Group CEO Conferred Honorary Doctorate by Alma Mater

Dato’ Clement Hii addressing the congregation after being conferred the honorary doctorate in laws.

KUCHING – More than a year ago, Dato’ Clement Hii was pleasantly surprised when a few visitors from his alma mater, the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, called on him at his office in Kuala Lumpur, to tell him that they had followed his business forays in the corporate world.

This was followed by another surprise when the university later wrote to inform him that its Board of Governors had decided to confer him an Honorary Doctorate of Laws (Honorary LL.D) for his contributions towards private higher education in Malaysia.

For Hii, the award was most meaningful as according to him, the university was “largely responsible” for opening vast opportunities for him.

Hii was already a working adult when he enrolled for a law degree programme at a small institute at Jalan Batu Lintang, Kuching, Sarawak. After obtaining his LLB three years later, he took over the institute which later became part of the SEGi Group of Colleges.
The SEGi Education Group is now one of the largest education providers in Malaysia, with 16,000 students at campuses across Malaysia. Besides bring its Chief Executive Officer, Hii also heads another public listed company, EcoFirst Consolidated Bhd, as its Group Managing Director.

Hii is now a strong advocate of lifelong learning. “If you think you are not making any headway in your career and your life, it makes sense to upgrade yourself academically. An academic qualification will open doors,” he said.

The university in its citation, described Hii as a leading educationist in Malaysia, and said Hii’s achievement are widely acknowledged as “inspirational”.

Hii appears to be in good company. The university’s past honorary doctorate recipients included Britain’s new Prime Minister, Mr Gordon Brown, former President of India and renowned rocket scientist, Dr. APJ Abdul Karim, former Governor of Bank of England, Mr Meryn King and former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Woolf.

At the presentation ceremony recently, Hii pointed out the award was not a recognition of his work alone, but also that of other Malaysian educators who had made contributions and sacrifices in their chosen field.

Hii was also conferred an honorary doctorate in business administration from UK’s University of Sunderland in 2006.