Narrating Sun Yat-sen’s philosophy and its relevance in modern society

Clockwise, from top left: Tan Sri Lee, Dr Chen, Prof Ewe and Dato’ Joseph Lim

UTAR Institute of Management and Leadership Development (IMLD) organised a webinar titled “Sun Yat-sen’s Philosophy & Modern Industrial and Commercial Development Strategy” (孙中山四大理念与现代工商业发展方略) via Zoom and UTAR Facebook Live on 22 August 2020. The webinar aimed to discuss Sun Yat-sen’s four philosophies in relation to today's industrial and commercial operations and how it could enhance competitiveness.

Moderated by Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) Contemporary China Studies Unit Head Assoc Prof Dr Chin Chong Foh, the webinar was conducted in Mandarin and was presented by Founder of Country Heights Holdings Bhd and The Mines Resort Bhd Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, Shenzhen Public Management Society Vice President Dr Chen Bo, Founder and Managing Director of Global Green Synergy Sdn Bhd (GGS) Dato’ Joseph Lim Heng Ee and UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat.

In the webinar, Tan Sri Lee talked about Sun Yat-sen’s ideas and philosophies, saying that these could still apply in today’s modern society in helping organisations to cope with the pandemic crisis. He highlighted the importance of education and mentioned that education is the fundamental way to solve all problems. Besides, he hoped that UTAR could continuously promote the philosophical thought of Sun Yat-sen by organising more similar events in the future. Dr Chen Bo, on the other hand, discussed how to best make use of talents and he particularly emphasised on knowledge-oriented talents. He noted that Shenzhen marked the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the special economic zone, and said that the highest output value and the rapid growth of the city were the embodiment of Sun Yat-sen’s philosophy. He added that both government and enterprises attach importance to the talents, providing the talents flexible remuneration and share-holding rewards to achieve value creation and optimise the internationalisation of the city.

In his talk, Dato’ Joseph Lim used "fertilizer to gold" as a practical case of making the best use of the materials and explained that resources should be fully utilised to contribute to the greatest benefit of the community. He said, “Regardless of what industry a company operates in, a company must cultivate value innovation.” Rather than sharing a success story as a motivation for participants, he revealed his past failures which brought him to success now. “Every success has failures behind it,” he said. Moreover, Prof Ewe emphasised on the importance of education and the need to keep up with the transformation and technology trends. He mentioned that the technological revolution has made it possible for digital products and the acceleration of the digitisation delivered enhancements to logistics. He also pointed out that knowledge-oriented and empathetic talent becomes increasingly important as the technology evolves faster than ever.

The webinar was followed by a Q&A session before it adjourned.