Brunei's 2nd Fulbright Scholar
By Grace Jiu

Bandar Seri Begawan – Brunei's 2nd Fulbright scholar, Hj Mohamed Yusra bin Hj Mohamed Salleh, is set to fly off to Tempe, Arizona, US, on Wednesday (January 11) to undertake a Master's Programme in Comparative Religious Studies.

Hj Mohamed Yusra, in an interview with the Borneo Bulletin, said that his main aim in undertaking the Master's course is to upgrade his abilities and expand his knowledge so that he can contribute his best in his work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

He said he is ready to share Brunei's perspectives in various aspects with his American counterparts.

This is his first time travelling to the United States and he is enthusiastic to meet the American people and experience their perspectives firsthand, especially their views towards Islam.

It was a long assessment process which began in early 2005 during which Hj Mohamed Yusra went through interviews and pre-university entry tests required in America.

"It was a challenging process as my background is in Arabic but I have to go through everything in English," he said.

When asked why he thought he was selected out of a competitive pool of applicants, he reckoned it was most likely because he was in a relatively relevant position as he had studied earlier in Cairo, Egypt and had a job posting in Saudi Arabia, and with that, he could contribute a wide range of viewpoints.

He has a Bachelor's Degree in Islamic Jurisprudence from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, which is equivalent to a Syariah course offered by Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

It has been over a decade since he was in the world of academia and he hopes he could adjust fairly quickly to his impending academic undertaking.

He is expected to return to Brunei during his holidays around July this year.

Hj Mohamed Yusra expressed his deepest gratitude to the US Embassy for the rare opportunity of the Fulbright scholarship offer, and thanked the government of Brunei Darussalam for allowing him to pursue his studies and continue his service upon return.

The first Brunei Fulbright scholar is Pengiran Dr Haji Hishamuddin who was awarded Emory University's Master of Public Health Programme in Epidemiology. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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