By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Oct 8: The coming 2nd International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities (ICOSSH) 2021 will highlight the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) exchange on establishment of Pehin Sri Adenan Satem Research Chair (Kursi Tok Nan).
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the MOU exchange will be done between the ministry and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Bintulu Campus at Grand Margherita Hotel on Oct 27, 2021.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg is expected to officiate the ceremony then.
Allocated with an initial fund of RM2.542 million for three years, Abdul Karim said the setting up of the Chair was to realise the late Tok Nan (former Chief Minister Pehin Sri Adenan Satem)’s idea and intention to conduct research on various ethnicities in Sarawak.
“The Chair will be led by Associate Professor Dr Mohamad Maulana Magiman who is an expert in the field of anthropology at UPM Bintulu Campus.
“Through the Chair, the University will produce a database related to Sarawak ethnicity in the field of culture, arts and heritage. In addition, various forms of publication papers such as journals in Malay and English of international standard, books and documentaries will be produced through the findings of a study conducted for three years,” he said at a press conference held at Baitul Makmur 2 building here today.
He further said the reference materials will then be placed at and kept by the ministry’s website, UPM Bintulu Campus, Sarawak State Library, Sarawak Museum Department, archives and stakeholders.
“The findings of the study will later be used as reference and guidelines in policy making in the State,” he added.
The international conference this year uses two presentation approaches, namely face-to-face and online, involving 50 presenters of papers from Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The conference will focus on the field of social sciences and humanities especially related to the ethnicities of Sarawak and Borneo. It also targets the participation of researchers, academics, postgraduate students, government agencies and even policy makers.
Meanwhile, Dr Mohamad Maulana disclosed that the Chair is also providing four main quotas for the ministry’s staff to further study at the Master and PhD levels, which is fully borne by the funding given to the Chair.
He also said that the UPM Bintulu Campus is to take on the responsibility of setting up a center of reference and database called “Tok Nan Gallery”. – DayakDaily
