Boosting mental literacy

(From left) Prof Chuah, Dr Ling, Lim and Dr Tan at the launch of the Malaysia Festival of the Mind.

THE 13th Malaysia Festival of the Mind (MFotM) is back this year to boost the mental literacy of Malaysians.

Themed “Great Mind”, the first session of MFofM was launched last Saturday at Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC).

The two-day event was organised by the Malaysia Mental Literacy Movement (MMLM), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) and TAR UC.

The subsequent MFotM event will be held on July 15 and 16 at UTAR, Kampar; and Nov 3 to 5, at the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Held annually since 2007, the event will feature, among others, products, programmes and activities related to mental literacy, the Third Inter-Varsity Sudoku Tournament and mind games.

Trainers and speakers including Asia’s top International Master of Memory Huang Sheng Hua from China will be present to introduce various techniques and skills in the improvement of mental literacy.

It aims to develop thinking, memory and creativity skills through the empowerment of the mind.

At the launch, MMLM chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik said: “The MFotM demonstrates brain skills and importantly, memory.

“It teaches you how to maintain and improve your memory.”

Dr Ling, who is also UTAR chancellor and founder, encouraged the public to master the art of picturing what they wish to remember.

“(This way) you will remember it for a long time,” he said.

LBS Bina Group managing director Tan Sri Lim Hock San, who launched the event, said for 13 consecutive years, the festival has been playing an active role in society by creating an educational platform.

“It has become a notable platform to create awareness and help raise the level of mental literacy among the public.

“Our brain has the ability to store unlimited information, and the more we learn, the smarter we become. “The more we exercise our brain, the fitter it becomes,” he said.

Lim said maintaining mental fitness is as crucial as keeping a routine workout for physical fitness.

“Going to fitness centres and gyms is not enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

“We need to exercise our minds and brains too,” he added.

Lim encouraged visitors to grab the opportunity to explore various brain stimulating activities.

The launch ceremony also saw a prize giving ceremony for the winners of the Mind Competitions 2017, held on April 15 at UTAR Sungai Long campus.

Random Letters of Alphabet (children’s category) special prize winner Muhammad Naqib Muazad, 9, said he did not expect to win.

“The competition was challenging. We were given a piece of paper with patterns on them, which we had to memorise and then draw them out,” he said.

Ng Yi Jing, 11, won the first prize winner under the mental calculation category.

She found the competition challenging yet fun. Yi Jing was accompanied by her father Ng Hon Leong, who said she is more confident.

Also present were UTAR president Prof Datuk Dr Chuah Hean Teik and TAR UC president Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok. For more information, log onto https://www.utar.edu.my/mmlm.