ALUMNI ARE 'LITTLE AMBASSADORS' IN MALAYSIA-INDONESIA RELATIONS

JAKARTA, April 4 (Bernama) -- Thousands of alumni from Indonesia who had studied in Malaysian universities could act as 'little ambassadors' to tighten the bilateral relations between the two countries, Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Zainal Abidin Mohamed Zain said.

He said the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) alone had over 4,000 alumni
throughout Indonesia whose efforts and cooperation would enable those who had
yet to come to Malaysia to get a clearer picture on the country.

"These alumni who had studied and mingled with Malaysians should be lured to
play the (ambassador) roles. In this context, I am happy with UKM's efforts to
set up the Indonesian alumni association," he told Bernama Friday.

He said the association would also enable information on certain issues
in Malaysia to be disseminated to the Indonesian alumni immediately, so that
they could accurately brief the people in their community to prevent
misunderstandings.

"That is why, we always encourage all universities in Malaysia to set up
alumni associations like the ones established by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
and Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) graduates," he said.

Zainal Abidin was commenting on the setting up of the UKM Alumni Association
in Indonesia which he would jointly officiate with UKM Vice-Chancellor Prof
Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hassan Shahabuddin Saturday.

The Malaysian Students Department director in Indonesia, Dr Junaidi Abu
Bakar, who is also the 'brains' behind the setting up of the association, said
it was not just a communication channel for bilateral relationships between
the two countries, but more on helping each other in various aspects.

"For example, UKM and the alumni could cooperate in conducting
socio-cultural research to bring the people of the two countries closer, besides
sharing expertise in scientific research for mutual benefits," he said.

A two-day Malaysia-Indonesia international conference will also be held in
conjunction with the launch of the alumni association.

Sixty working papers and articles on development in both countries will be
tabled and discussed by the alumni, as well as UKM lecturers.

Meanwhile, UKM Alumni relations director Prof Madya Dr Ramli Omar said the
university had taken in students from Indonesia since the 1980s, and that
currently, most of them were holding important positions in various ministries
and departments in Indonesia, besides being successful entrepreneurs and
politicians.

"There are many of them who would want to attend the launch and the
conference but places are limited. However, we are planning to make the
conference an annual event with bigger participation, beginning in Yogyakarta
next year," he said.

To a question, Junaidi said the working papers would touch on various topics
including politics, economy, international relations, workforce, management,
laws, education, religions as well as science and technology.

"I was made to understand that UKM will publish all the articles tabled by
the alumni as a significant reference for the people, government and researchers
in both countries," he said.

Those wishing to register as alumni can do so via www.ukm.my/alumni.
-- BERNAMA