MALAYSIAN DPM ARRIVES IN CEBU FOR 45TH SEAMEO COUNCIL CONFERENCE

From Haslinda Zainal

CEBU CITY, Jan 26 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin
Yassin arrived here Tuesday to attend the 45th Southeast Asian Ministers
of Education Organisation (Seameo) Council Conference.

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, was accompanied by his wife,
Noorainee Abdul Rahman, and Education Ministry secretary-general Dr
Zulkurnain Awang.

They were welcomed on arrival by the Malaysian consul-general of Davao City,
Mohammad Azhar Mazlan, Philippine education under-secretary for special
programmes and projects Vilma C. Labrador and local officials.

Muhyiddin is expected to have meetings with key education officials of the
Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia on the sidelines of the
conference.

His attendance at the four-day conference, which starts Tuesday, reflects
Malaysia's commitment towards internationalising Malaysia's education and
enhancing the country's position and visibility as a centre of education
excellence in Southeast Asia.

The conference, which is being held back-to-back with the fifth Asean
Education Ministers Meeting (ASED) will, among others, deliberate on a report on
the Asean University Network and the Asean schools resource material.

A highlight of the conference is a policy forum entitled "Understanding the
Vital Pathways for Future Learning" where Malaysia will share its experience in
educational development with the other Seameo members.

The Bangkok-based Seameo secretariat will present a report on the
implementation of the "Seameo Collaborative Project to Reach the Unreached in
Southeast Asian Countries and Achieve Education For All (EFA) Goals by 2015",
where several proposals were submitted by Malaysia.

More than 200 people from 19 countries and representatives from
international organisations are attending the conference.

The Seameo member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

-- BERNAMA