RECIPIENT / PROFILE

Dato' Seri Tengku Dr Zainal Adlin Bin Tengku Mahamood

 

Dato’ Seri Tengku Dr Zainal Adlin Bin Tengku Mahamood was born on 18^th June, 1940 in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. In the late 50s and early 60s, Tengku Adlin was a pilot performing short flying stints. He held senior posts at district and State levels in the Kelantan Civil Service and the Malaysian Home and Diplomatic Service from 1962 to 1967. He then went to Europe to complete a public administration programme from the University of Birmingham in the UK and the Institute of Local Government Studies, Sigtuna, Sweden in the year 1967. Later in 1981, he received a Top Management Programme Certificate from the Asian Institute of Management. In 1995, he was awarded a PhD (Hon.) from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
 
Tengku Adlin was the first CEO of the Sabah State Housing Commission and introduced public low-cost housing with land banks in major districts throughout Sabah. He was also the first Deputy Director of the Sabah Foundation (1974-1996) and Corporate Adviser (1997), responsible for institutional and capacity building besides contribution in formulating the philosophy, vision, mission, corporate plan, development programs. Projects include the Sabah Foundation Tower (Menara Tun Mustapha), Sports Complex Likas, Coastal Road Likas Bay Recreational Leisure Belt (1975), the Flying Doctor Service, Hostels for Rural Students, ITM and UKM Branch Campuses (1974), Temporary Campus UMS /YSCC (1995) and Sabah Nature Clubs.
   
Work
Dato Seri’ Tengku Adlin is the author of numerous books and publications on conservation, nature and adventure. He has led, pioneered or participated in many expeditions to unexplored natural history sites in remote interiors of Sabah since 1968. A species of Rafflesia discovered on Mount Trusmadi is named after him Rafflesia tengku-adlinii (1988). As a trustee of Sabah Parks he was actively involved in exploring and creating new trails on Mount Kinabalu, diving surveys and marine conservation initiatives in Sipadan, Tun Sakaran Marine Park Semporna and the  Tun Mustapha Marine Park Kudat. Badminton, mountain climbing,  jungle trekking, scuba diving, skydiving, paragliding and aerobatics are his passion.
  He initiated the conservation of Danum Valley and Maliau Basin 'Sabah's Lost World by the Sabah Foundation. Tengku Adlin established the Danum Valley Field Research Centre in 1984 and the Borneo Rain Forest Lodge in 1994. He played a leading role as Chairman of WWF Malaysia in the establishment of the Kota Kinabalu City Bird Sanctuary in 2000 and the formation of the Sabah Wetlands Conservation Society in 2007, Malaysia's first Gift to the Earth Kinabatangan floodplain in 1999 and the Corridor of Life of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary in 2006 by the Sabah Government. The Heart of Borneo Three Countries One Conservation Vision initiative that was mooted in 2001 of, which he was involved right from conceptual stage, and realised in 2007 by the Declaration of The Heart of Borneo by Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia in Bali under the auspices of ASEAN and the Conference of Parties Convention of Bio-diversity of the United Nations.
  He was given an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy by the University Kebangsaan Malaysia (1995), the Langkawi Award, and Malaysia’s highest recognition for conservation (1999) by the King of Malaysia and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Gold Medal (1999) at Buckingham Palace and in the  Rolex Hall of Fame . He was conferred Datukships by the Sabah Head of State in 1975 and in 1985 by the Sultan of Kelantan followed by Seri Paduka Mahkota Perak by the Sultan of Perak in 2006.
 
Personal Philosophy: Make it happen,  just do it.

Message to Young Malaysians: It is your attitude, not your aptitude that sets your altitude.