[Applause]
I'm going to tell you sorry about the
guy who didn't motivational speeches
convey one mantra follow your dreams put
your passion to thine own self be true
Polonius and Hamlet we love deductive
stories and mystery thrillers whodunit
how why done it him is injured yes the
story of a guy who changed this mission
drastically how did it happen
for my Cambridge a levels the only three
subjects available in the art stream in
the VI Victoria institution were
literature history and economics in the
university of malaya i pursued the same
holy trinity you could measure only in
one subject i ranked my preferences
literature history politics philosophy
law and way beneath the carpet lay
economics royal professor of economics
on causes summoned me to his office as
dean young man he called me not shun as
was his usual custom heavy session was
ahead for me he said we are a newly
independent developing country we need
economists and engineers literature and
history you can read on your own
at your leisure he pointed outside the
window where these airy fairy subjects
belonged when I remain silent he said
it's your duty to major in economics
now throughout my childhood my father
had always said do your duty so I said
yes major
I mean yes professor economics was
medicine bitter but good for you and for
your country
my final professor as he said stay on as
tutor
we both have beards beards of a feather
stick together I said that as a
scholarship holder I had to serve the
government for five years he called the
Treasury's boss dr. Mallick maricon to
recommend me later
I propose to my Minister don't answer
you sin that our new Treasury economic
report should have a chapter of social
indicators on the quality of life in
Malaysia he asked me what is all this
got to do with the budget I replied
everything sir he said when questions
are asked in Parliament you draft all
the answers
I said yes minister in Petronas led by
dato rostam Hadi we went beyond
economics to introduce the national oil
depletion policy to ensure that the next
generation of Malaysians still had the
national asset available to them I owe
the best years of my working life to
these fantastic four
and more a world-class scholar professor
Wong Gong Wu was my lecturer in Chinese
history at the University of Malaya he
enhanced greatly my love of history
second only to literature he taught us
about the repeat Falls and falls before
the rise of China the three major eras
in our modern history British Malaya the
Japanese occupation and the years of the
independence were featured in marriage
and mutton curry
I was asked over radio in Singapore
about Robert Cox memoirs
covering the very same three eras I said
that his was the mighty Tiger tycoons
vision and mine that was this view His
Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah wrote
the roll forward and launched my book in
October 28th in October 2018 he said I
quote well economic history gives us
vital data historical fiction such as
marriage and mutton curry enables us to
empathize directly with the people who
shaped and were a part of our history
historical fiction broadens this record
to include the many non-winners who make
up the vast majority of us and coat our
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir said that
when he read the story many men in
marriage and mutton curry
he smiled since it doesn't smile often
it was special in many men you will see
our nation's five forefathers
and key figures investment guru Jim
Rogers advises that we should study
philosophy to learn how to think
Mackenzie says that 800 million jobs
will be lost in the next 10 years to
robots one major group of people they
cannot replace will be the ones who can
create empathize understand emotions and
cooperate a major form of creativity is
writing fiction as a child when I read
about daffodils and snow I felt that we
should read and write our own stories in
tropical Malaysia my bond with third
world writers began with RK Narayan of
India v/s Naipaul from Guinea dead and
Chinua Achebe from Nigeria some outside
K s money among Queen Amidala Sally and
Shirley Lim led the Malaysian charge
while - aw and Tantra Ning took it
further as a debater I argued for
viewpoints the opposite of mine that was
in the mind equally important is what's
in our hearts we have a unique word in
Malay cassian which captures compassion
empathy and putting yourself in the
other person's shoes or feet as some
were barefoot when I saw ragging turning
into bullying in university not in
Nottingham I felt Christian and pulled
aside the most bullet to escape fiction
helped give me empathy
at butter road primary school I didn't
realize that most of the pupils were
different from me until parents day at
year-end almost all the mothers were
dressed in chong some some full skirt
and blouse my mother was the only one in
a sari my classmates asked why your
mother dress so funny--i I wondered too
the Civil Service had staff in Sarang
kebaya which air hostesses where I spent
most of my life there now you know why
my fellow students in university and
colleagues in the civil service well
from all the races in Peninsular
Malaysia Sabah and Sarawak were
represented in Petronas completing my
close understanding of all the races in
Malaysia humor kindness and empathy I
inherited from my mother Anna Packham
people avoided her funerals one widow
wheeled are you my husband has built a
big house for me and left me all alone
in it my mother said our widows bragging
about her about her house has made us
genuinely weep about how small our
houses are companions laughed
inappropriately they say in Africa when
an elder dies a whole library is burned
down our tradition is oral that's why
the writing of our stories is so crucial
it is key to shaping the soul of our
country from one generation to another
it's not all air-conditioned shopping
malls and laptops
it's what our grandparents went through
to build this country
Bertrand Russell wrote that there are
two motives for reading a book one that
you enjoyed the other that you can brag
about it reading helps us adapt
positively to change I myself need
advice however my tips for new writers
are read often and widely invite
critical feedback writing is rewriting
I'm just a rewriter I use dialogue to
make stories come alive in my dramatized
performance readings I changed my
specialization 180 degrees from one from
one extremity to the other at first I
felt I was longer in economics then
Nelson Mandela was in prison however
later on I realized that I had put into
practice the spirit of my many debates
I went beyond speaking to walking for
decades in the shoes of people whose
passion was different from mine
President Kennedy in his 1961 inaugural
address said ask not what your country
can do for you ask what you can do for
your country
professor Aziz predated him by asking me
in 1960 to follow my country's passion
not mine
while I change my mission fully in other
areas I didn't someone recognized me 15
years after 15 years had passed asked
him how come he said that it helped that
I was wearing the same shirt oh we need
to make
big changes to be competitive in this
changing world politics has separated by
race and religion this most beautiful
compassionate and hospitable nation the
colonial policy was divided and impera
divide and rule should we continue to be
divided we analyzed our parliamentary
constituency purely by the percentage of
Malays Chinese and Indians
we know vital differences of economic
and social class and intra ethnic two
realities China India and Indonesia are
much bigger than Malaysia we can least
afford to be divided should we be a
multi racist society or a multi-talented
one blind to race in official forms to
fill up race my mother said right human
in Malaysia we have Malays Chinese
Indian see banská designs too soon
we need more office who a Malaysian
first we need affirmative action to help
the poor and the weak instead of our own
race and our own religion Gandhi said be
the change that you want to see in the
world I became the change that my
professor wished all of us to see in our
country I wish to appeal to all of you
to see what you can do for country to
pursue a national or global goal rather
than a mere private one how can we
change our country and our world for the
better that is the challenge for all of
us thank you
[Applause]