Good evening, members of Board of Trustees and Board of Governors
Principal, teachers and staff of Maktab Nasional
Parents, friends and my dear graduate-students
Thank you for inviting me to witness your 26th Graduation Night even though I have retired from active ministry, For me it is like coming back to a familiar setting when I meet familiar faces, hear familiar stories, but more so, to see our students parading to receive their scrolls, signifying that they have now graduated and are leaving their alma mater, Maktab Nasional.
Event like this always arouses mixed feelings in me. I feel happy to see our students successfully completed their secondary education, and share their pride and joy. But at the same time I feel sad because they will no longer be around in the school.
Life is indeed a journey with many phases. All of us are moving from one phase to another, from infancy to adolescence, from teenage to young adulthood, and from adulthood to the golden age of retirement. Each of these phases has its own uniqueness. If we live each phase to its fullness, it will the foundation for the next phase. So, when a teenager completes his or her secondary education, he or she would have been adequately formed to face his or young adulthood, and so forth.
Dear graduates,
I hope your years in Maktab Nasional have equipped you to move onto your next phase of life. Never be satisfied to gain more knowledge because life is so big and so complex that we will never be able to fully comprehend it.
The various disciplines of knowledge provided in schools, colleges and universities are there to help you to understand life a bit better. So I encourage you to always take up the challenge to aim high, go further the academic ladder, and never be defeated by failures. We have only one life. So while there is still chance, develop and live that life fully and meaningfully.
Of course I also hope that you will not live your life for your own gains only. You need to share your gains with others too. In this globalised world, we need one another to build a more civilised and more loving society. But this can only be realised if each of us begins to share our blessings with our neighbours, especially the under privileged, the needy and those who are victims of circumstances.
Our country Malaysia is moving towards Vision 2020. One of the elements of this Vision is the creation of a loving society. I believe it is still not too late for you to start now.
Finally, I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the hardworking staff of Maktab Nasional for their commitment in making the school a better and more conducive environment for learning.
I think you will agree with me that the principal, Mdm Winnie Kual, has done a good job; the same too for all the teaching and administrative staff. Congratulations and keep up your good work!
Let us be proud of Maktab Nasional, and make it a better learning institution in years to come. Thank you.