How a Kiwi education influenced the stellar career of Malaysia’s first astrophysicist

When Mazlan Othman was born on December 11, 1951, her father was studying for a degree at Lincoln University in Canterbury. He chose the name Mazlan, a combination of Malaysia and New Zealand, two countries that would shape his daughter’s life.

“It was a premonition of things to come,” she says.

Othman, from a family of 13, traveled to New Zealand in 1971. This was the first time her feet left the soil of Southeast Asia.

“I remember filling out forms for Colombo Plan Scholarship, not knowing what will happen,” she says.

“Then I was called for an interview and I remember being asked when did Edmund Hillary conquer Everest and who was his Sherpa?”

Her interview went well; she was due to complete a bachelor’s degree in physics at the University of Otago. However, physics was not always her passion. When she was 14, Othman was still very interested in art.

“But my teachers told me that I was not allowed to take art because my grades and achievements in science and mathematics were too good.

“The spirit at the time was that the country was looking for scientists.”

The country had just become independent in 1957 after 400 years of colonialism. More scientists were needed, so “I was one of those pushed into science,” she says.

Luckily, she fell in love with physics – it just clicked in her brain: “And I never looked back.”

One of two women studying physics

Othman says that throughout her life, “the planets have aligned.”

In her university classes, she was one of two women studying physics. But she says she has never felt discriminated against based on her gender.

The only time she felt “inadequate as a girl” was when she – petite, about 155 cm tall – tried to use a steel cutting machine, but could not lower the lever, even hanging at her full weight.

“There, I realized very quickly that I needed to collaborate,” she says.

“I didn’t feel weak. I was an optimist, I thought I was the best! It was an analytical approach.

“Maybe I was discriminated against based on my gender, but I feel sorry for them – I never felt that way!”

It is a duty to Malaysia that has guided Osman throughout her life. She says this is often difficult for younger generations to understand.

“My generation at that time lacked a lot. There wasn’t enough science. We had no economists, no mathematicians, and our infrastructure was very poor. Mentally we were a third world country.

“I always think: “What can I do for the country?”

When Othman studied at Otago, she had to build her own equipment from scratch. This “Kiwi ingenuity” set her up when she returned home, where she set out to build Malaysia’s space industry from scratch.

“The field of astrophysics didn’t even exist in Malaysia, but it was New Zealand’s approach that motivated me – to make do with what we had and move forward in the best way possible,” she says.

“The spirit is not to be afraid when there is nothing in front of you.”

Taking a place on native soil

Returning to Malaysia, Othman was one of the most educated scientists in the country. Colombo’s plan called for Othman to obtain a master’s degree in education and become a teacher. However, the government allowed her to pursue a doctorate on the condition that there was an institution in Malaysia willing to accept her after graduation.

“At that time, Malaysia was in the heyday of setting up universities and they were all looking for people.”

Othman’s friend worked in the physics department at National University, where the dean wrote her a letter of support, and “the rest is history.” She specialized in astrophysics as an undergraduate, becoming the first woman to receive a PhD in physics at Otago in its 120-year history.

“There were two million physicists and 2,000 astrophysicists in the world, so I decided: yes, I will be an astronomer.

“I was always that young person who wanted to be different.”

University of Otago physics department head Professor Blair Blakey says Othman is a very important model for the next generation of female physicists.

“Under the Colombo Plan… the faculty has benefited from the admission of several excellent students from the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.

“Professor Othman has achieved outstanding academic and international achievements, and her career has been closely followed by current members of the department.”

She was Malaysia’s first astrophysicist; he was the only astrophysicist in 1981. For the first three years, Othman was told to abandon the topic because it was useless and did not require funding. But she strived to be a leader.

“So I went to my department head’s office and told him I was going back to astrophysics. He said, “You won’t get promoted,” and I said, “It doesn’t matter.”

“And I was promoted before him.”

This was another example of fate.

“Don’t deny the burning passion, and then everything will go by itself.

“I became a risk taker. It’s not that the opportunity presented itself and I took advantage of it, no. I was always looking for opportunities and creating them.”

Capturing the public’s interest and imagination

Othman worked to establish the field of astronomy and astrophysics both at the university and in Malaysia while trying to earn a living.

“There was very little equipment in Malaysia and I had very few connections, it was almost like working in a vacuum.”

Malaysians did not understand what astronomy and astrophysics were, they knew little about space in general. And if they didn’t know about it, then how could they be interested in it, Osman thought?

She tried to convince the government to create an observatory, but quickly realized that she needed to start from the bottom up.

“I went on a crusade to bring space, astronomy and astrophysics to the public,” she says.

“I thought that if the public knows about astronomy, then the people up there can’t ignore it.”

The timing was perfect. Halley’s Comet was set to enter Earth’s skies in 1986, and the public’s curiosity about space was awakened. Othman jumped at the news and began sharing her knowledge in public lectures. Having attracted the attention of the Islamic Center, she was invited to organize an exhibition in their new main building, which Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had just happened to visit.

“And the planets aligned again.

“Once he got to know me and trusted me, he gave us funding for the National Planetarium and wanted me to lead the space program.”

She pioneered the Malaysian microsatellite programme, was the first Director General of Space Research in the Prime Minister’s Department and led the Angkasawan program which sent the first Malaysian astronaut to the International Space Station. On the world stage, she became director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

Osman is still crusading; this year alone, her mission was to encourage more Malaysian girls to study STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Kiwi values

Osman believes in intercultural education; not only for the wealth of academic knowledge, but also for the values ​​of learning.

“And Kiwi values ​​are so amazing.”

Coming from a feudal society, she was imbued with a sense of egalitarianism during her studies here. She also believed that New Zealand had a “strong sense of social justice”.

“The cleaning lady could say as much as the department head. Their status in society was no lower.

“And we called our professors by name, they joined us at the pub on Fridays!”

Othman says some of her best academic discussions took place in the pub, a “cultural event” where the physics department decided which pub to visit after hours.

“We worked until 2am every day and we all really wanted to go to the pub by Friday, so deciding which pub to go to was a big discussion.”

Othman says her love for her university in Malaysia, where she built the astrophysics department, “was deep because of my love for Otago.”

RNZ has contacted the Malaysian High Commission for comment but has not yet received a response on this story.

*Samantha Mithen traveled to Malaysia with the support of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

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