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On 14th January 2019, UTP signed an MoU with Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran (JPS). The core of this MoU is to collaborate with JPS in coastal erosion project in Teluk Nipah and mangrove rehabilitation project in Tanjung Kepah. Both projects are currently led by Dr. Teh Hee Min and his team under the supervision of Prof Ir Dr. M Shahir Liew. Through these projects, various other opportunities between UTP and JPS have been initiated, e.g. joint research proposal applications, short courses to the JPS engineers and technical assistants through CAPE as well as academic collaborations through service learning projects. In 2019, JPS Perak invited Dr. Husna Takaijudin and Dr. Teh Hee Min from Centre for Urban Resource Sustainability (CUReS) to conduct a short course on ‘Hydraulics for Civil Engineers’ to their engineers. Subsequently, Dr Husna Takaijudin was engaged to train their technical assistants in hydraulic designs. More short courses are planned to train the JPS engineers and technical assistants in 2020. Besides, Dr Husna Takaijudin and Dr Siti Habibah also engaged JPS to support the service learning projects in reviving the beach condition in Teluk Batik and clearing the floating rubbish in Sungai Lumut Kanan. Through these partnerships, UTP helps to address the interests and current needs of JPS, and to provide technical solutions that benefit the welfare of the affected community.
Pangkor Townhall 1.0 was a dialog session with the key stakeholders including the authorities and local community of
Teluk Nipah, Pulau Pangkor. The event was conducted at KEJORA Garden Resort, Pulau Pangkor on the 28th of August 2019. The objective of this event was to gauge the level of consciousness among the key stakeholders and local community on the coastal problems and conservation at Pantai Teluk Nipah. The dialog session also served as a platform for the local community to share their concerns on the coastal-related issues encountered in Teluk Nipah for the attention and action by the local authorities. The event, which was mainly sponsored by Majlis Perbandaran Manjung (MPM), attended by about 110 participants including local communities, authorities and the working committees. The event was indeed a great success – bridging the local community to the authorities. Upon completion of the research study at Pantai Teluk Nipah, Pangkor Townhall 2.0 of bigger scale is to be conducted to deliberate the findings to the stakeholders of all levels.
For the mangrove rehabilitation project in Tanjung Kepah, UTP collaborates with Jabatan Perhutanan JPS and MPM very closely. The site is assessed by UTP and JPS for the time being. Hundreds of mangrove seedlings donated by Jabatan Perhutanan have been currently nurtured at UTP. When mangrove seedlings become saplings, they are readily to be transferred to the planting site in Tanjung Kepah through CSR project. This project is expected to sustain the mangrove ecosystem and to promote socio-economic activities in Tanjung Kepah.
Pulau Pangkor becomes a duty-free island effective from the 1st January 2020. Being close to Pulau Pangkor, Manjung Land and District Office (MLDO) has gazetted Tanjung Kepah to be one of the tourist attraction hubs that bring revenues to the local community. As a result of the previous team efforts on coastal and mangrove projects, UTP has been appointed by MLDO as the technical advisor to the aqua- and eco-tourism development project in Tanjung Kepah. UTP is tasked to provide advice on feasibility of proposed development in Tanjung Kepah so as to avoid any adverse environmental effects to the coastal environment.
With strong partnership and collaborations with JPS, MPM, Jabatan Perhutanan and MLDO, UTP will bring positive impacts to the environment and community sustainability, especially in Perak region.
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