ASLI CO-ORGANIZE BILL CLINTON LECTURE ASLI Director Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam with The Hon. Bill Clinton. Datuk Vinod Sekhar and the Hon. Bill Clinton. The <strong>Asian</strong> <strong>Strategy</strong> and <strong>Leadership</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> (ASLI) co-organised the Public Lecture in Kuala Lumpur by the Hon Bill Clinton, former President of USA. The former President was invited by Dato’ Vinod Sekhar to deliver the Sekhar Memorial Lecture and to receive the BC Sekhar Medal for transformational leadership. Former President Clinton spoke on Building Common Humanity and answered several questions. It was the former President’s first visit to Malaysia. President Clinton stressed that we live today in a <strong>more</strong> interdependent world than at any time in history. He said we have to change the way we think. He also spoke about the importance of sustainability and energy and shared his perspectives on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Chairman ASLI Foundation & Sunway Group Tan Sri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah and the US Ambassador James Keith. The former President emphasised that every country must put its own house in order. He stressed that we have no choice but to share the future. Tan Sri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah, Chairman ASLI Foundation, Plantation Industry and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin, Tun Hanif Omar & Dato Dr. Michael Yeoh at the Bill Clinton VIP Reception. Dato Chew Chee Kin, Tan Sri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah, Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Khas, Dato Seri Effendi Norwawi, Dato Dr. Michael Yeoh and US Ambassador James Keith at the Clinton VIP Reception. ASLI COO Ms. Jean Wong greeting Tourism Minister Dato Seri Azalina at the Clinton Lecture. Dato Seri Dr. Jamaluddin Jarjis having a word with Datuk Peter Chin at the Clinton Lecture. Behind are Tan Sri Tan Kay Hock and Khairy Jamaluddin. Central Bank Governor Tan Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz having a word with Tan Sri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah, Tun Hanif Omar and Dato Dr. Michael Yeoh. UMNO Deputy Youth Leader Khairy Jamaluddin having a word with Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, Dato Dr. Michael Yeoh and Ms. Jean Wong. 14
NATIONAL TOURISM FORUM 2008 Dato Sri Azalina Dato Othman Said, Minister of Tourism with Dato Dr. Michael Yeoh at the official opening of National Tourism Forum. Distinguished panel of speakers at the forum: Dato Kee Phaik Cheen, Chairman of Penang Tourism Action Council, Dato Razali Hj Mohd Daud, Acting Director-General, Tourism Malaysia, Mr. Anthony Wong, Group Managing Director of <strong>Asian</strong> Overland Services Tours & Travel and Dr. Wong Kong Yew, Programme Director of Taylor’s College-School of Hospitality and Tourism. Dato Mokhzani Mahathir and the ASLI Team. The National Tourism Forum 2008 was held on 25 - 26 September 2008 at the Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur, with the theme, “The Evolution and the Implications of Tourism Dynamics”. The forum had attracted the participation of key executives and decision & policy-makers from the government agencies, industry associations, NGOs, hotels & resorts, airlines & airports, travel & tour operators, retailers as well as public and private investors with vested interest in the Tourism and its downstream industries. As one of the world’s fastest growing industries and the second largest revenue earner in Malaysia, the Tourism industry is the backbone of enormous businesses and employment opportunities for thousands of Malaysians. In its dynamic evolution since the new millennium, we have seen the advent of many new tourism facets and the proliferation of the Internet which allowed greater price transparency and control for travelers. It had also weathered numerous economic cycles, endured terrorism threats & attacks, outbreaks of diseases and natural disasters, all of which have significantly impacted the industry. As organizations and individuals the world over are faced with volatile oil prices, inflation and increasing cost of operations/living, travel and tourism will inadvertently be impacted once again. In the Keynote Address, Dato’ Sri Azalina Dato’ Othman Said, Minister of Tourism, commended on the strong performance of the industry which has been growing steadily for the past 10 years and reached a new high of 20.9 million tourist arrivals in 2007. She was also confident that Malaysia is on track to achieve the targeted tourist arrival of 22.5 million by the end of 2008. Responding to queries from the floor at the question and answer session afterwards, Dato’ Sri Azalina acknowledged that persistent problems such as the quality of taxi services were a nuisance to the industry. However, she added that this was likely to be the case of ‘one bad apple spoils the barrel’ and was sure that the ministry and relevant authorities had been monitoring the situation and would continue to do so to contain these problems. The forum then proceeded with presentations and panel discussions that covered a broad range of travel and tourism related issues over the course of the 2-day forum. They included topics such as Discovering New Tourism Facets and Strengthening Established Tourism Segments, Risks and Opportunities in Sports Tourism: Ploughing Deeper to Boost Yields, Going Green: Discussing the Expectations and Deliverance Key players of the Medical Tourism Industry: Mr. Suresh Ponnudurai, Managing Director of MalaysiaHealthCare. com, Dr. Chong Su-Lin, CEO of Sunway Medical Center, Dato’ Teddric Mohr, CEO/President of Penang Adventist Hospital and Mr. Stuart Pack, CEO of Hospitality, Leisure & Health Division, Country Heights Holdings Bhd. of Ecotourism, The Personnel Touch: Panel Discussion on Human Capital in Tourism Sector, Marching in the Medical Tourists: A Healthy Outlook, Malaysia Truly Asia: Selling Malaysia and the Malaysian Culture, When All Good Intentions Fail: The Cavity in the Tourism Sector and Panel Discussion: Malaysia vs. Asia: Regional Tourism for Increased Tourist Traffic. The panel of speakers, panelists and moderators was made up of experienced and prominent players from various sectors of the industry. They were Dato’ Razali Hj Mohd Daud - Acting Director-General, Tourism Malaysia, Dato’ Kee Phaik Cheen - Chairman, Penang Tourism Action Council, Ms Elizabeth Wong - Chairman, Selangor Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment Committee, Ms Gracie Geikie - Chief Executive Officer, Sarawak Tourism Board, Dato’ Mokhzani Mahathir - Chairman, Sepang International Circuit Sdn Bhd, Dato’ Pardip Kumar Kukreja - Executive Chairman, Grand Paradise Holdings Sdn Bhd, Dato’ Teddric Mohr - CEO/President, Penang Adventist Hospital, Datuk Ismail Adam - Council Member, Badan Warisan Malaysia, Datuk Hj Mhd Amin Nordin bin Abd Aziz - Deputy Director General of Services, DBKL, Mr. Ahmad Kamil Mohamed - President, Malaysia Sports Tourism Council, SAC II Ku Chin Wah - Ketua Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Kuala Lumpur, Polis Diraja Malaysia, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Badaruddin Mohamed - Tourism Research Circle, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Dr Asma Abdullah - Intercultural Consultant & Facilitator, Dr Chong Su-Lin - Chief Executive Officer, Sunway Medical Centre, Dr Loh Chi Leong - Executive Director, Malaysian Nature Society, Dr Shamsudin Ibrahim - Director of Forestry Division, FRIM, Dr Wong Kong Yew - Programme Director, Bachelor & Master Degree Programmes, Taylor’s College - School of Hospitality and Tourism, Mr. Rohizam Md Yusoff - Chief Executive Officer, VirtualMalaysia.com, Mr. Anthony Wong - Group Managing Director, <strong>Asian</strong> Overland Services Tours &Travel, Mr. Jimmy Leong - President, Malaysia Tourist Guides Council (MTGC), Mr. Kenneth Kassem – Marine Coordinator, WWF Malaysia, Mr. Mark Lankester - Chief Executive Officer, Tune Hotels Sdn Bhd, Mr. Phua Tai Neng - Chief Operating Officer, Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA), Mr. Reginald T Pereira - Chief Operating Officer, Malaysia Association of Hotels Training and Education Centre (MAHTEC), Mr. Stuart Pack - CEO of Hospitality, Leisure & Health Tourism Division, Country Heights Holdings Berhad, Mr. Suresh Ponnudurai - Managing Director, MalaysiaHealthCare.com and Ms Joyce Yap - President, Malaysian Association for Shopping and Highrise Complex Management. Chairman of Selangor Tourism, Consumer affairs and Environment Committee Ms Elizabeth Wong, President of Tourism Educators Association of Malaysia Assoc. Prof. Dr. Badaruddin Mohamed and CEO of Sarawak Tourism Board Ms Gracie Geikie at a panel discussion. 15 Mr. Phua Tai Neng, Chief Operating Officer of MATTA, Ms Joyce Yap, President of PPK Malaysia, Dato Pardip Kumar Kukreja, Executive Chairman of Grand Paradise Holdings Sdn Bhd, Mr. Reginald Pereira, Chief Operating Officer of MAHTEC and Mr. Mark Lankester, CEO of Tune Hotels Sdn Bhd.
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