Professor Dr. Mohd Fauzi Hj. Ramlan Deputy Vice Chancellor of Students' Affairs & Alumni delivering opening address

“Malaysia in a Globalised World: Courage to Think Beyond” was the theme for the Essay Competition Forum 2010 that was held on 21^st Sepember 2010, jointly organised by Universiti Putra Malaysia and Perdana Leadership Foundation in conjunction with the PLF-MPH Essay Competition 2010. UPM was the third university that the Foundation had visited to encourage Malaysian university students to participate in the essay contest.

Among the audience attending the PLF-UPM Essay Competition Forum

Professor Dr. Mohd Fauzi Hj. Ramlan, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Students’ Affairs and Alumni welcomed the audience to the Forum during his opening speech and stressed on the need for students to have “courage” – that ingredient so necessary for success, not just in university but beyond. He defined courage as  the courage to make decisions and to act upon decisions. Courage is also about accepting defeat but not giving in to it, and trying again.

Professor Dr. Ahmad Murad Merican receiving questions from the audience

The first speaker of the Forum was Professor Dr. Ahmad Murad Merican, the Perdana Leadership Foundation Honorary President Resident Fellow who shared an overview of historical personalities who were brave to think beyond and ahead of their times:  Abdullah Munshi, dubbed as the ‘Father of Modern Malay Writing’, who frequently compared European practices of governance with the Malay system of monarchy at the time; Syed Sheikh Al Hadi who invited Muslims to change at a time and established  the first Malay radical media, Al Imam in 1906; nationalists Ibrahim Yaacob and Ahmad Boestamam who had the courage to go against the prevailing beliefs at the time though they were finally defeated by the more-favoured aristocrats; Tunku Abdul Rahman was also rated a brave thinker, who championed a new idea of a Malaysian nation, and Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad as a “basher of paradigms extraordinaire” – someone whose abstract thoughts can overcome physical limitations and set new standards.

Associate Professor Dr. Azahari Ismail of the Faculty of Educational Studies

The second speaker of the Forum was Associate Professor Dr. Azahari Ismail of the Faculty of Educational Studies, who shared his views on how to become a successful entrepreneur: he or she must have the propensity to think, the ability to think well, decisiveness; problem-solving ability; and the ability to escape from mental blocks. He also believed that a ‘thinking culture’ was not present in Malay culture and wondered whether this has contributed to the poor performance of Malay students in Maths and Science.

Professor Dr. Rosli Salleh of Faculty of Economics and Management, UPM

The last speaker was Professor Dr. Rosli Salleh of the Faculty of Economics and Management, UPM, who talked of globalization and its impact on the workforce. Globalisation, he said, has increased human resource mobility and to succeed well in a world on international competition, Malaysians need to upgrade their thinking skills as well as work ethics.

During Q & A session