RSOG Leadership in Action
The Human Touch
with
YBhg. Professor Dato’ Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman
When: 13 July 2018
Where: Razak School of Government
Guest Speaker: YBhg. Professor Dato’ Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman
The framework of the Session
The word touch is unique in many ways – “losing touch”, “out of touch”, “stay in touch”, “the Midas touch”, and many more. Touch is often associated with the small but crucial link that can make or break a relationship. After all, it is the first out of five human senses to develop. Worldwide, millions are invested annually to train senior executives to have human touch at work. Apparently, executives with human touch are of high performance material and are in demand across sectors. What does human touch mean to a leader who has considerable experience and involvement with the marginalised groups? How was she able to develop such a skill and courage? Can it be learned? These are some of the potential focus areas that the Guest Speaker will discuss in this programme.
Key Takeaways from the Session
More than 30 years ago, Princess Diana shook the hand of a man with HIV/Aids without wearing gloves. That handshake did more than just acknowledge the patient, it publicly challenged the misconception that the virus can spread through touch. What may now be perceived as a simple gesture, it was one that became the catalyst in changing the public’s opinion of the illness. This incident was highlighted by Professor Dato’ Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman, who spoke at RSOG’s Leadership in Action entitled “Human Touch”, indicating that a single gesture can encompass many messages and that gesture indicated that compassion and understanding should trump fear and ignorance.
The Guest Speaker infused anecdotes to emphasise the need for human touch, especially so in an increasingly digitalised world. She began the session with a collection of paintings by Ahmad Zakii Anwar, the prominent Malaysian painter. Through his artistic touch, proceeds from artworks have been channelled to fund treatment, care and support programmes for women and children living with HIV. This serves as an example of a way that individuals can employ to advocate for a specific cause and in the artist, the marginalised groups found an ally.
Finding like-minded individuals and allies are crucial in influencing any decisions and policy change. The process of influencing begins with having a small group of individuals, who can be from a multitude of sectors or from different backgrounds but must all share a common purpose and meaning. In gaining allies, it requires one to step out of one’s comfort zone in challenging prevailing ideas and thoughts of others and self. The strength of this collective can then grow and expand further by utilising data as a tool to convince those with power to make decisions.
The Guest Speaker shared some personal stories that led to her decision to be part of the preventive care even though she was trained as a doctor to treat. The first instance was how the lives of two boys who succumbed to HIV due to experimentations and drug use hit home as a mother of two young children. Questions of what ifs and seeing it from the patients’ perspective was what led the Guest Speaker to believe that she could help prevent more people from capitulating to HIV. ,
The second instance was the seclusion and loneliness that the disease brings and how a simple gesture does make a difference. A patient that was receiving treatment in Melbourne was shunned by her family members due to the lifestyle chosen and subsequent illness. The only two individuals who was present in the patient’s life was the Guest Speaker as a treating doctor and a local Imam, who never failed to bring food at 4pm daily. There’s a saying that goes, “food is the way to the heart”. This gesture somewhat soothed the solitary soul and gestures such as this can change ones’ perception. When a humane element of compassion and understanding is infused, changes can take place, incremental or monumental.
Based on experience, perseverance and persistence are crucial in change management. Sharing an example of introducing a new curriculum in her university five years ago, with only six months timeframe to convince internal and external stakeholders. In facing resistance, especially internal resistance – two pieces of advice was shared: keep the communication channels open and accept criticisms when presented. Such transformative projects can only take place if people involved believe in the cause and they want to do it; thus, only constant and consistent communication will enable information to be relayed accordingly.
In conclusion, as shared in a recent finding on leadership competencies, critical competencies are rooted in the basics of the need for human touch and interpersonal skills. In the era of digital revolution, having the technological nous is certainly beneficial but it should not be at the expense of muted human touch. The world may unleash unprecedented technological advancements and more artificial intelligence but, in the end, the emotional intelligence may still prevail.
Key issues raised
- Assessing like-mindedness can be done through a series of dialogues conducted, through ones’ experience and at times, through intuition.
- Drug use in Malaysia are often due to the lack of ‘human touch’ at home – neglect and abusive environment tends to be the risk factors for the youth in experimenting.
- In facing difficult people, it is often by providing a sense of hope that turns one around. Being empathetic can also help in dealing with difficult people.
- In addition to psychological wellbeing and counselling, what would help marginalised groups is to offer basic support and opportunities for economic provision. This will help them to reconnect with society and prevent one from being institutionalised.
- The right of the patient to share their illness must hold paramount. Confidentiality must be kept by the human resources or company. Only if the patient themselves are willing to share more information, it should come from the patient themselves.
About the Speaker
Professor Dato’ Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman is Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the University of Malaya. Dr. Adeeba has dedicated her career to the prevention, treatment and research of infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS. She is a strong advocate for HIV prevention, treatment and care programmes in marginalised communities. In 2007, Dr. Adeeba established the Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA) at the University of Malaya, one of the few dedicated HIV research centres in the region. She has been a Yale-affiliated faculty member since 2012.