The exhibition caught the eye of the Prime Minister’s Department and Education Ministry. She was soon seconded to the PM’s Office to put together a paper to set up a national planetarium.
“It was about laying a foundation for astrophysics in Malaysia. It was also time for me to do something for the country.”
After the planetarium opened in 1993, Mazlan was made Director-General of the Space Science Studies Division, where she oversaw the microsatellite development programme. Her career trajectory was even more fascinating after that.
She was appointed by the then seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan in November 1999 to head the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), and reappointed by his successor, Ban Ki-moon, in 2007.
UNOOSA is tasked with international co-operation in space, prevention of collisions and space debris, use of space-based remote sensing platforms for sustainable development, co-ordination of space law between countries, and the risks posed by near-earth asteroids.
In July 2002, she was appointed by then PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the founding Director-General of Angkasa (Malaysia’s National Space Agency).She candidly told the audience about the various challenges she faced in her work, which was about putting the first Malaysian in space.
“Parts of the astronaut programme that relate to arts, culture, science and even food were deemed unimportant,” she said.
She was at Angkasa for five years.
Eventually, she returned to Malaysia under TalentCorp’s Returning Expert Programme.
Since September 2017, she is serving as Director of the International Council for Science (ICSU) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
Before she ended her talk, Dr. Mazlan has this to say: “Be rest assured - follow your heart and you will find the way!”