Wednesday 13th August 2008 – Knowing we had a full day ahead, we left Imperial Hotel early in the morning for our first venue SM Lok Yuk, Likas. We were greeted by the sound of drums and roaring school children. Just another day in the park for Faiz Khaleed as he engaged the crowd and gave a presentation about the Angkasawan Programme. The crowd consist of students from 16 different schools within the vicinity and were packed in the modest sized school hall. Some students brought their own chairs as the hall was full to the brim without any inch to spare. The students were delighted with the talk as Faiz Khaleed inspired them with information about space exploration and the importance of science. The session ended with the usual Q&A and all important photo session. We had a great time and interacted with the students and teachers after the event.
After lunch we proceeded to University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) which was voted the most beautiful campus in South
East Asia. Faiz Khaleed gave a talk to the student leaders about the “Importance of Space Exploration”. It was a different type of crowd compared to the morning session. Faiz Khaleed however managed to enlighten the students and got them thinking about the benefits of the space programme for our nation. Later on in the evening we had a state dinner with the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr. Maximus Ongkili at a local seafood restaurant. It was a casual affair of about 200 guests and everyone enjoyed themselves. We retired early after a long and satisfying day…
Mohammed Faiz bin Kamaludin