Gov. Hataman completes Malaysian university fellowship

Cotabato City (November 17, 2018) – Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has completed an academic fellowship program on Wednesday, November 14, at the Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM).

He received his Certificate of Completion as a fellow of USIM’s International Attachment Program from Prof. Dr. Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic & International) during a ceremony held in the city of Putrajaya.

The short-term course, which started on September 19th covered the following topics: Islamic leadership and governance; peace tolerance and combating terrorism; sustainable development framework; Islamic micro-finance; endowment; halal management; and community Islamic education.

“The program will help us in ARMM further develop our anti-violent extremism efforts and help the regional government and, hopefully, the next Bangsamoro government on its peace and security objectives,” the governor earlier said.

Prior to entering public service in Mindanao, Gov. Hataman has been very active in the civil society movement, specifically on peace initiatives as well as in efforts to uplift the socioeconomic condition of Moros in Mindanao.

Gov. Hataman’s USIM fellowship is the first awarded to a regional chief executive in Asia as endorsed by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia. The ARMM governor was invited by the university through Professor Dato’ Dr. Musa Ahmad, USIM vice-chancellor, facilitated by Dr. Zulkifly Baharom, chief executive officer of the university’s Sejahtera Leadership Initiative.

In a previous statement, the university said the program “constitutes sharing of knowledge, exchanges of ideas, public lectures, and preparation of report covering the specific study on ‘peace, security, anti-violent and extremism program through Islamic leadership and sustainable development approach’.”

It also included relevant site visits as well as courtesy calls on Malaysian officials, such as Federal Ministers, State Chief Ministers, and heads of agencies in relation to topics and discussions covered by the program. (JONG CADION with Bureau of Public Information)