Name: Syed Mazhar Ali (Late)
Period: 1935 - 2004
Biographical detail:
Former Pakistani Senator Mazhar Ali packed many careers and
interests into a single life-time: civil engineer, entrepreneur, politician,
educationalist and above all philanthropist. He died on 2nd May 2004 as a
result of injuries sustained in a car accident near his home in Karachi.
Syed Mazhar Ali was born in Delhi in 1935. His grandfather, Moulvi Saeed Ahmed belonged to a distinguished line of Islamic scholars that include Shah Waliullah (1703-1761) amongst their forebears. His grandmother Maseethi Begum was a grand matriarch of a bygone age, who presided over an impressive household in Old Delhi. His father, Major Syed Asghar Ali, served in the education department of the British Army who migrated to Pakistan. His paternal uncle, Syed Safdar Ali, belonged to the early corps of Pakistan's fledgling counter-espionage service. Syed Mazhar Ali's early years were spent in army camps, including Malir, where he distinguished himself in hockey, subsequently representing his province and university in the sport. He obtained a First Class in Civil Engineering from the University of Karachi (1958). He was awarded a Scholarship to Lehigh University, USA, where he completed an MSc in Civil and Structural engineering (1959-61).
Syed Mazhar Ali was born in Delhi in 1935. His grandfather, Moulvi Saeed Ahmed belonged to a distinguished line of Islamic scholars that include Shah Waliullah (1703-1761) amongst their forebears. His grandmother Maseethi Begum was a grand matriarch of a bygone age, who presided over an impressive household in Old Delhi. His father, Major Syed Asghar Ali, served in the education department of the British Army who migrated to Pakistan. His paternal uncle, Syed Safdar Ali, belonged to the early corps of Pakistan's fledgling counter-espionage service. Syed Mazhar Ali's early years were spent in army camps, including Malir, where he distinguished himself in hockey, subsequently representing his province and university in the sport. He obtained a First Class in Civil Engineering from the University of Karachi (1958). He was awarded a Scholarship to Lehigh University, USA, where he completed an MSc in Civil and Structural engineering (1959-61).
Syed Mazhar was the Chairman of Computer Training & Testing Centre
Karachi since 1997. He was the founder of the "Pakistan Zindabad Tehreek" and the former Chairman of Association
of Builders and Developers (ABAD). He
remained associated with the formation of the Sindh Building Control Ordinance,
1979. Construction of 3000 low cost housing units in Surjani Town also goes to
his professional credit.
After a few years of employment in architectural practices, he established
his own civil engineering company, Maymar.
Amongst its projects was the construction of the InterContinental Hotel in
Dacca. His astute business sense also led to the acquisition of real estate in
the outskirts of Karachi that subsequently became a show-piece town planning
venture, 'Gulshan-e-Maymar'. Maymar won awards for the construction of
low-cost housing in different parts of Karachi. His professional competence was
recognized in his appointment as Chair of the Association of Builders and Developers,
and Vice-Chair of the National Housing Authority, Government of Pakistan.
Mazhar Ali found his political sympathies more closely aligned with the Muslim League, and in 1985 he successfully contested a Senate seat in Karachi on the Party's ticket. He was one of the competent technocrats advising the first Nawaz Sharif government (1990 - 1993). His most notable contribution was as dynamic chairman of the Senate 'Resource Mobilisation & Tax Reforms Commission' (1991-1994), championing the introduction of IT to improve tax collection. Mazhar Ali served in the Senate till 1994, and was disappointed for not being given responsibilities commensurate with his experience in the second Nawaz Sharif government (1997-99). He would remark that the Prime Minister was most comfortable with 'yes men' but he was not of that mould.
His reduced political commitments prompted Syed Mazhar Ali to devote more time to another abiding passion: in 1998 he embarked on an ambitious vision to create an IT university in Karachi that could compete with the best in the world. He believed passionately in providing educational opportunities to young Pakistanis and improving the quality of education. Over the next few years, he was to channel a considerable proportion of his own savings to establish the Karachi Institute of Information Technology (KIIT) located in Gulshan-e-Maymar and now offering IT degrees under franchise from the University of Huddersfield. To ensure that the KIIT curriculum was in step with the latest advancements in the field of IT and also that it was in accordance with the requirements of the industry at global level, KIIT entered into an agreement with the School of Computing and Mathematics, University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom, to offer B. Sc. (Hon.) Program.
Mazhar Ali found his political sympathies more closely aligned with the Muslim League, and in 1985 he successfully contested a Senate seat in Karachi on the Party's ticket. He was one of the competent technocrats advising the first Nawaz Sharif government (1990 - 1993). His most notable contribution was as dynamic chairman of the Senate 'Resource Mobilisation & Tax Reforms Commission' (1991-1994), championing the introduction of IT to improve tax collection. Mazhar Ali served in the Senate till 1994, and was disappointed for not being given responsibilities commensurate with his experience in the second Nawaz Sharif government (1997-99). He would remark that the Prime Minister was most comfortable with 'yes men' but he was not of that mould.
His reduced political commitments prompted Syed Mazhar Ali to devote more time to another abiding passion: in 1998 he embarked on an ambitious vision to create an IT university in Karachi that could compete with the best in the world. He believed passionately in providing educational opportunities to young Pakistanis and improving the quality of education. Over the next few years, he was to channel a considerable proportion of his own savings to establish the Karachi Institute of Information Technology (KIIT) located in Gulshan-e-Maymar and now offering IT degrees under franchise from the University of Huddersfield. To ensure that the KIIT curriculum was in step with the latest advancements in the field of IT and also that it was in accordance with the requirements of the industry at global level, KIIT entered into an agreement with the School of Computing and Mathematics, University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom, to offer B. Sc. (Hon.) Program.
KIIT entered into another agreement with the University of
Huddersfield to offer a one year M.Sc/ Postgraduate Diploma in Software
Development. As a part of the agreement, the courseware developed by the
University of Huddersfield for these programs were made available to the KIIT.
Also the University of Huddersfield provided consulting services to the KIIT in
the selection of hardware and software, setting up local area network and the
selection of faculty members.
To make sure that the level of education being provided at KIIT is
at the same level as that of the University of Huddersfield, it helps the KIIT
in developing Quality Assurance Procedures.
He sincerely hoped that its staff would rise to his vision and
work for the development of the nation's human resources. Syed Mazhar Ali's
inspiration was the work of Sir Syed
Ahmed Khan, who through the establishment of the Aligarh Muslim University
offered new opportunities to the Muslims of the subcontinent. Established in 1998, Mazhar Ali wanted KIIT to assume the role of a world class IT
University to be named as "Jama
Al-Asr". Syed Mazhar Ali's mantle at KIIT was taken up by his younger
brother, Dr Syed Zahir Ali, who served as its Director.
Syed Mazhar Ali maintained contacts with the political world and was respected by the MQM leadership and the Minister of Interior, Gen. (retd.) Moin Haider (1999-2003), thus occasionally serving as a trusted broker.
He was also the Member, Privatization Committee for PTCL and the Vice-chairman, National Housing Authority, GOP. He hold many responsibilities for e-governance project of the Federal Government, member Board of Directors PTCL, Chairman Think Tank of PTCL, member Sindh IT Board, Member governing Body, Karachi Development Authority (KDA) and holding senior position in various government and private sector organizations and forum.
Syed Mazhar Ali maintained contacts with the political world and was respected by the MQM leadership and the Minister of Interior, Gen. (retd.) Moin Haider (1999-2003), thus occasionally serving as a trusted broker.
He was also the Member, Privatization Committee for PTCL and the Vice-chairman, National Housing Authority, GOP. He hold many responsibilities for e-governance project of the Federal Government, member Board of Directors PTCL, Chairman Think Tank of PTCL, member Sindh IT Board, Member governing Body, Karachi Development Authority (KDA) and holding senior position in various government and private sector organizations and forum.
Syed Mazhar Ali was a charismatic personality and will be
long-remembered by all those who had the privilege of working with him for his
warmth, honesty and sincerity.
It was only after his death, when closing his financial affairs
that his family came to realize the extent of his quiet acts of charity and
support to the needy. His wife Azra brought him life-long comfort and
companionship. He also leaves a son, Syed Amir Ali and two daughters, Mona and
Seher.
"Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. From Allah we come and
unto Him we shall return."
PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTCS
SELF- CONFIDENCE Dr. Abdul Wahab,
former Director of IBA and Vice Chancellor of University of Karachi, Paid
tributes to the efforts of Syed Mazhar Ali as the Chairman KIIT for the
promotion of IT education in Pakistan, Dr. Abdul Wahab said that Syed Mazhar
Ali enjoys the reputation of getting things done and he has the confidence that
the Jama Al-Asr which is in its
formative stage would be one of the leading university not only in Pakistan but
on the map of the world education.
HUMILITY
He was very fond of eating good foods and at each Wednesday in
KIIT all employees of KIIT get-together for a lunch with him. Lunches were
always of different variety of many delicious dishes. He weekly met all his
employees personally in lunches in a humble way and having a down-to-earth
attitude to each one.
HONESTY & TRUSTWORTHINESS
Referring to the expertise Pakistan has gained in the field of
Information Technology; he said that this facility is not being implemented to
bring e-government and automation in the public sector organizations. He said
that automation could reduce the nuisance of manual handling in public dealing
organizations like KDA, LDA or CDA. However the application of automation would
hit the vested interests and that is the reason the corrupt are not willing to
facilitate the people. Citing the example, he said, that approval of different
requirement from development authorities or building control authorities take
more than two years which on one hand hampers the economic growth of urban
areas and on the other hand forces people to go for illegal options. He said
that there is tremendous scope for employment of existing and forthcoming IT
graduates if the government allows speedy automation of the public sector
organizations.
PASSIONATE Syed Mazhar Ali while talking to media said to see Pakistan as
a leader on the world IT map and to serve to soil of this country has always
been his obsession. We don't compromise
on the quality of education irrespective to the cost we have to pay for that.
He said that he has spent his life time earnings and sacrificed his living style
just for the love of this land. He further said that KIIT aims to produce IT
trained professionals who will contribute towards the national image building
and the nation's prosperity. His vision for KIIT that it will act as a beacon
for professional education for others to follow.
TOLERANCE FOR FRUSTRATION He regretted
that vitally needed automation in the public sector organizations was moving at
snail's pace which indicates the lack of interest in the lethargic crop of the
bureaucrats in Pakistan.
FARSIGHTEDNESS The need for setting up a centre for quality
education was felt in the backdrop of the demand and supply of IT graduates in
Pakistan. The past studies in Pakistan showed that against the need of some
3000 IT graduates per year only 900 graduates were being produced from the
existing institutions during 1998. In addition to 900 IT graduates, from the
State and Private institutions, through one year Diploma programs and Vendor
Certification institutes e.g., Microsoft, Novell, Oracle etc. about 2000 IT
professionals were also being produced in Pakistan. Despite the fact that
supply position of IT graduates from IT institutes has improved considerably
during last three years yet the demand has increased at a much faster pace. The
current local demand of IT graduates is estimated to be around 8000 annually
while annul output is about 5000 only. Due to this gap in demand and supply of
the IT professionals, country was in need of more education centers to meet the
deficit. The arrival of KIIT is certainly a significant move to fill in the
gap.
LEADERSHIP SKILLS
CHARISMATIC
Syed Mazhar Ali was a charismatic personality and will be
long-remembered by all those who had the privilege of working with him for his
warmth, honesty and sincerity. His humbleness always touched the hearts of many
people of all walks of life whoever met him once. Each employee was very much attached to his
generosity and worked passionately as a family member.
TRANSFORMATIONAL
At the time of inception of KIIT in 1998 there were only 8
universities/institutes providing IT undergraduate programs in Karachi. Whereas
due to growing popularity of IT education the number of IT institutes providing
undergraduates and graduate IT programs has exploded to about 33 such
institutes. Many of these have links with some dubious, so called foreign
universities, whereas despite having links with British universities many other
such institutes are deceiving the students by admitting them with O levels into
the three year degree programs instead of the prescribed A levels which is in
contravention of the normal UK university admission requirements.
In the face of these conditions, due to the quality of its
faculty, the IT infrastructure, internet and library resources and above all
state-of-the-art curriculum and the strict quality assurance procedures, in a
short span of three years KIIT has gained the reputation of a quality IT
institute in the country.
Syed Mazhar Ali said that currently, KIIT has the strongest
faculty with 8 Ph.Ds. in computer science and 8 more doctors are due to join
shortly to give a unique status to this forthcoming university in Pakistan.
CREATING PEOPLE’s AWARENESS Through holding
regular seminars on current IT topics and inviting industry leaders and
government functionaries the elite of the country whose opinion counts, have
come to know about the quality education being provided at KIIT. In addition,
KIIT is also providing IT awareness courses to the high government officials of
the province of Sindh.
CREATIVITY
Syed Mazhar Ali
having a country-wide reputation for giving quality projects in the field of
construction industry has maintained the legacy in the field of education also.
He believed that
nature is kind to Pakistan and has gifted plenty of resources in different
forms but we failed to make best use of these resources.
Having a
picturesque surrounding, Jama Al-Asr, presently KIIT, is located at
"Gulshan-e-Maymar", an island of peace within the city of Karachi
which is now known for its polluted environment, due to traffic noise, smoke
emitting vehicles and law and order hazards. When grown to its full bloom, days
are not far away when Pakistanis could mention the name of this world class
university to compete with any foreign university.
Giving the
background of the selection of title of Jama Al-Asr for the University, Dr.
Abdul Wahab said that a meeting of the
senior educationists, citizens and other opinion leaders was invited to suggest
the name of the forthcoming university. The meeting was proceeded with the
recitation of Soorah "Al-Asr" from the Holy Quran. On pointation of
Mr. Hamid Ahmed, Executive Director of KIIT, the participants unanimously
agreed to take
Al-Asr as the
name of the University. He made it clear that it was not inspired from Jama
Al-Azhar of Cairo.
Syed Mazhar Ali
said that KIIT believes in continuous grooming of faculty. In this regard KIIT
offers excellent opportunity of research and development to its faculty. Due to
an active and interactive environment at KIIT the faculty at KIIT has been very
actively involved in national and international seminars, workshops and
conferences. There is a long list of consulting and development projects that
are being carried out by the faculty successfully. Also the students under the
supervision of faculty are carrying out a number of industrial software
development projects.
When asked about
the difference between KIIT and other IT institutes, he said one of the glaring
example is our emphasis on research to keep our faculty abreast with the latest
global changes taking place in the IT sector. We at KIIT spending heavily on
research work and on acquiring quality IT experts from foreign universities, so
that the graduates we produce could meet the market requirements. He said that
some of our graduates have become head of the organizations and playing leading
role in the IT sector. That is the difference between KIIT and other IT
institutions.
From 1997 to
2000, despite the formation of IT Commission, because lack of commitment of the
government not much development took place in the promotion of IT in the
country. However, with the appointment of Professor Dr. Attaur Rehman in
October 1999, as the Minister of Information Technology/ Telecommunication and
Science, required steps for promotion of IT were taken expeditiously and also a
large sum of money was allocated for the development of IT in Pakistan.
In April 2000,
the IT Commission of Pakistan was assigned the prestigious job of preparation
of an IT Policy of Pakistan. The blueprint of IT policy of Pakistan was
completed in June 2000 and from July 2000 the government started taking the
required steps for promotion of IT in the country. The most important decision
of the government was that the government should be a facilitator and
concentrate on the provision of infrastructure. The main vehicle of growth
shall be the private sector. And in this regard, a number of incentives were
provided to the IT sector including the IT institutes in the private sector.
Due to these
measures, in the coming years, the software industry in Pakistan is going to be
extremely busy in undertaking massive e-government projects. Due to this policy
along with the creation of additional jobs for the IT industry the government
itself will require large number of IT graduates for the maintenance and
running of the e-governance systems. Despite the large number of IT institutes,
which have sprouted in the last three years that demand for quality IT
education that continues to grow, says Mazhar.
He regretted
that vitally needed automation in the public sector organizations was moving at
snail's pace which indicates the lack of interest in the lethargic crop of the
bureaucrats in Pakistan.
The main problem
of the institutions owned by the State is their very low level of funding and
the rigid fee structures. For instance, in some universities the tuition fee is
only about 5 pounds per year. Due to the inadequate resources at the disposal
of the State institutions, the quality of their faculty has rapidly gone down,
the availability of technical books and journals is minimal and their hardware
and software is antiquated. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that
most of their curricula have remained unchanged for the last 8 to 10 years.
In addition as a
result of the increase in the requirement of trained computer science
graduates, a growing number of dubious private institutions have sprung up
which claim to have links with foreign universities. These institutions, some
of which are even called Universities, are located in residential houses, which
are unsuitable for education environment. Because of the desire of the students
to acquire foreign degrees, these institutions, with false promises and deceit,
were able to attract a large number of students. However, the facilities
provided by them including the caliber of the faculty, availability of suitable
computer Labs and library facilities etc are not up to the required standards.
The caliber of graduates from these institutions is therefore so poor that it
does not come up to the requirement of the industry. Consequently, a large
number of these institutions are no longer considered suitable for providing
quality IT education. Hence the students are getting wiser and trying to avoid
these institutions and instead select the IT institutions which providing
quality IT education. In view of the problems of the state institutions and the
low caliber of IT institutions being set up in the private sector, there is
therefore an urgent demand of quality IT institutes in the private sector with
links to establish foreign IT institutes.
