Outstanding women awarded

What say you on the issue below?

Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz, CEO of Hong Leong Islamic Bank, and Datuk Dr Nellie Tan-Wong, founder of the Malaysian Women’s Institute of Management, were conferred honorary doctorates of law and business respectively at the University of East London’s Royal Docks Business School graduation ceremony recently.

Both women were praised for their determination in achieving such a high level of success in their chosen careers and for being instrumental in steering a cultural shift towards women being more welcomed into the business world, particularly in Malaysia.

Shining examples: Tan-Wong and Raja Teh Maimunah at the awards ceremony.

Raja Teh Maimunah is a former law student at UEL and enjoyed a 12-year career in investment banking before making the transition into Islamic banking, a banking system based on justness, equity and the trading of tangible assets rather than derivatives, and of which she is now a fervent supporter.

Tan-Wong founded the Women’s Institute of Management with her friend Tan Sri Napsiah Omar in 1993. The institute does not get any government funding and survives entirely on fundraising.

Despite their successes, both women have spoken openly of the many issues they have faced in making a career in a male-dominated world.

They serve as an inspiration to businesswomen everywhere.

Raja Teh Maimunah, who has three young daughters, said: “Women can have more empathy and understanding as to how family life should fit into working life, to make for a more sustainable environment.

“I think that’s very important because if you cannot give your all to your domestic life then you cannot bring the best to work.”

Tan-Wong said: “I applaud the University of East London’s vision because women’s entrepreneurship is one of the answers that the world wants.

“Small businesses are the engine of growth for any country, and women who are in small businesses will be the agents of change to bring about improvements in the quality of life, not only for themselves but also for their families.”