1)

First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to

express my thank to Allah Almighty because through His grace and
love, thus allowing our prestigious Institut Aminuddin Baki (IAB),
National Institute of Education Management and Leadership with
the cooperation of the Malaysian Government, the Sarawak State
Government, Malaysian Ministry of Education and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs to once again be given the honour and opportunity
to carry out the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme
(MCTP) for the second consecutive time this year. However, with
a different venue.

2)

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Sarawak, the beautiful

Malaysian State fondly known as the Land of the Hornbills famous
for its cultural diversity, excitement and hospitality of people of all
walks of life, races and religions. I am confident that you, dear
participants whom I understand are mainly from our neighbouring
ASEAN countries, will definitely feel comfortable and I guaranteed
an enjoyable 12 days stay here.

3)

On behalf of the IAB, the Government of Malaysia, the State

Government of Sarawak, the Malaysian Ministry of Education and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I would like to congratulate and
applaud everyone for being selected to attend and be a part of this
prestigious program.

4)

I would also like to take this opportunity to express our deep

appreciation and gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their
trust, confidence and support for IAB to continue to implement this
high profile program. I hope that such cooperation will continue for
years to come.

5)

For your information, the Malaysian Technical Cooperation

Programme is a place where experienced educational leaders of

developing countries and within Malaysia come together and share

their best practices and valuable experiences in managing and
leading educational institutions in their respective countries and
institutions here in Malaysia.

6)

The organization of this program by IAB strongly coincides

with the role of IAB itself as an institution of educational leadership
and management training centre with its core business of
developing the capacity of managers and leaders at all levels of
the Education Ministry in Malaysia. In addition, IAB also intends to
continue providing quality leaders for all public education
organization in line with the aspirations of the country to move
forward with our own mould.

7)

For information of all delegates, the MTCP theme chosen for

this conference is 21st Century Leadership for Educational
Leaders of Rural and Indigenous from ASEAN Member Countries.
Hopefully the chosen theme will provide an opportunity and space
for participants to share ideas, experiences, and discuss issues
related to rural and indigenous educational leadership and
management.

8)

The organization of this program coincides with Malaysia's

aspiration to share its expertise, particularly in the field of
education in line with the country's desire to move forward as a
developed nation by 2020. The education sector has been
identified as one of the key determinants of success. Education is
a major contributor to the development of human capital and the
economy. Thus, education is considered as a vehicle that is very
important in determining the civilization of a society and thus a
country, and in this context, our ASEAN nations.

9)

Among the activities that will be carried out during the

program are among others, sharing sessions during lectures,
benchmarking visits to schools in rural and remote areas, and also

a forum involving officials from the State Education Department,

Ministry of Education with topics related to our theme. It is hoped
that through the activities planned during the program will provide
something useful and of value to the participants to take back to
their respective countries.

10)
Through this program, participants can exchange ideas and
views related to our theme. This is because, I believe every
country has its own uniqueness, peculiarities and policies in
managing schools. This exchange if ideas will in turn help
participants to better understand and be able to do the best in
providing quality education and effective services to rural and
indigenous school in their own respective countries

11)
Undoubtedly, there are still many challenges and obstacles
related to rural school management and education among
indigenous children within the ASEAN countries. One of the main
challenges is the problem of infrastructure and lack of basic
amenities for a quality education. Therefore, I believe any country
would do its best for the excellence of their education.

12)
In Malaysia, for example, the Ministry of Education strives to
further improve education facilities and infrastructure, especially
schools in rural and remote areas. In addition, we also strive to
improve the quality of education through improvement in the areas
of curriculum and preparation of teachers who are better trained
and preparing them to be the best.

13)
Advances in a technologically changing world is increasingly
challenging due to a continuous explosion of technological
innovation, migration and globalization. This will require
improvement and added knowledge in new skills especially
amongst school leaders in order for the leaders and managers of

schools to continually
competency.

improve

on

their

knowledge

and

14)
In the quest for excellence in school organization, in-depth
knowledge in the field of educational management and leadership
is essential for an effective and continuous school improvement.
Effective school organization will be able to produce best possible
human capital.

15)
A leader must also be able to manage change efficiently. To
successfully manage change, we need to change their mindset
and make adjustments to their values, norms and principles. We
also need to have the ability to do constructive social change, by
identifying weaknesses and taking a strategic approach to address
any issues and problems specifically related to the management
and leadership of the schools, in this case rural and indigenous
schools.

16)
We need to realize that quality is not the final destination I
education, because the journey in education is a continuous
process. Something that is considered of good quality today may
no longer be qualified as one, tomorrow or in the future. The
quality of performance needs change. If we do not change with this
ever changing times and technology development, we will be left
behind.

17)
As school leaders or educational leaders, we must have the
courage and willingness to change for the better because, this
spirit and desire for change will prepare us to face any kind of
challenges that might come.

18)
As we all know, in education, there are no shortcuts or easy
means or manner to achieve, especially if it involves the future of
our children. We want to see that each of our children will be taken
care of regardless of their background and their socio-economic
status and background.

19)
Finally, I would like to once again congratulate all the
participants of the 2015 MTCP for being chosen to this wonderful
program. ON behalf of Institut Aminuddin Baki, I would also like to
take the opportunity to apologise for any flaws and weaknesses
that might arise during the program.

20)
Last but not least congratulations also to the secretariat and
committee members who have worked tirelessly and diligently to
ensure the success of this program.

21)
Hoping for a smooth run of the program with all the
objectives set be achieved. All the best to all.

Sekian, Wabillahi al-taufik walhidayah wassalamualaikum

warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

22)