By Aznan Mat Piah
When I was a student, I would look at someone around me who could be a role model. That someone could be a teacher, a lecturer, a professor, a civil servant, a writer, a journalist, a diplomat, an artist, or even a politician. And I looked at their achievements in their respective field as an inspiration for me to move further in life and career. At the same time, they remind me the meaning of experience and journey in real life situation. They are the aspirants.
So, when I attended the dinner in honour of the winners and contributors of IIUMToday and IIUM.fm recently, I cant afford not to relate to my student days when such winners of the awards would have been a good motivation for others, including me, assuming I was one of you studying at the university in trying to better myself in writing and communication.
The remarks by Prof. Dato’ Seri Dr. Syed Arabi Idid at the dinner should be taken as an inspiration to the students when he narrated the story on the experience he went through when he started the bulletin called Nadi Bangi during those early days when Communication Department in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) was at its infant stage. He had to work very hard with the students, together with Madam Mazni Buyong until the wee hour in the morning to get the bulletin out. That was the journalism experience in campus that students those days had to go through together with him.
I too had my own experience when I became a student editor for our campus newspaper Berita ITM in the early 1970s. Those were real trying period when the practice of traditional journalism was rather tough, unlike presently where the new technology and the advent of Internet has tremendously improved the means of reporting and production of news.
I believe Prof. Dr. Syed Arabi continues to be a role model until today to most of us (including myself) not only at the Department of Communication and IIUM, but also to the others in the academia and the field of communication, public relations and journalism because of his hard work, commitment, interest shown and dedication to the field of study.
Not forgetting the present Head of Department of Communication, Dr. Zeti Azreen Ahmad, whose sincerity, dedication and commitment to the department to produce quality graduates to meet the needs and demands of the profession, should be seen as the role model too. Her ideas and thoughts for the department and the students are always inspiring. She is being assisted by young, dynamic and capable lecturers like Dr. Aini Maznina A.Manaf, the coordinator for IIUMToday and Dr. Shafizan Mohamed, who is in charge of IIUM.fm, who have demonstrated strong commitment and dedication to their job. Another role model is Madam Mazni Buyong who has been appointed advisor to the recently activated IPRMSA (Institute of Public Relations Malaysia Student Association) IIUM Chapter.
These are among other dedicated Communication lecturers whose interests and focus are working towards improving for the betterment of the students qualification in terms of gaining knowledge and experience so to give them the added feelings of responsibility and to experience for themselves the skills at writing, broadcasting, journalism, public relations and overall leadership. Students therefore should take heed of such tireless efforts to their own benefits.
Looking back, I have continued with this practice when I started working in early 1970s upon graduation when I joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later the Ministry of Information. This became part of my learning process to survive in the field that I have ventured into and to learn to make sense of meaning in my life and career. Hence, I had some of my prominent bosses like Tan Sri Ahmad Kamil Jaafar, Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali, Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, the late Datuk Jamaluddin Bakar, the late Datuk Ismail Ambia, Datuk Dr. Arshad Hashim, and Dato Siti Balkish Sheriff, to name but a few, who were my mentors and whose leadership had been a source of inspiration all along. Till today I have never stopped learning even having to learn from someone who are much younger than me, for example, those in the Department of Communication. They are indeed the role models. I looked upon them as mentors.
My late father was the role model in the family when I started going to school and to know the meaning of life. Although he did not even complete his high school education because of the war interruptions he was such a great inspiration because he taught me the meaning of patience, dedication, tolerance, integrity, and commitment in life. That was the informal form of education. I could not remember much about my mother because she left us when I was still young, other than the love showered on us and the good housewife and a dedicated mum she had been for a very short period of time we were together. But my grandmother was such a strict disciplinarian when she brought us up (five siblings) to replace my mum. She was another real model in the family because she too had been the source of inspiration that pushed us to work harder in life because of the hardship we had to face.
In school, most of my teachers who had completed college and university education were the role models. Those days you could really see the commitment and dedication of teachers. They commanded a lot of respect from students because they showed the way of being good masters and I saw them as champion and the role models for me to emulate. I remember, to name but a few, some of my dedicated teachers like Miss Khoo, Mr. Rahmat Ali, Mr. Lim Swee Chin, Dr. Arfah Aziz, and the late Miss Raja Mahtra Raja Kamarulzaman who gave me the drive at still a young and tender age.
Later on when I was an undergraduate at UiTM (ITM then) I looked at Tan Sri Arshad Ayub, the Director of the institution then, as a role model for dynamism and leadership as well as the drive for entrepreneurship in the rural Malays who were studying to become professionals.
Leaders who served as the role model were our former Prime Ministers, including former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who had the vision for the country to lead our people to have good living. Of course, none other than our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW himself (pbh) had served as the role model for dedication and leadership in my life. There are a lot of things and meanings that could be captured from the personal life experience of our prophet, together with his teachings and guidance in Islam, which are meaningful until today.
The experience that I went through is to be shared with the younger generation and the role models that they have seen in them should be an inspiration to lead their life into the future.
At the end of the day students should realise that the experience they go through now is an experience in itself that would make a difference in them over time. I am positive that with Allahs blessings you would do the same to reflect on what I have written today later in your life.***
Photo taken from Legend of a Nomad