The Quest for Success: A Lecture by Professor Ungku Aziz
Healthy living, effective mental tools and strategies are essential to achieving success, according to Royal Professor Dr Ungku Abdul Aziz bin Ungku Abdul Hamid, recipient of the Merdeka Award (Education & Community Category). In his lecture entitled "The Quest for Success", Professor Aziz shared the works and philosophies which have shaped his perspective, and by which he has attained success in his career and in his life. The lecture, the latest instalment of the Merdeka Award Lecture Series, was delivered at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on 12 February 2009. It is the third in a series of lectures given by the inaugural Merdeka Award Recipients for the benefit of the Malaysian public.A firm believer in the importance of eating right for the sake of good health, Professor Ungku Aziz commenced his lecture with his philosophy of a healthy diet. He encouraged the audience to avoid unhealthy eating habits and detailed his methodology on maintaining a healthy eating regimen. His robust health at an advanced age is a testament to the efficacy of his methods, which duly impressed the audience.Professor Ungku Aziz then introduced the second element in his quest for success, namely the tools which have enabled him to succeed in his career and life. As tools for mental development, he recommended Edward de Bono's Lateral Thinking system, which encourages thinking from a different perspective, as well as the concept of mind mapping developed by Tony Buzan. He further discoursed on the potential of mind mapping as a tool facilitating holistic thinking to fully depict complex topics through a combination of text and images which the mind can easily digest, thereby aiding understanding.His third topic was what he termed "the strategies for success", which explored on a more philosophical basis the works which have shaped his worldview. He cited books such as 'The 36 Strategies of the Chinese', Sun Zi's 'Art of War' and Niccolo Machiavelli's 'The Prince' as providing new approaches and methods to attaining success. Professor Aziz concluded with some thoughts on the concept of leadership.
At the end of the lecture, the floor was opened for the audience to ask Professor Aziz questions on his life and work. The question-and-answer session was facilitated by PETRONAS Vice President of Education, Datuk Dr Rosti Saruwono.Reaction to Professor Aziz's lecture was positive, with the audience generally pleased with his humorous delivery and his choice of subject matter. Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS' Lecturer of Computer and Information Sciences, Cik Ainol Shazi Shaarani noted that "[Professor Aziz] is surprisingly witty. I am impressed at how sharp and well informed he is at 87 years of age. Many people who are much younger cannot compare favourably to him in this respect". "I love his eclectic style, and I will definitely take note of the books that the Professor has recommended," commented economist Ms Stefanie Khaw of PETRONAS Carigali. "I think that he had a lot more to say, but it is unfortunate that he couldn't expand on his topics further due to time constraints," added Cik Azra Syahiza Mohd Radzi of PETRONAS Carigali's Legal Services Unit.The books mentioned and recommended by Professor Aziz in his lecture are as follows:-· Fit For Life, Not Fat For Life; Harvey Diamond· Thinking Course; Edward de Bono· The Mind Map Book; Tony Buzan· Head First; Tony Buzan· The 36 Strategies of the Chinese: Adapting an Ancient Chinese Wisdom to the Business World; Wee Chow Hou & Lan Luh Luh· The Art of War; Sun Zi· The Prince on the Art of Power; Niccolo Macchiavelli· Leader's Window; J.D.W. Beck & N.M. Yeager· Level 5 Leadership; Jim Collins
The Merdeka Award Lecture Series aims to provide an opportunity and platform for the public, particularly students, to hear and be inspired by the recipients of the Merdeka Award as they talk about their work. Each lecture will feature the achievements of the recipients in light of their impact on the present and future generations. It also aims to inspire the younger generation to strive for excellence. Professor Aziz will be conducting the next lecture in the series at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS on 18 March 2008.The Merdeka Lecture Series is jointly organised by PETRONAS and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS.