FK UII Student, Ahmad Bima Aryaputra Joins the Visit Group of Passage To Asean Study

 Kaliurang (UII News- 14/8) – AFTA then AEC/MEA, has been touted by economic practitioners that it will be fully implemented in 2016. P2A is not a “traveling” event but a “Journey” (Journey). ) to get to know various sides of life in Asean so that they are better prepared to face AEC.

This was conveyed by Achmad Bima Aryaputra, a student at the Faculty of Medicine Universitas Islam Indonesia who took part in the Study Visit Group of Passage To Asean (P2A), Universitas Islam Indonesia to KMITIL, Bangkok, Thailand, on 11-13 August 2015 / 26 -28 Shawwal 1436 H.

As told by Bima, the delegation from UII was followed by various Faculties at UII and only myself from the Faculty of Medicine. The purpose of journey these are 3 countries and 4 Universities across Southeast Asia. The trip started on August 10 2015. Departed from Tugu Station, Yogyakarta, headed for Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Jakarta. From the airport, we headed straight to Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand, the first country we visited.

From the airport, we were picked up by the King Mongkuts Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) to the dormitory in the campus area to rest. Our activities while at KMITL were cultural exchanges and discussion sessions, where we learn about Thailand through discussions with peers about various subjects. Governance system, ASEAN Culture, Economy, Health policy, Education, AEC, etc. At KMITL we are helped a lot by the Muslim Student Club (MSC), especially in matters of worship and halal food there, where most of them come from southern Thailand who can speak Malay. We see KMITL's readiness in facing AEC through the way they educate students who aim not only to be able to compete nationally, but also to be able to compete in the regional international world to face AEC. My observations about the health service system there, the government does not provide insurance services like BPJS. In addition, there is a network between hospitals to facilitate patient referral services and coordination in handling emergency patients. The majority of hospitals in Bangkok are multi-storey buildings with services available. Doctor Heli. On the last day at KMITL, we used a land vehicle to border Thailand-Cambodia.

 

After going through a tiring process at immigration, we took the bus to go to Siem Reap area. On our way to observe the situation in Cambodia, almost all of the stilt houses seem to belong to the lower economic class, but the hotels and Casino standing majestically on the border. In Seam Reap, the place where Angkor Vat is located, we see a strong “Beer” culture in the environment tourism, everywhere there is beer. Their currency is Real, but this country uses USD more often, it's no wonder it's difficult to find Real currency in money changers. There is also a real disparity in terms of the economy. However, there was a glimmer of hope, coincidentally the day we arrived in Siem Reap was Friday, when we had to find a mosque for Friday prayers. Around the area tourism there is a Muslim community, where they are a minority in the area. There is a place where we worship and eat halal food comfortably. Even though they are a minority, they have an extraordinary spirit. Even though they are a minority, a friendly and polite attitude is still put forward. Even though they are a minority, they don't feel intimidated, don't comment much, but are still productive. We are touched by their enthusiasm. After Seam Reap, we headed to Kratie province where the Asian Institute of Cambodia (AIC) is located. At AIC we do Community Service in one of Primary School with pathetic conditions, where there is no electricity and hygienic water channels. We do everything from painting buildings to tidying up yards. All of that we do together with AIC students. This activity increases the sense of connection between us. The next day, we attended a discussion at AIC with the theme Negative impact because of cultural diversity in ASEAN Integration followed by the opinion of the experts concerned. We even held a small ceremony in the AIC meeting room for the 70th Indonesian Independence Day. For the first time, I celebrated Indonesia's birthday in a foreign country. The heart flutters when the Indonesian Raya anthem is sung. The service system in Cambodia has been heavily influenced by assistance from Thailand, so it has Doctor Heli in urban areas, but the condition is deplorable in rural areas where services at the “Puskesmas” level are still below average. In the afternoon there is a farewell party and cultural exchanges and the next morning early we left for Phnom Penh then continued our overland trip to Vietnam.

Long drive through border Cambodia-Vietnam also took a long time so we reached Ho Chi Minh City at night. The city which is the economic center of the country adheres to the Communist system in the country, but the economic system in this city seems more liberal. That night we rested at a local hotel, in the bustling city that used to be called Saigon, the place where Indonesian leaders from the era of the struggle for independence met with Japanese warlords. Our first destination in Saigon is FPY Software, part of FPT Corporation, a young but rapidly growing multinational company. There we met directly with the Director of FPT Software and I learned a lot about how to build a company, how to maintain an employee's work ethic, and many more. Next we headed to FPT University, where we did cultural exchange and get acquainted with friends from Vietnam as well as trying to get to know Vietnam more deeply. The health service system in Vietnam does not use compulsory insurance from the government, but there is insurance for those who want it. The problem is that not all costs are covered by insurance, only about 60% -70% of treatment costs are handled by insurance. The education system for doctors is also different, at the first level of clinical education they are already concentrated to continue their residency, so after 6-7 years of study, they are already specialized. With 12 universities that have medical faculties, Vietnam still feels a shortage of health workers. It's a bit difficult to find Halal food in Vietnam, where the Muslim presentation is very small. Maybe it is necessary to expand the da'wah area for this country, so that it is easier for a Muslim to live in this country. In addition, Vietnamese are not used to women wearing headscarves. It can be seen from how they look at us. The next day we visited Independence Palace, the former state palace of South Vietnam, where we learned how Vietnam could win over America. Don't forget that we also enjoy another thing that Vietnam is famous for, coffee. We continue our journey to Da Nang, a city in the middle of Vietnam by bus.

Ho Chi Minh-Danang trip by land takes almost 24 hours. Da Nang is a coastal city with beautiful beaches and is intended for tourism. Arriving in Da Nang, we were picked up by a group from Duy Tan University (DTU) and taken to the campus where there were bedroom  where we live. During my trip, for the first time I found a campus that has a Faculty of Health. DTU has a Faculty of Health with nursing and Pharmacy departments, so I have friends who are "connected" to talk to here. Once you arrive at DTU, take a short break at the Dorm and immediately join in on the activities cultural exchange and Cultural workshops in the form of an explanation of readings about Vietnamese life. The main religions in Vietnam are Buddhism, Christianity and Catholicism, the presentation of Islam is not as big as in Thailand and Cambodia. We, as a delegation from Indonesia, explained Indonesian culture and promoted Indonesian culture and tourism. DTU has an active day of 6 days, where on Sundays there are still lectures and lecture activities take place from 7 AM-9 PM. Next event after cultural exchange is to visit several places in Vietnam, among others Dragon Bridge, Marble Mountains, and the Da Nang Museum, where students holding KTM are allowed to enter the museum free of charge, this needs to be emulated by the Indonesian government for the nation's intelligence. You can see the culture of the Vietnamese people when we observe on the way. The traffic seems chaotic where pedestrians have no opportunity on the road and there are too many motorbikes, this is due to the high tax on cars. Our event ended at Da Nang International Airport to Soekarno Hatta International Airport, and from there to Gambir Station with the final destination being Yogyakarta Tugu Station.

“In my opinion, this trip gave many life lessons. Lessons that can only be learned when seeing new things first hand. Lessons learned from seeing different types of people and their various behaviors in the world. Learn to accept differences, learn to be sensitive to the environment, learn to take care of yourself, learn to be mature, and learn to say Alhamdulillah. Soft skills are trained every day considering the tight schedule. This trip is not an outing facilitated by travel, we prepared almost everything ourselves at a modest cost. A group of humans circled 3 countries in 2 weeks. This journey has made me even more grateful to be born as a Muslim in Indonesia, the largest country in Southeast Asia that has the potential to become the axis of ASEAN. How can ASEAN unite with its differences? The answer is tolerance. As is the case with tolerance in Indonesia which has high cultural diversity. How can ASEAN be as strong as NATO and the European Union? ASEAN must know itself and improve connectivity between countries, where it is appropriate for the ASEAN community to study each component of ASEAN and accept and understand the differences in each existing culture. AFTA, MEA, will not be successful if it is not supported by the community as consumers and producers. The importance of training at an early age to form a culture that is unique to ASEAN and to support ASEAN programs. It is no longer the time for us to concentrate on national level competition, competition is increasing with the MEA (ASEAN Economic Community). FK UII needs to equip its students to face MEA with curriculum adjustments that have been developed so that graduates have international standards that can handle patients in different country conditions from Indonesia and the use of English to familiarize students with communicating with foreigners. Do not let Indonesian doctors lose to Singaporean, Malaysian and Thai doctors. FK UII needs to have discussions with other universities in ASEAN that have a Faculty of Medicine to discuss Standardization of Education for Health Workers at the ASEAN level, if FK UII wants to expand its wings in the MEA/AEC 2016 event," said Achmad Bima Aryaputra's explanation and story after attending P2A. Wibowo/Tri