25 July – 1 August, 2016: Leadership Study Tour Program in Malaysia for Young Leaders from Cambodia

International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), the office of East and Southeast Asia hosted a Leadership Study Tour program in Malaysia for 28 young leaders from Cambodia, a mix of university students and young professionals. The tour commenced from 25 July until 01 August 2016.

This leadership study is initiated to enhance the capacity and skill of young Muslims and prepare them for future leader in their respective communities and nation. Series of talks, discussions and visits to established institutions were made during one week study tour. The first objective of this program is to gain a first-hand knowledge of Malaysian experience in developing the nation and to study the Malaysian model of peaceful co-existence within the multi-religious and multi-racial diversity. The delegates visited and had discussions with Department of Religious Affairs (JAKIM), Buddhist Mahavihara, Institute Darul Ehsan (IDE), Future Global Network (FGN), Asean Youth Council (AYC) and Malaysian Youth Council (MBM). The second objective is to expose to Malaysian higher educational institution which include visit to International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), College University Islam Selangor (KUIS) and University Selangor (Unisel). The final objective is to provide leadership skills to the delegates in terms of strategic planning and teambuilding where several talks and group exercises were conducted. The delegates were tasked to develop ‘Vision 2050 for Cambodia’ and made a 7-minute presentation during the farewell dinner. In summary, the delegates visited twelve different institutions and listened to thirteen talks and discussions on different topics, to imbed knowledge and experiences to participants.

On the final day, Dato’ Wira Dr. Jamil Osman organized a farewell dinner and presented certificate of participation to the delegates at his residence. Before the closing ceremony, the delegates were given a task to present their discussion’s input of UMYC VISION 2050. The presentation was observed and commented by selected IIIT Senior Academic Fellow including Prof. Aslam Haneef, Prof. Norma Saad, Prof. Hj. Shayaa and Prof Fauzan.

Alhamdulillah, the Leadership Study Tour was a success and went smoothly as planned with the support from IIIT and other co-hosts in Malaysia. We hope that this kind of program will continue in the next coming year, Insha Allah.