THE VOICE OF YOUTH: Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin speaking at the latest Rise Up with Leaders series by UCSI Scholars’ Circle.

LEAVING HIS MARK: Khairy Jamaluddin signing the U- Schos plaque commemorating the club’s new motto and logo.

LEADERS ALL: (fourth from right) Senior Prof Dato’ Dr Khalid, Dato’ Peter Ng, Khairy Jamaluddin, and Dato’ Dr Hj Mohd Karim in a group photo with the students and UCSI management.

Khairy Jamaluddin signing a T-shirt to mark the occasion at the latest Rise Up with Leaders series.

KUALA LUMPUR: The UCSI University (UCSI) Scholars’ Circle (U-Schos) recently engaged Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin as the latest keynote speaker in their ongoing Rise Up with Leaders series. U-Schos is formed by scholarship recipients of UCSI University Trust – UCSI’s scholarship arm. 

Themed, ‘Youth Beyond Boundaries’, the talk was participated by close to 150 national and international students from higher education institutions across the country. Members of the IM4U community also attended the event. 

In his speech, Khairy said that the theme, ‘Youth Beyond Boundaries’ also means students should focus on creating a global impact. 

“Going beyond boundaries means looking at a problem from a universal context. And looking at the experiences of other countries, and thinking maybe this can work in my country as well,” he said. 

He applauded the fact that an increasing number of Malaysians are leaving their mark around the world. To encourage this further, he shared that his ministry has set up MyCorps. 

Modelled after international volunteer group Peace Corps, MYCorps is a platform for Malaysian youths to participate in community service programmes locally and abroad. 

UCSI University Trust Chairman, Dato' Dr Hj Mohd Karim bin H. Abdullah Omar, who was present at the event, took the opportunity to encourage the participants to always push themselves further. 

“Your biggest challenge is not someone else. It is that voice in your head that will try to convince you that you cannot do it. But you must not cave into the temptation of taking the easy way out,” he said. 

It was the second time Khairy had visited UCSI University. The first was in 2010, where he spoke in the UCSI 10th Malaysian Plan Forum along with the member of parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara, Tony Pua. 

The event also saw the Youth and Sports Minister launch the new U-Schos logo and motto, ‘Youth Beyond Boundaries’. 

According to the U-Schos President and Organising Committee Chairperson, Bernard Chin, the event was one of the initiatives by the club to empower young leaders. 

“The Rise with Leaders series connects students with leaders in the political, corporate and sporting arena. We are happy to share this opportunity with students from other universities in line with our club’s new motto ‘Youth Beyond Boundaries’.” 

UCSI’s Founder and Group Chairman Dato’ Peter Ng and Vice-chancellor and President, Senior Prof Dato’ Dr Khalid Yusoff were also present at the event. 

Among the leaders who have shared their experience with university students in Malaysia through the Rise Up with Leaders series are Yang Amat Mulia Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin Tuanku Muhriz, Founding President of the Institute Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS); world number one squash player Datuk Nicol David; as well as AirAsia Berhad CEO and executive director, Aireen Omar.