UKM Confers Honorary Doctorate In Social Business On Bangladesh Chief Adviser

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- Chief Adviser to the Government of Bangladesh Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus has been conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in Social Business by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) at a special convocation ceremony today.

Yunus, who is on a three-day official visit to Malaysia, received the doctorate from UKM Chancellor, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir at Auditorium Hospital Tunku Ampuan Besar Tuanku Aishah Rohani, UKM Specialist Children's Hospital.

"In recognition of your remarkable achievements in reducing poverty and transforming countless lives in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, it is my great pleasure, on behalf of UKM, to present you the Honorary Doctorate in Social Business," Tuanku Muhriz said in his brief royal decree. 

Also present were Tunku Ampuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Aishah Rohani Tengku Besar Mahmud, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and the Prime Minister's wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Delivering his public lecture after receiving the doctorate, Yunus said the award was more than a personal honour, as he viewed it as recognition of the strength, courage and determination of the people of Bangladesh, especially the millions of young and women entrepreneurs.

“This recognition reminds me of my responsibility to work for the dreams of our young people. We have seen time and again that when the most disadvantaged people, especially women, receive small financial support and basic training, they bring lasting change to their communities.

“From working as an economist to founding Grameen Bank, one belief has always guided me: people are not poor because they lack talent or dreams, but because the system never gave them a fair chance.

“Our financial system serves the rich, not the poor. So I created a way for even the poorest to get small loans, start businesses, and change their lives,” said Yunus.

The social entrepreneur, economist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate is best known for pioneering microcredit and microfinance, which provide small loans to impoverished individuals without requiring collateral, enabling them to start small businesses and break the cycle of poverty.

Meanwhile, UKM Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Sufian Jusoh commended Yunus for his remarkable dedication to advancing social progress and the transformative contributions he has made in Bangladesh.

He said Yunus is widely regarded as a prominent exemplar of transformative leadership, guided by integrity, good governance, and the conviction that the economy is truly solid only when it serves everyone’s needs.

“In 1976, he (Yunus) launched an experimental microloan project in Jobra village, personally lending US$27 to 42 women. This modest initiative sparked a revolutionary idea that ultimately led to the founding of the Grameen Bank in 1983,” he said in his introductory speech. 

Sufian added that the Grameen Bank, designed as a people-centred financial institution, became a global model for poverty alleviation through collateral-free microcredit, serving over 100 million people worldwide and inspired similar programmes in more than 100 countries, including Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia.

Born on June 28, 1940 in Chittagong, Yunus earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Dhaka before completing his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Economics at Vanderbilt University, United States as a Fulbright Scholar.

He later taught economics at Middle Tennessee State University, and in 1972 returned to Bangladesh to serve as Head of the Economics Department at the University of Chittagong.

Yunus has shared close ties with UKM for over a decade, serving as an icon and mentor in social business, particularly through the establishment of the Yunus Centre for Social Business UKM at the Faculty of Economics and Management in 2011.

-- BERNAMA