Page 3 - 022022 PULSE@FASS e-Bulletin

Issue no. 2 | 2022
Whakatipu Scholarship Award Ceremony

By Mr. Ahmad Hilmi Mohamad Noor
A financial aid worth RM 15, 000 funded by the Education
New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao and Universiti Malaya
aimed to empower the young talents and encourage
knowledge exchange amongst the indigenous students at
the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

YBhg. Datuk Professor Dr. Danny Wong Tze Ken, Dean of
the Faculty in his welcoming expressed his heartfelt
gratitude towards the Education New Zealand for Ms Sharmila Bernau congratulating the students in her speech
providing the generous Whakatipu Scholarship for the
educational empowerment of 3 indigenous
undergraduate students, where each of them will receive
RM5,000 along with free access to a premium online
learning – Future learn. Of the three recipients, two, Diana
a/p Bah Said from East Asian Studies (Japan Programme)
and Norazah a/p Din (Korea Programme), are of Semai
ethnicity. Scholastica Philip, pursuing Environmental
Studies, is Kadazan.

In the spirit of the term ‘whakatipu,’ Ms Sharmila Bernau,
Deputy High Commissioner of New Zealand to Malaysia, All three selected students with the Dean, Deputy High
emphasized the aim of the scholarship to support the Commissioner and Regional Director
notion of an all-inclusive society, by recognizing and the scholarship symbolizes nourishing its recipients,
strengthening the young talents from the indigenous allowing them to become strong and confident through
community through learning and knowledge exchange. learning and exchange”. In attendance were also the
“Whakatipu in the Māori language means to stimulate or Regional Director, Ben Burrowes, fellow ENZ and faculty
nurture growth. It stems from the Māori word “tipu” which members. The event ended on a merry note with
means shoot or new growth, like that from a seed. Thus, traditional and indigenous dance performances.

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Chinese

Studies Department

By Dr Ngu Ik Tien
The lecture was divided into two sections. In the first
section, Prof Tan shared his extensive field research
experiences in Malaysia, remote areas of China and other
parts of Southeast Asia. He reminded the students of the
importance of humility in carrying out field research.

During the second part of the lecture, Prof Tan listened to
proposal presentations made by three current
Bottom left: Prof Danny Wong, Professor Tan Chee Beng, Tan Sri postgraduate students and gave his comments and
Dato' Sri Chan Kong Choy, members of CSD and Alumni Association, suggestions on how to improve their research frameworks.
PEJATI
In conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the Chinese The lecture was held in the meeting room of CSD, and
Studies Department (CSD), the department invited more than thirty postgraduate students attended the talk.
Professor Tan Chee Beng, a renowned Malaysian Prof Danny Wong, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and
anthropologist, to give a lecture on field research to the Social Sciences, Tan Sri Dato' Sri Chan Kong Choy, the
postgraduate students of the CSD. Prof Tan had been the Adjunct Professor of CSD, and the representatives of
acting Head of the Chinese Department for a brief period PEJATI (the alumni association of CSD) also attended the
when he served at the Universiti Malaya in the 1980s. workshop.
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