WHEN it was first initiated some ten years ago, the Merdeka Award Roundtable was intended to be a high quality and riveting talk show, showcasing intelligent debates and conversations on topics that were not only current but of significant importance to nation building and Malaysians in general.
Made for TV, the talk show carried by ASTRO Awani Channel 501 was designed to inspire, debate and discuss key issues of interest to Malaysians.
Since then, it has been bringing together leading figures from Malaysia’s corporate, academic and social spheres to discuss issues critical to the future of Malaysia in line with the Merdeka Award’s philosophy of encouraging a worldview and fostering a culture of excellence. And the talks were a strategy to up the ante on effective engagement.
The initiative was first launched in August 2011, hardly more than a year into my taking over as the Head of Group Corporate Affairs in Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas). The talk show was one of the new ideas that I helped initiate after I was given the opportunity to hold the post.
The simple idea and intention then was to get leading figures and/or leaders to discuss issues that were pertinent to building a robust, vibrant and progressive nation. In other words, to kick-start the conversations about important topics and agendas, thereby creating interest and stimulus at the intellectual, emotional and conversational levels, while at the same time helping to nurture the art of conversation and good listening. Yes, sometimes it’s more important to listen more.
When announcing the inaugural broadcast, as secretary to the board of trustees of the Merdeka Award, I said the following in a press statement:
“The Merdeka Award is Malaysia’s foremost award to recognise outstanding contribution to the people of Malaysia. It is therefore apt that we not just present the award annually to deserving recipients, but also create opportunities that will inspire Malaysians to think about how they too can play a role in the development of our country.”
I elaborated further as follows: “A roundtable such as this, which brings together leading figures from Malaysia’s corporate, academic and social spheres, is the ideal platform for us to discuss issues which are critical to the future of this nation. We hope to hold a series of similar roundtables through the course of the year, with each event featuring a topic for discussion that is current and timely, and that resonates with Malaysians, especially the post-Merdeka generation, who are the future of Malaysia.”
“As such, the distillation, discussions and debates of the topic through the Merdeka Award roundtables bring to life the spirit of the award — the liberation of mind and spirit, and the pursuit of excellence,” I added to make the linkage and natural fit of the programme to the ideals of the award.
Then I concluded that the essence of the roundtable was as follows:
“It is about raising human potential for Malaysia’s progress and development. Viewers can certainly expect honest, animated and in-depth discussions on thought-provoking topics amongst a panel of opinion leaders who are visionaries in their own right.”
For the TV station, there was a natural fit as the programme provided quality content and complemented Astro Awani’s own vision and philosophy as amply confirmed by Henry Tan, COO of Astro, when commenting on the partnership with Merdeka Award Trust, in the following words: “Astro aspires to enrich lives of Malaysians with the best of international, regional and local content, including intelligent debate and discourse on issues affecting all Malaysians to the far reaches of the country via the Merdeka Award Roundtables. We are pleased to support the Merdeka Award Roundtables, as it complements the Astro Awani philosophy — of providing in-depth analysis and balanced coverage of news and current affairs.”
The inaugural Merdeka Award Roundtable was successfully put on air on Saturday, August 20, 2011.
Aimed at inspiring debate and discussion on key issues of interest to Malaysians, the first roundtable featured the topic, “The Spirit of Merdeka: Nurturing a Nation of Visionaries”, which depicted the core concept behind the initiative thereby starting the discussion and debate of how we could nurture a nation of visionaries.
In other words, that first of the roundtable was designed to kick-start the discussion on how we get to realise the vision behind the promulgation of the ambitious programme.
The inaugural session was hosted by television and radio personality Norina Yahya.
The concept of the roundtable also included the idea that the winners or recipients of the awards would also be invited to speak at relevant sessions so that they could share their views and ideas, especially on the subject for which they have been recognised by the Merdeka Award Trust and relating it to the topic being discussed at the roundtable.
In the first edition of the roundtable was writer and social commentator Dina Zaman, who provided a perspective from the younger generation. Next was Harith Ahmad, Merdeka Award recipient and professor at the Department of Physics University of Malaya. After that was member of the Merdeka Award Board of Trustees and historian the late Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Kim, and Tharuma Rajah, the managing director of global management consulting firm, the HAY Group.
As the secretary to the Merdeka Award Board of Trustees, I was included in the panel to shed light on the idea behind the original conception of the roundtables.
The focus of that first roundtable was therefore to set the scene for the series of talks to come and to provide interesting insights and views on the idea behind the show, bringing to life the true meaning of the spirit of independence — the liberation of mind and spirit, and the pursuit of excellence.
Since that day in August 2011, The Merdeka Award Roundtable has dealt with many interesting and relevant subjects covered by varied and well-qualified speakers and panellist. A sample of the topics or areas that have already been discussed included the following:
- The 2nd Merdeka Award Roundtable featured the topic “Cultivating a Culture of Innovation in Challenging Times.”
- The 3rd Merdeka Award Roundtable featured the topic “Building a Globally Competitive Malaysia”.
- The 4th Merdeka Award Roundtable featured the topic, “Balancing People, Planet and Profit —- Partnerships for Sustainable Growth”.
- The 5th Merdeka Award Roundtable featured the topic “Taking Malaysian Values to the Global Stage”.
- The 6th Merdeka Award Roundtable featured the topic, “Science, Malaysia’s Game-changer”.
It is hoped that the discussions so far are not only interesting but also thought-provoking.
Listeners and followers of the series could get some inspiration that would instil courage, imagination and the motivation to make a difference, and to effect positive change in the thinking process, elevating the quality of discussion and conversation and the sharpening the vision and aspiration for the nation.
This will fit very well into the intention behind The Merdeka Award Roundtable to tap into the minds, experience, expertise and insights of the best in the country, whether they are Merdeka Award recipients or just ordinary citizens.
For a developing nation which aspires to reach the highest level of achievement in many fields, Malaysia needs to nurture quality conversations and to engage all layers of society in the discussion of topics and areas of interest which will elevate the overall level of thinking, awareness and understanding of all citizens. Initiatives which are well planned featuring quality in-depth discussions as intended through the Merdeka Award Roundtable are welcomed and should be encouraged. More platforms like the Merdeka Award Roundtable or other forms are badly needed to focus discussions on critical issues, challenges and aspirations.
The roundtables leverage the power of conversation and engagement to unleash tremendous power and unlock hitherto hidden energy.
