Opening Ceremony of 11th Tun Razak Youth Leadership Awards Programme (TRYLA) Address by : YABhg Tun Haji Mohd Hanif Bin Omar, President MIM Date : 17 May 2003 YBhg Encik Nizam Mohamed bin Tun Abdul Razak YB Tan Sri Dato Michael Chen Yang Berusaha Mr Peter Schier, Konrad Adenauer Foundation Representative in Malaysia Distingui shed Guests TRYLA 2003 Participants Ladies and Gentlemen On this auspicious occasion I wish to bid you a very good morning and a very warm welcome to this Opening Ceremony of the 11th year of the Tun Razak Youth Leadership Awards programme (in short, TRYLA). In spite of the passage of 10 years, the programme is still attracting an increasing number of youthful applicants.  The response this year was so overwhelming that the organizers, I understand, had a tough time evaluating the applications.  Successful applicants should therefore be proud that you have been selected to attend the programme.    MIM considers this the TRYLA programme to be its contribution to society, and is thankful to the family of the late Tun Hj Abdul Razak bin Hussein, our former Prime Minister, for lending his name to the programme.  Tun Razak who became Pahang State Secretary at the age of 28, the Deputy Prime Minister at the age of 36 and our Prime Minister at the age of 48, will always epitomize youth and leadership to us.  We're very pleased to have a member of the family, YBhg Encik Nizam Mohamed bin Tun Razak, with us for this Opening.  The presence of family members and their unstinting support since the first TRYLA in 1993 have always added warmth and meaning to the programme.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for continuing to sponsor this programme.  We hope that they will continue to do so for many more years to come. Going by the comments of past participants of the TRYLA programme, you will, I'm sure, have a rewarding experience over the next eight days.  Some of you may initially feel confused over the many activities you have to do and may at times be irritated by the challenging situations you will be put through or by the lack of the usual little comforts you have been used to or grown accustomed to.  But I can assure you this, that all situations are not happenstance;  they have been designed for a purpose, i.e. to challenge and bring the best out of you.   How you deal with them will be the acid test of your emotional maturity and your leadership qualities As you progress, you will also find that your value system and attitudes are challenged too.  It is our hope that by the time you complete the programme, you will have redefined your value system and changed some attitudes where they need changing to enable you to have a new perspective in life.  This quality is important if Malaysia is to become a developed nation of citizens with an outlook on life that leans towards serving society rather than just serving self I understand from the organizers that the participants are made up of a rich balance in terms of gender, race, and geographical as well as educational backgrounds.   I hope this balanced composition will provide you with the unique opportunity to interact with people of such diverse backgrounds and yet be able to derive interactions for a richer experience.  As Malaysia is a multiracial society, you will find that, if you are to be effective as a leader, you will need to respond to the different needs, emotions and values of the people.  And if you learn well, the experience of this programme will surely stand you in good stead.  The organizers have gone to great lengths to design a programme that covers a wide spectrum of lectures, discussions, talks and activities focussing on the various elements of leadership.  Whether you will reap the full benefits of the programme will largely depend on your attitude and the degree to which you apply your enthusiasm in participating in the various activities.   Therefore, I urge you to fully immerse yourselves in the programme - you'll be the richer and wiser for it. With this, may I wish you a very rewarding week or so ahead.