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.