theSun | WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 26 2008 11

More teams for world Effendy (left)

and Wupid
organiser
Muhammad

varsities peace debate Yunus

by Faith Labunda
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
A TOTAL of RM35,000 is up for grabs in
the second CIMB Group World Universi-
ties Peace Invitational Debate (Wupid)
championships to be held in Kuala
Lumpur from Dec 14 to 17.
This year’s champions will receive
RM15,000 and the CIMB Wupid chal-
lenge trophy, while second to fourth
placed teams will receive cash prizes
of RM10,000, RM7,000 and RM3,000
respectively.
CIMB Group corporate communica-
tions head, Effendy Shahul Hamid, said
the debate this year will see 60 teams
competing, compared to 30 last year.
The value of the cash prizes have been
Penang anti-WiFi group to hold signature drive
AN anti-WiFi group has been formed to start
a signature campaign against the Wireless@
Penang project. Calling itself the Penang
Environmental and Health Concerns Aware-
ness Group, it claimed the state had ignored
the rights of Penang folk by approving the
project.
“The state has ignored our rights as
we will be exposed to WiFi 24 hours a day
regardless of whether we want to or not,”
its spokesman Ding Thoun Yee told a press
doubled from RM19,000 last year.
Several of the world’s top universi-
ties, including previous Wupid cham-
pions, the University of Sydney, will
be returning to compete while newer
entries include Harvard and Cornell.
The preliminary rounds, quarterfinals
and semi-finals will be held from Dec
14 to 17 at the Universiti Kuala Lumpur
while the grand final will take place at
8pm on Dec 17 at the Kuala Lumpur
Convention Centre.
Entrance for spectators is free.
“CIMB Group is proud to support
activities which cultivate leadership
qualities, and CIMB Wupid is a great
platform to promote the application of
intellect, creative thinking and effective
communication,” he said.
conference. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng
had on Sept 18 launched the pilot Penang
Free WiFi project by the REDTone-Hotgate
Consortium under Wireless@Penang.
Ding claimed that the Austrian Medical
Association is pressing for a ban on WiFi in
schools while Austria’s head of environmen-
tal health and medicine, Dr Gerd Oberfeld,
has claimed that WiFi could be dangerous
to sensitive people.
“A WiMax tower will emit radio frequency
Zakaria hold
the champi-
ons trophy
after the
launch.
as far as 50km and radio frequency has
been known to have adverse effects such
as higher cancer risks, headaches, nausea,
lack of concentration, depression, allergy,
behavioural changes and chromosomal
abnormalities,” he said.
The group appealed to the public to join in
their signature campaign to stop the project.
To join in the cause, visit http://penangwire-
less.blogspot.com or email to penangwire-
less@gmail.com.
Learning from your
child’s perspective
THE World of Effective Learn-
ing exhibition, targeted at
parents with children aged six
years and below is underway
at the Mid Valley Exhibition
Centre until Dec 2.
The exhibition, organised
by Dutch Lady in association
with HELP University-College
Department of Child Psychol-
ogy, is an opportunity for
parents to see and learn from
their children’s perspective.
“We often overlook the
fact that our children are still
learning and discovering new
things and this is how parents
will be able to understand
their children better,” said
Dutch Lady Malaysia market-
ing director Jan Pieter Tanis.
“The whole place is filled
Tan Mei Kun, Dutch Lady
marketing manager, infant
toddler division, holds a
giant pencil to demonstrate
to parents the difficulties
faced by children in learn-
ing how to write.
with different experiential
learning tools to help parents
understand the challenges
their children face at various
stages of growth,” he said.
Activities like the “Un-
steady Walk” will remind
parents how it feels to be
a child taking the first few
steps and the four-feet giant
pencil will show parents the
difficulties faced by their
children in the early stages
of writing,” added Tanis.
The exhibition also incor-
porates dynamics for children
to learn and interact with
their parents through the
“Scavenger Hunt” while the
“Astronomy Room” is a place
for both, parent and child to
learn about the stars.