Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) Malaysia was recognized nationally at the Malaysia HR Awards by sweeping 2 Gold Awards in the categories of ‘Employer of Choice’ and Chella Pandian, HR Director bagging the ‘HR Leader of The Year’ spot.

True to the belief that the DNA of MSD are the people who come to work every day and believe they are making a difference by saving and improving the lives of patients in an ethical manner, MSD has created a positive environment of value and purpose, coupled with diversity & inclusion. This would not have been possible without the dedicated leadership practices which helped secure the HR Leader of the Year win as well.

Said Chris Tan, Zone Leader and Managing Director, Merck Sharp & Dohme Malaysia Singapore and Brunei, “I am delighted with this recognition by the Malaysia HR Awards.  This win is a result of conscientious leadership and teams which have translated into best practices and a positive work environment with dedicated employees.   We are proud of these accomplishments and hope these wins will serve to encourage and remind us to achieve further excellence for MSD.”

AMCHAM was delighted to see several of our members contributing to the Future of Work Conference organized by TalentCorp at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on Monday 20th November 2017.

Shareen Shariza Dato’ Abdul Ghani set the tone for her conference in her opening remarks, emphasizing how 50% of today’s primary school children will grow up to work in jobs that do not currently exist. The disruption of the digital age (including automation, AI, robotics) will have a profound effect on the workforce and, if managed properly, can become a source of greater freedom of choice.

Dato’ Haji Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Economic Planning Unit, likewise emphasized how with the coming of Industry 4.0, national competitiveness will be determined more by “demographic quality” rather than “demographic quantity”. Semi-skilled jobs are particularly at risk, and the Minister outlined a range of measures being taken by the government to help Malaysians prepare for the digital era and ensure that the country is ready to capitalize on new opportunities over the coming decades.

Keynote speakers included Prof. Andrew McAfee, Co-founder and Co-director of MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy who sought to debunk traditional business advice that has become irrelevant due to technological progress, and Sir Ken Robinson, the British education and creativity expert who laid out his vision for a more holistic approach to children’s education to prepare them to meet the challenges of the modern work environment.

We were particularly pleased to witness several AMCHAM members contributing to this important discussion. TalentCorp released the results of the ‘Life At Work Survey 2017’ conducted in partnership with Ernst & Young. Ms. Sumitra Nair, Vice President for Talent & Digital Entrepreneurship at the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), chaired a panel discussion into ‘the disappearing office’ that also included Ms. Chong Chye Neo, Managing Director of IBM Malaysia. Microsoft supported the UN’s Universal Children’s Day by hosting a special discussion with six tech-savvy primary schoolers to gain their perspective on how technology should be used in the future.

AMCHAM members also featured prominently in the ‘Life At Work Awards 2017’ which celebrate companies that implement flexible and inclusive workplace strategies aligned to ‘the future of work’. CIMB Group won the award for Best Malaysian Organisation, and PwC Malaysia were recognized as Best International Organisation. Wong & Partners also received a special mention for enabling their employees to continuing working beyond retirement age.

The Employment Insurance System (EIS) was approved by the Dewan Rakyat on October 26, 2017 and will be implemented in January 2018. The EIS is intended as a safety net for retrenched Malaysian employees only. Payments made by both employer and employee are to be used to fund support payments to retrenched employees and assistance in job search, career counselling, and retraining.

Dato’ Mohd Sahar, Chief EIS Officer conducted his first briefing with AMCHAM members on November 21, 2017 at AMCHAM Executive Office. We were grateful for the opportunity to have the Chief EIS Officer himself to brief our members and to have an open discussion as many were not familiar with the EIS.

AMCHAM would like to thank Dato’ Mohd Sahar for briefing our members and most importantly providing members with sufficient information prior to the implementation of EIS in January 2018.

Blood and Silk: Power and conflict in modern SEA is a personal journey of writer Michael Vatikiotis, in his part memoir, part political study of politics, society and power wielded in South East Asia. AMCHAM organised a session with him on November 28th where he spoke about how it interrupts peoples’ lives and why in this region the political landscape is tumultuous. The engaging conversation moderated by Leslie Lopez, a journalist with Singapore News Straits Times, unfurled the intricacies of each South East Asian country and how the traditional political scenario contributes to the economy.