To become a global engineer who can solve water environment issues
～Learn in Malaysia, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-culture with rapid economic growth～
Malaysia, MARA University of Technology
3rd-year of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering: HORIBE, Yuki
Period of study: August 21/2022 – September 25/ 2022
TOBITATE! Study Abroad Initiative (Professional Course)
I researched water quality at MARA University of Technology in Shah Alam. I am very scared of taking a flight, so I had to put up with the flight and my body was so tense during I was on the plane.
I managed to take a picture during the flight
Malaysian don’t speak English but the Malay most of the time, so I usually didn’t understand what they were talking about. But my supervisor and people in the study office were very nice and kind to me, so I got familiar with them slowly.
People in the study office held my farewell party.
I would like to introduce three things about Malaysia that I was surprised at before I talk about my research.
The first thing is that sidewalk was not maintained. It was the car society there now, so there were only a few people walking and not many crosswalks. So, I experienced such a thrill every time I crossed the streets. When I went out somewhere far, I used an app called “Grab”. The app was used to call a taxi just by entering your current location and designation on your smartphone. Also, you can use the app for delivery. I hope the app will get popular in Japan as well.
The second thing is that there were many factories that were not approved by the government. We went to see the river pollution and plastic factory situation on a day off and we took some pictures of the factory. When we satisfied our visit and decided to go home, people from the factory came to us and said, “Delete all the pictures you took now”. When we asked why, they just kept saying to delete angrily. We were very disappointed since we were so satisfied with the visit, but it was good to know the factory situation in Malaysia.
At Twin Tower in Kuala Lumpur
The third thing is that there was a big difference between developed areas and undeveloped areas. Infrastructures were not maintained well, such as sidewalks, and water pipes, but there was a large shopping center mall called “i-City” which was located a little away from MARA University of Technology. I was very surprised at the difference between these areas. There were constructions on going everywhere in the city, so I felt the city would be kept developing in the future even though there were issues such as noise, and odors.
Now, I would like to explain the research I did briefly. What I researched was to compare the water quality of the tap water and the rivers in Japan and Malaysia. I measured the water quality of a Tofu factory and a recycling factory in addition to the samples for comparison. I researched in the study office from 8:15 to 17:30 on weekdays. After I went back to the dormitory, I made a research report and material for presentations as well as studied English vocabulary. It was very fulfilling days.
At the front of Tofu factory
At the front of Recycling factory
I had heard that Malaysian water was smelly and you could not drink the water because it was dirty. But the tap water was colorless the same as the Japanese one and not dirty. But it had a strong chlorine smell, so I thought it was not possible to drink. When I measured the value of the tap water for an experiment, it was almost the same as the Japanese clean water. The measurement method I used was simple, so if I did Escherichia coli measurement and chlorine content measurement, I would have had more differences. Also, the watercolor gets sometimes brown with iron depending on the water pipe equipment. So, I would like to check about it.
Measuring pH with pH meter
Luckily, I learned how to clean the water in addition to measuring water quality. Malaysia has mild climates throughout the year, unlike Japan, so it is the perfect environment for microorganisms to grow. I hope they will spread a cleaning method using microorganisms, not only to clean the tap water with chemicals.
When I get another opportunity to study abroad, I would like to research, consider, and discuss following my new curiosity. I developed my language skills and grew my way of thinking by studying abroad.
I think the most important key to grow yourself is by having curiosity, a challenging mind, and positive thinking all the time.
My first study abroad was the best because it gave me the courage for my dream. Studying abroad is great!
I wore Hijab at the wedding mosque.