MR. ABU BAKAR SIDEK is currently the Head, General Affairs of International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA). Prior to joining ISRA he served in IIUM for well over 11 years, where his last post was as the General Manager, IIUM Endowment Fund, International Islamic University Malaysia. Prior to that, amongst others, he was the Founding Director of Students Development Division, Deputy Director, Students Affairs and Discipline Division, Founding Principal of Ali Residential College. During his tenure in IIUM he sits in several committees that included as a member of IIUM Senate, member of Board of Students Affairs, Chairman, Student Election Commission, Executive Board Member of IIUM Endowment Fund, Board Member of IIUM Cooperative Society, Chairman - Student Activities Approving Committee, Chairman - Staff Disciplinary Committee, Honorary Superintendent of Police and President - Professional and Management Staff Association. He is also a Personal Development and Management Trainer. Mr. Abu Bakar holds a B. Economics (University of Malaya), Postgraduate Diploma in Education and Training, Loughborough University of Technology, UK, and MSc. in Development Studies, Surrey University, UK.
Upon leaving IIUM, Prof. Ismawi Hj Zen, a former Deputy Rector of IIUM posted the following article in his blog:-
THANKS A MILLION, BR. ABU BAKAR SIDEK
May 23rd, 2008 by ismawi
Amongst the first personalities I noted out of so many so-called ’support staff’ when I arrive at IIUM was you; I was bewildered by the unfamiliar environment to say the least. Not because you had a way of ‘bringing yourself’ (the crude word is ‘projecting yourself’) because you didn’t really do that. It’s you and people are bound to notice you: the way you speak, the bowing of the head when meeting people and the smile - oh yes, the smile - it was special because your lips seemed to curl on the right end of the mouth. You guffawed rather than laugh that made it special too. ..the way you talked: the frankness tinged with sincerity and honesty; the strong sense of commitment that masked it; the overpowering sense of urgency in it. Though this sometimes gave an impression of stiff upper lip, you convinced me that you were always serious about what you were saying. I wish I could be like you there.
You were always well-dressed with matching shirt and pants and shoes which were always sprite and polished. Oh, I remember the ties, there were always eye-catching; sometime gaudy though! You worked extremely hard. That’s what endeared you to people like me. The students loved you and I am sure they will miss you very much; in fact they had already missed you when you were in the Endowment Office. You did an excellent job in student development and many of them will remember you as the person that did a lot to awaken the latent potentials in them because you were an excellent motivator....
In the Endowment Office you showed your true worth. You did extremely well. RM8.9 millions is no small sum for a one year collection and furthermore two of the donations were sustainable donations, meaning that the benefits were going to accrue every month. How did you get the poor Sarawakian alumni to donate? Might be when the others see even the poor guys making such sacrifices for their alma mater they would feel guilty and follow suit. Certainly your head in planning and executing the plan was much, much better than someone’s ... With your team, you managed to collect in one year more than what someone had done in more than a decade he was there; the students are going to be ever grateful to you... so I am saying: Thanks a million Br. Abu Bakar Sidek. It’s going to be very difficult to find a replacement for you and your going is a real lose to the university I have grown to love. As the saying says: it’s only when you lose a person that you know his real value. I wish you all the best in your future undertaking. |
