Fifth PM conferred 'Father of M'sia's Human Capital Development' award

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was yesterday conferred with the Father of Malaysia's Human Capital Development Special Lifetime Achievement Award by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI).

ASLI chief executive officer Tan Sri Dr Michael Yeoh said the award was to recognise and honour Abdullah, or more affectionately known as ‘Pak Lah' for his contributions and commitment in developing human capital during his tenure as prime minister, and before that, as education minister.

Citing the Human Capital Report 2017 by the World Economic Forum, Yeoh said Malaysia's human capital development ranked second in Southeast Asia and 33rd in the world, adding that human capital development had always been the key thrust during Abdullah's tenure as prime minister and even earlier, when he served as education minister.

“This development in human capital will march Malaysia towards Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50),” he said at the third edition of the Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Human Capital Summit Series themed, ‘Winning in the Age of Disruption: Productivity and Adaptability' here.

Abdullah and wife, Tun Jeanne Abdullah were among those present at the event, which included Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and High School Bukit Mertajam Alumni President Datuk S. Kulasegaran.

Meanwhile, Khairy said Abdullah, during his tenure as prime minister had spent a lot of effort on the development of private universities and colleges, upgrading of schools as well as teachers training institutions because he believed that moulding the younger generation with skills, training and values would enable them to win in the increasingly competitive landscape.