Diplomats in the Making - International Relations Students Visited "Diplomacy @60: Then and Now"

A group of 20 students and 4 lecturers who were under the International Relations programme paid a visit to the National Museum recently, for a special exhibition by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Diplomacy@60: Then and Now”.

The purpose of the exhibition was to showcase Malaysia’s diplomatic relations with the world at large since before the country’s independence on 31 August 1957. Mr. Al-Fadil Adam, Principal Assistant Secretary of Media Relations, gave an in-depth guided tour through the exhibition, by explaining the personal artefacts of some of the prominent architects of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from its inception in 1956 and tracing the luminaries in Malaysia’s foreign policy since the era of the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj until the current premiership of YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak. Participants not only had the opportunity to ask multiple questions about roles of different sub-divisions and participate in a general knowledge quiz, they also had the opportunity to take photos at the UN General Assembly podium, specially recreated for this purpose. Mr. Al-Fadil concluded the tour with a personal sharing of his own career journey and the many facets of life in the diplomatic corps.

The trip was very beneficial to International Relations students, since it gave a holistic perspective of how a nation develops its diplomatic relations with other nations. The exhibition enabled students to understand how theory is applied in the real world. We appreciate this opportunity created for them by the lecturers, and we look forward to seeing them as successful diplomats in in the future!