Sabah lad to sail with Japan, Asean youths in friendship program
KOTA KINABALU: The Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program (SSEAYP) is an annual program organised by the Cabinet Office of Japan in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia and the Alumni Association of SSEAYP International Malaysia (SIM/KABESA).
Twenty-eight talented Malaysian youth leaders were selected through challenging selection phases to represent Malaysia and they will be led by a National Leader in this program to nurture friendship and mutual understanding among the participating youths of Asean countries and Japan.
The program will bring together more than 300 youths from 10 Asean countries and Japan, providing them a memorable opportunity to live together on board the ship Nippon Maru for 52 days.
This year around, Sabah will be represented by Azwan Ahzran Bin Perman, a Kota Kinabalu local who hails from Kampung Lokub, Sepanggar.
The 27-year-old youth is an administrative officer at Kota Kinabalu’s Royal Malaysian Police Training Centre and a part-time lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Mara, Sabah Branch.
Azwan is the only Sabahan selected in the final selection camp for the program, where he will join 27 other Malaysian youths to represent Malaysia.
Azwan was very active during his university days when he was involved in many programs and received numerous awards. After finishing his studies, he went on to become an executive officer for a local NGO called Society Empowerment and Economic Development of Sabah (SEEDS) before he finally joined the public service.
According to Azwan, having the opportunity to be selected on such a prestigious program was beyond his expectation and would be difficult as a full-time working person, but he took it as a challenge.
During the program, participants will be involved in discussion groups looking into various aspects such as international relations, environment, economics and also cultural presentation of their home countries.
In return, Azwan expressed his gratitude to Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Panglima Haji bin Musa Aman and the state government for their generous support and encouragement to him in preparing for the program.
He also extended his thanks to Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and his ministry, Sabah Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Haji Tawfiq Bin Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Abu Bakar Titingan, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor, Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Ahmad Ayid, the management of the Kota Kinabalu Royal Malaysian Police Training centre and the UiTM Sabah and Sabah Tourism Board.
According to Azwan, the support from local leaders for this program was “exemplary and shows that the leaders care about the development of local youths, especially in the international arena.”
The Sabah lad hopes that he’ll be able to contribute to the development of youths in the state once the program has ended.
The Malaysian contingent will depart from Malaysia in October, where they will sail from Japan to the respective Asean countries and return by mid-December this year.