Cemara and Akasia
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Kolej Cemara and Kolej Akasia are hostel complexes provided for students who are studying mainly in International Education Centre, University of Technology MARA. There are currently twelve 5 storey buildings in both hostel compounds, respectively. Cemara college have a capacity of 960 for the placement of male and female students where there are 2 blocks of dormitories provided exclusively for female students. Akasia college can accommodate 1291 female students.
Address format for Cemara and Akasia
(room number)
Kolej Cemara Akasia
UITM Shah Alam
Jalan Pinang Raja 18/2
Seksyen 18
40200 Shah Alam
Selangor
Accommodation
Students will be staying in apartment style “houses.” There will be two bedrooms in each house. Within each bedroom there will be:
- two closets. These closets can be secured by using a small padlock. Security is not guaranteed as the closets can easily be pried open.
- two single beds
- two small cupboards
There will also be a living room in each house. There will be four study tables, two sofas, one white board, and a rather large mirror in (almost) every living room. To keep the environment cool there is also a small fan at the ceiling. However, it is still advised that occupants go and get their own personal fans as the climate can get very warm at times over a year.
There will also be one bathroom/washroom(sitting form) and one kitchen in each house. As cooking is forbidden in both Cemara and Akasia, the kitchen is mostly used to boil water and to store foods.
There will also be a balcony. Here occupants can hang their clothes to dry outside as well as using the trash tunnel to throw away their rubbish. Note that occupants on the first floor do not have trash tunnels. You have to walk out to throw them.
There will also be a fan-equipped study room in each block.
Food
Stoves aren't allowed within the compounds of Cemara/Akasia due to the risk of fire. You may, however, bring along an electrical rice cooker for making steamboat etc. and an electric kettle to cook instant mee or soups. You may also bring a microwave oven or an induction cooker as there are no rules that forbid the use of them in the hostel.
There is a row of food stalls within the Cemara grounds that sells pretty substantial food at decent prices. Its all Malaysian standard fare (halal of course) with mixed rice and the usual plethora of goreng-gorengfood.
There will be a pasar malam at section 18 every Monday. Students may take this opportunity to get very good deals on food supplies. The fruits and vegetables sold in the pasar malam are said to be fresher than those sold in the supermarkets. There's also a good fruit shop in Ole Ole which sells cut fruit and pure fruit juice.
For fast food junkies, there is a multitude of fast-food outlets located just outside of the college compound. These fast food outlet chains comprise of Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds and Ayamas. Other restaurants frequented by Cemarans and Akasians would be Al-Rafi Bistro, Restoran Imthiyaz and Al-Awwal (for Mamak food). Besides that, Secret Recipe, Baker's Cottage, The Chicken Rice Shop and Pak Li Kopitiam are very popular as well.
For those who wants non-halal foods, the easiest place to go will be at the Akasia bus stop at 5 pm or so (timing is inconsistent but the benchmark is around that time) on weekdays followed by section 16. There is a Chinese lady who sells economy rice which has pork. There is also a hawker centre at Section 16 that usually sells fast (economy) foods. An alternative would be the hawker centres in section 25. However, there is no direct access to the place via public transports. The students can go there using taxis or private cars.
Water
The water supply in Cemara/Akasia is bad due to the old rustypiping systems that have not been replaced in Cemara/Akasia. These rusts usually comes out with the water out of the pipes if they are left idle for a time. The tap should be opened and left running for a minute before it looks clean enough to be used.
Hence it is recommended that the students buy a filter to fit to the kitchen water supply as well as boiling the water first before consumption or buy water for 20 cents per litre from one of the water vending machines located in the area. 5l bottles can be obtained from Giant or bought directly from some of the shops in the area.
Laundry
There are 3 options to get the laundry cleaned.
1. By hand
Students may wash their laundry by hand. This is the most economic method since it only requires the students' energies put to scrubbing the clothes. The toilet provided in the apartments are big enough for laundry purposes.
2. Washing machines
Washing machines are provided by the hostel administration. As of the year 2005, there are 3 machines respectively in both Cemara and Akasia. Now, in 2009, there are only 2 washing machines left. Since there are so many people using it, you may have to wait for your turn. In Cemara, students will be spending RM2.50(50 cents coins) for each wash so it is recommended that they collect their laundry to a large enough size to save money. The machines can hold up to 7KG of load at one time. The machines will go through the pre-wash, main wash and rinse processes automatically. Students will have to provide their own detergents. After completion of the washing process the students will have to dry the laundry themselves.
3. Laundry shops
For those who are used to people doing everything for them, there is a last option to send their weekly laundries to the laundry shop. The charges are reasonably cheap, counting in a about RM1.50 per kg for loads of less than 3KG. This is only valid if the students bring along their students ID cards along with them to prove their identity.
Security
Students who stay there have reported that the guards are more interested in booking students for dressing rules violations rather than looking after the security of the hostels properly.
Hence, students are encouraged to take their own initiative in securing their belongings, as thefts happen regularly there. The recommended security measures to protect their belongings as well as themselves are as follows: 1. Never leave important articles unsecured 2. Always lock the dorm up before leaving the dorm/going to sleep 3. It is not advisable to bring along valuable non-required stuffs like jewelery to INTEC 4. Keep smaller valuable items like cellphones secured with yourself or locked up in the closet 5. Occasionally, you may see unknown people lurking around in the hostel. Do immediately inform the guards at their post so that they can go and investigate what is happening. 6. Secure and backup the data on your laptop on a separate drive to protect your assignments should your laptop ended up being stolen.
Laptops/Desktop Computers
ADFP and AUSMAT students will need it to carry out research for assignments, essays, presentations etc. It is especially recommended for these students since they can now work in their own time and room instead of relying on the unreliable computer labs/library.
A-Level students will only need it once in a while for biology assignments.
Laptops should be kept safe as stated in the security section, as thefts happens frequently there. Students are advised to make and keep frequent backups of their important data (assignments etc.) in case the computer ended up being stolen. Security devices such as Kensington locks are recommended as well.
Electrical Items
Each electrical item is subject to a fee of RM10 per semester. This include everything that needs to be plugged into the power supply to function such as phone chargers, computers, kettle, fans etc.
The following items are forbidden in hostel compounds: 1. Televisions, Astro decoders etc. 2. Refrigerators 3. Air-Conditioners 4. Bathroom water heaters
Students are advised to switch off the power when leaving the house to safe electricity and reduce risk of items short-circuiting themselves while they are away.
Spot Checks
The hostel management will come at random times to do spot checks on the dorms. Should there be illegal items in the dorm, students have the time to hide their items in their closets before letting them in. However, if there is no one in the dorm at the time, spot checkers can and will open up the doors with their own keys. Any lock present on the door may be cut off as well.
Internet
There are several means to get online in Cemara and Akasia
1. Computer lab at Cemara hall
The connection in the computer lab is considered not bad to browse the web. Filters are installed and will block certain websites such as BitTorrent, Youtube, Friendster, and Facebook. Social networking websites such as Friendster will be unblocked after 6p.m.. Certain website such as YouTube that utilizes Flash technology will not run properly since Flash Player addon isn't installed to the computers(Note: Flash players isn't needed to use YouTube). The Computer lab is opened from 5.30p.m. until 11.00p.m. on weekdays and 9.00a.m. until 10.00p.m. on weekends.
2. Cemara/Akasia Gewireless internet subscription
The bandwidth of this internet service is 12Mbps at Cemara hall and is shared throughout Cemara and Akasia. You can get online anywhere in Cemara/Akasia including in the dorms. This connection is not filtered. The subscription fee is RM100 for 5 months but you can also subscribe for 1 month only for RM30. Both packages are subjected to RM20 one-time registeration fee respectively. The quality of internet connection depends on the location. The speed of internet connection at Cemara hall is known to be fast. However, students can access the internet from their own rooms with a reasonable speed. Students can subscribe to the service at Cemara hall on Monday and Wednesday from 8.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. from a seated guy using a netbook. An attempt at upgrading the speed of the connection has been made following complaints from the students.
3. Subscription to other ISPs
Students may opt to subscribe to a WIMAX connection (starting from RM49) with Celcom or Maxis. These subscription may have broadband fair-usage policy where downloads are capped at 4-5GB per month. Should this cap be exceeded, the ISP will downgrade internet connection speed. Students will have to agree with each other that this connection will only be used for internet browsing purposes and not for excessive downloads.
Dress Codes
Male students are required to wear long pants any time they are outside of their room.
Female students are expected to wear clothing that covers their whole body except the hands and head. Tops should cover the butt as well (many non-muslim girls opt to wear jacket to circumvent this rule). Sandals are allowed.
Going to campus
Male students are expected to wear formal clothing only on Mondays. They may wear casual clothing for the rest of the week. However, collared shirt, long pants are considered mandatory. No sandals are allowed.
Female students are required to wear formal on Mondays and Fridays. Most opt to wear baju kurung on both days. No slits are allowed on the dresses. They may wear casual for the rest of the week. However, attires must still cover the whole body except the hands and head. Three-quarter sleeves for girls is supposedly not allowed but occurrence is high enough to assume that it is fine. Wear at your own risk. Sandals are allowed. Slippers have been seen now and then but again, wear them at your own risk.
Jeans and cargo pants are allowed as part of casual wear.
Religious activities
1. For Muslims:
There is a resident surau in the admin building 1st floor. Prayers and ceramahs will be held there by the resident imam.
2. For Christians:
Christians, there is a gathering every alternate Thursday at New Life Restoration Centre, Kota Kemuning. It is called Campus Alive. Cell group will be held every Thursday in one of the hostel room when there is no gathering at Kota Kemuning. Don't worry people, transport is always provided. Visit Campus Alive for more information.
3. Buddhists:
There is a Dharma group catering to Buddhist students. Activities are usually held on Sundays by Kota Kemuning Buddhist Association(which is also affiliated with Dong Zen temple). Transportation will be provided. Usually there will be Dharma talks, but other activities like charity works, visits to homes of the non-so-lucky-ones will be held as well. Quote: Originally Posted by Apollo Correction regarding the Buddhist group. The group is still functioning very well.I know that for a fact because I joined it.Normally the group(Dharma On Campus, DOC) has activities in Kota Kemuning and it is also affiliated with SABS (Shah Alam Buddhist Society), BUBS(Bandar Utama Buddhist Society) and Dong Zen temple.
4. Other religions:
Information here needed!
Private Vehicles
Students are allowed to have their own private vehicles. However, students are not allowed to park their vehicles in hostel compound. Students are reminded to have their vehicles properly secured as the surrounding area is known for thefts.
Transportation to/from the Campus
INTEC provides shuttle buses that will transport students to and from the campus. These buses will come very frequently from 7 to 8am. Students can expect pushing and pulling as they enter the buses since there are lots of classes that start at 8am and Malaysians are not known to be civic minded when it comes to queuing up and waiting patiently for their turn. To beat the queue students can come out earlier.
After 8am onwards there will be one bus per hour, or when the buses in INTEC are full.
General View of the Life There
Posted by vseehua: Pretty relaxing for me, with lots of times to play games, chit chat until sunrise, reading my own stuffs, going out to jalan-jalan, visiting temples with the members of the buddhist group. It's my best time of my life. To add to that, I met my current girlfriend there.
Recreational Activities
There are futsal, hockey and basketball courts within the Cemara compound. Akasia houses a badminton/ping pong hall which also contains a surau for girls. In Akasia, just right beside block 8, there are outdoor fitness facilities. There is a park right outside of both hostels, where students can go and jog. Besides those, there are also 2 tennis courts in the campus. There is also a swimming pool in the main UiTM campus in Shah Alam. Do take note that girls should wear proper sports wear: long sleeves shirt and long pants while playing sports too.
Most co-curricular activities will be held during the weekdays. Some more time consuming activities like hiking, camping trips can only be held during the weekends because of scheduling difficulties.
TV rooms exists in almost every block at the ground floor. These rooms are equipped with Astro decoders so students have a large variety of television shows/movies to choose from. Do note that these rooms will most probably be filled with football fans during matches.
Books and notes
Students are expected to fork out their own money to buy notes and books as these will not be sponsored. Some lecturers will provide notes for students to make copies from. Reference books can be bought from seniors mostly at lower than market price. However, students are advised that books are of more limited use since it is more reliable and less time-consuming to read lecturer provided notes instead.
Fees
The rental fees to stay in Cemara/Akasia/Cendana will be paid for by the respective sponsors. However, students are expected to pay a nominal fee or RM85 per semester at the beginning of every semester for administration purposes.
