Malaysia Retailer|Vol 5|No 4|2018|Mah Sing

Vol 5 No 4 2017

Turning 25 with Pomp & Grandeur

WM RM9 / EM RM11

MAH SING’S BUSINESS INCENTIVE GRANT PROGRAMME

CONTENTS / VOL. 5 NO. 4

4 EVENTS 41

IN FOCUS 4 Mah Sing’s Business Incentive Grant Programme

MRCA Eases Burden

42 Deepavali With Underprivileged Families

FEATURES

6 Turning 25 With Pomp And Grandeur

43 Hitting The Green For A Good Cause

44 MRCA President’s Selected Activities

45 Charity Ping Pong Tourney

46 Monthly Meetings

ON THE COVER

It helps support owner occupiers during the initial phase of their business.

MRCA appoints two Co-Organising Chairpersons to helm this year’s 25 anniversary dinner.

10 Up Close & Personal

26 Self-service, At Your Convenience

Pick-up stations allow customers to get their online purchases seamlessly.

28 Leading The Online Charge

iPay88 Sdn Bhd provides e-commerce and online payment services to more than 12,000 merchants.

32 Asian Markets Major Players In Digital Revolution

With The Media

MRCA hosted a media appreciation following the huge success of last year’s event.

34 ASLI Summit: Get On Board

Former Inland Revenue Board CEO Tan Sri Dr Mohd Shukor Mahfar now heads McMillan Woods’ National Tax Firm since July 1.

Fletcher School and Mastercard unveil the Digital Evolution Index 2017.

The Digital Marketplace

MRCA President Dato’ Garry Chua shares his insight into the advantages of retailers being a part of the online platform.

35 Focus Point Launches World

Of Elegance

BaliAyu Spa Sanctuary Founder Annie Low shares how she turns her passion for spa treatment into a thriving business.

18 Eye On ASEAN Expansion

V-CUBE Malaysia is focused on its latest foray into Thailand.

19 On Its Way To The Top

Global Top Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd has a positive outlook for the coming year.

20 Serving Shoppers In Balakong

Amerin Mall is slated to open its doors in November.

22 From Raw Data To ‘Gold’

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Prime Minister pledges RM1million towards Ti-Ratana Welfare Society’s building fund.

14 Entrepreneur With A Touch

Mah Sing’s Business Incentive Grant Programme

For Home for Elderly

12 Sharing Professional Insight

24 Federal Government Aid

Blackbox Insights aims to deliver Business Intelligence in a compelling way.

Sight Day 2017

Campaign provides insight as myopia becomes prevalent among schoolchildren.

36 On Real Estate Investment

We speak to Wong Khim Chon, CEO of Am ARA REIT Managers Sdn Bhd, on benefiting from REIT.

37 Malaysia Retailer

Magazine Publisher

V.S. Ganesan and team strive to provide first-rate magazines for trade associations.

38 6 ways To Sizzle Your Speech

Learn how to speak with power and impact, without losing audience attention.

40 Fire at Heaven’s Gate

Could this negatively affect the fortunes of the head of household?

In Focus

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Mah Sing’s Business Incentive Grant Programme It helps support owner occupiers during the initial phase of their business.

ah Sing Group Berhad (Mah Sing) launched its Business Incentive Grant programme for the Group’s commercial products during the Malaysia International Retail and Franchise (MIRF) Exhibition on July 13 at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre.

The programme will provide eligible applicants with business grants should they purchase one of Mah

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Sing’s six participating projects. It is ongoing until December 31. Mah Sing is the diamond sponsor of the MIRF exhibition.

Mah Sing’s Group Managing Director, Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum shared, “The MIRF exhibition is the perfect platform for us to reach out to franchise and retail owners and showcase our commercial products. This was the reason why we felt it was timely for

us to launch our Business Incentive Grant programme.

“The six projects under this programme are quality developments in strategic locations across Klang Valley and in Iskandar Puteri, Johor.

We encourage entrepreneurs, business owners and investors to take advantage of this programme.”

Present at the launch was the guest of honour, Minister of Domestic Trade,

Tan Sri Leong briefing Dato’ Seri Hamzah on Mah Seng’s project. With them are Dato’ Liaw (left), Dato’ Garry (second from left) and Dato’ Albert (third from left).

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5 Cooperatives, and Consumerism, Dato’ Seri Hamzah Bin Zainudin, Mah Sing’s Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Ho Hon Sang, MIRF 2017’s Organising Chairman, Dato’ Liew Bin, Malaysia Retail Chain Association’s President, Dato’ Garry Chua and MRCA’s Immediate Past President, Dato’ Liaw Choon Liang.

Tan Sri Leong shared, “Retailers and franchise owners are a large customer base for Mah Sing as approximately 28% of our remaining gross development value and unbilled sales are commercial developments,

spread across Kuala Lumpur and Greater Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru and Kota Kinabalu.

“Our focus is to enhance the lives of our buyers and this programme will help entrepreneurs, business owners and investors to own a quality commercial unit. Our Lifestyle Shops @ Southville City was the pioneer project to give out business grants but we decided to include five more developments and extend the validity period as we wanted to give our buyers more options.”

The programme will help support

owner occupiers during the initial phase of starting their business as well as investors looking to own one of its units.

The business grants will only be given to approved applicants and Mah Sing will screen through the type of businesses being operated in order to ensure it will complement and add value to the development.

“The projects which are part of the Business Incentive Grant programme were handpicked as they are of exceptional quality and are in prime locations for business ventures,”he said.

THE SIX PARTICIPATING PROJECTS ARE:

1

Lifestyle Shops @ Southville City (KL South) Comprises

208 units of two-storey lifestyle retail shops with land size of 20’ x 65’ (ground floor) & 20’ x 75’ (upper floor) and built-ups from 2,643 sq ft. The units are priced from RM1.8 million. The lifestyle shops will have a ready catchment of 15,800 from Avens Residence and Savanna Executive Suites and can also tap into the Kuala Lumpur population and the neighbouring communities such as Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Bangi, and others.

Southville City is located just next to the KL-Seremban Highway (Northbound side) and will only be 19km to Kuala Lumpur once the direct interchange to the KLSeremban Highway is completed in December.

2

Retail Shops @ D’sara Sentral (PJ North) Comprises

105 units of two- and four-storey retail shops with built-ups from 738 sq ft - 2,796 sq ft. The units are priced from RM1.65 million.

D’sara Sentral is a transit oriented development with a direct link to the Kampung Selamat MRT station under the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) MRT Line 1.

D’sara Sentral has a ready catchment of approximately 4,300 residents within the development as well as its nearby communities and

is only three stations away to the SEGi University, Kota Damansara campus which has a student population of 8,000 and close to the upcoming HELP University Subang 2 campus.

3

M Galleria Shops @ M Residence (Rawang) Comprises

63 units of two-storey shop offices with a land size of 22’ x 75’ and builtup of 3,222 sq ft (intermediate) as well as 45 units of three-storey shop offices with a land size of 24’ x 80’ and builtup of 5,606 sq ft (intermediate).

M Galleria is easily accessible from New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), Latar Highway, and Guthrie Corridor Expressway. The development is also well connected to surrounding mature townships which include Batu Arang, Anggun City, Bandar Tasik Puteri, Bandar Country Homes and Rawang town.

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Two-storey Shops @ Lakeville Residence (Jalan Kuching Kuala Lumpur) Comprises 19 exclusive units of two-storey shops fronting Jalan Sibu with land size from 17’x 51’ (ground floor) & 17’ x 30’ (upper floor) with built-ups from 1,517 sq ft. The units are priced from RM1.57 million.

The entire Lakeville Residence development is situated on the prosperous stretch of activities along Jalan Sibu, well connected to Jalan

Kuching, Jalan Ipoh, Jalan Kepong, DUKE Highway and the MRR 2 Highway.

5

Garden Boulevard Shops @ Garden Residence (Cyberjaya) Comprises 58 units of three-storey dual frontage retail shops with a land size of 26’ x 70’ with built-ups from 1,824 sq ft. The units are priced from RM1.2 million.

Part of Mah Sing’s Garden Plaza, Garden Boulevard Shops have a ready catchment of approximately 7,000 within the development.

Situated in the Garden Residence township which has an estimated population catchment of 58,000 people.

6

The Meridin Walk Lifestyle Mall @ Medini (Iskandar Puteri Johor) Comprises 188 units

of retail shops on the podium floor with built-ups from 579 sq ft to 2,058 sq ft. The units are priced from RM1.18million. The Meridin@Medini strategically fronts the protocol road to Kota Iskandar and is just 1km to Legoland Malaysia, Gleneagles Hospital Medini and Mall of Medini.

The development is also only 3km from Puteri Harbour, Pinewood Studios and EduCity, Iskandar Malaysia. In addition, The Meridin@ Medini is 13km to the Tuas-Singapore Second Link and 22km to Johor Bahru City Centre and CIQ.

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TURNING 25 WITH POMP AND GRANDEUR MRCA appoints two Co-Organising Chairpersons to helm this year’s momentous 25th anniversary dinner that is befitting of its revered status.

o get some insider information on the upcoming “Silver Jubilee and Beyond” 25th Anniversary Dinner, Malaysia Retailer met up with the two women tasked with making the event a resounding success.

Dato’ Winnie Lim has been an experienced Organising Chairperson since she has helmed MRCA anniversary dinner events before, and this year she has received much needed help when Deputy President Valerie Choo was appointed as her Co-Organising Chairperson.

It is a mammoth task that lies ahead as turning 25 is a once in a lifetime milestone for the association that had its humble beginnings with less than 20 members in its first year. The association quickly grew from strength

T

DIAMOND SPONSORS

PLATINUM SPONSORS

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GOLD SPONSORS

to strength under the leadership of its presidents, and now boasts of more than 400 members.

“This year our celebration is a special one. It will be different from the past years and innovative as well.

Hence the scope of the event is huge, necessitating for joint resources, strength and efforts of two leaders to oversee every aspect of it.

“It is an important night for us to show thanks and gratitude to our Founder President, all our Past Presidents, for their hard work and acknowledge their vision for a strong MRCA,” said Valerie Choo.

Dato’ Winnie shared that during the course of the night the association will be giving 25 appreciation awards to loyal members of 15 years and above.

“Their unwavering support over the years are crucial for the current success on MRCA. So I think it is a nice touch to truly show thanks. This is also an opportunity for the young and new members to meet the industry stalwarts,” said Dato’ Winnie.

“Despite economic concerns, we are hoping that this celebration will be the most memorable experience for all those who attend. It also bears witness to our 25 years of existence,” she added.

Guests can look forward to a sensational performance by by actor-

SILVER SPONSORS

Contributions Of MRCA’s President Council A look into the honoured members of the President Council and what they have achieved over the years.

Valerie Choo and Dato’ Winnie Lim.

singer Tony Eusoff with up-and-coming star Teresa Goh. The event will also be graced by a special VVIP, related associations, MRCA Corporate Patrons – Maxis, Maybank, Fusionex, Mastercard and Quill Automobiles, generous sponsors, invited guests, MRCA members and the media. There will be a total of 800 guests.

We will see you all there on November 9, 7.30pm to 11pm at the beautiful Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur.

Cocktail session starts at 6.30pm. Dress code is black tie and evening gown.

Dato’ Eddie Choon Executive Chairman Poh Kong Jewellery Bhd He is the visionary retailer who started it all.

Dato’ Eddie Choon founded RCA Consortium Sdn Bhd in 1992 with two other prominent leading Malaysian retailers. RCA was launched by then Menteri Besar of Selangor, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Haji Abu Hassan, in Ampang Park.

The name was changed to MRCA in 1997.

He led most of their members to occupying prominent shopping centres such as Mid Valley, KLCC, Pavilion, and Queensbay Mall in Penang, among others. Today, there are more than 130 shopping centres in the Klang Valley which can be attributed to MRCA’s initial effort.

As Founding President, Dato’ Eddie Choon was the cornerstone of the association and laid a solid foundation as well as smoothened out MRCA’s teething issues in its early days. He was also someone members looked to for advice to weather the Asian Financial Crisis when he first took office.

Dato’ Eddie Choon’s vision for MRCA remains intact today, in fact, it has grown by leaps and bounds. This is due to his legacy of nurturing today’s successful entrepreneurs who are committed to expand retail businesses in Malaysia and internationally.

Datuk Lee Hwa Cheng CEO of Kaching Network Sdn Bhd Continuing the legacy of nurturing younger and newer MRCA members, Datuk Lee Hwa Cheng initiated numerous opportunities for them to learn from their more successful peers.

The CEO Night, which has now become one of the signature events of MRCA, was the brainchild of Datuk Lee. This is an event where a decorated captain of an industry is invited to speak of his entrepreneurial and management experience. He also spearheaded the MRCA 8TV Entrepreneur Awards to pay tribute while highlighting the rapid development of Malaysia’s business sector.

It was also during his leadership that MRCA’s membership grew exponentially by leaps and bounds to include renowned companies and brands in Malaysia. He had actively engaged not only with the council but also members’ concern.

Datuk Lee and MRCA played host to the inaugural Malaysia Retail Carnival in 2010, which provided an opportunity for members to have a sales-boosting platform.

Datuk Lee initiated and also oversaw the acquisition of the first new office for the MRCA Secretariat in Jaya One in Petaling Jaya.

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8 Datuk Albert Chiang Managing Director Bonia Corporation Bhd Under the leadership of Datuk Albert Chiang, MRCA expanded its reach beyond Malaysian shores. The Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion Taiwan joined MRCA as an affiliated member in 2006, allowing member companies to crossshare learning and business opportunities.

Seeing value in this, Datuk Albert Chiang led a business mission to Indonesia in 2008, participating members gained insights on Indonesian market trends, business culture and practice. This had subsequently led to successful establishment of some members’ brands in the market.

Datuk Albert Chiang also saw the importance of expanding one’s knowledge base, which led to him to organise several informative workshops, especially for younger MRCA members.

In addition, he had organised many informal networking sessions to improve fellowship among MRCA members.

It was also during his advice that the first largest golf competition was organized and further upkeep the good name and status of MRCA.

Dato’ Tay Sim Kim Chairman, OSIM (M) Sdn Bhd Dato’ Tay Sim Kim’s direction for the MRCA was not only fostering good relationships with industry leaders but also build a strong relationship with the government. In 2011 Dato’ Tay and his executive council members met Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak at his office to present MRCA’s proposals.

Dato’ Tay’s numerous contributions included organising the first exclusive MRCA Media Night in 2011. He led MRCA members to attend the International Franchise Expo in Washington DC in 2011 so they could learn how the retail franchise industries in other countries operated.

MRCA achieved a significant milestone with the establishment of the MRCA Branding Education Charity Foundation during his presidency. About RM1.3 million was raised with the objective of providing education assistance to the needy and other CSR charity activities. He had also kick started the first MRCA patron with the appointment of MAXIS Being a visionary retailer, Dato’ Tay launched the “MRCA Malaysia’s Most Outstanding Retailer-Chains – 50 Success Stories Book” in 2011 as recognition to the outstanding and leading entrepreneurs of MRCA members in developing their retail chain and business models. It also signifies the importance and effectiveness of brand development in the retail industry.

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H.E Datuk Seri Nelson Kwok, JP CEO of Nelson Franchise (M) Sdn Bhd Datuk Seri Nelson Kwok brought his sharp business acumen and his health philosophy to MRCA. A first for MRCA members, Datuk Seri Nelson Kwok led a delegation to scale Malaysia’s highest peak, Mount Kinabalu in Sabah in 2012.

In a proud moment in 2013, Datuk Seri Nelson Kwok was appointed the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Mozambique to Malaysia and led a delegation of 18 companies to the African coastal nation to explore investment opportunities.

Datuk Seri Nelson Kwok also oversaw the formation of the MRCA Academy, a non-profit training and programme development centre focused on retail, franchise and branding.

He also ensured MRCA revamped its logo and the news magazine to more accurately reflect its inclusive identity.

His leadership saw an increase in membership as MRCA hit 250 members and the acquisition of a new 5,000 sq ft. premises in One City for the Secretariat’s use, is a testimonial to an ever-growing association. His contributions as Secretary General for many terms were invaluable in driving and supporting all MRCA activities.

Dato’ Liaw Choon Liang JP President of Focus Point Holdings Bhd Dato’ Liaw Choon Liang’s leadership was a testament to his generosity as MRCA successfully organised, for the first time, charitable activities such as MRCA Charity Run and MRCA Malaysia SME Charity Golf. The funds were donated to 15 charities including children homes and the Nepal earthquake victims. It was also used to provide scholarships to children of members who wanted to study in SEGI University.

Dato’ Liaw was instrumental in organising the inaugural Malaysian International Retail Franchise and Licensing Fair (MIRF 2016), the biggest showcase of the retail exhibitors that Malaysia ever seen, together with the MRCA Retail Conference, which was also his brainchild. The conference featured many distinguished guest speakers from various industries who contributed to the forum discussion.

He initiated the MRCA Crown Awards to recognise the invaluable contributions and success of MRCA members for various categories of achievements.

Dato Liaw showed foresight when he set up MRCA Youth so that the younger generation could be groomed for further success.

MRCA SALUTES ITS LEGACY MEMBERS To commemorate the association’s milestone 25th anniversary this year, MRCA is showing deep appreciation and gratitude to 25 long-time members, which all have a hand in building the organisation and contributing to its success.

Poh Kong Holdings Berhad Member since: 1992

Sinma Jewellery Centre Sdn Bhd Member since: 1994

BONIA Corporation Berhad Member since: 1994

Pathology & Clinical Laboratory (M) Sdn Bhd Member since: September 1997

OSIM (M) Sdn Bhd Member since: 1995

PJ Uniform Sdn Bhd Member since: September 1997

Nelson’s Franchise (M) Sdn Bhd Member since: 1996

Marrybrown Sdn Bhd Member since: January 1996

Target Fashion Sdn Bhd Member since: July 1996

Hai-O Raya Berhad Member since: April 2000

Rotol Food Chain (M) Sdn Bhd Member since: September 2000

One-AP Design Agency Sdn Bhd Member since: April 2001

City Real Properties Member since: April 2002

Global Risk Solutions Sdn Bhd Member since: August 2002

Rampai Niaga Sdn Bhd (The Body Shop) Member since: June 2003

Worldcard Sdn Bhd Member since: September 2003

Erican Language Centre Sdn Bhd Member since: March 2004

Voir Holdings Bhd Member since: 2005

Bagus Curtain Sdn Bhd Member since: May 2005

Clara International Beauty Group Sdn Bhd Member since: April 2006

Grand Surf Sdn Bhd (Redbox) Member since: August 2006

City-Link Express (M) Sdn Bhd Member since: November 2006

Golden Scoop Sdn Bhd Member since: November 2007

Sushi Kin Sdn Bhd Member since: December 2007

7-Eleven Malaysia Sdn Bhd Member since: September 1999

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Group photo of MRCA Media Appreciation recipient.

Up Close & Personal With The Media The MRCA once again hosted a media appreciation event on September 7 at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur, following the huge success of last year’s event.

uests were feted to a scrumptious afternoon hi-tea and an exciting programme specially designed for this occasion. Over 230 media guests and sponsors from the crème de la crème of the retail chain

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industry came together to network, foster and promote good rapport between the MRCA’s leaders and local media representatives. Among the guests was Tan Sri Dr. M. Kayveas, Advisor with Minister Status for the Ministry of Transport.

L-R: Dato’ Liaw, Chris Tan, Dato’ Garry, Valerie Choo and Shirley Tay.

Full house at the MRCA Media Appreciation 2017 event.

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(From left): Dato Sri Desmond To, Tan Sri Dr. M. Kayveas, Dato’ Garry and Dato’ Eddie Choo.

MRCA President Dato’ Garry Chua and his Council are aware of the important and critical role the media plays, and the association recognises and appreciates the admirable job performed by the media.

The media had always given the association good support and cooperation in the dissemination of our role and achievements, as a catalyst for the country’s retail industry.

Therefore, MRCA sincerely express their heartfelt thanks and appreciation to

The following were the event sponsors: Double Diamond 1. Quill Automobiles Sdn Bhd 2. Tourism Malaysia 3. Mah Sing Group Bhd Diamond 1.The Store Corporation Berhad 2. Gintell (M) Sdn Bhd Emerald 1. BGMC Corporation Sdn Bhd 2. Horizon L & L Sdn Bhd 3. Managepay Services Sdn Bhd 4. Bina Puri Holdings Bhd 5. AmGeneral Insurance Bhd 6. LED Marketing Sdn Bhd

11

Group photo with Tan Sri Dr. M. Kayveas.

all media practitioners in recognition of their contributions, through which many of their work had increased awareness of the important issues related to the retailing and franchising industry.

The afternoon saw the guests being shown a video presentation on the formation, growth and achievements of the association, updates from the President, a dialogue session with the media and a lucky draw that offered many exciting prizes from generous sponsors. To add to the lively and fun atmosphere, a live band performed popular hits to keep the attendees entertained as they enjoyed a pleasant afternoon.

Dato’ Garry said MRCA’s wishlist for this year’s budget included policies that would make it easier to do business at a lower cost and consistency in implementation.

“I hope the government will introduce more people-friendly and tangible policies that the people can directly feel and appreciate.

“Whether we like it or not, tourists from China take up a big market share of the tourism industry. It was a good move

by Kuala Lumpur International Airport to introduce a Chinese travellers’ helpdesk.

“But, more needs to be done to make Chinese tourists feel welcome if the Malaysian government wants to achieve the target of four million tourists from China this year,” he said this during a short forum held at the event. Other panellists included MRCA Vice-President and Organising Chairperson Shirley Tay, MRCA Immediate Past President Dato’ Liaw Choon Liang and MRCA Deputy President Valerie Choo. The forum was moderated by Chris Tan. Dato’ Garry also said the future of the retail industry in Malaysia and globally would be an adaptation to the digital or e-commerce system.

“We need to embrace the online industry while finding ways to retain

ORGANISING CHAIRPERSON AND MRCA VICEPRESIDENT SHIRLEY TAY “This media event is close to the President’s heart as it is a part of his 6-Point Action Plan, which is to have more engagement and exchange of ideas with the media.”

It was a relaxing and fun afternoon where the retailers and media came together to network, foster and promote good rapport, said Shirley Tay. “Overall, the feedback has been superb.

Our media guests expressed their privilege and honour to have been invited to this auspicious and successful event and to be counted as a friend of the MRCA. They expressed their desire to be counted in for our future events.

“It also received wide coverage from the major newspapers such as The Star, Sin Chew, China Press, The Sun and Kwong Wah Yit Poh. TV3 gave it prominent coverage too in their Buletin 1.3.

“On behalf of the President and the Council of MRCA, I would like to extend our appreciation for your continuous support and guidance in all that the MRCA undertakes.

“With such encouragement from our media partners and friends, the MRCA’s vision and mission are being realised daily and we continue to play a big part in nation building. We could not have achieved so much without your strong and kind support.

“We appreciate the support and cooperation the media has given in the dissemination of MRCA’s roles and achievements, as well as increasing awareness of important issues on the retail and franchising industries.

“The media has contributed greatly in terms of advertising and PR value to MRCA. The advertising value came up to RM5.8 million and PR value was RM17.4 million for news coverage last year by both the print and broadcast media.” an offline business,” said Dato’ Liaw.

“We have to be creative and innovative in coming up with methods of making online and offline businesses work together.” Valerie Choo said that MRCA encouraged its members to consider using e-commerce to remain competitive.

“We should not only look at what is trending now but look ahead into the future as well.” In her speech, Shirley Tay highlighted the importance of the

media such as promoting a brand and its message to a wider audience, increasing a company’s profile among the public and key decision-makers, as well as having publicity and exposure for a company’s notable events.

MRCA also expressed its appreciation and thanked the Corporate Sponsors: Maxis Berhad, Malayan Banking Berhad, Adv Fusionex Sdn Bhd, Mastercard Asia/ Pacific Pte Ltd and Quill Automobiles Sdn Bhd, as well as the event sponsors.

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Sharing Professional Insight utting aside jokes on taxes and taxmen, Tan Sri Dr Mohd Shukor Mahfar has spent the majority of his adult life with the Inland Revenue Board.

He worked with the IRB for 37 years, since March 12, 1979.

On Jan 8, 2011, the Finance Ministry appointed Tan Sri Dr Shukor as CEO to possibly one of the most important civil departments in the country for a four-year term. His contract was then extended for a year after a record high tax collection, exceeding RM100 billion.

His other achievements include being the Malaysian Statutory Body president; the Commonwealth Association of Tax

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After 37 years of enforcing taxation laws, former Inland Revenue Board CEO Tan Sri Dr Mohd Shukor Mahfar now heads McMillan Woods’ National Tax Firm since July 1.

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Administrators chairman; and receiving the Visionary Veteran Motivator of the Year accolade at the McMillan Woods Global Awards 2016.

After your illustrious career with the IRB, how’s life after leaving the department?

When I was in service, there were times I was looking forward to be a free man. Being in the service, work and personal life are restricted, for me at least, especially working in a “sensitive” department like IRB. There is a certain perception to avoid. So after retiring in last December, I have been taking it easy, doing some consultant work

13 in between before my official start at McMillan Woods. Also, I have been giving talks, sharing my experience, it is my way of passing on hard-earned knowledge for the betterment of the country and its people.

Looking back, when you first started in 1979 to December 2016, what were the improvements to IRB made over the years?

In 1979, it was a much smaller department, and coming into the job after a one-year stint in a bank, I had to adjust to a different work culture.

Meanwhile, in 1996 the government had changed the status of the department to its current one.

We had to change from being a government agency to a statutory body, wasn’t an overnight process.

It was tough.

When I was appointed as DirectorGeneral in 2011, I realised there were more things to do. We needed to change our work outlook as we were dealing with taxpayers as clients. We had to explain to taxpayers their rights.

The common perception was that the IRB was stern and unyielding, not entertaining requests as such. In reverse, I said we had to be customer-centric, focused on resolving problems of the taxpayers, not to punish them.

Taxation laws are complicated with amendments all the time. It is difficult for the general public and even businesses to comprehend. To me, that is the role demanded of the IRB officers, to ensure they understand the provision of the law, how best for them to grasp.

Over the years I had been there, I could see many opportunities for IRB to engage with intermediaries and SMEs. How can SMEs better engage with the IRB to ensure adherence to the law?

SMEs are the main pillar of economy in any country. But sad to say, some of SME owners are running their businesses as a sole proprietor, hence their understanding of taxation laws are limited. Perhaps some of them do not have the will to engage with tax professionals who can advise them accordingly. This is a challenge.

I can attest that when dealing with SMEs on their poor record-keeping, 90% of these businesses are cash

Dato’ Seri Raymond Liew, Managing Partner of McMillan Woods Malaysia with Tan Sri Dr Mohd Shukor Mahfar.

transactions, making it difficult for tax authority to know exactly how much income is earned.

When GST was implemented in April 2015, it is a change to the taxation landscape. It is now required by law to note down transactions, so in the long run, it is hoped that it will encourage better record-keeping among the SMEs.

The enforcement body of the FATCA in Malaysia is the IRB and Bank Negara.

There is an automatic exchange of information. For example, if a Malaysian has businesses in China, the Chinese tax authority will pass the relevant information to the Malaysian government. Hence it is important for the SMEs here to understand these issues.

Can you share with us your decision to join McMillan Woods?

I know of the firm many years back, being invited by them to give talks and so on. The reason to join is that its operations stretch beyond Malaysia. This gives me great opportunities to engage with their partners abroad to gain better understanding of international taxation laws and issues so I can guide our clients in Malaysia that are dealing with cross-border transactions and foreign companies. They need to be aware of taxation laws when conducting business in other countries.

Since 2001, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has put up transfer pricing guidelines to counter tax avoidance strategies – known as base erosion and profit shifting. For example, the Inland Revenue Service in the US issued the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) compelling countries to report on income of American citizens abroad.

Income derived from international e-commerce, how should it be taxed?

At its country of origin or at the country of transaction?

This is the current issue faced by the tax authorities. Every country is interested to “claim” the income that you earn.

Prior 2000, it is usually determined the physical presence of the company in any one place. But now that you can run an online business from anywhere, IRB has some guidelines to address this.

Based on that, if the transaction involves non-resident, the withholding tax should be applicable, although the service provider is not physically in Malaysia. Tax authorities are still in discussions to better deal with the evergrowing digital economy.

One can still seek help from IRB but they can only offer guidelines as they are not your personal tax consultants.

For a better and more complete picture, it is still best to seek help from tax professionals.

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In Feature Focus

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ENTREPRENEUR WITH A TOUCH OF ELEGANCE

BaliAyu Spa Sanctuary Founder & Managing Director Annie Low shares how she turns her passion for spa treatment into a thriving business.

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15 he is a natural entrepreneur as proven when she became the first USANA Diamond Director and the first Million Dollar Top Earner in Malaysia.

Former beauty queen Annie Low took a huge calculated risk in opening her own spa as there are many established spa and massage brands in Malaysia even a decade ago. She admitted she didn't really have to as her business in USANA kept her pretty much on her toes.

At the age of 24, being a beauty queen, Annie wanted to venture into a business that she was really interested in. “Since I love going to the spa, I though, why not go into a business where I can enjoy myself and at the same time earn a living.”

Her brainchild, BaliAyu Spa Sanctuary, which she dubbed Malaysia's premier luxury Balinese retreat, opened its first outlet in Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar in 2006.

Today, not only does she run a thriving spa business with a growing clientele, Annie has added two additional branches. One in Kuala Lumpur, and the other in Petaling Jaya.

“BaliAyu refers to beauty of Bali. It is where people feel connected while enjoying treatments especially designed by our trainers.” With a growing popularity and returning satisfied clients, she soon opened a second branch at Paradigm Mall in Petaling Jaya, followed by her latest outlet in Hartamas Shopping Centre.

Annie credits the success of her initial outlet to her background in the beauty and health industry as well as being a dedicated leader and trainer. Also the spa is a perfect reflection of her own personality – passionate and proactive with a positive attitude.

“The three aspects of running a successful health spa are: having highly skilled masseuses, providing soothing accompanying music, and creating an ambience where the client feels calm and relaxed.”

“It is not just about profits but nurturing great relationships with our customers too, since this is a health and wellness industry.”

In fact, her success has brought her an exco membership of the Malaysia Association Of Wellness & Spa, prior to

S

becoming an MRCA member as well as the treasurer for the Malaysian Chinese Women Entrepreneurs Association.

She was also recognised as one of the 100 Most Influential Young Entrepreneurs by Entrepreneur Insight magazine late last year. Recently, she was listed in the Business Edition of the Malaysian Book of Records.

CELEBRATING 10TH ANNIVERSARY This year was a great milestone for Annie and Baliayu.

“I think I've been quite prudent with my company's expansion, unlike some fellow entrepreneurs who already owned dozens of outlets in 10 years.

2006 • Started BaliAyu Spa Sanctuary (Bangsar)

2008 • USANA Top Income Earners #4

2010 • USANA Top Income Earners #1

2012 • USANA Top Income Earners #1

2014 • USANA Top Income Earners #1 • USANA Malaysia's FIRST Diamond Director • USANA Malaysia's FIRST Million Dollar Income Earners

2016 • USANA Executive 2-Star Diamond Director • The 100 Most Influential Young Entrepreneurs (MIYE) • Member of Malaysia Retail Chinese Association (MRCA)

“Before I embark on any project, I would want to ensure it is a resounding success. Hence my decision to open just a few outlets for now, each of them are of equal quality and standard."

Although the economy for the past two years have been soft, Annie said it hasn't adversely affected her spas, even though they are considered a luxury.

“Most of my clients are in the mid to high end of the market, and are willing to spend for a relaxing and pampered experience, after a day of hard work.

“If you look at it, daily flights to Bali and other international destinations are frequent. It still shows Malaysians are pampering themselves to holidays and such. But for a fraction of the cost of a

2007 • Join USANA Health Science (MLM)

2009 • USANA Top Income Earners #2

2011 • Top Asia Pacific Distributor Enroller#1 • USANA Top Income Earners #1

2013 • USANA Top Income Earners #1 • DSAA Outstanding Entrepreneurs Award • BaliAyu Spa 2nd outlet at Paradigm Mall

2015 • USANA Executive 1-Star Diamond Director • USANA Top Income Earners#3

2017 • BaliAyu Spa 3rd outlet opening at Hartamas shopping centre • Malaysia Book of Records Business Edition "Women Achievement" • USANA 3-Star Diamond Director • Treasurer for (MCWEA) Malaysia Chinese woman Entrepreneurs Association • Exco for (MAWSPA) Malaysia Association Of Wellness & Spa

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16 In Feature Focus

BALIAYU SPA IN A NUTSHELL

Balinese massage therapy specialises in detox and lymphatic treatments, in addition to muscle relaxation.

Highly skilled masseuses use aromatic essences combined with a top quality olive oil base to deliver a holistic health experience.

Aside from that, Baliayu Spa also offers traditional Thai, hot stone massage, four-hand massages as well as foot reflexology, body scrubs, facials, pre- and postnatal treatments and more.

In addition to its signature “Bali Fresh” treatment, the spa is now offering corporate memberships.

Companies buy package deals that will provide eligible employees the opportunity to use the spa treatments at their leisure.

holiday, you can leave the stresses of the real world behind and enjoy a great day with us.”

She also felt that her spa's therapeutic and lymphatic massages set BaliAyu apart from its competition.

“We don't only provide a relaxing massage, but our masseuses are skilled at delivering massages with health benefits. Most of them are Malaysians and Bali natives, well trained by Balinese masters.” Her unique way of interviewing potential masseuses are for them to give her a massage.

“They will first be interviewed by my managers. Then they need to give me a massage to gauge their skills. If they are lacking, they will be given intensive training by our masters. This will ensure the high quality that I want across all my outlets.”

GOING FORWARD

Photography Song@Picture This

“We provide a relaxing massage, our masseuses are skilled at delivering massages with health benefits. Most of them are Malaysians and Bali natives, well trained by Balinese masters.”

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In the coming years, Annie hopes to have three more outlets, about two years apart, or with potential franchisees.

In terms of choosing suitable locations, it has to be a place that is more towards the medium and high bracket, as evidenced in her existing outlets in Bangsar, Paradigm Mall and Sri Hartamas.

“I'm also looking into opportunities to open in luxury malls and high-end hotels will suit our brand nicely.”

Annie also mentioned that since joining MRCA, her clientele base has increased leaps and bounds, simply because of the networking opportunities the association offers, as well as added brand value.

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Eye On ASEAN Expansion V-CUBE Malaysia is focused on its latest foray into Thailand.

irector Hiroki Murofushi said last year, in 2016, V-CUBE had set up V-cube Thailand Co Ltd, as a rapid response to a number of inquiries from the Thailand government and large enterprises.

“Since setting up the Thai office, their sales have been increasing and we will keep doing our marketing and promoting for our V-CUBE services in Vietnam, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar,” he said.

He said V-CUBE does not have a physical presence yet in India, as the company is still exploring opportunities in that country.

On consolidated group sales and growth over the past five years, he said the amount had grown 3.5 times in four years, from US$22.6 million in 2013 to US$69.7 million in 2017.

He said the Asia markets contributed about 26% to these sales in 2016, excluding Japan.

Murofushi said the goal of V-CUBE in the region was to achieve the largest market share in this industry in Asia, hence the company was embarking on aggressive marketing efforts and investments in the Asia-Pacific region.

He said achieving this target takes time, estimating that it could be done in five years or more.

“Aside from small-medium enterprises, our main customers are large enterprises from all industries and government agencies.

“Since we can deliver our V-CUBE services as both cloud or on-premise

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Director Hiroki Murofushi.

to our customers, we have a lot of inquiries on them as well,” he said.

V-CUBE plans to continue to develop its business in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in India and Vietnam as new markets to cover, but not only in the business area but also its services.

These services include webconferencing, webinar solutions, Learning Management System (LMS) and Enterprise Video Hub solution, like a corporate version of YouTube, in order to increase its revenue and contribute towards business communication and sharing of business knowledge.

Japan and Singapore are already strong advocates of the LMS, he said.

In its other markets in Asia, the company is interested in promoting their LMS services to human resource managers, as an effective way to

offer internal training to their teams, particularly in the retail industry.

Under this industry, a consistent standard was expected of their products and solutions, hence efficient and effective internal training is very important. V-CUBE Malaysia believes LMS is one of the good ways to manage internal trainings effectively.

On challenges, Murofushi said V-CUBE was seeing potential in Malaysia as the company has been receiving an average of 30 inquiries a month since the start of the year.

“We might have a challenge in finding more experienced sales resources and it was also important to ensure we keep up with the latest technology,” he added.

V-CUBE Malaysia is one of the Asian subsidiaries of Tokyo-based V-CUBE, Inc. It began as a web designing enterprise as well as company that developed a number of Internet-based services for customers in Japan, and soon after a custom-designed web conferencing tool.

The company’s dynamic to web conferencing uses the best technology, allowing communication to be as good as seeing all parties in person.

In 2015, V-CUBE, Inc. expanded its business in robotics with a focus on solutions related to drones.

The development of drone related solutions has exceeded expectation in terms speed, scalability and agility, which led to the decision to establish V-CUBE Robotics Japan as a subsidiary of V-CUBE Group.

Global Top Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd has a positive outlook for the coming year.

lobal Top Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd (GTC) is focused on accelerating its growth and building on the strength of its brand and products in its outlook for 2018.

“We will continue to provide free security consultation, free audit of security systems, sharing of knowledge, and providing consistent training to our business partners or franchisees,” said GTC group managing director Teoh Tean Tiar.

He said GTC was determined to create product innovation to make a positive change to the local and overseas markets.

Teoh, who is also known as TT Teoh, said evolution was necessary to compete in today’s marketplaces.

On 2017, he said a slowdown in the economy has also been one of the challenges in business.

“Despite the lacklustre state of the economic environment, we believe in establishing in-depth relationships with our clients by learning their environment, challenges and goals first-hand, so that we can offer tangible solutions with candid perspective.

“We continue to manage our

G

business around the evolving needs of our clients, so that we can be at the forefront of change and deliver value – because value is what their constituents demand,” he said.

He added that clients these days were more informed than ever about their solutions provider options, but even so, he was confident they would continue to select GTC as their choice of surveillance system provider because of the organisation’s professionalism, experience, commitment to quality and integrity.

Teoh explained GTC’s products were on par with established international brands, but was affordable. “We had franchised and exported our products’ to more than 14 countries. This shows that GTC product’s quality and solutions are proven in the market,” he said.

Milano International Expo 2015 @ Italy, KCC – the largest shopping mall in Sri Lanka, Public Bank Berhad and UOB Bank Vietnam, Celadon City – Gamuda Land, Oxygen Mall – Capital Land are among GTC’s clients.

GTC not only sells closed-circuit television (CCTV) or smart home products, but also provides surveillance

TT Teoh receiving the ASEAN SME Entrepreneur award from Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Razak.

GTC manufactures its own surveillance products.

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19 Feature

On Its Way To The Top

and smart living system integration design and solutions.

“We manufacture our own surveillance product, and we even design our unique camera housing which has been registered under MyIPO (ID MY),” he said, adding that this was part of the company’s differentiation strategy.

He added that in GTC, there is a CCTV Clinic division that offers service such as yearly maintenance contract, free security systems audit and CCTV and smart living system integration.

GTC intends to roll out its new technology smart living system in the third quarter of the year, which Teoh is confident of receiving positive response from local and international developers.

The company, which has MSC status, was set up to deliver high quality, user-friendly, smart and interoperable security solutions. The organisation’s experienced professionals from the security and technology industries have positioned the company to produce solutions that are designed to be durable, reliable and of high quality.

Teoh, a pioneer in this field, has won numerous awards including 2017 SME Entrepreneur Award at the ASEAN@50 Commemorative Dinner, where only 10 awards were given. This makes GTC one of the leading companies in this industry in Malaysia.

Other recognitions include achievement awards from the Malaysia Franchise Awards, Top Ten Creative Young Entrepreneur as well as the BrandLaureate SME Bestbrands awards.

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Serving Shoppers In Balakong Amerin Mall is slated to open its doors in November.

he adage: If you want to develop a mall, do your research and know your market. That is what exactly the developer of Amerin Mall did.

Amerin Mall is located in the heart of Balakong, located along the SILK Highway, directly opposite the Toyota and Mercedes showrooms.

The three-level mall has 155,000 sf of net lettable area, with a total of 70 lots, including kiosks. The main attraction of Amerin Mall will be the F&B area just next to the River Promenade, which promises exciting nightlife, great events and creative activities.

Amerin Mall has approximately 7,000 sf of expo area for events such

T

as pets fair, baby expo, wedding expo and so on. In fact, the mall will be organising a 10-day Furniture Expo in December 2017.

Mall enthusiasts can also look forward to its opening in November 2017. Currently Amerin Mall has a 60% occupancy featuring brands such as Aneka Hardware, 7 Eleven, Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, XES Shoes, Espresso Lab and more.

Each floor has its own theme, with Ground Floor having a retail and grocer anchor with al fresco F&B outlets while the first floor will be focused on lifestyle, art and fashion. Lastly, the second floor will have outlets themed health, education and entertainment. Visitors

can also look forward to the Mall’s eight cinema halls.

It is also a good opportunity for retailers to set up shop as the Mall offers ample parking for customers and tenants, with a readily populated catchment.

Right above the mall is One Amerin Residence – 608 units of serviced apartments, complete with the Amerin shuttle service to ferry residents to and fro the MRT Bukit Dukung station, which helps to drive visitors to the mall.

Furthermore, there is a kindergarten (KinderHouse) and an international primary and secondary schools (Excel Learning) as part of the residence.

The schools and the Airbnb Business option will commence in November, in line with the mall’s opening.

The Airbnb Business will be managed by the residence owners respectively.

For leasing enquiries, please contact Aaron (012-643 0088), Sara (012-213 3828) or Ms Chai (016-361 6676). For expo and events, please contact Hui Lei (017-681 7223). Contact Aaron (012-643 0088) for serviced apartment information.

Amerin Mall will have a ready catchment of visitors in and around Balakong.

Residential facilities at One Amerin Residence.

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From Raw Data To ‘Gold’ Blackbox Insights aims to deliver Business Intelligence in a compelling way.

ften times business owners, especially in the retail and franchise industry, are dogged by inefficiencies and inaccurate company data that may adversely affect important decisions.

When business intelligence systems were introduced, many jumped on the bandwagon thinking data-driven solutions will help them tremendously in growing the business exponentially.

However, many such solutions require immense capital expenditure and doesn’t quite provide the “last mile” for business owners. Coupled with poor delivery of reports and analyses, business owners soon retreated from business intelligence systems and went back to their old ways.

Seeing these challenges as something that can be remedied, Blackbox Insights was established to bridge that last mile with business owners to truly utilise business intelligence systems at a fraction of the cost.

Chief Operating Officer Desmond Ng shared that most of the “big boys” solution providers are often based overseas, and getting a customised experience is hampered by the lack of understanding of local business

O

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environment as well as being extremely costly.

“Instead, we are a local company with a parent company that is based in retail for more than 30 years. Our parent company has been using business intelligence and found it to be very useful, hence that is our aim.

“My team and I meet business owners directly and we need to capture the essence of the tool in five minutes.

Most of them may not be tech-savvy and are not willing to spend on something they don’t understand.

“Once the owners themselves are on board, it is only the matter of changing their staff’s mindset and ways of working. There is an initial learning curve, but once our team irons out the kinks, it will be seamless.”

He revealed that one of the challenges is to scrub raw data. “Most businesses have data sitting in different machines, formats and all. Our job is to collect and make sense of them all.

Also, there may be missing or bad data.

That needs to be addressed too.

“But most importantly, the owners have to be convinced of its usefulness.

Otherwise, it is difficult to harness the maximum capabilities the tools can offer.”

Desmond Ng, Chief Operating Officer.

Ng shared that Blackbox Insights are releasing Performance Plus, a full suite of business intelligence tools tailored for retail chain stores, that can be accessed via mobile and tablets.

To ensure security, they have layers of access to compartmentalise sensitive information. Owners get real-time updates, projections, data analysis – all displayed in a simplified manner.

“In many cases, the client will not get the up-to-date reports, simply because the staff needs one to two weeks to generate the reports. Even then, they are not accurate and don’t present a full scope of the business. With our data tools, the numbers don’t lie.

“Now our clients have the software on their mobile gadgets, so they can check the numbers and make immediate and informed decisions about their companies on a flexible basis. This is especially important for retail chain stores, as each outlet has a slightly different demographic of customers and locales.”

As for the company’s plans ahead, Ng said they are looking to hire another 100 or so programmers to address market needs and client demands.

“Now that word is getting out, we find that potential clients are eager to implement business intelligence in their companies. In this highly competitive business environment, an edge over your competitors can mean a lot,” he said.

23

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Escorting Dato’ Sri Na jib Tun Razak at the groundbreaking ceremony are Ven Da tuk K. Sri Dhammarat ana (left) and Dato’ KK Chai, Presid ent of Ti-Ratana We lfare Society (right).

Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak receiving a toke of appreciation from Ven Datuk K. Sri Dhammaratana.

Federal Government Aid for Home for The Elderly Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak pledges RM1million towards Ti-Ratana Welfare Society’s building fund helmed by Ven Datuk K. Sri Dhammaratana.

is typical day starts at 4.30am and does not end at least until midnight.

Aside from his official duties as head of the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple in KL and Ti-Ratana Welfare Society, he finds time to comfort devotees, lead prayers, send inspirational and uplifting messages through WhatsApp as well as provide insights and comments into issues relating to Buddhism.

These days, Chief High Priest of Malaysia Ven Datuk K. Sri Dhammaratana is busy meeting various

H

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organisations and corporations to raise funds for his most definitive project yet.

The 69-year-old recently oversaw the groundbreaking ceremony for a fivestorey building, just a few metres from the society’s headquarters in Salak South Baru, Kuala Lumpur. The RM12 million building will house facilities and help to provide free elderly care for 500 senior citizens.

“We managed to raise RM30,000 on the groundbreaking day itself and Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Razak has pledged to give us RM1 million. With the RM4 million that we put in, we are still short of funds.

“The project will need 13 months to complete, barring any delays. I’m confident that we can achieve our target by then,” said Datuk Dhammaratana.

He characterised the senior home as his most ambitious one so far, mooting the idea since 2012.

“When we first started on February 9, 1994, we were operating like a sundry shop. But now we are operating like a hypermarket. We cannot just have another facility that is not future-proof.”

“We want to ensure the seniors in our care have a good quality of life and a peaceful stay.”

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“I’ll be very happy if I can see these projects through in my lifetime.

I consider these as my biggest achievements.” ~ Chief High Priest of Malaysia Ven Datuk K. Sri Dhammaratana

cheque Ven Datuk K. Sri Dhammaratana receiving Cheng, for RM30,000 from MRCA. L-R: Dato’ Lee Hwa ana, marat Dham Sri K. Datuk Ven Dato’ Garry Chua, Alex Wong.

Dato’ Tay Sim Kim, Valerie Choo and Dato’

The building accommodates two levels for male residents and two for females, with facilities such as doublewide corridors to fit wheelchairs, medical centre offering free basic medical check-ups and medication, supported by specialist doctors making scheduled visits to provide free medical consultation and treatment. There are plans to have an ambulance service too.

“We will provide free food, lodging and medical care for seniors, especially those who are poor with no immediate family. Everything will be taken care of,” he said.

Since it is such a huge undertaking, he has been busy organising fundraisers with help from the society’s “Wonder Women”. This group of about 40 women will help him run these activities, including a 20th anniversary dinner on November 18, selling mooncakes and so on.

Currently, Ti-Ratana spends RM180,000 a month on the children and senior citizens under its roof.

“While we get the building done, the old folks, about 180 of them, are relocated to our girls and boys homes respectively. It is a bit of a squeeze at the moment,” he said.

The four houses they were previously occupying were infested with termites and had to be demolished to make way for the new building.

To lend his team of volunteers a hand, the society’s President Datuk KK Chai and the committee of 17 members will pitch in to raise funds.

Group photo with Da

to’ Garry and Ven Da

“I see these charity activities as a good way to foster harmony and healthy racial relations. Our volunteers are from all walks of life, religion and beliefs. But for a good cause, they all come together to contribute without prejudice,” said Datuk Dhammaratana.

Datuk Dhammaratana was ordained in 1965 in Sri Lanka before making his way to Malaysia. He has spent almost 50 years in Malaysia and turns 70 in 2018.

To spend time making this project a reality, he has declined an invitation to speak at the World Economic Forum.

“I have three things I need to get done before my ‘retirement’. The senior home is one of it. The other two are the Ti-Ratana Sanctuary and our vocational institute.

“I’ll be very happy if I can see these projects through in my lifetime.

I consider these as my biggest achievements.”

tuk K. Sri Dhammarat

ana.

The Ti-Ratana Sanctuary better known as the Bentong village project, has begun construction work and will be completed in 2019 while the Ti-Ratana vocational institute in Bangi is awaiting approval for conversion of land status.

Ti-Ratana Welfare Society is a community service society set up in the spirit of compassion to both serve and provide shelter, education and care to the underprivileged members of the community.

It is also a voluntary, not-for-profit, non-partisan and non-denominational organisation offering a wide scope of community services. Currently, the society also runs women shelters and homes for the handicapped.

To support T-Ratana Welfare Society, MRCA contributed RM30,000 from the MRCA Branding Education Charity Foundation and RM10,000 from MRCA Charity Golf Event 2017.

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Self-Service, At Your Convenience Pick-up stations allow customers to get their online purchases seamlessly.

etail consumers are a fickle lot and vary in taste, expectations and trends.

This has made it difficult for retailers who are weathering the storm of online shopping. Department stores and hypermarkets all over the world have been dented by declining physical foot traffic, sending business owners scrambling to keep pace with new technology to lure customers.

Some department stores have attempted to adjust to the rise of online competitors by building digital platforms to reach shoppers on their computers or phones.

And some have turned to shrinking their outlets, investing more in technology such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and self checkouts, as well as teaming up with digital giants like Alibaba and Amazon.

However, various studies in established retail markets have shown that the underlying customer expectation is convenience. Majority of customers prefer to avoid hassle of inefficient queues, trawling huge stores, carrying produce to the car and being stuck in endless traffic, which is why digital startups are often geared to pander to our love for convenience.

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“In a perfect world, we want excellence customer service – to a point where the personnel can ‘read’ what we want – and having our shopping given to us wherever, whenever. Retailers have also stated one of the biggest challenge in offering delivery is the last mile solution,” said Roine Gabrielsson, StrongPoint SVP and Managing Director for APAC. Many a times, customers are not at home or living in rural areas that are difficult to find as well as missed delivery times.

One solution could be a win-win situation for convenience stores and hypermarkets and their customers who prefer to shop online.

“Instead of contacting the customers to organise for a tedious drop-off, customers can order online and pick them up whenever it is convenient.

The concept isn’t new; being extremely popular in the UK, utilised by Amazon UK, and Western Europe,” he said.

Click & Collect is essentially pick-up stations that are placed at convenient locations such as shops, supermarkets, post offices and public transportation stations.

According to a McKinsey study, Click & Collect will result in as much as a 30%

cut in cost, which makes the investment much more viable for retailers.

It stated, “A common rule of thumb that almost always applies is that the last mile is the highest cost. Click & Collect opens up for the possibility for profitable and convenient online shopping in the grocery segment as well.”

The pick-up station is equipped with compartments for frozen and chilled goods. To access the given “locker”, customers need to punch in an access code sent to them. They are given a period of three days or more, depending on retailers, to get their purchases.

In terms of convenience, one can get their goods without the hassle of arranging prompt delivery times. As for retailers, they can rationalise delivery personnel costs.

Implementation in Malaysia isn’t too far away. Click & Collect manufacturer – StrongPoint – is in discussion with several retailers to install them as a last mile solution.

Recently StrongPoint opened a showroom for their suite of products at the mezzanine of Etiqa Twins in Kuala Lumpur.

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+603 2773 4096, info.apac@strongpoint.com Tower 2 Etiqa Twins, 11 Jalan Pinang, 50450, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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Leading The Online Charge

Chan Kok Long, Executive Director of iPay88 and Mobile88.com Sdn Bhd.

iPay88 Sdn Bhd provides e-commerce and online payment services to more than 12,000 merchants.

Pay88 Sdn Bhd is ASEAN’s leading payment company in providing e-commerce and online payment services to more than 12,000 merchants in the region and globally.

This digital payment solution provider engages over 200 professionals across its offices backed by strong partnerships with over 100 local and international financial institutions. iPay88’s state-of-the-art payment solutions have assisted and built up thousands of successful entrepreneurs in the e-commerce and m-commerce space. To connect better and to grow the e-commerce industry in Malaysia, IPay 88 welcomes partnerships. In 2015, Japanese system integration company NTT DATA acquired iPay88 to provide diverse services worldwide.

This move had allowed both players to combine their strengths from NTT DATA’s solutions to iPay88’s renowned online payment systems for merchants

i

SERVICES OFFERED:

� Direct Link – internet payment system for direct payment collection. � Tokenisation – allows users to link customers’ bank card details with a digital token to simplify transactions. � Easy payment plan – gives freedom to customers to choose installment plan over a period of time. � Recurring payment – easy technological implementation that does not require integration with iPay88.

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and financial institutions to co-offer multiple advanced-andcompetitive electronic payment services.

Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, iPay88 has presence in Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Bangladesh. iPay88 also has presence in Hong Kong, China and Japan through its collaboration with NTT DATA. Further expansion into Myanmar, Qatar, the UAE, Australia, Laos and Taiwan is in iPay88’s pipeline.

It recently won recognition at the Global Responsible Business Leadership Awards 2017 and an award under the ICT Business Strategy Excellence SME and Entrepreneurship Business Awards

� Email payment – allows e-invoies and payment request for customers. � mPos – accepts pay-on-delivery payment option through connection of smartphones using bluetooth functions. � Campaigns and promotions – Customised to attract more customers, increase brand awareness and offer shopping incentives. � Payout – Provide iPay88 with list of recipients and amounts that they should receive.

� Pay4Me – Empower those without access to financial institutions services to shop online, this service allows payment by third-party who is not the main shopper. � Virtual Terminal – Online version of a physical credit card terminal. � Risk and Fraud management - iPay88 minimises online fraud risk through a host of tools including filtering transactions, purchase frequency controls, transaction amount limits and blacklisting fraud cases.

R-L: Lim, Chan, Chong and staff.

2017 under the category of Industry Dominance as well as MyClear’s Malaysian e-Payments Excellence Awards under Top FPX Acquirer.

The MyClear Awards is an annual event that recognises the outstanding achievements of banks, businesses and government agencies that have contributed significantly towards excellence, innovation and growth in e-payments. IPay 88 won this award for nine consecutive years and it is the only non bank to win this award.

This organisation was founded by Lim Kok Hing, Chong Lee Kean and Chan Kok Long. Chan is actively involved in sales and marketing, working closely with customers, partners and agencies in shaping the e-commerce landscape locally and regionally.

To recognise his contributions, Chan had been awarded with Technopreneur Excellence Award presented by PIKOM ICT Leadership Award (PILA) 2016. He is also one of the Top Nominees for EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 under the Emerging Entrepreneur category.

He is currently serving as Councillor and E-Commerce Malaysia Deputy Chair for PIKOM.

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Asian Markets Major Players In Digital Revolution Fletcher School and Mastercard unveil the Digital Evolution Index 2017, an in-depth look at technology adoption and the state of digital trust globally.

ew research by The Fletcher School at Tufts University in partnership with Mastercard has identified developed markets in Asia Pacific, such as Singapore, New Zealand, South Korea and Hong Kong, as the leading the charge for a digital future. With momentum and innovation on their side, these markets exemplify the sweet spot of advancement and future growth.

On the other hand, developing markets in the region, such as China, Malaysia, India, Philippines, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, are evolving rapidly, and though are low-scoring in their current states of digitalisation, they are demonstrating the fastest momentum and significant headroom for growth.

The Digital Evolution Index 2017 maps the development of 60 countries, demonstrating their competitiveness and market potential for further digital economic growth. It looks at four key drivers and 170 unique indicators to chart each country’s respective course: • Supply (or internet access and infrastructure) • Consumer demand for digital technologies • Institutional environment (government policies/laws and resources) • Innovation (investments into R&D and digital start-ups etc.)

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environment and experience fostered by government and businesses is highly sophisticated.

In Singapore, the government is pushing the smart-city agenda to new levels by harnessing all public data to create a “Virtual Singapore,” a genuine “Smart Nation”. This online platform will map out the performance of the city state in real time. It will be possible to look at how diseases might spread in an epidemic, or how traffic will react to roadworks.

The top 10 is rounded out by Norway (1st), Sweden (2nd), Switzerland (3rd), Denmark (4th), Finland (5th), the United Kingdom (8th) and the United States (10th).The four Nordic nations that feature in the top five have an impressive history of producing global brands and innovative startups, despite their relatively small populations.

MOMENTUM OF DIGITALISATION ACROSS ASIA PACIFIC

ASIA RIDING HIGH, LESSONS TO LEARN According to their overall digital evolution scores, international trade hubs Singapore (6th) and Hong Kong (9th) make the top ten list of advanced digital economies globally.

In South Korea (7th), the digital

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However, past digitalisation is not translating into future momentum.

While their governments were early investors in digitalisation, they now suffer from a combination of demand saturation and clogged innovation engines, which Asia’s digital leaders could stand to learn from.

At the other end of the spectrum, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh scored the lowest in the Index, indicating that much more can be done to develop their digital economies.

For example, only roughly a quarter of India’s population can access digital services via a smartphone, despite the recent rapid uptake following the government’s demonetisation initiatives. That said, the popularity of services rooted in older technologies demonstrate the potential for growth through data enabled mobile solutions.

Parry Ong, Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte Ltd Country Manager Malaysia & Brunei.

How fast markets in Asia Pacific continue to develop digitally and how open and supportive they are to innovation hold clues into their future growth potential. Combining the pace and state of digital advancement, the research puts the markets into four distinct categories: • Stand Out – Singapore, New Zealand, and Hong Kong demonstrated high levels of digital development while continuing to lead in innovation and new growth.

• Break Out – Though China, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam are still at lower absolute levels of digital advancement, these countries demonstrate the fastest

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• Stall Out – Australia, Japan and South Korea are digitally advanced but because of slowing momentum, they are at a risk of falling behind.

• Watch Out – Thailand faces challenges and is constrained both by low levels of digital advancement and a slow pace of growth.

“Adoption, the quality of digital infrastructure and institutions, and innovation collectively shape a country’s digital competitiveness, but governments also play a key role. The report also found that consumers’ trust in digital technologies correlates with digital competitiveness,” said Bhaskar Chakravorti, senior associate dean of international business & finance at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and founding executive director of Fletcher’s Institute for Business in the Global Context.

“The global digital economy is rapidly evolving, and Asian markets are emerging as key players with strong investor and entrepreneurial interest.

Digitally advanced markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong and New Zealand have set the standards for others to emulate, trailblazing the way forward for other markets to look at their models and examine which elements of a successful strategy they can potentially replicate, or even further improve on,” said Ajay Bhalla, president, global enterprise risk & security, Mastercard.

“While it takes a complex combination of factors to bring a digital economy to the next level, momentum, innovation and trust are the imperative constants to becoming a successful digital nation.

For Asia Pacific, where 46% of the region’s population is online, and 96% have access to a mobile phone which is higher than any other region, it is no secret that businesses and governments that are responsible for the region’s economic growth are looking to make sure they continue to stand out and break out when it comes to adopting and adapting to our digital future.”

To date, digital trust has proved difficult to understand, let alone measure, but it remains a keystone of the global digital economy. New to the 2017 report, the research team analysed 42 of the 60 countries in the

Implications: How Countries Can Win More details and country-specific case studies can be found in the summary insights overview including:

• Use public policy as key to success of the digital economy: This has implications ranging from Brexit negotiations to how India nudges its society towards a “less cash” future to the USChina competition for economic dominance.

• Identify what drives digital momentum: Developed and developing economies ought to emphasise different ways to spur growth: innovation and institutions, respectively.

• Jumpstart small country growth by involving government: They can grow quickly as early adopters by assembling the right ecosystems.

• Reinvent digital stalwarts: The most digitally advanced countries can use their scale and existing connections in the world to reinvent themselves.

• Play digital catch-up by closing the mobile internet gap: The least digitally advanced countries must prioritise increasing internet access via mobile phones.

• Work harder to earn users’ trust: As nations become more digitally evolved and momentum slows, technology providers and policymakers may need to prioritise building trust to continue growth.

Index around four key dimensions — environment (security, accountability, privacy), experience (extent of friction), behaviour (tolerance for friction, use of e-commerce) and attitude (self-reported trust) — to understand the state of digital trust.

Overall the research shows that in less advanced markets such as China and Malaysia which are undergoing rapid advances in digital technology, individuals are more tolerant of friction in their daily digital interactions and transactions – such as slow internet speeds – suggesting that momentum

may be a vital factor in understanding consumer behaviour and trust.

In South Korea, Australia, the United States and France, where the digital environment and experience fostered by government and businesses is highly sophisticated, users tend to be less patient and fickle when faced with friction online.

Western and Northern European states lead in digital trust experience and environment scores, which reflect investments in strong security, privacy, and accountability measures, and in minimising friction.

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ASLI Summit: Get On Board The Digital Marketplace MRCA President Dato’ Garry Chua shared his insight into the advantages of retailers being a part of the online platform.

hysical retail stores must consider having a strong presence on an online platform to have a foot in the door that is the digital marketplace of today.

MRCA President Dato’ Garry Chua said stores with online presence would have the advantage to reinforce their presence and present a strong brand or image.

“The cost of setting up an online platform is low. For example, the startup costs are low with minimal costs for labour and stock,” he said when speaking at the 20th National Housing and Property Summit organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI).

It appeared that online “seemed to be the better winner”, said Dato’ Garry, as analytics had proven time and time again that having a digital space helped

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in capturing target audiences and consumers.

Retail brands should consider online tools such as Alipay and WeChat as ways to broaden their reach to engage customers who are increasingly digitalsavvy when it comes to shopping.

Financial technology is fast becoming an alternative to conventional banking systems, offering easy payments and loans for small and medium enterprises.

“Worldwide, there are half a billion mobile payment users,” he said, adding that it showed the immense potential of online consumption.

China’s retail market alone is worth about RM20 trillion, and players such as Amazon and Alibaba are larger than Walmart.

The growth of online players is impressive, thanks to partnerships with companies such as Alipay and US credit cards.

Dato’ Garry with organisers Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute at the 20th National Housing & Property Summit on October 5 and 6.

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First Data Corporation, Alibaba’s parent company, is supporting four million merchants or retailers that compete with PayPal and ApplePay in the US. Another example is Tencent, owner of WeChat, which partnered Citron, offering mobile payment for Chinese tourists.

A business-to-consumer example is Aliexpress, reaching out to an overseas market of 100 million buyers and with an objective of building a “Cyber Silk Road”.

Dato’ Garry explained that Aliexpress intends to reach out to one billion users. It is currently working with more than 1,000 small merchants, offering a potential US$500,000 worth of crossborder transactions.

He said the move to the online space was necessary as rationalisation of physical shopping centres or malls take place due to oversupply and other related issues.

“Malls need to constantly reinvent themselves to draw visitors,” he said. One way is for developers to continuously reconsider number of new malls and catchment areas such as locations within the city centre or tourist spots.

He said another key trend taking place in the retail landscape is more online companies are acquiring brickand-mortar organisations.

Some examples include Walmart acquiring Jet.com for US$3.3 billion and Amazon had purchased Whole Food Market for US$13.7 billion. Not forgetting Alibaba’s bid to privatise Intime Department Store in a US$2.6 billion deal.

On the other hand, he concluded convenience stores will survive in this competitive marketplace due to their size and proximity within large catchment areas.

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Launching ceremony officiated by Dato’ Liaw and Dato’ Garry Chua (Guest of Honour).

Focus Point Launches World Sight Day 2017 Campaign brings out latest and age-related insight as myopia becomes more prevalent among school children.

eading vision care group, Focus Point recently launched its World Sight Day 2017 – “Make Vision Count”, a holistic CSR campaign aimed at advocating eye and vision care amid rising vision impairment and eye problems in the country.

World Sight Day (WSD) is global initiative to raise awareness on preventable blindness and vision impairment. According to last year’s reports, 54 out of every 1,000 Malaysians suffer from low-vision impairment owing to health defects, said Health Ministry’s National Optometry Services Head Dr Nur Zahirah Husain. Among the factors causing low-vision impairment are diseases such as glaucoma, diabetes, age-related degeneration, cataracts, retinal disease and uncorrected refractive error.

President and CEO of Focus Point Holdings Berhad, Dato’ Liaw Choon

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Liang, WSD is a meaningful event for Focus Point as it pairs with the company’s core values and business model of making people to see better.

“This year marks our sixth year running the WSD event. We are excited and proud to be part of global effort in raising public awareness on the importance of vision care and eye health. It is also very much in line with the company’s philosophy of giving back to the community,” said Dato’ Liaw.

One of the global concerns is rising trend of myopia (short-sightedness) which affects many schoolchildren and is fast becoming a major public health issue of our time. In year 2010, over 28% of the world’s populations were affected by myopia. This is expected to escalate to 34% by year 2020 and near to 50% by year 2050.

As myopia starts early, children of school age are particularly at risk. A child’s ability to learn will be severely affected if they do not have clear vision.

Mock up presentation of 1,000 pairs of optical frame from Focus Point to Lions Club of KL Bukit Kiara. From right: Dato’ Liaw, Dato Garry, Datin Flora and representatives from the Lions Club.

The only way to find out is by having a vision screening or a proper eye examination at an early age.

High levels of myopia increases the risk of sight-threatening conditions such as retinal detachment, myopic macular degeneration, cataract and glaucoma at later stage of life.

Focus Point’s WSD event offered a range of activities to encourage Malaysians to care for their eyes and vision. Supporting the cause at the media event were MRCA President Dato’ Garry Chua, Managing Director of Carl Zeiss Southeast Asia Ven Raman, and Creatif Academy of Art & Design Head Gean Fong.

Dr Hoh Hon Bing, consultant ophthalmologist and surgeon, also shared the latest eye health insights and age-related eye issues.

Focus Point’s campaign was presented via a fresh, colourful and unique manner to make vision count.

Many exciting and interactive games as well as a “Snap for Vision” photo contest were conducted.

The Creatif Academy of Art & Design was invited to help bring the theme “Making Vision Count” to life by creating a 3D eye sculpture to depict the realities of eye care.

The event also held presentation ceremonies to aid two organisations advocating eye care in Malaysia. Focus Point donated 1,000 pairs of optical frames to the Lions Club of KL Bukit Kiara and contributed RM5,000 cash to the Malaysian Association For the Blind.

Focus Point also arranged complimentary diagnostic eye checks throughout the event.

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On Real Estate Investment Malaysia Retailer speaks to Wong Khim Chon, CEO of Am ARA REIT Managers Sdn Bhd, on benefiting from REIT.

How do investors benefit from investing in REIT? Each class of property asset has its pros and cons and which class of investment is a suitable investment vehicle will depend on the risk profile and appetite of the investors.

Most people invest in REITs due to the stable and regular income distributed.

REITs are often viewed as volatile compared to traditional real estate investments. In view of the current soft economy, would you advise investors to continue putting money in REITs? Performance of traditional real estate follows the state of the economy quite closely and therefore have similar volatility profile as that of the general economy. Investment in traditional real estate is also location specific.

While investment in REITs will not be totally insulated from the ups and downs of the general economy, the returns from REITs are generally more stable as REITs draw their income from leases, which have tenure of three years or longer.

Based on the performance of the 17 listed REITs on Bursa Malaysia, the average yields of the REIT market is between 5% and 7%. So, if investors needed more aggressive returns, then the REIT market may not be their cup of tea. But if they are comfortable with a steady 5% to 7% returns, then anytime is a good time to invest in REITs. In your opinion, would you advise investors to go for local or international REITs? Malaysian REIT Managers Association (MRMA) is working with many agencies to promote the local REIT industry. And we have a very encouraging consultative paper submitted to the

WHAT IS A REIT?

A REIT, or Real Estate Investment Trust, is a company that owns or finances income-producing real estate. Modelled after mutual funds, REITs provide investors of all types regular income streams, diversification and long-term capital appreciation.

REITs allow anyone to invest in portfolios of large-scale properties the same way they invest in other industries – through the purchase of stock.

Today, REITs are tied to almost all aspects of the economy, including apartments, hospitals, hotels, industrial facilities, infrastructure, nursing homes, offices, malls, storage centres, student housing, and timberlands.

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Wong Khim Chon, CEO of Am ARA REIT Managers Sdn Bhd.

Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) early this year, which we hope will receive positive response during the later part of this year.

As such, I would strongly encourage investors to support our Malaysian REITs so that they can grow to become a viable source of investment, providing reasonable returns to investors who desire income on a regular basis.

What are the challenges you face in getting investors into REITs? Investment in REITs is still considered a new class of investment assets and through MRMA, the promotion of investment in REITs will be an ongoing exercise, especially working with relevant government agencies to make REITs more appealing for investment.

This promotional effort is supported by various articles published in the newspapers and business journals, which have help to attract new investors to the REITs market. This is quite evident during the recent uncertainties in the equities market, when the listed REITS have benefited from being a safe haven.

The Malaysian REITs have also grown in size and diversity, which have become more attractive alternatives to the investing public. Meanwhile, fears of oversupply in the commercial retail and office market is limiting investors’ appetite for Malaysian REITs. What are some of the common mistakes investors make with it comes to REITs? One of the most common mistakes made by investors is expecting the returns from REITs to be similar with other class of equities in KLSE. They must match their investment targets with the right products, be it for the short term or over a longer term period.

In your opinion, what are some of the good buys in Malaysia?

There all altogether 17 listed REITs on Bursa Malaysia; some of which are specialised REITs in particular sectors such as retail, commercial office, while some have a diversified mix of various classes of assets. In other words, there are choices for investors, each REIT being suitable to the particular risk profile and risk appetite of the would-be investors. Or if you are like some of our investors who are happy with returns better than fixed deposits, then any REIT is a good investment.

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Malaysia Retailer Magazine Publisher V.S. Ganesan and team provide customised publishing services for trade associations.

.S. Ganesan has been with the publishing industry for more than 28 years.

He started his career in the Circulation Dept in the New Straits Times and later joined Berita Publishing where he left his Marketing Director position to join MPH Group Magazine as General Manager.

He also held various positions in trade associations such as The Magazine Publisher Association where he was the Vice-President and also the Organising Chairman of the inaugural MPA Magazine Awards 2007 – which was officiated by the then Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin. More than 500 people from the publishing and printing industry attended the event that was held at Berjaya Times Square Hotel.

He was also a Director at the Audit Bureau of Circulation. There he was the Organising Chairman of the First Treasure Hunt to Penang where more than 30 media companies participated.

He left MPH to start Harini Management Services Sdn Bhd. This publishing company positions itself as a magazine outsourcing specialist.

It focuses on associations, chambers and companies to publish magazines on their behalf. Apart from custom

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publishing, Harini Management Services also publishes books and corporate brochures.

It has a team of dedicated professionals, all of whom are experienced in their respective editorial,

creative and marketing departments.

In addition, the company’s experienced advertising staff have strong business networks in the publishing industry.

Harini Management Services has also received numerous certificates in recognition of its contribution to the associations it worked with.

Some of the associations that Harini Management Services has worked with are: Malaysia Retail Chain Association – MALAYSIA RETAILER magazine Malaysia Interior Industry Partners – MIIP magazine � Malaysia Association of Conference Organisers and Suppliers – BE magazine � European Union Malaysia Chamber Of Commerce – EUMCCI Review magazine � CIS Network Sdn Bhd – HOMEDEC magazine � Malaysian Invention and Design Society – INVENTION ASIA magazine � GSP – UP magazine � Malaysia Gift Premium Association – Creativity & Design � �

For more information visit www.harini.com.my or email ganesanvs@harini.com.my

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Learn how to speak with power and impact, without losing audience attention.

By Dr Victor SL Tan

t is agonising to observe knowledgeable leaders struggle to get the attention of their audience.

There are leaders who speak in a factual, boring and uninspiring manner, making it excruciatingly painful for the audience to stay awake. It does not need to be so.

Over the years in coaching leaders to speak with impact, KL Strategic Change Consulting has developed the 6 Es Model to deliver a sizzling speech.

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ENLIGHTEN There are three ways to enlighten an audience – tell them something they do not know, show them something they have not seen and share with them something they have not experienced.

Anything less will elicit a response of “been there, seen that and done that”.

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2 ENCHANT Something enchanting is delightful and captivating. An audience can be dazzled and mesmerised by a spellbinding or touching story. For example, if one is speaking on a topic of caring for parents, one can use this story extracted from Quora.

A son took his old father to a restaurant for an evening dinner.

The father being very old and weak, while eating, dropped food on his shirt and trousers. Other diners watched him in disgust while his son was calm.

When he finished, his son, who was not at all embarrassed, quietly took him to the wash room, wiped away any remaining food, removed the stains, combed his hair and fitted his spectacles firmly.

When they came out, the diners watched them in dead silence, not able to grasp how someone could embarrass themselves publicly like that. As they were leaving, a man called out to the son and asked him, “don’t you think you have left something behind?”.

The son replied, “No sir, I haven’t”. The man retorted, “Yes, you have! You left a lesson for every son and hope for every father.”

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ENTERTAIN The best speakers are great entertainers as well.

They make their speeches fun, amusing and enjoyable. Many of them use their ready talents to entertain – some use magic, some sing, some play a musical instrument and some tell jokes.

However they entertain with a purpose by drawing relevance to the points they are making.

One speaker, for example, in her speech on motivation, belted out Whitney Houston’s One Moment In Time, lyrics that were relevant to her speech.

To capture the audience attention, a good speaker must frequently engage the audience. This could simply be done by asking some very relevant questions. For example if one is speaking on the subject of developing leadership, here are some relevant questions. � How many of you believe that leadership matters in the workplace? � What do you think is the greatest challenge facing a leader? � Why do you think leaders fail to lead?

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EMPOWER Having skills and knowledge alone are not enough. One needs to feel confident enough about what one knows as well as feel inspired enough to take action.

Great speakers deliver their speech in such a manner that they not only grip but empower the audience to take action. A good speaker puts a self-belief in the hearts of the audience and provides a powerful and urgent message that drives them to take action.

Research by Dianne Dukette and David Cornish in 2009 indicated a speaker could only hold the attention of an adult audience for 20 minutes. But a recent survey, Microsoft found the average attention span in the digital age is only eight seconds. That is less than the nine-second attention span of an average goldfish.

The implication from these studies is that a speaker has only eight seconds to captivate the attention of the audience and needs to impart his knowledge in less than 20 minutes, otherwise they lose them.

A good speaker must find ways to constantly enliven up the audience using various approaches. Here are some of them: � If your speech or presentation is long – break them down in chunks of 20 minutes � Do something interesting, mind-blowing or share some jaw-dropping information in ight seconds or less to capture the audience attention � Provide different stimulus – provoking questions, humour, shocking statistics, life-changing quotes and dynamic audience interaction So in your next speech, don’t let it fizzle out, use the 6 Es approach to sizzle your speech to bowl over your audience and win that thunderous applause and standing ovation.

Dr Victor SL Tan is the CEO of KL Strategic Change Consulting Group. He trains and coaches individuals to speak professionally and powerfully with impact. He is also the author of 10 management books. For information about his programmes, contact him at victorsltan@klscc. com or 012-390 3168.

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Fire At Heaven’s Gate Could this negatively affect the fortunes of the head of household?

By Henry Fong

nown as “Fire at Heaven’s Gate”, it is a serious affliction that can affect fortunes of a breadwinner. It commonly refers to having a large stove located in the north west section of the house.

It can result in serious loss, possibly a job, monetary loss and even bankruptcy. It can also means accidents or illnesses.

If you have come across the Ba Gua, you’ll know that “Ba” means eight while “Gua” refers to a trigram formed by combination of three horizontal broken and/or unbroken lines. It is commonly associated with the Ba Gua mirror that you might find on top of the main door of a Chinese household.

The mirror usually has pictograms and reputed to have the power to block or deflect “evil energy” from entering the house.

There are two popular arrangements of the Ba Gua namely the “Early Heaven” and “Later Heaven”

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arrangement. The “Later Heaven” arrangement is often used in feng shui.

In this arrangement, the Qian Gua, which represents the “father” (or breadwinner or head of the household), is located in the north west. Its element is “yang” metal and also means money. Here I’ve shown the location of the remaining seven Gua, their Gua number, polarities and associations with members of a family.

The stove is of the element of fire.

In the controlling cycle of the Five Elements, fire controls metal. Therefore, placing a stove in the north west sector is equivalent to fire controlling the father (Qian) and his finances.

Controlling also means destroying (burning/melting) and that is why a stove in the north west is detrimental to the father (or breadwinner).

In cold countries where it is commonplace to have a fireplace, you should make sure it is not in the north west sector of the house.

In the Xuan Kong Feng Shui system, “Fire at Heaven’s Place” also refer to the combination of the 6 and 9 stars. In the current period of 8, star 8 occupies the centre, star 9 in the north west and so on. Here I have shown the position and element of the 9 stars in period 8. From the table, you can see that the element of star 9 is fire.

The number of the Qian Gua is 6 resulting in a 6 and 9 combination between the 6 of the Bagua and the 9 of the Period 8 Lo Shu. This is another reason why practitioners are particularly concern about the stove in the north west sector in period 8 houses.

What is the solution? Just make sure that the stove or fire place is not sited in the north west sector of the house.

There are some families who do very little cooking (or not at all). In this case, having a stove or fireplace in the north west is not likely to do much harm.

Small appliances such as microwave ovens, induction cooker, rice cooker fall into the fire category and ideally should not be in the north west sector. However their effect is little.

For example if you’re in a small apartment. The entire kitchen is in the north west and you cannot relocate it. The solution (sort of) is to place the stove in another subsector (other than the north west) within in the kitchen.

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Datin Flora (left) and Datuk Eric with Nurul and her family.

MRCA Eases Burden Housewife Nurul Ain Ab Razak lost her husband just weeks before Hari Raya Aidilfitri and she shas been struggling to feed her five young children aged between five months and eight years.

She was forced to move to her parents’ home in Kg Pekan in Pedas, Negri Sembilan.

Nurul Ain’s plight, which was highlighted in several newspapers, prompted MRCA to lend her a hand.

A team led by its council member, Datuk Eric Tai Lim Ping, recently visited her bearing some relief.

MRCA corporate social responsibility chairman Datin Flora Tan, who was also present, said members managed to raise RM10,000 in cash and kind for Nurul Ain and her children.

Datin Flora hoped the aid would bring some relief to Nurul 5 Ain and her children. A team from MRCA will visit her again in the coming months.

Among the goods that were donated to Nurul’s family.

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Group photo with mock cheque. Middle is Ms. Milie (Executive Trustee of the Kassim Chin Humanity Foundation).

MRCA Ushers Deepavali With 30 Underprivileged Families

Children perform a traditional dance.

Children lining up for treats.

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The MRCA’s Branding Education Charity Foundation was set up in 2010 with the aim to work on social responsibility by visitations and donations to charity homes during festive seasons.

In conjunction with the Deepavali celebration, MRCA organised a Deepavali charity celebration for 30 Indian underprivileged families from Pangsapuri Enggang, Bandar Kinrara, Puchong to bring the festive joy on Oct 7.

These families come from poor backgrounds and many of which are singleparent families. These families are under the care of the Kassim Chin Humanity Foundation Puchong Community Centre.

The MRCA Branding Education Charity Foundation donated RM15,000 in cash and groceries. In addition, they also received donations from MRCA members MyZSM Sdn Bhd (children school supplies) and Transtel Technology (M) Sdn Bhd (goodie bags).

Other sponsors MRCA thanked were MCT (venue sponsor), Big Onion Food Caterer Sdn Bhd (lunch), Marrybrown (fried chicken) and Indocafe (coffee). The total donation from MRCA and its members was about RM20,000.

The association hopes that with this celebration and donation, it can help promote awareness amongst the community about the less fortunate.

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Dato Alex Wong (Organising Chairman) giving speech.

VIP Flight: L-R Mr. Vincent Choo, Dato Azman Yusoff, Dato Eddie Choon, Dato’ Garry Chua, Dato Sri Haji Fadillah Bin Haji Yusof, Dato Liaw C.L, Datuk Seri Nelson Kwok and Mr. Wayne Lim.

Hitting The Green For A Good Cause On Oct 5, the MRCA organised a highly anticipated event for this year – the MRCA Charity Golf 2017, in association with Malaysia SME at Tropicana Golf & Country Resort.

The main objective was to combine workplace health management and social commitment, while pursuing networking between athletes in companies and its members.

Dato’ Alex Wong, Organising Chairman, said the MRCA Charity Golf 2017 aimed to raise RM60,000 cash to be donated to six charities.

There was no champion this year as the game ended early due to rain. All winner prizes were given out as lucky draw at the charity dinner that night.

Guest of honour, Minister of Works Dato’ Sri Fadillah Yusof graced the event with his participation in the VVIP flight.

Two companies, Hap Seng Star Sdn Bhd (Mercedes Benz C-Class), and Poh Kong Holdings Bhd (Hermera Diamond Jewellery worth RM50,000) supported as the Hole-in-One Sponsors.

The day was continued with a dinner

that evening despite the rain and many exciting activities were planned for that night for golfers to enjoy. The highlight of the night was the charity auction with 11 sponsored items up for grabs. A total of RM11,000 was raised from the charity auction.

Other generous sponsors for this event were: Cash sponsors (Platinum): Top Glove Corporation Berhad and Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad Apparel sponsor: E-pay (M) Sdn Bhd (GHL)

Auction sponsors: Brilliant Merchandising Sdn Bhd (Bagman), Focus Point Holdings Berhad, Hap Seng Star Sdn Bhd, Urban Idea Sdn Bhd and Crescent Links (M) Sdn Bhd Lucky draw and door gift sponsors: Baagus Curtain Sdn Bhd, Cellgen Lifescience (M) Sdn Bhd, Crescent Links (M) Sdn Bhd, Focus Point Holdings Berhad, Hap Seng Star Sdn Bhd, KK Supermart & Superstore Sdn Bhd, Revenue Valley Sdn Bhd (MFM), Johor International Skillls Hub Sdn Bhd and Arori (M) Sdn Bhd.

Charity Donation to 6 Homes: Top (L-R) Dato Liaw C.L, Dato Tay, Dato Eddie Choon, Datuk Albert Chiang, Datuk Seri Nelson Kwok and Dato Alex Wong.

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1. Official opening of the Busan Beauty and Medical Tourism Special Exhibition at 1Utama Shopping Centre. 2. Official opening of Taiwan Recipe Classic Restaurant. 3. Brand Yourself People’s Choice Award 2017 dinner. 4. Dato’ Garry presenting a token of appreciation to Ravi Aurora, Senior Vice President Community Relations Mastercard after a talk to MRCA members. 5. Dato’ KK Chai gave a treat to MRCA President and council members and guests at his residence. 6. Launch of Red Carpet 2 @ i-City in Shah Alam by Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz. With him are I-Bhd group executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong and Dato’ Garry. 7. Dato’ Garry was a speaker at the Brand Entrepreneurs Conference 2017. 8. Visit from TA Securities & KWSP & KWAP. 9. Group photo with Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, Secretary General of Finance at the PIKOM ICT Awards Gala Night 2017. 10. Dato’ Garry at the Hup Seng F1 party.

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Group photo of all the winners.

Group photo of all the players.

Dato’ Liaw in action.

Charity Ping Pong Tourney In annual MRCA fashion, a charity ping pong tournament was recently held at 1Shamelin in Cheras to foster sportsmanship and raise funds for the association’s Branding Education Charity Foundation.

Many member companies took part, fielding their champions for a good cause.

Organising Chairman, Raymond Woo thanked all participants and sponsors for making this inaugural event a success. “It is encouraging that many of our MRCA council members are supporting this event.

We hope that more members will participate in the future.”

The winners received a complimentary article by the Malaysia Retailer magazine, published by Harini Management Services Sdn Bhd.

MEN’S SINGLES 1st Lawrence Ooi 2nd Dato’ Soo Kai Chee 3rd Mohd Nizam WOMEN’S SINGLES 1st Elizabeth Choon 2nd Shirley Tay 3rd Alyssa Choo MIX DOUBLES 1st Shirley Tay & Dato’ Eric Tai 2nd Dylan Choo & Alyssa Choo 3rd Edison Choon & Elizabeth Choon

Dato’ Garry and Dato’ Eddie presenting the Doubles Champion trophies to V.S. Ganesan and Lawrence Ooi. Looking on are Valerie Choo, MRCA Deputy President, and Raymond Woo, the Organising Chairman.

MEN’s DOUBLES 1st Lawrence Ooi & V.S. Ganesan 2nd Mohd Nizam & Nik Fadzli 3rd Dato’ Vincent Choo & Dato’ Eric Tai WOMEN’s DOUBLES 1st Shirley Tay & Valerie Choo 2nd Datin Cynthia Cheong & Alyssa Choo

Men’s Singles Final between Dato’ Soo (left) and Lawrence Ooi.

Malaysia Retailer Vol 5 No 4

Monthly Meetings

46

JULY Date: July 2017 Time: 4pm-6pm Venue: Astro All Asia Broadcast Centre

AUGUST Date: 24 August 2017 Time: 2pm-7pm Venue: KIP Hotel Kuala Lumpur Featuring a talk on the One Belt One Road Initiative by Dato’ Seri Ong Ka Chuan.

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SEPTEMBER Date: 28 September 2017 Time: Venue: Menara Star, Phileo Damansara Highlight: Presentation by Maybank on Alibaba Group and Alipay

OCTOBER Date: 19 October 2017 Time: 2.30pm-7pm Venue: Nicsmann 1940s by Lewre, The Starling, Damansara Uptown Highlight: Up close and personal with Dato’ Lewre

Malaysia Retailer Vol 5 No 4

2017 - 2018

EVENTS CALENDAR

Updates

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9 NOVEMBER

25TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR

26 NOVEMBER

KUALA LUMPUR CHARITY RUN

SKY PARK@ONE CITY, SUBANG JAYA

28 FEBRUARY

CHINESE NEW YEAR DINNER

TOP GLOVE TOWER, SETIA ALAM

28 MARCH

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

TBA

Malaysia Retailer Vol 5 No 3

VISITATIONS: 14 DEC 2017 CHRISTMAS

Feature

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Malaysia Retailer Vol 4 No1