KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia wants to boost academic collaboration with Indonesia, the Malaysian National Council of Professors (MPN) said in announcing a new fellowship program to the country's neighbor on Wednesday. A group of Malaysian academics will head to Indonesia for the new program, MPN Chairman Zakri Abdul Hamid told reporters. The goal is to develop studies in Indonesia's current development process, he said. He said the program would allow the academics to create “a clearer picture of Indonesia's socio-culture and identify barriers,” which he argued had often challenged close relations between Malaysia and Indonesia. “We will propose the plan to the Indonesian academics for their consideration … and we will also suggest that they reciprocrate. “MPN is also willing to organize post-graduate and academic staff exchange program with Indonesian education institutions,” he said, adding the council would raise funds to finance the group of Malaysian academics to Indonesia. He had led a delegation of professors from Malaysia to meet their counterparts from various Indonesian universities under the MPN knowledge program. MPN, launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on April 1, 2010, comprises about 2,000 intellectuals, serving as an umbrella for human capital development.
