UTP Employee Recognition Night 2018

Chancellor Hall, UTP, Tronoh, Perak
Tuesday, 26 June 2018

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalamualaikum wa Rahmatullahi Wabarakatuh and a very good evening.

Prof Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Abdul Mutalib, Vice Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP),

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Alhamdulillah, let me express utmost gratitude to Allah SWT, for it is with His Blessing, and with His Grace, that all of us are gathered here this evening for the UTP Employee Recognition Dinner. When Prof Ibrahim invited me to this event when we met at ALAM in April, I immediately accepted it because I truly believe that UTP is what it is today because of its greatest asset – the people. Therefore, it is my distinct pleasure to be a part of this celebration, to recognise our staff’s contributions, dedication and unwavering commitments towards the University. To recognise their long service awards tonight. In today’s ever evolving workforce trend, 20, 15 and even 10 years is certainly a true accomplishment!

2. I hope it’s not too late to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin. For this Eid, let us embrace the spirit of fitrah by going back to our Shared Values to ensure that we collectively stay true and steadfast towards the cause of PETRONAS and UTP. I hope that we will usher in this post-raya celebration with enthusiasm, determination and perseverance.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

3. Today, I have been privileged to spend a whole day at UTP. This morning I benefited from an interactive session on ‘Integrity: A Virtue for Organisational Success and Sustainability’. Integrity to me is beyond just corruption. In fact, Integrity to me is fulfilling our highest potential by simply being the best. Being the best in whatever that we do.

4. In the afternoon, I partook in UTP’s annual staff event, UTP Quality Day 2018, in celebrating various achievements of our staff throughout the year. As Pro Chancellor, I take great pride in the things we do and is definitely proud of all of you who enabled UTP’s achievements throughout the last 21 years, which we would like to showcase to the world, and in our aspiration towards global prominence.

5. I would like to congratulate the University once again for all the achievements attained in 2017. I am excited to see that UTP advanced 80 places in the recent QS World University Rankings into the 521 to 530 rank range. I believe these were made possible through the inculcation of the PETRONAS Five Quality Principles in our work. Due to the quality and high standards set by UTP, I trust that the drive for success prevail in each and every one in UTP. The 6 Stars in the 2017 achievement under the Malaysia Research Assessment Rating System or MyRA and the 2018 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Rating, and 2018 Times High Education (THE) Ranking respectively, are testaments to UTP’s global reputation among academic partners and employers, our world-class facilities, our renowned research and our achievements in internationalisation. Well done! We must continuously benchmark the best. And, we must strive to be benchmarked by the best.

6. The key ingredient to function well, and more importantly to succeed in our goals and endeavours, is teamwork. Here at UTP, I am glad to see that this has been one of the key factors behind the success in becoming Malaysia’s top private university. The entire community within the university, staff as well as students, are well aware of the goals and targets of UTP. And in knowing this, work together for the common goal. I want to emphasise that Culture remains an ongoing effort from all of us to ensure the success of the University’s transformation. I hope you will continue to create positive experiences in your daily interactions at work and even at home. I hope you are with me when I say that the DNA of the PETRONAS workforce is unique and resilient, and will be able to overcome any challenges. It is the effort, commitment and the integrity of our human capital that enable us to achieve our strategic mandate.

7. On the same note, I am equally proud when Prof Ibrahim was announced as the Vice Chancellor just a month ago. I am happy because it has demonstrated UTP’s ability to grow its own timber. And this we must continue. To develop and nurture our internal talent to ensure when time comes, we have ready and able talent to helm the Organisation. Congratulations Prof and I wish you all the best in pushing UTP to greater heights.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

8. Tonight, we have a total of 88 award recipients, which consists of those who have served the University for 10 (33 recipients), 15 (31 recipients) and 20 (24 recipients) years. All of you, including your spouses and family members have made great sacrifices for the University, especially the long hours and the challenging tasks that you have undertaken for the sake of this Organisation. Beyond UTP and PETRONAS, I believe we all do it because we believe it is the right thing to do. We want to nurture our students to actualise to their full potential, to be successful in being good contributors to society, in line with the University’s mission to produce well-rounded graduates who are creative and innovative, with the potential to become leaders of industry and the Nation. Not just “job seekers” but also “job makers”.

9. The future continues to be challenging for UTP more so in the Industrial Revolution 4.0 era. Therefore, we must be ahead of the curve. We must bring the 27th century mindset forward to today. We want to be the disruptor, not the disrupted! UTP must spearhead this. The key to UTP’s future successes lies within you, the resilient women and men behind this winning organisation. We could not have done it without each and every one of you. I hope that when you reflect upon your career over the years, you will do so with pride and contentment that you have done your best to fulfil the ‘Amanah’ entrusted upon you.

10. It is my sincere hope that tonight’s event which is a tribute to the hard work and sacrifices of all the award recipients who have fuelled the engine of progress, will continue to serve as encouragement to raise the bar higher in terms of the University’s performance and delivery. The journey must continue and I am confident that with our Cultural Beliefs, we have the right foundation to continue growing PETRONAS and UTP to greater height!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

11. I would like to congratulate the organising committee for an event well done. Congratulations once again to all the long service award recipients. Surely you will continue to inspire and spur everyone else in our enduring quest for excellence.

Again, thank you all for your invaluable contributions.
Wabillahi taufik walhidayah, wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Thank you.