University of Sunderland Honours SEGi Group CEO

HONOURED: Datuk Clement Hii with UOS chancellor Lord David Puttnam after the awards ceremony.

12th December 2006 Kuala Lumpur – The Group Chief Executive Officer of SEG International Berhad (SEGi) has received a special award from the University of Sunderland (UOS) of United Kingdom. Datuk Clement Hii was recently conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration at an academic awards ceremony in Sunderland. The award was presented by the University's Chancellor, Lord David Puttnam. The university described Hii as having provided inspirational leadership in the field of education. “The nomination had been made in recognition of his pioneering work in developing transnational educational opportunities in Malaysia”, UOS said in its citation.

It added:” We believe this award will also provide great inspiration to our many students who are graduating this year both in Sunderland and in Malaysia.”

In his acceptance speech, Hii said he was honoured to be joining the rank of distinguished personalities who have been conferred honorary awards by the university over the years, which includes well-known politicians, authors, sportsmen and entrepreneurs.

Malaysia has very strong educational links with the UK, with over 11,000 Malaysia students currently studying on-campus in UK universities. “What is more important is that 45,000 students are studying for British academic courses and professional qualifications at private colleges in Malaysia. The offshore delivery of UK academic courses means they have become accessible to many Malaysians who otherwise would not be able to come to UK due to financial constraints or family commitments,” Hii pointed out.