WOU honours outstanding women

GEORGE TOWN: Wawasan Open University (WOU) will confer the Honorary Doctor of Letters degree to social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir and Universitas Terbuka (UT) rector Prof Tian Belawati.
WOU chairman Datuk Seri Stephen Yeap said both will receive their degrees at the university's fifth convocation ceremony to be held from Nov 29.
He said the degree to Marina is in recognition of her efforts in championing social and cultural issues regardless of ethnicity and political persuasion.
"In many instances, she has stood out as the lone, brave voice on social issues," he told a press conference today together with WOU vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Ho Sinn Chye.
A total of 399 graduates will receive their scrolls in four sessions, with 308 at the undergraduate level and 91 earning their post-graduate degrees.
Yeap said the award to Belawati was based on her work in open distance learning (ODL) to bring credibility to the field.
He said WOU is proud to recognise her contribution to ODL and her leadership in international organisations associated with open and distance education.
At the same press conference, Ho announced that the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Memorial Prize was won by Cheah Phaik Hoon, who earned her Commonwealth Executive Master of Public Administration (CeMPA) credentials.
He said the Chancellor's Gold Medal went to Wong Liang Yeong, who obtained a degree in banking and finance.