As We Look Back

By all accounts, the Harvard Business School Alumni Club of Malaysia (HBSACM) is considered a venerable institution in Malaysia.

Not only its past and present Club leaders comprise the “Who’s Who” of the Malaysian corporate and business world, the country’s Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, and most of the Prime Ministers, Deputy Prime Ministers and Finance Ministers have somehow also been involved with the Club by attending many of its activities as speakers or as guests of honour.

The Club’s royal touch and the prestige and reputation it gained over the years have made it one of the most successful foreign business school alumni in the country.

It is not only one of the most active alumni groups in Malaysia but is also regarded as the most active Harvard Business School alumni East of Suez.

The Club is also proud of its special relationship with the Harvard Business School, which enables it to run its flagship Senior Management Development Program (SMDP) here in Malaysia in conjunction with HBS faculty members who fly in every year to Kuala Lumpur.

The Club’s history can be traced back to 1976, when Tun Hussein Onn was the Prime Minister.

The Club was officially registered on July 19, 1977, as a result of the initiative of several people the year before.

The pro-tem committee held its first meeting at Wisma MISC, Jalan Conlay, Kuala Lumpur.

It was attended by Dato Sulaiman Abdullah, Tan Sri Jamil Jan, Tan Sri Saw Huat Lye, Mr Tan Koon Swan and Mrs Lilian Too. The committee was responsible for drafting the Club’s constitution and by-laws and for the submission of the application for registration by the Registrar of Societies.

The first annual general meeting was attended by Dato Sulaiman Abdullah, Raja Tan Sri Mohammad Alias Raja Mohammad Ali, Datuk Alladin Hashim, Mr Ng Sing Hwa, Datuk Mohamad Jamil, Mr L.C. Coutts, Dr Stephen Goh, Mr Samuel Wong and Haji Mohamad Yusof Talif.

The meeting unanimously elected Dato Sulaiman Abdullah as President, Raja Tan Sri Mohammad Alias as Vice-President, Mrs Lilian Too as Hon. Secretary, Mr Ng Sing Hwa as Hon. Treasurer and Haji Mohamad Yusof Talif as Director of Activities.

At the first formal gathering of the Club, an inauguration dinner held in 1978, the then Deputy Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as Patron of the Club, reminded members that they should play their role in nation-building.

In 1984, the Club established the HBSACM Foundation which awards scholarships to students pursuing Master of Business Administration programs in local universities.

In line with the Club’s objectives to enhance the professional standards, practices and management of Malaysian businesses, it also organises the Senior Management Development Programs (SMDP).

The program was initiated by a few people, including Tan Sri Saw Huat Lye, who went to Boston in 1978 to meet with Daryl Wyckoff and Prof Warren McFarlan to obtain their agreement to start the Program.

The Program served to fill the glaring gap in business management education in Malaysia then.

The first SMDP was held in 1979 with 72 participants, led by Wyckoff, McFarlan and Michael Porter.

The Club was also the first to recognise the contribution and achievement of CEOs in the country. The Manager of the Year Award was the Club’s way of encouraging and promoting excellence in professional business management in the country.

The first recipient was Mr Gerald Fox of Esso Malaysia in 1984. Other recipients include Tan Sri Khoo Kay Peng of MUI (1985), Tan Sri Abdul Aziz A. Rahman of MAS (1986), Tan Sri Azman Hashim of Ambank Group (1996) and Tan Sri Shamsuddin Abdul Kadir of Sapura Holdings (1997).

Perdana Leadership Foundation, December 6, 2013.

PAST & CURRENT PRESIDENTS

01. Dato’ Sulaiman Abdullah (1976/77) 02. Raja Tan Sri Muhammad Alias Raja Muhammad Ali (1977/79) 03. Tan Sri Hashim Aman (1979/80) 04. Ng Sing Hwa (1980/81) 05. Lillian Too (1981/82) 06. Tan Sri Dato’ Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman (1982/83) 07. Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Mohd Rashdan Baba (1983/84) 08. Dato’ Mustafa Md Ali (1984/85) 09. David Leong Choon Chiang (1985/86) 10. Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Mohd Noor Ismail (1986/87) 11. Gen (R) Tan Sri Dato’ Zain Hashim (1987/88) 12. Datuk Alladin Hashim (1988/89) 13. Dato’ Abdullah Mat Zaid (1989/90) 14. Tan Sri Saw Huat Lye (1990/91) 15. Dato’ Ng Cheng Kuai (1991/92) 16. Tan Sri Datuk G Gnanalingam (1992/93) 17. Tan Sri Dato’ Alwi Jantan (1993/94) 18. Dato’ Dr Mohd Shahari Ahmad Jabar (1994/95) 19. Tan Sri Datuk Zainal Abidin Sulong (1995/96) 20. Tan Sri Datuk Seri Tay Ah Lek (1996/97) 21. Datuk Othman Yusoff (1997/98) 22. Mohd Yusoff Talif (1998/99) 23. Mohd Nizar Idris (1999/2000) 24. Tan Sri Dato’ Adam Abdul Kadir (2000/01) 25. Prof Dr Syed Abdullah Almohdzar (2001/02) 26. Raja Datuk Sharifuddin Abidin (2002/03) 27. Tan Sri Datuk G Gnanalingam (2003/2015) 28. Dato’ Seri Ir Dr Zaini Ujang (2016 - present)