Speech by : YABhg Tun Haji Mohammed Hanif bin Omar
Date : 16 December 2007

Yang Amat Berbahagia Toh Puan Norella Talib;

Yang Mulia Raja Mazhar Mohar Raja Tun Mohar;

And Family Members of the late Yang Amat Berbahagia Mulia Raja Tun Mohar Raja Badiozaman;

Esteemed Members of the MIM Court of Fellows and General Council,

Yang Berbahagia Jen. Tan Sri Dato' Zain Hashim,
Chairman, MIM;

Yang Berusaha Dr. Wilson Tay,
Chief Executive Officer, MIM;

Tan Sri - Puan Sri;

Datuk - Datin;

Distinguished guests;

MIM-RAMLEA participants;

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Assalamualaikum Waramatullahi Wabarakatuh dan salam sejahtera

On behalf of the Malaysian Institute of Management, I wish to record our appreciation to Yang Amat Berbahagia Toh Puan Norella and family members of the late Yang Amat Berbahagia Mulia Raja Tun Mohar Raja Badiozaman for agreeing to grace this occasion.

As you must have learned from the past few days' programme, MIM-RAMLEA Programme is one of the three community and social development programmes organised by MIM annually. These programmes have been made possible through co-operation with the Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung (KAS) of Germany.

RAMLEA is named after the late Raja Tun Mohar. He was a well-respected practitioner of the art of management. His long and exceptional meritorious service with the Government and his various stints in different capacities within the private sector have certainly benefited Malaysian management in various ways. As the Secretary for Commerce and Industry, Raja Tun Mohar headed the Preparatory Committee to establish MIM in 1966. The purpose of setting up a national management institute was to fulfil an urgent national need to train our own managers to run public and private organisations that were established soon after Malaysia gained its independence in 1957. Throughout MIM's existence, we have endeavoured to introduce the best in management practices from all corners of the world to our Malaysian companies, building what we hope are important bridges between the private and public sectors, and the professional services on the one hand, with the fast-changing world of management practices on the other.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

RAMLEA turns 4 this year since its inception in 2004. MIM organises this event year to year with cooperation from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

This year's RAMLEANS total up to 30 and they come from various states in Malaysia. We welcome all of them who are dignified in their own lifetime achievement.

These participants are not only selected for their achievements but also for their vision on life after retirement.

Dear RAMLEANS - Not only you have enjoyed each other's company during the four-day residential programme, I am very much assured that each one of you is leaving with added knowledge and a renewed spirit to "reinvent" life after retirement.

MIM is also very grateful to the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) for funding this year's programme. MIM has been in partnership with KAS for many years, collaborating to enhance the quality of life of different segments within the Malaysian society. Our sincere appreciation goes to Dr Thomas Knirsch, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung's Representative to Malaysia who has just arrived in Malaysia last month but has already taken a very keen interest in the design and delivery of the programme.

As President of the Malaysian Institute of Management, I am glad with all the improvements and innovative ideas, which Dr. Wilson Tay and his team have contributed to the development of this programme.

This programme was conceptualised with a very noble and far-sighted intention of giving retiring Malaysians and retired management practitioners a new lease of life. Syabas and keep up the good work!

To all participants, congratulations on your completion of this programme. We truly believe that all of you deserve to be here today. Let's hope for many more RAMLEANS to come in the future as life begins after retirement. As the saying goes, the older we get, the wiser we become.

Before I conclude, I would like to share what someone has said about retirement:

I quote' "The real essence of retirement..... is the freedom to choose the kind of life which being the person you are, with the choices that are genuinely open to you, will bring a crowning fulfilment to your life." Unquote.

Lastly, my sincere thanks again to Yang Amat Berbahagia Toh Puan Norella for gracing this occasion and to all of you ladies and gentlemen, thank you for making time to be with us.

Wassalamualaikum Waramatullahi Wabarakatuh.