Sabah JPA scholar's help on bio project

KUALA LUMPUR: Her father is an ice-cube seller and her growing up years were mainly at her grandfather's orchard in Johor."I know how hard the life of a farmer can be," said Segamat lass Gan Siaw Chin.

This, however, served as a motivation for the 24-year-old Public Service Department (JPA) scholar to lead a team of five varsity students to carry out a project in 2011 to help villagers start an eco-enzyme business in Kampung Tampasak, Sabah.

"The villagers are mostly farmers," she said. "We taught them how to turn agricultural waste into eco-enzymes through a simple fermentation process," said Gan, who is pursuing a Master's degree in bio-process engineering at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), during a recent interview.

"The enzymes can be used as fertilisers, environment-friendly detergent and shampoo," she pointed out.

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"A 500ml bottle sells at RM2," added Gan, who majors in the field of cosmeceuticals – cosmetics products with biologically active ingredients purported to have medical or pharmaceutical benefits.

Her team submitted the project at the DiGi Challenge for Change competition in 2011. They did not win the top prize, but entered the finals.

"The project took us six months and we are happy that it brought us many good friends from among the villagers," she said.

Gan, who aspires to start her own cosmeceuticals company, added: "In my Master's thesis, I am trying to identify Malaysian plants that have whitening, anti-ageing or anti-bacterial potentials which can be used to produce cosmetics or pharmaceutical products."

Gan and 11 other students were selected by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Scholarship Committee for scholarships in science and technology, and law to enable them to pursue their studies to the Masters and Doctorate levels in local and foreign universities.

They received the scholarships from Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the Education Minister, at a ceremony in Parliament House last month.

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The scholarships were introduced in 2006 through the JPA and awarded to Malaysians who excelled academically and produced creative and innovative works.

The students are not bonded to serve with the Government but must contribute by serving in Malaysia.

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