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We know about Malaysians, and we also know about Nationality. But, what if we mixed them up? “Malaysianality” as coined by Datuk Seri (Dr.) Lim Chong Keat would still carry the meaning of the state of belonging to a particular nation. “Malaysianality” and Responsibility is the topic chosen for a Special Talk Programme held at INTEGRITI yesterday, 25th January delivered by him, the renowned architect and urban designer.
“Learn yourself and only then you will understand your roots” was his first statement at the start of his talk.
After a brief introduction by Datuk Dr. Anis Yusal Yusoff, President and Chief Executive Officer of INTEGRITI, Datuk Seri (Dr.) Lim took the centre stage and immediately asked the audience, how much do we really know about our country and our races before we comment on racial divide?
The Special Talk was held with the aim to share his vast experience and knowledge on the fundamentals in creating harmony among Malaysians and the value of responsibility.
Trained in architectural acoustics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Datuk Seri (Dr.) Lim insisted that in designing things, we need to wholly understand the concept of our creation and that is an example of integrity: “a notion of understanding things as a whole.”
The program was attended by audience of almost 70 people from various background, including former Director-General of Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) and President of the International Union of Forestry Research Organisations (IUFRO), Tan Sri Dr. Salleh Mohd Nor; Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Principal Fellow of the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (INTEGRITI) and Prof. Emeritus Dato’ Abdul Rahman Embong; Malaysia’s first Astro-physicist, Prof. Emeritus Datuk Dr. Mazlan Othman. Others present were eminent architect and urban planner Dato’ AR Hj Hajeedar and representatives from Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia (PAM). Prof. Emeritus Dato’ Dr Ibrahim Ahmad, board member of INTEGRITI also attended.
He also shared that we need to educate the children on the importance of unity and racial integration from the very start, even before they go to school.
The session which lasted for almost two hours, ended with a brief Q&A session. Datuk Seri (Dr.) Lim ended the session and gave the audience something to ponder about on their way back with a quote by Buckminster Fuller on “Human Integrity”.
Here is a snip of the quote “Human integrity is the uncompromising courage of self-determining whether or not to take initiatives, support or cooperate with others in accord with ‘all the truth and nothing but the truth’ as it is conceived by the Divine Mind always available in each individual. Whether humanity is to continue and comprehensively prosper on Spaceship Earth depends entirely on the integrity of the human individuals and not on the political and economic systems. The cosmic question has been asked – ‘Are humans a worthwhile to Universe invention?’”.
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