FRIDAY 28 AUGUST 2009

THE STAR

NATION

N25

Senator
Dr Ismail
dies at 61

First disabled senate member

dies while on overseas trip

KUALA LUMPUR:
The countrys first
disabled senator,
Prof Datuk Dr Ismail
Md Salleh (pic), died
on a flight from
China to Singapore.
He was 61.
An officer at
the Malaysian High
Commission in Singapore said Ismail was pronounced dead on arrival at the
Singapore General Hospital at
about 8am yesterday.
He was laid to rest at the Sungai
Kantan Muslim cemetery in
Kajang. Ismail leaves behind wife
Datin Hasnah Wahab and six children between ages of 12 and 26.
The visually challenged Ismail
became the first person from the
disabled community to be
appointed senator in December
2007.
Born in Pasir Mas, Kelantan,
he was totally blind since he was
13, but the limitation did not stop
him from getting his degree,

masters and PhD,

all in the
United
States.
His
achievements were recognised by the Guinness Book of World
Records, which named Ismail as the
first blind person to
receive a doctorate.
He also held various key positions, including Twintech International University College vicechancellor, Twintech Holdings Sdn
Bhd chief executive officer and
National Association of Bumiputra
Private Colleges president.
He was a member of the
National Implementation Task
Force in the Prime Ministers
Department and former deputy
director-general of the Institute of
Strategic and International Studies.
Bernama

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Hear it from the

Twitter addict
PETALING JAYA: If anyone has
interesting stories to share about
using Twitter and social media in
Malaysia, it is R.AGE assistant editor Niki Cheong (pic).
Cheong is one of two Malaysians
who made it to the Top 20 of the
recent Ultimate World Mr Twitter
online voting competition.
Cheong will be speaking at the
upcoming presentation on Sept 4,
entitled Adventures with Social
Media Lessons from Asias
Internet.
Singapore Management University corporate communications
practice associate professor Dr
Michael Netzley is the keynote
speaker.
In his topic, Confessions of a
Twitter Addict, Cheong will discuss
his personal experience using the
Internet to stay connected with
others.
I am a Twitter addict but social
media is so much more than just
Twitter. I hope to share with everyone my social media habits, how
it has affected my life and how I
use it for work and personally.
My presentation will include
examples of the different social
media tools I use and anecdotes of
my experiences to hopefully give
people an idea of what social
media is like and how it is used in
Malaysia, he said.
After his presentation, Cheong
will be inviting two friends, David
Lian and Carolyn Chan active
social media users and people he

got to know well via the Twitter

to join him and Dr Netzley to discuss about social media and
respond to questions from the
floor.
The half-day talk will be held at
10am at Menara Star, Phileo
Damansara II, Petaling Jaya. It is
organised by PRCA Malaysia in
collaboration with The Stars New
Media department.
Entrance fee is RM30 for PRCA
Malaysian members and RM50 for
non-members. Corporate members may register 10 consultants
and/or guests at members rate.
For more information, contact
Ong Gaik Hong or Ida Zarina Faiz
of Maverick Communications at
03-6207 1558 or e-mail to secretariat@prcamalaysia.org.