Professor Dr Alvin Ng Lai Oon

Sunway Univeristy

The NICEST model for the development of psychology in Malaysia: A personal vision for national consideration

Keynote Speaker Profile

Alvin Ng Lai Oon, DPsych is a Professor of Psychology at the Department of Psychology, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Malaysia. He is a clinical psychologist by training but is currently a full-time academic with interest in mental health literacy, mindfulness-based interventions and the validation of psychometric tools for mental health-related measures. Dr Ng holds honorary academic positions at University of Exeter, University of East Anglia and Monash University Malaysia Campus. Although no longer in clinical practice, Dr Ng is very active in contributing to the development of the clinical psychology profession in Malaysia and the promotion of mental health awareness. He was the Founding President of the Malaysian Society of Clinical Psychology that he helped found in 2010, and is currently the Secretary of the Asian Cognitive Behavioral Therapies Association. He was also part of the Steering Scientific Committee of the 10th World Congress of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies, 1-4 June 2023 in Seoul, Korea. In 2021, Dr Ng chaired the very successful 7th Asian Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Virtual) Conference that attracted more than 7,400 delegates from 80 countries.

Abstract

This keynote shares a personal vision for psychology in Malaysia given its history since its formal establishment in 1972 as facilitated by Jerome Sattler and Abdul Halim Othman at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Dr Ng will introduce the NICEST model: National, Integrity, Collaboration, Empowerment, Sustainable, Trajectory, as a draft framework to further develop psychology in the country. He will draw most of his points from his discussions with senior psychology academics in Malaysia that address current issues and future directions of the discipline within the country's context. Essentially, Dr Ng calls for the development of psychology in Malaysia that is aligned with national interest, and based on academic and professional integrity, that is facilitated by multisectorial collaborations and the empowerment of local scholars and practitioners towards global impact. It is also important to have sustainable development as a focus of applied psychology for nation-building with best practices that can be shared at the regional and world stage. Lastly, having a planned vision as a united front together with PSIMA and other stakeholders in the country towards a strategic trajectory for advancements in the field of psychology.