AAR Bukit Broga Trip 2013

A group of AARSC members on a “Love our Nature” trip, hiked up BUKIT BROGA in Semenyih on 4th April 2013. They woke up as early as 5.00 am to head out for the climb and watched the sun rise. The hike took about an hour and half. Standing at 400 meters high, the incredible panoramic views (esp. at dawn) and nature trails made the tiring climb worthwhile.

AAR Sports Day 2013

It’s Girls’ Power at the Netball tournament held @AAR Tissue Culture Lab, Ijok. The players donned their team colors of yellow, pink, red and blue, played their hearts out to beat their opponents. Supporters huddled under big canopies & umbrellas sat on the field cheering their favourite team. Amongst them was Mr. Tan Cheng Chua, who braved the blazing sun, giving his strong support for the netball team. He later presented prizes to winners and players.

A Futsal tournament was played at the indoor Tropical Badminton Academy on Saturday, 16/3/13. The men and ladies team from AARSC pitted against each other. Despite aching feet with all the dribbling and running, it was a good time for everyone. Besides vying for the medals, it was a great workout for the participants away from their normal office routine.

AAR Raya Celebration 2013

AARSC held an Open-House Hari Raya at our very own AAR Café @ Kota Damansara. It was a Muhibbah occasion as the staffs came together to celebrate and wished our Muslim colleagues a “Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri” besides enjoying the main dishes, ketupat, satay and BBQ.

AAR Desaru Team Building Trip 2013

More than 100 AARSC members headed to Desaru in Johor for a Team Building trip. The participants were engaged in some team building programmes organised by the Hotel Management based on the theme, “One Mission, One Identity”.

Besides frolicking by the beautiful, crystal clear beach, the participants visited one of the biggest Ostrich farm in Malaysia. The members had a very interesting & educational tour of the farm and had the rare privilege of sampling the ostrich egg, which is about 15 cm long, 12 cm wide and weighs about 1.5 kg. On their return, they made a short stop @JPO for some branded shopping.

AAR Annual Dinner 2013

AARSC Annual Dinner 2013 was held at the prestigious Mutiara Ballroom of The Royale Chulan Damansara on 8th November. The gala nite with the theme “Memories last Forever” had participants clad in their best suits of green & black. There were a mixture of entertainments: Bollywood dance from Main Office, Indian dance from TCLab & Zapin from Paloh substation. In addition, Shannon gave a great rendering of “Rolling in the Deep by Adele” while Chen ZY captivated his listeners playing the Japanese lyrics, “Sukiyaki” on a traditional Chinese musical instrument. For the first time from PT AARI, they vowed the crowd with an Indonesian traditional song. Last but not the least, the awards and lucky draws put smiles in many hearts and faces that night!

AAR Chinese New Year Celebration 2014

Chinese New Year has always been associated with the color “RED”. So AAR staffs, dressed in their brightest colors rose up to the occasion. The AARSC committee was at hand to wish the Chinese staff “Happy Chinese New Year” & to hand out “kam” (Mandarin oranges) to all who came. It was a time of sharing as the CNY celebration brought together all the races as we tucked away all the rich, rich food. Ex-ROs, Joyce, Gan also graced the occasion.

10th Natsem 2013 Exhibition @ Kingwood Hotel, Sibu Sarawak (24-26 June 2013)

AAR Seminar on Hybrida

(Organisers: AA Resources Sdn. Bhd. & Kimia Utama Sdn. Bhd.)

Seminar @ Kingwood Resort, Mukah on 27 June 2013

Field Day @ Rinwood Pelita Estate, Mukah

KLK Mini-Conference for Managers and Assistants (Plantation)

Venue: AAR’s Auditorium, Kota Damansara

Distinguished guest speakers:
Mr. R.Chandran (Group Specialist Advisor, Platinum NanoChem Sdn Bhd)
Dr. S. Paramanathan (Param Agricultural Soil Surveys)
Dr. Soh Aik Chin (Advisor, AAR)
Dr.Ravigadevi S.(Director of ABBC, MPOB)
Prof. Peter Ooi (Head, Department of Agricultural & Food Sciences, Fac. Science, Utar)
Dr. Ho Cheng Tuck (Agricultural Consultant)
Mr. Chung Gait Fee (Agricultural Consultant)
Dr. Idris Abu Seman (Head of Ganoderma & Diseases Research Unit, MPOB)
Prof. R.Cooper (Reader in Plant Microorganism Interactions, Department of Biology & Biochemistry, Uni. of Bath)
Dr. John Ng (Principal Consultant, META Consulting)

CONFERENCE PROGRAMMES
MC, Mr. Cheah Chen Kin of KLK, kicked off the Conference with his opening speech & Mr.Chew Poh Soon (Consultant, AAR) with his welcoming remarks to the participants, including distinguished guest speakers.

A total of 8 sessions (as below) for the 3 days period, covered a number of important issues pertaining to past, present and future outlook of the Oil Palm crop. These were followed by Q&A and discussions.

Session 1: Plantation Company’s Strategies for progress and sustainability
(Chairman : Mr. Roy Lim Kiam Chye, Group Plantation Director, KLK)

• Keynote Address: KLK’s Objective & Strategies (Tan Sri Dato’ Lee Oi Hian – CEO, KLK)
• Palm Oil Scenario: Prospects and Challenges in the Next Decade (M.R. Chandran – Group Specialist Advisor, Platinum NanoChem Sdn. Bhd.)

Session 2: The Oil Palm
(Chairman: Mr. Tee Thiam Keng, General Manager, KLK)

• Genetic, Breeding & Selecting Oil Palm for the future (Dr.Soh A.C – Advisor, AAR)
• Carbon Assimilation, Dry Matter Production & Partitioning of Growth and Yield in OP (Goh K.J. – Director of Research, AAR)
• Parameters and Criteria for Assessing Health, Growth and Yield in OP (Teo C.B. – Agronomist, AAR)

Session 3: Growing conditions for Oil Palm
(Chairman: Mr. Lim Eng Kee, Senior General Manager, KLK)

• Importance of Climatic factors in OP Cultivation & Their Mitigation (Dr. Kee K.K – President Director, AARI)
• Guidelines on Drainage: Management & Planning in OP Plantation (Tey S.H. – Agronomist, AAR)
• Key Soil Physical, Chemical & Biological Properties and their Improvement for OP Cultivation (Patrick Ng & Dr. Tasren – Agronomist, AAR)
• OP Growing Soils of the World (Dr. S.Paramananthan – Param Agric. Soil Surveys)

Session 4: Agronomy in Oil Palm Management
(Chairman: Mr. Mah Fak Chin, General Manager)

• New Biotechnology Sciences in OP R&D and Potential Impact on its Cultivation and Management (Dr. Ravigadevi S. – Director ABBC, MPOB)
• Role of OP Agronomy in Achieving SYP (Arif Sugandi – Agronomist AARI)

Session 5: Fertiliser Management in Oil Palm
(Chairman: Mr.Mah Fak Chin, General Manager)

• The AAR OP Fertiliser Recommendation System and Maximising Nutrient Uptake Efficiency (Patrick Ng – Agronomist AAR)
• Choice of Fertilisers: Factors and Parameters Used (Teo C.B. – Agronomist AAR)
• Development in the application of Spatial Information Technology for OP (Tey S.H. – Agronomist AAR)

Session 6: Biodiversity and Pest Management in Oil Palm
(Chairman: Mr Eyu Teong Po, Regional Director, [Sabah] KLK)

• Biodiversity and Its Importance in OP Estates (Prof. Peter Ooi, – Head Department of Agric. & Food Sciences, Fac.UTAR)
• How Insect Pests get to Devastate your OP and What you can do to prevent this (Dr. Ho C.T, – Agric. Consultant)
• Biology of Rats in OP estates and Their Control (Chung G.F. – Agric. Consultant)

Session 7: Basal Stem Rot and Other Oil Palm Diseases
(Chairman: Mr Eyu Teong Po, Regional Director, [Sabah] KLK)

• Update on Biology and Control of BSR in OP estates (Dr. Idris Abu Seman, – Head of Ganoderma & Disease Res.Unit, MPOB)
• Major OP Diseases in the World: Keeping Them Out (Prof. R.Cooper, – Reader in Plant-Microorganism Interactions, Dept of Biology & Biochemistry, Uni of Bath)

Session 8: Management in Oil Palm Estates
(Chairman: Teh Sar Moh Nee, Regional Director, [Pen. Malaysia] KLK)

• Firing up-Engaging for peak performance ( Dr. John Ng, Principal Consultant, META Consulting)

Tan Sri Dato’ Lee Oi Hian (CEO, KLK) presenting appreciation gifts to distinguished guest speakers.

Dr. John Ng, META Consulting (centre, front row) with some of the participants.

Personal Details/Awards/Publications: Laura Lin Tze Chin (LLTC)

Personal Details

Awards

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Publications