Malaysia plans to set up social studies centre

The peace and stability enjoyed since Malaysia gained independence 54 years ago cannot be taken for granted or considered as a gift to the people. To this end, the government proposed to establish a specific social studies centre to undertake research and development (R&D) in social, said Distinguished Professor Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin. Shamsul who is director of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Institute of Ethnic Studies said the country's resilience in maintaining peace and stability for 54 years should be retained. "What is important, Malaysia has reached the 54 critical point. We have already integrated but can we persevere for another 54 years? he asked at a forum titled "54 Years of Independence, Building One Nation, Sharing One Goal" here. The forum was held before a dialogue session between Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin with the Malaysian community and students here Saturday. Muhyiddin who is accompanied by wife Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman is on a four-day visit to United Kingdom since Thursday. Besides Dr Shamsul, the another panel is the Chief Executive Officer of Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Datuk Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin with Malaysian High Commissioner to United Kingdom Datuk Zakaria Sulong as moderator. He said working paper for the establishment of the social studies centre was being drafted prior to submission to the government for consideration. Studies made in these areas would be submitted to the government periodically for analysis. Meanwhile, Dr Mahani said since independence 54 years ago, Malaysia has recorded impressive development using existing resources. Since then, the country had seen economic decline in 1985, 1997 and 2009, but managed to bounce back. She said the government emphasis on infrastructure development did not neglect socio-economic development which was carried out in tandem.