Arshad Ayub (1928-2022) *93

was a Malaysian academician and educator. He served as the Pro-Chancellor of the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) from 2000 to his death in 2022. He was widely known as the national education icon. Arshad was born in Muar, Johor, on 15 November 1928, in a family of moderate rubber tappers. He was the eldest son, and he was brought up in an atmosphere of hardship and poverty. After the death of his parents, he was assigned the responsibility of raising his four siblings.

Arshad received his primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Parit Keroma, Muar, Johor. He received his secondary education at the Muar High School, Johor. Subsequently, he attended the University of Malaya, Singapore (present day National University of Singapore) from 1949 to 1951. He received Diploma in Agriculture from the College of Agriculture, Serdang, Selangor (present day University of Putra Malaysia) in 1954. The previous year, he had been awarded a Colonial and Development scholarship to study at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK (present day Aberystwyth University). He graduated there with an honours degree in Economics and Statistics in 1958. In 1964, he obtained a diploma in Business Administration from the Management Development Institute, Lausanne (present day International Institute for Management Development).