MABC farewells Tunku Din, MABC founding Chairman The MABC farewelled its retiring founding chairman, Tunku Din, at a banquet held in his honour on June 2 at the Prince Hotel and Residence. More than 50 members and invited guests attended the function. Present were our co-patron and Australian High Commissioner, James Wise, the secretary general of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Mohd Sidek Hassan and the president of the Australia Malaysia Business Council, Mr. Ted Sharp. They were treated to an evening of excellent fare and fine wines (sponsored by Mulpha). A light-hearted tribute, aptly titled “The many hats of Tunku Din”, presented highlights of his 19 years at the MABC’s helm. Photos showed him in action at MABC events, making speeches, hosting VIP guests (including present and former prime ministers), leading business delegations to Australia and receiving awards. There were also pictures that showed his love of his family, and his passion for horses and hats! The presentation script was ably narrated by master of ceremonies Chris Syer who kept guests entertained with witty asides about how a number of them had changed since photos in which they appeared with the Tunku up to 20 years previously flashed on and off the screen. Speeches by James Wise, Ted Sharp and Datuk Mohd Zain Yusuf, the new MABC chairman, all paid tribute to Tunku’s great contributions to the Malaysia Australia relationship and to the development of the Council. He was commended for his vision and foresight in forming the MABC, which in turn had become an important influence in the bilateral trade and investment relationship. Speakers acknowledged Tunku Din’s ability to secure sponsorship to finance Council objectives and events and his free lending of his vast business experience and contacts in his relentless efforts to promote greater trade and investment between Malaysia and Australia. Also acknowledged was his role as the Malaysian business community’s “chief diplomat”, a role Tunku Din filled with style on numerous occasions to smooth ruffled feathers in trying times. The Council owes a great debt to Tunku Din and wishes him well. Bank Negara director talk on Forex liberalisation Liberalisation of foreign exchange rules was the topic of an MABC talk attended by 66 members and guests in May. Encik Mahdi Mohd Ariffin, a Bank Negara Malaysia director, said the liberalisation was to reduce regulatory costs of doing business. It would also enhance the delivery system and promote efficiency and better risk management. Mahdi also explained the new Bank Negara rules, especially those dealing with reporting regulations.

Business focus visit to johor Expectations were surpassed for 10 MABC and a group of Aust-Cham (Singapore) members who accompanied a business delegation to Johor led by Australian High Commissioner James Wise from July 4-5, 2005. Aim of the mission, which represented six organisations, was to give members an opportunity to meet with Johor state government officials. Several members of the fact finding mission took the opportunity to pursue business opportunities with members of the local business community. The High Commission arranged excellent briefings by the Johor State Economic Planning Unit, Johor State Investment Centre, Johor Corporation and MIDA. The visit included visits to various industrial bodies and site visits and briefings at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas and the Senai International Airport’s cargo centre. The event was capped by a reception hosted by the Australian High Commissioner for more than 120 people, including senior officials from the Johor state government and captains of Johor industry. MABC members of the mission reported that it had been most useful, resulting in the making of valuable contacts and much greater awareness of the business potential in Johor. They said they would welcome more such missions. MABC Entrepreneur of the Year talks on need for effective of risk management Mrs Margaret Chin, managing director of Roots Consulting, shared with MABC and Amcham members her passion for “Corporate Risk Management” and how it can assist companies to achieve success at a talk given at the Australian High Commission theatrette as part of the Thursday networking series on June 28. Her audience was given insights into Mrs Chin’s wealth of experience in internal audit, risk management and performance management both in Malaysia and Australia and more recently Singapore. Her presentation highlighted how the changing business environment affects a company’s competitive edge. This sharpened the need for identification of risk indicators and the implementation of enterprise wide risk management. Mrs Chin gave several compelling examples of corporate failure – including that of a major Australian banking institution – because of senior management’s inability to manage risk in an integrated and coordinated manner across the whole organisation. The talk ended with a lively question and answer session after which the audience adjourned for the networking evening.