Malaysian Harvard Graduate Returns Home To Serve Nation

By S. Kisho Kumari KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 (Bernama) -- Many of those who graduate from Ivy League universities abroad may usually consider working overseas as the remuneration package may be more attractive. But for Soh Soon Huang, a Masters degree holder in Business Administration from Harvard University, he has proven that home is certainly where the heart is, no matter how far they have succeeded academically. The 28-year-old, who has become a technopreneur of sorts, said that he decided to come back home last year with a goal and burning ambition: to test whether the online-business would be a moving force in Malaysia. He then decided to help establish Rocket Internet Malaysia Sdn Bhd as part of Rocket Internet GmbH, a German online startup incubator founded in Berlin in 2007. "The idea came across when I thought that we should have it here too," he told Bernama in an interview here on Friday. There on, Soh, who also holds a law degree from the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, started to co-found a few other e-commerce businesses such as zalora.com.my, lazada.com.my, home24, and foodpanda.my. All these, he said, stemmed from his courage in wanting to serve the country as job opportunities expanded besides building on the economic strengths of the Internet. Asked on the factors that motivated him to enrol in two top universities, Soh, who is the son of the former Director-General of the Fire and Rescue Department, Dr Soh Chai Hock, said,"There was this overall desire to learn from the best. A good solid grounding is absolutely essential. You need the best training that could help contribute back to the nation in any field if you have enough confidence." Commenting on a statement by Harvard University alumnus Dr Goh Cheng Teik that the deteriorating quality of Malaysian applicants and their uncompetitiveness had seen no Malaysian student gaining admission into Harvard for two consecutive years since 2010, Soh said Malaysian students must not give up trying although the enrolment procedures and tests were rather difficult. "There is no harm in giving a try. Malaysians have a lot to showcase and offer in terms of their unique perspectives and diversity of talent through Harvard's standardised tests and interviews," he explained. The last Malaysian student who got accepted into Harvard was Avinaash Subramaniam from SMK Damansara Jaya with a full scholarship in 2010. -- BERNAMA