BATU PAHAT: Tunku Mahkota of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim was installed as the new Chancellor of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) at the first session of the university’s 22nd convocation at Dewan Sultan Ibrahim here today.
The ceremony also saw Tunku Temenggong of Johor Tunku Idris Iskandar Al-Haj Sultan Ibrahim and Johor State Secretary Tan Sri Dr Azmi Rohani being appointed as the new Pro-Chancellors of UTHM.
The position of Chancellor of UTHM had been held by Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar since 2002, while the Pro-Chancellor seat had been held by Tunku Ismail since 2010 and former Chief Secretary to the Government the late Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa since 2014.
Tunku Ismail, in inaugurating the ceremony, reminded graduates and youths not to assimilate bad culture and negative elements, but to adhere to religion and make the country more progressive.
He said graduates should equip themselves with knowledge to prosper the nation.
Tunku Ismail also said unity and consensus form the heart of Johor and that diversity of religion, culture and customs of a race must continue to be respected and preserved.
“The consensus and spirit of the Johor people is driving rapid growth of the economy and the results can clearly be seen as the state presently is. The foundation of unity must always be applied in any field, be it sports, politics, economics or education,” he said.
Tunku Ismail expressed his best wishes and prayed that the 30-year-old UTHM would continue to be relevant and dynamic in producing graduates with first-world thinking, by gaining recognition at the global level.
Meanwhile, UTHM Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Ruzairi Abdul Rahim, speaking at the same ceremony, said 4,484 graduates are eligible to receive their degrees at the convocation ceremony from today until Thursday (Dec 8).
“With this convocation, UTHM has produced 53,760 graduates as of 2022,” he said.
At the ceremony, former chairman of the UTHM Board of Directors Datuk Dr Mohd Sofi Osman received an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, while former UTHM vice chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Wahid Razzaly received the Emeritus Professor award.
The recipients of the Royal Education Award (Medal of Excellence) were Muhammad Faris Abdul Hadi, a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering Technology (Biotechnology) graduate from the Faculty of Engineering Technology and Khoo Chun An, a Bachelor of Science (Technology Mathematics) graduate from the Faculty of Applied Science and Technology.
Bachelor of Civil Engineering graduate Hajar Shahirah Che Ariffin from the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering received the Sultan Ibrahim Award. - Bernama
