PENANG, 12 August 2017 - The group from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has excelled in the 19th IMT-GT Varsity Carnival held recently, with successes achieved in different categories that were contested, namely:

1. Basketball: Gold
2. Tennis: Bronze
3. The Best Spirit IMT-GT (Adikarma)
4. The Best Mix Group (seminar) 
 
For the awards that were given to USM, they were given based on votes by the 10 participating universities, with the focus given on the team which showed full commitment and is highly disciplined throughout the carnival.

The IMT-GT carnival comprised of activities such as sports, cultural trips and performances and dance workshops. USM sent 71 students accompanied by officers to the event held between 5-10 August 2017 at Universiti Sumatera Utara (sports), Universiti Negeri Medan (cultural performance) and Institut Teknologi Medan (seminar).

According to USM first-year student, Badrul Haziq Badrul Hisyam, he has learnt about the cultures of all participants who participated in the programme and this has provided him with the opportunity to gain new ideas towards improving himself in this arena.

USM Cultural Officer, Students Development Affairs and Alumni Division, Zulkifli Che Hussin said, the IMT-GT carnival is a good platform to train the students in addition to giving them opportunities to exchange ideas, thus nurturing the spirit of togetherness among the ASEAN community.

"Other than that, USM also served as a small ambassador that carried its name across the borders of Malaysia and promoted its strength in such cultural exercises," he added.

11 universities which participated in the carnival this year consisted of those from Thailand: Thaksin University, Prince of Songkla University, Walailak University and Rajamangala University; from Malaysia: Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Universiti Utara Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi MARA Perlis; and from Indonesia: Universiti Negeri Medan, Universiti Sumatera Utara and Institut Teknologi Medan.

The Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) idea was mooted by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, H.E. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. In 1993, the former President of Indonesia, H.E. Suharto, Prime Minister of Thailand, H.E. Chuan Leekpai and H.E. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad together endorsed the formalisation of IMT-GT in Langkawi, Malaysia.

IMT-GT provides a sub-regional framework for accelerating economic cooperation and integration of the member states and provinces in the three countries.

The IMT-GT promotes private-sector led economic growth and facilitates the development of the sub-region as a whole, by exploiting the underlying complementarities and comparative advantages of the member countries.

Text: Hafiz Meah Ghouse Meah