Dr Fetty Shamy Lin Yahaya
KOTA KINABALU (Dec 10): Visually impaired Dr Fetty Shamy Lin Yahaya proves that disability is never an obstacle to excel in studies.
After receiving her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Science Education at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) 24th Convocation on Saturday, the 44-year-old mother shared how she managed to complete her studies despite challanges as a part-time student and also struggling during the pandemic.
“As a person with disability, I always push myself, and tell myself to be confident in whatever I do because I believe hardwork will pay off.
“When I have to complete my assignment during lockdown, I was afraid at first, but everything went smoothly with a little bit of creativity on obtaining data and information through online,” she said.
The lecturer at Aminuddin Baki Institute also expressed her appreciation to every individual who assisted her in many ways, during her studies.
“I thank my parents, family, lecturers, co-workers and also my classmates for being there whenever I need them. I am blessed to have them throughout my journey,” she added.
To her juniors, Dr Fetty said the influence of social media is one of the issues that should be tackled with responsibility.
“Self control is the most important shield when facing the internet, especially social media.
“We never can predict what can be found in the social media. It could be positive, neutral or negative influence. We need to be more responsible to ourselves and have self control in making decision, especially when using it for educational pruposes,” she added.
A total of 4,298 UMS graduates will receive their scrolls at the convocation ceremony that will be held for three days from Saturday.
UMS vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Kasim Mansor said the graduates would include 3,798 receiving their bachelor’s degree, master’s degree( 271) and doctorate (92).
There will also be 73 diploma graduates and 64 post-diploma graduates, he said, adding that all the graduates completed their studies this year.
“The number of doctorate recipients, which is 92 this year, is the highest at a UMS convocation ceremony,” he said.
He said 126 international graduates, including from Japan, China, Korea, Brunei, Yemen, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Chad, Gabon, India, Mozambique, the Philippines and Timor-Leste, would also be among the graduates.
“We also have 14 people with disabilities (PwDs) receiving their scrolls at this convocation, and the first batch of 24 graduates of the Bachelor’s Degree in Oil and Gas from the Faculty of Engineering,” he added.
The UMS convocation ceremony will be held in six sessions, with the first session involving the presentation of the scrolls to the graduates by the Sabah Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin, who is UMS chancellor, and the other sessions, by UMS pro-chancellor Tan Sri Azman Hashim and Kasim, himself.
Attendees at the convocation ceremony, including graduates, their parents and guardians, as well as the UMS staff, are encouraged to always wear face mask, especially when they are in the hall.