KUALA LUMPUR, 15 July 2025 — In a world of complexity and rapid change, where technology reshapes life and leadership demands both intellect and integrity, the 3rd AHIBS International Action Research Conference (AHIBS-ACT 2025) emerged as a timely and vital platform for transformation. Organised by the Azman Hashim International Business School (AHIBS), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), the conference bore the theme “Weaving Horizons for Sustainable Impact” and it delivered, both in word and in deed.
Officiated by the Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia, Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, the conference brought together delegates from across ASEAN and beyond, including scholars, civil servants, industry captains, NGOs, and grassroots community champions. More than just an academic gathering, AHIBS-ACT 2025 served as a clarion call for values-based leadership, innovation with empathy, and research that reaches beyond ivory towers to uplift lives.
In his keynote address, Tan Sri Shamsul offered a rare, personal reflection. As a senior government official and concurrently a Doctorate in Business Administration student at AHIBS, he described leadership as a lifelong journey of humility and service. “True transformation,” he declared, “begins not in systems, but in the hearts that choose to rise.” He reminded participants that progress without compassion is hollow, and reform without trust is brittle.
This ethos was deeply echoed in the welcoming address by UTM’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International), Prof. Ts. Dr. Intan Zaurah Mat Darus, who praised AHIBS for embedding action into research and aligning scholarship with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Topics ranged from fintech and digital health to women’s empowerment and community-led sustainability, all interconnected by the principle that impactful knowledge must be co-created with the very communities it seeks to serve.
Additionally, anchoring the event was the National Forum on Digital Health Leadership, featuring Dato’ Sri Suriani Ahmad, Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Health. It spotlighted Malaysia’s ambition to lead in digital health not only through technology, but by centering care and equity in healthcare delivery.
Beyond dialogue, the conference also showcased real-world projects led by AHIBS and UTM including capacity-building initiatives with B40 women entrepreneurs and sustainability collaborations with underserved communities. These are not side efforts; they are the core of what AHIBS defines as leadership in action.
AHIBS-ACT 2025 affirmed that business schools of the future must do more than produce graduates, in that they must cultivate changemakers. And in staying true to the MADANI values of inclusion, compassion, and responsibility, the conference reinforced UTM’s ASCEND2030 vision to be a globally eminent, locally grounded institution.
As Tan Sri Shamsul reminded, “Every policy has a face. Every reform touches a life.” The legacy of AHIBS-ACT 2025 lies not just in its proceedings, but in its people and those bold enough to ask hard questions, and brave enough to answer with heart.
