Tan Sri Chuah shares his experience of becoming a leader

Former UTAR President Ir Academician Emeritus Prof Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik was invited to deliver a talk at Sungai Long Campus on 25 March 2023. The title of the talk was “What it takes to be a leader: An experience sharing session” and it was also broadcasted via Zoom. Organised by the Department of Student Affairs and the Department of Soft Skills Competency of Sungai Long Campus, the talk was attended by almost 60 participants, consisting of staff and students.

Tan Sri Chuah began the talk by sharing his education journey followed by his academic career experience. Born in Penang, Tan Sri Chuah began his primary education at Hu Yew Seah Primary School and later continued his secondary education at Chung Ling High School. He then pursued his tertiary education at Universiti Malaya with a major in Electrical Engineering until he obtained his PhD degree.

While he was working on his master’s research, Tan Sri Chuah shared that he lacked funds, equipment and theoretical work. However, he said, “If a person can only work when given everything under the sun, he is just mediocre; if a person can perform within constraints, he is a real achiever.”

During his first-year teaching at UM, he was arranged to teach subjects that were not related to his field. He explained that he had to study those subjects before teaching them to his students. According to him, getting exposure to other fields of study is not a waste of time as it can add value to oneself. “Don’t keep complaining because learning never stops. Keep learning new knowledge even if you are an administrator,” Tan Sri Chuah advised. He also explained to participants the importance of time management; learning from each other; maintaining the right attitude, etc.

Sharing his experience of becoming a leader, Tan Sri Chuah listed out the main challenges often faced by leaders, which included dealing with peers and people of diverse backgrounds, time management, buying in from all stakeholders, etc. To face these challenges, he said, “A good leader has to be mature; he must be fair and humble; he must play the role of “link bridge” between stakeholders and listen to all stakeholders.” He also mentioned that leaders should not be autocratic, behave like a saviour, be arrogant or sow hatred.

In conclusion, he advised, “Your degree would only earn you a bronze medal, your experience would earn you a silver medal and human networking would earn you a gold medal but a right mindset will be your trump.” He finally added, “Your values determine your code of conduct; your global perspective determines your order of thinking; your life outlook determines your life pursuit.”

The talk ended with a group photography session.

Tan Sri Chuah graduated with a BEng (First Class Honours), MEngSc and PhD in electrical engineering, all from the University of Malaya, Malaysia. He was President of UTAR in Malaysia from 2008-2019, where he is now an Emeritus Professor. He is also a Consultant Professor to Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xian, China; and University Advisor to University Sanya, Hainan, China. He is now a UTAR Council Member and Chairman of the UTAR Hospital Board.

Tan Sri Chuah’s research interests include microwave remote sensing and applied electromagnetics. He is considered a top research scientist in microwave remote sensing in Malaysia and Asia and the Pacific region. He has authored/co-authored more than 280 papers in international journals and conferences. Tan Sri Chuah has received many awards locally and internationally for his research work and his outstanding contributions to the engineering profession, particularly in engineering education.

Tan Sri Chuah delivering his talk to the audience

Staff and students listening attentively

A group photo was taken after the end of the Q&A session. Tan Sri Chuah and Prof Goi were seated in the 4th and 5th seats in the front (from right)