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M O N T H LY P U B L I C AT I O N B Y I N S T I T U T D A R U L R I D Z U A N B - 1 - 9 G R E E N T O W N S U R I A , J A L A N D AT O S E R I A H M A D S A I D 3 0 4 5 0 I P O H . P E R A K D A R U L R I D Z U A N T E L : 0 5 – 2 4 1 2 6 7 0 FA X : 0 5 – 2 4 1 2 6 7 1

IDRnewsI N S P I R E C H A N G E

JUNE 2017

EXPLORING GLOBAL SHIPPING CHALLENGES

Institut Darul Ridzuan recently organised a forum for the shipping industry entitled “Global Shipping

Challenges: Strait of Malacca and Regional Perspectives”.The half-day event featured two speakers: Dr

Rawindran Nair, who is director at the Lloyd Maritime Academy; and Datuk Dr Sabirin Jaafar, a former judicial commissioner and a member of the Perak Coast Management Council.

In his opening remark, Institut Darul Ridzuan’s chief executive officer Dr Mazalan Kamis welcomed participants from government agencies, transportation and shipping companies, and non-governmental organisations.

He expressed hope that participants would gain insight and exchange knowledge on challenges facing the global shipping industry.

The first speaker, Dr Rawindran, talked about the current state of global shipping sector. He said the sector was dominated by eight privately-owned shipping companies which cumulatively controlled about 70 percent of the industry.

He then spoke about the development of major canals around the world and how these would affect the global shipping routes and activities. Dr Rawindran also touched on the “one belt one road” project initiated by the Chinese government which could potentially alter

WEIL HOTEL, IPOH8 JUN 2017

FESTIVAL OF IDEAS KICKS OFF WITH A BANG

PAGE 5

WRITERS

Mohd Nadzri KamsinJaspal Singh

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Fariz FathilSharin Zainon

PUBLISHED BY

Institut Darul RidzuanB-1-9 Greentown SuriaJalan Dato Seri Ahmad Said30450 IpohPerak Darul Ridzuan

Institut Darul Ridzuan @idr_perak IDR Perak Amanjayawww.idrperak.my

LET’S TALK :THE BIG PICTURE

PAGE6

INTEREST POURS IN FOR IDEAS’ FESTIVAL

PAGE 4

Group photo : Exco YB Dato’ Zainol, Exco YB Dato’ Zahir, Dr Mazalan and the two speakers

APRIL 201602

Dr Mazalan left and Datuk Dr Sabirin

FINDING THE MEANING OF AIDILFITRI THROUGH MOMENTS OF JOY

AIDILFITRI, or Hari Raya Puasa as it is known among Malaysians, marks the

end of Ramadan, an important month in the Islamic calendar.

During the holy month of Ramadan, more than one billion Muslims around the

world fast from dawn to dusk. They do not eat nor drink from sunrise to sunset. It

is time to get closer to God and to remind themselves of the suffering of the less

fortunate.

The real joy of celebrating Aidilfitri is helping and sharing happiness with others.

Aidilfitri, which is the first day of the month of Syawal, is celebrated by

glorifying God with takbir, tahmid, tasbih and tahlil.

It is celebrated as a day of joy and happiness. People of different age groups

look at this day differently. For a kid, the best thing he or she likes about Aidilfitri is

the money gift packets or duit raya.

For adults, Aidilfitri means meeting family members and relatives. For some

it is an opportunity to go back to their kampung or ancestral village and enjoy the

serenity of the celebration, away from the hustle and bustle of the cities.

For food lovers, Aidilfirtri is that time of the year where they get to taste

varieties of delicious, traditional, home-cooked dishes and cookies.

The different meaning of joy that Muslims find in Aidilfitri does not stop each

one of them from exercising the pivotal value and message of the day itself: to

share the joy of the day with others to make it more meaningful.

All Muslims are obliged to give charity in the form of food to the poor. This

practice is called zakat. Muslims can pay the charity contribution to Amil, the

appointed agents who collect zakat on behalf of the Islamic religious authority.

The real joy of celebrating Aidilfitri is in helping and sharing happiness with

others. It is celebrated by spreading love and brightening up the lives of the less

fortunate - orphans and the homeless elderly - your friends, family and fellow

Muslims.

Whatever be the way in which each of us celebrated this beautiful day, let’s

remember this year’s Aidilfitri celebration as a collage of meaningful moments of

joy, happiness and gladness.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Maaf zahir dan batin.

Mohd Nadzri Kamsin

IDR News Editor

EDITOR’S NOTE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

global trade dynamics. The second speaker, Sabirin, presented the

history of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS.

This, he said was the constitution that governed the law of the sea across the globe. He also pointed out that the strategic role of the Straits of Malacca for military and trade reason, adding that certain countries were expanding their influence over the busy straits.

During the question and answer session, the audience asked as well as gave comments on many issues pertaining to global shipping industry.

Most were surprised to know that the United States was not a signatory to UNCLOS and therefore was not under any obligation to follow the rules set by the convention.

The two-hour forum ended with presentation of tokens of appreciation to the invited speakers by Perak State Industry, Investment and Corridor Development Committee chairman Datuk Mohammad Zahir Abdul Khalid.

JUNE 201703 IDRnews

Perak prepares to host its first festival of ideas this September in Ipoh, more public sector

and private sector players are showing interest in partnering up with the Institut Darul Ridzuan to make the inaugural event a great success.

On June 1, Institut Darul Ridzuan met representatives of the Perak State Youth Council, TEDxUTP, Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association, Tourism Perak and non-governmental organisations.

Institut Darul Ridzuan was represented by its chief executive officer Dr Mazalan Kamis.

Another important meeting of prospective partners took place on June 8 where Dr Mazalan met representatives from Perak State Education Department, Perak State Library Corporation, Yayasan Bina Upaya Darul Ridzuan, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Sunway College and several private firms.

During the two meetings, Dr Mazalan explained to the prospectives partners the purpose, objectives and benefits of organising the inaugural Perak Festival of Ideas.

The week-long festival of idea event, which will begin on Sept 6, will be held in conjunction with the fourth edition of the Pangkor Dialogue at Bandar Meru Raya, Ipoh.

Dr Mazalan also explained the roles and responsibilities of the Perak state government and the Institut Darul Ridzuan in organising the Pangkor Dialogue and the Perak Festival of Ideas.

Commenting on the two meetings, Dr Mazalan said representatives who attended the discussions showed great interest to be part of

the Perak Festival of Ideas.“We received good feedback and ideas

during the meetings. Our prospective partners are excited about the festival of ideas and expressed their hope to be part of this interesting and unique festival.”

INTEREST POURS IN FOR IDEAS’ FESTIVAL

IDR HEADQUATERS1 & 8 JUNE 2017

The team behind the sence of Perak Festival of Ideas

JUNE 201704 IDRnews

THE Perak Festival of Ideas, which will be held for the first time in September this

year, has started to gain traction. And, kicking off the mood for this great

event, was the recently held preview session of the festival held in Bandar Meru Raya on June 21.

Held together with the iftar session, the preview event was graced by the Perak State Tourism, Arts, Culture, Communication & Multimedia Committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohd Radzi.

Also present was Institut Darul Ridzuan chief executive officer Dr Mazalan Kamis, and representatives of companies, volunteer organisations and state agencies.

The Perak Festival of Ideas, which is the brainchild of Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, is scheduled to take place on Sept 6.

Both the preview and the iftar events were held to officially announce the partners of the Perak Festival of Ideas and to provide a preview of the idea’s festival to them and the media.

In his welcoming remark, Dr Mazalan said this year’s Pangkor Dialogue would feature the festival of ideas as an avenue to attract ideas and inputs which could be used for the future development of Perak.

He said it was the aspiration of Dr Zambry as the Menteri Besar to internationalise the state of Perak and turn it into a knowledge-based state.

FESTIVAL OF IDEAS Kicks Off With a BangCASUARINA HOTEL, MERU RAYA21 JUNE 2017

Nolee, who officiated at the preview and iftar events, congratulated Institut Darul Ridzuan for taking up the challenge to drive the implementation of Perak Festival of Ideas.

She expressed her confidence that the Perak Festival of Ideas would become a not-to-be-missed event in the global event tourism.

“On behalf of the state government, I wish to thank all of our partners for their

willingness to be part of this inaugural event.

“I also wish everyone good luck and hope that this event will be a success which the people of Perak and the partners of the festival can be proud of.”

Nolee then had a group photo with the partners of the idea festival. And, while waiting to break their fast, the partners took the opportunity to network with each other.

YB Dato’ Nolee and Dr Mazalan discuss the progress of PFoI

Candid photo of Dr Mazalan and YB Dato’ Nolee together with PFoI event partners

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JUNE 201705 IDRnews

The Urban Development Authority or UDA is interested in developing waqf

(Islamic charitable endowment) in Perak. In a meeting between its group chief

operating officer Datuk Julainie Mohd Salleh and Institut Darul Ridzuan’s chief executive officer Dr Mazalan Kamis at Menara UDA in Kuala Lumpur on June 15, the two sides explored ideas on how UDA could assist in the development of waqf.

Also present during the discussion was UDA’s vice-president of the group corporate communication Zety Aqtar Abdul Latif. The two sides had met to also discuss UDA’s involvement in Pangkor Dialogue 2017.

Based on UDA’s experience in waqf management, the agency believes that the potential for waqf development in Perak ought to be explored through a good business model that will benefit the state.

As a start, Dr Mazalan proposed to UDA to conduct an event at the Pangkor Dialogue which would enable the agency to create awareness on waqf development and its related business model.

The talk could be given to interested parties such as the Perak Islamic and Malay

UDA EYES WAQF Development in PerakMENARA UDA, KUALA LUMPUR15 JUNE 2017

Customs Council, Islamic banking and financial institutions, and co-operatives.

The discussion ended on a positive note with both parties agreeing to explore the idea of UDA’s participation in the Pangkor Dialogue 2017 and how UDA can engage the waqf stakeholders in Perak.

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UDA shows interest to venture into waqf development in Perak

LET’S TALK

This is what is termed as the ‘big picture’. Each of us has our own roles to play and understading how our actions may impact others—the bigger purpose—will allow us to reflect on our actions deeply and prescribe meaning to them. When we know, in our hearts and minds, the meaning and importance of the roles we play, then we will have the motivation to give our very best in every endeavour.

Most people, sadly, do not understand this. There are professionals who go about their tasks with the intention and effort to just see it ‘get done’. For example, when they are tasked to hold an event, they hold an event without taking the time to think, ‘Why am I doing this?’. There are departments who have committed to a campaign in their annual calendar and the staff pull through to deliver the campaign without any effort being put on ensuring its success. None of them have asked the questions and I have seen this happened throughout my career in both private and government sectors. I noticed this lackluster attitude to be one of the biggest hurdle in the development of human capital in this country. Without understanding the value of our work and how it would impact others, everything we do become meaningliess and serve as a routine that carries no significant value to the society. This is the disconnecting factor that becomes a stumbling block to the effectiveness of our plans, blueprints and strategies.

When I helmed the Chief Executive office for

IDR, I made sure that one of the first activities for me and staff include a session to question everything about the organisation, they roles they play and their colleagues. I probe them to ask—Why do we exist? Why am I here? Why are you there? What makes this…important? Less important? How do we make this institution better? How do we make an impact to the society? The state government? The country? The world?. We went on several rounds to finally understand that as a think tank, we were created to serve the people of the state of Perak and benefit them through our activities, publications and other skills. Our purpose is to help provide the most comprehensive research, analysis of the data and solutions to problems facing the people. Through our analysis, we help the state government form the right policies to match the right issues ensuring the effectiveness of the state government in the long run.

This understanding of the ‘big picture’ is now steering IDR’s direction in everything we do from publications, events and the work behind Pangkor Dialogue. Everything is framed within the philosophy of putting the people’s interest at the heart of everything we do. Take for examples my appearance as the CEO of IDR on television to promote Pangkor Dialogue and the publication of Perak Insights and IDR News, how would these help propel our cause for the better? This philosophy also plays a role whenever we are faced with a new challenge. Say a group of aspiring

youths in Perak approached IDR with the idea to organise a music and arts festival. We will not say, “Ah, we are a think tank. We don’t do arts and culture,”. Instead, we will take a step back and measure the proposal to see whether it fits into our purpose and if it does, we will support and share our expertise to help them.

The bigger picture also asks us to look into every situation as individuals who play a respective part in the completion of a bigger task. As an individual, my staff asked themselves how they can contribute to the department as an invidual and why they are stationed where they are. Knowing how important this philosophy is to the personal and professional development of my staff, I make it a point to sit down with each of them every year to understand their issues and take note of their aspirations and progress. I will make sure that they know the organisation is here to help and support them and not mine their time and effort for money or other goals they can’t aspire to. This ensures that my staff do not only expect the institution to care for them but also care for the institution in return. Rather than lament about another place they can be at the moment, they work hard with the same goal to grow alongside IDR. When we first started Pangkor Dialogue, no one knew how to organise a state-based international event but after a few years we find ourselves gearing up for the biggest international event this state has ever hosted to date. This is what happens when our intentions and skills are sync together. This is the result of pursuing our goals from our hearts.

Lagendary basketball player Michael Jordan once famously said, “I can

accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying”.

Trying, without a sense of purpose, however, is futile. When we are given the

opportunity to fulfill a responsibility, we have the choice of carrying the task

with our best effort or flunder in complacency and laziness. The deciding

factor in this matter lies in the power of intention. The intention to give our

best in whatever we do because we have made the effort to understand the

purpose, significance and impact of our roles and responsibilities.

THE BIGPICTURE