Page 15 - 01/2022 PULSE@FASS e-Bulletin

AA Issue no. 1 | 2022
ALUMNI VOICES SERIESLUMNI VOICES SERIESLUMNI VOICES SERIES
Defending The Good Name
I was born in Sg Besi and consider
myself a Selangorian at heart.
Dr Kogila Balakrishnan
However, coming from a military family, I spent memorable
years at the Kuching air force base and my early childhood
B a c h e l o r o f A r t s ( H i s t o r y )
memories are filled with the beauty of Sarawak. I
1 9 8 9 - 1 9 9 2
completed my primary education at SRK Tuanku Abdul
F e l l o w , I n s t i t u t e o f S t r a t e g i c a n d I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Rahman in Kuching and at La Salle, Jinjang, Kuala Lumpur
S t u d i e s ; A d j u n c t P r o f e s s o r a t t h e N a t i o n a l D e f e n c e
before moving on to SMK Taman Ehsan, Kepong, and
U n i v e r s i t y M a l a y s i a
completing my sixth form at Sekolah Menengah Gombak
Setia. UM was a natural destination for my first degree
At FASS, I read History and graduated in the Class of 1992.
followed by the long-cherished dream of joining the In my first year, I initially opted for a double major in history
Malaysian administrative and diplomatic service in 1994. and Malay studies. However, I fell in love with history and
the international flavour of the course and decided to
Later, I completed an LL.B from the University of London
solely focus on this subject from then on. Incidentally, the
and a postgraduate degree in international relations & current Dean of FASS, Prof. Danny Wong was then our
diplomacy from IDHL/UKM while in service. The civil much-liked tutor in the department. Some of the other
service journey took me from JPA to INTAN and finally to
brilliant and fascinating minds I recall fondly from that time
the Ministry of Defence (Mindef), before I eventually
were the late Prof. Khoo Kay Kim, Prof. Soosai Nathan and
secured the British Chevening Scholarship to do my Ph.D. Prof. Munir Majid. They were already leaders in their own
at the Defence College of Management and Technology, rights but still found the time to engage with students and
Cranfield University based at the United Kingdom Defence
remained advisers to many of us long after our university
Academy. lives.

On returning to Mindef, I headed the Defence Industry
Securing a place in the nation’s premier university was
Division until my secondment to the UK in 2010. I was
indeed a dream come through for an ambitious girl from a
initially appointed as the Principal Fellow at WMG, middle-class family like myself. The few public universities
University of Warwick and have been the Director for Client were the only options for us then. I still remember my
and Business Development (East Asia) there since 2016.
parents saying to me and my siblings that education is the
only passport for a better future and that they wouldn’t be
able to afford an overseas place, thus we needed to work
hard for the limited local options. Those magic words
stuck with me, and I was determined to get a place at UM.

There are many wonderful memories from the three years
at FASS. I can never forget the orientation week at Third
College where I led a funny sketch, the beautiful friends I
made and being exposed to independent life away from
family. How we rushed from one lecture to another and
then faced the gruelling tutorials. I loved my time spent at
Administrative and Diplomatic Service, Diploma in Public
Administration (INTAN), Police training module,
the library competing with friends for ‘hot spot’ books!
Maktab PDRM, Kuala Kubu Baru, 1994
Imagine, that was when we literally had to get hold of
In this position, I play a strategic role in exploring limited hard copies of books and journals. Hanging out
international collaborations and exploring business
with friends at the Dataran during lunch and in between
partnerships in the defence and advanced technology
lectures to gossip on politics and university affairs was
sectors. I am also privileged to have been appointed as
another favourite.
a
Fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies
and as an Adjunct Professor at the National Defence
As an undergraduate, there would also be the community
University Malaysia. I currently reside with my family in
outreach projects we carried out through the extra-
Oxford. curricular clubs and societies at UM. These took us to
PULSE invites alumni members of FASS to share with us their share of history and the amazing things they have
done since graduating. Please send your articles directly to vilasomiah@um.edu.my
(Dr. Vilashini Somiah, Ed- in- Chief) or nadhwah@um.edu.my (Ms. Nadhwah Tul Iman Mizam, Asst. Ed-in-Chief).
We are also open to receiving donations and any feedback, suggestions and questions as well.

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