Outstanding UON graduates Tan Sri Dato' Sri Ar Hj Esa Hj Mohamed and Captain Mohammed Faiz Kamaludin represented Newcastle on the world stage last night, with each taking home a Malaysia Australia Alumni Council (MAAC) Award.
Highly successful architect and town planner Esa received the MAAC Distinguished Alumni Award, recognising his outstanding achievements and successes that have earned him national and international prominence.
Esa is the founder and director of architectural and planning firm Akitek Jururancang (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (AJM), and is responsible for projects including the Subang Jaya township and the master plans for the city of Kuala Lumpur.
Esa is also the newly-elected President of the International Union of Architects (UIA), representing nearly 1.3 million architects in more than 100 countries.
Commercial airline pilot Faiz won the Community Award for his significant and sustainable contribution towards critical issues in society.
Faiz, a Master of Aviation graduate, works with the Malaysian National Space Agency to deliver awareness programs about aerospace to students and is President of the Astronautical Association of Malaysia (AAM).
A notable highlight of Faiz's community work was the Campus Space Walk program in 2010, where 46 professional astronauts presented to undergraduate students at 11 different university locations throughout Malaysia. The program reached out to more than 7,000 students, earning AAM a recognition letter from the Association of Space Explorers.
The MAAC awards are highly competitive and are open to graduates from all Australian universities living in Malaysia. Only four MAAC awards are presented each year and we are extremely proud that UON graduates have been recognised with two awards.