On day 3 of AMCHAM’s Women’s Week, we explored the importance of advocating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at the workplace and encouraging women to actively engage to remove the barriers and close the gap with technology.
Antony Lee, Chairman of AMCHAM provided the opening remarks detailing opportunities and services provided to women in the workplace especially after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work environment.
Our first panel discussion of the day featured Swati Chawla, Director of People & Culture, Philip Morris; Sam Haggag, Country Manager, ManpowerGroup; Danielle Maassen, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at BMW Financial Services Malaysia; and Dave Mitchell, VP & GM, Manufacturing & Distribution, Boston Scientific. The discussion, moderated by Sugunah Verumandy, HSBC Malaysia, primarily revolved around the impact of the pandemic on women at work, the changes both good and bad as well as practical ways that companies can commit to supporting DEI at the workplace.
The second panel discussion featured Eric Lee, Founder & CEO, Malaysia Digital Districts; Hana Farhana, Managing Director, Cisco Malaysia; and Datuk Yasmin Mahmood, Chair, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia. Chong Chye Neo, Independent Director, Bursa Malaysia served as the moderator. This panel featured a robust discussion on the reasons behind the gender gap in the technology sector, the barriers women faced by women in this space and a possible glimmer of hope for women as most sectors continue to implement WFH initiatives.
Special thanks to our guest speakers for conducting the insightful discussions, and thank you to all our attendees for making our Women’s Week a success.
Under the Income Tax Act 1967 (“ITA”), the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (“IRB”) has broad powers and tools to ensure effective collection of tax revenue for the Malaysian government. This includes wide information gathering powers such as those provided for under Section 81 of the ITA which empowers the Director General of the IRB (“DGIR”) to demand any person to disclose any information or particulars that is in the possession or control of the person for the purposes of the ITA.
The scope of the DGIR’s power to request information was recently tested in the case of Genting Malaysia Berhad v Personal Data Protection Commissioner & Ors (Case No. WA-25-83-02/2020), where the DGIR relied on Section 81 of the ITA to make a blanket demand for customers’ personal data from Genting Malaysia Berhad (“GMB”). The High Court in its decision ruled in favour of GMB and held that the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (“PDPA”) does not allow the DGIR to make such demands in view of the protection afforded to individuals by the PDPA over their personal data.
This Update therefore seeks to provide a summary and brief analysis of the High Court case, and examine the potential impact of the High Court’s decision on organisations carrying out personal data processing activities under the PDPA.
On 16 March, 2022, AMCHAM held its monthly Members’ Briefing, fully virtual. Our CEO Siobhan Das updated members on the recent and ongoing initiatives from the Chamber’s side, particularly with upcoming events.
Francis Peters, Senior Commercial Officer, joined today’s session to provide updates from the U.S. side along with Juha P. Salin. Counselor For Economic Affairs, U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Among these updates are their ongoing initiatives with the Indo-Pacific region and the upcoming SelectUSA program aimed to showcase investment opportunities, market entry to the U.S. and more.
Special thanks to our guests from the U.S. Embassy for the updates. Stay tuned to the next Members’ Briefing.
AMCHAM held the second day of its Women’s Week today, 16 March 2022. Wan Nadiah Wan Mohd Abdullah Yaakob Group CEO at TMC Life Sciences Berhad kicked off the session with an opening presentation that addressed the toll on women brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, citing lack of societal and organizational support towards women during this time, on top of existing inequalities. However, she also pointed out the positive change happening and what can be done to provide support and ensure good health and well-being.
She then joined the panel session with Ren Chung Yu, Deputy Executive Director & Advocacy Director, Women Aids’ Organization, and Tehmina Kaoosji, Communications Consultant, Broadcast Journalist & Gender Equality Activist. Azrul Mohd Khalib, the Chief Executive of the Galen Center moderated this session.
The conversation surrounded the subject of going beyond basic healthcare for women, what is needed to achieve ‘total health’. Our panelists each delved into bias against women – what fuels it and how to rectify the problem, thus achieving a safer and healthier work environment for women.
Special thanks to all our guest speakers for conducting a very insightful session and a much-needed conversation.
Join us for our third and final day of AMCHAM’s Women’s Week 2022 tomorrow, from 9.00 am to 11.45 am.
Today, 15 March 2022, marks the start of AMCHAM’s Women’s Week. With the 2022 theme of International Women’s Day “Break the Bias”, our own offices are excellent starting points to begin looking. AMCHAM CEO, Siobhan Das kicked off the session followed by an opening presentation on addressing cognitive bias at work by Dr. Valerie Jaques, Founder, Integrated Psychology Network. She provided a comprehensive explanation on what cognitive bias is and how it affects our judgment and decisions in our daily lives.
Dr. Valerie then proceeded to join Aik Kean Chong, Managing Director of Intel Technology Sdn. Bhd. and Usman Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer at Citibank Berhad for the panel discussion, moderated by Siobhan Das. Panelists Aik Kean Chong and Usman Ahmed spoke of the initiatives their respective organizations have been doing to break the bias and drive inclusivity. In the process of addressing long-held beliefs, customs, and culture, the panelists addressed why identifying and breaking the bias matters for a thriving and productive workplace.
Special thanks to our guest speakers for a successful first day of our Women’s Week. Look forward to tomorrow’s session at 9.00am.
IBM Malaysia Sdn Bhd urged local organisations to embed security, governance, and compliance tools throughout the cloud architecture for digital initiatives given the increase in cybersecurity breaches in recent years. Managing Director and technology leader Catherine Lian said being cloud-ready is essential to Malaysia’s digital transformation agenda.
