On 8 August, AMCHAM was delighted to have a members-only meeting with YB Dato’ Mohamad Ariff bin Md Yusof, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Accompanying him was Datuk Roosme bt Hamzah, the Secretary of the House of Representatives, and Members of Parliament from Wangsa Maju, Hulu Langat and Kalabakan at Parliament Malaysia.
During the meeting, members were able to get a clearer understanding about the role that parliamentarians play in reviewing and debating government policies, and the institutional mechanisms through which this is achieved. We also explored how the American business community can best engage and work together with parliamentarians on policy matters that are critical to U.S. investments in Malaysia.
We look forward to deepening our engagement with Malaysia’s parliamentarians.
Prior to the APCAC Doorknock AMCHAM’s Executive Director was able to attend the U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership Symposium, organized by the Department of Commerce. Announced by Vice President Mike Pence at the end of 2018, the program brings together the 21 ASEAN cities into a collaborative working and learning framework. It was an enriching experience meeting city planners and thought leaders looking at topics such as “Dynamic Approaches to Developing Smart Cities” and “Best practices for addressing city-level cybersecurity”.. Presenting to the delegation was AMCHAM member Dalbir Singh, Regional Lead – Smart Cities, ASEAN of Cisco. Representatives from the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and Iskandar Regional Development Authority were also present.
On 7 August, AMCHAM was delighted to attend a roundtable discussion with DOSH which sits within the Ministry of Human Resources.
The meeting was to respond to our members’ requests for greater visibility on the new Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 2019, which is currently awaiting passing through parliament. The new OSHA will merge and update provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 to be more applicable to modern technologies and work practices.
Our members were very grateful for OSHA’s openness and willingness to answer our questions and clear up any areas of ambiguity. AMCHAM extends our sincere thanks to YBrs. Ir. Haji Saiful Azhar bin Mohd Said, Deputy Director (Occupational Health) and his team for taking the time from their busy schedules to engage with our members.
AMCHAM joined 12 other Asia-based Chambers as part of the Annual APCAC Doorknock to Washington D.C. held from July 14-18. APCAC for those who recall our successful Business Summit last year, is the loose council of 28 American Chambers under the banner of the Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers. This July, much of the discussion focused on trade issues and the impact of U.S. – China trade measures and its subsequent impact on the rest of the region.
The first day was spent hearing from members of the current Administration including Kelly Ann Shaw, Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council; APCAC, Special Advisor for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Office of the Vice President. The highlight of the day was Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State who provided 30 minutes of his busy day to speak to the group.
Meetings with think-tanks and other political experts made up most of the second day. The wide array of people provided additional context to ongoing issues and the general landscape as we move towards election year. In the afternoon, the group adjourned to the Capitol Building where members of Congress and the Senate were able to come by to speak to us in between the calling of votes as the Government were in session. This year we were able to see Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL), Rep. Suzan DelBane (D-WA), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen Bob Menendez (D-NJ) amongst others.
The third day was the one that required very comfortable shoes as we made our way to the offices of a set of Representatives and Senate for meetings with key staff or the officers themselves, to allow them the opportunity to hear directly from people working in the region. The four day program was capped with a half day event with the National Center for APEC who held an Asia Pacific Policy Forum on Promoting Economic Opportunity and Prosperity across the Asia-Pacific with Moody’s Richard Cantor (Chief Credit Officer, Moody’s Investors Service) providing the opening remarks.
Ria Money Transfer is the third largest, cross-border money transfer company, and a subsidiary of NASDAQ listed Euronet Worldwide. Ria Money Transfer offers services in more than 150 countries through a network of more than 377,000 locations and trading in more than 100 currencies. The KL office now represents the APAC HQ for Ria Money Transfer.
Euronet Worldwide Inc. is a global provider of electronic payment and transaction processing solutions for financial institutions, retailers, service providers and individual consumers. Processing more than one billion transactions annually, Euronet has been powering the transaction processing needs of financial institutions for more than 35 years. Euronet software solutions have been installed more than 300 times in over 70 countries.
Ria launched from one storefront in New York back in 1987.
Ria employs approximately 3,700 people around the world. Ria operates from 75 stores and more than 200 agent locations across Malaysia. We also offer an online service at https://online.imeremit.com/my/
Due to its growing importance, we wanted to collaborate with AMCHAM as an umbrella organization for other businesses that also operate out of Malaysia. We are pleased to have our operations in Malaysia and want to ensure that we can continue to invest and grow.
We believe AMCHAM can provide support and alignment for the common goals and challenges that American businesses may face.
