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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia cannot rest on the laurels of its past successes, says Perak Ruler Sultan Nazrin Muizuddin Shah.
“As the world around us is transforming, Malaysia must also evolve in order to drive the next phase of our country’s journey towards a sustainable future, ” he said.
Sultan Nazrin made the comment during his keynote speech at the 2019 Merdeka Award Grant For International Attachment at the Malaysian Petroleum Club here on Friday (Aug 16).
The Royal Patron of the Merdeka Award Trust said he believed young Malaysians could have a significant impact on the nation as their ability to view the world from a fresh perspective gave them an opportunity to make a difference.
Sultan Nazrin also shared his definition of "Merdeka" and what it meant to be an independent nation.
"It means being empowered to influence the future of our own nation for the well-being of our people.”
"It means being the masters of our own destiny and being responsible for charting and driving our progress, for the benefit of current and future Malaysians, ” he said.
Sultan Nazrin urged all Malaysians to foster a culture of knowledge-building and sharing, and to participate actively in the country’s development.
“I hope that young Malaysians will continue to hunger for knowledge and service, regardless of the field or pursuit, ” he said, adding that the mastery and application of knowledge through research was a great enabler.
Sultan Nazrin also announced the five recipients of the prestigitous 2019 Merdeka Award Grant For International Attachment.
They are Universiti Teknologi Mara senior lecturer Dr Mohd Azri Abdul Rani, social entrepreneur Juliana Ooi Sue May, Universiti Sains Malaysia lecturer Dr Yanny Marliana Baba Ismail, Universiti Teknologi Petronas PhD candidate Feng Ying Xing and Borneo Carnivore Programme project research manager Chrishen R. Gomez.
Established in 2012, the Merdeka Award Grant for International Attachment was introduced to nurture promising young Malaysians and support them in their work which contributes to the nation’s growth.
A total of 14 young Malaysians have been awarded for the grant to date.