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Abstract. The rapid development resulted in the deterioration of the quality of drinking water in Malaysia. Recognizing the importance of water quality, new alternatives for drinking water such as mineral water processing from reverse osmosis (RO) machine become more popular. Hence, the demand for mineral water, natural spring water or water from the hills or mountains rose lately. More consumers believed the quality of these spring water better than other source of drinking water. However, the quality of all the drinking water sources is to meet the required quality standard. Therefore, this paper aims to measure the quality of the waters from hills, from RO machine and the water supply in Ulu Yam, Selangor Batang Kali, Malaysia. The water quality was determined based on following parameters: ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3), iron (Fe), turbidity (NTU) and pH. The results show that the water from hills has better quality compared to water supply and water from RO machine. The value of NH3 ranged from 0.03 mg/L-0.67 mg/L; Fe was from 0.03mg/L -0.12 mg/L, turbidity at 0.42 NTU -0.88 NTU and pH is at 6.60 -0.71. Based on the studied parameters, all three types of water are fit for drinking and have met the required national drinking water quality standard.

This paper examines different factors which affect the academic performance of students of the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Accounting and Finance (BAAF) at Kolej Poly-Tech Mara, Bangi. The study provides insights into the association between different entry qualifications and academic outcomes, complementing the evidence that advocates the implementation of academic merit for admission. This paper expands this evidence base by examining relationships between entry qualification, a pre-degree academic performance used for admission, and performance at the BAAF programme conducted in Malaysia. Regression results showed that the student's CGPA for entry, English proficiency (MUET) and entry qualification were significant factors for the academic performance in the BAAF programme at the 1% level. Comparing the academic performance of two different entry qualifications, the result of independent t-test shows that students who enter with Diploma from UiTM performed better than the students who graduated with a Diploma from Kolej Poly-Tech MARA. This study only focuses on BAAF students at Kolej Poly-Tech Mara, Bangi. Thus, the findings are specific to the conditions at this college and are not generalisable. A similar study could be done at other colleges and universities so that comparisons and generalisations could be derived. The results of this study have several implications for university administrators and policymakers. It justifies setting the requirement for entry. The results show that the same minimum point system of entry can be unfair to students from different entry qualifications. Furthermore, the minimum grade point required (min CGPA) for entry must consider the entire curriculum of the qualification used for entry.

Water quality study was conducted on water vendor machines with different types of systems that are available around Parit Raja, Batu Pahat such as reverse osmosis systems, systems nanotechnology nano-silver system and water supply pipes. The aim of this study is to distinguish the water quality from the vending machine that follow the standard quality whether authorized or not. Standard water quality parameters such pH, iron concentration experiments, experimental manganese, aluminum and experimental testing ammoniacal nitrogen were computed as comparison. Nanotechnology system water produces better quality when comparing to the pipe water as its pH value shows 6.62. From the experiments the concentration of iron, manganese, aluminium and ammoniacal nitrogen shows 0.08-, 0.07-, 0.05-, and 0.01 mg/L respectively which all the values are in compliance with the National Drinking Water Quality Standards (NDWQS). As for water from reverse osmosis system and pipe water supply both its pH is 6.2 and 6.4 correspondingly which both are not concurrence with National Drinking Water Quality Standards. However, iron content for water from reverse osmosis (0.30 mg/L) is higher than water supply pipe (0.12 mg/L) and both are in the standard range. Iron content of the water supply pipe which is not allowed by 0.14 mg/L. Compared with water from a reverse osmosis system in which the iron content is at a maximum of 0.10mg / L. The parameters of aluminium and ammoniacal nitrogen, the two systems are at acceptable levels. For water from nano-silver system, all parameters are in compliance with the National Drinking Water Quality Standards.