SHAH ALAM, September 29, 2022 – Leading global nutrition company, Herbalife Nutrition recently organised a knowledge-sharing session with the Faculty of Sports Science and Recreation at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), with the aim of supporting budding Malaysian athletes and aspiring sports scientists that include nutritionists and dietitians.
The session was led by Dr. Dana Ryan, Director of Sports Performance, Nutrition, and Education at Herbalife Nutrition, who works with top international sports teams and athletes, developing nutrition and sports performance programmes as well as designing and managing sports clinical trials. This includes the likes of US soccer team LA Galaxy, top triathlete Heather Jackson, and world-famed footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who is also the brand ambassador for Herbalife Nutrition, crafted a co-branded sports nutrition drink, Herbalife24 CR7 Drive.
With nutrition being a critical component of an athlete’s overall health and wellbeing, the session themed ‘Soy Protein and Sports Performance’ was aimed at improving UiTM athletes’ understanding and knowledge of sports nutrition, particularly on how to adopt a proper diet and avoid sports nutrition mistakes. This saw more than 100 UiTM students and athletes, members from the National Sports Institute and Selangor Football Club, corporate nutritionists/dietitian and faculty members benefitting from the session.
Speaking at the knowledge-sharing session, Dr. Dana Ryan said, “Sports and nutrition go hand-in-hand. This is why the saying, “you are what you eat”, resonates well with athletes. As such, the first step to adopting proper nutrition is understanding the fundamental nutrients going into one’s body.”
Highlighting an example, Dr, Dana Ryan said, “Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and these can come from sources such as soy, dairy and beef, to name a few. There are essential amino acids not produced by our bodies, which can only be gained by eating the right foods. As such, it is critical for athletes to get proper nutritional advice on their diets, to avoid impacting their overall performance and health. Protein plays an important role in building muscle, losing weight and even healthy ageing.”
Sharing further key insights, Dr. Dana Ryan added, “The source of protein consumed by athletes matters. When deciding on animal protein versus plant protein, it is important for athletes to ensure they get all the essential amino acids. Plant-based protein with the exception of soy protein does not provide adequate amino acids. Those adopting a plant-based diet are advised to consume a combination of foods that make a complete protein such as grains and legumes. Ultimately, understanding what athletes need to support their body to perform at their highest level is key to adopting proper nutrition.”
Professor Dr. Mohad Anizu Mohd Nor, Dean, Faculty of Sports Science and Recreation at UiTM Shah Alam commented, “As one of the top public universities in Malaysia, we are committed to providing our students with a high-quality education that supports their holistic development. Through knowledge-sharing sessions like these, we hope our students and athletes are more aware and better equipped with proper nutrition knowledge which contributes to their performance and overall health and wellbeing. We are confident that this partnership with Herbalife Nutrition will continue to support our aspiration of developing Global Thinking Athletes.”
One of the participants of the session was Ahmad Fakhrul Razi, aged 19, from the Faculty of Sports Science and Recreation at UiTM Shah Alam and a member of the UiTM Football Club Under-19. He shared, “As a budding football player, I believe it is important to learn more about nutrition and the type of foods I should consume to help improve my performance. For instance, I am currently working on boosting my stamina and through sessions like this, I learned that eating a combination of carbohydrates and protein can help me to meet my performance requirements. By taking care of my body through good nutrition as per the advice shared by Dr. Dana Ryan, I am positive and confident that I can achieve my goal and become a successful football player.”
This initiative builds on Herbalife Nutrition’s partnership with UiTM which kicked off in March 2022. Since then, Herbalife Nutrition has conducted a series of educational programmes on nutrition through workshops and conferences, bringing together diverse perspectives from Herbalife Nutrition experts from across the world. To date, close to more than 5,000 people have benefitted from the initiatives organised via the partnership.
How EU law survives (or not) in the UK post-Brexit: the Financial Services and Markets Bill and the ‘Brexit Freedoms Bill’
Brexit raised a number of significant and unprecedented legal issues. One key issue was which laws of the European Union in force in the United Kingdom prior to Brexit should remain in force, and which should not. This was largely addressed in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 although principally in general terms – an exhaustive list of laws and statutory instruments was not a practical solution. Therefore, the practical consequences of Brexit will continue to be discovered for some years, in particular as the UK Parliament introduces new legislation such as the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022-23 (the FSM Bill) and the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022 dubbed the ’Brexit Freedoms Bill’.
On September 20th, AMCHAM hosted the launch of PayPal’s latest report “Accelerating Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) Digitalization in Malaysia”. The launch event was attended by senior government and industry leaders including the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative of Malaysia (MEDAC), Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATrade), Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), MyDIGITAL Corporation, Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), and the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
The panel discussion featured Mr. Fabian Bigar, CEO of MyDIGITAL Corporation, Mr. Gopi Ganesalingam, Senior Vice President of MDEC, Ms. Raeesa Sya, Founder & CEO of Orkid Cosmetics (Halal Cosmetics) & Account Director of Elixus Agency and Mr. Steven Chan, International Head of Government Relations at PayPal, and was moderated by Siobhan Das, CEO of AmCham Malaysia.
SMEs are the backbone of the Malaysia’s economy, constituting over 97% of all business establishments and employing nearly half of all workers in Malaysia in 2020. The pandemic, lockdowns and rapid shift to digital channels and e-commerce presented major challenges for many SMEs, especially in digital adoption. PayPal conducted a survey of 1,000 SME owners across Malaysia to examine their digital readiness and their ability to sell cross-border. The report found that digital payments became the key driver for digitalization during the pandemic and while majority of Malaysian SMEs are domestically focused, increasing number of SMEs are pivoting to cross-border trade and internationalization for new customers, expansion, and growth.
The panel discussion focused on the challenges and opportunities of SME digitalization, and how the public and private sectors could work together to enhance resiliency of the SME ecosystem. Mr. Bigar noted SME digitalization is a top priority of the government and the need to streamline support measures to increase accessibility. Mr. Ganesalingam highlighted the effectiveness of MDEC programs such as SME Digitalization Grant, Smart Automation Grant and NxFORCE Program in promoting digital adoption. Digital payment options have helped Ms. Sya to reach global customers and utilize other digital tools to manage her growing e-commerce business. Mr. Chan added that digitalization helps SMEs like Sya’s business to make better decisions based on digital solutions to grow their business, network and profit margins.
Key recommendations from the report include enabling digital payments as a stepping stone to comprehensive digitalization, expanding capacity building, training on cybersecurity for SMEs and increasing targeted resources and support to empower women entrepreneurs. SME digitalization is key to long-term resiliency of Malaysia’s growing digital economy and it requires a concerted effort and enhanced public-private partnerships between universities, non-profits, businesses, and policymakers.
Click the link below to access the report:
Click here to access photos of the event
September 26, marked the beginning of the World Trade Organization – WTO’s 4-day Public Forum program in Geneva. Siobhan Das, CEO, AmCham Malaysia, as part of the delegation led by Semiconductor Industry & SEIPI, met with H.E. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the WTO, and her staff to discuss how lowering tariffs can enable growth, especially for emerging nations.
OIS Students recently celebrated Oasis Way Week – full of exciting daily assemblies, fun dress-up extravaganzas, different team-building activities, and prizes – all while focusing on the Oasis Way.
What is the Oasis Way? Character. Leadership. Innovation.
The Oasis Way first seeks to produce character. Character is knowing your core values and convictions, empathizing and caring for others, and taking action because you care. OIS students who develop character naturally become leaders. Leadership is seeing needs and opportunities, gathering others around a vision, and moving towards the vision as a team. Activating leadership in students results in the emergence of problem-solvers and critically-thinking innovators. Innovation is imagining what could be, seeking solutions without fear of failure, and creating something better.
This session was held virtually to cater to members based outside of Klang Valley. Michael Sweeney, new Consul General, U.S. Consular Services presented updates of the current procedures for obtaining a travel visa to the U.S., the various types of visas available and how they work.
Attendees had the opportunity to raise questions and issues they were facing in regards to a U.S. visa. Thank you to Michael Sweeney for conducting this session.
