Human Development

Limkokwing University’s Graduation Ceremony 2005 (January)

Addressed by Tan Sri Lim at Limkokwing University, Cyberjaya
3 January 2005

First I would like to warmly congratulate all those graduating today and second to remind you of why you are here.

Yes, you came here to get a qualification in the career of your choice and that you have succeeded in doing so is why you are graduating today.

And as graduates of Limkokwing College University, you have been given the power of flight, the ability to fly to a landing of your choice and there to do what it is you do best, be it graphic design, architecture, interior design or information technology.

Above all, we believe we have empowered you with the ability to change the world, if you so choose, in ways that can lead not only to the betterment of mankind but more immediately to the society around you.

It is here, in our society, that we can contribute best and where it is most needed as Malaysia, even with its forward looking policies, still lags behind the so-called developed nations. Why must this be so? It is certainly not for want of intelligent people.

I will tell you why. It is because society here is no different from the rest of humankind that tends to reject or shy away from the unfamiliar or unknown. Yet it is precisely new and unfamiliar solutions to age-old problems that will be the saving grace of us all.

Yes, I am talking about innovation, and creativity, two facets of life we constantly revolve around here at Limkokwing for it is my firm belief that only in innovative and brand new solutions developed with highly creative thinking can we sort out mankind′s problems.

Coming back to today, looking at all your faces before me, so keen to get out there and take on the world, I would also like to remind you that it is creative thinking that puts the tools of modern technology in our hands.

Tools that we have taught you to use here in even more creative ways for as technology advances faster, so does critical thinking as society strives to use these tools to achieve even greater accomplishments.

Creative thinking however does not necessarily increase in tandem with society′s advancements as it comes from within each individual and is only fired up when logic and critical thinking are exhausted.

This is what we hope we have been able to do with each of you graduating today. That we have instilled within you the understanding of the power of creative thinking and along with it the need for innovation in everything you do.

If we have succeeded, then we have indeed empowered you with the ability to go out into the world and make a substantial difference.

At this point it would be appropriate to remind you that you will only be able to do this because of the love, and the sacrifices made by those around you. Your parents who enabled you to be here and their encouragement that enabled you to graduate today.

In your journey through this world, you will often look back to this time at college, where you shaped your life, and were shaped, by the influences of those around you. Your family, your course and college mates, your lecturers tutors and friends, including your foreign friends, all of whom would in one way or another, have contributed to the things you now know.

Do not forget that the opportunity you had to interact with students from so many different countries was invaluable as you not only learned from them but you now also have contacts, forged from friendships, in numerous countries that may one day prove significant.

If I have sounded a bit serious thus far, it is only because of my unbridled enthusiasm for you young people about to take off into the world, a world that will unfailingly surprise you again and again.

Each time that happens just remember that you have been empowered ere at Limkokwing with the tools necessary to face all of life′s challenges – big or small, trough the power of creative thinking.

It was here that you learnt to push yourselves beyond ordinary limits.

It was here that you learnt to reach out to life and to grasp it with both hands and make of it what intend.

It was here that you learnt to become men and women of substance, ready for life′s challenges standing tall before each one.

It was here that you forged friendships that may one day stand you in good stead.

It was here that you learnt to fly – to fly beyond the confines of the mind knowing that only beyond can creative thought manifest and be harnessed for the good of all.

With that I wish you all the very best in everything you do when you go out into the world and know that we are all very proud of you, the first graduates of our permanent campus.