PENANG, 16 October 2015 – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is regarded to be among the best research universities in the country, as well as in having a truly progressive and well-planned internationalisation programme.

That was shared by the Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia, H.E Herman Prayitno who also identified USM as one of the foremost higher educational institutions of choice by many students from throughout the region, especially Indonesia.

He said, programmes such as the USM Ambassadors Summit and USM International Week for Promoting Education and Culture are among the activities which can strengthen the regional roles in developing knowledge holistically.

“A programme such as this is not only meaningful for USM but also provides the opportunity to more than 200 Indonesian students here to join in the activity actively and directly interacting with the international community.

“The organisation of this event allows more students from Indonesia to come to USM and at the same time would increase the number of Malaysians visiting the neighbouring country,’’ he said.

He stated that during his speech in officiating Festival Indonesia 2015, held to establish closer ties between Malaysia and Indonesia and also to promote trade and tourism between the two countries here.

Others who attended the event were the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang, Dato’ Mohd Rashid Hasnon, USM Pro-Chancellor, Tan Sri Datuk Mustafa Mansur, Consulate-Generals of Indonesia and Japan in Penang, Taufiq Rodhy and Ryuju Noda, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Division of Industry and Community Network) Professor Dato’ Dr. See Ching Mey and other invited guests.

He added that, the students who pursue their studies in Malaysia including USM are the nation’s ambassadors in their own right, which requires them to uphold the good name of their home country and its people.

“Such a pursuit can be achieved not only by acquiring a good standing in academics, but also from their role in promoting further the arts and culture of Indonesia to all,’’ he said.

He also said, even though Malaysia and Indonesia share the same Malay heritage roots and having numerous similarities, the understanding on the arts and culture of Indonesia generally is still incomplete.

“Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands, 300 clans and ethnicities and 742 different spoken languages and dialects. This festival presents only a small part of the Indonesian, with the rest yet to be explored.”

“Nevertheless, it is hoped that at least it would be able to attract the attention of the patrons in Malaysia to continue to visit Indonesia, simultaneously enhancing the currently-established relations,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the programme organised by the Indonesian Students Association (Persatuan Pelajar Indonesia) USM, which also received the cooperation from various parties including the Consulate-General of Indonesia, has more than 20 booths having various items on sale.

Among the items displayed were trade and creative products, such as fabrics which originated from the 34 provinces in Indonesia, as well as promotional tour packages to destinations in the country.

In addition, ‘Batik Fractal’ which combined the technology using mathematical formula and traditional batik-drawing to create a software called Jbatik was also on display, showing the uniquely Indonesian style.

The Indonesian Cultural Night which was the highlight this annual event, held for the fourth time, has lined up arts and cultural performances from Indonesia, including an appearance by a well-known artiste, Cakra Khan and joined by dance and traditional performances of ‘gamelan’, ‘kecapi’ and ‘seruling’.

Text: Marziana Mohamed Alias

Translation : Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin