By Aqilah Alya
GOMBAK, 11 November 2020: The President of World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) Asia, Yushwant Deshmukh announced the winners of ˜WAPOR Asia Lifetime Achievement Awards yesterday before the closing of the “WAPOR Asia Kuala Lumpur 2020” virtual conference.
The event made history with the announcement of ˜WAPOR Asia Lifetime Achievement Awards as it is the first of the awards by WAPOR Asia. The awards were categorised into three editions which is the 2018, 2019 and 2020 editions.
The ˜WAPOR Asia Lifetime Achievement Award for 2018 was given to the Founder and President of Social Weather Stations (SWS), Professor Mahar K. Mangahas.
He said that he was speechless when he was informed that he is receiving the ˜WAPOR Asia Lifetime Achievement Awards for 2018.
œIt is difficult to prepare a speech when I know that I am the recipient for the WAPOR Asia Lifetime Achievement Awards first edition, he said.
Meanwhile, the ˜WAPOR Asia Lifetime Achievement Award for 2019 was given to the Chairman of Pakistan Institute of Public Opinion (PIPO), Dr. Ijaz Shafi Gilani.
œPlease accept my heart-filled thanks for giving me this great honour of the Lifetime Achievement Award. I am honoured to be among the recipients of the awards, he said in his speech.
He also said that the fellow winners of the awards are honoured to return the gesture by assisting WAPOR Asia to enhance Asias contribution to the worldwide discipline of premium research and reminded WAPOR Asia colleagues to not hesitate to call them.
The ˜WAPOR Asia Lifetime Achievement Award for this year (2020) was given to the Eminent Scholar and Professor of Political Science at J.F. Oberlin University and professor emeritus at University of Tokyo, Prof. Takashi Inoguchi.
œI am very surprised when I heard the news from Yashwant but I am very grateful, he said.
Prof. Takashi added that he was very grateful especially when he received Dr Yashwants letter notifying him and ended his speech with greeting thank you in three languages – Bahasa Melayu, Mandarin and Korea.
Before the event ended, Yushwant thanked the team of the committee in Kuala Lumpur for organising this event and this was well followed by the Co-Chairperson of WAPOR Asia Kuala Lumpur 2020 Virtual Conference, Dr. Helli A. Semetko.
The Chairperson of WAPOR Asia Kuala Lumpur 2020 virtual conference, Prof. Dato’ Sri Dr. Syed Arabi Idid, expressed his appreciations to the committee that had pulled this event successfully even though it was conducted in online mode.
He thanked the Department of Communication, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS), IIUM in organising this event.
The Dean of Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shukran Abdul Rahman officiated the closing of the conference thanking the participants and speakers for their participation and deliberations as well as WAPOR Asia for the opportunity for the Kulliyyah and IIUM’s Department of Communication to organise and host the two-day event.
The closing ceremony ended with a short montage video and photography session by the committee. ***