Undergrads get clearer picture of TPPA, 1MDB through Pemanas 3.0

The four-day National Undergraduates Leadership Conference (Pemanas) 3.0 has given a clearer picture of the critical issues revolving around the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) to its participants.

Mohd Taufik Kinson, 20, of Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia said he was satisfied with the explanation given by 1MDB president and group executive director Arul Kanda Kandasamy on the issues plaguing the company.

"When he explained to us, face to face, on 1MDB's governance and financial flow...we know now that its is totally different from what most people say," he said.

Nur Azizah Samad, 23, an alumni of Universiti Sains Malaysia, said she now understood that each policy proposed by the government, such as the TPPA, must have its pros and cons.

"Maybe we have been looking at it from a negative point of view, but as the country is heading towards becoming a fully developed nation by 2020, we must also look at its long-term and comprehensive impact.

"For example, the TPPA will give undergraduates the opportunity to unleash their highest potential, locally and abroad," she said.

Meanwhile, UMNO Education Bureau chairman Tan Sri Dr Ibrahim Shah Abu Shah said the bureau was planning to expand the organising of the conference to all public and private universities in the country.

"I will try to get more professors and academicians to critically discussed the issues...they (undergraduates) want to know more...and we have to explain it to them," he told Bernama after delivering his adjournment speech at the conference held at the Putra World Trade Centre.

Apart from the explanation on current issues with Cabinet ministers, the conference, themed 'Undergraduates: Architect of the Future", also discussed other issues of education, economy, politics and religion.