First Encounter With Botany and Biodiversity

I was first introduced to biodiversity studies in 1973 when I conducted a life history study of Mikania micrantha (Compositae) for my Honours Project at the Botany Department, University of Malaya, under the supervision of Dr. N. Prakash, a well-known embryologist. I was informed Dr. N. Prakash, now at the University of New England, Armidale, Australia, was a student of the eminent Indian embryologist, Dr. Maheswari.
After my graduation in 1974, I went back to my home town, Kota Bharu to teach at my alma mater, Sultan Ismail College, as a temporary teacher. I taught mathematics for Form 5 students and biology for Lower and Upper Six students.
While teaching at SIC, I received a letter from the then Dean of Science Faculty, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Dr. Ghazali Abdul Rahman (who died as Datuk Prof. Dr. Ghazali Abdul Rahman in 2007), invited me to join UKM as a Tutor in Plant Taxonomy. When I received that letter I asked my late father as to what I should do. Candidly he said, "Bila kita duk di atas kita boleh duk di atas atas atau duk di bawah, tetapi bila kia berada di bawah susah nak naik atas". Literally it means, "when you are at the top you can stay there or at the bottom, but when you are at the bottom, it is difficult to go up". Hence, i decided to quit teaching in August 1974 and by September 1974 I was in Plant Science Labs, University of Reading, pursuing my MSc in Pure and Applied Plant Taxonomy. I graduated in 1975, and continued to read for my PhD studying, "Malesian Vitaceae" at the same university under the supervision of Profs David M. Moore and Vernon H. Heywood.
I have my viva voce before Christmas of 1978 and was home before the end of the year. On the insistence of my family, I reported at Jalan Pantai Baru, Kuala Lumpur and was appointed as a lecturer in January 1979. In 1980 I was appointed as the second Head, Unit of Botany and remained till 1982 when the Department of Botany was formed in June 1982, when I was made the first Head. I continued my studies of Malesian Vitaceae by publishing the "Taxonomic revision of Pterisanthes Blume" and the Peninsular Malaysia revision of the genera Cissus, Cayratia, Ampelocissus, Ampelopsis, Parthenocissus and Tetrastigma. It was in 1982 I published a new genus, Nothocissus (Griff.) Latiff, after I decided to elevate the Section Nothocissus within the genus Ampleocissus, to a generic rank.