Associate Professor Dr Ampuan Brahim bin Ampuan Haji Tengah and Dr Haji Tassim bin Haji Abu Bakar were invited to Natuna in October 2016 to participate in the Malay Civilization and Transformation of the ASEAN Economic Community (Tamadun Melayu dan Transformasi Masyarakat Ekonomi ASEAN) seminar. Also invited from Universiti Brunei Darussalam were Associate Professor Dr Haji Asbol bin Haji Mail (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences) and Dr Muhammad Hadi Bin Muhammad Melayong (Senior Officer from the Secretariat of the Supreme of MIB).

The joint paper by the two Academy staff, called Malay Civilization and Transformation of the ASEAN Economic Community: Brunei and its 2035 Vision, addressed several important issues, such as the position and role of Malay civilisation in an era of globalisation and the social and economic challenges and opportunities that this era brings.

Natuna is a 272 island archipelago with large reserves of natural gas and a regency within the Riau Islands Province of Indonesia.