KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 — Although global headlines on Malaysia usually feature negative incidents like scandals or plane crashes, some Malaysians have gained international recognition with their accomplishments.
Malaysians have made scientific discoveries, broken world records in sports and won international contests.
Here, we take a look at 10 Malaysians who made a name for themselves:
Supermassive black hole discovery
Early this year, 27-year-old astrophysics PhD student Nur Adlyka Ainul Annuar, who is studying at Durham University in the UK, grabbed headlines after she and a group of astronomers announced their discovery of a supermassive black hole.
Scientists believe supermassive black holes lurk at the centres of most big galaxies, but many are hidden from the view of most telescopes.
Currently pursuing her doctorate study at Durham University’s Centre of Extragalactic Astronomy, Nur Adlyka’s research was focused on trying to find active supermassive black holes which are usually shrouded by thick clouds of gas and dust
The Johor native told Malay Mail that her passion for astronomy and the outer space was sparked by science fiction blockbusters Apollo 13 and Armageddon.
Possible alternative to antibiotics
Shu Lam, who is a 25-year-old Malaysian PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, made a breakthrough last year in the world’s battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria dubbed as superbugs.
After over three years of research during her thesis work, she reportedly developed a chain of star-shaped polymer molecules that could kill superbugs without harming healthy cells.
Her research was reportedly published in the Nature Microbiology research journal.
Lam’s PhD supervisor, Professor Greg Qiao, told South China Morning Post’s This Week in Asia that his student’s research was still in the early stages and that much more work must be done to verify the best formula and structure, and to reduce the dosage and to do more tests on toxicity before the substance is considered safe for human cells.
Fifa Puskas Award for spellbinding goal
Last year, Malaysian footballer Mohd Faiz Subri bagged the coveted Fifa Puskas Award for the most beautiful goal of 2016, placing himself name on the same list as past winners such as international football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior.
Mohd Faiz, 29, was also the first Asian player ever to win the award after his jaw-dropping freekick made international news.
He garnered 59.46 per cent of the votes to win the gong, named after famed Hungarian football legend, Ferenc Puskas.
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World’s funniest comedian
Local comedian Harith Iskander beat four other finalists to emerge the winner of the Funniest Person in the World competition last December, winning the grand prize of US$100,000 (RM416,000).
The win is a first ever for Malaysia, which has been seeing an active growth in the number of stand-up comedians.
Laugh Factory, who was the organiser of the competition, is a chain of comedy clubs in the US which has seen a number of big names pass through its doors, including Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle as well as Jay Leno.
First gold medals at the Paralympics
At the Rio Paralympics 2016, Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi won Malaysia’s first Paralympics gold medal, making history in the men’s 100m T36 (cerebral palsy) event after clocking 12.07 seconds. He shattered the previous record of 12.25s set by Roman Pavlyk of Ukraine in Beijing in 2008.
Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli, who previously bagged a bronze medal in the 2012 Paralympics in London, also won a gold medal and created a new world record in the men’s shot put F20 (intellectual disability) with a throw of 16.84m.
Abdul Latif Romly won the third gold medal and broke the world record in the long jump T20 (intellectual disability) category with a 7.60m jump.
Malaysia ranked 36th out of 170 participating countries at the Rio Paralympics last year with its three golds and one bronze.
Winning a transsexual beauty pageant
Malaysian trans woman Laeticia Raveena, a trained pastry chef from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu, was crowned Miss Transsexual Australia in January this year, the biggest and most prestigious beauty pageant in Australia for transgender women and drag queen performers.
The former leading showgirl of the world famous Alcazar Cabaret in Thailand had previously participated in a few major pageants like Miss International Queen and Miss Alcazar held in Thailand, Miss Transuniverse Malaysia and Super Sireyna Worldwide in Manila.
In an email interview with the Malay Mail Online, Laeticia said she was fortunate to have a strong support system and people who inspired her and believed in her potential.
Laeticia, who is fluent in six languages ― English, Tamil, Malay, Indonesian, Cantonese and Thai ― had topped 10 other entrants to win more than RM65,000 in cash and kind prizes, including a US$15,000 voucher for gender correction or cosmetic surgery at Kamol Cosmetic Hospital in Bangkok.
Listed among 100 most influential figures in biotechnology
In 2015, Dr Mahaletchumy Arujanan, who leads the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC), was listed among the 100 most influential leaders in biotechnology in a report published by renowned scientific magazine Scientific American.
Mahaletchumy joined names like Windows software founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, as well as actor Michael J. Fox.
The sessional lecturer at Monash University is also editor of Malaysia’s first science newspaper, The Petri Dish.
Offers at all Ivy League schools
Cassandra Hsiao, a Malaysia-born 17-year-old, accomplished an extraordinary feat by getting offers at all eight Ivy League universities in the US.
Born to a Taiwanese father and Malaysian mother in Johor Baru, Hsiao earned the placements through an impressive university admission essay, about her experience learning English despite it not being her family’s first language.
The Ivy League comprises eight prestigious private higher education institutions in the US: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Dartmouth, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale.
Hsiao announced that she has picked Yale University, where she would be pursuing an arts degree while majoring in theatre.
