Mazlan Othman studied at Otago University as a Colombo Plan scholarship recipient in the 1970s. Photo: SUPPLIED
When Mazlan Othman was born on 11 December 1951, her father was studying for a diploma at Lincoln University in Canterbury. He decided on the name Mazlan - a combination of Malaysia and New Zealand, the 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, journeyed to New Zealand in 1971. It was the first time her feet had ever left Southeast Asia soil.
"I remember filling the forms for the Colombo Plan scholarship, not knowing what would happen," she says.
"Then I was called for the interview and I remember them asking me when Edmund Hillary summited Mt Everest and who was his sherpa?"
Her interview was successful; she was to study for a Bachelor of Physics at Otago University. Physics wasn't always her passion though. When she was 14, Othman was still very much interested in the arts.
"But I was told by my teachers that I wasn't allowed to go into the arts because my marks and achievements in science and maths were too good.
"The spirit at that time was that the country was looking for scientists."
The country had just become independent in 1957 after 400 years of colonialism. It needed more scientists, so "I was one of those who was pushed to science", she says.
Luckily, she fell in love with physics - it just clicked in her brain, "and I never looked back".
One of only two women studying physics
Othman says throughout her life, the "planets aligned".
In her university classes, she was one of only two women studying physics. But she says she never felt discriminated against because of her gender.
The only time she felt "inadequate as a girl" was when she - petite and about 155cm tall - attempted to use a steel cutting machine yet couldn't pull the lever down, even hanging by her full weight.
"There I learned very quickly that I needed to collaborate," she says.
"I did not feel that I was weak. I was optimistic, I thought I was the best! It was an analytical approach.
"Maybe I was discriminated against gender-wise, but sorry for them - I never felt it!"
It is a duty to Malaysia that has guided Othman through her life. She says younger generations often find this hard to understand.
"In my generation, there were so many things missing at that time. Science was missing. We had no economists, we had no mathematicians, and our infrastructure was so bad. We were a third-world country mentally.
"I'm always thinking 'what can I do for the country?'"
When Othman studied in 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 astrophysics field didn't even exist in Malaysia, but it was that New Zealand attitude that spurred me on - making do with what you have and moving forward in the best way possible," she says.
"The spirit of not being afraid when there's nothing in front of you."
Taking space to home soil
Back in Malaysia, Othman was one of the most educated scientists in the country. The Colombo Plan dictated that Othman was meant to study for a Master's in Education and become a teacher. However, the government allowed her to complete her PhD so long as there was a Malaysian institution willing to take her after graduation.
"At that time there was a heyday in Malaysia of setting up universities and they were all looking for people."
Othman's friend was in the physics department at the National University, where the dean wrote her a supporting letter and "the rest is history". She specialised in astrophysics for her Masters, becoming the first woman to gain a PhD in physics from Otago in its 120-year history.
"There were two million physicists in the world and 2000 astrophysicists, so I decided, yes, I'll be an astronomer.
"I was always that young person who wanted to be different."
Otago University physics head of department Professor Blair Blakie says Othman is a very important model for the next generation of female physicists.
"As part of the Colombo Plan ... The department benefited by receiving some excellent students from Asia-Pacific," he said.
"Professor Othman has gone on to outstanding academic and international achievements, and her career is keenly watched by current department staff. "
She was Malaysia's first astrophysicist; its only astrophysicist in 1981. For the first three years, Othman was told to give up on this subject, that it was not useful or something to be funded. But she aimed to be a leader.
"So I went into my head of department's office and told him I was going back to astrophysics. He replied, 'you won't be promoted' and I said, 'never mind'.
"And I got promoted ahead of him."
It was another instance of destiny.
"Don't deny a burning passion and then things will take care of themselves.
"I became a risk seeker. It wasn't that an opportunity came to me and I took it, no. I was always looking for opportunities and creating them,"
Capturing the public's interest and imagination
Othman worked to establish astronomy and astrophysics as a field in both the university and Malaysia, all the while trying to earn a living.
"Malaysia had very little equipment and I had very little connections, it was almost like working in a vacuum."
Malaysians did not understand what astronomy or astrophysics was, they had little knowledge of space in general. And if they did not know about it, how could they be interested in it, Othman pondered?
She had tried to get the government to set up an observatory, then quickly realised she needed to start "bottom up".
"I went on a crusade to bring space, astronomy and astrophysics to the public," she says.
"I thought if the public knew about astronomy, then the people up there cannot ignore it."
The timing was perfect. Halley's Comet was set to enter Earth's sky in 1986, and the public's curiosity about space was piqued. Othman jumped onto this buzz and started sharing her knowledge in public lectures. Capturing the eye of the Islamic Center, she was invited to set up an exhibit in their new main building, which Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad just happened to visit.
"And the planets aligned again.
"Once he knew me and had confidence in me, he gave us the funding for the National Planetarium, and he wanted me to head the space program."
She went on to pioneer the Malaysian microsatellite programme, was the first director-general of the space science studies division in the Prime Minister's Department and led the Angkasawan Programme 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.
Othman is still crusading; just this year, she's been on a mission to encourage more Malaysian girls into STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
Kiwi values
Othman believes in cross-cultural education; not just for the wealth of academic knowledge exchanged, but for learning values.
"And Kiwi values are so amazing."
Coming from a feudal society, she was inspired by a sense of egalitarianism here during her studies. She also felt New Zealand had "a strong sense of social justice".
"The cleaning lady had as much to say as the head of department. Their status in society was not any lower.
"And we called our professors by their first names, they joined us at the pub on Fridays!"
Othman says some of her best academic discussions occurred at the pub, it was the "cultural highlight" where the physics department would decide which pub to patronise after office hours.
"We'd be working until 2am every day, we'd all be dying to go the pub by Friday, so deciding on which pub was a very serious 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 contacted the High Commission of Malaysia for comment but is yet to get a response on this story.
*Samantha Mythen travelled to Malaysia supported by the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
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