Undergraduates Urged To Expand Asean Community Activities

By AZEMAN ARIFFIN BANDUNG, April 30 (Bernama) -- Undergraduates have been urged to expand activities involving ASEAN-member countries as a continuity to the ASEAN community initiative as mooted by Malaysia. Malaysian Deputy Foreign Minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican said such an effort was something that should be carried out continuously as it involved the "people to people” activity. "The ASEAN community initiative, a brainchild of (our) Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, is our responsibility especially the Malaysian undergraduates in Indonesia to intensify the activities involving all students of its member countries,” he said at the closing ceremony of 2017 Bandung ASEAN Festival at the Indonesia University of Education in Bandung here Saturday night. Also present was Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Zahrain Mohamed Hashim. Reezal Merican said the organiser for the event, namely the UMNO Overseas Club in Indonesia and UMNO Overseas Student Bureau, had started well by organising such a programme which saw participation of students from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. However, he said beginning next year, the social and sporting events should be expanded to attract participation from other ASEAN-member countries. The deputy minister said the government would support such an activity as it was in line with the vision of Malaysia to turn ASEAN as a solid, sustainable and peace socio-economic region. ASEAN was now the world's third largest economy and the most peaceful region in the world, while the undergraduates were now the representatives to the younger generation that could materialise the ASEAN community initiative, said Reezal Merican. Over 1,000 undergraduates from the three nations joined the various sports event held at the varsity. -- BERNAMA