide service delivery to the public
accordingly. Decisions of CPPA include site selection, building and facility
design and space utilisation, inevitably affect government’s operations and future
operation expenditure. Major cuts in budget allocation by the government calls for
the government agencies (GA) to initiate revenue generation to cover operational
expenses. At the same time, being required to provide the most suitable property
assets in support of core service delivery requirements. The fundamental issue in
effective CPPA strategy is lacking of knowledge of how the CPPA function is
addressed in the GA community to assess the relative CPPA performance in
supporting the agency’s performance. This paper unleashes the tangible and
intangible benefits of CPPA to the GA in supporting the highest quality of service
delivery to the public. Four main components of CPPA strategy are strategic
thinking, sophistication of implementation, performance evaluation and reporting
prepared for continuous improvement. CPPA strategy must be systematically
addressed and implemented in realizing income optimization, cost savings and
better value.
