BANGI, 29 November 2017 - Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) School of Biological Sciences postgraduate student, Chong Zhen Yee has made the university proud today when he won the Sustainability Challenge 2017 for the postgraduate category held at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

He presented a novel idea based on his team's (team mates: Nur Najihah Ismail and Rasyidah Asilah Ali Musa) lab research on oil palm fruits, and the outcome of the research, BIO 407, showed that the flesh of the oil palm fruit (mesocarp) contains fatty acid compounds that may be able to halt the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB).

The research demonstrates that oil palm fruit has anti-TB activity that may help to speed up treatment for TB, compared to the current TB treatment which takes between 6 to 9 months to treat TB patients upon administration.

As the top 10 finalists for this category, he won a cash prize of RM7,000 and a certificate for his achievement.

Meanwhile, for the undergraduate category, USM also won 1st prize when a student from School of Industrial Technology (Environmental Technology), Briant Ho Kang Xian managed to overcome all the other competitors and took home the RM5,000 prize money and certificate.

The University also managed to get 3rd place in the postgraduate category when Muhammad Izhar Kairi, from the School of Chemical Engineering wowed the judges and brought back RM3,000 and a certificate.

The Sustainability Challenge 2017 is the second in the series of the competition that was initiated by UKM-YSD Chair for Sustainable Development: Zero Waste Technology, with the objective of exploring and developing innovative ideas on the sustainability of the palm oil industry.

This competition provides an excellent opportunity for the participants to present their ideas on sustainability to industry practitioners.

Text: Hafiz Meah Ghouse Meah