Human Development

Official Opening of Limkokwing University College of Creative Technology / Malaysia Design & Innovation Centre

Addressed by Tan Sri Lim at Limkokwing University, Cyberjaya
11 October 2004

In particular, we thank the Prime Minister who has just returned from several trips, for putting aside precious time to be with us. Your presence has made this occasion even more significant.

We have received numerous inspiring messages from friends at home and abroad. I thank everyone for their confidence and assurance of continued support.

30 years of friendship

This is a historical moment for us all, my colleagues, my staff, many have been with me for a long long time. It marks the beginning of a new chapter. For me personally, this is a poignant occasion.

It was almost 30 years ago when I first met the Prime Minister. At that time, he was a Deputy Minister and President of the Malaysian Vocational Guidance Association. And I was his not very efficient Treasurer. (He never said it but I knew – he was always talking to me about this and that) YB Dato′ Dr Haji Shafie now the Minister of Higher Education was there with us too.

That association was about providing training to empower young people to gain a better start in life. Even at that time the Prime Minister was already very caught up in the welfare and development of young people.

If you think I have done well, it must be due to my early training by a person who, as we all know, has a heart of gold.

Dato′ Seri, I am so proud that you are now our Prime Minister.

Over the years, the Prime Minister has been a constant source of encouragement. He has reminded me occasionally to put my knowledge to good use in helping the country strengthen its competitiveness.

This is one of the things I have been doing. I do hope the Prime Minister is pleased with what I have done here. I certainly hope he′ll see that I have made some improvement since the time I first served under him 30 years ago.

Yang Amat Berhormat, I take this opportunity to thank you for the guidance, support and friendship you have so warmly extended to me throughout the years that I have known you.

I must also take this opportunity to express our gratitude to our former Prime Minister, YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He has been a great believer of what we do. He has been an inspiration to everyone of us. If not for his unwavering support, we would not be where we are today.

Journey started 14 years ago

The journey to this campus started 14 years ago when I started to put plans on paper to develop a blueprint for an unconventional college one that never existed before in this country. I am not sure if it does anywhere else.

Two years later, in 1992 our pioneer batch of 200 students came on board. That gave life to the plans, and momentum to the drive that has brought us here today.

Early last year we were granted university college status. Between 2001 and 2003, we received several Industry Excellence Awards from the Ministry of International Trade, Ministry of Education and the leadership of various industries. All this while, our students themselves were breaking records in winning awards.

It does look like we have made some progress, but we are mindful that this is only the start to a journey that I hope will never end.

No ordinary school

As you drove up and this campus came into view, you would have sense that this was no ordinary school building.

As you walked inside, you would have felt the energy and vibrancy of the place.

You would have seen our students, all exited by the occasion, all waiting for a celebration.

You would have walked through the Wings Plaza and past the Wings Café. You would have noticed the large murals, the hard-to-miss sculptures and trendy business outlets, which are actually our incubation units.

You are now in a "cool and happening campus" – you borrow a phrase from the young ones.

Thousands of ideas

Here everyday there is a sense of achievement, a sense of accomplishment. Here is a happy, inspiring place. Here is where style and substance come together.

To be sure, this is a place of learning and researching. It is a place for creative exploration, conceptual research and productive development; where new designs are generated and new concepts incubated – all the time, whether in the classrooms, in the plaza, in the cafes, in the fashion store, or in the hearts and minds of those who work or study here.

Here, in one place, is a huge multi–disciplinary creative centre.

Here, we produce literally thousands of ideas, thousands of designs, hundreds of thousands of words, countless hours of multimedia and interactive content every year. This is a bank full of ideas.

Here, right on campus, we have created real enterprise. The process of product and brand development of these incubations is left in the hands of our students. They will learn as they observe, and as they practice to learn. They will become entrepreneurs without even realising it themselves!

New concepts

Here we engage students in pursuits that will create new concepts and new perspectives that industry is looking for – to innovate its products, redesign its packaging, rebuild its image, or to introduce new concepts that will improve efficiency in agro-based industries.

Here we encourage students to challenge the norm, to explore new ways that will result in new things that will work better, look better and last longer.

Here we encourage and celebrate creativity happily and seriously.

Here we believe that the learning environment must be one that is inspiring, not stifling. We work to motivate our students to be people who want to achieve greatness, because excellence is often not good enough. We work to instill in them a passion to be better than the rest.

Here we have put in place a vision the students can share, and become a part of.

Collaboration with industry

Here we work in close collaboration with industry as a research and intellectual property building arm.

The Malaysia Design & Innovation Centre established as the professional arm of the university, serves as the essential bridge that links design to manufacturing, academia to business, innovators to industry leaders and R& D to industry.

Through the Innovation Centre, a number of domestic and international bridges have now been built. These include the Malaysia-Italy Design Council, the ASEAN Multimedia Institute, the National Creativity & Innovation Institute and the Malaysian Content Creation Council and the Designers & Animators Guild. More bridge are being built.

I must pause here to express my gratitude once again to the Prime Minister for the tremendous support the government ahs extended to us in the setting up of the Malaysia Design & Innovation Centre.

Train 200,000 a year

The Prime Minister will be pleased to know that here we have the ability to train up to 200,000 adults a year in the use of digital media technology and applied creativity, with programmes that are designed to enhance trainee′s employability and marketability.

In five years′ time, we will have trained one million people.

We will be very pleased to be given the opportunity to see this programme through.

Kaleidoscopic atmosphere

Today, on this campus, there are some 4,000 students. 40% of them are foreigners and they have come from 60 countries spread across the world. Here we have an enriching kaleidoscopic atmosphere where students network and learn from each other.

Here the multi-cultural, multi-national influence is inspiring, and mind expanding. Through interaction, students become more culturally sensitive, more caring, more tolerant and more aware of global issues.

Here you see cross pollinated creativity that is resulting in an amazing fusion of ideas and expressions.

Students arrive as Arabs, Asians, Africans, Europeans but they graduate and leave as global citizens with a wide network of friends.

University to be proud of

I want to take this opportunity to reassure the Prime Minister that we will be relentless in our efforts to build a university that he can be proud of.

I want to thank Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim for his constant encouragement. Yang Berhormat Dato′ Dr Haji Shafie bin Haji Mohd Salleh, Yang Berhormat Dato′ Dr Jamaluddin bin Dato′ Mohd Jarjis, Yang Berhormat Dato′ Fu Ah Kiow and Yang Berhormat Dato′ Kong Cho Ha, I am grateful for your guidance and ready assistance, Your Excellencies, the Ambassadors, I thank you for your show of support and encouragement.

I thank you all for being here. Your presence has made this occasion an event we will always remember.