ON Thursday (Feb 29) morning, I was preparing to leave for a meeting. On the way to the meeting venue, I was taken aback when I saw a WhatsApp message from our former Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC) group sharing the sad news regarding Surina Shukri’s passing.
I could not believe the news at first because Surina was still young (she was 48 when she passed away) and during the several occasions that I had the pleasure of meeting her, she looked strong and healthy, even though many of us were aware that she was suffering from breast cancer.
I could not control my tears, which were rolling onto my cheeks as I started to remember the times Surina had shared with us at various events regarding her journey. As the driver was passing through several lanes to reach my meeting venue, I had to try my best to gently wipe away my tears without him noticing.
Surina was well known for her passion and commitment to supporting women, and she has thus been invited to many events to share her experience, challenges and opportunities as a woman navigating through the male-dominated tech space and technology-based careers.
During one such event, Surina shared how she had decided to venture overseas to work, looking forward to new opportunities. She informed me that initially her family was quite worried, but she was really keen to venture into the exciting future ahead.
After getting her family’s support, Surina shared that she picked up her pet cat and off they went to new frontiers for new adventures.
Following her hard work and determination, Surina carved out a successful career overseas by becoming a successful entrepreneur.
On another occasion, Surina shared with us that while she was overseas and Malaysia had a political tsunami with a new party in government, she received a call from a top leader inviting her back to Malaysia to helm MDeC.
Without hesitation Surina placed the national interest as a top priority and packed her bags to return home, answering the government’s call to helm and steer our nation’s ICT (information communications technology) and multimedia policy and business.
Devotion par excellence
When we heard this, we were all in awe of this young dynamic and enterprising young woman who was willing to sacrifice her own personal interests to return home to help our nation and the new government.
MDeC had organised the MyDroneX Workshop in Cyberjaya (June 2019) and Surina shared during this workshop that MDeC is part of the Committee for Drones under the World Economic Forum (WEF).
After this workshop, I e-mailed Surina several recommendations for MDeC and was honoured to receive a very warm response from Surina as below:
“Many thanks for reaching out, Sheriffah. Thank you for sharing this thought piece. They say great minds think alike. You’ll be happy to know that we’ve already put some thought into some of the themes you’ve highlighted.
It would be great to discuss further. Let me know what your schedule is like in the next few weeks for a meeting.”
That was on Dec 31, 2019. As we were both busy, we did not manage to follow up on this communication. A few months later, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, resulting in global chaos with the cancellation of many programmes and plans.
When I was preparing to write to Surina to catch up and get a date for a meeting to discuss my recommendations, I got to know that she was no longer with MDEC and had ventured to some new organisations.
Thereafter, I was happy to observe from media reports that Surina was greatly appreciated and offered a number of important posts. Many of us felt that she deserved the best for all the sacrifices she was willing to make to return from overseas to help our nation.
All the happy memories we had speaking to and hearing from Surina came flooding back to me upon hearing news of her demise on Thursday (Feb 29).
This was accompanied by lots of tears flooding my cheeks upon hearing news of an abled professional’s passing at such a young age, only to leave behind her beloved family—husband, three children, parents, parent-in-laws, brothers and sisters, as well as pet cats.
Farewell, Surina and thank you for all your great contributions to Malaysia! Al-Fatihah. May the All Mighty accord strength to Surina’s family and her pet cats during this period of sadness. – March 2, 2024
Post-Script: In view of Surina Shukri’s contribution to Malaysia, MDEC and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in addition to her passion and commitment to help and support women, I would like to recommend that the Malaysian government – with the support and agreement of Surina’s family – develop a programme outlining Surina’s journey in different formats (ie video, TV programmes and news articles).
Towards this end, I would also like to seek the support of MDEC, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Prime Minister’s Department for this recommendation to be approved as a tribute to Surina Shukri and as a key platform to showcase STEM role models for Malaysia.
Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Syed Ahmad Idid is an innovation & nuclear advocate.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
