6th Leadership Talk with the CEO of Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (Land Public Transport Commission)

En Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah was 41 years old when he was appointed the CEO of Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat.

He started off with a simple statement: “We are in the right industry”. As oil and gas was the industry to be in the 80s and 90s, the public transport industry is its equivalent in Malaysia at the moment. He went on to tell us that he has known since he was 8 years old that he wanted to do something meaningful with his life, and SPAD has made him a better man for being able to do just that.

He had a deck prepared for him to share, with all the numbers and stats of Malaysia’s LPT scene, but he decided to just walk us through his professional life.

Here’s a list of Encik Azhar’s top ten quotes during his hour with Women in Rail Malaysia:
  1. I’m here not because I was “terra” (sic) but because I had good bosses that guided me well. We’re given opportunities because people believe in us.
  2. Ask ourselves: What do I want to do and achieve at the end of the day? Doing something with a higher purpose is never easy. But even if you think it’s difficult, take the challenge and goddammit, just do it.
  3. Be a little bit “kiasu”.
  4. Overachieve. Overachieve. Overachieve.
  5. Not everyone had the same opportunities that we had. Help others to become better.
  6. If there’s one thing bad bosses teach us is how to NOT behave. Observe how great leaders act.
  7. In life, there are things that are black, things that are white and things that are gray. Have good judgment and try to stay in the white. Be ready to say no if the shade of gray transitions into black and moves further away from white.
  8. Read. Learn. Be able to continuously learn.
  9. Speak up. Step up.
  10. Pressure is pleasure.