In Memoriam

Academician Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Mohd Rashdan Baba was born in Chembong, Rembau, Negeri Sembilan. He obtained a Diploma in Agricultural Science from the Malayan Agricultural College (1954-1957), a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Agriculture from University of Reading, UK (1960), and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in the University of Leeds, UK (1964).

His first career started in 1957 as an officer at Agricultural Department in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. Years later, he worked as an assistant lecturer in the Agricultural College of Malaya and an agronomist in the Agricultural Department (1964).

Tan Sri Rashdan’s leadership was shown when he became the Principal at Agricultural College of Malaya (1965-1969). His indisputable credibility in the education sector was proven in 1969 when he was appointed as the first Vice- Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) by then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. Tan Sri’s has taken the initiative to use Bahasa Melayu as the main language in teaching and writing with the aim to elevate the language on a par with the knowledge of the day.

He was also appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM) (1971-1982). As UPM’s VC, he has successfully established nine faculties and two centres that handle 19 degree programs, nine diploma programs and one professional program, and advanced degrees. After retiring from UPM, he was the Executive Chairman of Guthrie Berhad Group from 1982 to 1987 replacing the British manager. Not long after that, he became the chairman of Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) for 12 years, and he contributed significantly to the growth of the telecommunications industry.

Throughout his career Rashdan has received numerous awards locally and abroad, including the title of Professor Emeritus by UPM on Aug 14, 1982; Honorary Doctorate in Law by UKM on July 3, 1999; Honorary Doctor of Science from University of Reading (1986); and Honorary Doctor of Law from University of Leeds (1989), United Kingdom. He also received the CEO of The Year award from Business Times and American Express Corporate Services (1995). In 2013, he was conferred with the National Academic Award (AAN) 2013.

Tan Sri Rashdan is seen as a successful icon, educator, and corporate member. He will always be remembered by all.

(31 Oct 1935 – 30 March 2020)

“

Failure doesn’t matter, just don’t assume that society owes you something; it is the other way around, you owe society.

”

(21 August 1926 – 11 July 2020)

“

Failure doesn’t matter, just don’t assume that society owes you something; it is the other way around, you owe society.

”

Dr Lim Boon Liat was a legendary zoologist in Malaysia. He grew up before WWII, in a large village area situated at the south of Klang. He began his interest when the school he went in Klang had a small plot of land to grow a nursery of flowery plants and ferns, as well as rows of vegetables. He was fascinated by such varied flora and fauna ecosystem in the garden. However, his studies were disrupted during the onslaught of World War II. He was forced to work odd jobs for food. His ingenious spirit took him to Carey Island in coastal Selangor, where he built a factory to produce salt from seawater from the Straits of Malacca. When he was in Carey Island, he met the aboriginal villagers who taught him how to identify different animals when they hunted for their livelihoods.

His profound interest in nature grown bigger. He decided to shut his factory and returned to his family home in Klang. Equipped with newfound knowledge on animals, he was offered a job as a lab assistant at the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) as a temporary laboratory assistant in the Scrub Typhus Research Unit despite insufficient academic qualifications. His temporary job then changed to permanent. From there, Dr Lim was involved with many projects in Borneo, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand under the auspices of the Bishop Museum, University of Hawaii. He also had the opportunity to help establish the National Zoo in Malaysia, working together with late Tan Sri V M Hutson and the late Datuk Kington Loo as well as officers from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Malaysia (DWNP). He was instrumental in the revival of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS).

In 1959, he was offered a Sino-British Fellowship Trust Award under the British Council. He spent one and a half years studying animal ecology at Oxford and the taxonomy of mammals at the British Natural History Museum in Britain. He returned to Kuala Lumpur in 1961 and was appointed as the head of the newly created Medical Ecology division of the IMR. By 1969, he had successfully published 80 scientific papers in various journals.

Due to his experience, publications, and participation in various international conferences, he was offered an opportunity to pursue a Masters at the University of Aberdeen. He was secured with sponsorship from Medical Research Council Fellowship for his study in Scotland. Two months after he completed his study, he returned to the IMR, and subsequently was promoted as a zoologist. He continued heading the Medical Ecology Division and was later nominated to be a member of the Biological Society in London.

In 1977 he earned his PhD in Zoology at Universiti Sains Malaysia. He was seconded to the World Health Organisation (WHO), in Indonesia where he was appointed as the head of the Vector Biology Control Research Unit. After he retired from WHO in 1987, he became the honorary advisor to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Kuala Lumpur (DWNP). Meanwhile, he also worked as a consultant on small mammal research with the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM). At the same time, he was a consultant to DANCED-Management of Krau Wildlife Reserve, Pahang. He also served as an adviser to the Malayan Nature Society (MNS) as an Honorary Member.

Dr Lim has bestowed many notable awards including Sandosham Gold Medal by the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (1978), Malaysia Toray Science Foundation (MTSF) in 1995, Honorary Membership to The American Society of Mammalogists (2003), Spallanzani Award by the North American Society for bat research (NASBR) in 2007, and Merdeka Award (2013).

He passed away at the age of 94, but his legacy as the country’s most outstanding zoologists and top naturalists remain.