Tech industry veteran Datuk Yasmin Mahmood shares her vision with Izwan Ismail and Siti Syameen Md Khalili
ON her first day as chief executive officer of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), Datuk Yasmin Mahmood held a meeting with her staff.
“I told them that I was here because I wanted to make a difference.
And I want to help them channel their passion and hard work towards the betterment of the nation.” Yasmin speaks with the passion of a boardroom veteran.
Her illustrious career spans over 30 years.
The new head of MDeC, which oversees development of the Multimedia Super Corridor and Digital Malaysia, also speaks with an air of very passionate about it.” Seated in the comfortable leather sofa in her office in MDeC, Yasmin talks about her background, her vision for the nation’s ICT landscape, and women in particular.
FORMATIVE YEARS
Yasmin’s earlier life experiences laid the foundation for later development, in particular her penchant for excellence and her leadership skills.
When she was 9, her family moved from Pasir Mas in Kelantan to Kuala Lumpur because her father, Mahmood Yaacob, was offered a place in university to further his education.
Both her cally living on one parent’s salary, my for excellence if I wanted a good career and the best things in life.” In school, Yasmin was also active in sports, which she says helped her stay driven in her field after so many years.
“Netball was my first love.
I was also a sprinter and played basketball.
These days, I go to the gym to jog, cross train or do yoga.
I also swim and play golf.
If I can run 4km today, “I’d tell myself to go for 5km the next day, preferably within the same time.
Just as how I push myself in sport, I also apply the same never-say-die attitude to my work.”
CAREER PATHS
Yasmin graduated with a degree in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics from the University of New South Wales in Australia.
“I have always been interested in Science subjects, particularly physics.
I wasn’t the smartest kid in class, but I was always curious.
Science became second nature to me.
But my seniors advised that computer studies would be the next big thing.
The rest is history.” When Yasmin returned home in the mid 1980s, Malaysia was in recession.
Jobs were hard to come by.
Her first job was at an auto company.
She also did a stint at a property firm where she developed a talent in marketing.
From that point on, there was no turning back for Yasmin.
She successfully scaled the corporate ladder in the relatively young but fast-moving tech scene.
Her marketing skills were much sought after by tech multinational corporations.
Yasmin served as Hewlett-Packard Sales Malaysia’s country marketing manager and later, general manager of Commercial Channels Organisation.
She also worked at Dataprep Retail and Dell Malaysia, both as general manager.
In 2006, Yasmin was headhunted for the managing director’s position at Microsoft Malaysia.
Her leadership abilities later caught the attention of YTL Communications which offered her the position of executive director.
MDEC CALLING
The offer to head MDeC could not have come at a better time.
Grandchildren, cats and retirement were on her mind as she sent off her 18-year-old son to university and concluded her journey at YTL Communications.
“My grandchild is a year old.
My husband and I visit our daughter’s family in the US a number of times every year.
I was ready to retire after my son went to the US to further his studies.
I remember looking at pictures of cats, and friends promising to give me one, but it did not work out.” After much encouragement from her family and peers, Yasmin decided to accept the job.
But she admits taking her time before saying yes.
“It was overwhelming at first as the job entails a huge responsibility, but now I am excited.
There is a lot to be done, considering we are only six years away from Vision 2020 and what we hope to achieve through this initiative is already within our line of sight.
“And I am taking over this position from former CEO Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, who had done such a tremendous job in making MDeC what it is today.” Now into her second month as CEO of MDeC, Yasmin says she is still learning.
She works long hours and even on weekends.
“It feels a little alien to be here yet there are so many things about MDeC and Cyberjaya that are so familiar.
Both Badlisham and I were here at the groundbreaking ceremony of Cyberjaya in 1997 which has changed so much since then.
My goals are also different now that I am in the public sector.
In the private sector, if you failed to reach your target, you were just failing your KPI and the company.
Now if I don’t deliver, it would feel like I’m failing my country.”
VISION AND MISSION
Yasmin is banking on loca l ta lents w it hin MDeC to help her realise her mission.
One of her many goals is to realise Digital Malaysia through various initiatives.
Among the programmes that the team in MDeC has outlined are crowdsourcing activities where tasks can be put up online for people to execute and generate income during their spare hours.
“We have crowdsourcing for information, which is Wikipedia.
We have crowdsourcing for funds,.
..that is Kickstarter.
Now we have crowdsourcing for microtasks or jobs, and that platform is called eRezeki.
With eRezeki, Yasmin hopes to create substantial impact in the lives of Malaysians.
While the programme is meant to raise the livelihood of people whose earnings fall into the bottom 40 per cent of the income pyramid (B40), she also hopes that it will be a option for more Malaysians, especially women, to become more productive.
“Women empowerment is a subject close to my heart.
Currently, there are so many real issues of women in the workforce.
For example, women find it difficult to go back to work after maternity as they are not able to integrate work back into their lives.
Yet, they can still be productive if they are given support and flexibility, for example, by working from home and being able to perform their job through Internet connectivity.
“We are working with Talent Corp Malaysia through a programme called Women Career Come Back to create environments where women can flourish.
I believe the effort is well worth it as it has been proven that diversity in the workforce does bring in favourable results for businesses.” Another issue that Yasmin hopes to address is to encourage youth to adopt science, technology, engineer-ing and mathematics (Stem) into their lives.
“Today, many of the children are just becoming users of technology, not producers.
We need to nurture producers of technology to move forward in the knowledge-based economy.
“Many kids are not interested in Maths and Science these days.
Soon, we will face a shortage of Stem talents in the country which would be a setback to achieving Vision 2020.
So we need to address the fear of Stem among kids, especially girls.
We need new approaches that can tell them science is interesting and full of wonders.
The skills that they will learn through Stem is not just important for getting good grades, but also for use in the real world.” Many students are still unclear of the career options that Stem offers, and some have limited view of what they can be if they take up Stem.
“If you ask me what is my forte, I would say marketing.
Yet, I took up Computer Science and Applied Maths for studies — I did Stem.
Career options with Stem are vast.
I hope to interact with more Malaysians, especially our youth, in bringing this message across.
I want to tell them that if this anak kampung (village girl) could do it, so can they.” Yasmin’s enthusiasm in Stem and youth has a lot to do with her own upbringing.
“My parents’ mantra was education is the best legacy they can leave behind.
We didn’t have a lot growing up so they could only give us education.
I didn’t become a teacher but I do participate in Teach 4 Malaysia where once a year I get to address our youth.
“When you meet kids, it doesn’t matter if they are city kids or rural kids — the sparkle in their eyes is the same.
I usually share about my own struggles when I was a kid and tell them to find out what drives them to overcome obstacles and do better.”
MDEC MANDATES
Yasmin reiterates the two mandates that outlines all of MDeC activities.
“The first is to develop special economic zones.
Since 1996, MDeC has attracted numerous investors and generated RM238 billion in revenue, creating high income jobs which entail double the national average salary.
Now we just have to take this to the next level and get the whole country, not just the 35 cyber centres and cyber cities to make knowledge economy a primary driver,” she says.
The second mandate is Digital Malaysia.
This initiative focuses on improving productivity and the standard of living of Malaysians, especially youth, digital entrepreneurs, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the bottom 40 per cent of the population with the lowest income (B40) through technology and connectivity.
“We want to bring the impact of digital economy to the whole country, and one of the pillars of Digital Malaysia is youth.
In schools we use technology as tools but now we want kids to learn how to code so that we can become the producers of technology instead of just consumers or users.
For example, we are fantastic users of YouTube and Facebook, but how many among us know how to monetise through these channels?”
Five things about Yasmin
1. Loves football “Before you peg me as a Manchester United fan, let me say that I am a long-time Chelsea FC fan.”
2.Comes from Pasir Mas, Kelantan, which is noted for its beautiful women. “I am a Mek Kelate, and proud of it.”
3. Her family are her cheerleaders while her husband is her rock. “My family has been so supportive throughout my career, and my mother is always the first person I refer to.
When I told her I was offered to lead MDeC, she said ‘just take it!’
4. Received a scholarship from the Education Ministry but did not end up teaching. “I paid back RM70,000 for breaking the contract. Moral of the story: If you have a debt, don’t wait. Settle it.”
5.Favourite food Mother’s homecooked dishes.