Imagine getting the opportunity to pay tribute to some of the greatest academic minds in Malaysian history—all while you’re still in your third year of university.
Two third-year Bachelor of Mass Communication (Honours) Advertising students got that exact opportunity, when they were involved in the production of an “In Memory of Departed Social Sciences Scholars” tribute video at the recent 12th International Malaysian Studies Conference (MSC12) on August 17 and 18.
Arresh Norman Sidhu and Maaturi Chittharthar contributed to the video, which took place on Day 2 of the conference.
This session was specially curated to recognise and appreciate the contribution of the late eminent social scientists in Malaysia—notably the late Royal Prof Dr Ungku Abdul Aziz Ungku Abdul Hamid, Prof Datuk Dr Syed Hussein Alatas, Emeritus Prof. Dr Khoo Kay Kim, Prof. Dr Ishak Shari, Prof. Dato’ Dr Zawiah Yahya, Prof Dr Rahimah Abdul Aziz and Assoc. Prof. Rustam Sani.
The videos recorded the life and academic career histories of the departed social sciences scholars by interspersing photos from family members and friends with sentimental songs that touched the audience’s hearts.
Prominent scholars and close contacts of the late scholars mentioned above were invited to further highlight the great roles played by these departed social sciences scholars. Among the invitees were Prof Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Fellow from Akademi Sains Malaysia; Prof Dr Syed Farid Alatas from the National University of Singapore; Mr Eddin Khoo, Director of Pusaka; Dato Dr Anis Yusal Yusoff, Honorary Prof and Prof. Dr Ong Puay Liu, Principal Fellow from Institut Kajian Etnik, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia; Assoc. Prof. Dr Noraini Md Yusof, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of IKMAS, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Prof A. Halim Ali, a retired professor from UNIMAS.
In addition to Arresh and Maaturi, Bachelor of Corporate Communication (Hons) students Alexander Jeremy Joseph, Ashley Ling, and Im Kim Huoy—as well as Bachelor of Mass Communication (Honours) Journalism Yaashini Nagesh—were also appointed as Conference Assistants for MSC12.
What They Said:
Arresh:
“It was a really meaningful experience. I learned how to place and pace the images used in the video to follow the beat of the music. This actually plays a significant role in impacting the emotions of the audience so I really learned a lot. All of us are so thankful to QIU for giving us this amazing opportunity.”
Maaturi:
“I have done few videos but the making of this memorial video of such amazing people, made me realize how glad I am to work on this project. To be honest, I have put a lot of effort into making it happen and I’m really happy and satisfied with those who accepted it,” she said.
Alexander:
“As a CA, I had the opportunity to listen to prestigious scholars and researchers from around the world sharing their knowledge and data from their research. Their research revolved around important topics ranging from culture and ethnicity to economics and politics; topics which greatly affect modern society.”
“It helped me grow as a student and also a person in society as it taught me the importance of sharing knowledge for the improvement of the world.”
KimHuoy:
“I get to observe the paper presentations from scholars and researchers within/outside Malaysia and learned from that. From all those incredible presentations and discussions, it really inspired me to pursue further studying and conduct my own research.”
The 12th International Malaysian Studies Conference was organised by the Malaysian Social Science Association (PSSM), the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS) and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). It was the first-ever fully online conference since the first MSC was introduced in August 1997.
Kudos to all our fantastic School of Communication students who represented our university with style and success!
