2/1/2005 - VIP Farewell Celebration for Malaysian YES Program Participants

Thirty Malaysian students who were selected as recipients of the YES Program’s generous scholarship participated in an orientation and farewell celebration in early January 2005. The activities were organized by the AFS Malaysia office.

The YES Program, a youth exchange and study program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and administered, among others, by a coalition of organizations spearheaded by AFS-USA, was designed to support meaningful opportunities for youth exchange in an effort to build bridges between citizens of the U.S. and countries around the world.

One of the highlights of the exchange students’ orientation, designed to ease their transition to the United States, was meeting with James A. Kelly, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Mr. Kelly, who was visiting Malaysia as part of his tour of the tsunami affected areas, found time to greet the Malaysian YES contingent during their weekend orientation.

In a reception hosted by Christopher LaFleur, the U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia on the embassy premises, the students were able to sample typical American fare such as pizzas and freshly baked brownies.

U.S. Embassy staff and their families were among the guests at the reception, which included two former AFS participants, Frank Whitaker (USA to the Philippines) and Caroline Sar (USA to Italy). After the reception, a number of American families hosted some of the Malaysian students for an overnight stay in their homes.

On Monday, January 10, the YES Program students visited Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s offices on a courtesy call. Having been informed in advance that the Prime Minister would not be able to greet them in person, they were pleasantly surprised when he made an unexpected appearance. Needless to say, the students were delighted to meet the Prime Minister and proceeded to have a lively question and answer session with him.

Nurina Anuar, AFS Malaysia’s Public Relations Executive said “It was a good sendoff for the 2005 YES Program students. We would like to thank the Prime Minister, the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia and AFS-USA for their support.”

In the Photo: Prime Minister of Malaysia and Yes Program participants