POSCO TJ Park Foundation 2012

Asia Fellowship

Alhamdulillah (Praise to Allah) I was selected after a rigorous process to receive the Asia Fellowship award and pursue my postgraduate studies here in Korea.

It is a distinct honour and a privilege to be chosen amongst competitive candidates all around Asia. I see it as one of my lucky stars, because  I was quite surprised and did not expect it as much. 

The award in my humbled mind is a motivation or a catalyst for me to strive hard. I only wish my mother could see this. 

With Executive Vice President TJ Park Foundation, Mr. Woo-In Lee
(I look more like my father with the hairline reclining)

The ceremony was done in punctuality that began with welcoming remarks from the emcee, and followed by congratulatory speech from the Executive Vice President of the foundation. The Dean of the school Mr. Sang-Woo Nam also congratulated the fellows for being selected and wished us to perform well in our studies and learn as much as Korean culture and be proficient in the Korean language.

It was done with good timing and I was given the honour as the first fellow to deliver the acceptance speech. 

Give a Budak Boy the chance to speak and he can crack jokes if he wanted to

I gave a three minute remarks with basic Korean of introducing myself:

Bang'ap seumnida; (Nice to meet you)

Joneun Afdal Izal imnida; (My name is Afdal Izal)

Joneun Malaysia saram imnida. (I am a Malaysian)

And the rest as they say is history.

The acceptance speech from four other fellows as follows:

1. Vu Khanh Linh - Vietnam

2. Shinali Nurylbek - Kazakhstan

3. Nurgul Myendu - Mongolia

4. Mahmud Tohtiev - Uzbekistan

Congratulations sirs/madams.

The Asia Fellows with their conferment of letter award
From L-R Mahmud, Linh, Afdal, Nurylbek, Nurgul 

I wish to give my appreciation to my late mother for her guidance and love. She was my good friend, my teacher and my confidante. 


She always prayed for my success and I truly hope I have become the son that she's proud of.


Thanks ma.

A picture taken at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA holding my mama's arm
(after much pursuasion from the cameraman)