Speech of Thanks by Academician Dato Ir. (Dr) Lee Yee Cheong
YB Dato Seri Ahmad Mazlan, Deputy Minister of Works Malaysia
Professor Dr Juan Joon Ching, BIM President
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I would like to thank Balai lkhtisas Malaysia most sincerely for bestowing on me the prestigious BIM Lifetime Achievement Award.
Tonight is full of nostalgia for me. I remember in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s my association with BIM in looking after many Commonwealth Fellows during their attachments in Malaysia under the leadership of BIM President Tan Sri John Daniel of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia; then during my term as the President and then Honorary President of Commonwealth Engineers Council (CEC) 1994-2010, I had the great honour to host Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during the 50th Anniversary Dinner Gala in the Institution of Civil Engineers London. I developed a close relationship with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation, culminating to my being invited to read the Lesson in the Commonwealth Day Interfaith Service in Westminster Abbey in the presence of the UK Royal Family on Commonwealth Day 2010 and being the Keynote Speaker at the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Commonwealth Fellowship and the Commonwealth Scholarship in Windsor Park, England.
Looking back on my life of professional service, I consider my greatest achievement had been to establish the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, (ASM) being its Founding Secretary General; the ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology (AAET) being its Founding President and with the Secretariat in UTAR; and the Academy of Engineering and Technology of the Developing World (AETDEW), being its Founding President and again with the Secretariat in Kuala Lumpur.
At the ripe young age of 88, I am still very active in AETDEW, being involved in professional development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. In the context of BIM, I would like to single out the AETDEW Artificial Intelligence Training Programs for Belt and Road countries with expert trainers from China. With our partners, AETDEW conducted in Malaysia in 2024 and 2025, (i) Al training workshop for school teachers, (ii) Al in sustainable energy for big data centres and (iii) Al in sustainable construction, operation and maintenance of railway. Going forward, we will be holding Al and big data training workshop for all professionals; and planning to hold training workshops for (i) Al in highrise building services; (ii) AI in rural development; (iii) AI in urban planning and transportation; and (iv) AI in operation and maintenance of modern railway system like the East Coast Rail Link. We are also thinking of AI in banking and financial service training program. All the above training programs will be tried out in Malaysia before being offered by China and Malaysia to the rest of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
I would like to engage BIM in all the above Al training programs as Al transcends all professions and Al will be the major engine of employment and wealth creation in the Global South, led by China and hopefully Malaysia.
Thank you very much.
