The President's Corner

Update 16

2011-05-20T15:45:00.002+08:00

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.

Update 15

2011-04-18T16:04:00.001+08:00

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.

Update 14

2011-02-18T16:03:00.000+08:00

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

Update 13

2011-02-11T12:24:00.000+08:00

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.

Update 12

2010-12-30T12:36:00.000+08:00

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!

Update 11

2010-12-13T14:38:00.000+08:00

ISM India Technical Tour – November 2010

The ISM delegation comprising about 55 persons (Councillors, members, ISM Staff - some with family) arrived New Delhi on 19 November, and on the morning of 20 November a few of us met a delegation of about 10 from the Institution of Surveyors, India (ISI). The delegation from ISI was led by Mr K.S.Kharb who is a Past President of the Institution (The current President, Mr Gautam Kumar Bysack, was also present). We were informed that among all surveying organisations in India, only the ISI had some form of recognition from the Government thus far. Under the Wealth Tax Act (now largely defunct), mainly Engineers, Architects and Town Planners were recognised as Valuers and most banks still use those registered under the Wealth Tax Act as their panel Valuers. We were to later discover more about the pre-eminence of Civil Engineers as basic qualification to become Valuers. The ISI however conducts examinations in each of the Surveying Divisions and currently has a membership of 3,500 and branches in Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore. There are no University degree courses as yet in India for the Surveying profession and apart from the examinations set by the ISI the Sardar Patel University (set up by Mr Kirit Bhudbathi on a fairly small scale) offers a master’s degree course in valuation and plant and machinery whilst the Shivaji University in Kohlapur which offers distance learning courses in valuation. A third University, Annamalai University, is planning a valuation course in Chennai. This means great opportunity for Malaysian universities to provide or assist in surveying education in India. Quantity Surveyors are mainly involved in “contracts management and arbitration”.

The ISI group estimated that there is a shortage of about 35,000 Quantity Surveyors, 10,000 Valuers and 5,000 Land Surveyors. They informed us about a Valuers Bill in the making and a Valuation Standards Manual by the Bankers Association. The Land Surveyors in the group were particularly interested in hydrographic surveying and said that they would like some interaction with ISM on this area. There is an All India Council for Technical Education under the Ministry of Human Resources.

They came prepared with a Memorandum of Understanding between ISM and ISI. We informed that that we will table the draft at our Council Meeting and revert to them.

Later, on 20 November we left, in two coaches, for Agra to visit the Seventh Wonder of the World, the Taj Mahal. Since much information on the Taj Mahal can be had from the internet i shall not add my own opinions except to say that to visit New Delhi and not see the Taj Mahal is certainly something that is not done. The journey back and forth and involving an overnight stay is not an easy one, especially for a large group. Due to traffic jams and stoppages we took about 7 hours to reach Agra.

On 22 November, a large delegation of about 25 from ISM met Mr Jaikant Singh (Director) of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Entry to the Ministry not only involved a long bus journey through heavy traffic but also extremely strict security checks. For almost an hour we were on the roadside while our Indian guide went in and out to secure permission for entry. The meeting itself, later, was cordial and informative. The Ministry is in the process of formulating a Valuers Bill but after much discussion we discovered that the Bill is mainly focussed on Business Valuations rather than Real Estate Valuations. Mr Jaikant did seem to want to know more from us as to the need to include rules for real estate Valuers in the bill and we ought to follow up on this. We will. Datin Faridah made a presentation on INSPEN’s training and education programmes and this was well received. We could follow up on this as well. We were not permitted to take photographs.

That afternoon we met a seven person delegation from the National Housing Bank which is wholly owned by the Reserve Bank of India. The delegation was led by Mr N Udaya Kumar, the Deputy General Manager. They are a similar organisation like CAGAMAS Berhad in Malaysia. They were quite interested in discussing house price issues, indices and training and education. They reinforced some of the information we had from our two previous meetings. Datin Faridah again presented INSPEN’s training and education programmes. We were also informed about a Manual of Valuation Standards that has been drafted by the Association of Banks and they would like us to provide inputs as well and later on do collaborative work on training. An interesting point raised during our discussion was their interest in Reverse Mortgage Loans which are loans against residential properties owned by senior citizens.

The lender of the loan makes periodic payments to the senior citizen during their remaining life time. The senior citizen does not have to repay any principal or interest to the lender during their life time as long as they are in occupation of the property. On the death of the senior citizen or upon him or her leaving the house permanently, the loan along with accumulated interest is settled through the sale of the house. For this scheme to work no doubt valuations and periodic updates are critical and thus their added interest in Valuation Standards.

On 23 November we left for Mumbai. On arrival in Mumbai the first stop, on the way to the hotel, was in front of Dato Shahrukh Khan’s house!

On 24 November we had had three meetings. In the morning a small delegation left to meet with The Securities and Exchange Board of India or SEBI. It was in new building with state-of-the art conference room and facilities. We were given a briefing that covered the regulatory architecture in the securities market in India, The scope and functions of SEBI and an overview of the Indian Capital Markets. What stuck us was that unlike in Malaysia they did not vet (pre or post) Valuers reports. Generally they looked to the Accountants who in turn were held responsible for Valuers reports and valuation accuracy. We did highlight that difference to them and we can see possibilities for engagement with them on this issue as well as in Standards, education and training. We also discussed REITs and Real Estate Derivatives and not our scope for future interaction. Datin Faridah did her usual presentation in INSPEN and it was well received.

In the afternoon, we met a large delegation from the Practising Valuers Association of India (PVAI) and immediately after that Mr Kirit Bhudbathi who is a well-known Indian Valuer who is very familiar to many Malaysian Valuers as he has visited Malaysia many times and presented CPD talks, presented seminar papers and is an authority on plant and machinery valuations. He was the founder of the Sardar Patel University and many Valuers from the JPPH have attended courses there.

The technical parts of the tour ended with these meetings and some went on for the third leg of the tour, a visit to Goa. In the above narrative I have not included many social aspects of the tour and the shopping trip and this I leave to others who went on the tour to add on. Comments are welcome.

We will be following up with the parties we met and we hope to continue dialogue and interaction with them.

Update 10

2010-11-18T09:25:00.001+08:00

Three matters lie ahead for me in the next two months. Matter one is ISM’s 60-person trip to New Delhi, Mumbai and Goa starting this Saturday. I will post daily blogs from India.

Matter two is the ISM EGM coming up on 18 December where we will be seeking approval from the membership to internationalise ISM and to change the name of the PCVS Division to the Property Management, Valuation and Estate Agency Surveying Division (PMVS). This change in name was requested by the Division and Council has agreed. We usually need sufficient proxy votes to have a quorum for constitutional changes, one third of membership, and we are asking all ISM members and fellows to send in their proxy forms. Even if you intend to come on that day, it will be appreciated if you could nonetheless send in the proxy form as this will help us to know, ahead of the EGM, if the EGM will go on, with sufficient quorum. On the day of EGM, when you turn up, the proxy form that you send now will automatically become invalid. Please help the council in this matter as there has been many attempted EGM’s that have been aborted due to lack of quorum.

Matter 3 is to inform you of the preparation of the production of a commerative book in conjunction of the 50^th anniversary of ISM. In this connection, all members and fellows are urged to send the special levy of RM75 per member and RM150 per fellow as agreed at the EGM in June 2010 together with your annual subscription for 2010.

Here’s wishing you a happy 50^th Birthday.

Update 9

2010-10-19T14:52:00.001+08:00

My Speech at the 28th ISM Sabah Annual Dinner and Installation on
16 October 2010

The Minister for Resource Development and Information Technology, Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai who is representing the Chief Minister of Sabah
Sr Peter Ting, outgoing Chairman of ISM Sabah branch,
Yang Bahagia Datuk Sr Kenneth Yen, incoming Chairman of the ISM Sabah branch,
Sr Bernard Chia, Organising Chairman,
Datuk Roderick Fernandez, State Attorney General of Sabah,
Directors and Heads of Government Departments,
Chairmen and Presidents of Professional Bodies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Institution of Surveyors Malaysia would firstly like to express its utmost gratitude to Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai, for being with us today to grace this 28th ISM Sabah Branch Annual Dinner and the installation of the new Committee of the Sabah Branch of the Institution of Surveyors Malaysia. We are deeply honoured Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai.

I am also very happy that you have invited me to your 28th Annual Dinner and Installation and I can see that it is well attended and supported. No doubt, this must be due to the very hardworking Sabah ISM Branch Committee under the outgoing Chairman Sr Peter Ting, the Incoming Chairman Yang Bahagia Datuk Sr Kenneth Yen and the Organising Chairman, Sr Bernard Siah.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Institution of Surveyors Malaysia today stands at the threshold of our 50th Year of formal existence and starting from the 1st of January 2011, and throughout 2011, we will be celebrating our 50th Year Anniversary. We celebrate because we have been given this opportunity as surveyors to serve the Malaysian public with our various surveying skills, namely Land Surveying, Quantity Surveying, Property Consultancy and Valuation Surveying and Building Surveying. At the 50th year, we also recognise that we must re-brand ourselves so that we can serve our primary constituency, the Malaysian public, even better.

For our Anniversary celebrations next year, we have lined up a number of programs and they will be held, apart from Kuala Lumpur, throughout our five branches namely, Penang, Johor, East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. A highlight of the Celebration will be in June when we will be organising the 13th Surveyors Congress which will be held together with the South East Asian Survey Congress which is not only the flagship event of the ASEAN Federation of Land Surveying and Geomatics but for next year, it will encompass all the other disciplines in surveying as well, and like the past few Congresses it will attract largely surveying participants from the whole of East Asia and increasingly from Africa as well. Another major highlight for our 50th Year Celebration is the production of a Commemorative Book and as you may be aware we have been working on this book for the last two years. The book is I would say about 70% ready and we hope to have it completed by December this year and launch it on 18th of December when we will also be having an Extraordinary General Meeting to make some changes to our Constitution and about this I will speak to you shortly.

The membership of ISM is currently 5,678 made up of 375 Fellows, 2,219 Members, 1,476 Graduates, 390 Probationers and 1,218 Students and not only by virtue of numbers but because of our strong professional foundations, we are a fairly robust professional body and I say this in comparison with other similar professional bodies in this rapidly developing East Asian region.

And it is in this connection, that during the last AGM and the Dinner in June this year when I took office, I emphasised that this session's focus will be on the Internationalisation of ISM and the further strengthening of the ISM secretariat. The reason for the internationalisation is to take into account our inherent strength in surveying which is well recognised in the region and all over the world as evidenced by many of our Senior members being involved in leadership positions globally in land surveying, quantity surveying and valuation and property consultancy surveying. Added to this is the winds of liberalisation which are moving the profession towards firstly, liberalisation within ASEAN and then we anticipate, liberalisation on a global basis. Since we are robust enough, we should embrace this liberalisation because it opens up opportunities for us. No doubt we must also protect ourselves and liberalise on a mutually beneficial basis.

It is time for us to set our sights on the development of our profession beyond our shores and I believe this is also in line with government policy. If we can amend our Constitution and create a new class of membership and admit other practising surveyors in the region to become members of ISM, then that would be a major first step towards the internationalisation of the surveying profession from Malaysia. Later, following the initial opening up we could provide surveying education to aspiring surveyors in Asia and this would cement the enlargement of the footprint of ISM in Asia. When I refer to Asia I am particularly referring to the 580 million ASEAN, China, India, Pakistan and the Middle-East. In many of these countries surveying is not well established as a profession when compared to Malaysia and I am sure that from the pool of existing surveyors in these countries they would be keen if we allow them to do so to become members of ISM and not only use the ISM initials after their name, but also avail themselves to information about surveying that they can obtain from our now substantially upgraded portal and our soon to be effected, and substantially further upgraded, Journal. By becoming Associate members of ISM, as we propose it does not mean that they have an automatic right to practise in Malaysia because the licence to practice will be governed by the respective surveying boards i.e. Board of Quantity Surveyors, Board of Land Surveyors, Board of Building Surveyors and the Board of Valuers. But they can become part as our family.

Lastly, we look forward to the launching and implementation of the New Economic Model and the Economic Transformation Plan by the government and we are very grateful to the government for the grant of RM1.2 million given by MIDA to upgrade our services and we believe we have put it to good use in not only capacity building through seminars and training events but also upgraded our secretariat and our website which is now a state of the art portal. This move by the government is also a recognition that professional firms, and in our instance the surveying firms, are building blocks in society and they need to be nurtured and supported to play an effective role in nation building.

With that Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you very much once again and I hope all of you will continue to have an enjoyable evening.

The EGM will be held on 18 December 2010 and I would like all members and we have in the past had difficulty to have EGM because the quorum -draft notice - hopefully you can sign the proxy forms which I have brought along. Later if you turn up for the event or alternatively if you change the proxy you can always pull it back. The reason is because we do not want a lack of quorum and have the meeting cancelled.

We also look forward to your support to purchase the ISM Diary at RM15 each.

Update 8

2010-10-18T14:50:00.000+08:00

My Speech as Chief Delegate at the Opening Ceremony of the
25th Pan Pacific Congress in Bali Indonesia on 27 September 2010

Distinguished Guests,
Chief Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Two years ago, for the 24th Pan Pacific Congress, held in Seoul, we were in the immediate shadows of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the watershed event for the Global Financial Crisis.
Despite the fact, then, that the crisis was, in fact, coming to a head with the earlier outbreak of the sub prime mortgage crisis in August 2007, in Seoul, we did not place a lot of importance to the Lehman event. The said event in fact was only a week before the 24th Pan Pacific Congress. It was only much later, after the event that the enormity of the event slowly dawned on the world at large.

The United States in particular and the world in general was staring, in 2008, at a possible economic depression greater than the great depression of the 1930’s.

But governments acted quickly and with the extraordinary Keynesian pump priming the crisis was averted. But two years since then the imbalances that existed have still not been corrected and the root causes still elusive. But we know this: Real estate played a complicit role in this crisis (and for many other crisis in the past) and we must be keenly aware of the proximity, of the real estate market and the valuation professionals.

Some may say that is the real estate failure valuers are also to blame. Perhaps, but I think that valuations must be better recognised in the system and given greater importance for the needed taming of the extremities of the real estate cycles. This world leads to a better management and control of financial crises and ensure financial stability.

The Valuation Profession must, today, sieze the moment and march forward and plan a major role in the coming redesign of the global financial architecture.

The Pan Pacific Congress, being one of the foremost valuers event could work hand in hand with valuation organisation around the globe and in this respect perhaps it is timely for the Pan Pacific Congress to anchor a Permanent Secretariat and have a formal organisational structure.

In the meanwhile for this so well organised 25th Pan Pacific Congress, as we have seen so far, in this enchanting island of Bali, I say, as Chief Delegate of Malaysia, many thanks to Indonesia and to the hardworking and very talented organising committee.

Update 7

2010-09-21T11:47:00.000+08:00

The following is the speech made by the President recently in Beijing:

Speech delivered at the China Appraisal Society (CAS) Valuation Standards Advisory Committee Meeting at Beijing on 11 September 2010

(The speech was accompanied by a number of documents that are referred to herein, and included in a bundle)

The recent global financial crisis, like many other crises in the past, was one where real estate played a central, complicit role. The crisis itself brought the United States and the rest of the world to almost a "depression deeper that the Great Depression", as narrated by Andrew Ross Sorkin in his Bestseller “Too Big To Fail”. The United States economy and the economy of the world was saved only because they managed to act boldly, as they did, in a coordinated manner, and supported by many other countries from around the world, by pumping billions in stimulus money into the world economy.

The stimulus money was at best a Keynesian measure as when it is withdrawn or as the flow ebbs, the world economy will still need to adjust to a new, sustainable level of consumption and supply of goods and services.

Many eminent authors including Nobel laureates have, since the crisis, dwelt into the causes of the crisis and from the many books that have been published, including "The Great Inflation and its Aftermath" by Robert Samuelson, “The Crash of 2008 and what it means” by George Soros, "Fool's Gold" by Gillian Tett, "Freefall" by Joseph Stiglitz, "The Meltdown Years" by Wolfgang Munchau, "Crisis Economics" by Nouriel Roubini with Stephen Mihm, and "Fault Lines" by Raghuram Rajan, it is clear as to the complicit role of real estate in the crisis, and there are hints that valuations need to be better conducted in a reconstituted new global financial architecture.

To the valuation profession, it must be a cause for concern that real estate played a large and complicit role in the crisis and that it was not just in this financial crisis, but in many or most financial crises of the past. The valuation profession is a profession that operates in the real estate markets, notwithstanding the recent, yet insignificant, efforts to enlarge its role to businesses and financial interests.

Post the crisis, in the search for measures to recalibrate the financial system, or at least to make a start to such an effort, the rating agencies have been singled out because their ratings of the collateralised debt obligations that were built up from mortgages were not accurate enough. It may be noteworthy that light has not been shone at the valuation profession for supporting values for lending purposes that were, with the benefit of hindsight, clearly in bubble territory. Not yet anyway. But that prospect is worth being concerned about, at least as an internal examination within the Valuation Profession. For example, is the mere, timely, opinions of market value sufficient as a support mechanism for lending based on the collateral of real estate? Should not the Valuation Profession contemplate other options such as market worth calculations as well, and for project financing insist on proper and detailed market and feasibility studies as undertaken by Valuers acting also as property consultants, as they do in some jurisdictions?

Valuation Standards can be, and ought to be, substantially strengthened from the current levels to emphasise a clear distinction between market value on the one hand and market worth on the other, and the need for both estimates to be undertaken for effective decision making in the real estate markets. The requirement that market value derives only from valuation models whose inputs (including discount rates) come from market derived data must be given greater emphasis than as is required now. If the inputs are not market derived you cannot call the end result a market value. Valuation Standards especially for more important valuations, for example public domain valuations, must require explicit and substantial justification and substantiation and where required, reconciliation between comparables or between approaches. Valuation models that are developed to estimate the market value of properties for various purposes must be calibrated to the market. Whilst valuation processes for real estate are made more rigorous, similar substantial, justification and reporting requirements must be demanded from Valuers of businesses, including intangibles and financial interests.

The Malaysian real estate valuation framework is fairly robust because:

At the apex, it is overseen by an Act of Parliament, The Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act 1981 (as amended and as being amended again currently) - See a copy of the Act and Rules in the bundle that accompanies this paper.

The Act is supported by The Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Rules 1986, that can be amended from time to time by the Minister of Finance, usually with advise from the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents. It is expected to be further amended once the amendments to the Act go through the current session of Parliament.

Both, the Act and Rules are further supported by The Malaysian Valuation Standards that is set by the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agent under powers conferred by the Act. The Standards are clearly not just principles based but rules based as well and it enables disciplinary action to be taken quickly and arising from any complaint from the public. There is a due process before any punishment is meted out. The Standards are in the process of being amended.

In the Asian context, in particular, purely principle based standards are inadequate for regulating the profession. There is a need for rules bases standards as well and this may come in the form of Best Practice guidelines.

The Securities Commission of Malaysia has much stricter, user guidelines, for public domain valuations. There is also a set of Best Practice Guidelines. See copies of the Asset Guidelines and Best Practice Guidelines in the bundle.

Valuers in Malaysia are usually also professional members of the Institution of Surveyors Malaysia. The Board is the regulatory authority whilst the ISM is the professional body. See www.ism.org.my

Valuers in private practice in Malaysia are usually also members of The Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector, Malaysia. See www.peps.org.my

The Valuation and Property Services Department of the Ministry of Finance is a 2,000 strong public sector valuation organisation that undertakes valuations for taxation purposes as well as many other public sector related valuations and property consultancies. See www.jpph.gov.my. The Department is supported by two bodies (a) the National Institute of Valuation (INSPEN) (www.inspen.gov.my) and (b) the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) (www.jpph.gov.my). The property sales data and property market data assist Valuers in Malaysia (public and private sector Valuers) in undertaking valuations, property consultancy, property management, estate agency, investment advisory and market and feasibility studies, the latter of which is a

requirement for any project financing by banks. The mere dissemination of substantial real estate data and information results in a more efficient real estate market which leads to a more efficient economy since real estate is a major pillar of any modern economy.

Malaysia is part of the 10 member South East Asian group of countries known as ASEAN. ASEAN has a current population of about 580 million and it is strategically located between the two emerging economic superpowers, China and India. For the past 30 years the ASEAN countries have had a valuation organisation known as the ASEAN Valuers Association or AVA. AVA is now poised for further, rapid growth as the forces of liberalisation sweep through the region, in line with an accelerated agenda that is driven by the governments of the 10 member countries of ASEAN. See www.aseansec.org and www.aseanvaluers.org

The Valuation profession is an infant, in a sunrise industry.

It has miles to go before it sleeps - to part quote Robert Frost.

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop." - Confucius.

This speech was been prepared by:

Elvin Fernandez, FISM, FRICS

President, Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (ISM)

September 2010

Update 6

2010-09-07T13:17:00.002+08:00

At the recent Council Meeting on 26 August we have decided, after debate, that we need to act on our agenda on internationalisation. We propose to create a new class of membership for Surveyors who are not members of ISM and who are practising Surveyors, particularly in countries around the region such as ASEAN, China, India, Pakistan and the Middle East. Such members however cannot practice in Malaysia and can join ISM and use the ISM letters after their name and follow the developments in the profession though the dissemination of information through ISM channels and take part from time to time in ISM activities. Our journal is at the same time being upgraded and our website is becoming more and more state-of-the-art. Members are welcome to comment on this and start the debate. On 18 December 2010 we shall have an EGM in Kuala Lumpur to debate and if thought fit, pass the amendments to the Constitution to effect the changes.

We are also preparing to invite a very prominent personality on that day of the EGM to give us a talk on liberalisation.

The Sarawak Branch will be having a one day event on 20 October to get all the 400 ISM members in Sarawak to come together and take part in a whole day seminar. Members for other parts of Malaysia who want to take part are welcome to contact the Sarawak Branch.

The Technical Tour cum sightseeing trip to India (New Delhi, Mumbai and optionally Goa) for 7 and 10 days respectively is gathering steam. So far 45 persons have signed up. We can accommodate more. For more information please see details on this website.

Plans for our Pan-Malaysia celebrations for our 50th Year in 2011 are also gaining momentum and throughout next year we will celebrate our successes of the past 50 years as we pledge to rebrand and continue our services as Surveyors to the Malaysian public. The Commerative Book is in the final stages of preparation and hopefully will be unveiled on the 18th of December at our EGM.

Update 5

2010-08-05T15:56:00.002+08:00

On 8 July 2010, a small delegation went to meet with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Works, Y. Bhg. Datuk Thomas George was discussed at length and the issues surrounding the proposed Building Surveyors Act. We believe it was a fruitful meeting where many important issues were resolved. We brought clarity to some of the issues that have been holding up the Act and we remain hopeful that the proposed Act can be passed soon.

The 14th PAQS Congress was held in Singapore from 24th – 27th July 2010, by the Singapore Institution of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV), jointly with the International Cost Engineering Council (ICEC) 7th Congress. A total of 49 Malaysian delegates attended the Congress led by our council member and Chief Delegate, Dato’ Sr Abdull Manaf. The theme of the Congress was ‘Sustainable Cost Management: Borderless Innovation’ and the quality papers delivered along this theme were indeed invigorating.

At the same time, the 16th ASEAN Valuers Association (AVA) Congress, under the theme “Towards a New Era of Valuation Development” was held from 22 – 24 July 2010 at Dusit Thani Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand. It was well attended by more than 300 persons and extremely well organised by our Thai counterpart. At this Congress, the Governing Council of AVA met, and Malaysia made a bid for the Secretariat to be moved to Malaysia along with a bid for the posts of Secretary-General and Treasurer. We succeeded in the bid and I am now the Secretary General, and Faizan Bin Abdul Rahman, the Treasurer.

Our first Council Meeting for the 50th Session was held on 28 July 2010 and we have established a new item in the agenda, i.e. to discuss at some length one topic rather than go through just the usual agenda. At the meeting we discussed the issue of liberalisation and, after some debate, decided that as a common stand, we hold that it would be best serve in the interest of the surveying profession for liberalisation to be proceeded on a measured basis, and for equity participation to be not more than 49%.

It is likely that at the next Council meeting, the special issue to be discussed will be Green Issues. All ISM members are invited to write in, in advance of our Council Meeting, regarding their opinions as to the green movement, from their own Divisional Perception or from the point of view of surveying as a whole.

The 21st National Real Estate Convention Malaysia was held at the Istana Hotel on 3 & 4 August 2010 with the theme “Opportunities in the New Decade” and is timely in view of the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) recently tabled at Parliament and officially opened by YB Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

Update 4

2010-07-12T16:37:00.002+08:00

In the weeks ahead, before the start of the fasting month, the activities at the ISM HQ include the meeting of the Special Committee set up to organise activities for the 50 Year celebrations in 2011, The Management Committee meeting on 20 July and the First Council Meeting for Session 50 on 28 July. Divisional, Branch and other subcommittee meetings are also being held.

The 14th PAQS Congress and Board meeting are to be held in Singapore from 23 to 27 July 2010. The venue is the Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore and the hosts are the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) with the congress theme, Sustainable Cost Management: Borderless Innovation. Kindly view this website for registration - http://paqs2010.com.sg. The PAQS website is www.paqs.net.

The 16th ASEAN Valuers Congress with the Theme "Toward a New Era of Valuation Development" is being held at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok from the 22 to 24 July 2010. On the day before, on 21 July, in the evening the AVA Governing Council meets. The Asean Valuation Association (AVA) was established in June 1981 with five founding members namely, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. In 1990s, AVA was extended to include Brunei and Vietnam. Cambodia is the new member joined in 2009. Two other Asean countries namely Laos and Myanmar are not officially members yet as there are no formal valuation professions in these countries. They are now having observer status in AVA. Each country is represented by seven valuers from the public and private sectors and the academia to form the Governing Council. The AVA holds a congress once every two years on a rotating basis among the ASEAN member countries. The congress provides a valuable platform to share views, networking, interaction, a place to learn and exchange knowledge and information and foster comradeship and fellowship. Between congresses, there is a pre-congress meeting to prepare for the congress. The AVA website is www.aseanvaluers.com

On the 3rd and 4th August, ISM and PEPS are jointly organising the 21st National Real Estate Convention at Istana Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. The Theme: Opportunities in the New Decade. For details of the programme please see the full brochure elsewhere in this website.

We also welcome our first overseas Chapter, the UK Chapter and for some information on this see the "ISM News & Events" in our website. See also under "Institution Information - ISM Branches - UK Chapter" and we are inserting here a paper entitled "The Relevance of ISM's Global Presence" by Sr. Faisal Ahmad Zaidin who is the present Chairman of the UK Chapter.

I have been invited to attend the annual dinner of the Johor branch on 30 July 2010 and hope to see as many ISM members in Johor as possible.

Comments from followers of this blog are welcome on any matter.

Update 3

2010-07-06T15:17:00.003+08:00

Dear Members,

This morning I attended, together with immediate Past President Associate Professor Sr Dr Hjh Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah, the 2011 Budget Dialogue, chaired by the Prime Minister YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Razak. It was a well attended session, at the Ministry of Finance, and there were 455 participants, from 175 organisations. The session which started at 9 am ended at 12 noon, was divided into three major parts, the Macro Issues, the Sectorial issues and the Social Issues. There were selected speakers for each part and at the end of each part a brief question and answer session ensued.

Prior to going for the Dialogue, ISM did submit a memorandum to the Ministry and did raise a number of issues obtained from some discussions with our various Divisions and Council members. However with more inputs from Divisions, Branches, Council members and members, our submission next year could be made even more comprehensive and focused. At the coming Council meeting we hope to set up a special committee that will be tasked with starting on the next submission, early, and once that committee is set up, it is hoped that members will support by contributing views and opinions.

The coming budget which is the first Budget post the release of the New Economic Model and the 10th Malaysia Plan, will be tabled in Parliament on 15 October.

Elvin.

Update 2

2010-07-02T15:22:00.005+08:00

Dear Members,

On 27 June 2010, Sunday morning, I attended the launching of “1BINA.MY – The Official Portal of Malaysia’s Construction Industry” and signed the Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) with CIDB. 1Bina.my is a global initiative by CIDB Malaysia, for a permanent construction industry portal, built specially for the conduct of cross-border business electronically. The interactive support includes business tools; knowledge sharing; links to aids and projects; industry directory and community. The two days Content Enrichment Workshop (26-27 June 2010) was also attended by the ISM Secretariat (IT Officer) who will in charged of ISM 's ongoing updates.

This morning, 2 July 2010, we had a meeting to finalise the Memorandum to Ministry of Finance for the Budget Consultancy 2011. ISM will attending the Budget Consultancy 2011 meeting that will be chaired by our Prime Minister on 6 July 2010.

Earlier, I also attended an opening ceremony of ARCHIDEX 2010 and PAM 2010 Convention at KLCC Convention Centre and was pleasantly surprised, to discover that one of our Fellow (QS Division), Sr Low Khian Seng is the co-author of the recently published book entitled “THE PAM 2006 CONTRACT HANDBOOK”. Congratulations.

Okay, I have a flight to catch. I am going to visit my two month old grandson in JB. (",)

Oooppss...almost forgot! Datin Faridah who is organising chair, wants me to remind the industry to watch out for the 21st National Real Estate Convention (NREC) event which will be on 3-4 August 2010 at Hotel Istana, KL. @NREC, 1st in Real Estate, 2nd to None. CHECKMATE!

I'll see you there. Till then.

Update 1

2010-06-24T02:30:00.000+08:00

ISM successfully held the 12th International Surveyors Congress over two days, namely on the 17th and 18th of June and we had 548 registered participants on Day One and 616 on Day Two. On both days there was an exhibition running concurrently with 25 booths. For the 49th AGM held on the morning of 19 June 2010 there were 315 members (including proxies) who attended plus 47 graduates and students (who can attend but cannot vote). For the Dinner on the night of 19 June 2010, and graced by the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, we had 85 tables.

For those who didn't get to attend the Congress, soft copies of the seminar papers are available for purchase from ISM at the cost of RM50 and it will then be emailed to you. For any enquiries please call Ms. Enny Zarina at 03-7955 1773 or mobile number 013-601 4150.

During the AGM, we amended Bylaw 3 (d) to two members instead of one. This relates to the composition of the Examination Board and the Education and Accreditation Board.

We also added a new Bylaw, 24A. This allows for the setting up of ISM Chapters outside Malaysia. In our proposal, 1(f) we said that "The Chapter, shall be registered with the Registrar of Societies in the jurisdiction it is situated "Members felt that the words "or equivalent" should be added after the word "Societies" and this was agreed to. The issue of funding was also raised but it was felt that this can be left to the Council to decide from time to time.

Bylaw 26 (4) was amended to include the for Vice-Presidents to the Management Committee. All Principal Officers shall be Malaysian citizens.

The Special Levy, that will be collected to fund the 50 year celebrations was approved. Fellows and members will pay RM150 per member and Graduate Members RM75 per member. The names of all the members contributing would be listed in the 50th Anniversary Commemorative Book and they would be entitled to a copy each.

An important issue debated upon was the liberalisation of services and generally members want to get an ISM consensus on the equity participation we are comfortable with notwithstanding the Government's current thinking that there ought to be full liberalisation by 2012.

Please come forward with your views.

The speeches made by the Ministers, the President , the Organising Committee and my acceptance speech at the Dinner are listed in the ISM website - www.ism.org.my.

Your comments are welcome.
Please also give us ideas for our 50th Year Celebrations in 2011.

The President - Session 2010-2011

2010-06-23T00:43:00.000+08:00

Sr Elvin Fernandez