PENANG, 27 January 2016 – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is working together with three partners from Japan, namely Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Yokohama City University (YCU) and the City of Yokohama (CY) as well as the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai/MPSP) on a project to restore the old market in Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang.

The USM Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman said, he was truly impressed with the town planning practice and modern lifestyle in Japan, especially in Yokohama and was thrilled when JICA offered to provide funding for the restoration work.

“I am truly thankful to JICA as well as YCU and CY in entrusting USM and assisting in this major project,” said Omar, who is also a lecturer from the School of Housing, Building and Planning (PPPBP) USM.

This cooperation was affirmed in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the five institutions, which took effect from October 2015 until 31 December 2018.

“We are truly delighted in this endeavour with USM and others involved, and hope that this project would be successful with the sharing of expertise in various areas and the experience of each entity involved in this project,” said the Director-General, CY Bureau of International Affairs, Makoto Sekiyama.

“I would like to convey my thanks to all those involved and who have contributed in ensuring the success of this collaboration,” added Makoto.

The restoration project is a follow-up to the cooperation which had been established when CY assisted in the Penang town planning project in the 1980s, which now has resulted in being listed as a World Heritage Site.

Currently, MPSP, CY and JICA are the project organisers while USM and YCU, which are also members of the International Academic Consortium for Sustainable Cities (IACSC), would provide the academic support, including the expertise of lecturers as well as students.

Others who were present at the group meeting were USM Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International Affairs), Professor Dato’ Dr. Ahmad Shukri Mustapa Kamal; Vice-President of YCU, Dr. Kimio Okada; Dean of PPPBP USM, Professor Dr. Aldrin Abdullah and Director, Training Programme Section, Yokohama International Centre, Kyoko Okubo.

Translation: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin

Teks: Nor Rafizah Md. Zain / Foto: Mohd Fairus Md. Isa