The famous Buddhist association Buddha's Light International Association (BLIA) Malaysia Chapter and BLIA Branch Teacher Chapter visited UTAR Kampar Campus on 26 September 2020. The visit aimed to provide a meeting ground for both parties to engage in discussions that will foster potential collaboration.

The delegates from BLIA were its Chief Abbess for Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia Venerable Jue Cheng, Venerable Tzi Ping, Venerable Tzi Di, BLIA Branch Teacher Chapter President Chong Swee Chu, BLIA Malaysia Kampar Branch Pro-tem Committee Chairman Ooi Kok Keong, BLIA Branch Teacher Chapter representatives Geok Chua Foong and Tan Geoh Bee, as well as other representatives of BLIA and BLIA Branch Teacher Chapter. They were welcomed by UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat, accompanied by UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong.

In his welcome remarks, Prof Ewe expressed his delight and honour to receive the BLIA delegates. He also presented an overview of UTAR’s background and its current development. Speaking of collaboration with BLIA and its universities, Prof Ewe said that UTAR has collaborated with Fo Guang University and Nanhua University in various activities and research projects over the years. According to Prof Ewe, UTAR has also received funding from BLIA for several projects conducted by ICS academics and postgraduates.

When Prof Ewe introduced the UTAR Hospital project, he said, “The project requires a minimum of RM330 million. It is expected to be fully operational by mid of 2022. The UTAR Hospital will offer both contemporary western medicine, and traditional and complementary medicine (TCM). The University foresees the need for more clinical experiments and researches on the treatment of various diseases. Hence, it will conduct clinical researches using methods and theories of contemporary western medicine together with the traditional and complementary medicine (TCM).”

Ven Jue Cheng, on the other hand, expressed her gratitude to UTAR for receiving them with a warm welcome. She also praised Prof Ewe for his passion in education and said he is a good leader in action. “BLIA is very much concerned about education as our founder, Buddha, was a great teacher. BLIA and UTAR have collaborated on several research projects in the last few years, one of which is the study of Humanistic Buddhism (人间佛教),” she said.

As for why she chose UTAR as her destination for the academic visit, Ven Jue Cheng explained, “Humanistic Buddhism emphasises on integrating Buddhist practices in everyday life. The purpose of this visit to UTAR is also to foster collaboration between UTAR and Pro-tem Committee BLIA Malaysia Kampar Branch. We hope to establish an educator’s committee in Kampar which could together make some contribution to the community. The educators who came along with us to this meeting are superintendents and educators from the private and government sectors, such as principals, lecturers and teachers of primary and secondary schools.”

During the meeting, Chong on behalf of the BLIA Branch Teacher Chapter said, “We were excited when we learnt about UTAR’s noble intention to build a hospital. We hope we could assist with the project in terms of fundraising or volunteering activities. We also believe that UTAR, with its good reputation, will provide quality medical housemanship for medical students of UTAR and other universities.”

In addition to the further collaboration arrangement, Ven Jue Cheng told the participants that BLIA and the educators who come along have planned to organise some activities or events to help raise funds for the UTAR Hospital project.  She also suggested to hold a fundraising concert with the help of celebrities after the pandemic.

The meeting ended with a souvenir exchange session between Prof Ewe and Ven Jue Cheng. It was followed by a campus tour and a group photography session.

Also present at the event were Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) Postgraduate Degree Programmes Head Dr Tan Ai Boay, Division of Community and International Networking (DCInternet) Deputy Director Dr Chen, I-Chi, Department of Student Affairs (Kampar Campus) Head Chiang Jeng Fong, Department of Soft Skills Competency (Kampar Campus) Head Hee Chwen Yee and other administrative staff.