BY NAZLI IBRAHIM
PUCHONG, AUG 24: The capability of a Form 5 student Manoj Kumar, from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tasik Puteri Rawang in competing against much older and senior participants, including university students, in a robotics competition should be an eye-opening experience to all.
Ted Chan, the Malaysian Raspberry Pi Club founder, said this is because despite his young age, 17-year-old Manoj Kumar has successfully shown his potential in this field by winning second place in the robotics competition held at International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM).
“It is hoped that private or governmental organisations would be involved, especially in terms of sponsorship, and in developing the budding potential of youths who are interested in this field,” said Ted when meeting SelangorKini recently.
He explained that apart from winning second place, Kumar often ranked well in other competitions he has joined.
He said that Manoj is also able to develop computer software that is usually mastered by those who are skillful in software development.
“Manoj has a bright future in this field as he has already achieved being on the same level as university students despite being only 17 years old.
“It’s hard to find a youngster like Manoj who has this kind of ability. There are those who are interested but they have not achieved what Manoj has,” he added.
When asked about his plans, Manoj said that he is now preparing himself to participate in an international-level competition organised by Microsoft which will be held in 2017.
“Prior to that, I have to get through the national level and only if I succeed, will I then qualify myself for the international level,” said Manoj.
Manoj’s father, Subramaniam Kaliannan, reminiscing on the early days when his son first got into the field, said that Manoj is very hardworking and he never gives up; qualities needed to pursue the field.
“At first I gave him my computer, however not long after I saw that my computer seemed to have crashed but a few days later I found that the computer was functioning well again.
“Even now he would disassemble the computer that he has to its basic structure and then reassemble and upgrade it to a more sophisticated level,” he added.
