Attendance of 2020 IEM 61st Virtual AGM

On Saturday, July 25, 2020, I attended the 61st Annual General Meeting of The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM Virtual Meeting)" from 9:00am till 1.00pm at home using Webinar with my desktop computer.

The AGENDA for the virtual Annual General Meeting was as follows:-

1. Welcome Address by the President for Session 2019/2020 (Ir. David Lai Kong Phooi).

2. Presentation of Honorary Secretary (Ir. Mohd Khir bin Muhammad) Report Session 2019/2020.

3. Presentation of Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2019 by Honorary Treasurer (Ir. Chen Hern Shean).

4. Proposed Amendments to the IEM Constitution.

5. Presentation of Results of Election for Council Session 2020/2021 by Election Officer (Ir. (Dr) Hj. Keizrul bin Abdullah).

6. Presidential Address 2020/2021 (Ir. Ong Chin Loon).

I registered my interest of participation of this virtual AGM on July 18, 2020 and since then I received 3 reminders and 2 notices from IEM almost on a daily basis from July 21 till July 25, 2020.

I clicked the link to join the Webinar at 8.45am and waited for the AGM to begin at 9.00am.  Initially I was not sure how to “sign in to the system for verification of attendance”.  I posed my query online and Ms. Janet Lim of IEM Admin promptly advised that once I joined in, the system picked up my log-in already.

Honestly, I was most interested in the Results of Election for Council Session 2020/2021. It was announced that Ir. Prof. Dr. Norlida bt. Buniyamin is the new Deputy President of IEM, meaning that by the Session 2022/2023, IEM will be having the First Woman President in history after being established on May 1, 1959.

It was noted that Ir. Mohd Khir bin Muhammad (aka MKM) was voted in as one of the 3 new Vice Presidents, and Ir. Dr. David Chuah Joon Huang the new Honorary Secretary.

Ir. MKM was the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee on Information & Publications (InfoPub StandCom) for Sessions 2009/2010 and from 2015/2016 till 2017/2018 as well as the Bulletin Editor from 2014/2015 till 2017/2018 (4 consecutive sessions).  Ir. Dr. Chuah was the outgoing Vice Chairman of InfoPub StandCom as well as the Journal Editor of Session 2018/2019.

It is observed that many past office-bearers of InfoPub StandCom got elevated to higher portfolios in the IEM Councils.  For example, Ir. David Lai was the InfoPub Vice Chairman of Session 2012/2013, InfoPub Chairman of Session 2013/2014.  He became IEM President of Sessions 2018/2019 and 2019/2020.  Ir. Tan Yean Chin was the InfoPub Vice Chairman of Session 2010/2011 and became IEM President of Sessions 2016/2017 and 2017/2018. Ir. Yam Teong Sian was the InfoPub Vice Chairman of Session 2013/2014 and became IEM Hon. Secretary of Sessions 2015/2016 and 2016/2017.

The following are some snapshots of my computer screen during the proceeding of the AGM:

Notice of AGM (Virtual Meeting) via email

After logging into Webinar

Virtual meeting in progress.  It was a pity that the screen of the speaker was too small for viewing.

Activities on display

Our InfoPub StandCom chief is on the bottom right-hand side

Total membership of IEM as it stands today

Important announcement: Printed copies of our monthly bulletins no longer posted to members from April, 2020!

Ms. Janet Lim is one of the long serving Secretariat staff (16 - 20 years) and her name was specifically mentioned by IEM President during his opening address for excellent service.  Janet is also in the InfoPub Secretariat. Ms. Ooi Beng Ean who serves more than 25 years was the secretariat staff I met when I was a fresh graduate engineer about 40 years ago!

End of Hon. Sec.'s report

Address by incoming IEM President of Session 2020/2022

e-voting of the Amendments to IEM Constitution using mobile phone

Dr. JB Lim’s Feedback On His Article Being Published in IEM’s Bulletin

The Blogger’s Note:

Following his article on Covid-19 having been published for the first time in the July 2020 issue of IEM’s monthly bulletin “JURUTERA”, Dr. Lim Ju Boo has made the following remarks in the “Origin of The Species” Chat Group created by him for his mainly medical professional friends.  I am pleased to reproduce his candid, story-telling and humorous feedback as follows:  

Fri, Jul 10, 10:26 PM:

Thanks Ir. TO Lau for the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) Bulletin, and thank you all the engineers here.

I really don’t know how your engineers association can accept and publish a medical article by me inside your IEM Bulletin?

Although I feel terribly honored, I am actually a misfit inside your profession.

The first time I met a real engineer was Ir. Tan Seng Khoon who was the secretary and I was the president of the Astronomical Society of Malaysia in the 1970’s when I was working at the Institute for Medical Research, and he was with JKR.

Both of us were from entirely different professions, but both of us landed up in another area that has nothing to do with either engineering or medical research.

A few years later mysteriously I attended an engineering seminar. I had no clue how I landed up there, and I had no clue if I understood what was presented there.

When I left the hall where the conference was held, I met Ir. Cheong Chee Kwong whom I had not met before. He thought I too was an engineer. I told him I was not, and I had no idea how I landed up attending an engineers’ conference – maybe I went there as a bogus engineer.

He was surprised, but we landed up as good friends.

After that more and more engineers came into my path, and I had no idea how they came. Either they or myself might have taken the wrong flight path.

All along like birds of the same feathers flying together, my flock of birds all along was among medical doctors.

Then suddenly another flock of birds of another feather of a different colour flew alongside our flock.  

While flying I must have kept looking at the other flock of birds of another colour, and I must have either lost my directions, or got attracted by this different flock by the colour of the feathers.

So I may have either lost direction, or got attracted, and started to deviate flight path to join their flock.

So now in this chat group and in other chat groups, there are now almost equal numbers of these two different birds flying together, and I am unsure which flock I now belong to, having now published a small article inside their engineers bulletin.

Anyway, thank you Ir. Lau for having me.

I feel I was an Ugly Duckling among beautiful swans flying next door as the story written by Danish poet Hans Christian Andersen goes,  I read when I was a small boy.

Unfortunately, I am now too old to grow up to be a beautiful swan to join them except as a bogus swan.

Fortunately, they accept me and this article in their IEM Bulletin tells all.

Thank you for having an Ugly Duckling in your flock.

Jb 

Fri, Jul 10, 10:54 PM

I agree the IEM Bulletin looks attractive and interesting to read. I shall take my time to slowly read them. 

This is the first time this Bulletin was sent to me.

Thank you Ir Lau for having an Ugly Duckling among members of your elite profession. 

No wonder my sister's friend in 1950s predicted I shall one day become an engineer by me being called to repair a radio which was not working. 

I merely shook some loose wires behind our radio which was the only entertainment, together with F & N orange crush plus some groundnuts, kauci and some biscuits for friends and guests those days.

After shaking some loose wires behind the radio, the radio started to sing those old songs by Zhou Xuan again and again.

My sister’s friend was so impressed by my "performance" to be able to make the radio 'sing' again that she remarked to my sister that I would become an engineer when I grew up.

I was so elated by what she predicted that my head immediately swelled up with pride and I went somersaulting and stood on my head for days around the house, so much so my parents were very worried and wanted to send me to see a doctor if there was something wrong with me.

Here I am as a bogus engineer writing an article for the engineers bulletin.

Thank you for having me in your midst as Bogus Swan (Ugly Duckling).

Jb 

Covid-19: Psychological and Socio-economic Impact

(Published in July 2020 issue of IEM’s monthly bulletin JURUTERA)

By Dr.  Lim Ju Boo

BSc PG Dip Nutri MSc MD PhD FRSM FRSPH, Post-doctoral Evolutionary Biology (Cambridge); Astronomy (Oxford); Forensic Science (Cambridge). 

Formerly Medical Researcher, MIT (USA) and Institute for Medical Research, Malaysia

The blogger’s note:  

It is very “challenging” for Dr. JB Lim to write a stipulated 800-word essay because a prolific writer like him is so used to write lengthy articles (see: https://taionn.blogspot.com/2020/06/dr-jb-lims-brief-introduction-of.html).

This is the first time Dr. Lim wrote for IEM and I wish to extend my utmost gratitude to him, in my capacity of the Secretary of the Standing Committee on Information and Publications and a member of the Editorial Board.

I also feel excited because I have a short write-up and photo of “Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Footbridge” for the “Engineer’s Lens” published in the same July 2020 issue of JURUTERA (see: https://taionn.blogspot.com/2020/06/my-engineers-lens-published-in-iem.html).  Dr. Lim’s article on Covid-19 was earlier targeted to be published in the August 2020 issue, but was somehow recommended by the Secretariat to be pushed forward a month earlier.  This is indeed be an honour for me to appear side by side with my most learned friend in the same publication.

It gives me great pleasure to present to you the masterpiece of Dr. JB Lim as follows:

Dr. Lim’s original Manuscript:

Much has been written on the current Covid-19 pandemic in terms of infectivity, incidence and mortality rates, its clinical features and pathology.

A lot has also been emphasized on social and preventive medicine such as social distancing, lockdown, movement control, hygiene, hand washing and even wearing of face masks, albeit face masks are not recommended by WHO, Disease Control Centre in Atlanta and even locally by the Ministry of Health.

Much has also been reported on the treatment aspect such as use of anti-malaria drugs like chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, and the anti-viral drugs like remdesivir, besides the development of vaccines.

  

However, absolutely nothing has been written on the socio-economic impact of this viral pandemic on the people’s social and economic lives, their livelihood, and the maintenance of economy of many countries and individuals due to lockdown and movement restrictions.

What is immediately more important is not just the socio and economic or physical health, but the direct impact on their psychological health which in turn may affect their physical health and well-being.  

This area is almost either forgotten or neglected.

There were many reports in Italy, Spain of people committing suicides because of death of their entire families due to Covid-19 and in Malaysia too there were at least two suicides in Penang due to the loss of job and business.

Let us look at the impact the virus plays, not just on physical health but also the psychological well-being, both short and long-term.

The psyche effect of even ancient pandemic such as the Black Death or bubonic plague from 1347 to 1351 cost the lives between 25–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351 caused untold amounts of hardship mentally and physically to people’s lives.

So was the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic (H1N1 virus) where 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. It took one year for the pandemic to flatten.

But it was not just millions lost their lives or were affected physically, socially and economically in all sense, but what is even more disastrous was the psychological impact called  “post-traumatic stress disorder” (PTSD) which is a mental traumatic condition caused by a terrifying event, either experiencing it or witnessing it,  that persisted for many  years, long, long after the event was already over.

Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia, and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts, muscular jerks and uncontrollable movements about the event as found in many people during the previous pandemics.

  

They suffer tremendously mentally for years, long after the pandemic or a traumatic event was over.

PTSD can remain for years anything from 2-3 years till 60 years or longer at the thought of countless loss of lives especially their family members and loved ones one after another.

Most people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, but with time and good self-care, they usually get better.

If the symptoms get worse, last for months or years, they greatly interfere with family and working and all socio and economic lives as well as physical health including psychosomatic illnesses.

PTSD symptoms are generally intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and in mood and changes in physical and emotional reactions.

Severe depression, loss of desire to live among others may persist even though an event such as the Covid-19 that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives world-wide may soon be over due to herd immunity, combined immunity or shared immunity reinforcing the virus to weaken due to antibodies being shared and transferred to the next infected person.

But anxiety, insomnia, nightmares that may persist for many, many years from PTSD as recorded in many people who survived World-War II. 

Now it is reported in Shanghai a new mental problem called “panic pandemic”. 

Even  though the number of coronavirus cases in Malaysia as on June 2, 2020 at 7,877 with 115 deaths, and 6,470 recovered is comparatively low compared to the United States, Spain, China, Italy and other countries, social and mental health may persist.

We have no statistics on the numbers who lost their jobs, loss of business, being retrenched, loss of social dignity, and loss of family relationship.

According to a very well-known psychiatrist, Professor Dr. Kua Ee Heok from the National University of Singapore whom I know, and whose mechanical engineer brother Kua Ee Kia was my Batu Pahat High School classmate,  but now settled in the UK, he suggests that during this difficult time we need to indulge in relaxation exercises, practice yoga and meditation, listen to relaxing music, take up hobbies like gardening and have pets, eat proper diet, avoid alcohol, tea, coffee and smoking among others.

https://www.myiem.org.my/content/iem_bulletin_2020-822.aspx