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CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………pg 2 2. 1949 THOMAS CUP……………………………………pg 4 3. INDEPENDENCE DAY……………………………….. pg 9 4. MAY 13 INCIDENT, 1969…………………………….. pg 12 5. COMPLETION OF PETRONAS TWIN TOWERS……pg 17 6. FIRST MALAYSIAN IN SPACE……………………… pg 20 7. CONCLUSION…………………………………………pg 25 8. APPENDIX…………………………………………….. pg 26 9. REFERENCES…………………………………………. pg 29 Introduction As a citizen of a country, we should understand and know the history of the country. This is because through history, a person will come to know himself, his society, nationality and country.
History can also be a useful guide to help indentify events that we must treasure, emulate or reject. By understanding history, we learn to inculcate values such as loyalty towards the nation, honesty, courage and at the same time build up the spirit of nationalism and patriotic. Without a knowledge of the country’s history we may not have the source or base to understand the country’s position, in terms of its demographics, economy, politics, culture and social composition. Therefore, we are touching on the topic of memorable events to preserve the history of the country.
Our country has many memorable events which are unforgettable and meaningful to the nation. There are many people who brought fame for the country which we should ignore or forget their achievements and victories from them. One of the great contributors is the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, our first Prime Minister who forth for Independence for the country on 31st August 1957. He was also known as ‘Bapa Kemerdekaan’ as he brought a big relief for the nation saving all from the enemies.
October 10th , 2007 Dr Sheikh Muszaphar flew under an agreement with Russia, the astronaut program to space, and returned to earth on Oct 21st , 2007, bringing along another big fame and recognition to our country. The whole country was proud of the tremendous achievement. The 1949 Thomas Cup was the inaugural tournament of Thomas Cup, the most important men’s badminton team competition in the world. The May 13 Incident is a term for the Sino-Malay sectarian violences in Kuala Lumpur (then part of the state of Selangor), Malaysia, which began on May 13, 1969.
The riots led to a declaration of a state of national emergency and suspension of Parliament by the Malaysian government? August 31, 1999, a date which made the whole world to know about Malaysia because of the opening of the tallest building in the world which is known as Kuala Lumpur City Center(KLCC) 1949 Thomas Cup Malaysia (then known as Malaya) had the honour of winning the first ever International Badminton Championship Challenge Cup, better known as the Thomas Cup in 1949. Such a historic win put Malaysia in the forefront of the international sport.
Forever will the name of Malaysia glorify the annals of world badminton history, starting off with this most historic win, the victory of winning the first ever “World Cup” of badminton. ORIGIN OF THE THOMAS CUP The Thomas Cup was the brainchild of Sir George Alan Thomas, an extremely successful badminton and chess player of the 1900’s. He felt that badminton needed an equivalent to tennis’ Davis Cup, and football’s World Cup which was held first in 1930. He proposed this idea to the International Badminton Federation (now known as the Badminton World Federation) in 1939 and received positive response from the sport’s governing body.
That same year, Sir George presented The International Badminton Championship Challenge Cup, unofficially known as the Thomas Cup, produced by Atkin Bros of London at a cost of US$40 000. The Cup is 28 inches high and 16 inches across at its widest diameter and consists of three parts: a pedestal, a bowl, and a lid with a badminton player figure. The first tournament was planned for the 1941-1942 season but had to be delayed due to World War Two. The competition was finally held in 1949 for the first time, that historic year when Malaysia won the first ever Thomas Cup competition.
DEVELOPMENT OF BADMINTON IN MALAYSIA Popularized by British army officers in India, badminton eventually made its way to Malaya. State club associations and private clubs started establishing themselves throughout Malaya. In 1931, the Penang, Selangor and Singapore badminton associations formed the Malayan Badminton Association. By the mid-1930s, badminton had become a popular sport throughout Malaya. The ease of setting up badminton courts, whether in a simple hall or on open ground in villages, encouraged the growth of badminton clubs such as the Mayflower Badminton Party, which produced several prominent players.
Players were groomed and trained to compete through frequent club competitions and games. In particular, the Malayan Badminton Championships, organised by the Association, attracted some of the best players in Malaya, including Wong Peng Soon, Seah Eng Hee and Alice Pennefeather. ROAD TO THOMAS CUP The first Thomas Cup had three qualifying zones, they were Pan America, Europe, and the Pacific. The 1949 format lasted until 1984. All matches between nations consisted of nine individual matches. A nation needed to win five out of nine matches to proceed to the next round.
Malaya was the only participant from the Pacific region and hence gained an automatic qualification into the Thomas Cup Finals held in the United Kingdom. Denmark won the European qualifying matches while the United States of America won the Pan American qualifying rounds. Each region could only be represented by a single nation. It was believed that qualification for the Malayan Thomas Cup team was through the Malayan Badminton Championships and the Foong Seong Cup which former badminton hero, Teoh Seng Khoon explained was a platform for state players to represent the country.
According to Seng Khoon again, the only living player from the 1949 team, they had to run and skip on the ship in order to keep fit for the tournament. THOMAS CUP ARENA Malaya played two matches to clinch the title. Denmark was given a bye in the first round and hence automatically qualified for the Final. So Malaya had to play against the United States and then Denmark. Malaya caused a major upset by beating the United States 6-3. The match featured the first of three matches ever played between the two greatest players during the post-war period, Malaya’s Wong Peng Soon and the United States’ Dave Freeman.
Malaya’s Peng Soon however lost the great match as he succumbed to an injury. In the final, Malaya upset European qualifiers Denmark, who had proudly declared that they would sweep past the Asian minnows, an 8-1 thrashing! BADMINTON HEROES OF OUR COUNTRY Wong Peng Soon is acknowledged as one of the greatest badminton players of all time. In addition to being part of the Malayan Thomas Cup teams from the late 1940’s to the late 1950’s, he won the All-England singles title four times. He was known for his graceful footwork and well-crafted strokes. He made it a point to study his opponent’s game.
He was very disciplined in maintaining his fitness level and had a strict diet as well. Greatly attached to his equipment, he strung and repaired his own rackets. In his teens, he joined the Mayflower Badminton Academy. Born on the 18th of November in 1923 in Kuching, Ong Poh Lim became one of the greatest badminton players of the period. Although he was sidelined by rival Wong Peng Soon many times, he’s had his good days against Peng Soon as well. A unique trait of his that put him past his rival however is the fact that Poh Lim had proven his mastery not only in the singles event, but also the doubles event.
He has an aggressive playing style and pioneered the crocodile serve or low serve, that is now a standard feature of the game. He played for the Marigold Badminton Party, a rival to Mayflower Badminton Party after moving to Singapore, developing into a great player. On leaving school in early 1941, Yeoh Teck Chye was chosen to play for the Selangor. Then, Teck Chye, as Captain of the Lok Hwa Badminton Party, was by then one of the top singles and doubles player in the country. In late 1948 he was selected with seven other players for the Malayan badminton team for the Thomas Cup.
Teck Chye partnered Chan Kon Leong to demolish Poul Holm and I. Olesen 15-4 15-6 on the first day. On the second day the Malayan pair beat Jorn Skaarup and Preben Dabelsteen again in straight sets 15-11 and 15-10. He was chairman of the National Union of Banking Employees and later became President of the Malaysian Trade Union Congress. In 1968, he traded his badminton party for a political party. IMPLICATIONS TO OUR COUNTRY Malaya’s historic win gave a great boost to the nation in developing the sport.
To this date, Malaysia is one of only three nations to have ever won the Thomas Cup. Malaysia has qualified numerous times for the finals, but only won five times. Many of our players, inspired by this historic win, have glorified the name of our country in this sport. However, it is quite sad to observe that the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has yet to recognize our heroes’ great contribution to the sport and the morale of our country. In fact, many of the younger generation do not actually know much about this historic win.
Considering the fact that Malaya won the 1949 Thomas Cup as a colonial nation and humbling Western Countries en route to winning the Thomas Cup, this signal victory probably boosted the political scenario of our country in our road to gaining independence. The excitement that it must have caused, must have provided a great impact to the country at that time in terms of spirit. IMPLICATIONS TO OUR GROUP Such a historic win has instilled a sense of deep pride and patriotism within our group. Among our group members, one has represented school in the sport after being fascinated by the 1998 Thomas Cup Campaign.
The research process itself and the great experience of discovering the details of this historic achievement really inspired the members of our group and gave us a sense of awe in the nation’s achievements in badminton. Independence Day Malaysia in history consists of two different parts: Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia is the mainland, however East Malaysia consists of Sabah and Sarawak,the two Malaysian states on Borneo Island. THE MALAY PENINSULAR During the 15th and 16th century, the political history of the Malay Peninsular had its roots in the Malaccan Sultanate.
Malacca was then colonized by the Portuguese in 1511, and later by the Dutch in 1641. However, it is mostly up to the Malay rulers to rule over their respective counties. The British arrived in Penang in 1786 and later took over Singapore in 1819 and Malacca in 1824. The English and the Dutch signed the Anglo-Dutch Treaty in 1824 in effort of dividing the Malay world between themselves. The Straits of Malacca which linked the present Malaysia and Indonesia was chosen to be the border between them. BRITISH MALAYA The peninsular was divided into five colonial administrative blocks by the British.
After the Bangkok Treaty of 1909, the Siamese surrendered the Northern Malay states of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, and Terengganu to the British. The southern states of Penang, Malacca, Singapore were founded in 1825 by the British and is later known collectively as the Straits Settlement. The residence system was formed in 1900 during the British intervention on the west coast states of Malaya. The Federated Malay State was formed based on the issuing treaties, and until the Japanese invaded Malaya before World War 2, British administered the whole territory. Japan ruled over much of what is presently Malaysia.
AFTER THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION The Malayan Union administration was proposed to unify the peninsular under one central administration after the Japanese Occupation. Although Singapore remained a Crown Colony, other British settlements and protectorates came under the administration of a British High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur. Large populations of Chinese and Indian immagrants were accorded citizenship in the new federation due to the restricted traditional power of the Malay rulers. Malayan Union was quickly replaced with the Federation of Malaya due to the strong opposition from the Malays.
But the Malayan Union brought the upcoming of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) , then led by Dato’Onn Jaafar, the Menteri Besar of Johor. A majority of UMNO members opposed Dato’Onn Jaafar’s idea to open UMNO to non-Malay participation which in turn led to his resignation. UMNO’s second president was Tunku Abdul Rahman Al-Haj. He was aristocratic, an angliophile and popular among the non-Malays. It was him who led people of Malaya and Borneo towards present day Malaysia. He was considered ideal to fit the role to lead a new nation.
The biggest pitfall towards independence however would certainly be the uprise of the communists. When communist rebels in Sungai Siput murdered three Europian planters in 1948, a state of Emergency was declared. In effort of liberating Malaya from the British, the communist declared an arm-struggle and started the bloodiest British undeclared war that lasted twelve years. In the end, due to a combination of aggressive jungle warfare, the cutting-off of supplies and the implementation of multi-racial co-operation between the respective race-based parties in Malaya, the communists were ceased.
Hence, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaya’s first Prime Minister, declared the Emergency over in 1960. INDEPENDENCE UMNO decided to join the Malayan Chinese Organisation (MCA) during the 1951 Kuala Lumpur Municipal Elections to woo voters. The establishment of the Alliance Party as a result of this formula of racial co-operation saw the victory of the first Malayan election in 1955. Negotiations began with the British for independence as Tunku Abdul Rahman became Malaya’s first Chief Minister. Besides that, the Reid Commision’s purpose is to form a new federation for Malaya.
Hence, the Tunku journeyed to London to discuss the administration of justice, cemented racial harmony and resolved to beat the Communist. Tunku Abdul Rahman then led the nation to independence when he shouted “Merdeka” seven times at the newly built Merdeka Stadium on the 31st of August 1957. IMPLICATIONS TO OUR COUNTRY It certainly wasn’t easy to obtain independence as Malayan people shed a lot of sweat and blood to gain what we now know as Malaysia. Ever since Malaysia obtained independence, we have grown and have come a long way through this ever advancing world.
The celebration of our independence is commamorated every year on the 31st of August and is organised with a huge parade at Dataran Merdeka. IMPLICATIONS TO OUR GROUP Through this assignment, we have learned to be more patriotic and passionate about our country. It has also made us realise how lucky we are to live in this multi-racial yet harmonious nation. Finally, we should always keep in mind of the struggle of our forefathers in order to gain independence. May 13 Incident,1969 May 13 Incident in 1969 was a race riot and was the peak of unity problems in Malaysia.
This tragedy that resulted in the loss of lives and property is related to the General Election in 1969 and is a blot on the nation’s history. 1969 GENERAL ELECTION The event rooted from sentiments before the campaigning. There were many disagreements among various political parties prior to polling day on 10 May 1969, and party leaders stoked racial and religious sentiments in order to win support. During the 1969 election campaign, election candidates and political leaders of the opposition parties had raised issues regarding the national language (Malay), the special rights of Malays as Bumiputera and citizenship rights of non-Malays.
The run-up to the election was also marred by two deaths: that of an UMNO election agent, who was killed by a group of armed Chinese youths in Penang and that of a member of the Labour Party of Malaya (LPM), who was killed in Kepong, Selangor. The UMNO worker was buried without publicity, but the LPM casualty was honoured at a parade on May 9 when some 3000 LPM members caused scenes as they marched from Kuala Lumpur to Kepong. The participants sang Communist songs, waved red flags, and called upon the people to boycott the general election.
Despite tensions among the Malay and Chinese population, the general election was held on 10 May 1969. Election results showed that the Alliance had failed to acquire a majority 2 / 3 at parliament, eventhough still able to form the federal government. The Opposition had tied with the Alliance for control of the Selangor state legislature, a large setback in the polls for the Alliance. OPPOSITION CELEBRATES VICTORY Opposition parties that have obtained outstanding achievements in the elections celebrated their victory on the night of 11th and 12th May, 1969.
The procession took place on May 12, 1969. Thousands of Chinese marched through Kuala Lumpur, parading through predominantly Malay areas, throwing insults which led to the incident. The procession went through unauthorized route and caused traffic congestion around Kuala Lumpur and then later made a turn into the Jalan Hale and Jalan Campbell, roads on the edge of an leading into Kampong Bahru. Meanwhile Kampung Baru, with Malay population of more than 30,000 people and is an UMNO stronghold, feels threatened by the victory of the opposition.
It is said some demonstrators chanted slogans about the “sinking” of the Alliance boat — the coalition’s logo. On Tuesday, May 13th, Gerakan Party’s Yeoh Tech Chye, the President of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (who won big in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur) made an open apology in the press for his party supporters having caused such inconvenience to the public. But the emotional damage had already been done. RIOTING UMNO held a counter parade on the morning of May 13, 1969 that resulted in the occurrence of these events.
The Malays gathered at the home of Minister of Selangor, Dato ‘Harun Idris, at Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur. Right before the UMNO procession began, the gathering crowd was reportedly informed that in Setapak, Malays on their way to the procession had been attacked by Chinese. Whereas, in the Kuala Lumpur area, Chinese radicals murdered a Malay army officer as he and his spouse were coming out from a movie theater in the predominantly Chinese area of Bukit Bintang.
A group of Malay protestors took their revenge by killing two innocent passing Chinese motorcyclists, and with that, the riot began. The riot happened in the capital Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding area of Selangor, it spread throughout the entire city in just 45 minutes. Most people in Kuala Lumpur were caught in the racial violence. Many were injured and some killed, houses and cars were burnt and wrecked. Kuala Lumpur was a city on fire and it was a horrible sight. There were no incidents taking place in Perak and Penang, Kedah and Perlis.
Although violence did not occur in the rural areas, the racial conflict occurred in a softer form, Chinese businessmen refused to make loans available for Malay farmers, or to transport agricultural produce from Malay farmers and fishermen. Incidents of violence continued to occur in the weeks after May 13, with the targets now being not only Malay or Chinese but also Indian. It is argued that this showed that the struggle has become more clearly than ever the Malay extremists’ fight for total hegemony. ” CASUALTIES According to police figures, 196 people lost their lives and 149 were badly injured. 53 cases of arson were reported and 211 vehicles were destroyed or severely damaged. An estimated value of 6,000 Kuala Lumpur residents became homeless. DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY The government ordered an immediate curfew throughout the state of Selangor. Security were deployed and took control of the situation. Over 300 Chinese families were moved to refugee centres. On May 14 and May 16, a state of emergency and accompanying curfew were declared throughout the country, but the curfew was relaxed in most parts of the country for two hours on May 18 and not enforced even in Kuala Lumpur within a week.
On May 16 the National Operations Council (NOC) was established by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah, headed by Tun Abdul Razak. With Parliament suspended, the NOC became the supreme decision-making body for the next 18 months. State and local governments were took over by State and District Operations Councils. The NOC established an unarmed Vigilante Corps, a territorial army, and police force battalions. Curfews continued in most parts of the country, but were gradually scaled back. In two months time, peace was restored in the affected areas.
Parliamentary rule was re-established in February 1971. IMPLICATIONS TO OUR COUNTRY May 13 incident is marked sensitive in Malaysia. It is hardly spoken of for we do not want to raise racial issues. However, we must not forget this horrible event completely. May 13 serves as a lesson for all Malaysians, we must do our parts as a citizen of a multiracial country so that the racial violence of that black day in history will never be repeated. | IMPLICATIONS TO OUR GROUP This sensitive and dark event that actually happened in our country’s history taught us an unforgettable lesson.
Younger generation these day really is taking our current peace and harmony for granted. We learned that in order to maintain this peaceful environment, we’ll need to tolerate and compromise. In addition to that, we also learned that we should treat everyone equal regardless of race and religion. Petronas Twin Towers Tun Dr. Mahathir Muhammad quoted in the programme : “Of the five South-East Asian countries, Malaysia was the least known so we wanted to tell the world that we had arrived. We needed something spectacular- a tall building provided the answer.
Today, the twin towers stand as Malaysia’s pride and modernity, dominating Kuala Lumpur’s skyline. The buildings are situated in the capital of Malaysia, at the heart of Kuala Lumpur. It now stands at 451. 9 meters. The Petronas Twin Towers were the tallest building in the world until Taipei surpassed us. However, the towers still remain the tallest Twin buildings in the world. Unknown to many, building the outstanding towers pushed the limit of construction technology. Hence, it is a memorable event in Malaysia History. COMPLETION
Petronas Twin Towers was completed in the year 1998 after a seven year build and became the tallest building in the world upon the date of completion. It is designed by Argentine architects Cesar Pelli, and Djay Cerico under the consultancy of Julius Gold. Its engineering designs on structural framework were contributed by Hatian engineer Domo Obiasse with his colleagues Aris Battista and Princess D Battista. Because if the depth of the bedrock, the buildings were built on the120 meter (which is world deepest foundations). It took around 12 months by Bachy Soletanche and require massive amount of concrete.
Next, below the twin towers is Suria KLCC,a shopping mall,the home of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and Dewan Filharmonik Petronas. Spanning 17 acres(69 000m )below the building is the KLCC park with jogging and walking paths ,fountains, wading pools and a children’s playground. SKYBRIDGE The 88-floor towers are constructed largely reinforced concrete, with steel and glass facade designed to resemble motifs found in Islamic art, a reflection of Malaysia’s Muslim religion. The tower has a skybridge between the two towers on 41st and 42nd floors, which is also the 2nd highest 2-story bridge in the world.
The skybridge also acts as a safety device, so that in the event of a fire emergency in one tower, tenants can evacuate by crossing the skybridge to the other tower. TENANTS OF THE PETRONAS TWIN TOWERS Tower One is fully occupied by Petronas and a number of its subsidiaries and associates companies , while the office spaces in Tower Two are mostly available for lease to ther companies. A number of companies have offices in Tower Two , including Al-Jazeera English, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Microsoft, Bloomberg, Boeing, Huawei Technologies and many more. SERVICE BUILDING
The service building is to the east of the Petronas Towers and contains the services required to keep the building operational , such as dissipating the heat from the air-conditioning system for all 88 floors in both towers. NOTABLE EVENTS Malaysia’s Twin Towers was declared the highest twin towers in the world upon date of completion in 1998. IMPLICATIONS TO OUR COUNTRY Malaysia can now be viewed as a progressed and advanced architecturally upon completion of Petronas Twin Towers. This landmark is now a symbol of Malaysia not to mention a popular tourist attraction. The success of the
KLCC development commercially has drawn many people, both local and foreign from all over the globe because Malaysia’s rapid economic growth and prosperity is reflected by the Petronas Towers and this is something we should be proud of. | IMPLICATIONS TO OUR GROUP At the end of this assignment, we have learnt to appreciate and be proud of our country’s prestigious accomplishment, namely the Petronas Twin Towers. We hope that younger generations will learn to utilize the knowledge of architecture and drive our country further so that Malaysia will always be a world-class metropolis. st Malaysian in space “It is not merely a project to send a Malaysian into space. After 50 years of independence, we need a new shift and a new advantage to be more successful as a nation. We want to awe and inspire, and spur Malaysians to attain greater success by embracing science and technology. ” – Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis INTRODUCTION On the 10th October 2007, Malaysians everywhere had their eyes glued onto the television as Malaysia flew its first citizen into space.
This voyage to space was held by the Malaysian government through the Angkasawan program and became one of Malaysia’s greatest achievements. This event became one of the most memorable events in Malaysian history as it marked the progress of our countries development and brought recognition to Malaysia. DR. SHEIKH MUSZAPHAR SHUKOR Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is a Malaysian orthopedic surgeon and the first Malaysian to have been flown into space. He was launched to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz TMA-11 with Expedition 16 crew on the 10th of October, 2007.
Dr, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was born in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia and finished his tertiary education at Maktab Rendah Sains MARA in Muar. He later pursued his medical degree at the medical college of Kasturba in Manipal, India. Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar later went on to become an orthopedic surgeon and also a lecturer at Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He has also modeled for many commercial advertisements. Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar managed to become one of the four finalist out of 11,275 participants of the Angkasawan program held by the Malaysian Government on early 2006.
Out of the four, Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar and Faiz Khaleed was picked for an eighteen month long training in Russia. In the end it was decided that Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was the prime candidate for space travel while Faiz Khaleed became the backup candidate. Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was accompanied by two other astronauts on the Soyuz TMA-11 during the take off, Whitson and Malenchenko. He was also accompanied by two member of the Expedition 15 during the journey back to earth, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov. THE ANGKASAWAN PROGRAM
The Angkasawan program was an initiative carried out by the Malaysian Government that started out in 2006. Its aim was to send a Malaysian to the International Space Station on board Soyuz TMA-11. This program is named after the Malay word for astronaut, Angkasawan. Former Prime Minister of Malaysia officially announced this program as a joint program with the Russian Federation. The main objectives of this program are to uplift the national image and instill a greater interest in Science and Technology in the younger generation.
Another objective of this program was to create awareness among Malaysians the importance of science, technology and the space industry. There were also a number experiments that were carried out at the space station, namely: Cells in Space, Microbes in Space, Protein Crystallization in Space, Malaysian Food in Space and the study of spinning motions in microgravity environment. WHEN IT STARTED The Angkasawan program started out early 2006 during when 11,275 participants participated in the mentioned program and four finalists were chosen. On the 4th of September 2007, Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was picked as Malaysia’s first astronaut.
On the 10th of October, he was launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-11 with the Expedition 16 crew. Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor spent 10 days 21 hours and 14 minutes in space, departing at 9. 21pm (Malaysian timing) on the 10th of October and landing on Earth on the 21th October 2007 at 6. 44pm (Malaysian timing). He landed after a 3 hour and 23 minutes journey from the International Space Sation. TRAINING Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor completed his initial training at Star City in Russia and later on completed the rest of his training at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar’s launch to space took place at Baikonur. After approximately 11 days in space, the Soyuz TMA-10 undocked from the International Space Station and deorbited. During atmostpheric re-entry, the spacecraft was transitioned to a ballistic reentry, resulting it landing west of Arkalyk, approximately 340km northwest of the intended Kazakhstan landing site. PROBLEMS FACED As Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is a Muslim, there was some difficulty in fulfilling religious activity as his time in space coincided with the last part of Ramadan.
To solve this problem the Islamic National Fatwa Council drew up the first comprehensive guidebook for Muslims in space. The guidebook is 18-pages long and is titled: “Guidelines for Performing Islamic Rites (Ibadah) at the International Space Station”. It deals with issues such as how to pray in a low-gravity environment, how to locate Mecca from the International Space Station, how to determine prayer times, and issues surrounding fasting. The orbit of the International Space Station results in a one day/night cycle every 90 minutes, this issue is also addressed in the guidebook for fasting. Anan C.
Mohd, from the Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development says that fasting during travelling is not compulsory, so it is optional for Sheikh Muszaphar to fast during space travel. If he does decide to fast in space the times will be centred around local time in Baikonur, where the launch took place. Sheikh Muszaphar celebrated Eid ul-Fitr aboard the station, and handed out satay and cookies that he packed to the rest of the crew on 13th of October to mark the end of Ramadan. IMPLICATIONS TO OUR COUNTRY We believe that this particular event has sparked the interest of space travel and space technology in Malaysians.
This in turn might progress to further development in the space technology industry in the future. Also, this event also proves that “Malaysia Boleh! ” , showing to other nations around the world that Malaysia has the capability to achieve anything other nations can achieve. IMPLICATIONS TO OUR GROUP This event has really been an eye opener for us. None of the 6 members in our group has given much thought to space travel or space technology. We are intrigued by the many possibilities that comes with space travel and technology.
There are many things we still do not understand about outer space, we believe that there are new discoveries out there that may revolutionize the way we are living. Conclusion Memorable events should be in our memories and must be taught to the younger generation. Without a knowledge of the country’s history we may not have the source or base to understand the country’s position, in terms of its demographics, economy, politics, culture and social composition. That is why we should study history to remember the sacrifice that the people had made. We should not forget the people who brought fame and recognition to our country.
We should also not forget to do our parts as citizens in a multiracial country so unfortunate events such as May 13th do not repeat itself. Instead, we should be reminded of our past achievements to serve as encouragement and focus our efforts onto making our country proud. Memorable events such as the mentioned are very important as they help us improve our country as well as ourselves. So as a conclusion, we should not forget the past, instead we should cherish it, as it has taught us many valuable lessons in life. It is also our responsibility to pass down these knowledge to future generation so they too can benefit from them.
As quoted by George Santayana, ” Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. Appendix Thomas Cup 1949 The 1949 Thomas Cup winning squad : Chan Kon Leong, Yeoh Teck Chye, Teoh Seng Khoon, Ooi Teik Hock, Lim Chuan Geok, Wong Peng Soon, Law Teik Hock, Lim Kee Fong and Ong Poh Lim. Teoh Seng Khoon The Thomas Cup Independence Day Anouncement of Independence date at Padang Merdeka, Bandar Hilir Melaka by Tunku Abdul Rahman ‘Rombongan Merdeka’ The London Agreement May 13th Incident, 1969 The RiotFuneral Procession Completion of Petronas Twin Towers Figure 1-Petronas Twin TowersFigure 2- Philharmonic Hall
Figure 3- Skybridge Figure 4- Suria KLCC Park First Malaysian In Space Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar ShukorProgram Angkasawan Logo REFERENCES 1. Rajes Paul, Badminton: Birthday boy Seng Khoon relives Malaysia’s first Thomas Cup win, The Star newspaper, Saturday November 8, 2008, retrieved June 2010. 2. 1949 Thomas Cup, Wikipedia, 2000, retrieved June 2010, <http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/1949_Thomas_Cup>. 3. Aznam, Suhaini, Celebrating Malaysia Day, September 24, 2007, retrieved June 2010, <http://thestar. com. my/news/story. asp? file=/2007/9/24/focus/18976180&sec=focus>. 4.
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