Kajang, July 14, 2025 – The third day of the KLUST Expert Talk Series on 11th July 2025 offered profound insights into navigating the future through the dual lenses of cutting-edge technology and enduring management principles. Our distinguished speakers explored the transformative potential of Generative AI and the lasting relevance of foundational management philosophy.
Speaker 1: Dato’ Dr. Bahari Belaton – “Standing on the Shoulder of GEN-Ai”
Dato’ Dr. Bahari Belaton presented a compelling vision for leveraging Generative AI (GEN-Ai) as a catalyst for unprecedented human progress. His talk framed GEN-Ai not as a replacement for human intellect, but as a powerful platform upon which we can “stand” to achieve greater heights, augmenting our intelligence, creativity, and problem-solving capabilities. He emphasized the critical need for proactive and strategic adoption of GEN-Ai across research, education, industry, and creative fields, while addressing challenges including workforce transformation, ethical considerations like bias and authenticity, and the imperative for continuous learning. Dato’ Dr. Bahari underscored the necessity of developing future-proof skills—critical thinking, complex problem-solving, and uniquely human abilities—to thrive in an AI-augmented world, urging responsible harnessing of GEN-Ai as a tool for exponential advancement.
Speaker 2: Professor Dr. Zhao Shuming – “Learning Management Wisdom from Peter Drucker, the Master of Management”
Professor Dr. Zhao Shuming illuminated the enduring relevance of Peter Drucker’s principles for 21st-century leadership. He reaffirmed Drucker’s human-centric tenet: management is fundamentally about people, purpose, and creating societal value, where organizations exist to serve customers and develop employees. Prof. Zhao stressed Drucker’s distinction between efficiency and effectiveness, noting that doing the right things must precede doing things right, requiring goals anchored in mission and genuine customer needs. He highlighted Drucker’s advocacy for decentralizing authority to empower knowledge workers, fostering entrepreneurship, and systematically managing innovation. Prof. Zhao further emphasized management as a liberal art, integrating history, ethics, and humanities to navigate complex contexts, demonstrating how Drucker’s insights on organizational purpose and change management remain indispensable ethical compasses in today’s volatile digital landscape. The 11th July sessions revealed a critical duality for progress. Dato’ Dr. Bahari’s call to embrace Generative AI as an exponential growth platform was powerfully balanced by Prof. Zhao’s grounding in Drucker’s timeless human-centric principles. Together, they underscored that sustainable advancement requires strategically deploying transformative tools while steadfastly anchoring decisions in wisdom about people, purpose, and ethical value creation.
