Kursk Malaysian Medical Students Association (kmsa)

KURSK MALAYSIAN MEDICAL STUDENTS ASSOCIATION (KMSA)

COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2008/09

L ! A N FI TION EDI Vol. № 03, October-November 2009

President: Deputy Presidents:

Jeyendran Kanagarajah Ahmad Nizam Marcus Voo Wei Syn Alan Na Wei Lun Sharmaine Marie Khairunisa Yahiya

Secretary: Vice-Secretary: Treasurer: Vice Presidents: Angelina Lim (Education) Kugan Varatha Raju (Advertising & Publicity) Mexmollen Marcus (Social) Zakri Aziz (Sports) Chong Chaw Jong (Students’ Affairs) Directors: Education Director: Mervyn Ian Assistant Education Director:Vicnesh Thillynathan

New Students’ ORIENTATION DAY—page 2-

The Return Of Icon Mary to Kursk—page 5-

PLUS: Get to know the latest members of our community! Also: Albums of KMSA 2008/09 Activities

Editorial Board Director: Sherlyn Marcella Advertising & Publicity Director: Kong Chau Shing Social Directors: Ruban Prasaath Vejayan Christina Eleanor Martin Events Director: Shirley Liew Chiah Hui Sports Director: Kiran Kandiah Students’ Affairs Director: Monesh Pillai Orientation Director: Thuruven Sothu Gorendan Assistant Orientation Director: Sammy Lee Kian Yap

From Christmas Week 2009, Chinese New Year Concert, Tamu-Gadang Gawai Kaamatan 2009, Future Doctors, and many more…...

KMSA Committee 2008/09 would like to thank all Malaysian students who have been constantly supporting our activities. We truly appreciate your undivided support.

Hostel Representatives: 5th Hostel: 4th Hostel: Pad Fak Hostel: Bungalow:

Jeya Prasanth William Chung Fui Ching Mitchel Brian Jimilin Beatrix Hii

The KMSA 2008/2009 Editorial Board Editorial Board Director & Editor—In—Chief Miss. Sherlyn Marcella E mail: [email protected] MSN: [email protected]

Graphics, Layout & Design Mr. Helmy bin Sajali E mail: [email protected] YM: amiesajali

Columnist

We invite all Malaysian to our upcoming activity, DEEPARAYA Concert 2009 Venue: Pharmacorpus Hall Date: 28th November 2009 Time: 6.00- 9.00 pm

For further information, please contact: Mexmollen Marcus @ 89202628973

Mr. Alan Na E mail: [email protected] MSN: [email protected]

Columnist Mr. Anesh Nair E mail: [email protected] MSN: [email protected]

Events Journalist Miss. Abigail Rembui Anak Jerip E mail: [email protected] YM: [email protected]

Effective from this semester, the Editorial Board will cease its printed publication of KMSA NEWSFLASH . Instead, we are glad to introduce to you our revamped E-NEWSFLASH, available from our website at:

http://ekmsa.wordpress.com in e-NEWSFLASH Stay updated with the announcement and news of our activities. Subscribe to our RSS Feed today! Do not forget to join KMSA 2008/09 Committee Group in

ORIENTATION DAY By : Anesh Nair

Do you remember the first few days of your arrival to Kursk? Those thoughts that were rushing through your head when you were a continent away from home, with cold, Slavic faces staring at you, and signboards and road signs that looked like they were written upside down? Well probably those were the very thoughts that were going through the minds of about 30 new students who participated in the KMSA-organized orientation ceremony held on 11th October 2009 at the PharmoCollege Hall. The ceremony was intended for the juniors to get to know each other better, and also for them to get to know some of the seniors, especially members of the KMSA committee who would be assisting them in any needs.

The event was coordinated by KMSA President Jeyendran Kanagarajah who started off by giving a brief introduction of the KMSA committee. Then, each Vice-President gave a short speech regarding on matters coming under their purview, be it education, sports, student affairs and social events. The floor was then handed to the newbies. Each of them shared some basic details about themselves and were asked to perform some sort of a funny or interesting act i.e tell a joke, do a skit, sing etc. Most of the students were sporting enough to come up with something. Some even showcased a few steps of their martial arts skills. But perhaps the act that stole the show was when one student performed a mini-drama with a senior acting as a courting couple. Their stunt had the crowd in stitches. All in all, the orientation programme was a success, in that it gave a chance to the newbies to loosen up and get to know each other as well as senior students. It is still not too late for us to welcome the new students to our humble Malaysian community here in KSMU. Let us strive hard to mold ourselves into capable, responsible doctors. THE FUTURE DOCTORS of Malaysia. -Best regards from the KMSA 2008/09 Committee -

PPIM and UMNO Open House 2009

On the 4th of October 2009 at Pharma College, PPIM and UMNO had successfully organized “PPIM and UMNO Open House 2009”. A yearly event held to commemorate Eid Mubarak. Approximately 150 students attended this memorable event. It was not Credits to : Halimatul Aris only a Malaysian affair.Muslims of other nationality were also present to experience our Malaysian “open house” culture. We were honored to have Mr Mohamad and his wife Mrs Sharifah present on that day. The whole event was filled with a colourful array of interesting programs including Nasyid, short films, sing alongs, silat presentation and etc. In addition to that, a “get-to-know” session with the new students was conducted. It is undeniable that Malaysians and food are like magnets of different poles. Inseparable. We were served with fingerlicking, mouth-watering food prepared by our students who deserves to be called Master Chefs. Two thumbs up for them! Just a reminder to those who missed the Raya event. Here’s what we had!  Nasi Minyak

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Daging Asam Pedas

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Music Talent Award- Helmy Sajali

Nasi Impit Kuah Kacang Laksa Fruits

Choc Dip In the midst of joyous celebration, we did not forget those who were unfortunate and helpless. Thus a donation titled “One Euro One Palestine” was done to give a helping hand to the Palestinians. Those present on that day were very much anxious to know about the winners of the much anticipated “Kursk Award 2009”. Votes were taken a few days before, and we were proud to announce the winners of the award:  Miss Renaissance- Diyana Abdullah Mr. Athletic- Fahmi Jaafar Miss. Athletic- Mazlianah Mazlan Iron Chef- Hir Hazwah Mr. Vouge- Abu Ubaidah Miss. Vouge- Aysha Razali Mr. Congeniality- Zolhaimi Ahmad Most Photogenic- Sharifah Nur Fatimah

Favorite Freshman- Halimatul Aris Raya Community 2009 Director - Aliyaa Zakawi Vice Director-Al Hafiz Treasurer- Aina Azry Food Coordinator-Halimatul Aris Venue Coordinator- Aliyaa Zakawi Protocol Chief- Sarah Rusli Event Coordinator- Hafiz Muhammad

Sabahan Gathering In Kursk The local term for gathering or aramai ti is utterly proverbial for the people who consider themselves as Sabahans. Thus the same culture of such gatherings is practiced everywhere, no matter where they are in considerable numbers – and in Kursk is not an exception. On the 26th September 2009, the annual Sabahan gathering was held at the 5th floor main corridor hall of Hostel no.4. The atmosphere of this year’s annual event was spiced up with more pizzazz, compared to the previous seasons – thanks to the presence of the Sabah Representative Agent of Magaram, Mr Kanoo Pillai and his wife Mrs. Matilda Kodou. In total, there were about 50 people present – including junior and senior students from 2nd to 6th year batches. It has been at least 5 years since he last stepped foot on Russian soil, he remarked with a hint of amazement, as he continued to comment on the rapid development and urbanization of Kursk City. He also was pleased with the current living conditions here in Kursk, as he constantly refers to the en passé experiences of senior graduates, who had obviously confided in him throughout these years. On a lighter note, he praised everyone for being a true Sabahan at heart by keeping ethnical and religious disparity aside, thus being able to live together in harmony – mimicking the true identity of the multi-ethnical state, where differences in religion and beliefs were never obstacles towards a united coexistence. The limelight of the event however was cast upon the 18 new students from Sabah who had just arrived during that week. This fresh batch of students was one of the largest newbie groups coming from the state in recent history. A significant amount of them are from the West Coast division of Sabah – namely encompassing the regions of Kota Kinabalu and Penampang, whilst the others are from other districts namely the Kudat, Sandakan, and Tawau divisions. The event started off with welcoming words by Ian Bede & Daniel Mark Funk, the representatives of Sabahan KSMU students, followed by a short speech from Mr. Kanoo Pillai before the introduction of the new students, followed by the junior and senior students – after which everyone adjourns to the kitchen area to enjoy a filling banquet, prepared by the senior students from the host hostel. Unknown to Mr. Kanoo, there was a surprise birthday treat waiting for him at the end of the event. He was genuinely amused at the unexpected bolt from the blue, as 3 specially catered cakes were brought out to commemorate the big day. In a larger perspective, the event was upbeat with fun-filled laughter, jovial chatting, and live guitar music accompanied by street singing. To conclude the event, a big-scale photo shooting session was held, where each and everyone tried their best to fit in the picture.

A LIFETIME EVENT: THE RETURN OF ICON OF MARY TO KURSK.

Many of you must have been wondering why the main street in Kursk, ie Lenin Street, and a few other street adjacent to it had been closed sporadically for a By: Arzhealza Roping. f e w times sometime at the end of September. There were hearsays that Putin was here, and that Medvedev was here too…but no one was actually REALLY sure why the roads were closed. For a few days we gleefully used that as an excuse not to attend our classes in the hospitals, much to the dismay of our teachers.

So why were the roads closed?? When a couple of friends of mine invited me to witness a religious procession with her which was supposed to take place along Lenin Street, I immediately agreed because I knew I’d never be able to experience this again once I have started my working life. So I went back to my room, brought my camera with me and off we went to the Red Square . I also brought along a scarf with me because they had reminded me that it was an Orthodox Christian procession , therefore having a scarf with me would be advisable. We arrived there and boy, was I surprised to see nearly half the local population lining both sides of the street! Everyone was so quiet and solemn, which I thought was unusual. I asked one of my friends again why we were there, and she told me that she had heard that there would be a procession featuring a statue of the Holy Mother Mary. We scanned the crowd to see if there were any other foreigners amongst us and we spotted a fellow foreigner. Turns out he had walked all the way from BSMP hospital after class! We were even interviewed by a TV reporter for the local news station! What an experience! Finally we heard excited whispers in the crowd…the statue was approaching!!! Everyone tried to get a closer look but were forced to step back by the security forces. We saw rows and rows of soldiers and policemen…followed by dozens of Orthodox priests in their traditional black robes, and school children, nuns…and then finally…the…statue?? We had been mistaken…there had never been a statue, instead we saw a huge golden portrait of the Holy Virgin Mary. So that was the Icon!! After the priest who was carrying the Holy Icon had walked on a special path made out of freshly cut grass and flowers, the crowd started to converge towards the centre of the road, and walked towards the direction of the Znametskiy Sabor. We joined in the solemn religious ceremony that had ensued, in awe of the faithful who had turned up in full force, all in the hope of catching a glimpse of this Holy Icon which to my surprise…was more than 700 years old!! It had performed quite an impressive number of miracles, which I shall not elaborate here due to space constraints. However if you are interested in knowing more about this Icon, you could go to www.kurskroot.com . There is a detailed description of the history of this Icon on this site, from its chance discovery by a hunter in 1295 in….KURSK!! to current updates about the whereabouts if this Icon. We were informed by the reporter that the Icon would be returned to the Orthodox Cathedral of the Mother of God of the Sign in New York City. What a long journey it had taken…all the way from the Big Apple to our humble little city of Kursk, where it had been originally found!! However, this was the first time in nearly a century that the Icon had returned to its place of origin, so don’t get too excited everyone! There won’t be anymore road closures for perhaps another…century? Cheers!