NEWS: Students shine at invention show

CONTRARY to what many might think, Malaysian students are actually quite an innovative lot.

Witness the increasing number of entries for the annual Malaysian Young Inventors Competition (MYIC) organised by the Malaysian Invention and Design Society (MINDS).

From around 40 schools participating in the early years of the competition, this year’s MYIC saw just under 250 entries being submitted for consideration.

And the winners of the competition for both primary and secondary schools are no mere jaguh kampung (village champions) either.

Some of these winning inventions have gone on to receive prizes at the international level, competing with their peers from around the world.

Khoo Teng Sin, MINDS education sub committee head, says: “One of the indicators for the success of this programme is that we are able to send the champions overseas for international competitions, for example, the International Exhibition for Young Inventors (IEYI) organised by the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation.”
Muhamad Faizli Chai Mohd Faizzall Chai from SMK Seri Kenangan, Segamat, explaining his team’s invention Mostq-Trap to visitors at the exhibition. The team won the merit award.

He adds that so far, our Malaysian students have “really shined” at the IEYI, coming back with rewarding prizes like gold medals.

In fact, one invention — the Anti-Bacteria Food Cover — was picked up for overseas commercialisation by a Multimedia Super Corridor-status company after it came out top for the secondary school category at the competition in 2005. The food cover, which uses ultra-violet rays to kill germs on cooked food, was the brain child of SMK Sultan Ismail II, Kemaman, Terengganu, student Tiyor Chen Ling.

Tiyor, who developed the idea with her best friend Lim Mei Kee, was inspired after her father kept experiencing food poisoning.

Khoo, who was in charge of organising the 2009 MYIC, says: “You will find that children are very sensitive to the environment at home and at school, and they would like to find ways to solve the problems they see.

“And they usually come up with simple and effective ideas that make you go ‘Ah ha!’ when you look at it.”

He cited the examples of the Wakie-Wakie Pillow, designed to wake up deaf children in case of a fire, and a butter knife, which can heat itself up to make it easier to spread butter, to illustrate his point. Both inventions were entries in previous MYICs by primary school pupils.

Such inventions also fit in well with the theme of the MYIC — Inventing for A Better Tomorrow.

“We want to promote the spirit of creativity and inventiveness among school children, and hope that along the way, we can also instil a sense of social responsibility in them,” says Khoo, adding that the usefulness of the inventions to society is among the criteria used for judging the entries.

He says that the judges are actually more fascinated and encouraged by the entries from school students, than those from the adult Invention and Design Competition.

“As the inventions come from a more ‘naive’ point of view, there are always surprises,” he explains.
Prof Ong (left) and Khoo firmly believe that all Malaysian students need to unleash their creativity

MINDS president Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Augustine S.H. Ong adds: “Actually, creativity is inborn in everyone. It’s only a matter of whether they are given a chance or not (to express it).

“We try to provide the opportunity and motivation for them through events like the MYIC and the Inventors’ Club in schools.”

While the top prizes include cash awards, Prof Ong says that it is the recognition that stimulates the students.

“We do have ideas. we just have to unlock them. Most Malaysians are very low-profile, we think that it is impossible for us to come up with a new invention,” he says, adding that this is why MINDS organises the MYIC, as well as the International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (Itex) every year.

Aside from allowing local inventors to showcase their creations, the exhibition also allows manufacturers and potential investors to check out what Malaysian inventors have to offer.

The Gold Prize winners of this year’s competition are SJKC Chung Hua, Miri, Sarawak and SM Sains Tun Syed Sheh Shahabudin, Bukit Mertajam, Penang. for their inventions Brekom and MoBanT-Fibres.

Emilly Chin Kaisean, Isabel Chang Ying Tong and Foo Rui Xing were the creators of Brekom while Mas Adil Mas Rosemal Hakim and Nurein Ardini Samsuri came up with MoBanT-Fibres, which helps remove spilt oil from the surface of water using modified banana trunk fibres (MoBanT-Fibres).