Minister unveils bronze sculptures of Confucius and Einstein

Housing and Local Government Minister Dato' Seri Chor Chee Heung unveiled the bronze sculptures of Confucius and Einstein, a gift from Tan Sri Hew See Tong at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Perak Campus on 23 June 2012.

Also present at the ceremony were UTAR Council Chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato' Dr Chuah Hean Teik and UTAR Planning and Development Committee Advisor Tan Sri Hew.

The sculptures of the eminent philosopher from the East and a famous member of the intelligentsia from the West are positioned facing each other and in the midst of a chess game. The Confucius statue weighs 300 kg, measures 183 cm tall, 82 cm wide and 100 cm long, while the 280 kg Einstein statue measures 168 cm tall, 76 cm wide and 119 cm long. The sculptures were designed by Mr Wang Chain Kiang from the Faculty of Creative Industries.

"Without an endless exercise of thought and learning, how could both figures manage to stand tall and outshine their contemporaries and even posterity as models of faith and inspiration? Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, amid the constant convergence of civilisations, strives to contribute to the sustainable development of the humanities, science and technology with an unrelenting mind on progressiveness, ethics and sparks of wisdom from the Orient and the Occident," says the English inscriptions on the plaque. The Chinese inscriptions were written by Prof. Dr. Lim Chooi Kwa, Institute of Chinese Studies, and the English version was written by Mr Luke Lim Kar Loke from the Faculty of Arts and Social Science.

Tun Dr Ling, Dato' Seri Chor, Tan Sri Hew and Prof. Chuah cutting the ribbon before unveiling the bronze sculptures

The Guests of the Ceremony admiring the unveiled bronze sculptures