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Volume 3, Issue 10, October 2016
Dear scholars,
I would like to share with you a story... of a great guy that I met few days back. He is neither a millionaire nor a successful per-son IF assessed
based on the normal definition of success by most people. But to me, I’m not sure if I can achieve what he has achieved today.
His name is Mohammad Rizan Hassan. If I am not told of his life story, I would have thought that he is a nobody. He was just recently award-ed the 2016 ICLIF Leadership Energy Asia Award for his contribution and impact he has made to the society. Why? What is so special about this person who is standing in front of hundreds of conference delegates from across Asia?
Looking at him now, no one would believe that Rizan was an ex-convict in his younger days. There was never a day that he did not commit a crime from petty theft, extortion and until he joined a gangster ring in KL at a very young age. He was finally sent to Sekolah Henry Gurney
when he was arrested for robbing a bank and he was a juvenile offender at that point of time. Maybe to some, the school was a prison but he used the opportunity to change his view of life. He learned to deal with rejections after graduat-ing from Henry Gurney. He was outcast by his own family and also society. He attended 39 job interviews but was rejected every time. He vowed not to return to the dark side and his perseverance paid off when he was accepted to work in a Japanese owned factory in Johor and later sent to Japan to master the art of handling industrial robots.
After few years, he came to a crossroad where he had 2 choices: To remain in Japan for his own personal benefit (as he is earning quite a lot) or to return home and share his knowledge and help others like him. Guess what? He chose the latter. He returned home and joined TEKAT Auto Terminal Training to help juveniles and youth-at-risk who had dropped out of educa-tion. Till today with his own source of funding and the help of his Japanese friends – they have helped and changed the life of about 5,000 youths.
When I asked him on his motivation and what drives him to do what he does, his simple an-swer was because he was a given a second chance by someone and he feels that it becomes his responsibility to help people like him to get a second chance in their life so they
become a contributing citizen. To him, no mat-ter what happens, Malaysia is his home and this is how he shows his love for his country. Be-cause for Rizan, doing something for his nation and society gives him a bigger purpose in life.
My beloved scholars, during your journey as a scholar, you will be facing many crossroads where you have to make decision that will not only change your life but the life of people around you. But always keep this in mind – with the scholarship comes a bigger responsibility! And also the hope and expectation of not only from YK but your community and your country at large. The grass will always look greener on the other side…. But I guess it is your responsi-bility now as the “chosen-one” to bring back and share the learnings to improve the livelihood of the place you call HOME!
XoXo,
Eymie
Scholar’s Studio Ruhaini Fatema Islam Nicolette Monique Cross Khadeejah Abdul Halim
Alumni’s Studio In the limelight Activities & Happenings YKPSP Corner
In This Issue Highlight of the Month
From the Editor’s Desk
Home Sweet Home
There’s No Place like Home!
By Ruhaini Fatema Islam PhD in Marketing Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia
No matter how lovely a place one is living in, there is no place like home and for me that is bustling Dhaka. Of course I do not miss the manic traffic jams but I miss the precious naps in the car while our chauffeur drove me to work; I do not miss the power outages but I miss going to the rooftop when that happened to catch the cool night breeze and to do some star gazing. I miss the road trips through the bright and beautiful green paddy fields and the occasional yellow mustard flowers while visiting my grandmother in my home-town up north east of the country. I miss the ritual weekend gatherings at my in-laws with all the fabulous food and the kids running about creating mayhem. I miss catching a cup of coffee with my bestie and enjoying an evening unwinding from work. I miss seeing my mom and dad every Friday not to mention the comfort of mom’s cooking. I think the time I miss the family the most is the time of Ramadan. In our country special food items are made and eaten only during Ram-adan and the whole city turns into a food bazar during the afternoon with people lining up to buy the iftar delicacies. There is a daily ritual of preparing and distributing iftar in our house and Ramadan away from home doesn’t feel the same without the buzz around iftar time with all the family gathered together to break their fast.
When we move out of our home, we realised that there were so many things we never appreciated and took for granted. I lived with my in-laws and I never had to worry about cooking or grocery shopping as my mother in law ensured all of that got taken care of. I would come home from work and there would be warm fresh food on the table and it sure tasted better than my cooking. When we are out of milk or I am running to the nearby grocer to stock up on bread and eggs, I realise that back home all I had to do was ask our guard to do these errands for me. We had so many household help that I must say we were pampered and spoilt to some extent. And then, there is my tailor who is a very important person in a girl’s life and any Bangladeshi girl reading this will know exactly what I mean. On the days when he doesn’t ruin my outfit, he makes just the dress I want tailored to my size instead of me having to walk into a trial room inside a de-partment store and try out a dozen clothes before I find one that fits.
Now that I live in KL and do all my cooking and most of my cleaning I realise all the perks from home I am missing out on.
Dhaka is a happening place – be it people out in the streets to celebrate a festival or demonstrate against the government. There is rarely a quiet moment or a quiet place. It is the most densely populated city in the world with approximately seven million people living in three hundred square kilometers of land. Poor infrastructure alongside the burgeoning population has unfortu-nately earned it a spot among the least livable cities in the world. But underneath the chaos, Dhaka is brimming with creativity, life and passion. People have hope, dreams and are among the most hard working people in the world. Life in there can chaotic but it is never lacking in colour.
Home Sweet Home By Nicolette Monique Cross Bachelor of Physics University of Edinburgh
For any Malaysian, being in a foreign country for a few years to complete studies is a bittersweet experience. In the few months up to leaving, we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of sorting out technical details of our soon to be emotional departure at the air-port. But as we shed those tears when we leave, a sense of dread fills us, and we realise family and friends aren’t the only thing we’re leaving behind.
Nasi lemak, Teh Tarik and even the simplicity of a nice thosai in the mornings is a luxury we don’t get at all hours of the day any-more. Our familiar coffee shops and mamaks are gone from sight.
We don’t realise how much we have in the comforts of home and we take for granted the simplest pisang goreng. It’s only until a few weeks into settling into our new ‘homes’ that the realisation hits us.
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We count the days down to our next flight home, and write up lists of everything we would do, the people we would see, and most im-portantly, which types of food to eat first. Then, the next stage begins with us meeting fellow Malaysians, and almost every single time, the topic of conversation skyrockets into food. How much we miss it and naming familiar dishes that elicit groans of despair from ‘sambal-deprived’ mouths, and we promise to attempt to cook it. For most of us, here comes the challenge of attempting to make complex dishes our mothers’ seem to whip up effortlessly. Thankfully, in my personal experience, my friends have done a wonderful job of feeding me nos-talgia in the form of oven baked satay and instant chicken rice.
In all seriousness, food is such an inherent and important part of our culture. Looking beyond our yearning for familiarity in our wonder-ful food, we find ourselves more attached to Malaysia when we leave. Home, means so much more to us now than the physical place. With the continuous improvements in technology, and the ability for us to connect with our family and friends, we find ourselves more at home than ever. My mum and my best friends are never too far from a text away, and that’s comforting. Our integration into the new society we live in is smoother, and we are more able to enjoy and experience various different cultures, and appreciate our own more. I find my-self looking for reasons to love the city I am in, and I am hardly dis-appointed.
Home is Malaysia. Tanah tumpah darah ku! The land that will al-ways hold a special place in my heart. But for the next few years, home is also here, in a beautiful city that never ceases to take my breath away. I have made friends here that I will hold dear when I leave after I graduate, and when I return to Malaysia with the memo-ries I have made here, I hope to say I truly took advantage of the op-portunity I have had to be here. I hope all Malaysians overseas for their studies, or for a short period of time in general, understand the precious time we have in these countries to learn, open up our minds and be receptive to the wisdom that can be found in foreign places. We never quite see ourselves, or home in the same light, but we should aim for that light to be one that highlights the several avenues for us to play an active part into making home better than it already is.
Home is Where the Heart is By Khadeejah Abdul Halim Year 13, Marlborough College Malaysia
If you asked me what comes to mind when I hear the phrase “Home
sweet home”, I would tell you that Malaysia was my first thought!
“Why Malaysia?” you may ask. My answer is that Malaysia is my
home and native land.
I study in a British international school, which means that I wit-ness the lives and cultures of students of various nationalities. Many people, including myself, have asked the question: Why do you consider Malaysia to be your home? The short answer is ob-vious: I was born and raised here. I have come to know this place for so long that I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I only started travelling to other countries when I was 13, when I first came to Marlborough College Malaysia, when my school brought their boarding students to Singapore. I don’t remember much of that trip, but what I do remember is that it cemented a love of travel-ling within me. Since then, I have been excited every time my school organised trips to foreign countries, and I kept wondering where the wind would take me next.
I found myself going on amazing school trips I thought I would never go on and experienced many wonderful moments during those trips, such as the exchange trip to the UK, where I and some other lucky students were brought to Marlborough College in Wiltshire, England to experience school life there. The highlight of my experience with school trips, however, was when I, along with several other sixth form students, flew to the US, specifically the East Coast, to explore some universities there. I have always wanted to travel to America, especially to New York, so the op-portunity to go on this trip was a dream come true.
I have many fond memories of this trip, such as celebrating my birthday in New York City, savouring delicious chilli con carne in Washington D.C., visiting the UN office, pottering around beauti-ful universities such as Georgetown University, NYU and my per-sonal favourite, Columbia University; and others.
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Nevertheless, I felt like I was missing something. My heart felt like some-thing was off. The truth was, I missed Malaysia. Although I was enjoying myself in the US, I felt like an out-sider: I didn’t belong there. All along, I kept remembering that I was a tourist, a foreigner. Little things like the time I bought food at Chipotle for lunch and the cashier praised my English (even though I was a native English speaker); and the food there in general (which consisted of meat, pasta, pizza and burgers, and no rice) made me crave the comfort and security I took for granted in Malaysia. I re-member the day that we flew back to Malaysia as the happiest day of my life, as I was finally returning to my home country.
In a nutshell, the US universities trip, as well as other trips I have gone on, such as the trip to Bangkok, Thailand to attend the World Scholar’s Cup Global Round, have reminded me that home is where the heart is, and I realise now that my heart belongs to Malaysia. They say there is no place sweeter than home, and I can proudly ex-claim that Malaysia is truly my home sweet home!
KSAA was glad that participation from the alumnis were encour-aging and we look forward for more engagement with the alum-nis in the future. It was truly an amazing experience where the YB Minister shared his mission and vision of this country particu-larly under the capacity of the Minister of MOSTI, most im-portantly the session tells a lot what the Khazanah Scholar Alumni can offer to this country. This session served as a platform where fellow alumnis meet and network among ourselves and the guest speakers, At the same time, we managed to promote the brand name of Khazanah Scholar Alumni to our honorable guest.
To those who don’t know, KSAA was formed in the year 2012 with the objectives of grouping together the scholars graduated from various fields of study and expertise. It served as a common platform for alumnis to interact, build networks and gain insights from various activities and initiatives planned annually.
If you are one of the graduating scholars or have graduated re-cently, please visit our website to register yourself. Be prepared and get engaged.
For more info and updates, please visit www.ksaa.org.my
Khazanah Scholarship Alumni Association (“KSAA”) - An Evening with YB Datuk Seri Panglima Madius Tangau, MOSTI Minister
By Tuan Muhd Taufik Tuan Hussin, KSAA Member
On the 20th October 2016, under the Leadership Catalyst Platform, KSAA has organised a talk with the honorable guest, YB Datuk Seri Panglima Madius Tangau, MOSTI Minister. This event was organised by the KSAA with the following objectives:
(i) Dinner and Dialogue with YB Datuk Seri Panglima Madius Tangau, Minister of Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, MOSTI;
(ii) To provide insights on nation’s overall economic and devel-opment direction; and
(iii) To promote and mainstream the collective and individual expertise of KSAA members;
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Alumni's
Studio
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YK 10th Anniversary Special Interview with Shamsul Amri Sulaiman Alumni, Khazanah Global Scholarship
Yayasan Khazanah provides scholarship to support, groom and nurture talented per-sonnel who will eventually take on high-level positions in the best organizations including government-linked companies (GLCs) in Malaysia.
Primary motivation for becoming Yayasan Khazanah family due to the fact that Yayasan Khazanah provides best brains for the nation building.
Yayasan Khazanah is the place to groom prospective leaders that can outline the future of Malaysia.
Aside from the scholarship programme, amongst the things that I enjoyed the most during my tenure as YK scholars were par-ticipation in a broad range of training and developmental activities outside school, interaction with top management of Khaza-
nah Nasional, involvement in social activi-ties, etc. that assisted me towards becoming a successful leader.
Yayasan Khazanah has furnished a second to none support throughout my entire peri-od of study. Personnel in YK are always available should I need any assistance, even after my graduation.
My major was nuclear engineering (doctorate level). I chose to focus my study in nuclear engineering since the specialists for this niche market was very scarce par-ticularly in Malaysia. Furthermore, I would like to lead the first nuclear power plant project in Malaysia should the Malaysia Government decide to embark the project in the near future.
My future aspiration and ambition is to become a business leader with superior technical know-how in my present organi-zation (TNB) or any other GLCs. Yayasan Khazanah has provided the foundation and ground work for realizing my desire.
My role model is Tan Sri Datuk Dr Tajuddin Ali, one of Yayasan Khazanah’s Board of Trustees.
If I were given a chance to lead an organi-zation, I will be a servant leader who love to serve for the benefits of all.
If I could describe Yayasan Khazanah in three words, they would be — Great Mind United!!
I would recommend Yayasan Khazanah not only to my family and friends but even to strangers who have what it takes to become leaders in the future.
All the best to the YK team!
Engagement with
Scholars
Reem & Rabab - our Palestinian scholars meeting with
Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Utama Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Depu-
ty Chairman of Khazanah at Acibadem University.
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Introducing our new scholar, Khansa
Arifah from Indonesia.
Bestari Alumni Sharing session with the Form 1 & 2
scholars at KYS.
On-boarding session with WATAN new scholars. Wel-
come to YK family Nabil, Avienash, Kelly & Zaim :)
Congratulations to Dr. Teh Jin Zhe, our first MBBS schol-
ar from Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia
(NuMed). Jin Zhe received Tm Teoh and Walton awards
for the best student at NuMed.
He was the Valedictorian for his cohort too! We are so proud
of you Jin Zhe.!!
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L e t Us K now W hen Y ou ’ re Coming Home
Hi guys!
YKPSP Team is currently plotting in dates for your involvements in YKPSP 2017. We are finding the time which all scholars are available to attend our sessions.
Next Programme & Activities Do lookout for the pro-
gramme & event updates
from YKPSP Team Soon!
Further queries:
What do you have to do?
Look out your 2017 academic calendar for the dates that you are available for leave.
Email us the dates by 20th November 2016! :)
My name is Akmal Ibrahim (UG Global) from Imperial College London.
Here are the dates I am available in 2017:
> Date 1: 18—25 January
> Date 2: 30 August—29 September
Global, Watan &
Asia Scholars
Leave Days Needed
Undergraduates Post-graduates
7 Days 5 Days
Please send us the exact dates which you are available in Malaysia or return
to Malaysia for our consideration
Our Email: [email protected]
6-11 Dec. 2016
YKPSP Series 2 (Group 2)
20-23 Dec. 2016
Bestari Annual Camp
