Page 6 - E-BOOK PULSE@FASS ISU NO.02/2023

Issue no. 2 | 2023

Collaboration between the Department of
International and Strategic Studies, Universiti

Malaya with Department of International

Relations, Universitas Indonesia

By Assoc Prof Dr Khoo Ying Hooi Apart from that, both departments also co-organised a Joint
International Webinar on Enhancing Indonesia-Malaysia
Relations in Recent Regional Dynamics: A Perspective from
Academia on 20 June 2023. The speakers from the faculty are
Associate Prof Dr. Helena Varkkey and Dr. Chong Wu Ling,
and Dr. Sheila Devi Michael as the discussant.

Among the aims of this webinar were to disseminate
knowledge regarding existing issues and cooperation
between Indonesia and Malaysia for the wider academic
community in the two countries; to build a common
Prof Fredy B. L. Tobing visiting the Department of International and
Strategic Studies on 25 May 2023. understanding of the topic and updates from diverse
participants; and to promote positive collaboration between
Pursuant to a Letter of Agreement (LoA), both the Department Indonesia and Malaysia, particularly in academia through the
of International and Strategic Studies, Universiti Malaya and knowledge dissemination activity.
the Department of International Relations, Universitas
Indonesia (UI), had several collaboration efforts. Both
departments exchanged guest lecture series with the Panel Speaker: The
visitation of Prof. Fredy B.L. Tobing on 24-25 May 2023 and
some online lectures. Prof Fredy B. L. Tobing delivered two Anti-Sexual
guest lectures related to Indonesian foreign policy and also
had a discussion with the members of the department. Harassment Law

By Dr Lai Suat Yan
With the passing of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law recently,
there has been increased interest on this issue. In June 2023,
Dr. Lai Suat Yan from the Gender Studies Program (GSP)
received two invitations as a panel speaker in the said topic.
The first invitation was from the Asian Law Students’
Association (ALSA), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) for its
Legal Forum 2023: Anti-Sexual Harassment Laws in Malaysia.

Dr. Lai Suat Yan spoke from the socio-cultural dimension of
the need to change the mindset of victim blaming in cases of
sexual harassment and regarding it as a trivial matter. She
highlighted the importance of the notion and practice of
seeking active consent. Dr. Lai also spoke on how the dsadsada
#MeToo movement has impacted the way society views
sexual harassment and the roles of unions and worker
organisations in preventing and addressing it.

The other two panelists were Dr. Noor Aishah Rosli, a
psychologist, and Ms Vilasini Vijandran, an advocate at DP review and broadening to include sexual abuse and sexual
Vijandran Associates. The event had 408 attendees and was exploitation in line with international standards in 2021. She
organized online on the Cisco Webex platform on 16 June also highlighted the strengths of the policy and its
from 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm. At the second panel discussion weaknesses. The other two speakers were Norsuhaida,
organized by The Advocacy Project for AIO 3006: Gender and Secretary General of the Universiti Malaya Students’ Union
Social Justice, an undergraduate course offered by the GSP, (KMUM), and Lilian Kok, Senior Programme Manager of the All
the focus was on the anti-sexual harassment policy at Women’s Action Society (AWAM). The event was held at
Universiti Malaya. Dr Lai Suat Yan spoke of her involvement in Lecture Hall D of the FASS Faculty on 16 June from 12:00
drafting and advocating for the policy in the late 1990s and its noon – 2:00 pm.

6 | Pulse@FASS