MALAYSIA'S FORMER PM CONFERRED HONORARY DOCTORATE IN HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

CYBERJAYA, July 16 (Bernama) -- Former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi was Saturday conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Human Capital Development
by Limkokwing University of Creative Technology.

The honorary doctorate, presented by the university's founder and president,
Lim Kok Wing, was in recognition of his strong endeavor for human
capital development during his tenure as the fifth prime minister of Malaysia.

In his acceptance speech, Abdullah spoke of the importance of building
quality human capital, describing it as the best solution in building Malaysia.

"Unskilled and uneducated means a great loss, missing the opportunity to
compete and to be successful," he said.

Abdullah noted that about half of the world population was now less than 25
years of age, making human capital development "a very important focus for the
world."


Abdullah said: "It is simple truth. We need to grow our people before we can
grow our economy. If people don’t grow and stay trapped within the circle of
poverty and ignorance, then the conflicts and social ills that we see in so many
countries will continue."

Abdullah noted that the second thrust of the national mission, introduced
during his tenure, was to raise the capacity for knowledge and innovation and
nurture a "first class mentality."