Tunku Imran installed as WOU Chancellor

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar, the son of the 10th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the late Tuanku Ja’afar Ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, was installed as the fourth Chancellor of Wawasan Open University (WOU) here today.

The installation ceremony was held at the Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik auditorium of the WOU main campus here.

Tunku Imran, 71, replaced former Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, whose tenure ended in December last year.

In his acceptance speech at the ceremony, Tunku Imran said the appointment came as a challenge as he would have to learn a lot about the management of the university.

“I admit that I have much to learn about WOU and its academic programmes and operations, but my involvement in education is not something totally new,” he said, adding that prior to this appointment he founded Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar (KTJ), a premier British-style international school in Negeri Sembilan, together with his two siblings.

Apart from his passion for education, Tunku Imran was also noted for his leadership in sporting bodies such as the Olympic Council of Malaysia, Malaysia Cricket Association, Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia, the Commonwealth Games Federation, SEA Games Federation, World Squash Federation and the International Olympic Committee.

He also founded and led the Antah Group of companies and currently leads Syarikat Pesaka Antah Sdn Bhd as its executive chairman.

At the same event, immunologist and retired medical researcher Datuk Dr Lim Thuang Seng was named as the new Pro-Chancellor of WOU, taking over from former Penang chief minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

Holding a PhD degree in immunology from the University of Oklahoma, the United States, he joined the teaching staff at Purdue University, apart from having working experience with the Mission Hill Memorial Hospital (Oklahoma), the US Army Medical Research Unit and Malaysia Institute of Medical Research.

At the ceremony, Koh, in his speech, announced former National University of Singapore (NUS) deputy president and NUS Enterprise chief executive officer Prof Dr Lily Chan as WOU’s new chief executive and vice-chancellor. 

-- BERNAMA