Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS 13th Convocation Ceremony

Bismillahirrahmanirahim
Assalamua’aikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh
Salam Sejahtera
dan Salam 1Malaysia

Alhamdulillah, bersyukur kita ke hadrat Allah SWT atas limpah rahmat serta keizinan Nya jua, dapat kita bersama-sama hadir pada petang ini sempena Majlis Konvokesyen Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS Ke-13. Saya ingin merakamkan ucapan setinggi-tinggi tahniah kepada para graduan yang telah menerima Ijazah masing-masing pada hari ini. Majlis ini merupakan detik yang penting dalam perjalanan hidup para graduan sekalian. Ia menandakan pertukaran status dari seorang pelajar ke ahli masyarakat yang berdikari dan lebih produktif. Majlis pada hari ini adalah amat signifikan untuk pewaris kita yang telah sekian lama berusaha untuk akhirnya melangkah masuk ke Dewan Canselor ini sebagai seorang graduan dan seterusnya melangkah keluar daripada kampus ini dengan sejuta impian masing-masing dan harapan ibu-bapa, keluarga dan Negara untuk menyumbang ke arah kesejahteraan dan pembangunan Negara kita Malaysia. Pencapaian yang bersejarah ini wajarlah dikongsi bersama ahli keluarga dan mereka yang terdekat dengan para graduan sekalian. Syabas diucapkan atas kejayaan ini.

2. Saya ingin juga mengucapkan setinggi-tinggi tahniah dan syabas kepada para ibubapa serta warga kerja UTP, kerana segala usaha, sokongan dan dorongan anda telah membuahkan hasil. Sebagai seorang ayah, saya amat faham kebanggaan saudara-saudari berada di dalam dewan ini untuk melihat anak-anak kita menerima segulung ijazah – detik-detik yang telah saudara-saudari mimpikan sejak hari pertama mereka menjejakkan kaki ke sekolah. Penantian tersebut telah berakhir dengan kejayaan yang dikecapi hari ini. Kini, bermulalah satu fasa baru dalam kehidupan anak-anak kita untuk meneruskan cabaran hidup mereka dengan tanggungjawab yang baru.

Graduands,

3. There is a popular song about “Standing on mountains, walking on stormy seas – of being strong by standing on someone’s shoulders” What song is that? “You raise me up”. I too owe it to my parents, my wife, my family and so many of my mentors to be where I am today. And to my alma-mater. Because ‘they raised me up’. Each one of us, those on this stage, and those in the audience, owe it to our alma-mater for being where we are today. Life is no bed of roses. And no one owes us a living. It is full of very high mountains to climb and stormy seas to navigate. But I am certain, very certain, that you will rise up to the challenges life throws at you. Because, you will be standing on the shoulders of UTP.

4. Since its establishment in 1997, UTP has been developing its courses with the focus trained on the goal of developing ‘well-rounded’ individuals. Besides technological know-how, we are very proud of our infrastructure and policies that develop individuals with human skills, elements of leadership, critical thinking, analytical problem solving and communication skills. UTP is also recognised as having among the best Industrial Training Programme in the market. Our students not only win robotics and app development competitions, they also win Bhangra competitions and produce Gamelan albums. The shoulders you stand on are indeed very broad!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

5. Albert Einstein is quoted to have said, “Logic will take you from A to B, imagination will take you everywhere.” In UTP, our students learn the logic in the classrooms and let the imagination fly in the dance rooms. Our country has done its rounds of economic growth through commodity trading and cheap labour. Those phases are over. What we need now is knowledge, creativity and innovation. And that is exactly what UTP equips our students with. If one can get a First Class degree, dance to Bhangra and play Gamelan, I suppose he or she can go everywhere! Anywhere!

Graduands,

6. The UTP degree and reputation, the shoulders you stand on, will only help you to get noticed and let you pass through the door. The rest is up to each and every one of you. It is your responsibility to prove that you are worthy of the reputation. It is your duty to your alma mater to ensure that the UTP brand is safeguarded by your actions. But why stop there? Today, your profile is raised by your association with UTP. Why not the other way around? You can take actions starting today, so that UTP can claim its profile is raised by the achievements of its alumni. You! That is my challenge to the graduating class today!

7. How do you get there? Definitely not by taking the beaten path. The tried and tested career path will give you security and comfort. And it is a sure way of becoming part of the statistics of those who graduated and lived happily ever after. But you need to go beyond that. Because you can. UTP has equipped you to do that. And the Nation requires you to. As we say in PETRONAS, Reimagining energy. We need to be bolder, do things differently, constantly challenge accepted norms and find new solutions. We need to perpetually reinvent ourselves. We need to stay ahead, and for that, we need to forget the status quo. We need to reimagine.

8. And all the while holding on to, what I believe is the single most important value – Integrity. Integrity is not only about avoiding corruption. It is much more than that. It is about delivering what is expected of us, and more, to the best of our capability. Every time, all the time. Integrity must govern every aspect of our life. At work, at home, with colleagues, with family. Integrity must be consistent. Without consistency, there is no integrity.
That is the reputation we wish to develop for our Alumni.

9. As an executive, think beyond your own immediate remit and think about the outcome of your role, your actions, on others. Rather than doing what is asked, try to understand the need, and the desired outcome, of what is asked. Then do it, if it makes sense. Very often, you will find rules and policies have overstayed their welcome. Status quo may be there because no one bothered to question it. Be the trigger that makes that change. You may not have the authority to make the change. But you are equipped with logic to argue the case for change and imagination to propose better ways of doing things. Use it. Except for the Quran, everything CAN be changed by humans. In my 40 years of service, I have not come across a rule, a procedure, a practice that cannot be improved upon.

10. And speaking about imagination, don’t just imagine and design solutions for tomorrow’s problems. We need to go beyond tomorrow. Don’t be the Kodak that kept on at film roles after smartphones arrived. Be a Leonardo da Vinci. He had a blueprint for parachute in 1485, almost 300 years before the first recorded public jump in 1783 in France. And he is credited with having first thought of a machine for vertical flight, the ‘air screw’, for which the blueprint was dated 1493. The first operational helicopter didn’t take off until 1936!

Graduands,

11. When you become a da Vinci that UTP is proud to be associated with, please remember those who lined your path and wished you well. Those who guided you and carried you on their shoulders. Your parents, family, friends, lecturers, University administrators, sponsors and many more. Please do not forget your roots. We become what we become, thanks to the opportunities that were offered, the choices we made and the people who guided us. For you to get this far, there must be something that keeps pushing you despite the obstacles faced. Remember that source of the ‘fire in the belly’. For me it was my kampung folk, my desire to improve their quality of life in Cherok Paloh. And others like them. For you, it could be your parents, your kampung folk, your ideals, anything. Your own Cherok Paloh.

12. This leads me to my advice for all times to those graduating today – be kind to your parents and guardians. Their sacrifices can never be understood or even known until we become a parent ourselves, or until we have lost them. Please don’t wait that long.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

13. As one of the institutions of higher education focused on engineering and technology, UTP needs to continually monitor the challenges ahead and reassess its role in order to remain competitive and relevant in the fast evolving national education sector. Efforts to upgrade the research activities must be implemented so that UTP can continue its meaningful research contribution to the national economic development and attract the best international talent and institutions for collaboration. With Oil, Gas & Energy having been identified as one of the Key National Economic Areas targeted to generate 52,300 jobs and RM131.4 billion in Gross National Income, UTP’s responsibilities are indeed monumental. As one of the key producers of talent for this sector, UTP needs to remain focused in further enhancing the quality of our graduates and research output to assist the Nation in reaching its goals.

To the Graduating Class,

14. This graduation is not the end of your relationship with UTP, but a beginning of a new one, as an alumni. I urge you to actively contribute to the UTP Alumni in making the University, our University, a better place to seek knowledge. Come back to meet your juniors, to guide them and inspire them. Help to enroll the brightest from your community into UTP. Help it flourish and grow further.

15. On behalf of the University, I would again like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all parents, guardians and partners of our graduands. You have been the inspiration and the strength in the life of these graduates.
Para hadirin yang saya hormati sekalian,

16. Saya dan pengurusan UTP turut menumpang gembira kerana hasrat dan keinginan tuan-tuan dan puan-puan untuk melihat anak-anak berjaya dalam pelajaran kini telah menjadi kenyataan. Syabas saya ucapkan, dan berharap tuan-tuan dan puan-puan akan terus memberikan bimbingan dan dorongan kepada anak-anak kita ke arah melahirkan warga yang bertanggungjawab, yang sentiasa bersedia untuk menyumbang kepada kesejahteraan Negara.

17. Para graduan sekalian, zahirkanlah ucapan terima kasih kepada mereka yang telah bersama-sama membantu mencapai kejayaan anda hari ini, termasuk para pendidik, kakitangan Universiti dan mereka yang tersayang. Tanpa kerjasama dan sokongan daripada mereka, kejayaan yang dikecap pada hari ini tidak mungkin tercapai.

May Allah bless us all.

Wabillahi taufik wal-hidayah, Wassalamu’alaikum, Warahmatullahi wabarakatuh