Friday, May 20, 2011

Update 16

Speech by the President at the Annual Dinner, Northern Branch -

20 May 2011

YB Wong Hon Wai, our Guest of Honor representing the Chief Minister of Penang,

YB Chow Kon Yeow,

The Organising Chairman Sr Mark Saw,

The Chairman of the Northern Branch Sr Chuang Kuang Han,

Yang Di Pertua MPSP Puan Maimunah Binti Mohd Sharif,

Pengarah Pejabat Tanah & Galian, Dato Arifin,

Datuk Datuk, Datin Datin,

Committee members of the Northern Branch of RISM,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am glad to be here again for your annual dinner. Last year Iattended the annual dinner together with our previous President, Sr Dr Maimun.

Firstly I would like to congratulate all Surveyors in Malaysia on their 50th Anniversary. It is indeed a milestone year for us, and it has been made more auspicious by the decision of His Royal Highness, The Sultan of Selangor, to grant us Royal Status. With effect from 28 March this year we are The Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia. Congratulations.

In the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia the term of the President is only a year and during that year a President can accomplish only so much. Although many other professional bodies in Malaysia have changed to a two year term, we cannot follow that because the RISM is in fact made up of four Divisions and we need to be fair to all the Divisions in the Institution and have to rotate the Presidency on a yearly basis. This brings me to the point I am trying to arrive at and that is, that given this rotational necessity, the Institution needs to overcome weaknesses caused in the system by it, by developing and maintaining an extraordinarily strong and highly supportive permanent Secretariat.

When I took office last year that was one of my priorities and it was given expression by Council's decision to employ a CEO on a contract basis and with strict KPI's including one which specifies the undertaking of more activities to generate additional needed income for the Institution. But as i near the end of my term I realise that we need to continue this effort to strengthen the Secretariat even further to meet the increasing needs of the institution. The appointed of a CEO has brought noticeable improvements but we must wait longer to see how that will transform the RISM to the desired level.

In Penang and in the other branches of the Institution the Committees are also finding that they need stronger Secretariats. The Northern Branch i.e. Penang, in fact does not have even a single permanent employee and it relies on volunteer Surveyors to run their programs. We must change this and ensure that the branches also progress in line with the progress being made at the headquarters. The current Chairman of the Northern Branch, Sr Chuang has lobbied hard for higher grants from headquarters to kickstart the process of setting up a strong secretariat. Council is supportive but has limited funds and at the last Council Meeting could only raise the annual grant by a small margin. Headquarters should do more and I am sure it will but while we are waiting I suggest that the incoming committee take a risk and use the limited funds available in the Northern Branch and get a full time person to run the affairs of the Northern Branch, with appropriate KPI's. That person could generate funds from activities that could be more than self-financing.

The second aim I set when I took office was to internationalise ISM. We are a robust surveying profession in Malaysia and we ought to play a stronger leadership role in the region and internationally. That would also be in line with the Government's aspirations. I am happy to say that in this aim we mustered the required high number of votes needed for constitutional change and managed to change the constitution last December to achieve our aim. With Registrar of Societies approval obtained for the change, we are now poised to invite and bring in new, non- Malaysian Surveyors into our fold as Associate members. This will hopefully lead to a bigger footprint for the Institution in this region and internationally, with all the attendant benefits.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the world is growing smaller and the centre of economic gravity is shifting to the east. We must seize the opportunities to expand and grow the surveying profession to serve our primary constituency, the Malaysian public better, and secondly the larger Asian community, as national boundaries dim and the processes of liberalisation in ASEAN and beyond take hold. There awaits many challenges for us in the next 50 years and we should all work together in a concerted manner to overcome the challenges and to thrive and flourish as a robust professional body.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Update 15

I’m extremely happy to inform members that, His Highness DYMM Sultan Selangor has consented to grant the Institution of Surveyors Malaysia Royal status.His Highness has also agreed to be our Royal Patron.

The official ceremony for the above will be held at a special dinner on the 8th July 2011. This dinner will also be the Institution of Surveyors, Malaysia 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner. It also means that there will be no annual dinner at the end of this session which culminates with the AGM on the 25th June.

The 11th South East Asian Survey Congress (11th SEASC 2011) and the 13th International Surveyors’ Congress (13th ISC 2011) are scheduled to be held on 22 – 24 June 2011 in Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur. I would like to encourage all members to attend and make this event exceptionally successful, not onlybecame it is our 50th year anniversary, but also as an appreciation for the Royal status bestowed upon us.We should be proud and continue serving society and in nation building. For more information on the Congress visit our portal.

On the 24 – 26 May 2011, The Institution of Surveyors, Malaysia will be co-organising a Conference with Iskandar Regional Development Authority, UPEN JOHOR, UTM and RICSentitled “The Wealth of Iskandar Malaysia Conference”.The Conference will be held in Persada Johor International Convention Center and the invited guest of honour is YAB. Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak. For more information, visit www.wealthofiskandar.com.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Update 14

My speech at the Launching of the Commemorative Book and ISM Wikipedia
Crowne Plaza Mutiara Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (ISM)
17th February, 2011

Terima Kasih Saudari Pengacara Majlis, Yang Berhormat Senator Dato’ Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat Malaysia, Yang Berusaha Associate Professor Sr Dr Hjh Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah, Pengerusi Majlis Pelancaran Buku Commemorative dan Wikipedia ISM, Presiden Presiden dan wakil wakil perbadanan professional Bekas Presiden Bekas Presiden Pertubuhan Jurukur Malaysia, Ahli Ahli Majlis ISM, Para Tetamu Jemputan, Datuk Datuk, Datin Datin, Wakil Wakil media dan tuan tuan dan puan puan yang saya hormati.

Selamat Pagi dan salam sejahtera,

Thank you Yang Berhormat Dato’ Seri for once again being our guest of honour at a major event of ours. You were our guest of honour at our last Annual Dinner which we held on the 19 of June and at which event I commenced my role as President of the 50th Session of the Institution of Surveyors Malaysia.

At that Annual Dinner i set two goals for my one year term as President and i am happy to report to all present and especially to all members of the Institution that the foundations for the two goals have been firmly laid. The first goal was the internationalisation of the Institution of Surveyors and this we wanted to do, especially at our 50th year, because we felt and still strongly do, that we are robust enough as a surveying profession to go forward, especially in the Asian region to provide leadership and assistance in strengthening the profession with information, training, research and education. On the 18th of December we held an extraordinary general meeting and managed to muster enough votes (2/3rd the membership) to create a new class of membership know as an Associate Member. These members will essentially be non-Malaysian Surveyors, practicing surveying in the countries outside Malaysia and who wish to part of the Institution of Surveyors Malaysia. Thus, the Internationalisation of the Institution. Until quite recently Malaysian Surveyors have played significant leadership roles as individuals in international surveying organisations, but this new step is for the institution itself to go beyond our borders. It is fitting that we have chosen the 50th year to do that. No doubt much work needs to be done to accomplish all that we desire, insofar as this goal of ours is concerned. But the foundation has been laid.

My second stated goal was to enhance the capabilities of the Secretariat because in our system of yearly rotation of Presidents between Divisions, and the yearly election of Councils there is a weakness in that the rotation needs extraordinary Management. To shore up that lacuna and to get the necessary added boost needed to bring forward our goal of Internationalisation, as well as to play a more meaningful role in policy formulation and implementation for the surveying profession, the property market, the construction industry, and to offer policy recommendations affecting the areas of our concerns and interest to government agencies and departments, we have employed a full time Chief Executive Officer, who is an experienced Surveyor herself to ensure that that foundation is also laid. Without a strong Secretariat, our system of a yearly rotational presidency and council is insufficiently robust for continuity of purpose.

But today, it is all about our 50th year of existence as a formal surveying organization, uniting the surveying disciplines of Geomatic and land surveying, Quantity surveying, Property management, Valuation and Estate Agency surveying and Building surveying. The Commemorative Book that will be launched by Yang Berhormat Dato’ Seri, as a forerunner to our celebrations, has been in the works for the past two years, under a special steering committee, that has and is overseeing our year round and nationwide celebrations by our four Divisions and our Branches in Sabah, Sarawak, Johor, East Coast and the Northern branch. Many events are planned and starting to be implemented and they include seminars and congresses, family gatherings, public participation events and charity events.

Today we also launch our Wikipedia, which comes hot on the heels of the transformation of our website into a portal. For the creation of the portal we must thank the government for the Mida grants they gave us. The Mida grants have also enabled us to do a substantial amount of capacity building in the profession, as was the desired objective of the government when the grants to various professional bodies were given out. I think that these grants should become annual grants and the reason i say this is because just like households which are well regarded as building blocks in society, so too must greater regard be given to another important building block, the professional firms as they strive to build domestic and global practices that will enhance the needed soft infrastructure of the country.

On this auspicious day for the Institution, I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank all the Past Presidents of the Institution who have come one after the other, and laid, layer by layer, the accumulated benefits the Institution now enjoys, and upon which it sits firmly, and confidently, to play an even more meaningful role in serving the Malaysian public, and the Surveying profession, domestically and internationally. I also thank all past Councils and all members who have contributed to the successes of the Institution of Surveyors thus far. A big thank you and happy birthday.

Sebelum mengakhiri ucapan saya, saya ingin mengucapkan,

Terima Kasih kepada Yang Berhormat Dato’ Seri Sharizat yang sudi datang untuk pembukaan Majlis ini.

Terima Kasih kepada Pengerusi Majlis kerana memberi peluang kepada saya untuk memberi ucapan dan segala persediaan dan pengelolaan Majlis ini.

Terima Kasih kepada Datuk Datuk, Datin Datin, Tuan Tuan dan Puan Puan dan wakil wakil media untuk kehadirian supaya Majlis ini berjaya dilaksanakan.

Terima Kasih

Friday, February 11, 2011

Update 13

In the spirit of 1Malaysia, here’s wishing all ISM members a happy Chinese New Year, and not forgetting a happy 50th Birthday.

We are having a kick off event for our 50th year celebrations on 17 February 2011 at 9.00am on the 30th Floor, Crowne Plaza Mutiara Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. This event will officially also launch our year long 50th celebrations, and at the event we will launch our Commemorative Book which we have worked for more than two years, to prepare. Many thanks to the steering committee, the editors and the printers and all those who came forward and taken pains to contribute towards this publication. It is hoped that all members will feel proud when you get to see and own a copy after the 17 February 2011. We will also be launching, on that day the ISM Wikipedia. Big day for ISM.

The event will be graced by Y.B Senator Dato’ Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and we are also having Dr. Yeah Kim Leng to speak on Malaysia’s Transforming Socio-Economic Landscape.

We have also taken a bold step towards putting ISM in the premier league internationally and to further our ambitions on Internationalisation. This step comes in the form of an appointment of a Chief Executive Officer on a contract basis for two years and with strict KPI’s on performance. With this we hope that our ambitions of being in the forefront of policy formulation and implementation with regard to and for the Institute of Surveyors Malaysia, the property market, the construction industry, the surveying profession in general and government will be considerably enhanced.

See you on the 17 of February 2011 at the 30th Floor, Crowne Plaza Mutiara Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Update 12

Here’s wishing all ISM members a happy new year and a happy 50th Birthday. As you may be aware, we successfully held the Extraordinary General Meeting on the 18 of December 2010, and at that meeting we passed the following important constitutional and byelaw amendments.

A new class of membership has been created known as Associate Member of ISM or AISM. Persons who are eligible to become Associates are Non-Malaysian surveyors who wish to be part of our Institution. Such members will not have the right to vote nor stand for any office in ISM, but can use the letters after their name and can avail themselves of all facilities and services of ISM.

Broadly, under this Internationalisation of ISM project, we are looking to invite surveyors in ASEAN, India, China, Pakistan and Middle East as our primary target for membership. Surveyors outside the identified area are also welcome. Our Council will be meeting shortly to decide the criteria and modality for suitable qualifications and the application process.

We also changed the name of the Property Consultancy & Surveying Division to the Property Management, Valuation and Estate Agency Surveying Division (PMVS, instead of PCVS).

The third important change was that we have finally managed to reduce the quorum required of the constitutional changes from 1/3 to 1/6 of the membership.

There were also other minor changes and most of this related to previous attempts to change the constitution, but were not accomplished, due to lack of the 1/3 of quorum.

The changes will take effect after approval from the Registrar of Societies.

Going forward we have in the forefront of our agenda the publication of the 50th year Commerative Book. We hope to finalise publication and launch it, ceremoniously, in January 2011 – the first event of our 50 Year Celebration.

We will also be publishing shortly, the calendar of events for the 50 Year events, so that members will be fully aware of all the projects.

Once again Happy New Year and Happy 50th Birthday!