Abang Johari Tun Openg (centre) witnesses the exchange of MoU documents between Abdul Karim (left) and B.T. Hang Tuah at the opening ceremony of the Pehin Sri Adenan Satem Chair and the Second International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities 2021 (ICOSSH 2021) in Kuching today.

KUCHING: The establishment of the Pehin Sri Adenan Satem Chair at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) will realize efforts to create a database on the Borneo community that can help expand research on the Borneo ethnicity. Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said, this research chair is a very noble effort as the university's appreciation to the struggle of the former chief minister as a child of Sarawak.

He said that during his life, Tok Nan had brought progress to the people of Sarawak in the name of unity, regardless of race or religion. "We hope the funds given by the state government can be used in research, especially for the development of Sarawak society," said Abdul Karim at the opening of the Satem Pehin Sri Adenan Chair and the opening of the Second International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities 2021 (ICOSSH 2021) here today. this.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony was also held between the two parties, namely UPM represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Industry and Community Network), Prof. Ir. Dr B.T. Hang Tuah Baharudin while Abdul Karim represented the Sarawak State Government. He said the research findings would ultimately help the state government in formulating its policies.

The Pehin Sri Adenan Satem chair will be placed under the Borneo Ethnic Research Center and managed by the Faculty of Humanities, Management and Science at UPM Bintulu Sarawak Campus with its status as a research centre and faculty specializing in social science research on Borneo ethnic groups in Sarawak. Abdul Karim said the research fund would be channelled through the Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture led by himself, with an initial injection of RM2.54 million for the first three years.

“With this funding, I hope the Borneo ethnic database can be realized. "At the ministry level, I am very proud of UPM Bintulu Sarawak Campus because this initiative will make significant reforms in Sarawak and make legendary names like Tok Nan (Adenan Satem) an icon in Sarawak ethnic research," he said.

On the organization of the Second International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities 20121 organized by UPM Bintulu Sarawak Campus, he praised the effort to highlight the culture of Sarawak and Borneo and was very important to the state government in introducing Sarawak to the world. He said the findings of the conference should be stored in the form of a database as a reference for researchers and the state government to formulate state development policies.

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Date of Input: 28/10/2021 | Updated: 27/04/2022 | lanz