On February 25, 2013, former student from southeast Asia Mr. Abdul Razak was awarded an honorary doctorate degree during a ceremony held at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.



In 1944, Mr. Razak was a government sponsored overseas student who visited Japan as a student from southeast Asia, and in April of 1945 attended the Hiroshima University of Literature and Science, one of the predecessors of Hiroshima University. However, although that year he was able to narrowly escape with his life from the atomic bomb, he was forced to cut his studies short and return home to his country.



After his return home, he endeavored to strengthen the ties of friendship between Malaysia and Japan while being a major contributor to the development of Japanese language education in Malaysia. Additionally, he tried to convey his experience in Hiroshima to many people, and also contributed to the promotion of peace activities. It is for these reasons that our university decided to award him with an honorary doctorate degree.



Approximately 30 people were in attendance at the start of the award ceremony including Mr. Razak’s family, interested parties, and alumni of the university. Tetsuji Okamoto, Executive and Vice President of Hiroshima University, gave a congratulatory speech after presenting the honorary doctorate degree to Mr. Razak. Afterword, Mr. Razak gave an address and stated that while he was studying abroad in Japan it was not only the studies, but learning from the Japanese people’s patience and spirit in overcoming adversity that had an enormous impact on the way he lived, and even now it is a part of him.



Subsequently, Mr. Hiroshi Matsuura, Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Japanese Embassy in Malaysia who attended as a guest, conveyed appreciation for Mr. Razak in a congratulatory speech. He said that Mr. Razak was responsible for the Japanese language preparatory education of industrial technical trainees at the Universiti Teknologi MARA as part of the Look East Policy of Malaysia, and sent many trainees to Japan. Furthermore, he strengthened the friendly relations between the two countries.



Finally, Professor Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, Mr. Razak’s son and Vice-Chancellor of the Albukhary International University represented the family, and expressed his gratitude for Hiroshima University remembering his father and presenting him with an honorary doctorate degree.



There were three students who attended the Hiroshima University of Literature and Science as students from southeast Asia that are designated to receive honorary doctoral degrees, and following Mr. Razak who received the degree this time, Hiroshima University also plans to award degrees on location to Mr. Hasan Rahaya (former member of the Indonesian Parliament), and Mr. Pengiran Yusof (former Prime Minister of Brunei).

Executive and Vice President Okamoto Presenting the Honorary Doctorate to Mr. Abdul Razak	Address by Prof. Dzulkifli, Mr. Razak’s Son and Vice-Chancellor of the Albukhary International University (Former Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia)
Mr. Razak Displaying his Honorary Doctorate Degree （From the right: Minister Matsuura, Vice Rector of the University of Trento Carla Locatelli, Vice-Chancellor Dzulkifli）	Commemorative Photo with Attendees

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