BEIJING: Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia today consented to officially renaming the Malay Studies Chair at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) in His Majesty’s honour, now titled the Sultan Ibrahim Chair of Malay Studies.
His Majesty is currently on his maiden state visit to China from Sept 19-22 at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.
The naming ceremony was held during a banquet with the Malaysian diaspora in China at a hotel here.
Meanwhile, the Higher Education Ministry (MOHE) said that this academic Chair, overseen by MOHE, was originally established at BFSU in 2007, recognising the university’s commitment to the expansion of the Malay language in China.
According to MOHE, BFSU became the first Chinese university to offer Malay language courses as early as 1962, with the late Professor Wu Zongyu serving as the founding figure.
“Today, 17 higher learning institutions across China offer Malay language courses, reflecting its growing prominence among native Chinese speakers.
“The naming of the Sultan Ibrahim Chair of Malay Studies underscores the deep ties of friendship between Malaysia and China, which have flourished since the days of the Malacca Sultanate.
“It also commemorates the Golden Jubilee, celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China, first established on May 31, 1974,” the statement read.
In the same statement, Higher Education director-general Datuk Prof Dr Azlinda Azman, who represented Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, said the Sultan Ibrahim Chair of Malay Studies stands as a testament to the Malay Rulers’ unwavering support for the internationalisation of the Malay language.
She expressed her utmost gratitude to His Majesty for bestowing his name on the academic Chair.
BFSU president Prof Jia Weijian, in the same statement, expressed his happiness with the new name, stating that it will inspire BFSU to continue its efforts in promoting the Malay language in China.
Malaysia’s Ambassador to China Datuk Norman Muhamad, said the renaming of the Sultan Ibrahim Chair of Malay Studies is a recognition of BFSU’s efforts, alongside 16 other Chinese institutions, to promote and elevate the status of the Malay language across China.
“The Sultan Ibrahim Chair of Malay Studies at BFSU is the fourth academic Chair established by MOHE, following similar initiatives at Ohio University in the United States (1979), Leiden University in the Netherlands (1991), Victoria University in New Zealand (1995), and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea (2005),” he said.
