VICE-CHANCELLOR VISITS SINTOK FOREST AND UUM GOLF COURSE

UUM ONLINE: October 3, 2015 – Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dato' Seri Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak visited the Sintok Forest and UUM Golf Course this morning.

The visit is aimed at identifying the priceless treasures found in the Forest Sintok which could potentially attract huge number of scholastic tourists in conjunction with the Visit UUM Edutourism 2016.

Among the priceless treasures which can be found in the Sintok forest are trees which are hundreds of years old dubbed as the three sisters.

The uniqueness of this particular type of tree rests in its size which is said to reach up to 10 hugs. The UUM Department of Development and Maintenance will collaborate with the Department of Forestry to identify the species of the said tree.

"UUM is in works of labelling the species of trees found in Sintok forest in both its traditional and scientific names in hopes of providing information to visitors. Paths will also be built to better facilitate visitors’ access into the area," he said.

Living up to its reputation as University in the Green Forest, tourists are able to enjoy the campus in all its splendour, being surrounded by tropical rain forests, undulating hills, emerald green lake and meandering rivers, namely Badak River and Sintok River flowing in the midst of campus.

He also expressed his satisfaction with the current progress undertaken by the JPP and hoped that greater efforts would be made to beautify the landscape of UUM campus.

He also added that UUM had set up a Pet Farm where farm animals such as ostriches, geese, ducks and rabbits were being reared.  Expansion work would also take place in the deer farm.

"We are in the process of incorporating other animals such as peacocks, swans and flamingos in the Pet Farm," he added.

In addition, the Equestrian Centre which has 13 horses is not only developed for sports but visitors could also go horseback riding.

Vice- Chancellor also assessed the progress of the upgrading process of the UUM golf course from 9 holes to 18 holes. To date five holes have so far been completed while the rest are expected to be ready early next year.

Moreover, he also reiterated that UUM will also work with the Ministry of Tourism and Kedah Tourism Sdn. Bhd. which is a subsidiary of the Menteri Besar Incorporated to promote Visit UUM Year 2016 in line with the Visit Kedah Year 2016.

Also present during the tour were the Director of UUM JPP Ir. Md. Uzairin Saidin and officials from both the JPP and Security Department.