Malaysian, Other Southeast Asian Scholars Share Views in PH Int’l Quincentennial Conference
KUALA LUMPUR 22 October 2021 – In a virtual inaugural session held on 20 October 2021, the Philippines commenced its hosting of the Philippine International Quincentennial Conference, with the theme “Situating the Filipino and the Philippines in 1521”, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation of the world.
The Conference aims to foster a more Filipino-centric point of view of the first circumnavigation of the world by underscoring the magnanimity, compassion and humanity of our ancestors in helping the crew of the Magellan-Elcano expedition that traversed, for almost four months, the unpredictable waters of the Pacific.
The Conference features prominent scholars, artists and scientists from all over the world. The panel session on “Southeast Asia Views the Quincentennial”, covered perspectives from Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand and Indonesia on the Quincentennial.
Dato’ Seri Dr. Md. Salleh Yaapar of the Universiti Sains Malaysia, who received his masters degree in Comparative Literature from the University of the Philippines, discussed his views on the Magellan-Elcano expedition, the Battle of Mactan and the roles of Datu Lapu-Lapu, as well as Magellan’s aid and translator, Enrique de Malacca.
In his presentation, Dr. Salleh extolled the role of Lapu-Lapu as one of the earliest heroes of the Malay archipelago: “The real hero was Datu Lapu-Lapu, the first leader in the Malay Archipelago to vanquish a European conqueror or colonizer. Thus, it is right for the Philippines to retroactively honor him as the first Philippine national hero to resist foreign invasion.”
The Philippine International Quincentennial Conference runs until 17 December and is livestreamed on around 100 Facebook pages, including the Facebook page of the Philippine Embassy in Malaysia. END
For more information, visit https://www.kualalumpurpe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philembassykl.org.my or https://www.facebook.com/PHinMalaysia/.