Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Osman S Cassim
Vice President of Malaysian Institute of Management
Yang Berusaha Ms Lenny Chiah
Senior Manager Business Promotion of Sin Chew Media Corp
Professor Leu Horng Der Our Esteemed Speaker
Mr Alfred Tsang
Council Member of MIM
Distinguished Guests
Members of the Media
Ladies & Gentlemen
Good Morning. I would like to begin by thanking the Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM) for inviting me to be a part of this very significant event this morning.
The MCA has been a strong advocate of life-long learning, especially amongst Malaysians of Chinese descent, since time in memorial. Our commitment to this cause is evident in such efforts, among others, as the TAR College - and now the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman or UTAR - and the Langkawi Project, which was initiated by our former President, Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik in 1994 to raise the standard
of education in the rural districts with the hope that by the year 2020 all Malaysians can play a more effective role in national development.
I am told that this is the first Chinese language management seminar that is organised by MIM. I congratulate Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Osman and his team for this very timely effort. At a time when China is opening up its doors to foreign investment and with world economic policies like AFTA and WTO taking effect, such programmes are not only relevant to the business community alone but also to
organisations such as MCA. We need to equip both our existing and potential leaders with a strong foundation of management and leadership skills, giving them the competitive advantage to survive in an increasingly ambiguous business environment.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
Malaysia and China have enjoyed 3 decades of bilateral relations together and, as Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri rightly put it, China is indeed a huge market waiting to be tapped. This year has been designated as the Malaysia-China Friendship Year to mark the 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic ties. You will be pleased to note that Malaysia is now China's largest trading partner
within ASEAN. The trade surplus in 2002 was in Malaysia's favour, at US$4.321bil and as it stood in October 2003, China was Malaysia's fourth largest trading partner, while we ranked seventh on China's list (Source: The Star BizWeek, Monday, 27 October 2003).
YB Dato Ong Tee Keat delivering his address at the
Strategic Management in Hypercompetiton seminar.
|
His Excellency the Premier of
China Mr Wen Jiabao had, during his talks with Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Seri Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi, who was then Deputy Prime Minister, in Beijing last September, stated that
total trade between both countries could reach US$20bil this year. I am pleased to inform
you that we are well on track in achieving this target (Source: The Star BizWeek, Monday,
27 October 2003). |
In an interview late last year, His Excellency the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Mr Hu Zhengyue said that Malaysia accounted for 25% of China's total trading with ASEAN, adding that this demonstrated the significance of Malaysia's bilateral trade with his country. The Ambassador also added that China's trade figure with ASEAN was expected to amass US$100bil by 2005 and so, if Malaysia retains its
percentage of trade with China at 25%, China-Malaysia trade will grow to US$25bil by 2005.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is a tremendous amount of Chinese-owned businesses in Malaysia. One only needs to look at the membership of such bodies as the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, the SMI Association of Malaysia, the Junior Chamber of Malaysia, and the Young Entrepreneurs' Association of Malaysia (PUMM) just to name a few.
There is an urgent need for such entrepreneurs to enhance their business knowledge. MCA President Yang Berhormat Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting urged the party members to play a greater role in boosting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country at an Economic Forum organised by MCA's Economic Bureau last month. He said that the MCA could play a more hands-on role by working together with MCA
state Excos to help solve problems and provide advisory services. It is to this end that the MCA Youth, with the blessings of the MCA Central Committee, is a proud supporter of this seminar organised by MIM. It is indeed an excellent avenue for business owners to tap on the rich experience of qualified practitioners and acquire tacit knowledge not readily available in textbooks.
MIM, as I know it, has built an impeccable reputation in the management learning industry. When the MCA Youth Section proposed to embark on a series of personal management courses for its members, the first option on our mind was, without a doubt, MIM. You will be pleased to know that the MCA Youth will be working very closely with MIM to organise 16 such courses conducted in Mandarin nationwide
beginning in October this year.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
I am confident that we will leave this seminar with more in-depth knowledge of what it means to manage strategically in an environment riddled with competition or as Professor Leu terms it, "hypercompetition". I shall leave the good Professor the honour to explain this concept to you in greater detail.
And so, it is with great pleasure that I now declare the first Chinese language management seminar entitled "Strategic Management in Hypercompetition" officially open. Thank you.
