PENANG, 23 January 2014 - Lecturer and experienced woman researcher of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Professor Dr. Darah Ibrahim was announced as the recipient of a special award during the Penang State Maulidur Rasul 1435H/2014 celebration at a special ceremony held here recently.

She was recognised and selected ahead of other nominations in the Maulidur Rasul Special Award: Qudwatur Rasul (Innovation) 1435H category based on her excellence in the field of research and innovation since starting her career in the late 1990s.

Darah said the recognition gave her a boost in continuing her effort and help contribute to the development of the country, especially for the empowerment of research.

She said that she is committed to continue to highlight and disseminate knowledge that is available to her in educating people to become Muslims who are visionaries, modern and advanced through innovation and research.

“I’ve always been sensitive to current developments and to date has successfully developed a prototype system that can be utilised by the village community to improve the economy and their income.

“All these were done with the goals and expectations to liberate the underprivileged from poverty. Usually, when the society develops a stable economy, the national income will increase indirectly,'' she said.

With a strong determination to succeed, Darah obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with Second Class Upper Honours from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1979, a Master of Science (Medical Science) from the University of Glasgow, Scotland in 1982, and a PhD (Microbiology/Biotechnology) from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 1997.

A mother to three children, she is also very active and productive in research and has been in this field for more than 30 years, having conducted research along with some respected and world renowned professors.

Darah has conducted research in various fields of microbiology, including Microbiology and Medical Mycology, in the field of fermentation and enzyme technology, environmental biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology and marine biotechnology.

Besides her, Associate Professor Dr. Fadhlullah Jamil, a part-time lecturer in the School of Distance Education was also been named as a Maulidur Rasul 1435H personality for the Penang State.

The Personality and Award presentation ceremony was graced by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Pulau Pinang, Tun Dato’ Seri Utama (Dr.) Abdul Rahman Abbas at Dewan Sri Pinang. - Translation: Siti Faizah Abd Halim/Text: Marziana Mohamed Alias