1

Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2017

Dear scholars,

As I remember growing up, I found myself fascinated and often infatuated with all things beautiful. In the eyes of a small girl, beauty to

me was in the form of perfectly manicured lawn of a huge white-washed house with a verdant garden, the chiselled face of a movie star, a lanky runaway model, a brilliant Math professor and a man in Spider-suit who saved the world. What a pretty life they had, mur-mured me as I only saw the jacket, the neck-lace, the shoes, the exterior and everything nice.

But, as I grow older, I started to realize that beauty is just skin deep. What I failed to see then, I began to understand better now. I see flattened hopes, struggles to belong, bruised

egos, lifelong disappointment, accident scars, loss of parents, chronic pains, low self-esteem and many other life’s failures and resentment. These hidden stories do not often portrayed on the surface and are often left unseen. Only until I glide deeper and deeper into such mat-ters that I understand that these issues are real, genuine and what matters the most are how well they have coped and bounced back into life stronger and better.

It did matter to me then that I distanced my-self from someone who studded her tummy with a golden ring, having the preconception that she was promiscuous. I was certain that I could never be friends with her. I was proved wrong as I found she was utterly funny and honest – she has been one of my friends with a heart so pure that I could rely on for some help and advice until this very day.

My dear scholars, we shall never assume and don’t go around making judgments based on only what we see. In this issue, we are sharing articles on this very topic – beauty is just skin deep. Look at people and things around you with a fresh mind and perspective, and look into them deeper and find the real truth. Un-

derstand the breaks, the crevices and loos-ened cords and celebrate the learning and survivals that come with it.

Let me spill the beans – I count 1 to 10 in German whenever I want to turn the knob of the stove just to be sure that the boiling soup is appropriately cooked, I have a tic (nose twitching) that I have now passed on to my son (hope he forgives me for that!) and my right ear is a tad bigger than my left one. Yes, I am far from perfect but I am pretty sure I am beautiful inside out. Can I see some show of hands here? :) :)

Sincerely,

Intan

Scholar’s Studio

Rayshein Rajvarma Sarah Salahudin Tuan Izuddin Nur Amalia

In the limelight Alumni’s Studio Activities & Happenings YKPSP Corner

In This Issue

Highlight of the Month

From the Editor’s Desk

Beauty is Just Skin

Deep

Beauty is Just Skin Deep By Rayshein Rajvarma Year 12, Marlborough College Malaysia

“Beauty is just skin deep”. This meaningful axiom stated by the once famous English poet, Sir Thomas Overbury is still highly rele-vant in this modern world today. In short, it implies that physical beauty is merely a façade that an individual exhibits. It’s their intel-lectual, emotions, personality and spiritual qualities that truly defines a human being. There are many interpretations out there to this very quote that are offered from all walks of life. Plainly, it goes down to whom you are as a person as a result of how you’ve been brought up in this world.

Some argue that love at first sight is legit and has reunited many, now happily married couples and subsequently even that has grown largely to become families, community and society. Others argue that outward beauty is purely superficial because it can only impress for a short amount of time due to its extensive amount of vulnerability and flaws that comes in a package with that beauty. A rather bizarre group of people proclaims that if an individual agrees with this say-ing, then there is a high probability that, that individual is ‘ugly’. I personally don’t entirely concur with their standpoint but I think it is to some degree an interesting thought.

We are all different and unique in our own ways. One of meiosis pivotal role in cell division is to promote genetic variation in planet Earth. All of us have our own definition of what we precisely call beautiful or ugly. Someone or something, which seems appealing to our particular sense of sight, may not necessarily be attractive to someone with a similar belief system to yours. In the end, if a super-model can live a luxurious life from solely advertising their external being then it’s a fair play to them because they might dispute that it’s not easy becoming one due to its health complications that arises with.

Moving onto my next point, it personally got me thinking as to what extent and in what ways have the stereotypical idea of beauty, the classic “ flawless skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, pouty lips and curves” bring harm in the real world.

Recent researches have shown that the rate of plastic surgery in the US alone has risen by 3 percent in year 2014. Most people that are per-ceived as ‘ugly’ in their society are willing to do just about anything to achieve the “dream, model-like, perfect” look. Some are willing to even take uncertified creams and pills for weight loss without realis-ing the long-term health risks. I don’t have to go far; a distant rela-tive of mine was a victim 3 years ago.

In conclusion, I firmly think that, if in the bigger picture, doing this is going to save a few innocent lives, each and every one of us is re-sponsible in terms of educating the younger generation to love themselves and that they should not worry so much on how they look. After all, beauty is just skin deep.

Beauty Lies Within By Sarah Salahudin PHD in Business Administration (Economics) IIUM

I often wonder if the words of Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”, have lost its weight in this era of modernization where the society has managed to stereotype the meaning of beauty to a set of dictated features. Women nowa-days strive to modify themselves to fit the definition of beauty laid out by the society in order to gain the respect and attention of others. This immense need to be stereotypically beautiful arises because of the way it impacts their lives, self confidence and the ability to find a job or even a life partner.

In the sub-continent or most of Asia, beauty is equated with being fair and slim. A women’s level of acceptance in the society depends on such superficial and shallow aspects which I find as quite de-meaning to humanity. The stereotyping of beauty causes many women to resort to extreme methods, to attain the predefined fea-tures, which are extremely unhealthy. Many women regularly use skin bleaching creams to be fairer, some rely on Botox and few even undergo facelifts and plastic surgeries.

2

Such desperation to be attractive according to societal norms is further catalyzed by various forms of television and print media. To illustrate, the advertisements broadcasted by Fair & Lovely glorify beauty through fairness of skin tone and slender body with sharp features. The advert depicts darker skin tone as a major deformity crushing to confidence of many teenagers and young women. Fur-thermore, the movies and TV shows nowadays also depict similar comprehension of beauty. What seems to be more destructive is that these broadcasts exemplify dark and bulky characters as objects of comedy. It is quite alarming that in order to gain marketing success, many companies across the globe are playing with human emotions unethically.

However, my take on beauty is not in coalition with the societal imagery of beauty. I believe that beauty lies deep within the soul. Beauty lies in character; beauty lies in personality. No matter what color, what race, whichever ethnicity you belong to; you are only as gorgeous as the purity and innocence of your inner soul. Nonetheless, I believe it is vital to carry oneself properly in order to be presentable; but to exercise torture on oneself through the aforementioned meth-ods in order to fit the bill of societal aesthetics is harmful and dis-turbing. We should not forget the saying that “beauty is just skin deep”, meaning that outer beauty does not give you any idea regard-ing how a person is from inside. It does not tell you if a person is kind, compassionate or cruel, it does not allow you to judge their skills and knowledge. Hence it is only limited to external splendor without providing any insight of the charisma or personality of that person. Thus we should forever remember not to judge a book by its cover but by its merits.

On a brighter note, an awareness has been observed in very recent times regarding the materialization of beauty that has taken place over the past few decades. Few powerhouse brands such as Dove has come forward taking initiatives through TVCs and social campaigns to break the shackles of predefined features of beauty. Their recent activities are structured in way that urges women to define beauty for themselves and thus restore the lost confidence among women who are not exactly the same as societal prescription of being pretty.

One heartbreaking fact in this whole scenario is that, it is the edu-cated group of community who are differentiating and discriminat-ing people based on their looks only to achieve business gains by playing with human sentiment. It would have been much more hu-manistic if the powerhouse brands would attract more concentration of the people on being fit and healthy rather than being beautiful the way they define.

Beautiful You

By Tuan Muhammad Izuddin bin Tuan Hassan Bachelor of Science (Mathematics)Universiti Malaya

It would be a lie if a guy says that he is not attracted to a girl with perfect eyes, thin legs, long hair, etc as depicted by celebrities nowadays. Such outer beauty is seemingly important as the first impression that one would have on a person. Sadly, that is what majority of us believe in of late. Despite that, it would be agreeable that most of us would have the same thought that real beauty sur-passes the common societal expectation on beauty. In disagreement with the topic, I would like to emphasize that the depth of beauty is beyond skin deep for several reasons.

First and foremost, one’s physical appearance does not last for-ever. It is a fact that no one could deny. How long will your skin stay as stretched as in your twenties? The black hair will turn white and the ideal shape would not remain forever. Thus, we need to realize that personality will make people stay. Eventually, the beauty of personality is what we search for to remain with us.

For example, a girl could be physically beautiful and has flawless complexion but is a snobbish. Consequently, people would have the tendency to dislike such person for her negative attitude. With the presence of virtuous and good personality, the environ-ment would also be filled with the outer and inner beauty of one’s personality.

Continue to next page>>

However, the good sign is that peo-ple are now gradually getting more cautious and are slowly breaking free of the norms that are causing harm to the human race as a whole. Change is in the air and I hope that it spreads like wildfire to once again instill the ethics of human-ity above all.

3

Besides that, it is undeniable that the beauty of physical appearance is subjective. Different people have different ways of perceiving things. Therefore, the style and preferential would also differ. In other word, people would commonly have distinctive opinions on what they be-lieve as attractive. It is illogical to assume that people share similar interest as us. For instance, some people may favour dark-skin rather than fair-skin individual. Some may also prefer curly hair instead of straight hair. The different preferences proves that the subjectivity of beauty acceptance is tremendously distinctive among individuals. Hence, it is not reasonable to apply the idea that everyone shares the same thought on beauty.

Moreover, I believe that the mind-set of our society is being influ-enced by the fallacy in beauty advertisement. These advertising com-panies set a specific beauty standards among women. Women would think that they must be exactly like what the media has portrayed as beautiful women in magazines in order to be beautiful.

The setting of beauty standard automatically ruins the beauty of im-perfection among human being. Furthermore, due to the increasingly immense preposterous beauty standards, teens and young adults are being mentally and emotionally polluted with depression, self-hate and severe insecurities. They fail to see the lies hidden behind the super imposed images which make women look ‘perfect’ in the me-dia. Thus, the fallacy that these companies have made are definitely contradicting to the reality of beauty. Humans, realistically, are per-fectly imperfect and are beautiful in their own ways.

As a conclusion, I would like to emphasize that beauty is beyond skin deep through the arguments. Do not hesitate to just be yourself be-cause you are beautiful just the way you are. Without a doubt, we are all decorated beautifully with our imperfections, rather than the fa-çade beauty standard which has been set up by the media.

Learn to walk with pride, be confident and prioritize the beauty be-yond the skin rather than skin deep.

You Are Beautiful No Matter What They Say!

By Nur Amalia Khairulanwar A-Level, UEM

Since the moment we were born, we have been brainwashed by the media that you’re only beautiful if you have flawless skin, per-fect eyebrows, big round eyes and a perfect body. What we find beautiful is informed by cultural preferences and swayed by images in the media. All this while, we were manipulated into thinking that there is a certain style and way for you to be beautiful. We watch things like Victoria Secret Fashion Show and instantly go into a deep depression while dragging our body to the gym in hopes of achiev-ing that model-like physique. Is being beautiful really just that or is there something entirely different that we have forgotten? Make up and photo shop can distort an image so much that the girl in the magazine doesn’t even look like the real her. I think it is time for society to stop obsessing over looks and realize that personality is much more important. After all, beauty is only skin deep.

“You are beautiful no matter what they say”, were the lyrics that Christina Aguilera sang in one of her famous song claiming that what other people think of you doesn’t matter. It’s much more im-portant for you to love yourself and accept yourself for who you really are rather than someone else. Sure, the people around you may say otherwise, saying that the only way for you to be beautiful is for you to be like a walking breathing piece of art. These type of people should be disposed from society as they are the ones crush-ing people’s self-respect towards themselves because they do not realize that being beautiful is much more than having an hourglass figure. They feel as though as beauty is based on appearance alone whereas I on the other hand think differently. Beauty from my un-derstanding is all about what is in the person’s insides. Inside beauty consists of the person’s love for themselves, their love for others and finally their personality. These characteristics help shape a beautiful person as their beauty from within will be reflected on their face no matter how they look like.

Continue to next page>>

4

Being beautiful means knowing you are beautiful and not allow-ing your surroundings to put you down by making you feel and think as though you aren’t. A beautiful person, in my eyes, loves the person that they are and will be. They accept who they are no matter what others say or do. They value their life and cherish each breath taken.

Beauty requires having self-respect towards yourself. Displaying self-respect shows that you love your body, your mind, your spirit, and your soul, and be grateful with what you have been. They carry themselves in a respectable manner. Beautiful people think, say, and do positive things and try to deflect any negativity that comes their way. Being able to love others as well as your self is also another way of displaying beauty. A beautiful person notices the beauty in some-one else-without taking account their appearances- as well as him-self or herself. Showing generosity to others, even to those that mis-treat you is not only a beautiful thing but also an honourable thing to do. Showing love to others takes courage and sometimes strength when the person is not treating you the way you should be treated. Being kind hearted and helping others who are less fortunate than you depicts your beauty as well. Beauty is beyond skin, it's in the soul.

Another way to portray that beauty is only skin deep is by ac-knowledging that your beauty does not define your worth. A close example can be clearly seen by looking at all the successful people in the world. Albert Einstein would not be considered beautiful based on the society’s standard, but the memory of him still lived on even though he passed away ages ago. What he had contributed to the society was beyond beautiful that his name will never die no matter how he looks like. This shows that just because you don’t have the looks, it doesn’t mean that you are not valuable. It all comes back to how you are as an individual and not your appearance. You can look like a homeless guy, but if you contribute back to the people around you, the memory of you will always be beautiful in the eyes of the people that you have helped. Once again this proves that beauty is just skin deep.

In a whole, I would like to once again clarify that beauty is just skin deep. Take beauty and the beast for example. The prince was a beast yet Belle still fell in love with him because she didn't fall for his appearances; she fell in love with the guy beneath all that exterior look. If you take a beautiful person and an ugly person then remove all of the skin, you’ll be left with the same thing. The only way you can differentiate them then, is by their character and personality. If that happens, then only will people appreciate the true meaning of beauty.

YK 10th Anniversary Special

Interview with Teoh Hong Ken, Economics, University of Pennsylvania

Taking up the YK scholarship was a rather straight forward decision for me, given the opportunities that come with being a YK scholar. One of the biggest benefits is the oppor-tunity to connect with YK’s vast network of scholars and

alumni. Over these past few years, I’ve had the opportunity of meeting and interacting with these individuals through various YK events. Many of them have now become close friends, mentors, and working partners.

I mostly enjoy events where scholars have the opportunity of meeting up. It is always such a pleasure to meet and get to know these really amazing people who are doing great things in their lives today. It is no doubt a privilege to be inducted into a family of individuals with such tremendous potential as well as over-whelming humility and unquenchable desire to serve the country.

I would most definitely recommend Yayasan Khazanah to family and friends. YK has certainly lived up to its potential as one of the best scholarships in Malaysia.

Being part of the YK family has given me a concrete vision for how I can contribute to the country’s growth and development. In the short to medium term, my primary goal is to develop skills to become an adept financial analyst. In the subsequent next 5- to 10- years, I hope to build a meaningful career in in KNB’s invest-ment division, helping to guide the company’s key investment decisions in the country’s core sectors and industries.

My experiences over the past five years have only been possible because of the YK scholarship. The YK team has been very helpful and understanding throughout the process, providing support and encouragement that has guided me both in my academic as well as personal growth.

Continue to next page>>

5

If I were given a chance to lead an organization, I would like to be a leader who inspire others to see and achieve things greater than themselves. Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity of getting to know many individuals – teachers, mentors, friends – who have encouraged, rebuked, and inspired me to dream and persevere towards bigger things, and I certainly would not be where I am today if not for them. My greatest honor and responsibility as a leader in any organization would be to do the same thing for those around me.

YK — Creating opportunities everyday.

Getting to Know The Alumni

Syed Malek Syed Mohamad - Com-mittee Member, Khazanah Scholar Alumni Association (KSAA)

A green technology advocate, Syed Malek Faisal is the Chief Operating Officer at COMOS, a smart mobility solution company which introduced

the first Electric Vehicle Car Sharing program in Malaysia. He spearheaded the development of COMOS business models to pro-mote green mobility in various sectors including tourism and ed-ucation, as well as for corporate and government fleets.

Syed Malek has vast experience in the automotive and mobility industry, technology and product development. He started his career in Proton in the R&D and Engineering division, and was instrumental in the development of various Proton engine and vehicle models. He served as a panelist for the MOSTI Technofund and is a member of the Board of Engineers and Institution of En-gineers Malaysia.

Syed Malek holds a Masters in Technology Policy from the Uni-versity of Cambridge under Khazanah-Cambridge Scholarship. He graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Mechatronics Engineering from King’s College London.

Meeting with Mdm Yu Mei Ying, International

Admission Dept of Beijing Learning and Culture

University (BLCU). Together with us are Pn Zam

from Khazanah Beijing Regional Office and our

scholars at Beijing.

En Kamarul Bahrein Sharif with H.E. Dato'

Zainuddin Yahya, Ambassador of Malaysia to the

People's Republic of China.

6

"Learn How To Learn" Programme by SuperCamp to our

Form 1 & 2 Scholars at KYS.

At MMU Open Day

At UNITEN Open Day

Briefing on Yayasan Khazanah Asia Scholarship

Programme to Form 4 & Form 5 students from South

Thailand who are currently studying in Malaysia. On-boarding session with our new UiTM scholars

7

Yayasan Khazanah

Leadership Conference

YK Leadership Conference (YKLC) is our annual event serves as a platform to gather our scholars at an identified venue. YKLC UK this year was held on 25th March 2017 @ Hilton Paddington London Hotel. The Conference was aimed to provide the scholars with an understanding and appreciation that leadership traits and qualities are pivotal for them. This is essentially for their own personal development and career later, after the completion of studies. This year’s theme was “ Leadership Challenges—Navigating and Shaping the Future” which was very well attended not only by YK scholars but also invit-ed scholars from other scholarship programmes— YTM, YTN, MARA and Yayasan UEM.

8

Y K PSP Ac t iv i t i e s 20 17

From YKPSP Team

Undergraduate Programme Postgraduate Programme

6 - 8 May

YKPG Elective: Business Management Skills (BMS)

9 - 15 July

YKPG Core: Community Based Learning (CBL)

9 - 15 July

YK CBL: Community in Me (UG Group 1)

29 - 31 July

YKPG Elective: Strategic Leadership Development (SLD)

24 - 30 September

YKPG Core: High Impact Leadership (HIL)

30 July - 5 August

YK GBR: Getting the Basics Right

20 - 24 August

YK FOR: Facing Organisational Realities

22 - 24 October

YK WJM: Winning in the Job Market

9 - 15 September

YK CBL: Community in Me (UG Group 2)

YKPG (Elective 1)

6th—8th May 2017

@ Dorsett Putrajaya Hotel

9