KOTA KINABALU: A group of teens from Keningau Vocational College has clinched top honours at the international Greenovate 2025 competition with their groundbreaking creation - Serusik, a sustainable meat floss made from fish scales.
Thiery Christian Thomas captained his team, comprising classmate Danish Asyraf and three final-year students, Danial Jauhari Sidar, Faiz Asmaan Hamizan, and Iqwan Qhairi Naidu, to be crowned overall champion of Greenovate 2025 in the regenerative design category for the secondary school group.
Greenovatte is an annual competition that challenges students to address real-world obstacles in property and engineering with cutting-edge green thinking.
The results were announced last Friday (May 16) on organiser Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Children and Youth Talent Association’s website.
Thomas said the name Serusik combines serunding, a traditional meat floss, and sisik (fish scales), reinvented into a sustainable and tasty protein snack.
“This will not only tackle food waste, but transform it into a delicious, marketable delicacy,” said the Tamparuli-born student, who is the middle child among three brothers.
Thomas said the idea for Serusik came after noticing that fish scales were often discarded and sometimes caused clogged pipes.
“When we noticed how much fish waste was thrown away, especially scales that were hard to clean and clogged pipes, I knew there had to be a better way to deal with it,” he said.
So the five Culinary Arts students brainstormed, developed and tested the product, which has already been sold via pre-orders and small-scale marketing, marking their first business venture.
Their mentor, teacher Dr Mohd Sirhajwan Idek, described Thomas as a natural leader and a role model for vocational students.
“He is not only academically excellent, but also leads with heart, vision and purpose. Our goal is to produce entrepreneurs, and students like him show us it is possible even before they graduate,” said Sirhajwan.
“We are turning this product into our college’s flagship product. This is also part of our target, which is to produce entrepreneurs,” said Sirhajwan.
The team’s effort did not go unnoticed as KVC director Lumang Lang also congratulated them for their dedication in applying their culinary skills to develop an innovation that not only has commercial potential but also addresses environmental issues.
Despite his many achievements, including past success with a Nyonya-inspired burger patty and as a decorated karate athlete, Thomas remains humble.
“This win is a win for everyone at KVC, and I hope that it will inspire my fellow classmates to continue their creativity because being creative is gold itself,” he said.
