ADDRESS BY THE VICE-CHANCELLOR OF UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA YANG BERBAHAGIA PROF. DATUK IR. DR. WAHID BIN OMAR 61TH CONVOCATION CEREMONY UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA DEWAN SULTAN ISKANDAR, UTM JOHOR BAHRU WWW.UTM.MY
بسم ا الرحنم الرحي السلما عليك ورحةم ا وبركتاه Salam Sejahtera and A Very Good Morning الدمح ل رب العاليم الصلةا والسلما عل اشفر انبياء والرسليم وعل آأل وصبه أأجعيم
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HEARTFELT APPRECIATION
With deep reverence to Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah, Permaisuri of Johor, Chancellor of UTM. I would like to express the gratitude of the entire UTM community to her Majesty for consenting to grace this 61st UTM Convocation Ceremony, and to bestow degrees and awards to the respective award recipients and UTM graduates. WWW.UTM.MY
SEEKING THE CONSENT OF HER ROYAL HIGHNESS
Your Majesty, Please allow me to speak to the audience.
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SALUTATION
Yang Amat DiHormati Datin Nora bt Mohd Som, Official Representative of YAB Chief Minister of Johor Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri-Tan Sri Pro Canselor and Puan Sri Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri, Chairman of the University Board of Directors and Puan Sri Yang Berbahagia Members of UTM Board of Directors WWW.UTM.MY
SALUTATION
Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato’ Mohd. Ramli bin Kushairi, Recipient of the Honorary Doctorate Degree Our Three Recepients of Emeritus Professor Title Distinguished Guests, Senior Officials and University Senate Members, Professors and Lecturers, Graduands, Parents and Family Members of Graduands, Ladies and Gentlemen. WWW.UTM.MY
First and foremost, praise be to Allah Subhanahu Wataala for with his grace and blessing, we are able to gather here at this 61 st UTM convocation ceremony, a ceremony that is important and much awaited for by all graduands, parents, families and UTM community. On behalf of UTM, I warmly welcome all distinguished guests, parents and family members of graduands, alumni and invited guests. WWW.UTM.MY
NUMBER OF GRADUATING STUDENTS
Graduands, Parents, Ladies and Gentlemen, At this 61st UTM Convocation Ceremony, a total of 3,652 graduands will be conferred their respective degrees as published on the screen and convocation bulletin. For the record, up to this 61st Convocation, UTM has produced a total of 192,446 graduates of whom 7,683 are international graduates from over 70 countries. Heartiest Congratulations to all! WWW.UTM.MY
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CONGRATULATORY REMARKS
Dear Graduands, Ladies and Gentlemen, At this Convocation Ceremony, UTM will confer the Honorary Doctorate to Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato’ Mohd. Ramli bin Kushairi for his great contribution to UTM as one of the board of directors for 15 years and also for the contribution to the nation. WWW.UTM.MY
CONGRATULATORY REMARKS
The convocation session this morning will also witness the conferment of Emeritus Professor to Ir. Ishak bin Abdul Rahman, Sr. Dr. Ayob bin Sharif dan Ir. S. Kannan Krishna for their distinct and distinguished service to UTM. Heartiest Congratulations!
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SHOW OF GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION
Dear Graduands, Today you are celebrating your success, and behind this success, there are people who have helped you and sacrificed for you. The Malay Proverb says: “Orang berbudi kita berbahasa” (translated: Courtesy should be repaid with politeness). WWW.UTM.MY
PARA GRADUAN
SILA BERDIRI DEAR GRADUATES,
PLEASE RISE WWW.UTM.MY
SHOW OF GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION
Turn around and look behind you, see the happy faces filled with hope Your parents, family members, lecturers and all those who have contributed towards your success.
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SHOW OF GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION
‘Terima kasih atas jasa kalian’ WWW.UTM.MY
CONGRATULATORY REMARKS
Dear graduands, The entire UTM community and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of you on successfully completing your studies at UTM. WWW.UTM.MY
CONGRATULATORY REMARKS
The conferment of your degree today is an evidence that if you put your heart and soul to achieve success and work hard towards it, God willing, you will be successful despite challenges that come along your way.
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STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE
I am sure you will still remember the countless days of burning the midnight oil, or getting up at the wee hours of the day to complete your assignments, going to lectures and getting involved in various academic and non-academic activities as part of fulfilling the transformative campus experience in UTM. WWW.UTM.MY
ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL
However, not many people can achieve success and thus, you should always be grateful of your achievement and be ready to chart your next move into the real world. May the knowledge and experiences that you have gained propel you towards excellence in the future.
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KNOWLEDGE IS A TRUST AND RESPONSIBILITY
The knowledge that you have gained is a kind of trust that is bestowed upon you and utilising the knowledge comes with great responsibility to develop a prosperous society. The knowledge and technical competence you gained are not the only thing that you need in order to succeed in life. As a reminder, always uphold the core values of UTM that are Integrity, Synergy, Excellence and Sustainability. WWW.UTM.MY
INTEGRITY
The most important of all is integrity. Integrity is not just about avoiding from being involved in bribery, abuse of power or being dishonest. Integrity also includes disciplining oneself, being puntual, trasparent, sincere and efficient, taking full responsibility of one’s work and being serious in discharging the duty, courteous and having good personality and character, and being ready to improve oneself. WWW.UTM.MY
THREE MAIN POINTS AS GUIDELINES
Dear Graduands, I would like to share three main points as guidelines for you to face life challenges: WWW.UTM.MY
TRUST OUR OWN STRENGTH
First, we are in the Industry 4.0 era where technological revolution such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) and ‘Robotic Process Automation’ greatly affect our life. There are romours that job opportunities are limited and I am worried that romours like this give negative effects on us. WWW.UTM.MY
TRUST OUR OWN STRENGTH
I still remember during my school days, we were told that Mathematics and Science were difficult subjects, don’t take Additional Mathematics because it was very difficult, and Physics and Chemistry were tough subjects to pass. WWW.UTM.MY
TRUST OUR OWN STRENGTH
Meanwhile, it was made to believe that getting into entrepreneurship was something negative and not encouraged. The proverb ‘haji bakhil’ (a miserly person), ‘rezeki secupak tak kan jadi segantang’ (a little sustenance can never become abundant), ‘tiada pendapatan tetap’ (no fixed income), ‘makan gaji lebih selamat’ (having salaried job is better) have become accepted advice in the society. WWW.UTM.MY
TRUST OUR OWN STRENGTH
In the end, we are stuck with old mindset that everything is scary. As a result, a lot of people chose the easiest way out by not willing to try. The fact is, our country does not need those negative thoughts and negative outlook by its people.
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TRUST OUR OWN STRENGTH
Changing the mindset and getting prepared are important to initiate change. Development in technology cannot be stopped. Thus, we need to trust our own strength and believe that we are able to face the challenges resulting from technological revolution. We need to immediately change to having entrepreneurial mindset, possessing survival skills and willing to continuously learn new things. WWW.UTM.MY
APPLY THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY
Second, if we apply the concept of sustainability, the world is not as small and congested as being pictured. It is also not for us to take all for ourself and our family only. The world and its resources are to be shared among us so that we can prosper together. WWW.UTM.MY
FREEDOM TO VOICE OUT OPINIONS
Third, education in the era of new Malaysia gives more space for students’ freedom to voice out their opinions. We have to accept this change and be ready to implement it as long as it benefits the stakeholders especially students and parents. Freedom given to students requires intelligence, guided action and holding on to the courtesy value and respect each other. WWW.UTM.MY
EXPERIENCED A CHANGE IN THE POLITICAL SENARIO
Ladies and gentlemen, We have experienced a change in the political senario that is affecting governance of the country. For us in the higher education sector, change has come and it is still coming. Higher education institution should not be a political battle field. We do not want to be involved in kickback because we are not seeking for power through the votes. We are not a business entity looking for profit and wiping out competitors. WWW.UTM.MY
EDUCATION UPHOLD THE VALUE OF KNOWLEDGE
On the contrary, the academic world and education uphold the value of knowledge that is seeking for the truth and this is enriched by an ecosystem of sincerity, closeness, and well- manered, enriching and empowering, that educate and develop human resource who can contribute to universal prosperity. We still uphold the practice of being loyal to the government of the day, but most importantly, we are serving the ‘rakyat’. WWW.UTM.MY
THE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE Dear graduands, ladies and gentlemen, To UTM community, we are facing the financial sustainability challenge like never before. A lot of sacrifices have been attempted by UTM community including withdrawing your own money to help the students in making sure that their academic journey is not affected, and cooperating by participating in “gotong royong�. We appreciate this sacrifice which is in line with UTM slogan, that is, In the Name of God for Mankind. WWW.UTM.MY
THE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE
It is a reality that is hard to swallow and it requires our strength to continue our focus on the responsibility entrusted to us. Beside being more innovative in our governance, financial management and income generation, we have not stopped from bringing this to the attention of the management higher up so that they can understand the situation better. We believe that they are also doing their best to help. WWW.UTM.MY
MOVING FORWARD
There is always wisdom behind every challenge and difficulty faced, and new opportunity is created by those who perservere and brave to take risk and to continue moving forward, and not give up and back down. I am sure that we have learned a lot from this experience. WWW.UTM.MY
SETTING PRIORITY OF OUR ACTION
The least is we are giving a higher value to every cent that we spend. We are smarter in setting priority of our action. Mere react is not enough; anticipating changes and early game plan are necessary. We are building a strong team that we call UTM DNA. Every level of UTM community contributes to this strength. Thus, we are confident and we understand the reason why we are in UTM. WWW.UTM.MY
ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL Looking forward, we should be grateful that even though we are facing difficulty, our situation is much better than other countries that are experiencing political chaos or facing war, and some had experienced natural disasters. This is one advice that is always given by Her Royal Highness the Chancellor, who has encouraged us to face the challenges with total faith, God Willing. We believe that the storm won’t last forever. There is silver lining behind every difficulty. Such is life. WWW.UTM.MY
HEARTFELT APPRECIATION TO THE CHAIRMAN AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF UTM Regardless of that, UTM will consistently carry out our responsibility and at this opportunity, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Chairman and Board of Directors of UTM, for their invaluable support and guidance in ensuring that UTM continues to be on the right track towards achieving excellence. WWW.UTM.MY
UTM ALUMNI
Dear Graduands, You are now an Alumni of UTM. Thus, the entire university community and I welcome your experience, contribution and expertise towards further advancement of UTM. I believe the involvement of alumni to the University is capable of bringing great impact to the University and the community. WWW.UTM.MY
ENDOWMENT, FREE MEAL PROGRAM AND OTHER PROGRAMS UNDER ‘BECAUSE WE CARE’ FUND
Endowment, free meal program and other programs under ‘Because We Care’ fund are our initiatives to ensure that you are comfortable to continue your studies. Today, we would like to remind you that the hands that give are better than the hands that receive. If you were helped yesterday, you should extend help tomorrow. WWW.UTM.MY
SATISFACTION IN HELPING OTHERS
If the economic cycle is balanced and fair, there will be a day where those who are wanting to give will be more than those who are waiting to receive. Those who experienced being help, you know the feeling when you were being helped. So one day, you will experience a feeling of satisfaction if you can help others and make them happy. WWW.UTM.MY
UTM ENDOWMENT FUND AND UTM WAKAF FUND
Therefore, we welcome contributions in various forms including to the UTM Endowment Fund and UTM Wakaf Fund, to be utilised by needy students. For the record, to date, UTM has received donations exceeding RM 3 million from UTM alumni of the total Endowment amounting to RM94 million. WWW.UTM.MY
POEM Golden bananas brought along while sailing, One banana became ripe above a crate, Do not forget to repay your PTPTN borrowing, The UTM Fund is also available to be filled. WWW.UTM.MY
Dear Graduands, You will venture across the country and travel to all corners of the world, to devote and make contributions, nonetheless, wherever you are, at any moment in time, if you ever think and picture UTM in your mind, do remember that this is your home, UTM will always be waiting for your presence and contribution. WWW.UTM.MY
HEARTFELT APPRECIATION TO HER MAJESTY
Graduands, Parents, Ladies and Gentlemen, Before I end my address, on behalf of the entire university community, I would like to once again express our heartfelt appreciation for Her Majesty’s deep concerns towards our students’ welfare and wellbeing. We are very honoured and touched by your kindness Tuanku. WWW.UTM.MY
HEARTFELT APPRECIATION TO HER MAJESTY
We pray that Her Majesty Duli Yang Maha Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah Binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah, Permaisuri of Johor, the Chancellor of UTM, is in good health, and be blessed by the Almighty Allah Subhanahu WaTaala. WWW.UTM.MY
UTMOST GRATITUDE
I would also like to express my most sincere gratitude to UTM ProChancellors, Chairman and Members of the Board of Directors, academic staff, administrative staff and both local and foreign guests for taking the time to attend this convocation. WWW.UTM.MY
POEM Cempaka flowers blooming in the garden, Sweet smelling bright and beautiful, God willing with Allah’s blessings, We will meet again at another time‌..
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CLOSING
Your Majesty Before I end my speech, I once again would like to express my utmost appreciation and gratitude to Your Majesty for gracing this 61 st Convocation Ceremony.
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