A moment with KLAF Convenor

Ar. Dr. Lim Teng Ngiom

How do you find this year’s ARCHIDEX and PAM Conference?

The crowd is surprising. Post pandemic, people want to get out and interact. Those who have not participated would genuinely feel they have missed out a lot, so I hope they will join us in the future. 

We are looking at a cultural shift. Let us not be ruled by dogma. Let’s overcome that and make changes ourselves. We make the future better for ourselves. We need to start from the bottom up, meaning you and me. We must not depend on leaders, as leaders come from within us, and we elect them. The power is within our hands. Let’s look forward, step ahead beyond “fences and boundaries,” and make the future better for ourselves. 

Let’s empower ourselves from the bottom up – and go beyond dogmas and boundaries. It is a mental and cultural shift. 

We need to look at the bigger picture. We must change our circumstances. We must increase our knowledge, be braver, step forward, and don’t depend on others or let others rule over us. It is not about our immediate domestic condition but the world around us. We must have a cultural shift. 

What is your advice on going forward?

Let’s cross boundaries and get into areas where we are needed. We must improve our circumstances and make our world. Mindshaping is about us shaping the world around us. It is about us making the world better. 

We can look around us at our neighbours, over recent years, have opened their minds, like Indonesia and Thailand.

I don’t know if we can catch up. But we need to stay the course. 

We need to look at the bigger picture. We must change our circumstances. We must increase our knowledge, be braver, step forward, and don’t depend on others or let others rule over us. It is not about our immediate domestic condition but the world around us. We must have a cultural shift. 

Don’t let all these tribal defences affect us. Our tribes are getting smaller actually, and so is our material world. So we need to open our minds and step bravely ahead. 

And we need to know what is happening around us, especially with technology—of course, because we are not “slaves” to technology. Let’s not forget the human connections in this world.

What do you enjoy most at ARCHIDEX?

I enjoy seeing people! After the lockdowns, it is excellent to become “human” again, where we can interact with people and get away from computer and phone screens.