KUCHING: Former director-general of education Datuk Dr Nor Daim @ Matnor Daim has been awarded the National Education Leadership 2011 award in conjunction with the 40th Teacher’s Day celebration yesterday.
Hailed from Sibu, Matnor, 68, received a gold medal, a plaque, a certificate and RM10,000 from Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the Borneo Convention Centre here yesterday.
Matnor, who was appointed director-general of education in 1997, was noted for nurturing creativity and lateral thinking at the Education Department and spearheaded the Simulation Module in teaching and learning in 1974.
Speaking to reporters after receiving the award, he said teachers should serve with vigour and grit to create waves and meet the challenges of Vision 2020.
“Teachers must take pride of what they are doing for the society, country and future generation. On the other hand, their welfare must be looked after,” he added.
Four other educators were accorded the Tokoh Guru 2011 awards.
They are Universiti Industri Selangor dean of education faculty Datuk Prof Dr Abdul Rahim Selamat, Suhakam commissioner Datuk Siva Subramaniam (Perak), Hamedah Wok Awang (Pahang) and Datuk Rita Jaafar @ Rita Bagong (Sabah). They received a gold medal, a plaque, a certificate and RM10,000.
Dr Abdul Rahim said teachers should always update their knowledge for they were entrusted with producing human capital.
“Teachers should be life-long learners. They should not lag behind in the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge base is changing very fast,” he added.
For Siva and Rita, the awards inspired them to continue their contributions to educational development.
Meanwhile, Hamedah, who authored 12 books for the past 10 years, is paralysed following a road mishap in 1999. She could not make it to the occasion.
Despite being paralysed, Hamedah continues writing except for six months when she was in a coma after the accident. — Bernama