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Volume 3, Issue 11, November 2016

Dear scholars,

In my earlier years of life at home, I listened to my parents and rarely got into trouble. At school, I fol-lowed the rules

and got through both the primary and sec-ondary years without much embarrassing episodes with disciplinary teachers. Well, except for one incident where I got tied around a tree with 3 other girls, for playing ‘tali getah’ way past the recess time. Not that embarrassing I must say, as we found it quite fun to be given extra time outside and skipped that ‘Bacaan’ class. Yippee!!!

Now, let’s talk seriously – particularly about discipline. I am sure you would have recalled many occasions during the schol-ars’ engagement that we talked about the importance of adhering to college or Uni-versity’s rules and regulations and be disci-plined about it. It requires a fundamental

understanding that any violation to rules would land you to an unfavourable situa-tion or face up to certain repercussions. Discipline is important in every aspect of life. It creates values, it builds character, it develops strength and unity and it helps in fostering cooperation. Many prolific figures in the history indicate that there is an ele-ment of discipline in them and that very trait has helped them becoming successful. Often, these efficacious personalities ex-press their discipline trait or skill through perseverance, tenacity, self-control and resistance to temptations and distractions.

My dear scholars, I really hope that when you hear us ‘nag’ about the importance of discipline, about not skipping class, not procrastinating, not observing rules, we only have a sole intent which is to make you become a better person. We want you to become successful, to become accom-plished in your pursuit of prominence and to become the leaders for the future. All this start with one pivotal trait and its value brings about much desirable outcomes – allowing you act based on thoughts rather than feelings, striving for accomplishment of goals despite setbacks or failures and

sacrificing immediate gratification in fa-vour of long-term goals.

In this issue, there are write-ups, experi-ences, thoughts and insights on the topic of the value of discipline, all of which I find very useful for your reading pleasure. Re-member, Zig Ziglar once said that “It was character that got us out of bed, commit-ment that moved us into action, and disci-pline that enabled us to follow through”. Now, embrace it and strive upon making discipline your one key trait for a much more successful journey to greatness.

Sincerely,

Intan

Scholar’s Studio Gary Tan Imtiaz Mohammad Sifat Azfar Azhar

In the limelight Activities & Happenings YKPSP Corner

In This Issue Highlight of the Month

From the Editor’s Desk

The Value of

Discipline

Mom Knows Best!

By Gary Tan Year 13 Marlborough College Malaysia

I remember those days, when I was forced to do things that seemed pointless. To my once naïve mind, those things “was just a waste of time”. Whispering these words to my brother, who shared the same proposition, is on its own a huge gamble. If my mother were to hear these words, both of us would be in huge trouble. Now, don’t get me wrong, that was back when I was 12 years old.

Today, these pointless things, such as making your bed first thing in the morning, as well as washing the dishes after meals seem to be embedded within me. Discipline is the word that I am looking for. Without discipline, we are practically headed towards noth-ing. Imagine what life would be like, if we live in a world without discipline? Nothing can be accomplished! The word ‘complete’ would cease to exist and the world would be in chaos.

Kobe Bryant, the basketball legend, once told a reporter that he would only stop practising when he made 400 shots in a day. One might argue that Kobe Bryant is a talented player, but no one could deny that he is a well-disciplined man. Jim Rohn, an Ameri-can entrepreneur once gave a statement that I believe in whole-heartedly, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accom-plishments”.

I have been living in a boarding environment for almost 6 years now, and without doubt, I can assure you that the one quality that anybody from a boarding environment will take away is disci-pline. Not to mention the strict ‘guru disiplin’, who makes sure that you are in the right place, at the right time, in the right kit, with the right attitude. That to me, sums up quite nicely the boarding community that I currently reside in.

Of course things could be tedious at times, but it is these tedious things that shape us and make us who we are. As a Head Boy in Marlborough, I am well aware that our school places a huge em-phasis on discipline.

Bullies will not be tolerated & manners shouldn't be tarnished. It is these simple guidelines that make Marlborough a perfect place to inculcate discipline, build good talents and great leaders who will contribute back to the society.

When I started writing this article, the first question that I asked myself was, “what is discipline?” And like many others, I looked up for the definition and pondered upon Google’s in-terpretation. I finally realised what discipline means to me. It is not “training people to obey rules” nor is it “using punishments to correct disobedience”, but it is a guiding torch and a mental grit implanted by my mother, to make me who I am today; for which I will forever be indebted to.

The Importance of Discipline By Imtiaz Mohammad Sifat PhD in Business Administration (Finance) IIUM

The importance of discipline is known to all. Nearly every adult is taught at some period in their formative years that discipline is a requisite for a successful life and career. How-ever, the exact nature of discipline, what it entails, how it is to be cultivated, its practical applications, and—more important-ly—the hazards of indiscipline are propagated less assiduous-ly. Ancient Greek philosophers of the Peripatetic school used to believe that the true victory of human lives lies in conquering the self, and disciplining the self is the pivotal element in achieving it. Thus, they extolled the virtues of avoiding un-healthy excess in any matter which could result in undesirable outcomes. In modern times, discipline also entails sacrificing instant gratification—forgoing a two-hour spree of browsing of social media, checking out the latest viral videos, aimlessly wandering on Youtube, link-hopping on Wikipedia, etc.

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Forgoing such instant pleasure is not easy. It requires conscious ef-fort, patience, and time. Psychologists underscore the point that peo-ple often lack discipline because they fear embracing discipline is a matter of difficulty and knowingly engaging in painful experiences.

However, this notion is erroneous. The body and mind can both be programmed to perceive disciplining the self in a fun way—without being arduous or unnecessarily daunting. For young people, especial-ly students, discipline carries a great import. Many talented individu-als have amounted to nothing later in life because they lazily chose to rest on past laurels, lacked the discipline to carry on, declined to work hard, or a combination of all. It is thus important to remind the youngsters that the issue of discipline is one that distinguishes homo sapiens from the rest of animal kingdom.

Due to the bigger size of prefrontal cortex, humans have a greater capacity to plan ahead, appraise contingency plans, and forgo im-pulses by evaluating future consequences of a course of action. In other words, humans are equipped to structure their thoughts and actions in a way congruent with the plan of a brighter future. Though no ubiquitous formula exists on how to inculcate discipline, experts agree that it is a good idea to start slowly and with small things. It leads to self-organization. It is also important to recognize the importance of time and make good use of it. This is hard to do in today’s world that is rife with distractive entertainment. Nonetheless, efforts should be exerted to do something productive whenever free time arises. It will also help cultivate punctuality and keeping of promises. Equally important is the practice of self-denial. As men-tioned earlier, refusing impulses is a biological gift given to homo sapiens. Routinely denying oneself legitimate pleasures helps build resistance to unhealthy urges. Along the journey towards attaining discipline, corrective measures are necessary. Coupled with continu-ous introspection, asking feedback and evaluation from peers, family and friends, superiors, and role models is a great way of re-aligning one’s actions with pre-defined goals.

I wish to highlight what I consider to be the biggest impediment to-ward attaining discipline: rationalization. We humans are quite adept at assigning convenient excuses to failures. In our minds, it’s always “not my fault.” Someone else somewhere is to be blamed. If x didn’t do y I surely would’ve achieved z. This mentality has to be deserted. A better strategy is owning up to the self, abandoning unhealthy excus-es, and fixing the real problems. An honest and direct look at what transpired is a much healthier remedy for improving performances, self-discipline, and ultimately reaching one’s goals.

Lastly, it is never too late to en- gage in the pursuit of discipline, because there is much at stake—the whole future, to be exact. Re-member, it is discipline that makes an amateur a professional, the novice an expert, the scribbler a writer. Discipline is what con-nects today’s efforts to tomorrow’s results. An undisciplined life is a preparation for regrets.

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The Danger of Indiscipline By Azfar Azhar A-Level KYUEM

Discipline means training the mind and character to observe self-control of habits, obedience to the superiors, seniors or to the es-tablished authority. But Man is born free. Why should adhere to the dos and don’ts? Is discipline really necessary? What would happen if we refuse to discipline ourselves? In order to find an answer to these questions, we need to look at the natural scheme of things around us.

Discipline is the key-note of the worldly order. In other words, the universe rests on discipline. The planets do not collide with one another but move along their orbits according to rules; there are flood tide and ebb-tide in the sea according to rules; bodies left unsupported fall to the ground according to rules; the air blows, the river flows, the flower blooms, the fruits ripen and fall - all according to rules! If there were no observance of rules, the world would have been a veritable hell of chaos and confusion. If a Mother did not look after her children, if children did not listen to their parents, if people did not adhere to the Country’s law, the world would have been a melting pot.

In order to become successful, one needs to be discipline. Nature, governments, schools and individuals need to be discipline, follow the rules and regulations to function properly and successfully. A disciplined person expresses this skill through perseverance, te-nacity, self-control and resistance to temptations and distractions. M.K Gandhi once said “discipline is learnt in the school of adver-sity”

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In school, if students are not disci-plined, they will learn nothing and the very purpose of education will be pointless. Similarly, if the subordinates do not obey their senior offic-ers in offices and factories, it will become difficult to carry on the work of production and administration. The office goers should maintain discipline and reach office in time. They are expected to complete their assignments within the allotted time. The country will not succeed if its public servants are not disciplined.

Also, if the army and the police refuse to follow orders from their Generals and Commanders, the enemy and the hooligans will have no difficulty in establishing their sway in the country. Thus, an un-disciplined nation cannot expect to remain independent even for a moment.

Discipline costs nothing but pays rich dividends. It is a good thing and there is no evil in it. It builds character, develops strength and unity and fosters co-operation. It is, therefore, necessary for wvery-one to be taught on discipline from their very early childhood. It should never be overlooked, as it is the secret of success in life.

Second, Yayasan Khazanah scholars make up a very special fra-ternity of students. I was attracted by the challenge of being in-cluded in such prestigious company, and am deeply humbled to be given the opportunity to be a part of this group.

The leadership training programmes are world class. In the long run, I am most excited about Yayasan Khazanah playing a global role in student scholarship and excellence. The scholarship pro-gram can be a serious part of Malaysia’s contribution to the glob-al communities that we participate in.

What I also like about YK is the Mentoring Programme. YK matches scholars with mentors. The programme is a very interac-tive platform to engage with senior members of the Khazanah family. My engagement with my mentor has helped me identify my strengths, potential advantages and weaknesses. This is im-portant in shaping my education curriculum to extract the most from the programme.

I am a Master in Public Policy (MPP) candidate with a concentra-tion in International and Global Affairs. I chose this course be-cause I am most interested in understanding the fabric that hold society together. The MPP programme is a rigorous multi-disciplinary programme that prepares graduates with skills and knowledge necessary to make sense of a chaotic world.

I now have a much clearer understanding of political and public institutions, international economics, international politics, evi-dence-based policy making and many other exciting subjects within social sciences.

After 10 years of working, I realize that it is less important to have big lofty goals and more important to focus on what we are good at, work hard, and try our best to make intelligent choices. Insya-Allah, that will take us to our maximum potential. For me, a lead-er must be both visionary and adaptive. She or he must have a goal for the organisation and lead the organisation towards this vision through gradual and meaningful steps in that direction.

Coming to Harvard is itself a dream come true. I can’t wait to complete the course and contribute to society.

If I could describe Yayasan Khazanah in three words, it would be 3Ps — Prestigious, prodigious and patriotic.

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YK 10th Anniversary Special

Interview with Wan Shahinur Izran Mohamad Salleh

Master of Public Policy, Harvard University

There are two reasons why I chose to be a part of the YK family.

First, Khazanah Nasional Berhad is truly a Malaysian success on the global stage. Khazanah represents the limitless possibilities of Malay-sian businesses and individuals to punch above its weight and stand tall amongst giants.

Engagement with

Scholars

Our Board of Trustees engagement with our

scholars in Beijing, China

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Lovely dinner with our future Doctors at IMU (top) and

lunch with Watan and Asia scholars at UM (bottom)

Fun and Interactive Axiom Learning Session with

our Form 2—Form 4 scholars at KYS

Catching-up over lunch with kiddos at MCM :)

“Laughter is Brightest where Food

is Best”

- Irish Proverb -

On-boarding

Session

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With our scholar from Bangladesh,

Mahmudul who is currently pursuing un-

dergraduate studies at MMU

On-boarding session

With 4 Gentlemen from University of Southampton Ma-

laysia Campus. From Left: Kean Wee, Nelson, Afiq and

Yew Ben

"Unleashing the Leader in You" was the theme for our leadership conference this year. This conference, held at Im-

piana KLCC was very well attended by 140 scholars; Not only YK scholars but also selected GLC scholars. Thanks

everyone for attending and making this event a great success.

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H ig h Im p ac t Le ader s h ip 2 016

We aspire for our scholars to be high impactful leaders. Leaders who lead others creatively, made their presence felt by others and nurture positive psychological state of those around them.

One of the modules in YKPSP for Post-Graduates is designed to be the booster for our scholars in becoming high impactful leaders. Recently, 24 scholars went through the module with us at Putrajaya and it was indeed an inspiring session for all! Special thanks to our very own Dr. Rashidi for his effort in going extra mile to inspire the rest of us to build better life for those around us.

Next Programme & Activities Do lookout for the pro-

gramme & event up-

dates from the YKPSP

Team!

Further queries:

ykpsp@yayasankhazanah.com.my

Dec. 2016

YKPSP Movie Date

20-23 Dec. 2016

Bestari Annual Camp