Placing education above all

MY graduation ceremony – when I received my Bachelor’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science – was a simple affair in the Peacock Theatre, where the bigger lectures were held.

I do not remember who gave the speeches, but I do recall feeling the event was a milestone marking the end of a chapter of life, decorated by mandatorily expensive gowns and gilded scrolls.

Perhaps the significance was for me diluted because I would be back on the Houghton Street campus to start my Master’s in the ensuing term, whereas most of my friends would be starting their careers.

In Malaysia, we have tended to retain the traditions of graduation ceremonies, and as Pro-Chancellor of UCSI University I once again presided over three sessions of scroll-giving. I have tried to alleviate some of the formalities – it’s unnecessary for every speaker to repeat everyone’s formal salutations, for example – but ceremonies need a certain amount of pomp to be special and memorable.

I was pleased that the procession and recession were accompanied by a live gamelan ensemble, who also played throughout the conferments; and this time one of the university’s excellent choirs provided the musical interludes in between faculties, in contrast to last year’s pop rock emphasis.

I performed with UCSI student musicians back in January (in a charity fundraising concert for the victims of floods) and their musicianship is consistently exceptional.

Both the Pro-Chancellor’s Gold Medallist and Valedictorian – graduates of hospitality management and medicine respectively – gave inspirational speeches that referenced hardships, overcoming adversity, making the most out of opportunities that arise, and always helping those in need when possible.

With the dissolution of Parliament having just been announced, I felt optimistic that these first-time voters, jolted into adulthood by the experience of Covid-19 and destined to work across various sectors in the Malaysian economy, would be responsible in the exercise of their democratic rights.

In my congratulations, I reminded the graduates to uphold the Rukun Negara and fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals, and also acknowledged the faculty members who taught them - and who also achieved brilliant rankings for the university (19th for music in the QS World University Rankings!).

While I am of course proud of their accomplishments, I am mindful of also being involved in various capacities in other Malaysian universities, private and public, who are often in rivalry with one another. At the end of the day, I want to see all these institutions excel and perform well in the international stage, and healthy competition is good for all of them.

Preluding the first session of the convocations, I was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Educational Policy and Leadership.

I am grateful for this honour, but anything that I know in this field is only because of the wisdom, vision and leadership of so many others who have proven that despite the odds – whether a shortage of funding, a lack of physical space, or stifling government policy – it is still possible to transform children’s lives for the better through education.

It was with such thoughts fresh in mind that I arrived for a major conference on faith and philanthropy at the Vatican, led by the Pope’s foundation for special projects in partnership with organisations of other religions (over 50 Muslims took part).

Comprising faith leaders, philanthropists, activists and academics, the urgency of the world’s problems – affecting all religious communities – could not satisfactorily be distilled into simple solutions.

Is the priority ensuring food and water security? Or is it ending wars? Or is it battling climate change? Or securing rights of refugees? Or is it education?

The short answer is of course that, whatever the specific circumstances, lives must first be saved. The long answer is that all of these things are linked, and efforts must be pursued on all fronts.

Still, I emphasised that, once there is a certain baseline of nutrition and security, it is ultimately always education that fixes everything else. It is always knowledge that finds solutions and opens the mind – and heart – to peacefully, and prosperously, living with our fellow human beings.

It was amazing to hear people of different faiths come to the same conclusion based not only on their understanding of their scriptures, but also of the lived experiences of people living in communities, especially where the speakers belonged in a religious minority in their respective countries.

Indeed, this made me realise the huge responsibility of the majority community to ensure other communities feel fully included in the national mission. It is a mission in which education will always play a key part, and one that I am glad to participate in.Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin is founding president of Ideas. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.