By Nisa Khairina Amirudin
Photo by CALC, UPM
KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 - The Centre for the Advancement of Language Competence (CALC), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) organised ‘Flavours of Myanmar: Cooking Show with Chef Wan', a programme to raise funds for UPM students who will be participating in the 'Language and Cultural Engagement Programme in Myanmar 2019’ this October.
Director of CALC, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arshad Abd. Samad, said CALC encouraged its teachers and students to organise activities and programmes outside the classroom to further enhance their language skills and motivation in learning foreign languages and cultures.
"A mobility programme such as this will enable students to challenge themselves in using the Myanmar language that they have learned in Myanmar itself, and at the same time, it will allow them to acquire valuable experiences there," he said.
'Language and Cultural Engagement Programme in Myanmar 2019' is a collaboration between UPM and Yadanabon University, Mandalay, Myanmar. This programme would provide a platform for students to share their knowledge and to experience Myanmar's culture firsthand.
A participant of the programme, first year student from the Bachelor of Malay Language and Linguistics, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication (FBMK), UPM, Engku Nur Alia Engku Mohd Ghazali, said she was excited to be involved in the mobility programme.
"Many exciting activities will be held during the two-week trip including introducing the language and culture of the Malaysian community to the Myanmar community, and visiting Yadanabon University as well as other places of interest," she said.
The programme, ‘Flavours of Myanmar: Cooking Show with Chef Wan’, sponsored by a celebrity chef, Datuk Chef Wan, showed demonstrations of Myanmar national cuisine such as Danbauk, Mohinga and Gin Thoke by lecturers from the Faculty of Food Science and Technology, UPM, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shahrim Abdul Karim and language teacher at CALC, Daw Thi Da Than @ Sarah Hisham. They were assisted by Datuk Chef Wan himself.
Among the guests present at the event were Daw Sein New Aye, Myanmar Ambassador to Malaysia; Datin Dayang Mariani Haji Bongsu, the wife of Brunei High Commissioner to Malaysia; Pham Thi Hong, the wife of Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia; Mrs. Sien, the wife of Ambassador of Indonesia to Malaysia; Datin Sri Shamsidar Taharim, the wife of Minister of Economic Affairs; and Masdiana Muhamad, the wife of Selangor Menteri Besar. - UPM
