Tan Sri Arshad speaks about life as a schoolboy growing up during the Japanese occupation of Malaya during World War II. It was a hard existence struggling just to get enough to eat. He says such harsh conditions made him more understanding of poverty as he knows what it was like to be very poor at one time.  

Tan Sri Arshad talks about the early days of ITM such as when he first got Ealing Technical College in the UK to offer an external diploma programme in collaboration with ITM. He also talks about the progressive achievements of ITM such as offering equal pay for equal work for women. He is also proud of the fact that he had insisted that English be maintained as the medium of instruction.

Tan Sri Arshad says that any good education system must take note of the fact that Malaysia is a multiracial country and be aware of the sensitivities of each community. He believes language skills, especially English, are important. He advocates that universities assess students properly in order to counsel them on the right courses to take.