Sabah, Japanese students share info and culture in integration programme

KOTA KINABALU: Schools in Sabah are encouraged to initiate and foster links with overseas schools for mutual sharing of information and culture.

Sabah Education Department director Maimunah Suhaibul told members of the media after officiating at the Student Integration Programme between SMK Inanam and Japan’s Nakajima Junior High School yesterday that such links and relationship can help to improve the ties between the countries invovled.

She urged the 92 students from SMK Inanam to ask their Japanese counterparts about their experience in handling natural calamities, such as earthquakes.

Citing the June 5 earthquake in Ranau last year as an example, Maimunah reckoned the students could learn from the Japanese students who have been trained well to handle such calamities at school.

“For Sabah, I think we can also learn from them and train our children to be prepared for any disaster,” she said.

At the same time, she said the students from SMK Inanam could also adopt the practice of the Japanese people on cleanliness and punctuality.

“What we can learn from the Japanese culture is their emphasis on cleanliness, timeliness and their ability to react when disaster strikes,” Maimunah said.

She also said that following the earthquake last year, the Education Ministry had begun distributing modules and guidelines on how to deal with natural calamities, adding that the modules had been prepared several years ago.

“But, we have begun redistributing them after last year’s incident,” she said.

Meanwhile, a total of 50 students from Japan and 92 students from SMK Inanam took part in the integration programme yesterday. The students took turns to showcase performances while the visiting students hosted an origami making demonstration.

Seven teachers accompanied the students from Japan.

According to SMK Inanam’s Excellent Principal, Mozidah Hamzah, the students from her school are quite fluent in the Japanese language, adding that they have begun learning how to read and write in Japanese since they were in Form One.

“They will learn Japanese until they are in Form Four and would sit for the Japanese language subject in the examination organised by the Education Ministry as they are quite fluent in the language,” she said.

Last year, three students from her school went to Nakajima Junior High School for the exchange programme.

“We hope this event/programme will continue in the future,” she added.

Source: The Borneo Post