Leaders with a high level of conscience are driven by a higher sense of purpose, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Wan Azizah Wan Ismail told a gathering at Qatar University yesterday.
The visiting dignitary was delivering a keynote address, ‘The New Malaysia: Navigating the Journey towards Convergence’. She is in Doha along with a number of official delegates, including Minister of International Trade & Industry Ignatius Darell Iking, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Yahya, and Deputy Minister of Finance Ir Amiruddin Hamzah.
Dr Wan Azizah started her address by giving a brief background on the history of Malaysia and various past outcomes of socio-political change. She recalled that the steps taken following periods of change are of particular importance.
“Having change and not managing the convergence that should come after it is analogous to planting a tree and then not watering and tending to it. How then do we create this convergence?”
 “Convergence exists when various aspects of our existence are consistent and aligned in a synergistic manner to enable the attainment of intended objectives. The opposite is divergence where various aspects of a society are in contradiction with each other.”
“An economy cannot build sustained competitive advantage if we under-invest in human capital development,” she said while asserting that Malaysia has to be built around a new paradigm. 
Two elements are important in creating convergence in Malaysia, the first is developing strong institutions, and the second is developing a new breed of leaders capable of leading these institutions and usher in a new era. 
“Leaders with a high level of conscience are driven by a higher sense of purpose. To these leaders, leadership is more about making a difference and the betterment of mankind. To them, progress is not just about economic objectives. It is more about collective well-being and achieving something meaningful,” she added.
In his welcoming note, QU president Dr Hassan al-Derham said, “QU prides in developing co-operation agreements and memorandums of understanding with various international universities, including universities in Malaysia. This comes from the role that Qatar University is playing on a local, regional and international level despite being a relatively young university. Performance indicators such as the 2018 QS ranking that ranked the university 36 in the “QS Top 50 Under 50” proves as a testament to Qatar University’s achievements by global standards.”



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