The Melayu Day, the largest cultural festival event in Yala, Thailand, took place over three days beginning on Friday (February 23 – 25, 2024).
This event featured a variety of cultural performances, including fashion shows, dances, exhibitions of food products, as well as an educational exhibit hosted by three major countries: Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. This is an annual festival organized by the Consulate of Republic of Indonesia Songhkla in collaboration with the Yala government. Mr. Thawee Sodsong, Ministry of Justice Yala, began the ceremony, accompanied by Mr. Suargana Pringganu, Head of Consulate of the Republic of Indonesia in Songhkla.
Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara (UMSU) gets the opportunity to participate in this event every year. This year, UMSU will also participate by establishing an educational fair exhibit. This opportunity is being used to promote UMSU in Thailand.
Rafieqah Nalar Rizky, M.A., Director of the Office of International Affairs and Cooperation (OIC) UMSU stated that participants and the public remain enthusiastic about participating and visiting Melayu Day. Furthermore, Rafiqah Nalar Rizky stated that Malay Day was extremely beneficial for conducting cultural exchanges among Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, as well as fostering Malay culture in these three countries.
For the education exhibition itself, UMSU received a positive response from visitors due to the public’s interest in studying at UMSU, particularly after it was explained that UMSU had a scholarship program for foreign students; it was recorded that many foreign students from various countries, including Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Yemen, applied for this program.
The Mayor of Yala, Mr. Pongsak Yingchoncharoen, Minister of Justice of Thailand, Mr. Thawee Sodsong, and Agus Cahyono Rasyid, who serves as Economic Function and Head of the Chancellery of the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) Songkla, all visited UMSU’s exhibit. Also present during the festival board members of OIC Taufik Hidayat Lubis, M.H, and Soraya Sakinah, S.H., LL.M.
