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Her hectic routine as the leader of the country's largest pharmaceutical company, plus her responsibilities as a wife, mother of four children and at the same time a student meant that the Managing Director of Pharmaniaga Berhad, Dato' Farshila Emran had to strategize and manage her time efficiently and effectively.

Finally, at the second session of the 32nd. Â鶹ֱ²¥ (UUM) Convocation Ceremony, all the sacrifices and struggles paid off when she successfully maintained her excellent momentum with a CGPA of 3.89 which in one fell swoop awarded her with the Malaysian National Co-operative Movement (Angkasa) Award.

She said it was man who managed time and not time managed man and she held on to the advice given Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad - 'passion is everything.'

“For example, Tun Daim Zainuddin, who recently completed his PhD from the University of Malaya at the age of 81 has become a catalyst for me and I believe that wherever there is desire, there is a way.

“Today is a historic day, I am deeply grateful to the Almighty and thankful to my husband who has always been by my side at difficult times, faithfully encouraging me, and my children and lecturer who never gave up on me.

"I want to be an aspiration and inspiration to my children when they see their mother striving hard to seek knowledge at my age so that they too can continue to achieve great success," said the graduate of Master of Business Administration.

Dato' Farshila said she attended classes at UUMKL on Saturdays and Sundays, in fact her family and staff at Pharmaniaga were well aware of her lecture schedule which allowed her to make the best of her time.

Speaking of her career, Pharmaniaga Berhad is a company that produces, markets, and distributes pharmaceutical and medical products to government hospitals and private institutions.

According to her, the field made her become more aware of other people's concerns and would indirectly ensure that the patients received their medication accurately and quickly because the delay would be fatal to the patients.

She said in order to be a professional leader, one had to gain the support of the workers, be knowledgeable, be empathetic, be apologetic when wrong even with subordinates.

“By leading by example, we don't have to constantly remind staff to do what we want. They just need to set a good example for them to follow.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer, Inland Revenue Board (IRB) Dato' Seri Sabin Samitah said UUM and IRB had long been working together to open up opportunities for officers seeking to further their studies at Master and Doctor of Philosophy level.

According to him, the interest of pursuing his Doctor of Philosophy was the result of the interaction he had with lecturers from UUM who came to the Malaysian Academy of Taxation. Soon, he began to study to focus on specific topic.

“If before this, I just read as a hobby and to keep abreast with all things related to taxation but by pursuing my PhD, I had to conduct in-depth study on my research methodology, academic writing and increased my knowledge by doing in-depth research based on academic perspective.

"In this age of sophistication with internet access, I did not have to go to the library as I have access to journals, books and theses at the Sultanah Bahiyah Library," he said.

He extended his heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to two of his supervisors, Prof. Dr. Kamil Md Idris and Dr. Saliza Abdul Aziz who had helped him in the completion of his thesis.

"Where there is a will, there is a way, so continue to work hard to get what you want," said him concluding the interview.