'Welcome Address by Dr Wilson Tay, CEO of MIM - Opening Ceremony 15th Tun Razak Youth Leadership Awards (MIM-TRYLA) Programme 2007

Address by : Dr Wilson Tay
Date : 15 June 2007

Ir George Lee Yau Lung,
Chairman of MIM

Mr Peter Schier
KAF Representatives to Malaysia

YBbg Dato' Dr Ismail Noor
Malaysian Interfaith Network

Dr Tarcisius Chin
Fellow of MIM

Esteemed Members of the MIM Court of Fellows and General Council

Distinguished Guests

MIM-TRYLA 2007 participants

Members of the Media

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning and welcome to the Opening of the Tun Razak Youth Leadership Awards (MIM-TRYLA 2007) Programme.

This MIM-TRYLA Programme is one of the three community and social development programmes organised by MIM annually. These programmes have been made possible through the kind sponsorship of the Konrad Adenaeur Foundation (KAF) of Germany.

The other two MIM community development programmes are the Tun Hussien Onn Renewal Awards (in short MIM-THORA) and the Raja Mohar Life Enrichment Awards (in short MIM-RAMLEA) which will be conducted in September and December this year.

These programme series are aimed at developing social consciousness and enhancing the human qualities of people in leadership, at different stages of their lives, ranging from youth to mid career, and finally to the stage when they are newly retired.

On behalf of MIM, I wish to express our deepest gratitude and thanks to the Konrad Adenaeur Foundation for sponsoring the MIM-TRYLA, MIM-THORA and MIM-RAMLEA programmes over the years. Special thanks also goes to Mr Peter Schier, representative of KAF to Malaysia.

KAF's connection with MIM started in 1977 with the introduction of courses in agricultural and plantation management. Since then, KAF has continued its support in funding numerous activities, publications and projects including helping to build this Management House. This successful partnership between MIM and KAF has been growing from strength to strength every year for which we are thankful.

MIM-TRYLA, named after the late Tun Abdul Razak, second Prime Minister of Malaysia, because of his profound interest in the youths of Malaysia, was first launched in 1993. It aims to develop executives and young Malaysians between the ages of 21 and 35 to develop their leadership potential and prepare them for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead as we, as a nation, aspire to attain Vision 2020.

To all the participants here today - MIM-TRYLA will bring out the "leader" and the best in you by exposing you to a whole array of leadership skills, pitting you with youths of different gender, ethnic origins and religious background. Through a series of outdoor activities, lively and thought-provoking classroom discussions and community services, which you will participate in throughout the next few days, MIM-TRYLA aims to inculcate the spirit of tolerance, sensitivity and appreciation of people from diverse backgrounds. We are very lucky to be in this country, in that we have a wide, rich diverse culture that we can actually build upon.

Similar to the one-year leadership programme which I was very fortunate to have undergone in my younger days through the American Field Service International Scholarship, it is an experience which may change your life. It changed my life. I was eighteen, I went on this international programme and suddenly, the world opened up to me. And I hope some of you will have this enriching experience and I hope that many of you will become leaders of the future.

Since MIM-TRYLA's inception 14 years ago, MIM has been responsible for the overall management of this programme - including content development, delivery, marketing and promotion, programme evaluation, quality assurance and administrative support. I am very proud to be associated with this programme and so should you.

The unsung heroes behind this year's MIM-TRYLA are KAF Programme Director, Matthew Wong and his assistant Ms Elma; Programme Director, Mr Puspanathan and Programme Volunteers, who are former MIM-TRYLANs, MIM-THORANs and MIM-RAMLEANs. I wish to accord sincere thanks to this huge team of resource persons who have given their time, effort and dedication to serve the moment they were called forth.

This year, MIM-TRYLA will be held at the IKRAM Training Centre in Bangi. I look forward to joining all of you next Monday over a dinner talk on "Innovation Driven Entrepreneurship."

Ladies and gentlemen

By 2006, a total of 733 young Malaysians have been enriched by the MIM-TRYLA experience.

Participants of the past 14 MIM-TRYLA Programmes have found this 7-day programme a very rewarding and exciting experience. I understand with the aspiration of the programme in mind, the organisers have included a community project as one of the experiential learning activities. The community project will be held in Kampung Sungai Lui in Hulu Langat where participants will be working on helping to improve the living conditions of the villagers.

MIM-TRYLANs of 2007, your best effort towards this project will give you the opportunity to exercise your leadership skills and to better understand the challenges faced by community leaders and nation building leaders.

All 65 of you who have been selected for this year's programme have come from very different backgrounds. My understanding is that you have come from not just the Klang Valley and the nearby states, but also from East Malaysia.

Some of you have been trained abroad in institutions of higher learning while some of you have been trained locally.

Some of you are young corporate people working in professional firms, while some have carved out a career serving local institutions of higher learning, NGOs and a few of you are final year students in the university.

But let me remind you that ALL OF YOU are young Malaysian leaders who have a role to play in the near future of this society.

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic society. Its social environment requires that you are comfortable working, living and learning amongst people of different ethnicity, religious and social backgrounds. Your leadership attribute is therefore your ability to respond appropriately to the different needs, emotions and values of your fellow men and women, and the world at large.

MIM-TRYLA covers a broad spectrum of lectures, talks, discussions and team building activities that will touch on various elements of leadership. You will, however, only reap the full benefits of this programme if you involve yourself entirely and enthusiastically in all the activities. So, participate with an open mind and heart. You will definitely be enriched by this experience.

In closing, I congratulate you, MIM-TRYLANs of 2007, on your successful selection into the 15th MIM-TRYLA programme.

Leadership is about inspiration - of oneself and of others. It is also about vision, which is the realising of your dreams through action. If it's a dream, it will only be a dream, and vision is a dream in action.

The aim of this programme is to build youths with leadership, vision and values for the nation's future. Again, I urge you to commit yourself fully. What you get out of life is what you give to it. Similar to this exercise itself, you will only get what you put into it.

I take this opportunity to wish all of you an enjoyable, fruitful and enriching journey through this programme. And I will be looking forward to watch the special presentation that you will be giving when we meet here again at MIM for the MIM-TRYLA Closing Dinner on 20 June.

Thank you.

Related links:

'Welcome Speech by YABhg Tun Haji Mohammed Hanif bin Omar, President, Malaysian Institute of Management - MIM-TRYLA 2007 Closing Dinner'

The 15th MIM-Tun Razak Youth Leadership Award Draws to a Close