Selangor Public Library corporation signs historic MOUs in Guangzhou
The collaboration would mainly involve publishing, education, and training.
SHAH ALAM - The permanent secretariat of the Selangor International Book Fair recently signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with its Chinese counterparts, during the South China Book Festival in Guangzhou, China, which is a significant milestone for Selangor State.
This was represented by Selangor Public Library Corporation director Datin Paduka Mastura Muhamad and Weng Xuhui from the South China Book Festival and Southern Publishing Media international department director Chen Bing.
The MOUs aimed to maintain the exchange of knowledge, expertise, and ideas by establishing smart partnerships, and creating mutually beneficial projects that promoted cross-cultural understanding, social development, and economic growth. The collaboration would mainly involve publishing, education, and training.
Before the MOUs, the Selangor Public Library team had visited the Guangzhou Library and the Sun Yat-Sen Library for preliminary discussions. Mastura noted her team's ability to learn considerably from their Chinese partners while exchanging the rich culture and heritage of Selangor and Malaysia.
“This is the first visit to the province of Guangdong for all of us and we were amazed by the many shared values between Selangor Public Library and these Chinese institutions, particularly their dedication to community service, knowledge expansion, and the preservation of culture and heritage. We were equally impressed by their hospitality, humility, and genuine interest in exchanging knowledge and expertise,” she said during the meeting.
She also brought up the unconditional support of Selangor Chief Minister Datuk Seri Amiruddin Shari, who played a vital role in ensuring the forging of ties between the two parties to continue to uplift the book industry and other related fields.
She highlighted that the diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia were not a new thing while citing the book Us and You: The Story of China and Malaysia, which said that their diplomatic connection had reached 50 years. "This success is not easy to achieve without a serious commitment from both sides.
"It is now in our hands to not just continue the legacy of this relationship but to take it to a higher level. This is also the wish of our prime minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who just recently said about our two countries that we want to benefit from one another, to learn from one another, and to profit from this engagement,” Mastura added.
She later invited the other party to participate as the Guest Nation at the Selangor International Book Fair 2024, scheduled from Nov 27 to Dec 3.
Also, present at the event were Mohd Nazri Noh, Selangor Chief Minister special task officer; Khair Ngadiron, National Book Council of Malaysia's (MBKM) director; Gan Pei Nei, Foundation for Managing the Welfare of Selangor Children chief executive officer; Hernanie Md Yusof, Selangor Economic Planning Unit assistant director; Fatimah Abdillah, Sabah Public Library director; and Johor Public Library Corporation representative Afzan Mohamad.
