On August 8, AMCHAM members had the opportunity to have an open discussion with Tan Sri Dr. Rebecca Sta Maria, former Secretary General of MITI, who is one of five appointees to the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) Governance Oversight Committee. The committee has been given the mandate to assist the HRDF board of directors and is tasked to look into issues raised by stakeholders.
Members appreciated the opportunity to share their views and concerns directly with Tan Sri and hope that HRDF will continue to adhere to the principles of good governance, transparency, and accountability as part of their efforts to contribute to nation building.
AMCHAM would like to thank Tan Sri Dr. Rebecca for spending time with our members and our appreciation to our members for their active participation in the discussion.
AMCHAM was honored to be welcomed by Y.B. Darell Leiking, Minister of International Trade and Industry, along with the senior leadership of MITI on 13 August. Accompanied by the Chamber’s Governors, ExxonMobil, GE, Coca-Cola, representatives from Johnson & Johnson, Texas Instruments, Dato Seri SH Wong MAEI Chairman and other senior members, AMCHAM discussed the ways in which we can build on and strengthen the traditionally close collaboration between MITI and AMCHAM as we strive towards our shared goal of ensuring that Malaysia remains a preferred investment destination for U.S. business.
AMCHAM is committed to continue bringing our members’ expertise to the table so as to provide substantive inputs to the regulatory and policy making process, proactively communicating key messages from the American business community on Malaysia’s competitiveness and ease of doing business.
Engagement between the Malaysian government and AMCHAM members is of paramount importance to work towards a pro-business environment and a mutually prosperous future.
AMCHAM organized an Appreciation Dinner for Y.B. Dato’ Sri Mustapa, former Minister of International Trade & Industry with our Board of Governors and AMCHAM members on August 14.
AMCHAM is grateful to Dato’ Sri and his team for the sustained support and engagement from the Ministry during his leadership for the past 9 years.
AMCHAM would like to take this opportunity to say, thank you to Dato’ Sri for his tireless effort and dedication.
Improvement of rural healthcare in Malaysia has always remained a priority for the government with a simple reason that, regardless of socioeconomic background or geographic locations all Malaysians should have access to basic healthcare. However, a remarkable difference in the doctor-patient ratio in the rural areas of Malaysia especially in Sabah and Sarawak continue to present a challenge for the government to provide equitable access to all rural residents.
The lack of health awareness and accessibility has also contributed to common lifestyle diseases in the remote areas of Sabah and Sarawak, the most common being high blood pressure, obesity, low bone density, high cholesterol levels and abnormal blood glucose levels.
To complement government’s public health service, Pfizer Malaysia Health Fellows program has been carrying out missions to Sabah and Sarawak since 2007 to help improve access to healthcare and health literacy in local communities through health education talk and free basic screening program.
Working with non-government organisations, Pfizer employees volunteer under the Health Fellows program to offer medical services to communities in semi-urban and rural areas around Malaysia, usually spending 5 – 8 days in remote locations.
In the recent Pfizer Malaysia Health Fellows Appreciation Ceremony, Works Minister and Sarawak State Assembly for Ba’kelalan, YB Baru Bian attended the occasion to recognize the contributions of the Health Fellows volunteers for their 12th health mission in the remote communities of Ba’kelalan – Lawas.
“As a lawyer who has been fighting for native rights in Sarawak in general and my Lun Bawang constituents in Ba’Kelalan, we greatly value Pfizer Malaysia’s initiative in carrying out a yearly health mission to East Malaysia for the past 12 years and educating the local community on the importance of health and wellness. This is indeed a commendable demonstration of a corporate company’s commitment to give back to the community through programs that improve rural communities’ health awareness and knowledge,” said Baru Bian during his appreciation remarks.
YB Baru Bian continued, “While the government continues to improve on the delivery of basic infrastructure such as hospitals, roads and bridges under my ministry, a Corporate Social Responsibility effort such as the Pfizer Malaysia Health Fellows is an effective bridge to supplement the Ministry of Health’s effort in improving healthcare access and literacy to the rural residents of Malaysia.”
Malaysia has a population of 32 million of which 24% resides in rural areas. Many remote areas in East Malaysia including Ba’kelalan, have rarely enjoyed the patronage of corporate figures and entities due to their geographical locations. While Ministry of Health Malaysia continues to strengthen the rural health services through the improvement of existing facilities and introducing new health services that range from outpatient curative care to preventive and promotive services; every year, Pfizer Malaysia ensures its commitment to reach out to these rural communities – transferring healthcare knowledge and providing free basic health screening through its CSR initiatives such as Care-A-Van, a mobile health screening van offering free screenings and healthcare to underprivileged communities in Peninsular Malaysia since 1998 and Pfizer Malaysia Health Fellows.
Commenting on the Health Fellows program, Azwar Kamarudin, Director of Corporate Affairs, Health & Value, Pfizer Malaysia said the mission carried out in Ba’kelalan this year was the 12th health mission since its inception in 2007 – having visited the extreme remote parts of Borneo and West Malaysia and screened over 6,000 individuals at 45 different locations to date.
“As a company with firm Malaysian roots, Pfizer is a responsible corporate citizen that constantly looks at making a difference in the community and place we operate in. We ensure our initiatives and programs are sustainable and fill a gap. Many rural Malaysians do not have the privilege of quick access to medical attention and treatment and most time, the rural residents have to resort to travelling long journey to the nearest town for healthcare services. What Pfizer Malaysia Health Fellows offers besides providing basic health screening is the fact that our diverse volunteers are carefully selected yearly to go on the mission and apply their healthcare knowledge and skills to educate and provide healthcare to communities where healthcare is limited or difficult to obtain.”
“While our goal in Pfizer is to save and improve lives through the development of innovative life-saving medicines, we equally value the impact we can have on the community where we operate through our CSR efforts. These are also opportunities for Pfizer employees to have a direct impact on the communities in which they live and work, thereby delivering value to our business and society,” continued Azwar.
Throughout the 12th Pfizer Malaysia Health Fellows mission, the volunteers traveled to Long Semadoh Rayeh, Long Tanid, Buduk Bui & Long Langai to screen a total of 165 children and 338 adults. The mission was carried out by 10 volunteers from Pfizer Malaysia in partnership with local non-profit organisation – Barefoot Mercy who helped identify the communities for the mission and coordinated the dental team which complemented the outreach.
Elaine Chan, Co-founder of Barefoot Mercy later shared that, “We chose communities furthest away from Lawas, the closest urban centre, as we felt the need for this programme would be the greatest there. The communities we worked with in Long Semadoh were an obvious choice due to our existing relationships with them. As we were trying to maximise the reach of the programme, we also extended the programme to the communities in Ba’kelalan, marking our first venture into this specific area. Both clusters of communities are marked by an aging population due to the migration of the younger generation to urban centres, with health likely to be an issue for the population.”
“The programme of the actual outreach was ambitious, covering various locations, and it was notable that all the Pfizer volunteers remained highly focused, efficient and energetic throughout the long days they worked. We hope they all came away with a better understanding of life in rural Sarawak which is part of what we aim to do in our efforts to connect communities across the rural-urban divide.”
In the 5-day mission, Health Fellows performed biometric cardiovascular screening and basic health education for the communities. The screening activities include blood pressure test, bone density scan, random blood sugar and total cholesterol test, medical consultations, to name a few. Children screening consist of de-worming, hair de-licing, personal hygiene demonstrations, etc. During consultation and interactions with the community, the volunteers were able to identify that some contributing factors to the residents’ health issues are related to awareness and nutrition. One of the challenges faced by the community is sourcing fresh milk, vegetables and fish which contributed to health issue such as osteoporosis. The community’s diet rich with fried food and meat also contributes to the high number of dyslipidemia cases.
Although brief, the focus of the mission is to improve the community’s health literacy through health education activities, talks and even interactions with the residents so they are able to take better care of themselves and subsequently improve their quality of life. During the screening, residents with simple ailments were given some over-the-counter medications to manage their condition and advised to visit their nearest health clinics if the condition does not improve. For patients with chronic conditions that require further inspections, follow-up or medications they were given referral letters and referred to the nearest healthcare facility with the findings from the screening.
AMCHAM was honored to host Y.A.B. Chow Kon Yeow, the new Chief Minister of Penang and The Honorable Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir, U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia, at the annual AMCHAM Penang Dialogue on 04 September. The 2018 theme, “Penang’s Competitive Edge: Developing Talent for the Digital Age” attracted 200 members and guests including captains of industry from U.S. investors in Penang and senior representatives from key government stakeholders of Bank Negara Malaysia, Invest Penang, MIDA Penang and the Manpower Department.
The Chamber took the opportunity to present to new Chief Minister an Economic Impact Survey prepared by The Malaysian American Electronics Industry (MAEI), the Chamber’s Electrical & Electronics (E&E) committee, quantifying the contributions made by American E&E companies to the Malaysian economy. The E&E sector has grown significantly and its contribution has grown more pronounced since the last survey conducted in 2014.
The 31 member companies responding to the survey were alone responsible for creating 80,000 jobs or more, most of which are held by Malaysians. Of these, 16,500 were for skilled engineers and more than 5,500 workers dedicated specifically to high value-added research, design and development activities.
This emphasis on creating high-skilled jobs was evident in the panel discussions emphasizing the strategic importance placed by U.S. companies on developing Malaysian talent equipped for the digital age. Many of AMCHAM’s members are leading the charge towards Industry 4.0 and, in doing so, are putting together innovative programs to develop and future-proof their local workforce. Particular focus was given to the adoption of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) curriculums to ensure inclusive growth and create enhanced career opportunities for Malaysians across the skills spectrum.
Mr Ramzi Toubassy, President of AMCHAM said “It’s this type of commitment to investing in people and our local communities that makes U.S. investment so valuable – we stay for the long term and we grow together! The prosperity of U.S. companies here in Penang also means prosperity for the people of Penang and surrounding areas.”
Siobhan Das, Executive Director of AMCHAM, commented “AMCHAM’s E&E members have consistently supported the growth and development of Malaysia’s SMEs; on average each member company in the survey works with 194 suppliers, counting only contracts worth at least 100,000 ringgit per year. More than 12 billion ringgit was spent sourcing goods and services locally within Malaysia in 2017. Furthermore, almost all companies surveyed have active Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs, with each company contributing up to 650,000 ringgit per year or 150,000 volunteer hours to local community programs.”
Dato’ Seri Wong Siew Hai, the Chairman of the Malaysian American Electronics Industry (MAEI), emphasized how the growth of the E&E industry in Malaysia has been driven by strong collaboration between the public and private sectors: “AMCHAM’s MAEI Committee focuses on proactively engaging with government stakeholders, especially with MITI, and MIDA, coupled with the direct engagement with the Electrical and Electronics Strategic Council (EESC) from 2016 onwards, including support provided to the Electrical and Electronics Productivity Nexus (EEPN). American companies have helped drive many of the initiatives that have brought us to this vibrant juncture in 2018.”
Y.A.B. Chow Kon Yeow, Chief Minister of Penang, highlighted the 14.3 bn ringgit of approved investments by U.S. companies into Penang since 2008, representing 30% of total approved investments and making the U.S. the largest FDI contributor to the Penang economy. The Chief Minister welcomed Boston Scientific, a leading U.S. medical device company, as one of the newest American investors in the state. Boston Scientific’s 375,000 sq-ft facility global manufacturing plant in Batu Kawan will create more than 400 high value jobs. Many of the U.S. investments in Penang are re-investments and expansion by companies that have been here for many years, and the Chief Minister congratulated an AMCHAM member, Benchmark for recently inaugurating a new International Procurement Office (IPO) and Design Centre in Penang, as well as global manufacturing solutions provider Jabil for expanding their Global Business Centre (GBC) in the state.
The Chief Minister concluded that ‘Penang is proud to celebrate the successes of U.S. MNCs in Penang and is proud to host many reputable American MNCs. We are confident that Penang will remain a thriving growth hub for American and other companies for many years to come.”
