Calvin Lee win Second prize for Perdana Leadership Award

Calvin Lee Eng Siong, a final year student pursuing his BSc (Hons) in Business Management, Sunway University won the second prize for the third Essay Competition “Nurturing the Minds of Future Leaders” jointly organized by Perdana Leadership Award and MPH group. Calvin bagged RM1, 000 in cash, an e-book reader, an iPod Nano and RM250 in book vouchers for his essay on Malaysia in a Globalised World: A High-Income Status through Human Capital Development. The Essay Competition that took place between May and October 2010 also saw entries on “Vision 2020”, “Global Competitiveness” and “A High-Income Nation” as part of the competition’s theme, “Malaysia in a Globalised World”.

The winners were arbitrated by Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr. Khoo Kay Kim, Tan Sri Hashim Makaruddin and Dato’ Hardev Kaur.

Calvin (centre) with Associate Professor Dr Foo Yin Fah, Head of School of Business and Grace Tay.


The prize giving ceremony recently held in the Perdana Leadership Foundation saw the Perdana Leadership Foundation’s Honorary President and Malaysia’s Fourth Prime Minister Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, and his wife Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Binti Haji Mohd Ali as Guests of Honour at the event.
The Competition received entries from 150 young Malaysians between the ages of 18 to 25. Prizes up for grabs included a RM7, 000 cash prize, E-Readers, Netbooks, and MPH book vouchers.

Calvin Lee of Sunway University meet Founder Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad & Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Binti Haji Mohd Ali at the Essay Competition.

When asked what inspired him to be take part in this essay writing competition, Calvin said, “Apart for the monetary rewards, I was excited to be given the opportunity to express my ideas and understanding about politics and development that could lead to the betterment of Malaysia. I felt that as a developing nation, we should have been able to achieve much more. Singapore as our neighbour, much smaller in size, had achieved far greater than we had. Even Japan had quickly recovered from the aftermath of World War II and we still lag behind. This also made me feel sad and frustrated as our country had abundant resources but lacked the capabilities to fully utilize them. I also wanted to put the knowledge gained from my education into more practical use rather than for writing assignments”.

Calvin who took approximately 2 weeks to complete the essay said, “I pursued this essay wholeheartedly as I was on a semester break for one week. Swamped with assignments and tests, I was forced to manage my time better. Nevertheless, it was worth the effort’.