The photos were taken at the First Convocation of Kolej MASA held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC on June 27, 2012. It was officially declared open by Y.B Dato' S.K. Devamany, the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and attended by the Board of Directors, Heads of Faculties, academis and administrative staff, graduates, parents, representative of the media and invited guests. Y. Bhg Colonel Prof. Dato' Dr Kamaruddin Kachar and I were among the invited guests.
The 86 graduating diplomates were made up from 17 in Corporate Administration, 11 Executive Secretaryship, 39 Hospitality Management and 19 Information Technology. The College also recognised and conferred awards for Best Student for Faculties and Best Student for Co-curriculum and Leadership.
I was given the honour of giving the opening address at the Convocation. The content of the address is given below:
"Let me, first of all, take the
opportunity to congratulate the Management of Kolej MASA for this historic
First Convocation of the Kolej after taking over the administration of the
College from Stamford in 2008.
2.
Secondly, let me extend my heartiest congratulations to the the
graduates who have successfully fulfilled their requirements for the diploma in
Information Technology, Hospitality Management, Corporate Administration and
Secretaryship. Your completion of this diploma course is an achievement to
yourself and brings a feeling of pride to your parents and members of your
family.
3.
I am grateful and appreciative to have
been invited to attend and deliver a
speech at this auspicious occasion. I accepted
it, firstly, as it provides an ULAMA like me to share my experiences and wisdom
if there is any, with the Y Generation. Secondly, it provides the opportunity
to interact with young people and makes one feel young, and thirdly, this is a
social event that you meet old friends
and make new ones.
Ladies and Gentlemen,4. Allow this ULAMA to share with you, particularly the young graduates, on his experiences of how to TO LIVE A BALANCED, HEALTHY AND HAPPY LIFE.
Balanced
Living
-
(a) good
physical health through regular exercises,
proper diet and adequate rest. Exercises – all parts of body – head,
eyes, teeth, arms, legs at least three times a week. There are many types of
exercises and sports – from walking, jogging, swimming, cycling to sports such
as tennis, badminton, squash etc. There are also healthy recreational
activities that one can get involved in – gardening, trekking, fishing, bird
watching, hill/mountain climbing etc.
Parks, forests, green hills , rivers and lakes are around you and desirous of
your visits. Pick an activity/ a mixture
of activities that you like, are simple, do not involve too much expenses and
convenient. Do it. Exercises improve blood circulation, reduce cholesterol and
heart diseases, develop muscles and joints, manage stress and premature aging,
increase fitness and the enjoyment of life.
I jog and swim and whenever I have time I get to the forests and hills
to trek. Proper/Balanced diet – drink plenty
of water, have fruits and vegetable juices in the morning, serve fish dishes
more often, and build up your energy and stamina consuming local herbs. Fruits
and vegetables particularly the coloured varieties like carrot, tomatoes,
celery, pegaga, kunyit, halia, terung pipit, keledek, ulam raja, belimbing
buloh are rich in anti-oxidants (anti-oxidants are good for antiaging, enhance
immune system, build resistance to age-dependent diseases). Local herbs such as pegaga, hempedu bumi,
lemongrass, tongkat ali, cinnamon, ginger, misai kucing, green tea have
pharmaceutical values and health values.
(b) Mental/
Intellectual – reading – read any subject of interest whether it is biography,
travel, health, religion, philosophy,
politics, nature etc. Find time to share your experiences by writing. Always carry a camera and note-book with
you. For instance, like today’s event,
take photos and notes on the key points/happenings of the Event. Download the
photos and notes and create files in your computer as soon as possible. Keep these files until you have enough
materials to publish them as hard- copy books or e books or share them with
readers in the social networks – Facebook, Twitter, Blogs. Be discipline in
keeping these records/files. After a
period of time you look back with satisfaction the records of your
activities. These bring you HAPPINESS.... Having gone through
the curriculum of the diploma you have completed one aspect of learning and
acquiring skill in your respective fields, at the College. But this is not the
end of learning. Continue reading,
acquiring new skill and knowledge and make learning LIFE-LONG.
(c)
Spiritual : The Scout Laws provide
guideline to the spiritual part of living.
I was a scout in the Sultan Abdul Hamid College, Alor Star and until
recently I served in the Council and the Executive Committee of Scouts Association of Malaysia. I attribute the Scouts Movement that have moulded my philosophy and practices
of balanced living. Among other things
the Scouts taught me to be trustworthy; loyal to DYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang
Di Pertuan Agong, the Country and Parents; useful and to help others; friendly
to all regardless of colour, class or creed; courteous; environment friendly;
obedient to parents and leaders; be thrifty; clean in thought, words and deeds.
(d) Social –
association with people, friends, community work.
5.
Happiness and Enjoyment are recognised as the main purpose of
living. It is not something that will
just happen but it has got to be worked out and achieved. Life is something to be enjoyed and lived rather
than a journey of suffering to be endured on the way to better things. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher has been
quoted to have said ‘The ultimate aim of all human action is HAPPINESS. In his book ‘The Happiness Purpose’ published
in 1977, the lateral thinker, Edward de Bono, expressed similar sentiment and
that ‘The legitimate purpose of life is HAPPINESS and the best foundation for
happiness is self-importance’. Lord
Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement in his book ‘Rovering to
Success’ reiterated that ‘ I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be
happy and enjoy life. Happiness doesn’t
come from being rich nor merely from being successful in your career nor by
self-indulgence. One step towards
happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that
you can be useful and can enjoy life when you are a man’.....’this is the true
joy in life – that being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty
one. That being a force of nature, instead
of a feverish, selfish little clock of ailments and grievances complaining that
the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to
the whole community and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it
whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I
work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I’ve to
hold up for the moment and I want it burn as brightly as possible before handing
it to future generations’ (George Bernard Shaw).
6.
In concluding, the overriding
purpose of life is HAPPINESS and the keys to achieve it are:
(a) Good Health – participate in easy and simple exercises, sports and
recreational activities on regular basis; have proper and balanced diet and
ensure having adequate rest
(b) Getting involved in exciting activities such as intellectual, art, culture, religious,
gardening, travels, environment (tree planting)
(c) Practice Balanced Living – physical, intellectual, spiritual and
social
(d) Supercharge thinking through reading – expose to various
experiences, practices, words of wisdom of philosophers, leaders, teachers etc
which become the driving force to unlock the talents within you
(e) Change Thinking – choose, act, talk to be productive, healthy,
exciting and happy
(f) Commit to Excellence in Whatever You Do – profession, hobbies,
sports, writing
(g) Share and Write About Your Experiences
HAVE A GREAT, PRODUCTIVE, HEALTHY, EXCITING AND HAPPY LIFE"
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