DATUK Seri Idris Jala has come a long way since his first job as an industrial relations officer in Shell Malaysia. If not for an interesting twist of fate, he could well have been an unknown professor sharing his insights to a limited audience a classroom of undergraduates or at an international conference with his peers.
The CEO of Pemandu and also Minister in the Prime Ministers Office recalls how he was torn between staying put at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) to pursue an academic career or venturing into the workforce.