SINGAPORE – Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman has received an award from his alma mater, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, for his accomplishments in education and foreign affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on April 19.
Dr Maliki, who is also Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Education, received the 2023 Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement at the university on April 18.
The award recognises the university’s international alumni whose work have “made a significant societal and global impact”, the ministry said.
Dr Maliki had obtained his doctorate in social work from the university in 1998 before becoming an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore’s department of social work and psychology that same year.
In conferring the award, the university’s chancellor, Professor Robert J. Jones, wrote that Dr Maliki’s “contribution to the nation of Singapore and its citizens embodies every ideal of the Sheth award”.
While at the university, Dr Maliki delivered a lecture on April 18 about lessons of leadership from the perspective of a small state.
In his lecture, he spoke about Singapore’s history and how its founding fathers led the nation after its independence.
He touched on Singapore’s nation-building policies, such as the Ethnic Integration Policy – which ensures a balance of ethnic groups within each public housing block and estate – and its focus on education and developing its human capital.
He spoke about how Singapore survived by building a credible defence force and an open economy, and how it built partnerships with countries in South-east Asia and the US, among other things.
Dr Maliki also shared that his daughter Lidia was born in Illinois, which made his connection to the state “extra special”.
In a Facebook post on April 19, Dr Maliki said he was “honoured beyond words” and thanked the university for the award.
He said his journey would not have been possible without the support of his wife and children. “Their love and encouragement have been my rock, and I am endlessly grateful for them,” he added.
