THE Brunei Association of Japan Alumni (BAJA) sent a seven-member delegation to the 22nd Asean Council of Japan Alumni (ASCOJA) Conference hosted by the Japan Graduates’ Association of Malaysia (JAGAM) between September 30 and October 2.
The conference themed ‘Asean-Japan Bridging Cultural Ties in Trade, Tourism and Technology’ was held at e-City Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Brunei delegation was led by the current Secretary of BAJA, Najmina binti Latif.
According to a press release, among the keynote speakers during the conference were Dato’ Seri Ong Ka Chuan, 2nd Minister of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia; Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Mohd Munir bin Abdul Majid, the Chairman of Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad; and Kazuo Chujo, Director for International Affairs, Japan Tourism Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Highlighted in their speeches were hopes for members of ASCOJA to continue being key channels to promote people-to-people relationship with Japan and Asean member countries. The integration of free trade agreement and importance of technology to improve trade by facilitating e-commerce were also emphasised, as well as an introduction to thematic tourism in the Japanese Tourism Policy.
The Bruneian delegation with the ASCOJA Chairmanship Flag at the 22nd ASCOJA Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From left to right: Joshua Lim Sheng Ming, Rabi’atul binti Abu Bakar, Anitasartini binti Tarip, Mohd Hadi Iskandar, Noraini binti Haji Shawal, Dila binti Ibrahim and Najmina binti Latif. – BAJA
ASCOJA, founded in 1977, is the premier Japan alumni organisation catalysing friendship, education, culture and social relationships among its members towards dynamic Asean-Japan relations.
At the conference, BAJA officially received the Chairmanship of the ASCOJA Council for 2017 and will be hosting next year’s ASCOJA Conference. This will be the first time Brunei will host the ASCOJA Conference since joining ASCOJA.
On the sidelines of the ASCOJA Conference was the Asia Japan Alumni (ASJA) International Symposium on Trade, Tourism and Technology, where Anitasartini Tarip, an Education Officer at Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah College represented BAJA as one of the presenters.
She presented the findings on the usage of the WhatsApp messaging app in students’ learning process, the academic and practical benefits of using the app and the challenges that affected students’ learning by using the app.
Throughout the conference and symposium, BAJA also held an exhibition of local delicacies such as Kek Batik and Kuih Sapit, which attracted interest from the other Asean representatives.
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