GENERAL TAN SRI DATO' SERI PANGLIMA PROF. HJ. ZULKIFLI BIN HJ. ZAINAL ABIDIN VICE CHANCELLOR NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERSITY OF MALAYSIA

Assalamualaikum wbt and greetings to all academics, participants and organisers.

It gives me a great pleasure to be the patron of the 10th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences (ICHiSS), which begins on 11th to 13th of May 2018. This conference is co-organised by National Defence University of Malaysia (NDUM) or Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM), Prince of Songkla University (PSU) of Thailand, International Islamic University College Selangor (KUIS) IPN Education Group, Islamic Science University of Malaysia (USIM) and Department of National Unity and  Integration (JPNIN). I would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to all sponsors for their contributions to make this conference a success.

For this 2018 edition, the theme of the conference is "Understanding Regional and Global Integration on Humanities and Social Sciences". The theme is appropriate because integration is currently the main emphasis in education and industries. Consequently, the conference papers and academic discourse provide a comprehensive understanding of human behaviours and attitudes which is critical to improve services, solve grand challenges and facilitate an understanding the adoption of innovation through new technologies.The world is constantly changing, and big changes force hard choices. We need the social sciences and humanities to analyse the options, situate the decisions, and guide and inspire the choices. All these must consider integration as the key to create a better world.  It is well understood that the arts, humanities and social sciences contribute to society by educating the public to imagine a world different to the one in which we now find ourselves, or indeed that we have come from. This is at the heart of what is required for our renewal as a country and as a nation.
The contribution of arts and humanities to our social development is important and this has increased capabilities of human beings. Knowing who we are, where we come from, our heritage, history and culture will all contribute to our sense of self and to our life contentment.

Last but not the least, the joint conferences would not be possible without the commitment of academics, researchers and students, who enthusiastically keep supporting and contributing to the conference at various stages, from submission to preparing camera-ready copies, and to presenting their work at the conference. This conference to owes much to all reviewers and programme committee members, who rigorously review and administer the papers wholeheartedly and without prejudice.

Once again, I am most grateful for your active participation and continuous support in this conference. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all delegates a productive conference ahead, and please enjoy our hospitality during your stay in Malaysia.
Thank you very much.