Kuala Lumpur, 9 September 2022 – Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara, a luxury hotel in Kuala Lumpur, has been awarded for its excellence in hospitality with the prestigious Haute Grandeur Award 2022 for Best Suite Hotel in Asia, Best City Hotel in Malaysia and Best Spa Hotel in Malaysia.
Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara’s interior blends the local and French heritage with stunning art-pieces and sculptures. Guestrooms range from 43 to 105 square metres, feature the signature bedding concept by MyBed™, wifi and premium in-room amenities for the suites. For dining, Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara offers four restaurants and bar, from Asian inspired cuisine to French-Italian Riviera cuisine and Imperial Cantonese cuisine. Wellness and leisure facilities include an outdoor pool, Sofitel Spa with two Turkish bath treatment rooms and the Sofitel Fitness gymnasium with sauna and steam rooms. For conventions, weddings, and corporate events, Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara boasts six meeting rooms including a pillar-less 1,100 square metre ‘Wau Bulan’ Ballroom.
The Haute Grandeur Global Hotel Awards honour establishments that continuously excel through remarkable hospitality experiences. The Awards are revered as the highest accolade in hospitality – a promise of unparalleled service excellence.
“We are extremely delighted to receive these awards. Winning these three prestigious awards is a testament to our team’s service excellence and the trust our guests placed in us. We will continue to be committed in creating memorable experiences for all guests.” said General Manager George Koumendakos. He adds, “We are especially proud of Sofitel Spa, this is our seventh award since we opened five years ago, I am so glad to see that our focus on wellbeing and a rejuvenating journey towards a holistic experience be recognized.”
On 8 September 2022, AMCHAM once again held its signature program, the Penang Dialogue, for the first time in two years with over 280 present at the E&O Hotel in Penang. Not only were we delighted to meet in person but with the Mask Mandate being relaxed significantly, we were all able to test our recognition memory pathways.
The Penang Dialogue focused around “A Stronger Malaysian Ecosystem” brought together a diverse ensemble of speakers to look at where Malaysia sits in global value chains and what needs to be done to strengthen its position.
This year, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), represented by Dato’ Sri Norazman Ayob, Deputy Secretary-General (Industry), joined H.E. Brian McFeeters, U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia and Y.A.B. Tuan Chow Kon Yeow, Chief Minister of Penang as our guests of honor.
The morning kicked off with a special presentation by Bo Huang, Associate Partner, McKinsey & Company on the transition in global value chains providing a macro view of trade and Malaysia’s role. Bo Huang proceeded to join a conversation with Sebastian Cortes-Sanchez, Deputy Director, Asian Trade Center and moderated by Linda Ooi, International Tax and Transaction Services – Operating Model Effectiveness group, Ernst & Young.
Their discussion centered around the opportunities and challenges of the emerging trade environment, re-aligning supply chain resilience, the role of technology and services impacting the global supply chain and lastly, sharing best practices uncovered in recent disruptions and how best to maximize opportunities through trade agreements.
The next panel focused on Enabling Tomorrow’s Infrastructure with discussions on Supply Chain Infrastructure & Ecosystem, Cybersecurity, and ESG. The panel concurred that Malaysia, while it is strategically positioned to support the anticipated growth and incoming FDI, needed greater resistance in its supply chains. Technology adoption needs to be strategic and to cut across the entire ecosystem including SMEs. With the digital environment upon us, measures need to be put in place to protect both the Information Technology and Operation Technology infrastructure. Greater cyber security awareness is an imperative along with data protection and compliance to PDPA and EU GDPR is essential. The panelists taking on this discussion were: Mahadhir Aziz, Chief Executive Officer, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) Yeong-Chuan (YC) Lim, Country President, Malaysia & Singapore, Honeywell, Vivien Pua, Senior Industry Analyst, Security, Frost & Sullivan, moderated by Dalbir Singh, Senior Director, Quantela Inc.
Panel 3 featured an insightful discussion on creating a sustainable SME ecosystem in the global value chains including the role of MNCs and organizations in supporting the SME industry. Accountability and the expansion of the SME support system is also crucial for success. Additional topics discussed were the need to build effective partnerships and to ensure a sustainable talent pool which will be critical in defining the success of the SMEs.
This session featured panelists – Steven X. Chan, International Head of Government Relations and Public Policy, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, PayPal, Dr Juita Mohamad, Director, Economics and Business Unit; Director of Research, IDEAS Malaysia, Dr Wong Peng Wen, CEO, Filpal (M) Sdn Bhd, Noor Amy Ismail, Chief Operating Officer, Malaysia Venture Capital Management (MAVCAP), who were moderated by Shahrizal Mohd Suffian, Executive Director for SEA, Deloitte.
AMCHAM would like to thank everyone who participated for your support. We would also like to thank our Gold Sponsors – Boston Scientific, Citibank Berhad, HP Inc Malaysia, Intel Malaysia, Keysight Technologies, Lam Research Malaysia, Motorola Solutions Malaysia, Plexus Manufacturing Malaysia, and Smart Modular Technologies Malaysia.
Thank you to our Silver Sponsors – Flex Malaysia, International SOS, NCER Malaysia, NI Malaysia, Nolato Malaysia, MDEC, and Sanmina-SCI Systems Malaysia. We would also like to thank Samtec, Plexus, First Solar for your support in taking up a corporate table. Last but not least, thank you to Starbucks for being our official beverage sponsor at the event.
View the photo gallery HERE
The school year began with Launch Week as OIS students were challenged to consider the problems facing cities today and to thoughtfully design a “City of the Future” that would directly address one of these problems. Each one of the secondary classes took their designs and built model cities that showed how they were attempting to solve the problems that cities are facing.
Some seventh-grade students designed a city that addressed air pollution by using electric vehicles in an easily walkable city. Tenth grade students addressed homelessness by providing cheap and clean accommodation with access to job training centers.
OIS Launch Week is part of the Service Learning Program. The OIS Service Learning Program exists to create an ever-growing community of global leaders who enact positive change through experiential learning and intentional service. OIS aims to produce culturally competent, outside-the-box thinkers who are excited and equipped to “positively impact the school, community, nation, and world,” and we believe that a dynamic, integrated, K-12 service-learning program is essential in helping us reach these learner outcomes.
The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 is the UK’s latest[1] piece of legislation in the fight against dirty money and the enforcement of financial sanctions. It contains a number of provisions that should be of particular concern to directors[2] of overseas companies, especially those of companies with legitimate activities which fall within the scope of the Act without being its ‘targets’, as the Act sets civil and criminal penalties (including imprisonment) for a number of the offences it introduces.
Standard Chartered Malaysia has appointed Mak Joon Nien as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective from Aug 18.
Mak takes over the reins from Abrar A Anwar, who has been CEO of Malaysia since 2017. Abrar would remain as board member of Standard Chartered Malaysia until the end of the year to ensure a smooth and orderly transition.
KUALA LUMPUR, 24 August 2022 – Malaysia’s premier purpose-built venue, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) recently recognised 134 team members, 75% of its staff, for their long service and contribution to the Centre’s sustained track-record of success.
Alan Pryor, General Manager of the Centre, said that, “Our people are our greatest asset and we are proud to have team members who have journeyed with us this far, since our opening in 2005. The Centre’s success as a global leader in the business events industry is attributed to the dedication, discipline and passion of our team members who always go above and beyond in attending to our clients’ needs.”
The team members were awarded a certificate of appreciation and shopping vouchers worth a total of RM173,500 (US$39,000) in recognition of their 10- or 15-years of service.
According to Muhammad Vickneswaran, Director of Human Resources of the Centre, “We have a strong talent retention programme that has appreciation, empowerment, and inclusivity at its core. As employers, we face a very competitive market and in a post-pandemic world, this is even more exacerbated. It is very important to us, at the Centre, that our policies and programmes are constantly updated so that we can continue to attract and retain talent. We are flexible and attentive, not only to the needs of our clients, but also to those of our team members.”
The venue’s talent development programme has enabled many of its staff to transition from a part-time basis to permanent employment and subsequently into leadership roles.
Alifhazwah Bin Mohd Yahaya, Head of Production, shared that, “I began my professional journey at the Centre, 15 years ago, fresh out of high school. From that point on, I was exposed and given a lot of training and opportunities to develop my skill and knowledge in my area of work. The trust placed in me by my superiors and the passion I have for my work allowed me to develop from a non-executive to executive and to where I am now, leading a brand-new department that was created to oversee the technical needs of virtual and hybrid events at the Centre.”
Mary Clare, Assistant Catering Manager, who celebrated her 10th work-anniversary with the Centre said that, “I had the opportunity to be part of the team that drew up the framework for Ambassador program that is being used until now. Over the years, I had been chosen as a Subject Matter Expert and I work with my team to further improve in-house training, enabling us to consistently deliver excellent service to all our stakeholders.”
The Centre recruits part-time event and hospitality team members under its Ambassador program. The program entitles all part-timers to complimentary Basic Food Handler course, refresher training allowance, SOCSO and EPF contributions, flexible working schedule, uniform, duty meal, and night shift transport allowance.
Another team member who has journeyed with the Centre for 15 years, Mohd Rashdan Che Radzi, an executive in the Centre’s Asset department, shared that, “From an early point, my superiors have been very supportive, encouraging my career growth at the Centre, challenging me to take up supervisory role even though there were more senior staff in the team. Later, I was also permitted to undergo an 8-month short-course on a full-time basis with a reputable educational institution while still being employed. There was never a boundary to my professional growth here and this gives me great satisfaction and pride to be part of a team in a world-class venue.”
The Centre drives a number of internal talent development and coaching programmes that identifies potential team members for growth and prepares them to be future leaders. Partnerships with globally reputed training institutions like City & Guilds, specialising in hospitality and events, ensure that the Centre’s team members receive only top-notch education that is on par with international standards and demands.
As part of the ASM Global network, the world’s leading venue management company, The Centre’s team members also have the opportunity to learn from the best of the best through ASM Global Academy. With more than 1,800 multi-language courses, team members have the opportunity to complete self-paced learning courses, which support their career development and enhance their knowledge. The comprehensive e-learning modules utilising gamification format will encompass but not be limited to guest services, diversity, equity and inclusion, food safety, inclusive culture, sustainability, operations, safety and security and leadership.
