Inaugural Tun Azizan Zainul Abidin Integrity Lecture Series (27 Oct 2010)
Institut Integriti Malaysia (IIM), Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) and PETRONAS Management Training Sdn Bhd (PMTSB) organised the Inaugural Tun Azizan Zainul Abidin Integrity Lecture Series (TAZA-ILS) at the Chancellor Hall of UTP on 27 October 2010. This is the first lecture of this series which was delivered by YBhg Tan Sri Dr Sulaiman Mahbob, Chairman of the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) entitled ‘Building a Community of Lifelong Integrity’.
During the occasion, YABhg Toh Puan Noor Aini Che Teh, wife of late Tun Azizan Zainul Abidin and her family also agreed to sponsor one student every year throughout the four years programme commencing January 2011.
This Integrity Lecture Series is an initiative to provide an avenue for intellectual discourse among undergraduates and prominent Malaysian corporate figures, and will be conducted once every six months at different institutions of higher learning, including UTP. The Lecture Series was named after Allahyarham Tun Azizan Zainul Abidin, the former President and Chairman of PETRONAS., as he was a man of great integrity and humility, a visionary leader and a gentleman.
The speaker, Tan Sri Dr Sulaiman Mahbob, has vast experience in public service especially during his 33 years served serving the Malaysia Government in various capacities. In his lecture, he said, “One overriding principle that is worth practicing is to avoid conflict of interest, if one is in the leadership or decision making position. Conflict of interest may put us in a position of difficulty of making good impartial judgment because we may rule to our advantage. Even if we do not do so, the organisation we are attached to may be caught in a difficult position of proving that its decisions are not independent of personal interests.”
He added, “This becomes more important if the organisations we are associated with are public sector organisations with resources made available from tax payers’ money. The way out is to ensure that a mechanism is in place to allow others to decide and one who may have a conflict of interest refrains from influencing the decision making process.”
As a conclusion, he said, “a culture of integrity must be promoted. The recognition of the importance of integrity at the level of individuals, organisations and the society, has to be appreciated by the leadership and the society at large. The educational system plays a very important role in promoting a culture of integrity especially in inculcating the value of professional integrity.”
During the event, UTP and IIM also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalise the collaboration in organising the Lecture Series. UTP was represented by Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Hj Kasim, Rector of UTP while IIM by its Deputy President, Yang Berusaha Dr Abu Bakar Bin Sarpon.
A total of almost 1,000 audiences benefited from this lecture. The audiences included YABhg Toh Puan Noor Aini Che Teh, widow of Allahyarham Tun Azizan Zainul Abidin, her son, Encik Amir Hamzah Azizan, MD/CEO of PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad and her daughter, Datin Sri Norizan Azizan, Head of Perak Government Departments, UTP management committee members, students and staff of UTP.
