Issue 1 July 2008 MICA (P) 281/06/2008
connections Latest Event
Distinguished Speaker Series
SINDA was honoured to have Mr Mohamed Abdul Jaleel, Managing Director of Mini Environment Service as a guest speaker at SINDA’s very first Distinguished Speaker Series on 3 May 2008. The moderator for the event was Mr Predeep K. Menon, Executive Director & CEO of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS) serves to motivate and inspire youths from the Indian community through exposure to the challenges and obstacles faced by successful individuals in society. The two-hour session proved fruitful with the audience gaining insight on what it takes to be successful in a globalised world. Mr Jaleel started fending for himself from the age of eight when he sold sweep tickets to offices. Later during his teenage years, he went on to wash cars, work in coffeeshops and sell cosmetics. He held a strong belief that any form of work, no matter how trivial, was nothing to be ashamed of. This positive attitude led Mr Jaleel to scale greater heights in life. At 18 years of age, Mr Jaleel was spotted by the Managing Director of Sum Cheong Piling Pte Ltd, who sent him for training in the construction field. This served as a stepping stone for him to set up his own sole proprietorship company Mini Environment Service in 1976. The company was incorporated in 1984 and has since grown five fold in business turnover and asset ownership. More than 350 Polytechnic, ITE and Junior College students attended the event. Many were touched by Mr Jaleel’s humility and inspired by his rags-to-riches story.
Mr Predeep K. Menon (right) moderating the Q&A session, seen here with Mr Jaleel
Mr Jaleel answering questions from attendees of the event during a tea reception