Postgraduate Studies March 2014 E version

MARCH 2014

Bi-monthly Magazine | Issue 21

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MAXIMIZING MELAKA Datuk Seri Ir. Idris Haron Chief Minister of Melaka

MORE IN THIS ISSUE: ISSN 2232-0342

HIGHLIGHTS

THE CEO SEGMENT

Dr Geshina Ayu Mat Saat Malaysia’s Only PhD holder in Criminology

Mohd Rizal Jailan Managing Director of INOKOM

CRIME FIGHTER

DRIVING SUCCESS

PP17103/19/2014 (030736) 2014 Issue 21/ 2014 March RM7.00 9772232034009

THE CEO SEGMENT

FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE BUSINESS SEGMENT NEW SEGMENT! 1

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CRIME FIGHTER

Dr Geshina Ayu Mat Saat, Malaysia’s only female PhD Holder in Criminology

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DRIVING SUCCESS Mohd Rizal Jailan, Managing Director of INOKOM

THE TEAM

CORPORATE Co Founder: Benson Wong Managing Director: Steven Shim Office Manager: Vicky Shim Key Accounts Manager: Wong Finance: Ms Lee, June, Bonnie PRINTER BS Print (M) Sdn Bhd No 10 Jalan Indrahana 1, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 KL, Malaysia

EDITORIAL TEAM Editor: Alexandra Wong Writers: Lee, Michael Contributors: Dr Chin Yee Mun, Dr Hendry Ng, Dr Geshina Ayu Mat Saat, Mohd Rizal Jailan Photographer: Mccain Photography Contributing Photographer: Alan-Lim photography Graphic Designer: Nazir Tay

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EDITOR’S NOTE

EDITOR’S NOTE Confession: I’ve never been this breathless to see an issue hit the stands.

We wanted to start the year with a bang, and I’d like to think that we’ve managed to deliver, after scouring the breadth and length of the country - literally – to bring you Malaysia’s movers and shakers.

Our cover story puts a spotlight on Datuk Seri Ir Idris Haron, one of the most fascinating politicians to emerge in Melaka – possibly, Malaysia. The fact that a poor kampong boy with barely three phrases to his English vocabulary could rise to the highest political

office in his home state, in itself, makes a great narrative, but the circumstances in which he inherited his political mantle ensure that his tenure will be closely watched. His predecessor was not only Melaka’s most popular Chief Minister, but also the person credited with transforming the former sleepy hollow into a developed state. In a conversation that was by turns educational, entertaining and inspiring, Datuk Seri Idris reveals how he intends to take the state to the next level, and shares the defining moments that propelled him to success.

If you’re a fan of the CSI-style thrillers, you would love our story with Dr Geshina Ayu Mat Saat, an industrial and occupational psychologist who currently teaches criminology and psychology at the Kubang Kerian campus of Universiti Sains Malaysia. While she

has the distinction of being the only female PhD holder in criminology in Malaysia, her credentials extend far beyond paper glory: her contributions include pioneering the nation’s first prison rehabilitation module for sexual offenders - which means 3000 women a year are safe from repeat offenders every year.

For this edition, we also travelled to Kulim to meet Mohd Rizal Jailan, the Managing Director of INOKOM, an automobile assembler for numerous prestige brands. The eight-hour journey (to and fro) is one that I would gladly relive. After all, how often do you get to learn about this highly specialized industry up close and personal AND witness the world’s most beloved cars being put together, piece by piece?

May you have as much fun reading, as we did putting together, this issue.

Alexandra Wong

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CONTENTS

COVER STORY 08 MAXIMIZING MELAKA Datuk Seri Ir. Idris Haron Chief Minister of Melaka

Event

Featured FACON Education Fair, March 2014

GENERATING CREATIVE 24 HUMAN CAPITAL

VUMBA: Creating An Educational Eco-System

Dr Chin Yee Mun, Dean for the Faculty of Creative Industries, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)

Dr Hendry Ng Head of VUMBA programme, Sunway College KL.

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Now every child can write

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Service to Humanity Program

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CONTENTS

HIGHLIGHTS 40 CRIME FIGHTER

Dr Geshina Ayu Mat Saat Criminologist and industrial and occupational psychologist

THE CEO SEGMENT

FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE BUSINESS SEGMENT

DRIVING SUCCESS

Mohd Rizal Jailan, Managing Director of INOKOM

NEW SEGMENT 68

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COVER STORY

MAXIMIZING T MELAKA Datuk Seri Ir. Idris Haron

Can the new kid on the block fill the big shoes he inherited?

Chief Minister of Melaka

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hat was the public’s uppermost question when Datuk Seri Ir. Idris Haron became the 10th Chief Minister of Melaka, taking over from Datuk Seri Ali Rustam. The latter wasn’t just one of Melaka’s most beloved chieftains, he was also the state’s architect of change, credited with transforming the sleepy hollow into a developed state that complies with OECD’s 33 standards. The press described the transition as “an admiral taking over from the emperor”.

COVER STORY Nine months after assuming leadership, the public is singing a different tune. The state’s youngest Chief Minister in its history has silenced detractors with a series of institutional reforms to improve the efficiency of his administration.

While his KPI- driven, shapeup-or-ship-out leadership style, a radical departure from his soft-spoken predecessor has made knees quake, it is a magnet for new investors who like his goal-oriented approach.

“Melaka Maju Fasa Dua” - the blueprint he unveiled to advance his homestate towards the next phase of development - has captured the public’s imagination with its daring and ambition.

Datuk Seri Idris, who considers himself the beneficiary of a “good session” from his predecessors, is the first to acknowledge that “emotionally, qualitatively, quantitatively, Melaka has arrived to a point where we should be proud of.” But he believes the state’s best days are yet to come.

The Melaka of his ideals is not only developed economically and socially, but so culturally evolved that people would rather “dirty their own pockets than throw rubbish on the street.”

The Chief Minister cuts an unconventional figure in the Malaysian political landscape.

Hailed as a new-generation leader who straddles both divides of the Asian and Western cultures with equal ease, he is as impressive debating organizational theories with intellectuals as he is winning rural hearts with his empathetic approach.

One particular anecdote may offer insights into the poor kampong boy who defied the odds to achieve the highest political office in his home state. As a student from a Malay school, he excelled in all subjects except English. When the chance for scholarshipfunded studies in the USA

presented itself, he enrolled in an English boot camp and in six months, was good enough to make a speech in public.

“Hardship motivates me to perform,” he says simply.

It’s too early to predict his legacy, but already, there’s widespread consensus that this graduate from the school of hard knocks is exactly what Melaka needs to leap to the next level. The MBA Edge Postgraduate team was privileged to spend two hours with Datuk Seri Idris who shared key learnings from his formative years, his views on leadership, and his game plans for Melaka’s future.

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COVER STORY

Q1

Datuk Idris, your journey from kampong boy to political star is the quintessential rags-to-riches story. How did your formative years shape your outlook and future path?

My childhood was spent in a kampong. After my father’s passing when I was six years old, I lived with the brother from my father’s first marriage.

The brother and his wife were teachers with five children of their own, and another five

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adopted ones. It was like a welfare home, and there was never enough to go round.

Come Hari Raya, we bought second hand clothes from Kampung Jawa. That’s how hard it was.

I won’t forget what I’ve been through and I teach my children the same things I learnt growing up in the school of hard knocks.

I make sure they go through the same process by going to sekolah kampung. I want them to see that with hard work, you can beat the odds.

COVER STORY

Q2

Given your difficult family circumstances, did it affect your performance in school?

In school, I made sure I did my best. I was the best student in Form 3. Then in Form 5, I was offered a scholarship by LLN because I had good grades in Physics, Add Maths and Chemistry. They offered me early scholarship to further my studies in America. Coming from a Sekolah Melayu, I could hardly speak English.

My vocabulary was limited to: Good morning sir, yes sir and thank you. The reason partially stemmed from my stubborn resistance to English. To me, I am not an Englishman, so why should I speak English?

Q3

But I knew if I wanted to accept the scholarship, I had to brush up my English. I enrolled in a six month intensive English course.

Every day, I read passages with words that required me to look up the dictionary. The next day, my tutors would ask, what did you learn from the story? We learned reading comprehension, grammar, subject-verb agreement, idioms and proverbs. After six months, I was called to make a public speech.

What motivates you to excel?

I think the hardship drives me.

My late brother and sister-inlaw played an instrumental role in inculcating my love for books.

They were strict disciplinarians who were serious about reading. Every time they saw me, I had to be holding a book.

When I hear the car’s engine sound, cepat-cepat ambil buku (quickly grab a book) or feel the sting of the rotan!

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COVER STORY

Q4

But their brand of tough love clearly worked, judging by your success.

I still had problems in USA when it came to communications English, but after six months to one year of mixing with the locals and watching TV to understand their accent, I finally graduated in Electrical Engineering – Power

I won’t forget what I’ve been through and I teach my children the same things I learnt growing up in the school of hard knocks.

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Q5

Communications and worked as an engineer for LLN (now TNB).

On my first day, I attended an audit briefing and saw that everybody was speaking English. Later, I found that every circular was in English.

Fortunately by then, I was already proficient in English.

What do you remember best about your engineering career?

The learning. I was a very hands on engineer. I lived with the technicians in order to absorb as much as possible, in the shortest time possible. It was unheard of, an engineer living with the technician, but I didn’t mind because my objective was

to accelerate my learning curve.

As a result, it took me three months to familiarize myself with all the TNB systems. I rose steadily through the ranks and was even sent to Japan where I was trained by the Kandenko Corporation in the field of electrical distribution systems.

Once again, I made sure I brushed up my language skills.

Once, I was asked to give a speech. The audience nearly fell off their chairs when I got up and delivered it in Japanese!

Q6

From a successful engineering career poised for greater heights, what prompted you to take a leap of faith into politics?

When TNB dispatched me back to Melaka, I felt that I needed to put myself in the social system.

I associated myself with the 4B Youth Social Youth Movement, an association that focused on young people’s participation in society activities like gotong

royong and community work.

Datuk Ali was President then.

He saw me at many events and asked people about me.

Somebody told him you better take him or he will join the opposition. That’s how I entered UMNO.

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COVER STORY

Q7

Prior to your election to Parliament, you were Chairman of the Alor Gajah district council. After the 2004 election, you became MP for the newly created seat of Tangga Batu. After the 2008 election, Idris was appointed a Deputy Minister for Higher Education in the government of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. What do you think helped you most to rise steadily through the ranks, considering none of your family members were politicians who could show you the ropes?

When you go to the masses, you have to adjust your approach.

Don’t say “How can I lead you?”

Offer “How can I help you?” If you do the former, I promise you no organization will take you!

I call this the nasi lemak syndrome. Imagine an older gentleman and a young man

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at a table, where there is only one packet of nasi lemak. Who should take it? The older one will say, “You can have the nasi lemak because I have eaten enough.” Although this sounds like an open invitation, the younger one shouldn’t just grab it.” Tell the older gentleman, “Uncle, I have a lot more time to eat. You better eat first.”

The moral of the story is that you must meet people halfway. This is the spirit that contributes most to putting me where I am here. Don’t go all out to grab what you want.

Think about what other people want first. Who is the candidate with the best attributes to hold that position? That kind of farsighted unselfish thinking will help you get far.

COVER STORY

Q8

What are some of the highlights and challenges in your early days as a politician?

One of my biggest challenges came when I was the Chairman of the Municipal council. I had to manage party-elected councilors, all people with high degree of emotion, and officers, who were facts and figures driven men. You have two groups from different ends of the emotional spectrum. How could I connect them? I talked facts and figures to the councilors. I told them, if you want to complain about matters on the ground, please prepare some facts and figures because the officers will be appreciative. To the officers, I persuaded them to loosen up, take a seat back and adopt a friendlier attitude to the councilors. Jangan bawa figures all the time. I managed to broker these two groups and the resulting relationship was very harmonious. Best of all, they went beyond normal to complete the tasks that I assign them. Win win for everybody.

Q9

Do you use the same approach to govern the state?

In any organization, you must understand your customers.

In my position, my customers are my staff, the government, and the people who receive the deliveries of the government.

The minute you’ve identified your customers, you engage them by asking them how they expect the product and service to be delivered. I’m trained as an engineer so I believe in establishing a solid mechanism that can deliver all those products and services exactly and objectively to meet the needs and wants of the customers. The structure should do the work for you.

Everybody should know and be able to tell what their duty list and job description are in order to perform. For example, each Melaka State Exco must act as a leader and each deputy exco as the second in command will help the exco in ensuring that all promises are fulfilled. If everybody in the organization is in the position to be aware of what their work entails, the rest will be history.

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COVER STORY

Q10

You’ve been described as a technocrat. How true is this?

I’m driven by performance.

As the leader, my people know if they don’t perform to my expectations, I have the freedom to intervene in the process. When that happens, the price they will have to pay

Q11

Can you share some of your plans for the state?

My short term plans are to revive incomplete projects and bring them back to meeting their original objective. These plans involve public-private partnership. In the medium term, I want to concentrate on bringing more economic activities into the state. I’m very excited about the inner ring road to ease congestion and the outer ring road, which will be tolled, both of which are equipped with railway facilities.

My long term plans can be summarized under Melaka Maju Phase Two. Under this plan, Melaka will transform into a high-income city-state by 2020.

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is very high. I am very strict. If you have a job, you do it. I may not know the recipe, but I know what taste I want the food to be.

My goal is to make sure that the state’s goals are met.

I’ve described my short, medium and long term plans from an infrastructure point of view but I believe a developed state goes beyond infrastructure or economic progress. The Melaka I envisage is a place where everybody is in a state of better knowledge than before. If people have rubbish in their hand, they would rather dirty their own pocket than throw the rubbish at large.

When they find misplaced items like cash or jewelry, they return it to the rightful owner. Hence, my priority is to create a Melakan culture and environment that is conducive to producing quality human capital.

COVER STORY

Q12

You’re talking about cultural change.

That’s pretty ambitious.

Most people, if you ask them to define what is culture, cannot come up with a satisfactory answer. Culture is something you do beyond your conscious.

In the four mastery levels

Q13

of psychology, they call it unconsciously competent – that point when you do things without realizing. That is the point where behaviour becomes culture, that’s the point Melaka should reach.

Do you think such aspirational goals are within the reach of the ordinary rakyat?

Yesterday, I watched a programme where Tun Mahathir said that being the prime minister, you have a little more authority that sometimes enables you to do things that other people don’t like. To be a leader, you have to bring your people and followers to the land of incognita (unknown).

You have to do something that makes people think, “Where is this Idris bringing me?”

Yes, changing culture takes generations but for a country or

state to progress, goals have to be aspirational. Achieving these goals begins with a serious group of people to implement them through motivation and stimulation. That’s where leaders come into the picture.

Our job is to drive. To bring society to a destination that is thought to be impossible to reach. In the context of government, as a leader, I drive, my group of government officers derive, and together with the people of Melaka, we will arrive.

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Benson Wong (Founder of MBA Edge® Postgraduate Studies magazine)

Q14

You believe in turning challenges into opportunities.

Q15

That’s creative indeed. Is the programme still running?

I see it as a creative way of solving problems. One example is the littering problem we faced in Alor Gajah. I encouraged people to come to

No. Some of them put rocks or stones inside! Well, it is a good start. Which brings me to what I said earlier, every solution needs a proper mechanism to monitor the delivery system.

Everything has to be intact, only then it is implementable. I believe when we do things, and I like to emphasize this, you must do it consistently, continually, 18

me with rubbish. I paid them per kilogramme of rubbish. When you see rubbish, you usually see a problem right? But now, when people see rubbish, they see opportunity.

conscientiously. These three Cs are important to every successful leader.

In hindsight, those three and a half years helped me a lot in administrating the state now, although it is on a different scale. But fundamentally, the attributes of leadership are the same.

The moral of the story is that you must meet people halfway.

This is the spirit that contributes most to putting me where I am here. Don’t go all out to grab what you want. Think about what other people want first.

COVER STORY

Q16

What are the attributes of a leader?

Let me share something I learnt from my engineering days. I was picked to join a head-pointing programme targetted for future leaders of an organization.

In the course, I learnt about profiling a leader. You must have these characteristics: dominant, influential, steady and conscientious or DISC. I scored about 7.5 to 8 on the influential and dominant metrics. Steadiness is about how you react when people come to provoke or instigate you. Are you going to respond emotionally and irrationally? My score is about 8 to 8.5. Lastly, conscientious is about being consistent and diligent. To be an effective leader, continuous learning is a must.

Another way of defining a leaders is CARE: a leader is seen as a creator, advancer, refiner and executor (CARE). To be a leader, you must also be selfactualized and have integrity.

That’s no 1.

In Quran, it’s mentioned that God will not put any responsibility or burden on you if you don’t have the capacity to carry it. Tuhan sudah tulis. It was through a mix of determination, hardship and divine intervention that I became entrusted with the role of CM.

Q17

Were you ready for this post?

I never thought that I was ready until I received the letter. I didn’t even know until the morning of the swearing in that I had been appointed as CM!

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COVER STORY

Q18

Coming on the heels of a popular predecessor, what do you consider your greatest challenge as the new kid on the block?

This is a hot seat. You are expected to perform. If you’re not performing, out you go.

The door is wide open for you.

As the new kid on the block, the question uppermost on the public’s mind is: Am I here to carry forward or bring more changes? Melakans had a good session with Datuk Ali for the last 15 years. He brought Melaka to a developed state status, complying with all 33 OECD standards. Emotionally, qualitatively, quantitatively, Melaka has arrived at a point where we should be proud of. Bringing up Melaka from a sleepy hollow to a developed state is difficult. To maintain and bring it even further is even more difficult. As a start, my job is to complement what my predecessor has done.

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COVER STORY

Q19

What about your plans for education?

I am glad I can enjoy the fruits of the efforts of my friends before me. I am proud that Melaka is recognized for being PMR 2nd best in country. For UPSR, we are ranked first after Putrajaya. These two achievements indicate that some right things have been done before me. I’m going to continue that by putting emphasis on building more schools and higher learning institutions. Universiti Technical

Q20

We’ve talked a lot about leadership.

Who are some thought leaders you admire?

The prophet of Islam. For contemporary Malaysia, it has to be Tun Mahathir. As for world leaders,I admire speeches by Sukarno. I admire how he can be so influential until to date he is known as the most capable orator in the world. He was an engineer as well!

Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) is one of only two hands-on universities in the country with an international link.

The difference between a hands-on university and a conventional one is that in the former, you go into the industry as early as your second year.

The employability is almost 100 percent. I also want to increase the number of community colleges, of which we have five now. I believe in lifelong learning and these community colleges will help the young people to explore their talent to the fullest.

I believe when we do things, and I like to emphasize this, you must do it consistently, continually, conscientiously.

These three Cs are important to every successful leader.

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FEATURED

GENERATING CREATIVE HUMAN CAPITAL

W

ith Malaysia’s service sector developing at a rapid pace, the creative industries sector has been identified by the Malaysian government as a potential hot sector. Dr Chin Yee Mun, Dean for the Faculty of Creative Industries, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), explains how academic institutions and creative specialists can make the most of the impending boom.

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FEATURED

Q1

Dr Chin, you pursued a Doctor of Philosophy, Universiti Putra Malaysia ( Social Psychology), Master of Arts, Universiti Malaya ( Sociology ) after obtaining your Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Anthropology and Sociology from Universiti Malaya. What led you to pursue postgraduate studies?

I always see myself as a learner.

This has been very clear in my mind and motivates me to pursue my postgraduate studies. My bachelor degree is in the area of Anthropology and Sociology. The degree sparked my interest to explore further on matters related to human, human society and social issues.

The interest had later led me

to continue my studies and last year I managed to complete my Ph.D. The research that I conducted to complete my postgrad studies were to answer questions that were created by my own observations concerning the happenings that occurred when humans interact as a group and also as individual. For example, my Ph.D thesis proved that ethnic polarization in Malaysia occurred because Malaysians mobilized their ethnic consciousness to form ethnic groupings that at the end of the day allowed them to champion their own personal agendas.

Therefore, all Malaysians are to a certain extent responsible for the present state of ethnic relations in Malaysia. I believed the questions that I tried to answer in my thesis would lead to more understanding about

human nature and social issues.

The motivation to answer these questions fueled my willingness to go through rigor to complete my thesis.

As a result, the processes that I went through to complete my Ph.D allowed me to acquire more knowledge and be more competent to deliver my duties as an academic. Being an academic, I am expected to conduct research and disseminate knowledge. I find the knowledge and experience that I gathered from my postgrad studies come in handy. I was able to share my knowledge with my students and also to create more research that are related to the questions that are developed from my research interest and knowledge.

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FEATURED

Q2

What is your advice for students entering Postgraduate programs?

Pursuing a postgrad degree is not merely about fulfilling the paper requirements needed for career advancement.

Although, a postgrad degree is increasingly needed for career advancement, a postgrad student should realize that such motivation alone may not

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help them to succeed in their postgrad studies. The prospects of career advancement after obtaining a postgrad degree should be secondary. The primary goal for pursuing a postgrad degree should be to learn and to contribute to the development of knowledge.

The outcome of this goal

will then enable the student to utilize knowledge and experience gathered for career advancement. Without having the passion to learn and to contribute to the development of knowledge, a student will find their postgrad studies dry and not interesting. Consequently, postgrad studies will become another process to acquire a paper qualification. I doubt that such a process will create a better and more efficient person that contributes to the development of his or her organization.

FEATURED

Q3

What are the main professional challenges that you face in your position?

Being the dean of a relatively young faculty in UTAR, there are many challenges. The challenges range from the faculty staff development to handling daily issues that are related to students’ academic performance. UTAR is fast developing into a research oriented university.

Henceforth, staff commitment to be involved in research has to be encouraged. The demand for the faculty to produce quality graduates has also increased and since the faculty is offering more

programs, the responsibility to fulfill the demand has also become heavier. Currently the faculty offers bachelor degree programs in four areas. The areas are communication, media, games design and early childhood studies. We are also offering two Master degrees in the area of communication.

As a new dean, I am fortunate to have a team of helpful colleagues who are always knowledgeable and resourceful in assisting me to tackle the challenges. As a faculty, we

are committed to produce a mature academic culture and we believe this effort should start from the faculty academic staff member. Steps have been taken to generate higher staff participation in research activities. We are also encouraging higher involvement of staff participation in decision making. At the same time, we are also constantly seeking advice from industry experts.

With all these efforts and input, I believe we will be able to create a mature faculty that is able to produce quality graduates.

FEATURED

Q4

What sort of career opportunities await students in the creative field today, that aren’t available, say ten years ago?

Our country’s economy is currently moving into the service sector. This development has contributed to the development of creative industries. Creative industries have been highlighted by the Malaysian government as a new area to be explored. In the 2010 budget, the Malaysian government allocated RM200 million to set up the Creative Industry Fund. This fund will be used as a catalyst that spearheads the development of creative industries in Malaysia.

However, it is important to note that, in Malaysia, these industries are still in their infancy. There are many aspects to be developed and one of the most important aspects is human resources. Many higher education institutions realize that this industry will not grow unless they provide courses that are able to produce trained workers in areas related to creative industries.

As such, UTAR set up the faculty of creative industries that is dedicated to train more personnel in areas related to creative industries.

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We believe with our commitment, we will be able to produce graduates who will as serve as games designer, multimedia content developer, graphic designers not only in Malaysia but also internationally.

Although not many in Malaysia are aware of the existence of such careers, I believe things will change in the near future.

The development of ICT and the commitment from the Malaysian public and also private sector to develop creative industries will ensure these industries grow and become major industries.

At that stage, “the booming stage”, the industries would require a lot of trained manpower and UTAR will be able to provide them.

Without having the passion to learn and to contribute to the development of knowledge, a student will find their postgrad studies dry and not interesting.

FEATURED

Q5

In Kuala Lumpur especially, there are a number of initiatives from the private sector that contribute to the arts. I’m talking about creative spaces like Publika, the revitalized Kakiseni under the leadership of former 3R host Low Ngai Yuen, etc.

What do you think of these initiatives?

As I mentioned earlier, the Malaysian socio-economic landscape is changing.

Fortunately, it is for the better.

The positive developments have provided the space for more

Malaysians to be interested and also involved in arts. For me, this development is reflecting the development of an affluent culture especially in the urban areas, which is a good sign for the country.

Q6

How can academic institutions contribute meaningfully to the conversation?

In order to ensure such development continues to flourish, academic institutions have a lot to do. They can complement efforts initiated by the organizations that you mentioned earlier. My faculty is more than willing to collaborate with them in organizing talks and events. In these ways, we are providing them a larger space to expand their activities.

We are also committed to spread knowledge related to arts appreciation, an area that has to be critically looked into.

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FEATURED

Q7

On the subject of research, you conducted a study Of Datuk Gong worship in Malaysia. What were your main findings?

One of my main findings is that the worship represents the way the worshippers perceive Malaysia. For the worshippers, mostly Chinese, Datuk Gong is a local deity. The identities of Datuk Gong vary according to areas. In certain areas, worshippers worship Malay Datuk Gong while in another area, the Datuk Gong is an orang asli. There are Indian Datuks and Punjabi Datuks too. Therefore, for me the worship reflects the way the worshippers perceive Malaysia. They believe Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country.

In order to live in harmony with their social surrounding, they respect everybody so much that it affects how they conceptualize the meaning of their local deity.

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We believe with our commitment, we will be able to produce graduates who will as serve as games designer, multimedia content developer, graphic designers not only in Malaysia but also internationally.

FEATURED

Q8

You are the Chairperson for the Center For Media And Creative Communication. What is the main goal of the center? Does it have a public role?

The main goal of the center is to become a platform that facilitates researchers to meet and develop new ideas and research in the area of media and creative communication.

This center has approximately 40 members. They are conducting studies in many aspects of media and creative communication. Some are studying the relationships between media, state and society while others are trying to establish patterns of new

media usage. There are also members who are conducting studies on the effect of Korean drama on Malaysians perception about romantic relationships.

new understanding about matters related to media and creative communication or the papers may even contribute to policies that govern media and communication.

I believe with all these studies going on, the center is performing its public role. At the end of the day, outcome of these studies will be written as conference papers or journal papers. Through such sharing, the center will somehow create

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FEATURED

Q9

Can you give us several examples of how the faculty ensures that its syllabus is up-to-date with current trends and developments?

The faculty constantly checks and ensures syllabi offered by its programs are always up-to date. Our belief is that knowledge is never constant.

It always changes. That is why we have a mechanism to ensure the programs syllabi are always updated.

For your information, the

Q10

On a personal note, what is your educational philosophy?

My philosophy when it comes to education is “to educate is to learn.” As an academic, I always believe that I must continuously learn. I can’t educate others if I, myself am not learning. Therefore, I always try to seek knowledge and never assume I have learned enough. This is true, especially in my specialization. Whatever

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faculty always benchmarks its programs with local and foreign institutions. The benchmark reports will be submitted to UTAR’s Department of Quality Assurance. Besides benchmarking with other institutions, all our programs have an external examiner and industrial advisor. The external examiner will visit us once every three years while the industry advisor will visit

that I think is right may not be the truth as there are always other ways to explain what is going on in human society.

I believe it is the same for other specializations. Seeing knowledge is an infinite process as knowledge has no boundary.

We cannot become an educator if we do not seek education.

us twice in a year. They will give valuable and up-to-date information and advice that we will use to ensure our syllabi are always up-to-date. Faculty members will also provide their input. All departments in the faculty have a curriculum development committee.

Through this committee, faculty members will suggest changes to their department syllabi.

Their suggestions would then be forwarded for discussion and approval at the faculty and university levels.

FEATURED

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FACON Education Fair, March 2014

M

ake your way to Facon Education Fair, March 2014 and you will be inspired by more than 1000 globally recognized and award-winning institutions of higher learning from Malaysia and overseas.

As the largest and longest education road shows in Malaysia, the objectives in organizing this show are to provide a venue for Malaysians to gather information on further education opportunities and to reinforce Malaysia as the center for excellence in higher education.

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FEATURED Kicking off one of the largest and longest education road shows in Malaysia on March 15, 2014 at KL Convention Centre the fair will be held at Hall 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 with some 500+ booths. This fair will then moves to another 11 cities in Peninsula & East Malaysia where school leavers and working adults will have a unique opportunity to meet with these renowned institutions. These cities are as follows: Peninsula Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Alor Seta Penang Ipoh Malacca Johor Bahru

Mar 15 & 16, 2014 Mar 18, 2014 Mar 19, 2014 Mar 20, 2014 Mar 21, 2014 Mar 21 & 22, 2014

Opening Hours : 12 noon – 6pm KL Convention Centre Holiday Villa Hotel Traders Hotel Kinta Riverfront Hotel & Suites Equatorial Hotel Persada Intl’ Convention Centre

East Malaysia Miri

Kuching

Sibu

Sandakan Kota Kinabalu Tawau

Mar 15, 201 Mar 16, 2014 Mar 17, 2014 Mar 21, 2014 Mar 22, 2014 Mar 23, 2014

Opening Hours : 12 noon – 4pm Grand Palace Hotel Riverside Majestic Hotel RH Hotel Sandakan Hotel Promenade Hotel MB Hotel

Since its inception in 1990, this prestigious event has been attended by millions of visitors underlining its popularity and public recognition for its success and contributions to human resources development and the education industry.

Those who are interested to complete their higher education locally will not be disappointed as all major local institutions

of higher learning will be at the fair. This event will provide visitors a superb opportunity to meet all these big boys all under one roof. These include Advance Tertiary College (ATC), Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) , Berjaya University College of Hospitality, Brickfileds Asia College, HELP University, INTI International Universities & College, MAHSA University

College, Management & Science University (MSU), Nilai University, SEGi University, Taylor’s University , The University Of Nottingham, UCSI University , UTAR , UNIRAZAK, USM, UTM … …

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FEATURED Visitors to the fair will also get a unique chance to meet representatives from internationally renowned institutions from overseas such as Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore, United Kingdom, Ukraine, USA and others, making it the comprehensive show to gather

With thousands of programs being offered, visitors will be spoilt for choices as option of courses ranging from Design to IT, Business to Law, Medicine to Mass Communications, Engineering to Sciences, Accounting to Finance to Healthcare and the list goes on.

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vital information on further education. The information gathered will help you make a better chance when deciding on your future education path.

For those hoping to complete their higher education at nearby country like Singapore,

they will not be disappointed as there is a Singapore group consisting of renowned institutions such as National University of Singapore(NUS), Nanyang Technological University(NTU), Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) and Singapore Management University (SMU).

Scholarship & Study Loan: A scholarship information booth will be specially setup at Kuala Lumpur & Johor Bahru venues to assist the visitors with information on scholarships offered by participating institutions.

What’s more, PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation) will be at the Kuala Lumpur venue to disseminate information on study loan.

Academic presentations:

Special talks & Career Personality Test:

At the Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru venues, visitors are invited to attend a series of presentations to have a better understanding of the programmes, institutions and its facilities conducted by the respective exhibitors. Admission is free and seats are limited.

Booths will be specially setup at Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru venue to provide visitors an opportunity to have FREE career personality test. At Kuala Lumpur venue, there are special talks

by International Psychology Centre on career, interest and personality. Besides, Learning Hub Asia will be giving talks on reading speed, memory and study skills.

Visitors are advised to bring along their result slips and relevant documents for more accurate assessment when meeting the counselors and representative of the institutions.

The opening hours are from 12noon to 6pm for Peninsula Malaysia while the East Malaysia’s show will start from 12noon to 4pm. Admission is free.

For more information on Facon Education Fair – March 2014, please visit www.faconex.com or follow us on facebook

www.facebook.com/faconeducationfair.

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HIGHLIGHTS

C

rime fighting is no cakewalk. Just ask Dr Geshina Ayu Mat Saat, Malaysia’s very own star criminologist.

Currently the only PhD holder in criminology in Malaysia, she works closely with the police, prison, welfare and government agencies on organizational and institutional initiatives to make Malaysia a safer place.

Her volume of ground-breaking achievements includes pioneering the nation’s prison rehabilitation module for sexual offenders. Not one of the “graduates” from her rehabilitation module have reoffended, which means that on average 3000 women are safe from repeat offenders every year. Dr Geshina also established criminology as a taught and research course in university and penology and victimology as postgraduate courses in the country.

In an enlightening interview, she shares with us career prospects in this highly-specialized field, and how she is motivated by seeing that justice is done for the victim of crimes and rehabilitating people for the better.

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CRIME FIGHTER

Q1

How popular is criminology as a field of study, and as a career in Malaysia and globally?

Globally, as a field of study; it is not as popular as say a Masters in Information Systems (which heads the list for 2012 according to Forbes), physics, or finance.

It is more popular than Library sciences and marine sciences. It is popular in the USA, Australia, UK, Japan, and most parts of Europe, Indonesia and China.

At the undergraduate level, in Malaysia it does not exist as a stand-alone degree. It does exist as a specialized undergraduate course in the BSc Forensic Science programme in USM and specialized undergraduate degree elsewhere. For postgraduate education, there are taught, mixed and pure research courses available. USM was the pioneer in Malaysia for this course, followed by other local universities like UKM and UiTM. Each of these local universities offers different foci. For example the Health Campus

branch of USM offers Criminology focusing on profiling by research at MSc and Phd levels. The USM main campus focuses on social policy by research at the MSc level. UiTM offers a Master of Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology by coursework, and a Master of Laws (LL.M) - Criminology and Criminal Justice. UKM offers a mixed mode course on Master of Social Science (Corruption Studies). Help University offers a Master of Science in Economic Crime Management. Only USM offers postgraduate degrees wholly on Criminology as a field of study while the rest offers limited taught courses about it.

rehabilitation, and victim issues. Many police, army, and prison personnel overseas take it as part of their training prior to field work. It is gaining interest among social workers, probation officers, lawyers, counselors, victim support personnel, personnel working in defense ministries, and insurance investigators.

In the USA, national salary data on PayScale.com indicated that criminologists typically earned between $36,000 and $50,868 as of August 2010 (source: http://www.floridatechonline. com/online-degree-resources/ criminologist-careers).

Career-wise, Criminology is a specialized area. As a career, it covers examination of evidence, study of the sociological and psychological consequences of crime, assessment and interpretation of psychometrics, the areas of punishment and 41

FEATURED

Q2

What were the factors that led you to specialize in this field?

It was fated. When the advert came out in the papers the choices were forensic psychology or health psychology. I was going to choose health psychology.

However when I went for the interview in USM I was given a choice of forensic psychology or criminology. After thinking it through, I opted for criminology.

At that time Criminology was just introduced and there were no experts in Malaysia. There are thousands of psychologists but back then no Criminologists.

It was not a hard choice.

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Criminology as a career, covers examination of evidence, study of the sociological and psychological consequences of crime, assessment and interpretation of psychometrics, the areas of punishment and rehabilitation, and victim issues.

Q3

In a nutshell, what’s it like to be in your position?

It’s a job that requires continual commitment and overcoming myriad challenges on a day to day basis. If you want a typical day job, this is not for you. The job of a criminologist often includes: compiling statistical data, conducting research, formulating policy recommendations, teaching, writing research papers and articles, working with law enforcement and prison personnel, studying criminal behaviour and victim behaviour, and devising strategies to help reduce crime. You determine your own job scope. For example, 50% of my job is teaching. This is followed by

HIGHLIGHTS 30% research, 15% government and community-related work, and 5% media-related.

Many aspects of my job are interesting. I meet people from various levels of society and in various occupational positions. This means I get a holistic understanding from parents of criminals to the criminals themselves to those responsible for the punishment and rehabilitation of criminal behaviour. I interact with people involved in assessment tools, policy makers and victims of crime. This job calls for someone who is extroverted.

Introverted people may find the constant social interaction taxing and require time alone to recharge.

itself and when I do research or work with others in the criminal justice system. This means that my repository of knowledge and skills keep on growing.

I enjoy teaching at university and see ‘light bulbs’ metaphorically; alight over the head of my students when they understand what I am teaching and are able to apply what they learn.

I enjoy being part of teams trying to make Malaysia safer from crime. This is via official government collaborations and my volunteer work with the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation.

I build good rapport with police officers, prison personnel, Bomba personnel, lawyers, and ministry of internal defense personnel. The list goes on to include social workers, counselors, NGOs…

I travel a lot. On average my car clocks 90,000 km a year.

So if you like travelling the width of Malaysia, this is a great job. I also go to places which many people don’t get to go to like forensic labs, crime scenes and prisons.

I learn something new almost every day. From crime scenes, interviews and discussions with other professionals; I obtain hands-on real-life knowledge that is an asset in

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HIGHLIGHTS

Q4

What do you consider milestones in your career?

Well, the first would be creating the nation’s prison rehabilitation module for sexual offenders. I did a lot of indepth research in many related areas of concern, for example aggressive behaviour, cognitive distortion, perceptions of morality, sexual attitudes, preferences, target selection, degree of harm inflicted. It took me a solid 3 months to do all the groundwork, pilot testing and analyses, sometimes more than 12 hours of working every day. After that I trained a selected force of prison personnel on this - from theory to psychometric application to report writing to expertise referral. Since then, every year the prison management group and myself evaluate the effectiveness of the module and make changes as necessary.

So far, since 2008 those who ‘graduated’ from the very intense rehab module have not reoffended. We incorporated a

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special violence risk tool prior to release from prison with a probability of reoffending scale.

So far the prediction is accurate.

As a result of this module, women are more safe from these ex-rapists. In general, depending on the type of rapist, this means on average 3000 or so women are safe from repeat offenders every year.

I am currently involved in 3 research studies focusing on psychosocial and mechanical (modus operandi) factors of various types of criminals according to their offences.

Each research is in-depth in scope. The problem in many countries, including Malaysia; is reacting to crime and violence.

Once a crime is committed, only then do we do something about it. We catch suspects, conduct trials and once convicted, send them to prisons, special school and the like. The public are

likely to think that that is the end of the crime problem, but that is too simplistic. Unless the criminals are in prison for life, they will rejoin society.

Therefore I strongly advocate proactive prevention. We need to understand why people offend. We need to address underlying factors and reduce the likelihood of committing a crime in the first place! I raised this issue a number of times and it is slowly being accepted. My students and I are trying to create a database of psychosocial and mechanical factors that increase criminal behaviour as a means to filter out the suspects from those who are innocent, and as a way to formulate special education and care needs for youths at risk of criminal involvement or criminal victimisation.

Secondly, it was the selection of Malaysia’s angkasawan. I was quite honoured to have been

HIGHLIGHTS and assessed them. It was very important to ensure that the final candidates did not have any criminal or unstable characteristics. I was allowed to immerse myself (researcher participative social observation) in some of the tests like the centrifuge and jungle training.

The assessment team had very little sleep! The whole work covered several months but I enjoyed the challenge and was able to obtain access opportunities that very few nonmilitary people were given.

selected as one of three civilian ladies for the job. I worked closely with the armed forces, had meetings that lasted hours to determine the psychosocial domains, testing needs, profiling methods and other technical issues. I followed the candidates around, observed

As for the third, Criminology is still new in Malaysia (12 years old) and I have not met a single other PhD holder in this field in Malaysia, be it male or female.

I am currently training a male PhD student, 2 male master students, and 3 female master students in Criminology. All of them will be going for vivas within the next six months. In Malaysia, there are several master holders in this field.

Most of them are with PDRM. As there are so few of us, we are stretched pretty thin in Malaysia.

Many aspects of my job are interesting. I meet people from various levels of society and in various occupational positions. called on often. This means I can combine my love of research with my job. I have made several documentaries and research reports on criminal behaviour for national and international audiences and have made technical plans to continue to do so. I have done work for UNICEF, universities and NGOs on crime, violence and victim issues. My job is never boring.

Anyway, I work closely with the police, prison, welfare and other government agencies. My area of expertise is violence so I get

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HIGHLIGHTS

Q5

You established criminology as a taught course in university, and subsequently penology, and victimology as postgraduate courses in the country. What would postgraduate candidates study in these courses?

Actually, the latest review of postgrad courses has resulted in lumping penology and victimology as a sub-division of the Forensic Science Masters programme. The marketing of these subjects was dismal as not many people know what it entails. Malaysia does not have an expert in either of these subjects which is a serious concern when dealing with the penal system and addressing victim needs.

At the moment the MSc and PhD Criminology programmes offered by USM is by research mode. For those without a statistical or research method background there are courses offered every semester that can be taken. There is a mixed mode MSc Forensic Science programme on offer that enables students with no relevant background to take up courses to beef up their skills in doing field research.

A Criminology MSc taught course is offered overseas. The topics vary. What is common

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in all is a subject on research methods. Common subjects include penology, victimology, policing and police reform, the criminal justice system,

and elective subjects, for example human trafficking, anti-terrorism, fraud and embezzlement, cybercrime and risk management.

HIGHLIGHTS

Q6

What career prospects await a graduate from this course?

Many people think that these fields are tough or that there is no career in these fields.

This is not so. More and more agencies are asking for experts in specialised fields.

I think there are a lot of other tougher courses. A candidate in these fields (criminology, victimology and penology) need to have a strong interest, is not afraid of the long hours, hard work and research rigour - this is actually the same with any other postgrad course. Admittedly you do need to know something of an eclectic selection of subjects like psychology, sociology, law, medicine, anthropology, criminalistics, but the postgraduate experience gives you the exposure. So people should see this as a challenge, a means to widen their knowledge and skills rather than selecting a postgrad course based on which is less hard.

throughout the country. Once people understand the scope of criminology, penology or victimology it is not so hard.

The GTP also helped a lot as the public and government want to reduce crime rates.

Despite strong laws on criminal behavior and punishment, and a reduction of crime; fear of crime is still high. I have had research inquiries from many government and nongovernment agencies for standalone research or research supervision. Now, my list of research supervisees is three years in advance. There is just so many people I can supervise.

I overcome this particular challenge through my talks

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HIGHLIGHTS

Q7

What are popular myths about your field?

1. Criminology has been

viewed as a man’s career choice. This is untrue as there are many more females taking it up than males. Women are more likely to comprehend crime victimisation experiences and post-crime care of female victims than male criminologists.

2. Another myth is that it

takes a criminal to know a criminal. Not true at all!

Understanding what makes a person a criminal actually makes you less likely to be a victim.

You are better equipped to deal when life throws you lemons.

3. One common myth

is that all criminals are violent. In my experience media exaggerates criminal behaviour. I have been in and out of prisons (for research and consultations! not as a criminal!) and find that most of them are very cooperative when sharing information. Descriptions of criminal actions are very literal without the embellishments you get in the media. Most

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petty criminals draw the line at causing harm. Harm is a result of struggle between them and their victims. Of course you do get the violent offenders and they can be very violent but this group of people are quite small.

When I go to prison, there are always wardens to escort me around.

4. ‘Once a criminal always

a criminal’ is another.

Many criminals get involved in

criminal lifestyles because of bad choices, bad friends. Many actually repent in prisons and become very good people but when they get back into society the stigma remains. After a while many of these individuals resort to crime again to justify the stigma. A few criminals are hard-core criminals. These people are career criminals, but the way media portrays criminals, it is as if all criminals are career criminals.

HIGHLIGHTS

I have made several documentaries and research reports on criminal behaviour for national and international audiences and have made technical plans to continue to do so.

Q8

Words of advice to readers who wish to pursue a course in criminology?

Have a sustained interest in justice, minus the need to wear police or prison uniforms.

This course needs a strong motivation based on ensuring public safety. Enjoy an eclectic range of knowledge and skills necessary to deal with people from diverse occupational positions and walks of life. Being able to communicate in more than two languages and adapt to slang are recommended as criminals speak different languages and use different words to mean something.

This job is not glamorous. It is hard work all the way, so fix your intention early on. I believe the returns from my hard work are worth it. Those who have undergone my rehab module in prison have not reoffended. My students are more knowledgeable and skilled in facing crime risks. I am changing public perception and helping to make Malaysia safer.

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EVENT

Now every child can write Founded by Benson Wong and friends. At this particular event, we bring pencils and joy to Salvation Army Penang Children’s home. This event was co-organized by JCI United Penang and DIY training center. We are glad to have Miss World Malaysia 2012 Lee Yvonne to grace the event. The events end with giving red-packet (ang pow) to the kids, party pack, hair cutting by The school- hair academy and lot of pencils.

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EVENT

This Service to Humanity Program Run by JCI United Penang with the objective of encouraging the students to complete their education and also to promote “Now Every child can write” program founded by Benson and friends.

There were also school uniform vouchers and red packet (ang pow) in conjunction with the upcoming CNY for 200 selected students from different schools around Perai area, We are honoured to have Deputy Chief Minister ii Prof. Dr. Ramasamy and Dato’ Suppiah Manikam to witness the event.

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Dr Hendry Ng Born in Seremban, Dr Hendry Ng graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Science from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Australia. He also has an MBA specializing in Information Technology management, Maastricht School of Management, Holland and a Doctorate in Business Administration from Charles Stuart University, Australia.

VUMBA:

CREATING AN N EDUCATIONAL ECO-SYSTEM 56

ow that you’ve decided to pursue an MBA, comes the next question: how to choose the right one? From reputation, affordability, location to teaching methods, a litany of factors need to be considered.

Fortunately, there are well-regarded bodies like International Graduate Forum which regularly rank the performance of MBA providers, to help with decisionmaking. In the recent IGF MBA Rankings for Winter 2013, Victoria University Master of Business Administration (VUMBA) was selected as the No 1 Australian MBA, ahead of 14 other Tier One graduate schools. So what exactly makes a top-ranked graduate school? We find out from Dr Hendry Ng, Head of the VUMBA Programme at Sunway College, where this sought-after MBA has been offered since 2004.

FEATURED

Victoria University Master of Business Administration (VUMBA) was selected as the No 1 Australian MBA, in IGF MBA Rankings for Winter 2013

Q1

Dr Hendry, congratulations on VUMBA’s recent achievement. How do you feel about this recognition by IGF?

The VUMBA programme has been running since 2004 and producing stellar results: We have about 500 students out there, each of them holding key positions in their own businesses, or have reached

senior positions in their companies. Many of the alumni keep in touch with us and even come back to help out with workshops and educational programmes. That, I feel is our greatest achievement.

Q2

How are university rankings typically carried out?

There is a certain form of audit carried out before a university is declared a winner. For IGF to come up with rankings, the directors of the MBA programme would be asked to provide the data, which is then authenticated by students to ensure accuracy.

Each criterion carries a certain weightage. I must point out the IGF is markedly different from other rankings, say the Times Education ranking, because it is specifically dedicated to MBA providers. Factors such as international diversity, class sizes, student work experience, faculty-to-student ratios, and faculty qualifications were considered.

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FEATURED

Q3

Interesting set of criteria!

Why is international diversity an important factor when considering a graduate school?

Our main target are Malaysian working adults who take up the MBA with the aim to be professional managers of the 21 Century, so our mix is 20% foreign students, 80% working adults. We have many students from Maldives, a fellow Commonwealth country where the level of English proficiency is very high. Other contributing countries are from Indian continent and we have a sprinkling from Sri Lanka,

Q4

Business being global itself, you cannot depend on the local market itself. In an MBA, there is a ready pool of people from different backgrounds, not just in terms of profession, but also culture. Without this exposure to different cultures, you may be quite insular and narrow in your thinking.

Why is the size of classes also an important criteria?

Compared to many other MBA programmes in town, we have a sizable number of MBA students – about 110. Others may only have 30 or 40. What this means for the students is that they can tap into a sizable professional network. That in itself can be a potential learning resource and a source of business partners, potential employers

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Nepal, Australia, Indonesia and Thailand.

and suppliers. There are so many possibilities because you really get to know your fellow students within that 1.5 years.

If you do it right, you’ll make a lot of friends. Imagine 99 new business contacts. When you join us, you’re not only joining an MBA class but entering a professional network.

FEATURED

Q5

How does VUMBA ensure that its programmes are up-to-date and relevant?

An educational programme can never be static. Just like a business, we are in a dynamic environment. We take into consideration that in today’s complex and highly competitive marketplace, basic facilities and resources such as classrooms, lecturers and libraries must be augmented by academic services that can enrich student learning experiences. We are trying to build an education eco system here.

There is not just one source of knowledge and skill because at the postgraduate level, there is so much learning! From the curriculum (syllabus, delivery & assessment methods), workplace related seminars and workshops, industrial software, and professional network of students and alumni from diversified backgrounds – these are just a few contributors to the student experiences of VUMBA.

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Q6

What are some learning activities that an VUMBA student can expect to experience?

Each module will include 15 contact hours with the module leaders from Victoria University, facilitating meaningful exchange of experience and knowledge about the coursework and examinations. Additionally, we also have a local facilitator for the other 21 hours.

In line with the current teaching movement, we are moving from teacher to studentcentred learning and teaching.

To facilitate learning from your own classmates, we organize assignments where groupwork is emphasized – just like in the real working environment where teamwork is imporant. By interacting with

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their classmates from other countries, there will be certain cultural exchanges and in turn their own minds are broadened.

We also bring industry experts into class to conduct workshops, tutorials and seminars to help with better understanding of the subject. This is very useful for students especially those who have to switch to a completely new area. For example, an engineer who is accustomed to working in the field is suddenly promoted so that he is not only in charge of a technical area, but also have to head a department. Now you’ll need HR, management and marketing skills to market your department to internal

or external customers. Believe me, the transition can be traumatic! This is where having industry experts adds to the learning experience of the students. All these activities take place on top of the VU syllabus. We call this the Sunway flavour. The approach of VUMBA programme is Work-Place Integration, where the curriculum matches the requisite knowledge and skills at workplaces. Furthermore, with its fast track and modular syllabus, the students enjoy the benefit of being single-minded in mastering one subject at a time. Bottom line, the MBA must provide the student with rich learning experiences beyond just academic qualifications.

FEATURED

Q7

How do you design and tweak your syllabus to be updated and relevant?

The syllabus comes from VU with our input. At the end of each subject, there are two assessments done on the teaching and the unit or subject. Certain outcomes are expected from every module.

VU conducts surveys among the students so they can feedback to VU whether they find a certain subject useful or

completely irrelevant! All this real-time data helps VU prepare and update their syllabus for the next crop of students. Every six months, their module leaders will meet with the directors. I also have review reports from the local facilitators which I will send to my directors in VU if I find them useful.

Q8

When you join us, you’re not only joining an MBA class but entering a professional network.

VUMBA is the only MBA in town that uses SAP, a leading ERP solution, as a teaching software for two subjects.

Why SAP?

SAP is used by almost all MNC companies. ERP is a web-based solution that helps companies with multiple locations to consolidate information that is fed intermittently, real time, and helps you maintain data integrity, thereby enhancing the efficiency of your operations.

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FEATURED

Q9

In terms of financial impact, how expensive is it to do an MBA?

Speaking for VUMBA, we have not changed our tuition fees for the last few years. All in all it’s RM42K for 18 months.

Students can also apply to the government for a grant called MyMaster. Almost all our students who applied were

Q10

What would you say to working adults who are concerned that an MBA programme may interfere with their work schedules, and vice versa?

Classes are conducted mostly on Saturdays, thus is ideal for working adults. In addition, the modular structure enables you to plan studies around work commitments. We won’t simply let you pass, of course - you are here to reach a certain quality benchmark! - but we will do our best to make sure you are taken care of and focused in your learning. For example, if you are heavily pregnant, we give you an extra hour during final

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successful! You can withdraw from EPF Account 2. If you are an ex university graduate from Sunway, you enjoy a certain discount as well. So there are a lot of incentives for you to do MBA!

exam. If you have been sent by your company to an overseas assignment and you can’t come to class to present as a group, you can make a video clip of your presentation and let your fellow group members present it. We ask you to fill in a form called special consideration to let us know you are handicapped in that sense. We want you to graduate so that we can be proud of you and you can be proud of yourself.

Q11

In your opinion, what is the most compelling reason for people to join an MBA programme?

The most commonly-cited reason is employability, either your own career pathway within your present company, or it could mean switching to another line where you think the prospects are even brighter. In a nutshell, MBA will give you the confidence to pursue your goals.

Personally, I believe that the MBA will enrich you with three different kinds of capital:

Q12

1) Intellectual asset.

The new skills and knowledge gained through an MBA will help you in your career path and enable you to interact meaningfully with others.

2)Social asset.

In an MBA, there is a marriage of socialization and learning. I would say that the whole educational process is more important than the qualification. We always say you learn more outside than inside your classroom because you learn from your fellow classmates.

3)Symbolic asset.

With your newfound credential called the MBA, you have gained a status which is something to be proud of. We don’t make it so simple for somebody to get through; there is a certain quality benchmark we must maintain.

Therefore that symbolic asset and capital becomes more meaningful because you are actually working hard for it!

If you could summarize the VUMBA approach to education ...

We don’t believe in feeding you a lot of esoteric concepts that have no real world application.

It will then remain head knowledge - students won’t retain the intellectual capital

that they acquired. Rather, we put a lot of thinking into making the syllabus as practical as possible, while ensuring you learn enough theory so that there is a basis for what you do

in the practical terms. We have a saying in VUMBA: “Whatever you learn on Saturdays must be applicable in your workplace on Mondays.”

For more information on Sunway College’s courses and partnerships, visit www.sunway.edu.my/college.

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HI BOSS! HI BOSS!

What’s your CORPORATE IDENTITY?

www.bwg.com.my 66

THE CEO SEGMENT

FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE BUSINESS SEGMENT

CREATIVE | ENTREPRENEURIAL | OUTSTANDING

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THE CEO SEGMENT

Y

DRIVING SUCCESS

ou could say that Mohd Rizal Jailan hit the ground running, all cylinders fired up, after graduation. This pioneer degree-holder in Mechanical Engineering of Automotive Design from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Skudai began his career as a process engineer for Land Rover and commercial vehicles at Associated Motor Industries (AMI), a Sime Darby Group subsidiary.

A swift succession of promotions later, in 2008, he was handpicked to lead the shift of the Shah Alambased BMW operations to automobile assembler Inokom, which was based in Kulim. In 2012, he was appointed to oversee the manufacturing operation, making him the youngest Managing Director in the company’s history. With all the learning curves he’s had to navigate, he has plenty of insights to share about the challenging and complex automotive industry in an exclusive interview with MBA Edge ™ Postgraduate Studies.

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THE CEO SEGMENT

Q1

What attracted you to the automotive industry?

From a young age, I was fascinated by how mobility works in the human body, as it comprises the integration between electronics and mechanical, electrical, and fluid dynamics. I took up automotive design engineering when I joined UTM in 1997. (UTM was the first university to

offer a degree in Mechanical Engineering of Automotive Design.) We dealt with the real stuff: we tested engines, built actual vehicles, learnt all the theories of vehicle dynamics.

My only regret is that I missed the opportunity to try the wind tunnel, which was not completed during my time.

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THE CEO SEGMENT

Q2

At 36, you’re pretty young to be the managing director of a huge operation like Inokom. What were the contributing factors in your professional success?

Throughout my career, I was given near-impossible tasks.

At AMI, I was at different times a process engineer, as well as a project engineer.

Can you believe I was also an environmental engineer? I was tasked to run the operations in the waste water treatment area, even though I was not trained in that field. Though the learning curve was steep, it was fun. I cannot recall any

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part of my career where I was complacent. You keep accepting challenges and do something about them. That’s the best way to learn about your weakness and strengths.

tough get going. That’s very true but when the going gets tough, the not-so-tough people will drop out. The tough ones will get better because they learn from hardships.

To me, this is much better than to be safe and do nothing.

Unless you make a mistake and learn from it, how are you going to get better? People say that when the going gets tough, the

I also had very good bosses who took great effort in growing me as a leader. They taught me that as a leader, your first obligation is to grow your people while growing the business. This is especially so in a field such as car manufacturing and assembly, which is highly laborand skill-intensive. We don’t have a lot of machines where you push a button and the process takes care of itself. You need to grow as many people you have under you so that they can perform at the same level or better than you. Only then will the opportunity come for you to move up because the organization will see there is someone competent enough to take care of what you are doing right now.

THE CEO SEGMENT

You keep accepting challenges and do something about them.

That’s the best way to learn about your weakness and strengths.

Q3

What do you consider your toughest challenge in your professional journey so far?

Closing the BMW operations in Shah Alam and shifting it to Kulim. Managing human structural change is a big challenge in an organization. It’s not easy to shut down a plant and move it elsewhere. What are you going to sell for the next few months? Even though the move was in 2008, we started laying the groundwork in Kulim in 2007. Two weeks after moving here, the first BMW unit started its production in Inokom.

There are customer expectations to manage. People are always skeptical when you move. Is the quality going to be affected? Is the delivery and production sustainable? The decision has been made and as part of management, you need to deal with it to the best that you can. Then you must manage people’s emotions and morale.

People are losing jobs and at the same time, you are asking them, “Please keep working

for me.” How do you handle communication? That period was the hardest, but also the best time in my career, when I think about it. It was a litmus test of my project management skills.

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Group photo of the proud Operative workforce assembled the BMW 25,000th unit together with En. Mohd Rizal Jailan, Inokom Managing Director (standing 7th from right), Mr. Sui Keng Huat, Head of BMW Operations (standing 6th from right) and Mr. Markus Ernst, BMW AG Germany Representative at Inokom (standing 5th from left) after the roll out ceremony on 12-Feb-2014 at Inokom Kulim plant

Q4

What do you consider Inokom’s greatest achievement to date?

The company started out with a manufacturing licence and a national-product status to assemble commercial vehicles. Until 2007, we were concentrating on our Inokom brands e.g. ATOS, the small compact car; light commercial vehicle and a small number of contract assembly vehicles, such as China brand trucks.

Things started to change in 2008 when we had the BMW operations in Kulim

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because the plant had the potential and capacity, with our manufacturing facility occupying only 50% out of total 200 acres of land. We acquired more contract-based businesses such as BMW and MAZDA. Today, we are a major contract assembler for international brands franchise holders, comprising 8 brands and 17 models, in addition to Inokom-branded vehicles.

As a leader, your first obligation is to grow your people while growing the business.

In summary, we have a strong portfolio that ranges from light commercial lorries vehicles to premium cars like BMW. We have the ability to manage a sizable portfolio of strong brands under one roof.

To me, this is our greatest achievement. You can’t find many other places running an operation of this volume and complexity.

THE CEO SEGMENT

Q5

What is the complexity of an industry like this?

The daily operations. How you run them, what’s the culture of your people, how do you handle the complexities of high end products - those are the challenges. The technicalities are incredibly detailed, right down to which screw has to go in first. Your people is the main variable in determining the product quality and delivery. It can be a hardship, especially for those working in the body shop because they are handling heavy equipment if you don’t put safety first. That’s why I stress that you have to keep morale high.

Managing the expectations of your customers, both upstream and downstream (principals and end customers) is another challenge. Certain principals have a high attention to detail that you have to live up to.

For example, BMW’s motto for manufacturing is “Made

by BMW”, not “Made by BMW Malaysia. BMW will measure you by data. That’s how Germans work. They have other plants too; and we are just another contract assembly partner to them. We have to work harder than the rest to show why we should be their preferred partners. I am proud to say that for the last one or two years, we are ranked number 1 or 2 in BMW’s low-volume plant operations in terms of product quality.

People have said that operating in the North puts us at a disadvantage when it comes to the talent pool. I always believe that as top management, we can attract the right people if we create a conducive working & learning environment and a culture of excellence.

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THE CEO SEGMENT

Q6

How do you create a culture of excellence in your company?

Equip your people with what they need. It’s not just tools, knowledge, or skills. Your obligation is to provide them with what’s necessary for their jobs. As a leader, remember this: you work for the people, not the other way round. You have to live it as part of the company culture. For me, I try to ensure that, at least two days in a week, I will eat at the canteen, not in the VIP room but line up with other people taking the rice. You have to be in their shoes.

need fine-tuning. Sometimes a physically small guy gets assigned to handle a big piece of equipment, or you have two big guys doing a very fine job on cockpit assembly. That doesn’t make sense and that’s when you, as a leader, have to go down to the ground to understand the root of the problem.

Even when I was a manager, if my team had difficulty in assembling the car, I will do it myself. You can say that hey, the tools and the manual have been provided but at the execution level, things may still

That’s the level of attention to detail required for management. The longer you work somewhere, the more attention you have to pay. Over time, you can get used to the status quo and develop blind spots. So you have to work harder if you want to change or improve something.

Q7

What skills are in demand in the automotive industry?

For blue collar, we need good welders, paint sprayers, electrical and mechanical rectifiers—these are the people in a workshop who troubleshoot a car’s problems. For white collar, we need people with mechatronics (mechanical electronics), mechanical, electronics and chemical

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THE CEO SEGMENT engineering backgrounds. I understood that we already have automotive design in some universities, so the opportunity to learn in the tertiary stage is already available locally.

We are more and more in need of people in logistics engineering. The supply chain, in essence, is all about logistics, warehousing and shipping.

Being geographically located in the far north, we have a smaller pool of skilled workforce to choose from. We are looking forward to seeing a “Rayong Phenomena” in the northern region, where we could see many car brands being assembled within a specific region of a country.

Q8

Why is logistics so critical in car assembly?

Before you can assemble a car, you need the right parts in the right place at the right time. How it arrives from Japan, China or Germany doesn’t matter; somebody has to manage it so that the parts can reach the operator. A car can easily have 6000 parts. It’s like Lego. Logistics engineering

will contribute in terms of enhancing the efficiency of your operations, and also cost efficiency. If you want to cut cost, always look at the whole supply chain.

Q9

How does innovation happen in an industry like this?

In the context of Inokom, we don’t have full-fledged R&D capability. But innovation—or kaizen, as the Japanese call it— is how you make things easier.

How to simplify a complex process—that’s my simple definition. When you have a lot of people and a fixed set-

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up, how do you encourage innovation? Instill a sense of ownership. We encourage our people to submit their kaizen suggestions and in return, give a token. If a kaizen idea materializes, they get additional rewards.

Inokom managing director Mohd Rizal Jailan with Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak, Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Mukriz Mahathir and North Corridor Implementation Agency (NCIA) CEO Dato Redza Rafiq after a document exchange ceremony at the prime minister’s office in Putrajaya recently.

Inokom will collaborate with NCIA to train 100 youths at the Inokom plant in Kulim

Believe me or not, on the manufacturing floor, the expert you should ask is not the engineer, but the operator himself. He works with that process six days a week, eight hours a day. He can tell you what is not right, which one should be where. Each operator treats his station as his home.

THE CEO SEGMENT

Q10

Where does Malaysia stand, globally, as an automotive industry player?

The automotive industry has a cyclical trend of ups and downs.

Currently at number three for ASEAN, Malaysia’s automotive Total Industry Volume (TIV) is targeted to break 640,000 in 2013 (as forecasted by MAA). Malaysia’s niche will be Japanese and European models. With the release of the

Q11

revised National Automotive Policy (NAP), we believe that the Malaysian Government has strategized for short-term and long-term growth for the industry. Malaysia should be able to position itself as a hub of specific automotive sector, such as energy efficient vehicles (EEV) or high-end models.

Finally, what is your advice to young people entering the automotive industry?

This is an industry with character. They need to have passion for cars, bikes, and a healthy curiosity for “how things work”. This is an exciting industry where creative, highly motivated people will thrive.

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