| No. | Event |
| 1 | “China’s Cultural Diplomacy in Southeast Asia: Indonesian Perspective” The Centre for International Studies (CIS) in collaboration with the Centre for Corporate and Community Development, UTAR hosted this global affair talk series which highlighted China’s presence and influence play in Southeast Asia through the eyes of an Indonesian. Dr A. Safril Musbah stated that China’s power conduct can be classified as hard, soft and sharp power. The sources of hard power are its military and security while its soft power is culture. China’s sharp power lies in ideology. Dr. Safril further elaborated that the weapons for hard power were coercive and diplomatic; the weapon for soft power was cultural diplomacy, and the weapon for sharp power was manipulation The talk was moderated by Dr. Tan Wooi Yee, Chairperson of Centre for International Studies.  |
| 2 | “Russo-Ukrainian War”
The Centre for International Studies (CIS) in collaboration with the Centre for Corporate and Community Development (CCCD) hosted this global affair talk series which was delivered by Professor Wu Yu-Shan, who is a distinguish Research Fellow and Founding Director, Institute of Political Science Academia Senica Taiwan Professor Wu Yu-Shan begin by sharing the Ukrainian history, and how the Eastern and Southern parts of Ukraine are friendly with the Russians, while the Northern and Western parts are anti-Russia. Describing Putinism, Prof Wu said, “Putinism is a mixed system of different political ideas. It is not a communist party dictatorship nor is it a western democracy but rather a sovereign democracy, which is a type of competitive authoritarianism.  The talk was moderated by Dr. Tan Wooi Yee, Chairperson of Centre for International Studies. The number of audiences: 86 |
| 3 | “Look East Policy: Past Experiences, Present Status, Future Directions” The Centre for International Studies (CIS) in collaboration with Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies (TCLC) hosted a forum in conjunction with the 40th Anniversary of the Malaysia’s Look East Policy, which was graced by the Ambassador of Japan to Malaysia, His Excellency Ambassador Takahashi Katsuhiko. During his opening speech, Ambassador Takahashi said, “UTAR has been actively collaborating with the Japanese universities and companies over the years and he hoped that the collaboration will continue to develop further, seizing the opportunities of the 40th anniversary of LEP”. A total of three speakers spoke at the online forum. Dean of the Centre for the Promotion of Knowledge and Language Learning, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Dr Lai Yew Meng spoke about the relationship between Malaysia and Japan during the Second Mahathir administration which basically a continuation of what has been initiated 40 years ago albeit a widening of its scope to cover areas such as Green Technology and Artificial Intelligence. The second forum speaker, Dr Stephen Leong shared his past experience on the formation and role of the Malaysia-Japan Economic Association (MAJECA). Dr Jamila Mohd concluded the form by sharing her experienced while studying in Japan.  The talk was moderated by Dr. Tan Wooi Yee, Chairperson of Centre for International Studies. The number of audiences: 116 |
| 4 | “Studying in Japan”
The Centre for International Studies (CIS) in collaboration with Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies (TCLC) and Japan Graduates Association of Malaysia (JAGAM) jointly organised a talk on the various opportunities available to students who want to further their studies in Japan as well as to those want to try the experience of working and doing research in Japan. Two speakers were invited for the talk: Mr. Yukiyoshi Saito, First Secretary and Education attaché, Embassy of Japan, Malaysia took the floor to explain on how to apply for various courses and scholarships offered by the Japanese Government and universities. Professor Sherry Moi, who is a Malaysian, having graduated from UPM, shared on how she had to struggle to learn Japanese initially before becoming a successful virologist in University of Tokyo. She told the audience that although the course supervisor is important to achieve one’s dream, but one must also work hard to earn it. Mr Gary Tang Kok Lian, the current president of JAGAM was the moderator of the talk. He also helped to answer questions from the floor and from online participants during the Q&A sessions. Number of in-person participants: 22 Number of on-line participants: 80   UTAR VP Prof Ts Dr Faidz bin Abd Rahman (right) presents a token of appreciation to Mr. Yukiyoshi Saito. Mr Gary Tang Kok Lian encourages participants to attend their Japan Education Fair. (Left to right) Mr Gary Tang Kok Lian, Mr. Yukiyoshi Saito, and Professor Sherry Moi answer participants’ questions. |