Kassim working tirelessly to help Malaysia reach its potential
Hamzah Kassim ’76 received the
college’s highest honor—induction into the Hall of Achievement—at the 2012 President’s Homecoming Gala. Kassim has been extensively involved in improving business and economic conditions in his native Malaysia for the past 15 years. P h o t o b y g e o r g e h ar t ma n n
“Education has always been the main instrument of social and economic mobility, and many of us are beneficiaries of the Malaysian governmental student-sponsorship initiative from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s,” said Hamzah Kassim ’76, this year’s recipient of MC’s Hall of Achievement honor. “I believe liberal arts education is crucial to helping us navigate a complex and ever-changing global landscape.” Prior to his visit to campus to receive the honor, Kassim said, “I hope I can help to inspire students who want to pursue careers that enable them to serve others while developing communities for sustained growth.” That has been Kassim’s mission in his native country, as he’s used the education he received at Monmouth, Texas Christian University (MBA) and England’s Aston University (Ph.D.) to help improve conditions in Malaysia. Over the last 15 years, Kassim has led a number of large and complex governmental advisory assignments in Malaysia and the region on merger integration, business transformation, economic and institutional reform and large-scale
monmouth | fall 2012
IT transformation across several industries, which involved working with ministers, CEOs, board members and other key stakeholders. “Throughout my career, I’ve been driven by a sense of purpose to make Malaysia and the world a better place,” he said. “Hence, I have become deeply involved in working with the government of Malaysia to develop the right institutions to support economic growth and national prosperity.” In 1998, Kassim was appointed to serve as a board member of Danamodal, an institution set up by the Malaysian government to restructure the banking sector in response to the country’s financial crisis of 1996-97. In 2006, he was the consulting advisor to the National Implementation Task Force, charged with overseeing the implementation of the Malaysia Economic Plan project. Three years ago, Kassim was appointed by the prime minister to serve as a member of the eight-member National Economic Action Council, which was tasked to develop an economic transformation model for Malaysia aimed at making the country into a high-income
economy by the year 2020. Kassim’s work on this successful task force led to his two-term appointment by the prime minister on the Review and Operational Panel to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. Apart from serving on those two economic councils, Kassim has been appointed as a member of the Higher Education Entrepreneurship Council. Kassim’s counsel has been sought by at least one other nation, but variables can be beyond his control. “I am sad about what is happening in Syria with the tragic loss of lives,” he said. “Just two years ago, I was advising President Bashar al-Assad and his cabinet on the need to undertake economic reform, using Malaysia as a model of successful economic change in the Islamic world, but vested political interests were a major barrier to change.” Currently, Kassim is CEO of The iA Group, a management, technology and human-capital consulting firm he cofounded in Malaysia, with offices in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. He was a
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