Tan Sri Chuah shares life lessons

“I am a one hundred per cent Malaysian product,” said Ir Academician Emeritus Prof Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik with a smile.

The president of ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology (AAET) who is also a former president of UTAR shared his wisdom and advice from his life experiences with UTAR staff and students on 7 November 2019 at UTAR Sungai Long Campus.

He took a stroll down the memory lane by recalling where it all started. He studied at Hu Yew Seah Primary School, Penang and Chung Ling High School. Upon completing his high school studies, he pursued his degree in electrical engineering, followed by his master’s degree in engineering science. He then completed his PhD in electrical engineering.

Sharing his background, he reminded students not to be too selective with the subjects they take. “During my first year of teaching at Universiti Malaya, I had to teach “killer” subjects like Engineering Analysis and Quantum Mechanics. Since these subjects were not really my fields of specialization, I had to first study them before teaching the students. Being exposed to other fields of study is not a waste, instead it is an added value for you.  For example, when I was called to give an overlook on a certain issue by an external party, despite being a non-civil engineer, contractors were not able to trick or fool me,” he said while advising students not to frequently question the relevancy of the subjects they take.

According to Tan Sri Chuah, the career of an engineer is not only limited to the engineering field, but it also involves other disciplines of knowledge. “We are not asking you to take up a different career as you learn other subjects; gaining these bits of knowledge will help you to climb your career ladder,” said Tan Sri Chuah who was very much glad that he was exposed to the accounting field during his undergraduate degree. The knowledge came handy when he was tasked to sit on the budget committee in Multimedia University (MMU) for 11 years.

The engineer with 34 years of career experience also gave a piece of major advice on the importance of acquiring good English. Growing up in a vernacular family, he had little room to practice English at home. “I had no chance to speak English at home, so I practised my English every day, including speaking in front of a mirror. Do not be ashamed to do that,” Tan Sri Chuah said. He cannot emphasise enough of the vital need for English to live in a global world. “Those who are able to communicate well in English will get their agenda pushed through in meetings. Unfortunately for some, they cannot get things through just because of the language barrier,” he added.

   

“If a person can only work when given everything under the sun, he is just a mediocre. If a person can perform within constraints, he is a real achiever,” said Tan Sri Chuah. He recalled when he was granted only RM5,000 a year to conduct research. Other than finance, he also faced other challenges, including confronting his mentors to correct their theories. “Keep yourself down to earth. Even if you are well educated, you can still make mistakes. Do not brush away what your student tells you. Be humble even if you are a professor,” he reminded the staff. He also reminded the audience to apply three “ICs” in their career, namely integrity and competence; integration and communication; and internationalisation and cooperation.

 

 

Staff and students listening attentively

Tan Sri Chuah shared his well-known advice as he concluded the talk, “Your degree could only earn you a bronze medal, your experience could earn you a silver medal, your human-networking could earn you a gold medal, but a right mindset would be your aces.”