A Session with the Pro Chancellor

Imagine you’re sitting in a hall with other individuals, and in walks someone fascinating – maybe a politician, an academic, or a celebrity. They stand in the spotlight, ready for your questions. You can ask them about their life, their work, their favourite Netflix show – literally anything that pops into your head.

The best part: they are not allowed to dodge your questions. They have to give you straight-up, honest answers. As a result, you get to know them better, one question at a time. This is the essence of an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session.

OUM attempted something similar when it invited our Pro Chancellor, YBhg Tan Sri Azman Hashim, to Menara OUM on 31 January for a sharing session. After welcoming remarks by OUM President/Vice-Chancellor, Prof Dr Ahmad Izanee Awang, and an introduction by Vice President/ Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic & Research), Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Tajudin Md Ninggal, Tan Sri Azman took to the stage to dispense wisdom on matters of significance such as the importance of the English language, lifelong learning, and good values.

Especially interesting was his take on lifelong learning. Among others, he said, “Lifelong learning is no longer an option as it’s a requirement for success and everybody’s future. Things change so fast these days. Unless you keep learning, you will be irrelevant and uncompetitive, and others will get ahead of you.

“I’m 84, yet I still have to learn many new things. Many things that I had learnt are not relevant anymore. Now, there are new terms that I’ve never heard of before, such as cybersecurity and cryptocurrency. You have to keep up to date no matter what your field is. Lifelong learning is about adding to your knowledge.”

In the AMA segment, Datuk Taj set the ball rolling by asking Tan Sri Azman how he got into accountancy, to which he shared his experience at length. When asked how he felt about being OUM’s Pro Chancellor, he replied: “I enjoy the platform where I can speak to the graduates, and present my own personal message to them.”

The Pro Chancellor energetically delivers speeches and presents scrolls during the convocation sessions despite his advanced age.

When prompted to choose a song representing his life philosophy, he confidently replied with Frank Sinatra’s classic, My Way, emphasising that his approach should pave the path forward.

To conclude the session with flair, Tan Sri Azman launched OUM’s Strategic Research Alliances and also delighted the audience by serenading them with a medley of tunes, accompanied by a live band.