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mbaedgeTM 1
POSTGRADUATE
PP17103/09/2012 (030736) 2012 Issue 9 July/August 2012 RM7.00
mbaedgeTM
Stud
iesTHE GENESIS OF THE PURPLE OCEAN STRATEGYTan Sri Dr David Lai
MRCA
Industr y Centre of Excellence (ICoE)
DATO’ NELSON KWOK
ICT CAREER & EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA with
• Dr Liew Soung Yue • Professor Dr Jamilin Jais
• Dr Jasmine Seng
Redefining the PUBLISHING
INDUSTRY withRODNEY TOH, KIM & KERRIE SDN BHD
Talent is Never Enoughin PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT
EDDIE TANG, MAH SING PROPERTIES SDN BHD
ISSN 2232-0342
9772232034009
2 mbaedgeTM
Supporting Universities
Nationwide
Your Future is Our Business
As seen in stores and
universities
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Stud
iesPOSTGRADUATE
SETTING UP OF THE INDUSTRY CENTRE OF ExCELLENCE (ICOE)Dato’ Nelson Kwok
President of MRCA
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C
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Competition Ad - Final 01.pdf 7/8/2012 11:51:36 PM
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mbaedgeTM
Stud
iesPOSTGRADUATE
C
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Y
CM
MY
CY
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Competition Ad - Final 01.pdf 7/8/2012 11:51:36 PM
TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGHEddie Tang
COO, Mah Sing Proper ties Sdn Bhd
6 mbaedgeTM
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8 mbaedgeTM
CORPORATE
Managing Director: Steven Shim
Office Manager: Vicky Shim
Key Accounts Manager: Wong YW
Finance Manager: Bonnie Bang
EDITORIAL TEAM
Senior Editor: Janet Tay
Writers: Nurraihana, Mohd Amil
Contributors: Dr Hendry Ng, Senerath
De Silva, Lenny Chiah
Photographer: Tang Weng Kit, Brandon
Leow
Graphic Designer: Tony Lam
PUBLISHER
Penerbit Wawasan Nusa (M) Sdn Bhd
(866716-P), Wisma Wawasan,
19-2 Jalan PJS 8/12, Dataran Mentari,
Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia
Tel: 603-56301802, Fax: 603-6301803,
Email: info@pwn.com.my,
penerbitwawasan@gmail.com
Website: www.pwn.com.my
PRINTER
Intan Spektra Sdn Bhd
12 Jalan Vivekananda, 50470 Kuala
Lumpur
All rights reserved by MBA EdgeTM and its publisher. While every care has been taken, the publisher, writers, and editors will not be held liable for errors, inaccuracies or commissions. Unsolicited material is submitted at sender’s risk. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of copyright owner. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this magazine via the internet or any other means without the permission of publisher is illegal by law.
EDITOR’S NOTE
ICT – the way of the present, and the future
ICT is a well-known acronym
but what does it mean exactly?
ICT stands for Information and
Communication Technology,
and includes products that
will store, retrieve, manipulate,
transmit or receive electronic
information in a digital
form, i.e., digital data. We are
talking about computers,
digital televisions, email and
even robots. Even with this
definition, ICT is a broad and
fast-changing subject. Malaysia
is keeping up with the advent
and evolution of ICT through
the offering of ICT courses in
various universities.
In this issue, we interview Dr
Liew Soung Yue, Dean of the
Faculty of Information and
Communication Technology
at Universiti Tunku Abdul
Rahman (UTAR) about the
various ICT courses offered
at the university and the
Dean of Computer Science/IT
Department of KLIUC, Professor
Jamilin Jais, on ICT courses at
KLIUC. Dr Jasmine Seng, Head
of Computer Science and
Networked Systems at Sunway
University talks to us about the
trends in IT courses and the
different programmes offered
at the university. We also
feature a dialogue between
Ms Elizabeth Lee and Professor
Chang Pao-long about the
partnership between Sunway
University (Malaysia) and Feng
Chia University (Taiwan), a
collaboration that will surely
bring ICT to new heights in this
country.
Our cover story features Tan Sri
David Lai, CEO of Bandacaya
Group, who talks to us about
his challenging early years
and how he discovered his
business philosophy, the
Purple Ocean Strategy. We
also interview Dato’ Nelson
Kwok about the launch of the
Industry Centre of Excellence
which will providing 8,000
internship opportunities to
university students.
In our business segment, we
speak to Rodney Toh of Kim
& Kerrie Sdn Bhd about how
e-publishing will redefine
the publishing landscape in
Malaysia. Eddie Tang dispenses
advice on how to find and the
right talents in organisations.
We are also happy to
announce the latest MBA Edge
business competition, Season
3, on “The Salient Points of
Creating a Powerful Personal
Brand in the Malaysian Context
Today.” The winner of the MBA
Edge business competition
Season 2 is Nicholas Cheng Yi
Yang, many congratulations!
Our interview with him is also
included in this issue.
If you have any suggestions
on what you would like to see
in this magazine in relation to
postgraduate studies or have
any comments about our
current issues, please email us
at: penerbitwawasan@gmail.
com.
Happy reading!
Janet Tay
mbaedgeTM 9
CONTENTSmba edgeTM & postgraduate studiesjuly-august 2012
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TAN SRI DAVID LAI, THE GENESIS OF THE PURPLE OCEAN STRATEGY, Chief Executive Officer, Bandacaya Group
MALAYSIA RETAILER-CHAINS ASSOCIATION, Dato’ Nelson Kwok LAUNCHING OF THE INDUSTRY CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
ICT EDUCATION & PROSPECTS IN MALAYSIA with Dr Liew Soung Yue
Interview with Dean of Computer Science/IT Department, KLIUC PROFESSOR DR JAMILIN JAIS
ICT PROGRAMMES AT SUNwAY UNIVERSITY, DR JASMINE SENG, Head of Computer Science & Networked Systems
NICHOLAS CHENG YI YANG, Profile of the winner of the mbaedgeTM Business Competition Season 2
MBA from Strathclyde Business School A TRIPLE-ACCREDITED UNIVERSITY
PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN SUNWAY UNIVERSITY (MALAYSIA) & FENG CHIA UNIVERSITY (TAIwAN) The Dialogue Between Ms Elizabeth Lee) and Prof Chang Pao-long
BUSINESS MODEL GENERATION Somachandra Senerath De Silva and Dr Hendry HS Ng
Interview with MR VIGNESwARAN, Head of Department, After-Sales, Quill BMW
UTAR and Building Management Association of Malaysia sign MoU
SUNwAY UNIVERSITY AND FENG CHIA UNIVERSITY SEAL PARTNERSHIP
MMU, UTAR Hosts Conference on High-Impact Technology
A TRIPARTITE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT(MoA) SIGNING CEREMONY BETWEEN UM, ACCA AND SUNwAY TES
Event: Award-giving Ceremony of SIN CHEw EDUCATION FUND AwARDS
Speech by YB Dato’ Dr Hou at the Award-giving Ceremony of SIN CHEw EDUCATION FUND AwARDS
THE MBA EDGETM Business Competition Season 3
Redefining the PUBLISHING INDUSTRY HOW THE ADVENT OF TABLET PCs AND EPUB 3.0 FORMAT WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE OF PUBLISHING IN MALAYSIA RODNEY TOH, Kim & Kerrie Sdn Bhd
TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGHAn Exclusive Conversation with EDDIE TANG, MAH SING BHD
COVER STORY
PROFILE
BUSINESS SEGMENT
10 mbaedgeTM
Q. Tell us about yourself and your life principles.
I completed my degree in the
UK in quantitative surveying
in 1992. After a few years
working in Malaysia, I spent
some time working in China.
I came back to Malaysia in
1997 and set up my own
company, P&M Construction
Sdn Bhd. Unfortunately,
Malaysia was in a recession
in 1997 and it took more
than one year before the
company won a tender for
a project. Meanwhile, I did
many odd jobs, like selling
stainless steel tanks, filters,
stationeries, and was even
involved in direct selling
schemes, just to make ends
meet. Our first construction
project was a school in Bangi.
After that, I decided to move
into property development
instead of construction and
formed Bandacaya Holding
Sdn Bhd. I decided to develop
properties on Malay reserved
land.
I grew up in a small kampong
among many Malay people.
We understand the Malay
culture well, and in fact, my
father’s business was involved
in providing products and
services for Malay weddings
and festival celebrations.
I spent a lot of my time in
Lantau Panjang at a mamak
coffee shop to mingle around
with the local folk there.
Almost everyday from 10am
to 10pm I would chat with
the local customers and
try to propose my ideas to
the landowners for me to
develop their land in return
for profit sharing. After a
period of time, I managed to
close a deal and proceeded
to develop a piece of land.
To do so, I needed to get an
official government approval
which took from two to three
months to more than 12
months. Nothing happened
during that time as I couldn’t
develop the land without
a permit. It was tough and
I worked hard to find a
solution. Eventually when
the permit was approved, I
started pitching tents and
setting up a display for the
property to promote sales to
the kampong folk. For two
weeks from 11am to 6pm,
there was not a single visitor
to the display tents.
I decided to go directly to the
customers instead of waiting
for them to come to me. I
printed some brochures and
went knocking door to door
to sell them the property.
I did this for three months.
It was really tough work.
From 9am to 12 midnight, I
would go to every potential
customer’s office or home
to present to them. On
average, to close a sale, I had
to visit and service a potential
customer about six times.
Slowly but surely, I managed
Tan Sri Dr David Lai, founder of Bandacaya Holding Sdn Bhd, talks to Postgraduate Studies MEB about his challenging early years and how he discovered his business philosophy, the Purple Ocean Strategy.
Tan Sri Dr David Lai and the Genesis of the Purple Ocean
Strategy
“”
I grew up in a small kampong
among many Malay people.
We understand the Malay culture
well
COVER STORY
ME Cover Story : Tan Sri Dr David Lai & the Genesis of the Purple Ocean Strategy
mbaedgeTM 11
to sell all the units. Although
it was tough work, I was very
motivated and energised by
the results.
The landlord became a
millionaire and he started
to recommend his family
members who owned land
to work together with my
company. That was how I
grew my business in 2002
until 2006. All went very well
and I worked very hard trying
to do everything. Then came
that fateful day of 7 May 2006
when I suffered a stroke at the
age of 38. Half my body was
paralysed. For four months
until September 2006, the
whole business stopped. I
tried to do everything and
when I collapsed, everything
stood still. No one knew
what to do; there was no
continuation. I was not wise
enough then to build a
team and create a perpetual
business system.
The four months I spent
recuperating and recovering
from the stroke was perhaps
the most important turning
point in my life. I started to
think deeper about how I did
business. I started to search
for a model. I studied the
Blue Ocean Strategy concept
made famous by Chan Kim
and Renée Mauborgne. I
thought I didn’t want to be
in the Red Ocean business
as I was trying to avoid price
competition. I thought there
must be a space between
the idea of the Blue Ocean
and Red Ocean. One day,
while being involved in my
children’s painting activities,
I noticed that when red was
mixed with blue, the resultant
purple colour made an
impression on me. I took that
as a sign to explore further
what the acronym P.U.R.P.L.E.
means to me.
Slowly, I worked out a set
of principles using the
P.U.R.P.L.E. acronym and
fleshed out what would
eventually become the
foundational principles upon
which I built my business.
Then came that fateful day of 7 May 2006 when I suffered a stroke at the age of 38. Everything changed.
Cover Story : Tan Sri Dr David Lai & the Genesis of the Purple Ocean Strategy ME
12 mbaedgeTM
I would like to share my idea
of the “Purple Ocean”.
Purple to me stands for:
P: Prepare for change
U: Umbrella System
R: Reformation
P: Price
L: Lifestyle
E: Evolution
Prepare for Change:
To prepare for change you
have to start with your
thinking, your mindset.
I was deeply involved in
developing Malay reserved
land and I had to rethink
whether to proceed in
this area or diversify into
other areas. I decided to
stay put and grow in this
area as there are not many
players. Furthermore, based
on the Tenth Malaysia Plan
then, the focus on building
infrastructure was a plus point
as with proper infrastructure
it was easier to position
developments in those Malay
reserved land as accessibility
is always a challenge. I was
prepared for change by
rethinking my focus. Once I
was really sure I was on the
right track, everything else
fell into place. I refocused all
efforts into this area.
Umbrella System:
An umbrella protects you
from the rain. The umbrella
system is the idea of
protecting the customers.
Many developers do not
refund clients who fail to
secure loans for properties.
I refund fully as I want to
protect the customers. For
P: Prepare for change
U: Umbrella System
R: Reformation
P: Price
L: Lifestyle
E: Evolution
ME Cover Story : Tan Sri Dr David Lai & the Genesis of the Purple Ocean Strategy
When our customers come to collect their set of keys to their house, I present them with an expensive key box with all the keys properly labelled and hung in the box for them. They will always remember that experience!
mbaedgeTM 13
those buyers who qualify for
the loan but do not have the
10 per cent down payment,
I provide interest-free two-
year instalment plans to
assist them. I produce the
‘Buku Panduan’ to show our
customers, step by step,
everything they need to
know about buying a house.
When our customers come
to collect their set of keys to
their house, I present them
with an expensive key box
with all the keys properly
labelled and hung in the box
for them. They will always
remember that experience!
We educate our customers
on the need to care for the
environment by providing
talks for them and we also
provide recycle bins for them.
We hire consultants to talk
about how to be smart about
servicing loans and how to
save on interest by managing
their loans well. Because I
think first of the customer
and their well-being, I created
a win-win situation. I earn
their loyalty and they not only
buy more but also refer more
customers to me.
Reformation:
Reformation to me starts
from inside. When I recovered
from my stroke, I started to
hire people to help
me. I started to focus
on building a team.
I changed the office
hours to 9am to 5pm.
I not only wanted
my staff to work hard
but also for them to
have time to do other
we also reformed our
concept. This point is linked
to the next point on Price.
Price:
Price is always a problem.
Too expensive, and you
will sell less. Cheap and
you can’t make a profit.
So I bypass the need to
be cheap by changing my
product concept. Instead of
building single storey terrace
houses, which is very normal,
I changed the concept by
provide a lifestyle “Resort
Living Concept”. We build
Because I think first of the customer and their well-being, I created a win-win situation. I earn their loyalty and they not only buy more but also refer more customers to me.
things after work. Some had
children they needed to
pick up from school. Some
needed to attend night
classes. I encouraged these.
Slowly I changed everyone’s
mindsets and focus them
on achievements. ISO
9001, ISO14001, Malaysia
Book of Records, etc. These
achievements made them
proud. I wanted to build an
outstanding company and
it had to start with internal
reformation. We always
think of doing extraordinary
things. Recently we gathered
400 Malay families to learn
Chinese calligraphy. And that
was a great achievement.
Besides internal reformation
solar systems, swimming
pools, place security guards in
the gardens, build auto-gate,
and provide LED lighting.
Extraordinary values for
money! Our tagline is “Kami
Membina Kelainan”. Our
pricing is mid-level because
we want everyone to be able
to afford to buy.
Lifestyle:
Our customers are 35 years
old and below. These are
young people who have a
different mindset. They want
lifestyle. That’s why my new
concept terrace houses are
reconceptualised to focus
on lifestyle. Swimming pool,
auto-gate, LED lighting,
Tan Sri David holding the ‘Buku Panduan’ produced to show
customers everything they need to know about buying a house.
Cover Story : Tan Sri Dr David Lai & the Genesis of the Purple Ocean Strategy ME
14 mbaedgeTM
fingerprint door lock, etc.
are all lifestyle elements we
incorporate into our design
and concept. We change
to meet changing needs.
Our projects are all sold out
before every launch!
Evaluation:
We have to constantly
evaluate what we are doing
and see who has changed.
Competitors always copy
and learn from us. We have
to evaluate ourselves and
change and progress. You
cannot stay still and be
complacent. You have to
continuously progress and
improve.
Q. What is your advice to young entrepreneurs facing a first failure?
I don’t like to use the word
failure because every problem
we face is just another
experience. It is not a failure;
it may be that the situation,
the conditions, and the
timing are not right. To be
an entrepreneur, you need
courage and confidence to
face difficulties. You need
to be able to take risk and
have the energy to persevere
through hardship. Learn to
create opportunities and
don’t wait for opportunities
to come knocking. During my
difficult years, I went around
selling filters, stainless steel
tanks, etc. to supplement my
income. Basically, when the
buyers don’t come to you,
you have to go to the buyers.
You have to pick yourself up
and turn things around. That’s
my advice.
Q. What about fresh graduate entering the market place?
You have no experience, you
have no track record and you
are fresh entering the job
market. First and foremost,
don’t be calculative about
salary. Learn as much as
possible from others who
have more experience than
you. When I started work after
my degree, I took a RM1,200
salary job in a place that was
a 20- minute walk from my
house. I initially asked for
RM600 because I wanted the
job for the experience and
because I walked to work,
I could save a lot. But the
owner decided to pay me
RM1,200. I discover later that
my pay was the lowest; even
lower than a normal clerk. But
I didn’t mind because I told
the owner I would take the
job provided he would teach
me. This he did, and I worked
very hard. Eighteen months
later, I went for an interview
for another job and asked for
RM600 more than my current
pay which was then RM1,700.
The interviewer suspected
I was not qualified for the
job because I was asking
for a lower than expected
Tan Sri Dr David at his Head Quarter
ME Cover Story : Tan Sri Dr David Lai & the Genesis of the Purple Ocean Strategy
“”
You have no experience, you
have no track record and
you are fresh entering the job market. First and foremost, don’t
be calculative about salary.
mbaedgeTM 15
pay rate for the position
I was applying for. Then I
told the new employer that
if he was willing to try me
for three months, he could
decide whether to keep me
or not and at the RM2,300
salary I requested. If I did
not perform, I would just
leave on my own accord.
He couldn’t resist the deal
and took me on. From
there, in a short few years,
I proved myself again and
again to my employer. Three
years later, my salary was
RM9,200. My advice is, don’t
be calculative about salary.
Work for the experience and
prove yourself first. You are
still young and have plenty of
time! ME
Tan Sri Dato’ (Dr.) David LaiChief Executive OfficerBandacaya Group
16 mbaedgeTM
PROFILE
Q. How did the idea of the internship programme come about?
As chain store operators, we
don’t only operate one or
two stores; we have between
20 and a few hundred outlets.
In fact, many of our members
have outlets overseas as well
and are continuing to expand.
For any growing retail
concern, having adequate
and qualified human
resources is important. It
is always a challenge to
ensure that we have enough
manpower to grow. And
since there are stricter rules
controlling foreign workers,
the issue becomes more
pertinent. Because the chain
store retailers are facing a
shortage of manpower, I have
been receiving feedback on
the need to address this issue.
The idea of offering more
than 8,000 interns to work
in the retail industry arose
from this need. MRCA is
collaborating with SEGI and
UUM to offer their students
this internship programme.
Q. What are the objectives of this internship programme?
Basically, we want to provide
an opportunity for university
students to have a taste of
the retail world. Secondly,
MALAYSIA RETAILER-CHAINS
ASSOCIATIONDato’ Nelson Kwok
THE 8,000 INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME FOR LOCAL GRADUATES AND THE LAUNCHING OF
THE INDUSTRY CENTRE OF ExCELLENCE
ME Profile : Dato’ Nelson Kwok, President of MRCA
Postgradute Studies MEB interviews
Dato’ Nelson Kwok, President of
MRCA, on the recent collaboration
between MRCA, SEGI and UUM to
offer 8,000 internship opportunities
to university students through the
setting up of the Industry Centre of
Excellence (ICoE).
mbaedgeTM 17
we hope to attract qualified
candidates to eventually
join our industry. We want
to expose students to real
life work environment. And
finally, we need to expand
our business. Without fresh
blood, we cannot do so
and will be limited by this
constraint.
We want parents and
students to be aware of
the career opportunities in
the retail sector. Students
normally enrol for courses
in marketing, accountancy,
economics or business
administration. There are very
few who are interested in
retail management. Many do
not know the ample career
opportunities in the retail
sector.
In the modern retail industry
today, retailers need modern
managers, new blood
and fresh graduates to fill
vacancies. The internship
programme allows young
graduates to spend between
two and four months working
in the retail environment
to gain much needed work
experience that will be
useful even if they join other
industries eventually.
Q. Is this arrangement endorsed by MOHE?
Yes, in fact the Minister of
Higher Education, YB Dato’
Seri Mohamed Khaled
Nordin, himself was present
to witness the MOU signing
together with representatives
from SEGI University College
and UUM.
Q. Why work with SEGI and UUM?
SEGI and UUM were the
first to respond to our call
to encourage students
to participate in the retail
sector. They are open to
and supportive of the idea.
Thus we agreed quickly
to a mutually beneficial
arrangement where the
retailers have interns to cope
with manpower shortages
and the universities gain
opportunities to expose
students to real life work
scenarios. Students, in fact,
will be more employable.
We accept students from
any business-related field
of studies like marketing,
management, mass
communication, economics,
accounting, and human
resource.
Q. What can the interns expect?
The interns will work in the
headquarters initially and
will be briefed and trained
in the company history, the
organisation culture, product
knowledge, the performance
expectations and business
model. Then they will be
assigned to an outlet nearest
to their home. There they will
have hands-on experience
under the supervision of an
experienced staff for three
months. Constant monitoring
and feedback will ensure all
the interns perform well.
They will learn interpersonal
skills. They will learn how to
engage with customers, how
to work in a team, and how
to achieve targets. At the
end of the internship, each
intern will receive a letter
of testimony which will be
very valuable to them when
they eventually enter the
marketplace fulltime.
“In the modern retail industry today, retailers need modern managers, new blood and fresh graduates to fill vacancies”.
Profile : Dato’ Nelson Kwok, President of MRCA ME
Participants at the launch of the Industry Centre of Excellence (ICoE) event together with the Minister of Higher Education, YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled
18 mbaedgeTM
ME Profile : The Makings of an Intellectual
Q. What is your personal advice to the 8,000 interns?
I believe this is a great
opportunity for the students
to learn. Many young people
dream of being rich but are
not ready to work hard for
it. Money doesn’t fall from
the sky. There is no short cut
to success. You must work
hard, be focused, and strive
for success. During university
life, take this internship
opportunity to upgrade
your skills and learn to be
adaptable. Expose yourself to
how business people work
and make money. Don’t
be calculative and don’t
be discouraged by minor
setbacks. Use this internship
programme to show that you
can perform, to show that
you are reliable and that you
are trustworthy. We need
people with these qualities
to work with us and we offer
very attractive career paths
and opportunities that will
enrich you personally and
also financially. ME
Retail Sector Pay Range
• Retail Assistant level: Pay range - RM 1,500 to RM 3,000.
• Retail Supervisor level: Pay range - RM 3,000 to RM 5,000.
• Retail Executive and Retail Manager level: Pay range - RM 5,000 and above.
• Director of Operations, Part Owner, Franchise, Joint Venture - Unlimited.
Dato’ Nelson KwokPresident of MRCA
mbaedgeTM 19
20 mbaedgeTM
ME ICT THEME
Dr Liew Soung Yue is an associate professor at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), which he joined in August 2003. He was appointed as the Dean of the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology at UTAR in August 2009. His research interests lie in network algorithms and protocols, wireless communications and applications, provision of QoS guarantee, distributed computing and algorithms, etc. Dr. Liew has also been the
ICT EDUCATION & PROSPECTIVE IN
MALAYSIAwith Dr Liew Soung Yue
recipient of two Science-Fund projects under the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation since 2008.
Postgradute Studies MEB speaks to Dr Liew about the various ICT programmes offered at UTAR.
Q. What are the popular programmes in ICT today?
Basically all ICT programmes must cover such ICT
basics as programming, database, networking,
etc. For the knowledge and skill at the advanced
level, the popular programmes are:
Computer Science - focused on programming
and algorithm developments to solve specific
problems;
mbaedgeTM 21
ICT THEME ME
Computer Engineering -
focused on software and
hardware integration to
provide unique solutions;
Network Engineering -
focused on internetworking
among computers and
solving the issues, such
as security, that arise from
communications;
Information Systems
Engineering - focused on ICT
system developments and
applications, especially for
enterprise solutions; and
Software Engineering
- focused on software
developments and
applications for specific
problems.
However, to help Malaysia
achieve the next level of
nation’s high-income goal,
we need not only the
skilled programmers and
ICT system developers, but
also innovators and creators
for new ICT applications
and solutions. That is why
the UTAR ICT postgraduate
programmes focus more
on the research and
development (R&D) that can
generate new ICT knowledge
and cutting-edge technology.
Q. What is the trend in computer science/IT enrolment?
Although the past few years
have seen an increasing
enrolment of ICT students,
it has not been at the same
growing pace as that of
the ICT job and business
demands. Therefore the
Malaysian job market is
currently facing a serious
shortage of ICT specialists.
Q. What’s the ratio of male/female enrolment in IT in UTAR?
Males still dominate the
programming-intensive ICT
undergraduate programmes;
however, for disciplines
such as Business Information
Systems, we see more
female than male students.
For UTAR ICT postgraduate
programmes, the ratio of
male to female is about 5:1
Q. Should IT courses be strongly orientated technically or should there be elements of “business” studies as well?
Definitely, elements of
business are essential for all
ICT disciplines, as ICT must
be service- and application-
oriented. At UTAR, we
emphasise not only the
technical skill of students,
but also train students to
process entrepreneurial
and managerial skill.
Basically there is no conflict
between a technically sound
programmer and a successful
technopreneur. In fact, they
should come together.
Q. What is the ratio of lab-based instructions to theoretical instructions?
At UTAR, we emphasise a lot
on lab training because we
believe it is more effective for
students to learn if they can
practise their knowledge and
skills in the lab. For instance,
most of the technical subjects
are lab-oriented, and are
associated with intensive
practical training so that
students will acquire sound
programming, database,
“The Malaysian job market is currently facing a serious shortage of ICT specialists”.
22 mbaedgeTM
ME ICT THEME
and networking skills after
they complete the degree
programmes. Having said
so, we do not neglect the
theoretical training either as
this provides students with
the fundamental knowledge
base in order to extend
their knowledge, to perform
research and to further create
knowledge in the future.
The ratio of practical to
theoretical contents of UTAR
ICT degree programmes is
about 1:2. For research based
postgraduate programmes,
postgraduate students
are required to propose
a solution to a specific
problem from the theoretical
aspect, and then verify the
solution by implementation.
This requires both sound
theoretical knowledge and
good practical skill.
Q. Is there a stronger emphasis on ‘software’ (programming, design, languages) rather than ‘hardware’ (engineering, circuitry) courses?
Different ICT programmes
have different emphases.
As mentioned, Computer
Engineering focuses on
the software-hardware
integration, while all other
degree programmes focus
more on the software.
Q. What are the facilities available for IT students in UTAR?
At UTAR, we are working
closely with the industry,
and thus we are setting up
teaching labs like Huawei
Networking Lab, Intel IC
Design and Computing
Lab, Microsoft Software
Engineering Lab, Cisco
Network Academy Lab,
Enterprise Systems and
Database Lab, Analogue Lab,
Digital Lab, etc. In addition,
we also have a Final Year
Project Lab for students
to work on their final year
projects. For
postgraduate,
lab space and
equipment are
located in the
Postgraduate
and Project Labs
for postgraduate
students to
conduct R&D.
Q. Why study Computer Science/IT at UTAR?
At UTAR all ICT
programmes
are carefully designed with
international benchmarks and
market-driven contents. From
the technical aspect, students
will keep abreast with the
new ICT trends and be
trained with lab facilities that
meet the industrial standards.
Most of the technical subjects
are associated with intensive
practical training so that
students will acquire sound
programming, database,
and networking skills after
they complete the degree
programmes.
On the other hand, the two
UTAR ICT postgraduate
programmes, namely Master
of Computer Science and
Doctor of Philosophy
(Computer Science),
focus on the research and
development (R&D) that
can generate new ICT
knowledge and cutting-
edge technology. The two
postgraduate programmes
offer a unique combination
of scientific and engineering
appeal, with the aim to equip
students with the ability to
perform professional problem
analysis, literature search,
solution design, system
implementation, verification,
documentation, etc., to
conduct in-depth R&D in the
ICT field.
To facilitate the postgraduate
R&D activities, lab space and
equipment are allocated, and
financial aid is also in place on
project basis for postgraduate
students to apply. There is
also a wide variety of areas
of interest, such as Wireless
Communications and
Networking, Cloud and P2P
Computing, Computer Vision
and Digital Image, Machine
Learning and Algorithms,
Embedded and Intelligent
Systems, Multimedia and Web
Technologies, Knowledge
Management and Data
Mining, etc. Throughout the
programmes, students will
be encouraged to participate
in enhancement courses
such as training, seminars
and workshops, and publish
their research outcomes in
Dr Liew Soung Yue is an associate professor at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR).
conferences and journals.
Q. What is your advice for fresh IT graduates entering the job market today?
In order to become
innovative and creative
computer scientists,
students (undergraduate
and postgraduate) are
advised to broaden their
knowledge base through
reading and writing; develop
their strong ICT skills, such as
programming, networking,
etc. through practice;
cultivate critical thinking
in order to review existing
solutions and identify new
applications; and always strive
to find out how things can be
done in a more efficient and
effective way. ME
mbaedgeTM 23
Article : The Science of Generalisation in Qualitative Research ME
24 mbaedgeTM
Q. What are the popular programmes in IT today?
Software development with
elements of Network, Software
Engineering, Information System,
Multimedia & Web Application and
Computer Security.
Q. What is the trend in computer science/IT enrolment?
Overall trend of IT enrolment is
stable as almost all universities and
colleges offer IT programmes. For
specialised programmes, the number
of enrolments is increasing.
Q. Whats the ratio of male/female enrolment in IT in KLIUC?
Roughly 7:3, male to female students
Q. Should IT courses be strongly orientated technically or should there be elements of ‘business’ studies as well?
Both elements should be in
the IT courses; however the
percentage of IT elements is
higher.
Q. What is the ratio of lab-based instructions to theoretical instructions?
It depends on the
programme/subject offered.
Programming courses: 2:1
Networking courses: 2:1
Others: 1:1
Q. Is there a stronger emphasis on ‘software’ (programming, design, languages) rather than ‘hardware’ (engineering, circuitry) courses?
Again, it depends on the
programme. If it is a software
engineering programme,
the software elements must
be there. For networking
programmes, hardware
elements will be emphasised
more.
Q. What are the facilities available for IT students in KLIUC?
1. Computer Lab at KLIUC:
a) General Lab – students
general use (assignment,
project, etc)
b) Program specialisation
– Wireless Lab (CWNA),
Network Lab (CCNA), Unix
and Linux Lab, Multimedia
lab, Microprocessor lab.
c) Language lab (English)
All computer labs are
equipped with internet
connection.
2. Other Facilities:
a) Library
b) Sports Centre
c) Cafeteria
d) Discussion rooms etc.
Q. Why study Computer Science/IT at KLIUC?
There are a number of unique
features in our programme:
The IT programmes/
curricula in KLUC are well
designed with areas of
specialisation (Software
Engineering, Network and
Computer Science) with IT
entrepreneurial elements.
Programmes offered at
KLIUC will enable students
to take certified courses such
as Cisco Certified Network
Associate, Software Testing,
Requirements Engineering
etc.
At end of the programme,
students will be sent for
Industrial Training with
Company to prepare them for
real life work environments.
Students are trained to have
good communication skills.
Our lecturers are highly
qualified with professional
certification (e.g., Ethical
Hacking, Digital Forensic,
CCNA, MCSE, Requirements
Engineering, Software Testing
and Linux)
Q. What is your advice for fresh IT graduates entering the market place today?
Besides good academic
achievements, the student
must have good
communication and soft
skills amd a positive attitude
together with a willingness to
learn and work. ME
Inter view with the Dean of Computer Science & IT
Depar tment, KLIUC Professor Dr Jamilin Jais
ME ICT THEME
Prof Dr Jamilin Jais has been in teaching profession since 1980. He obtained his Bachelors and Masters in Computer Science from Northrop University in the USA, and received his PhD in Management Information System from University Putra Malaysia. He is now the Dean of the Computer Science/IT Department.
Postgraduate Studies MEB speaks to Professor Dr Jamilin about the IT courses offered at KLIUC.
mbaedgeTM 25
Master in Information TechnologyKP/JPS(N/481/7/0018)12/15
Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons)KP/JPS(KR9432)8/13
Bachelor of Information Technology (Hons)in Network TechnologyKP/JPS(KR10119)3/14
Bachelor of Information Technology (Hons)in Software EngineeringKP/JPS(KR10578)7/14
Diploma in Information TechnologyKP/JPS(KR9431)4/14
Diploma in Network and Mobile TechnologyKP/JPS(KA9430)2/14
Diploma in Software EngineeringKP/JPS(KA9429)1/14
SchoolÊofÊInformationÊTechnologyÊInfrastructure
26 mbaedgeTM
Q. What are the popular programmes in IT today?
Masters in Information
Technology and Computer
Science is a popular course
we offer to IT professionals
who are interested in
advancing their careers.
Professionals who are
involved in Information
Technology and Computer
Science know they must stay
up to date with the latest
trends to keep their careers
on track and to support the
technological and economic
advancement of their
organisations.
Sunway University currently
offers the Master of Science
in Computer Science
(by research) and PhD in
Computing programme
to individuals who are
interested to advance their
research skills and ability
in the field of Computer
Science. The individual may
already possess a Bachelor’s
degree in computer science
and computing. The PhD
programme at Sunway
University provides an
excellent opportunity to
develop the person’s research
career. Sunway University
is among the few local
private universities providing
these programmes with the
added advantage of a strong
research-based staff.
Q. What is the trend in computer science/IT enrolment?
The trends in Computer
Science/IT enrolment
appear to be on the rise,
although this increase will
most likely not reach the
heights seen in the late 90s
and the beginning of this
century. In the ever increasing
reliance on information and
technology, the services
of Information Technology
professionals are always in
demand.
Q. Should IT courses be strongly oriented technically or should there be elements of ‘business’ studies as well?
The orientation of computing
courses will definitely be
technically inclined. However,
if by elements of business
studies you mean subjects
that are not directly related
to computing, then yes, there
should be some subjects
such as communication and
basic management skills
that should be included in IT
courses to produce graduates
who are better prepared
for the industry. One of our
primary goals is to meet
the needs of the industry
for technically competent
graduates to ensure that
they are not only employable
but are able to contribute
towards the workforce. To
achieve this, we work closely
Dr Jasmine Seng is currently a Professor at Sunway University and is also the Head of Department of Computer Science & Networked Systems. She and her colleagues have established a research centre called Affective & Assistive Technology Research (AAT) Centre in Sunway University. Two research priority groups called Pervasive Computing Research (PCR) Group and Intelligent & Visual (IVC) Research Group have also been formed. Postgraduate Studies MEB speaks to Dr Seng about the trends in IT courses and programmes offered at Sunway University.
DR JASMINE SENGHead of Computer Science & Networked Systems
ICT PROGRAMMES AT SUNWAY UNIVERSITY
ME ICT THEME
mbaedgeTM 27
with representatives from
industry.
Q. What is the ratio of lab-based instructions to theoretical instructions?
MSc Computer Science
and PhD in Computing
programmes in Sunway
University are conducted on
a research basis. The work
produced by students will
have a balance between
the theoretical and practical
elements. It is important
that graduates from these
programmes are able to apply
the theoretical knowledge
gained in the labs.
Q. Is there a stronger emphasis on ‘software’ (programming, design, languages) rather than ‘hardware’ (engineering, circuitry) courses?
There is a strong emphasis
on software in computing
programmes. Hardware,
however, is the emphasis of
an Engineering programme.
Having said this, as the
students have to programme
for hardware, the students
ought to know what they
are programming. Hence, a
little hardware knowledge is
important.
Q. Why study Computer Science/IT at Sunway?
The Master of Science
Computer Science
programme in Sunway
University is affiliated with
Lancaster University, a highly
ranked university in United
Kingdom. Upon completion,
the graduate will be
conferred with two Master’s
degrees – one awarded by
Sunway University (certified
by the Ministry of Higher
Education) and another by
Lancaster University, UK.
The PhD in Computing
offered by Sunway University
is solely developed by
Sunway University’s dynamic
team of faculty members.
Upon completion, the
graduate will be conferred
with a Doctoral degree from
Sunway University certified
by the Ministry of Higher
Education, Malaysia. The
areas of research at Sunway
University include, but are
not limited to, the following:
(a) Ubiquitous and Pervasive
Computing, (b) Networking,
(c) Database Systems, (d)
Image Processing and
Computer Vision, (e) Artificial
Intelligence, (f ) Data Mining,
(g) Affective Computing, (h)
Biometrics.
Both programmes are
designed to produce
graduates who can actively
contribute in organisations
that thrive on developing
innovative software solutions
for various industries, can
provide cutting-edge
software products and
services and are leaders in
their chosen niches and
specialised sub-disciplines
in a more academic and
scholarly setting.
To facilitate student progress
towards the completion of
the degree, the programme
has built into its course
structure two compulsory
courses: directed readings
and research methodology,
which give students the
necessary underlying
knowledge to commence
their research work. Sunway
University practises a close
collaboration and mentoring
relationship between faculty
members and students.
This can be seen from the
participation of students
in various projects led by
faculty members. Through
such participation, students
learn the co-authoring and
collaboration process of
actual research work.
Q. What is your advice for fresh IT graduates entering the market place today?
In a nutshell, Computer
Science/IT graduates must be
dynamic and able to embrace
and accept change. As they
create and innovate, it is the
other disciplines that follow in
their wake. With its constantly
evolving nature, the IT
industry constantly needs
more people to not only
handle more specialised tasks
but also new technologies.
IT graduates must anticipate
change by studying trends
and keeping themselves
informed of new disruptive
technologies, as well as
advising users how to adopt
and to adapt to existing ones.
Career opportunities reflect
these expectations and the
sky is indeed the limit. ME
“”
With its constantly evolving nature, the IT industry constantly needs more people to not only handle more specialised tasks but also new technologies.
ICT THEME ME
28 mbaedgeTM
mbaedgeTM 29
Email: nicholas.cheng.yy@
gmail.com
Currently Pursuing: MBA
University Name: University of
Strathclyde
Current Job Role Title:
Solution Architect
Brief Description of Current
Role: Designing, architecting
and implementation of
software and system solutions
to meet their functional and
non-functional requirements.
Q. Why did you choose to study the MBA at the current institution?
The Strathclyde MBA is a
well-known MBA and is listed
in the Financial Times Global
MBA top 100 rankings. It also
widely regarded as the most
value-for-money, locally-
taught MBA in Malaysia.
Q. To a prospective MBA student, how should he/she prepare before starting the programme? What should he/she be aware of? What are the pitfalls to avoid?
I would say that prospective
students need to be able
to adopt a learning attitude
- there is nothing more
inhibiting than a mindset in
which one believes that he or
she already knows everything,
and does not need to know
more. I personally believe
that there is always more to
be learnt, regardless of who
you are.
Q. The MBA is not for everyone. Who should not pursue the MBA?
An MBA is a very generalised
Masters degree, as it trains
you to be a generalist instead
of a specialist. If one intends
to be a specialist instead, a
subject-oriented Masters
degree may be more ideal.
Q. What do you find most rewarding about the MBA?
Apart from the knowledge
gained through the high-
quality programmes taught,
I have gained a few close
friends with whom I worked
quite closely throughout
my course, who have been
more than just classmates
and group mates. Networking
is naturally another huge
reward, as one’s classmates
are usually influential people
in diverse industries. This
is particularly important
in today’s world where
opportunity favours the well-
connected.
Q. What do you find toughest during the programme?
Managing my time is
definitely the hardest -
particularly having to juggle
work, family and studies.
However, this has turned out
well, as I have now come to
see how valuable time is, and
I should make the most of it.
Q. Where do you see yourself in five years?
Within the next five years,
I plan to make the most of
whatever opportunities that
are available – but mostly,
I want to do the best I can
and know that I’m making a
difference.
Q. What is your motto in life? What is your favourite quote?
Motto: The happiest people
don’t necessarily have the
best of everything but they
make the most of everything
Favorite quote: “Stay hungry,
stay foolish” – Steve Jobs
Profile of the winner of the mbaedgeTM
Business Competition Season 2
Nicholas Cheng Yi Yang
Left ot Right: Mr Soon (CEO of CDC Management Development, Teoh Wei Yi, Nicholas Cheng Yi Yang, Lew Man Wai, Mr Steven Shim (MD of PWN)
Profile : Postgraduate Students ME
NICHOLAS CHENG
30 mbaedgeTM
Embarking on an MBA
programme is a huge
commitment in terms
of both time and money
spent. As such, an individual
seeks to acquire the most
out of their commitment
by receiving a high quality
education. Accrediting
MBA bodies such as the
Association of MBAs (AMBA),
the European Quality
Improvement System
(EQUIS) and the Association
to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business (AACSB)
ensures the quality of an MBA
programme and provides
individuals with peace of
mind, knowing that they are
participating in an excellent
quality and meticulously
tested programme.
These accrediting
institutions make certain
that the student gets the
highest return on their MBA
investment. Organisations are
looking for future managers
who have acquired the
best possible education.
Attending an accredited
MBA programme ensures
that the education meets
the demands of the business
world.
Strathclyde Business School
(SBS) is internationally
respected as one of the most
innovative business schools
in Europe with one of the
largest academic faculties.
Strathclyde is accredited by
AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB, and
is one of only 55 in the world
to have such a distinction.
In fact, less than 1% of
business schools in the world
hold triple accreditation
status. In Scotland, no other
business school is accredited
so highly. Attaining the
accreditation from each of
these accrediting bodies
assures that all aspects of the
school have been evaluated
and the school meets
the highest educational
standards.
Being ranked 3rd in the
world for Corporate Strategy
by Global MBA Ranking,
Financial Times in 2009 and
more recently, Strathclyde
Business School was ranked
top 100 in the world, top 20
in Europe, 1st in Scotland and
2nd in the world on Value
for Money by the Financial
Times Annual Global MBA
survey in 2011. SBS has been
rated top in Scotland and
rated in the top 10 UK-wide
scores in the recent Research
Assessment Exercise, the
major quality monitoring
process of research in the
UK. This affirmed the school
as a leader for ‘world leading
and internationally excellent’
research, with 65% of our
MBA from Strathclyde Business School
A TRIPLE-
ACCREdITEd
UNIvERSITy
Strathclyde is accredited by AMBA,
EQUIS and AACSB, and is one of only 55 in the world to have
such a distinction.
Strathclyde campus
ME Profile : Strathclyde University
mbaedgeTM 31
submission rated world
leading/internationally
excellent.
The Strathclyde MBA has
been developed and fine
tuned since 1966 and can
be studied in the UK or via
International Centres such
as Switzerland, Greece, Abu
Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Oman,
Hong Kong, Singapore and
Malaysia. Participants have the
flexibility to switch between
different modes of study,
depending on their location
and lifestyles.
The programme is designed
for ambitious, talented and
well-qualified individuals with
solid business experience.
Also, the programme is based
on collaborative learning
where work experience,
knowledge, understanding
and applicable skills are
shared, worked with and
reflected on.
The integrated programme
comprises compulsory
modules supported by a
selection of optional in-depth
functions – allowing students
to tailor their MBA to suit their
career aspirations. Students
spend time working on and
building a corporate strategy.
Strategic analysis and
strategic thinking are central
to the programme and run
throughout the modules.
The programme seeks to help
students develop ways of
grappling with opportunities
and problems in the
practice of management
by developing as reflective,
open-thinking, adaptive
learners. The team-work
approach fostered at
Strathclyde is an important
aspect of the course and
ensures that the extensive
range of people from
different backgrounds are
brought together to learn
from each other in a truly
diverse work experience.
Strathclyde academic staffs
have a multidisciplinary
outlook and build on the
extensive
expertise of
academic staff
from other
business faculty
departments.
Our academics
have particular
expertise in the
areas of strategic
management,
leadership
and scenario
planning. Staffs
also undertake a broad range
of consultancy activities both
in the UK and internationally.
The School places particular
importance on strategic
management at the level of
developing strategy in the
organisation, big or small,
departmental, or divisional.
“For further queries, please
visit our website at www.
cdc.edu.my or contact us at
03-76608950 ext. 111 Cristina
Magat”
Strathclyde Business School Building
Malaysia Centre
Profile : Strathclyde University ME
32 mbaedgeTM
“”
Studied Postgraduate at: Universiti Tunku Abdul
Rahman (UTAR)
Year graduated: 2011
Occupation: Software
Engineer
Brief description of job scope:
Involved in development,
analysis, design and support
of new and existing software
products (conferencing)
using an Agile/Scrum
methodology. I am part of a
diverse team of developers,
architects, DBA’s, business
analysts, outsourced contracts
and team leads in a global
team environment to deliver
mission critical products and
services for both internal and
external customers
Q. What do you consider the best take away value from your Masters/PhD?
The best take away value is
the diversity of knowledge
from multidisciplines. It
may or may not applicable
to the current job, but it
opens the mind to different
perspectives on a field study.
It encourages the student to
leverage the knowledge and
apply it in real life.
Q. What is your advice to prospective MBA students to prepare them for the Masters/PhD?
Learning is a life process
regardless of age.
Postgraduate studies is a
good opportunity for an
individual to excel, in addition
to the experience that we
gain through real life work
experience. Postgraduate
studies provides wide
exposure and information
on current trends in the
industry via book knowledge,
case studies, group
assignments and discussions.
Be determined once you
have made the decision to
pursue postgraduate studies.
Understand the personal
objectives of pursuing further
Mak Chee Meng
ME Profile : Postgraduate Students
studies and be ready face
the difficulties, especially for
those who need to juggle
work, family and studies.
Q. Where do you see yourself in five years?
I would like to apply
and enhance my skills in
programming and cross over
to technical management. I
hope to be able to provide
sound technical advice or
consultation when solving an
issue or planning a roadmap.
Sharing knowledge is crucial,
especially in a corporate
environment, as it encourages
the improvement of groups’
competency and skill levels.
Q. What is your motto in life?
Water in a container can spill
out when it continuously fills,
but the knowledge in our
mind will not spill out as we
continuously pursue it.
Postgraduate studies is a good opportunity for an individual to excel, in addition to the experience that we gain through real life work experience.
mbaedgeTM 33
FAIZUL RIDZUAN
23 properties by 30A story of What to find? When to find? Where to find?
ISBN 978967594106
WARNING!THIS BOOK MAY MAKE PROPERTY INVESTING LOOK TOO EASY!Faizul Ridzuan knows how to invest. And he makes it look easy. This regu-
lar employee turned RM2,000 in seed capital into a multi-million property
portfolio in just five years, with 23 properties purchased to date. In this book, he tells you how he does this, with vivid details from his very own experience. In this book, he shares his unique stories on how he:• Purchased properties using zero or little money
• Made over 1,000% returns on capital in less than three years• Is consistently able to identify properties that give double-digit rental yields • Made RM100,000 in profits over 18 months without putting a single sen• Created a million-dollar portfolio • Created an investment framework that allows investors to invest systematically, and • Saved thousands in seminar or education fees. “On Faizul’s recommendation, I bought my first investment property in Casa Mutiara five years ago
and that was really an eye-opener. That investment has given me over 600% returns to date and is
one that I look upon fondly. I got hooked on real estate investments and my most recent investment in
Axis SOHU units has been very profitable and I have bought four units there on his recommendation
as well!”Ryan Khoo, a banker who has bought 14 properties to date“Faizul has an exceptional ability to spot property with great returns. First recommendation was to
purchase Titiwangsa Sentral condo for RM250 000. I sold it for RM480,000 two years later. A must-
read to discover his secrets!”Dr. Isa Naina, a medical doctor and lecturer at University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)“Faizul’s insightful analysis, detailed research and sharp strategies are very useful to those interested in property investment. I am glad to have met Faizul and thanks to him I have gained more than 10% rental ROI and good appreciation from a recent investment based on his recommendation.”Cheong M.Y., real estate agent
WARNING!THIS BOOK MAY MAKE PROPERTY INVESTING LOOK TOO EASY!
Faizul Ridzuan knows how to invest. And he makes it look easy. This regular employee turned RM2,000 in seed capital into a multi-million property portfolio in just five years, with 23 properties purchased to date. In this book, he tells you how he does this, with vivid details from his very own experience. In this book, he shares his unique stories on how he:
• Purchased properties using zero or little money• Made over 1,000% returns on capital in less than three years• Is consistently able to identify properties that give double-digit rental yields • Made RM100,000 in profits over 18 months without putting in a single sen• Created a million-dollar portfolio • Created an investment framework that allows investors to invest systematically, and • Saved thousands in seminar or education fees
“Faizul’s insightful analysis, detailed research and sharp strategies are very useful to those interested in property investment.”
A Publication by Penerbit Wawasan Nusa (M) Sdn Bhd
Available in bookstores nationwide
ISBN I978967594106
34 mbaedgeTM
The purpose of the partnership
Eliz Lee:
Sunway University wishes to position itself as a global player. Since our inception, we have established strategic alliances with renowned institutions of higher learning in the UK, Australia, USA and Canada. It is high time we also engaged top Universities in Asia in our quest to open more doors and provide opportunities for our students for higher studies.
In view of the emergence of China, a demand of graduates proficient in the Chinese language, in addition to English, is anticipated in future. The well-regarded Feng Chia University of Taiwan is chosen in this respect, to enhance our list of credible international Universities, which our American Degree Transfer Program (ADTP) Students can opt to transfer to. Apart from ADTP, our two universities can collaborate on staff and student exchanges, and conduct joint research projects as well.
Prof Chang:
The mission of Feng Chia University is to be widely recognised for teaching excellence and achievements of focused research in Asia-Pacific region. FCU’s purpose of academic collaboration is to expand its global vision through academic exchange programs and bilingual environment. FCU has topped the first Times Higher Education Ranking of the 100 best universities under the age of 50.
Feng Chia University has been awarded the top recipient of Excellence in Teaching and Learning Project by MOE for four consecutive years. We are one of the top five technology transfer and licensing universities in Taiwan, one of the six flagship universities achieving “Outstanding in industrial outreach” by MOE, NSC and MOEA, among more than 160 universities.
Sunway University was awarded a rating of “Excellent” in the national SETARA rating system. This excellent university attracts
not only local but also international students from other countries to pursue its programmes totally taught in English. Our partnership will benefit both our faculty and students, since we can learn from each other.
The benefits of this collaboration to both parties
Eliz Lee:
I believe that we share a similarity with Feng Chia University which encourages community service among its students. Sunway University is 100% owned and governed by the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, and is therefore guided by the belief of the Founding Trustee of the Foundation, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah to give to the community through education. With our common ideals, I trust that our partnership will have great potential to blossom.
Prof Chang:
Feng Chia University is a private comprehensive university and just celebrated its 50th anniversary. We
are one of the top funded universities by our Ministry of Education due to our excellent academic achievements and industry-outreach. It is indeed that we share a similarity with Sunway University. On that account, I truly believe our cooperation with Sunway University will pave the way to a prosperous outcome in academia and culture.
Is language a barrier?
Eliz Lee:
The Senior Academic and Management Staff whom I have met speak impeccable English. I understand that most of them have been educated in the USA. However, while some of the courses at Feng Chia University may be conducted in English, most of the programmes are taught in Mandarin. Needless to say, our students who opt to transfer to Feng Chia University must have an appreciation of and minimum proficiency in the Chinese Language.
ME Dialogue: Partnership between Sunway Univeristy & Feng Chia University
dIALOGUE Between Ms Elizabeth Lee of
Sunway Universit y and Prof Chang Pao-long of Feng Chia Universit y
THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN SUNWAY UNIVERSITY (MALAYSIA) & FENG CHIA UNIVERSITY (TAIWAN)
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Prof Chang:
Feng Chia University is campus-wide wireless internet access with digital library RFID system and Blackboard e-learning system. FCU’s all engineering programmes are accredited by IEET (equivalent to ABET) and all business programmes are under AACSB evaluation. The accreditation increases the international mobility of the students. We provide several English-taught programmes to our international students, for example, IMBA, Bachelor of International Business Administration (BIBA), and Bachelor's Program of International Electrical Engineering. And our courses taught in English are increasing.
FCU currently has 1,200 international students, including about 600 degree seeking students from over 25 countries. FCU Chinese Language Center has an excellent Chinese language programme which attracts 650 students on average each year from 35 countries.
So exchange students from Sunway University can take professional courses taught in English and Chinese language courses at the same time.
Expectations for the next two years
Eliz Lee:
We hope that our partnership will see a healthy exchange of staff and students between the two Universities. Some of our ADTP students may opt to transfer their credits to complete their degree there and we would certainly welcome Feng Chia University students to take up some courses with us at Sunway too.
Prof Chang:
We would like to start with student and faculty exchange in the initial stage, then the 2+2 and 1+1 dual degree collaboration. In the next stage, develop joint researches in our focused
research fields. ME
Sunway University’s Graduate CentreSunway University’s Main Capus
Xue Si Building - Since 2008
Ren-Yan Building - Since 1993
Dialogue: Partnership between Sunway Univeristy & Feng Chia University ME
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ME Article : Business Model Generation
Dr Hendry Ng, Head of VU MBA programme at Sunway College may be contacted at hendryng@sunway.edu.my
3. Evaluating/selecting idea (solution)
4. Implementation
Business modelling is an iterative process for those from no engagement in the possibility of starting a business to active consideration and exploration of business start-up (Atherton 2007). It helps those who had not previously thought about starting a business inspired by an event (e.g. losing a job) or influence (e.g. a colleague starting a business); those who have thought about it in broad or general terms, but have not considered start-up as a genuine or realistic possibility, or have not explored the opportunity in detail; and those who have a strong desire or commitment to start a business and who want to explore how to undertake the start-up process and what is required.
Business modelling is needed for both new and old business innovation. While businesses may unlock latent creative value from new technologies, future returns from innovation remain unclear (Chesbrough &
Rosenbloom 2002). it may be better to consider innovating business models to complement, or in preference to, product or process innovation to reduce risk of costly failures (Amit & Zott 2012). In short, it is advisable for business firms to focus on ‘how they do their business’ rather than ‘what they do’ (Economic Intelligence Unit 2005).
Thus, the questions are: what are the critical elements of a business model? Is there a ‘thinking’ tool that prompts the designer to consider all components of a business? Such a tool/framework allows modelling of the components such that they interact favourably with each other to ensure the integrity of the whole model. The Business Model Canvas (BMC) of Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) may shed some light on this.
BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
With nine elements or building blocks of a business model as illustrated on a ‘canvas’ in Figure 1, Business Model Canvas (BMC) offers
BUSINESS MODEL GENERATION
Somachandra Senerath De Silva and Dr Hendry HS Ng
Sen De Silva, a VU MBA alumnus and an entrepreneur in green business, may be contacted at desilva.sen@gmail.com
INTRODUCTION
The concept of a business model is a way to describe the ‘‘architecture of a business’’ (Ballon 2007). While a firm’s business strategy explains how it may perform better than its competitors, its business model must tell a story about how it works in order to achieve its goals. Modelling is the process of generating a business model by cutting a complex business idea into several manageable elements. These smaller elements are the business objects which are tangible (e.g., capital) or intangible (e.g., customer relationship). Similarly, as children or adults, we have much fun with assembling houses, or managing theme parks using components made of plastic, wood, metal, Lego-type bricks or computerised virtual objects.
A business model is emerging as a new unit of analysis that has the potential for providing a systemic or holistic approach towards explaining how organisations do business (Zott, Amit & Massa 2010). Also, it represents an organisation’s
capability for creating and capturing value within its value network (Shafer, Smith & Linder 2005). For instance, Wal-Mart’s low cost strategy is implemented through its business model which includes adopting economies of scale – such as purchasing in bulk – wherever possible to reduce costs. Also, the story-telling approach of Dell is to align its employees to the business vision by using business models for employee communication and motivation (Magretta 2002).
MODELLING is THINKING
Business modelling is thinking through an entire business to ensure all parts are considered and included. Bragg and Bragg (2005) attribute many real world business failures to the lack of thorough thinking for the businesses. They outline four developmental stages of a business opportunity – from the initial idea till the final form of the plan that is implemented:
1. Defining/framing opportunity
2. Idea generation (solutions)
mbaedgeTM 37
a framework for detailing how a business is going to achieve its objectives. It is a language-cum-framework that allows stakeholders to communicate with others about a new business, or to reengineer an existing business for improvement and adaptation to changing business scenarios.
SUMMARY
In the ever-changing business world, business modelling is not a static process because a business model will outlive its usefulness. It demands a continuous business innovation with frequent reviews of any existing model to achieve new levels of optimisation or adaptation.
Business modelling is a thinking and iterative process. It helps individuals who may move from no awareness or interest in business start-up to some awareness. For some, there may be a shift from some awareness and interest to actively testing
actual interest to start a business. It is crucial for those who are ready to move from exploration to active commitment to starting a
business. ME
Figure 1. Business Model Canvas (BCM) Source: Osterwald and Pigneur (2010)
REFERENCES
Amit, R. & Zott, C. 2012, ‘Creating Value Through Business Model Innovation’, MIT Sloan Management Review, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 41-49.
Atherton, A. 2007, ‘Preparing for business start-up: pre-start activities in the new venture creation dynamic’, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 14 no. 3, pp. 404 – 417.
Ballon, P. (2007) “Business modelling revisited: the configuration of control and value”, Info, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 6-19.
Bragg, A. & Bragg, M. 2005, Developing New Business Ideas - a step by step guide to creating new business ideas worth backing, Glasgow, Pearson Education Ltd.
Chesbrough, H. & Rosenbloom, R. S. 2002, ‘The role of the business model in capturing value from innovation: evidence from Xerox Corporation’s technology spin-off companies’, Industrial and Corporate Change, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 529-555.
Economic Intelligence Unit 2005, Business 2010: Embracing the Challenge of Change, London, The Economist, URL: http://graphics.eiu.com/files/ad_pdfs/ Business%202010_Global_FINAL.pdf, (25/05/12).
Osterwalder, A. & Pigneur, Y. 2010, Business Model Generation, Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Magretta, J. 2002, ‘Why Business Models Matter’, Harvard Business Review, May 2002.
Shafer, S.M., Smith, J.H. & Linder, J.C. 2005, ‘The power of business models’, Business Horizons, vol. 48, pp. 199-207.
Zott, C., Amit, R. & Massa, L. 2010, ‘The Business Model: Theoretical Roots, Recent Developments, and Future Research’, IESE Working Paper, WP-862, Revision 2010, URL: http://www.iese.edu/research/pdfs/di-0862-e.pdf, (15/05/12).
Article : Business Model Generation ME
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Studied at: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Perak Campus)
Email: cheech@utar.edu.my
Name of Postgraduate Programme: Master of Computer Science (Structure A)
Occupation: Tutor
Q. What do you consider the best take away value from your postgraduate programme?
The best take away value from the postgraduate programme is getting the opportunity to learn various research methods in the field of information and communication technology. Apart from this, the benefits of postgraduate study include enhancing our skills in time management, communication and presentation.
Q. What is your advice to prospective postgraduate students to prepare them for this programme?
Do not give up hope easily whenever you face difficulties in the journey of research, persist until you succeed.
Q. Where do you see yourself in five years?
I wish to be a lecturer who is able to provide good advice to the students in performing research and development in the field of information and communication technology. In order to excel in research, I plan to undertake PhD studies in the near future.
Q. What is your motto in life?
If you failed to plan, you have planned to fail.
CHEE CHIN HOONg
Studied at: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
Email: greaterlove@gmail.com
Name of Postgraduate programme: PhD in Computer Science
Occupation: Lecturer
Q. What do you consider the best take away value from your postgraduate programme?
I strongly believe that the knowledge and skills attained during my PhD studies here will definitely be an advantage especially in an academic career. The experience and exposure of conducting fundamental research provides me with a platform on which I can build to advance in my career.
Q. What is your advice to prospective postgraduate students to prepare them for this programme?
A person needs to be
independent while conducting research relating to his or her respective field. Experience in conducting fundamental research during previous study would be an added advantage. A highly motivated character is a plus, as it will make the study process interesting and exciting.
Q. Where do you see yourself in five years?
An established researcher exploring innovative life application ideas.
Q. What is your motto in life?
Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths
(Proverbs 3:5-6)
gaN MINg LEE
“”
The benefits of postgraduate study include enhancing our skills in time management, communication & presentation.
Profile : Postgraduate Students ME
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Profile : Postgraduate Students ME
Studied at: Sunway University; Lancaster University
Email: 08011843@imail.sunway.edu.my; h.al-rawi@lancaster.ac.uk
Name of Postgraduate Programme: MSc in Computer Science (by research)
Occupation: Student
Q. What do you consider the best take away value from your postgraduate programme?
Learning the right method of research and the ability to publish high impact papers in prestigious international journals and conferences.
Q. What is your advice to prospective postgraduate students to prepare them for this programme?
The most important thing is to find a research field
of your interest and create momentum. Learn to think in different ways, with different approaches, not just right or wrong. Remember in research you need to be patient and to appreciate all the possibilities that exist, known and unknown.
Q. Where do you see yourself in five years?
Pursuing my PhD in the area of wireless networking within a working environment that continuously challenges my abilities, stimulates my intellectual capabilities and promotes professional and personal development.
Q. What is your motto in life?
Give back more than you've taken, and listen more than you've said.
Studied at: Sunway University
Email: ocshing@gmail.com / 11057221@imail.sunway.edu.my
Name of Postgraduate programme: MSc in Computer Science (by research)
Occupation: Student
Q. What do you consider the best take away value from your postgraduate programme?
I think the most precious values I have learned from the programme are time management and proactivity in work.
Q. What is your advice to prospective postgraduate students to prepare them for this programme?
My advice is: Find your real interest in a particular
research area/topic. This is the most important factor to maintain your passion throughout the research period. Also, be prepared to work independently.
Q. Where do you see yourself in five years?
I hope that in five years, I would have proven myself as a leader managing a team working in a research & development (R&D) related job. The most important thing is that I will continue contributing my efforts to face challenges in a rewarding environment.
Q. What is your motto in life?
A challenge is an opportunity to prove your ability.
HasaN a. a. aL-RawI OOI CHIEN sHINg
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Q. What is new with the all-new BMW 3-series?
It is available in three lines: Modern, Luxury & Sports. BMW Apps which is under the umbrella of BMW Connected Drive is also introduced in this new range. It is also the first 3-series with BMW Twin Power Technology which caters for the 4 & 6 cylinder and 8-speed sports automatic transmission. It is larger than all previous 3-series models and there is a wide range of accessorieavailable.
Q. When was the last time the 3-series was updated?
The E90 was launched in early 2006 and the F30 in early 2012.
Q. Please give us some key specifications upgrade for the new 3-series.
It is better in terms of engine performance. As for the 4-cylinder BMW Twin Power Technology engine, it is able to produce 350nm max torque at 1,250
ME Interview: QUILL BMW with the Head of After-Sales
“”
Our service level is among the best in the industry. This is expected as the BMW is the best in its class!
Conversation with vIGNESwARAN
Head of After-Sales QUILL BMW MALAYSIA
mbaedgeTM 43
Interview: QUILL BMW with the Head of After-Sales ME
Q. What are the common preventive maintenance measures car owners can undertake without difficulties to ensure the vehicle is in tip-top condition?
Regular oil change, preferably every 10,000km, regular check on tyre pressure, at least once every two weeks and wheel alignment and balancing, every 15,000 to 20,000km.
Q. What is the capacity of your workshop/service centres (Quill 9), i.e., how many cars can you service at a time?
We turn around about 20 cars a day. As a 4S centre, we provide the BMW Fast Lane Service which aims to provide a basic maintenance check in three hours or less so BMW owners save valuable time. ME
– 4, 800rpm, max output of 180kw/245hp/5,000 – 6,500rpm, 6.1 sec 0 to 100km/H (s), top speed of 250 km/h. Fuel consumption is 6.3 litre/100km and CO2 emission is 147g/km.
Q. Is after-sales service a key factor in the purchasing decision of the consumers?
Certainly. After-sales services, warranty and optional parts and accessories enhancements with original BMW parts by professionally trained technicians is a strong contributor to the buying decision process.
Q. What are the common feedback from clients when they come to see you for after-sales service?
The joy which is experienced while driving. Pleasant experience in terms of power delivery – performance, stability, comfort and safety. And also the fuel efficiency which exceeds their expectations.
Q. What is the mileage level for the first vehicle service?
8,000 – 10, 000km
Q. Is there a process for routine service/maintenance to ensure the vehicles are serviced efficiently?
Yes. It is called the ‘Condition Based Service’ which monitors the serviceable areas of the vehicle. Main areas are the engine oil, brake fluid, brake pads, micro filter, spark plug etc. As and when a service is required/due, the iDrive will indicate accordingly. This technology ensures that BMW drivers have peace of mind always.
Courtesy of www.bmw.com.my
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The Guru Guide
Choose them.
Rank them.
Tell us why.
• Makeapersonalselectofyourtopthreemanagementgurusyouconsiderasthegreatestofalltimes.
• Rankthem1,2,3.• Tellusinafewsentenceswhy.• Provideusyourname,email,university,courseyouarestudyinginandanicephoto.
• Wewillfeatureyouandyourselectionsinourmagazine!
• emailyourentrybefore15June2012topenerbitwawasan@gmail.com.
Here’s how . . .
ME Advertorial
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46 mbaedgeTM
jobs compared toany other job site
Look no further. Find your ideal senior level job requiring MBAqualifications on JobStreet.com.
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mbaedgeTM 47
jobs compared toany other job site
Look no further. Find your ideal senior level job requiring MBAqualifications on JobStreet.com.
1.8Million1.8
Million
MostJobSeekers
MostEmployers50,000
Active50,000Active
MostJobs195,700
in 2010195,700
in 2010
Visit www.jobstreet.com today to Sign Up for FREE.
Download the App Now! Visit:www.jobstreet.com/mobile-app
Find your Dream JobAnytime, Anywhere with theJobStreet Mobile App
or Snap the QR code with a QR Reader**Download a QR Reader to your smart phone.
JobStreetJobStreet
JobStreet
48 mbaedgeTM
Studied MBA at: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
Year graduated: ongoing
Occupation: Sales & Marketing
Brief description of job scope: Analyse, plan and implement marketing and sales activities
Q. What do you consider the best take away value from your MBA?
My interest in marketing and business operations inspired me to take up the MBA. The UTAR MBA comprises 15 different modules and a research project. It reinforces the strengths at work that I lack and helps me to open up a greater vision to explore and develop my full potential. I learn about business and managerial strategies, and conceptual skill, not just on paper, but through the research project, assignments, presentations, case studies, class discussions required in the MBA course. The MBA also teaches me how to structure and understand complex business situations
and critically appraise management theory in real life day-to-day business situations.
Q. What is your advice to prospective MBA students to prepare them for the MBA?
Education is the passport to the future and it is very important for an individual’s success in life. The MBA will equip us with better business knowledge, analytical and critical decision making skills, as well as interpersonal skills required in meeting the need of competitiveness of the business world. The MBA helps us to recognise economic and social patterns, and to respond to the unexpected. MBA is the best investment for the people and it will future-proof our career. I highly recommend the MBA programme offered by UTAR. Anyone considering this programme should go for it – you never know where it could take you!
Q. Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I would see
ME Profile : Postgraduate Students
myself as being a more knowledgeable and skilled professional than I am today and would be able to successfully occupy a key position in management level, leading and managing teams effectively, earning a monthly five-figure income.
Q. What is your motto in life?
Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.
Melissa Tan
Chiew Thing,
“”
The MBA will equip us with better business knowledge, analytical and critical decision making skills, as well as interpersonal skills required in meeting the need of competitiveness of the business world.
mbaedgeTM 49
HAPPENINGS
UTAR and Building Management Association of
Malaysia (BMAM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 8 June 2012 at the UTAR Petaling Jaya Campus.
Signing on behalf of both parties were UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik and BMAM President Dato’ Teo Chiang Kok. Signing as witnesses were UTAR Vice President (Internationalisation and Academic Development) Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat and BMAM Secretary General Prof S Venkateswaran.
Under the MoU, BMAM would recognise two UTAR
degree programmes - Bachelor of Building and Property Management (Hons) and Master of Business Administration (Building Management).
Prof Chuah said, “Through the UTAR Faculty of Accountancy and Management, the University will collaborate with BMAM in joint research, publication activities, organising training workshops and conferences, and curricular development in the area of building and property management”. He explained that such cooperation would ensure the quality of UTAR students and subsequently the supply of suitably qualified graduates as employees to the industry.
“Students who successfully complete either programme will be able to join BMAM as “Graduate Members” and eventually be admitted as “Registered Building Managers” upon satisfying the necessary criteria for registration”, said Dato’ Teo, adding that the property industry had been experiencing drastic development and buildings had become bigger and more sophisticated. He added that those were the reasons for the need for skilled and well-equipped building managers.
At present, UTAR has already ventured into many R&D projects including the application of green materials such as the collaborative
UTAR and Building Management Association of Malaysia sign MoU
Prof Chuah exchanging MoU documents with Dato’ Teo while (from left) Prof Ewe and Prof Venkateswaran look on.
project with Doshin Rubber Products (M) Sdn Bhd on an improved rubber base-isolator with greener, more sustainable and economical features, and the collaborative project with Ken Holdings Berhad on an energy-efficient design system for housing involving energy efficient roofing tiles, walling blocks and panels. UTAR’s partnership with BMAM will further strengthen the University’s position as a
research university. ME
Happenings ME
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ME Happenings
The Deputy Minister of Higher Education of Malaysia, YB Dato’ Dr
Hou Kok Chung, witnessed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between Sunway University, Malaysia and Feng Chia University, Taiwan, R.O.C, recently.
This is the first MoU signing for Sunway University with a university from Taiwan. Both universities have agreed to promote the exchange of students and academic staff and to cooperate in education, particularly in the areas of research and social services as well as to foster relationships between them.
Sunway University has traditionally been linked with western universities but new
trends have emerged due to the emergence of Asian economies, particularly China. Through the years, Sunway University has grown from being just an educational institution to one that also brings a global brand of education to thousands of graduates. Through its partnerships with a Top 10 UK university, Lancaster University and Le Cordon Bleu, Sunway University degrees are benchmarked against these prestigious institutions to world-class standards.
“This MoU is meaningful to the Sunway Education Group, which Sunway University is part of, as the education group celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year. It also
Sunway University andFeng Chia University seal partnership
reaffirms our commitment to providing world-class education to our students and to enriching the learning experience and shaping a global mindset in our students”, said Mr Lee Weng Keng, CEO, Education and Healthcare Division of the Sunway Group.
“Exchanges between universities are important if a university aspires to expand its horizons and to achieve greater heights. In this increasingly globalised world, it is essential that universities disseminate and advance knowledge which is relevant not only locally but globally”, said YB Dato’ Dr Hou Kok Chung.
YB Dato’ Hou added that the Ministry of Higher Education
Exchange of signed MoU papers between Professor Robert Bignall and Professor Pao-Long Chang witnessed by YB Dato’ Dr Hou Kok Chung
mbaedgeTM 51
Malaysia has long been promoting and facilitating the internationalisation of Malaysian institutions of higher learning, both public and private ones. “It is the very part of transnational education which higher education players globally are talking about now”, remarked YB Dato’ Dr Hou.
Professor Robert Bignall, Vice-Chancellor was the signatory for Sunway University while Professor Pao-Long Chang, President signed on behalf of Feng Chia University. The delegates from Feng Chia University who attended included Malaysian alumni of the university.
Feng Chia University is a well-established, reputable university in Taiwan that constantly seeks to engage with the world. Like Sunway University, it has a strong relationship with its alumni who hail from all parts of the globe, and with their strong links and networks, alumni contribute their support and are ambassadors for their alma mater.
“I believe that we share a similarity with Feng Chia
University who encourages community service among its students. Sunway University is 100% owned and governed by the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, and is therefore guided by the belief of the Founding Trustee of the Foundation, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, of giving to the community through education. With our common ideals, I trust that our partnership will have a great potential to blossom”, commented Ms Elizabeth Lee, Executive Director of Sunway Education Group, when welcoming the delegates from Feng Chia University
earlier that morning. ME
Ms Elizabeth Lee, Executive Director of Sunway Education Group, welcoming the delegates from Taiwan prior to the signing ceremony.
Professor Pao-Long Chang, President of Feng Chia University, expressing his enthusiasm on working with Sunway University
Happenings ME
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Kuala Lumpur – Multimedia University (MMU) and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) jointly organised the 16th Pacific-Asia Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (PAKDD) from 29 May – 1 June 2012 at the Renaissance Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Spanning three days, the conference featured three keynote addresses by world-renowned data mining experts, HP Senior Fellow Chandrakant D Patel, Professor Dr Charles Elkan from the University of California at San Diego and Professor Dr Ian Witten from the University of Waikato.
The conference covered the field of Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD), which is fast becoming the tool of choice for world-class business leaders for the purposes of business
decision support, customer relationship management as well as business development. KDD uses statistical, mathematical and IT methods to discover knowledge that is otherwise obscured in databases.
The Pacific-Asia Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (PAKDD) is one of the longest established and leading international series of conferences in the areas of data mining and knowledge discovery. It serves as an international forum for researchers and industry practitioners to share their latest developments, new ideas, original research results and practical development experiences from all related areas such as data mining, statistical and symbolic machine learning, databases, knowledge acquisition and automatic scientific discovery, data visualisation, and
knowledge-based systems.
“The choice of Malaysia as the host for PAKDD this year is a strong indication that the KDD community in the region recognises that their Malaysian peers are progressing actively in this area,” said this year’s Conference Co-Chair Professor Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Vice President (Internationalisation and Academic Development) of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Conference Programme Co-Chair Associate Professor Dr. Ho Chin Kuan, Dean of Faculty of Computing and Informatics at Multimedia University, expressed his excitement about PAKDD 2012 being hosted in Kuala Lumpur. “KDD is an extremely useful tool that allows businesses to discover new knowledge that is currently hidden in their databases,”
he said. “It allows them to discover, among other things, the buying patterns of their customers, who their best customers are, and many other interesting patterns. The conference will provide a good opportunity for local data professionals to acquire cutting-edge knowledge in the field through the conference talks, tutorials and workshops, and to network and interact productively with the foreign participants.”
The other two conference co-chairs of the PAKDD 2012 were Professor Dr Philip S Yu, Professor and Wexler Chair in Information Technology, Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA and Professor Dr Lim Ee Peng, Professor of Information Systems and Director of Living Analytics Research Centre, Singapore Management University, Singapore. The other two
MMU, UTAR Hosts Conference on High-Impact Technology
Malaysian Businesses in Good Position to Tap KDD Strength For Growth and Business Support Systems
ME Happenings
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programme co-chairs of PAKDD 2012 were Associate Professor Dr. Pang-Ning Tan of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Michigan State University, USA and Professor Dr. Sanjay Chawla of the School of Information Technology, the University of Sydney, Australia.
PAKDD 2012 was jointly organised by Multimedia University (MMU) and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR). The three sponsors of the conference were Telekom Malaysia Berhad, the Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development, the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research and leader in business analytics software, SAS. It was supported by Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) and National ICT Association of Malaysia (PIKOM).
PAKDD had its inaugural debut in Singapore in 1997, and since then it has been hosted annually in various cities in the region before coming this year to Kuala Lumpur for the first time. The 16th PAKDD in Kuala Lumpur was from 29 May to 1 June 2012. Besides Singapore, which also hosted the conference again in 2006, the other cities were Shenzhen (2011), Hyderabad (2010), Bangkok (2009), Osaka (2008), Nanjing (2007), Hanoi (2005), Sydney (2004), Seoul (2003), Taipei (2002), Hong Kong (2001), Kyoto (2000), Beijing (1999), and Melbourne (1998).
In addition to the main conference, there were four workshops, three tutorials, and a doctoral symposium. The proceedings of the conference will be published by leading international publisher Springer under the Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence series. In
conjunction with this, a data mining competition with two different categories was also organized. The Open Category of the competition challenged participants to predict churn and win-backs in the telecommunication industry. The Student Category required students to use SAS data mining software to identify the correlation between the number of job applications and Malaysia’s economic indicators. The data for the student category was provided by JobStreet while the student category prizes were sponsored by SAS Malaysia.
As a respite to the intense and intellectually demanding sessions, PAKDD participants enjoyed several social activities such as a welcome reception on the first day, a conference banquet on the second day and a city tour to conclude the event on the third day. The conference attracted over 150 participants from more than 30 countries.
About UTAR
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) was established in June 2002 under the Act of Private Institutions of Higher Learning 1996 of Malaysia. With an inaugural intake of 411 students in June 2002, UTAR now has a student enrolment of over 19,000 and alumni strength of over 26,000. For more information, visit www.utar.edu.my
About MMU
Multimedia University (MMU) is a tertiary education institution set up through Universiti Telekom Sdn Bhd (UTSB), a wholly owned subsidiary of TM. MMU fulfills the noblest of corporate social responsibilities – taking up the challenge of educating the next generation of
the nation’s leaders and knowledge workers.
About PAKDD
The Pacific-Asia Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (PAKDD) is one of longest established and leading international conferences in the areas of data mining and knowledge discovery. It provides an international forum for researchers and industry practitioners to share their latest developments, new ideas, original research results and practical development experiences from all KDD related areas including data mining, statistical and symbolic machine learning, databases, knowledge acquisition and automatic scientific discovery, data visualization, and knowledge-based systems. For more information, visit www.pakdd.org
About TM
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) is Malaysia’s broadband champion and leading integrated information and communications group. TM offers a comprehensive range of communication services and solutions in broadband, data and fixed-line. As a market leader, TM is driven by stakeholder value creation in a highly competitive environment.
About AOARD/AFOSR
AOARD’s mission is to support the (United States) Air Force S&T community by identifying foreign technological capabilities and accomplishments which can be applied to Air Force needs; by providing liaison with members of the scientific and engineering community in Asia and Pacific Rim Region Countries; by encouraging open communication between Air Force scientists and engineers and their counterparts within the AOARD area of responsibility, and by supporting Asian research projects of interest to the Air Force. AOARD’s primary focus is on basic research with a secondary interest in applied research.
About SAS
SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions, SAS helps customers at more than 50,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976, SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®.
Happenings ME
54 mbaedgeTM
The University of Malaya (UM), Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants (ACCA) and Sunway TES in the presence of YB Dato’ Devasamy a/l S. Krishnasamy, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Malaysia signed a Tripartite Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on 14 May 2012 at the Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa.
The collaboration will provide an opportunity to the Bachelor of Accountancy students of UM to attain an ACCA Qualification through a unique fast-track programme. Selected students for this programme will have their ACCA course fees fully sponsored by participating employers which include the major accounting firms in Malaysia.
This public-private partnership will equip the students with qualifications and skills highly sought-after by employers and address the matter of talent shortages within the industry. It will also enable the students to graduate with an accounting degree from UM and an ACCA qualification simultaneously.
For the signing ceremony, UM was represented by Professor Datuk Dr. Rohana Yusof, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs), ACCA by Ms Helen Brand, Chief Executive of ACCA, and Sunway-TES by Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah, Founder and Chairman of Sunway Group.
ME
From left to right, Helen Brand, Professor Datuk Dr Rohana Yusof, YB Dato’ Devamany Krishnasamy, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah, Lee Weng Keng, CEO, Education & Healthcare Division, the Sunway Group; Assoc Prof Dr. Che Ruhana Isa, UM and Jennifer Lopez, Country Head, ACCA
A TRIPARTITE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT(MoA) SIGNING CEREMONY BETWEEN UM, ACCA AND SUNWAY TES
ME Happenings
Sealing the tripartite agreement – (Left to right) Helen Brand, Professor Datuk Dr Rohana Yusof and Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah witnessed by Y B Dato’ Devamany Krishnasamy (3rd from left).
mbaedgeTM 55
56 mbaedgeTM
EvENT: AWARD-GIvING CEREMONY OF SIN CHEW EDUCATION FUND AWARDS
YB Dato’ Dr Hou Kok Chung
ME Happenings
Petaling Jaya, 26 May 2012: Sin Chew Daily Education Fund project is now into its 9th year. The Fund is in the form of free courses offered by participating colleges and universities each year nationwide. The objectives are to enable needy students to pursue their dream of higher education and to help generate more human capital supplies for the nation. To Sin Chew Daily and the participating colleges and universities, this project is a way to give back to the society as one of their vital CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) deeds.
During the welcome speech, Lenny Chiah thanked the Deputy Minister, Yang Berhormat, Dato’ Dr Hou Kok Chong, for gracing the occasion. She also expressed her profound gratitude to the representatives of the 27 participating colleges and universities for a collective amount of more than RM9
million worth of free courses for the year 2012.
In congratulating the recipients and their parents, Lenny reminded the academic recipients of the vision equally shared by Sin Chew Daily and the colleges and universities that through the higher education, the recipients are to diligently acquire academic knowledge and also to take the golden opportunity to learn and equip themselves with skills and techniques required to take on the leadership role in different fields and to be participative in nation building one day.
She reiterated that the recipients should also participate in the lives of others by helping those in need. It is important to do so, because the process of helping others to be successful should be continuous and ever-lasting, so that one good deed begets more good deeds, and
therefore many people can benefit from the process of serving others. Lenny touched on the Servant Leadership style and attitude – serve first to be a leader subsequently. She also urged the recipients to always remember to contribute to the well-being and personal growth of people and to give back to the society. As a result, they can be persons of greater morals, ethics and values, and can be more competitive and any of their success can also be more solid and enduring.
As a closing remark, she reminded the recipients to always be grateful and not to forget their parents who gave them their very first start in life, as well as the colleges and universities which gave them another start in life. Whenever they can, they should be brave to express their gratitude always. “There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed, it is just plain, old-fashioned ingratitude.” –
Robert Brault. ME
Lenny Chiah
Article contributed by: Lenny Chiah, General Manager for Corporate Communications Event Management, Sin Chew Daily
mbaedgeTM 57
SPEECH BY YB DATO’ DR. HOU KOK CHUNG, DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION MALAYSIA AT THE SIN CHEW DAILY EDUCATION FUND 2011/2012 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD CEREMONY
YB Dato’ Dr Hou Kok Chung
Happenings ME
Saturday, 26th May 2012
It was almost five months ago that I had launched this Education Fund by Sin Chew and today is a red-letter day for the applicants, as they step forward to receive the scholarship awards. For that, I like to thank Sin Chew Media Corporation Berhad for providing me with this opportunity to meet with successful applicants and to personally present them with scholarships.
I also take this occasion to congratulate all recipients on their success to secure a scholarship to further their studies. While you may consider it a reward for all your hard work, you cannot rest on your laurels. There is still a journey to travel – a long and endless journey where challenges greet you at every step of the way. This scholarship award is another challenge overcome for you to continue that journey. You must strive to work hard to move up in the educational
value chain to make an impact for yourself and the society.
I am also very happy for the chance to be with the parents and guardians of the recipients. I believe the unwavering strong support shown by parents and guardians alike is vitally important to motivate students to attain excellence in their studies. While parents can maintain a certain degree of monitoring of their child’s progress, it is also equally important that students appreciate their parents’ watch over them. Students should never view the watch by parents as transgressing into their space, and instead value it as genuine parental concern.
Students today are a more fortunate lot, then say students 20 years ago. There seem to be an abundant of scholarship offers available today, so much so that I am told some students cannot make up their mind simply because they received more than one offer. This
development is healthy as long as the offers are genuine, and not turn out to be an entrapment laid out to students by institutions. After all, every private higher education institution desires to enrol quality students into their institutions to help boost their image and performance as a tertiary education provider. It is an open secret that the most effective method is to offer scholarships, full or otherwise, to students with good grades.
This is where I always like to caution students and parents to be fully aware of the “fine print” in the offers. I do not wish to see students get entangled in legal problems, which will eventually affect their parents as well, for the simple fact that they misunderstood or were misinformed of the terms and conditions of the scholarship offer. The Ministry has so far not received any complaints regarding scholarship offers, and I hope it will remain that way.
The Ministry on the other hand, has received an increase in the number of complaints from students against private higher education institutions on a related matter, i.e., concerning fees. In 2010, there were 74 fee-related complaints. This represented the third highest type of complaint received. This shot up to 129 or 74 per cent in 2012 which also saw fee-related complaints as the number one complaint for 2012. This year until April, the Ministry is handling close to 30 cases.
Most of the complaints are about fee refunds, whereby it is either not clearly explained or clearly spelt out by the institutions, resulting in students who for whatever reasons wanted to leave the institutions after registering, are caught in the ensuing tangle. From the investigations carried out, there were also instances where students or parents did not understand what was explained to them by the institution. The Ministry
58 mbaedgeTM
ME Happenings
has taken a facilitative approach in addressing this issue, and acted impartial to either party.
The success rate in resolving such complaints had been high, with only one or two cases which failed to be resolved ending up in the Tribunal for Consumer Claims Malaysia (TTCM) operating under the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism. Cases going to TTCM are a last-resort affair, and instituted by students. Anyhow, the Ministry does not intend to allow fee-related complaints to further increase in numbers this year. Hence, the Ministry finds it necessary to address the issue head-on.
The Ministry has started undertaking a special project to contain, and if possible eliminate, complaints about fees. Towards this end, the Ministry has begun to engage with all private higher education institutions to come out with an easy to understand, as well as transparent format for easy reference regarding fees. This is done through a forum that is conducted in six Zones; Northern, Southern, Eastern, Central, Sabah and Sarawak. We have completed meeting the Northern Zone players,
comprising institutions from Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak. The next stop will be Sabah.
What I have just mentioned is also easily applicable to scholarships. While students and also parents can rejoice and feel elated to receive offers, especially those that come direct from an institution, it would be wise for you to study the offers thoroughly. If necessary, go to the institution to seek clarifications or even explanations. This is to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and misgivings, should something turn out to be not something the student or parent assumed it should be.
There are always terms and conditions laid out; there may be strict commitments students must fulfil, such as maintaining a certain minimum grade to continue receiving the scholarship, etc. The scholarship may or may not cover everything; there may be penalties which must be understood by students and parents alike, including repayment of scholarship for breaches of the terms and conditions, such as the student could be bonded by the scholarship provider.
Having said that, I would again like to congratulate all the successful scholarship recipients from Sin Chew Daily Education Fund. I would also like to congratulate their proud parents and guardians. I hope all recipients will appreciate this opportunity for a place to study, and know that they have contributed to ease their family’s finances. Study hard and study well. Reciprocate this opportunity by turning out, not only as exemplary students, but also as responsible sons or daughters, and just as importantly, responsible citizens.
I would also like to say thank you to all the private HEIs who have graciously contributed to give the Sin Chew Daily Education Fund another successful year. On behalf of the MoHE, I like to say a big thank you for your contributions which helped to fulfil our pledge to not only widen access for more students to acquire tertiary education in Malaysia, but also funding them.
Thank you.
”“
Study hard and study well. Reciprocate this opportunity by turning out, not only as exemplary students, but also as responsible sons or daughters, and just as importantly, responsible citizens.
mbaedgeTM 59
The MBA EdgeTM Business Competition Season 3
mbaedgeTM
When Tom Peters coined the term personal branding” in his 1997 article “The Brand Called You” in Fast Company, he had this to say: We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc.
Dan Schawbel puts it this way: Personal branding is the process of how we market ourselves to others. The way we manage our careers is changing, due to the rise in competition and the introduction of web 2.0. In order to extend our reach, visibility and networking capabilities, we must turn to personal branding as our savior. In the digital age, our name is our only currency.
Personal branding is like your fingerprint. It is unique to you. But how
does one create a powerful personal brand?
The MBA Edge Business Competition is now in its third season. For this season, prepare a powerpoint presentation (target audience 28 to 35 years old business executives) on “The Salient Points of Creating a Powerful Personal Brand in the Malaysian Context Today” with presentation notes for each slide.
Rules• Maximum 30 slides.• Proof of purchase
- a receipt for 1 copy of MBA EdgeTM Postgraduate Studies magazine.
• 3 winners will be judged by the impact, persuasiveness, and pragmatism of the advices.
• This is an individual competition open to current MBA students studying in Malaysia.
Entry SlipName of participant:
Email & Mobile:
University name:
University chop:
• All submissions will be blind judged by a panel of judges
• Winners will be contacted directly.
• Decisions of judges are final. No queries will be entertained.
• The Organizer reserves the rights to substitute prizes of equal worth.
• The Organizer reserves the rights to publish the entries submitted with due credits to the students.
PrizesEach winner will win a prize consisting:• Certificate of
achievement.• Faber-Castel Premium
Pens.• 1 session of
personality-style test by professional image consultant.
• Make up & hair styling (2 themes).
• Fashion styling.• 8 touch-up photos
(print).• 20 softcopy photos in
CD.
Submit by email to:
penerbitwawasan@gmail.com before 15th November 2012 or by mail to: Penerbit Wawasan Nusa (M) Sdn Bhd, Wisma Wawasan, 19-1 & 19-2, Jalan PJS 8/12, Dataran Mentari, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Bandar Sunway, MALAYSIATel: 603 - 56301802, Fax: 603 - 56301803
presents
Contest ME
60 mbaedgeTM
every industry needsstrong innovative
In today’s challenging economy,
Will you be one of them?leaders.
CERTIFICATE NUMBER QS6441‘we are an MSC status university’ABEST 21
5A TIER EXCELLENTSTATUSUNIVERSITY
www.msu.edu.my
* Fully Accredited by MQA, ASIC UK & ABEST21 Japan* Member of AAPBS Korea, EFMD, Belgium
. Dual Master’s Degree from Coventry University, UK & University of Newcastle, Australia
. Postgraduate Student Exchange Programme with Seoul National University, University of Applied Sciences, Fudan University, University of San Diego and others.
* Rated as an ‘Excellent University’ by Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia.* The 1st non Japanese University to be accredited by ABEST 21, Japan.* Accredited by Accreditation Services for International Colleges (ASIC), UK.
FOr more information, please contact :Graduate School of Management (GSM),
Management & Science University, Level 4, Stesen Sentral Kuala Lumpur, 50470 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03-2273 6410 . Email : gsm@msu.edu.my
Specialisation :
. International Business
. Global Marketing
. Project Management
. Organisational Leadership & more, visit
atMaster of Business Administration
KPT/JPS(K3614)11/13
MBA Earn your
mbaedgeTM 61
BUSINESS
SEGMENT
profiles of extraordinary people
SUBSTANCE, RELEVANCE, SIGNIFICANCE
62 mbaedgeTM
Redefining the
PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
HOW THE ADVENT OF TABLET PCs AND EPUB 3.0 FORMAT WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE OF
PUBLISHING IN MALAYSIA AMD THE REGION. AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!
Rodney Toh spent almost 20 years in the book industry, analysed it inside out and travelled to UK and Japan to track the latest development in epublishing. He founded a tech start-up company, named after his two daughters, Kim & Kerrie Sdn Bhd.
Postgradute Studies MEB speaks to Rodney about the future of epublishing in Malaysia.
Q. Tell us a bit about yourself.
I have been in the book industry for more than 18 years,
starting from the frontline selling books, cashiering, and
cleaning book shelves to managing Malaysia’s largest
bookstores once upon a time overseeing more than 200 staff.
I graduate from Sunway University with an MBA degree from
ME BUSINESS SEGMENT: RODNEY TOH AND THE REDEFINATION OF THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
Rodney TohFounder & DirectorKim & Kerrie Sdn BhdEbook Specialist in Malaysia
mbaedgeTM 63
Victoria University, Melbourne.
I am an EPUB specialist and I
am the pioneer in EPUB eBook
publishing in Malaysia.
Q. What made you decide to venture into eBook publishing?
I remember clearly when I
was at graduate school I read
in a research paper on how
the talent of the organisation
is not something that is
stored in the organisation
but the talent walks out of
the organisation at the end
of each day. People are the
asset of the organisation. The
organisation only provides
the facilities and directions for
that talent to generate returns
to the stakeholders. Similarly,
when I venture into eBook
publishing myself, I bring with
me the knowledge, ideas, and
skills that have contributed to
my previous employer.
I have been following the
developments of eBook on
the global scene for the past
three years and learnt to
develop EPUB format eBooks.
One day I just decided I have
enough of the corporate
world. Since I single handedly
started the eBook publishing
division for my previous
company from scratch I
reckoned I can do it on my
own as well. It is a natural
progression.
Q. What are driving the growth of eBook publishing globally?
Amazon’s Kindle e-ink
eReader and the Sony e-ink
eReader were the early
devices that have provided
the impetus for the growth.
In recent years, the
introduction of the tablet PCs
by Apple (the iPad 1, iPad 2,
BUSINESS SEGMENT: RODNEY TOH AND THE REDEFINATION OF THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY ME
eBook requires a revision
of the current processes to
expand the capacity to cope
with the changing times. We
assist publishers to put into
place a system and process to
publish eBooks beside their
traditional printed books for
the global market.
In collaboration with
Lightning Source (UK) we
link local publishers’ content
to a global network of
and iPad 3) and the rising of
the Android tablets (Samsung,
Sony, etc) provided the
second major wave of growth
as the number of tablet users
exploded.
I believe the third major wave
of growth will be driven by
the EPUB 3.0 format as it
allows for the publication of
enhanced eBooks.
Q. What is Kim & Kerrie’s mission?
We want to make Asian’s
literature available globally.
Today, if you go to any of the
renowned websites selling
eBooks you will immediately
notice all the contents are
Western contents. There is a
vacuum of Asian e-content
in terms of eBooks. Our
mission is to correct that
“discrepancy”. The mission
statement of Kim & Kerrie is
“Globalize Your Books Today”!
We want to make EPUB 3.0
and related technologies
common to Malaysia and
the region in a short time. I
believe our reading habits
have changed. As such
publishers must provide
content to suit this changed
in reading demand.
Q. What services do Kim & Kerrie offer?
Basically we are EPUB
specialists. We help publishers
to publish digital books. For
smaller publishers who do
not want to set up a separate
division, they can outsource
epublishing to us at very low
cost.
In Malaysia, traditional
publishing have been
entrenched in the current
processes for the past 25
to 30 years. This is similar
globally. The publishing of
resellers in our Jump-Start ePublishing Programme. In
this programme practical
step-by-step guidance will be
provided.
Lightning Source (UK) is
the world leader in eBook
aggregation and they provide
their customers access to
the most comprehensive
bookselling channel in the
industry in both the United
States, United Kingdom and
WWW.INDUSTRYGAMERS.COM
WWW.THEREGISTER.CO.UK
WWW.GADGETLITE.COM
64 mbaedgeTM
”“
decided to hire consultants
and spearhead a change
programme to improve the
design and ergonomics of
the typewriter. They cut cost,
improve processes, improve
materials, and improved
design. But sales continued
to decline until the company
was liquidated. What has
happened was the electronic
word processors and desktop
computers were replacing
the typewriter business. In
short, improving efficiency
didn’t solve their problem.
They needed to do what the
market demands. Similarly,
methods to improve the
printing publishing business
will not save the publishers
(This is improving efficiency.)
Moving into eBook publishing
will because the ebook
market is experiencing triple
digits growth and the printed
book market is facing single
digit decline globally.
Q. Do you mean that the printed book business will face an inevitable death?
Absolutely not. There is a
tectonic shift in the book
industry globally. The shift is
due to a shift in consumer
demand for eBooks. We
will reach a point where
we will stabilise into a new
equilibrium in terms of the
demand for printed books
and eBooks. This means there
will still be a demand for
printed books eventually. Ask
any other person who reads
you will find a big fraction
of them still prefers holding
the physical book. What the
emergence of eBooks has
resulted in is a new segment
of readers who perhaps never
pick up a printed book before
but who are eager consumers
of eBooks.
I know some booksellers
are downsizing to face
the “changing times”. I
believe they are making a
mistake. What most of the
booksellers are facing is a
result of their inability to
forecast what consumers
want. I say this because those
who are decision makers in
the industry are ironically
not book readers. They are
armchair merchandisers and
marketers but do not read
books! If you do not read
books how will you know
what readers will like? This is
something very fundamental.
Q. What is the global trend currently?
Globally, the printed books
market is facing an arithmetic
decline annually. It has been
so for a few years. In terms of
eBooks the global trend is a
geometric growth annually.
But we have to put these into
perspective. The slow decline
of printed books is from a
global figure of USD73 billion.
The geometric growth of
eBooks is from a low based
of about USD150 million.
These are 2011 figure. These
tell us that these trends will
continue for a few more years
and will eventually reach
a point where the two will
intersect or plateau.
Q. There are so many formats of eBooks around. Why choose to focus on EPUB format?
There are many formats
around but there are only
two major ones we have
to be concerned about.
All the rest do not have a
significant global impact. The
Amazon Kindle proprietary
AZM format and the
international EPUB format
ME BUSINESS SEGMENT: RODNEY TOH AND THE REDEFINATION OF THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
I believe the EPUB 3.0 format will be a key driver for the futher growth of eBooks with more engaging and interactive features that will suit the publishing of textbook, children book and magazine.
a royalties base of up to
45%. Please contact them at
penerbitwawasan@gmail.
com
Q. Why should traditional publisher publish eBooks? Why not stick to their core competencies; publishing printed books?
That is a very good question.
I want to answer this by
telling you a story about
the typewriter. A once
flourishing typewriter
manufacturer was facing
declining sales and took
drastic measures to improve.
The top management
Australia and in Europe and
Asia as well.
Publishers can outsource the
conversion to us; we have a
team of people dedicated
in this to produce EPUB
2.0 and EPUB 3.0 ebooks of
international standard.
Q. What about self publishing? Do you provide any service to help first time authors?
Definitely. For first time
authors Kim & Kerrie has
partnered with the publisher
Penerbit Wawasan Nusa (M)
Sdn Bhd to provide self-
publishing solution with
WWW.WIRED.COM
mbaedgeTM 65
RODNEY TOHFounder & Director of Kim & Kerrie Sdn Bhd
66 mbaedgeTM
the Google Android platform.
What this means is that if you
have a laptop, a desktop, a
table PC, a smartphone like
the Samsung Tab or Note,
or an iPhone or an iPad, you
can read EPUB eBooks with
the right softwares which are
free of charge. This is the best
format to adopt at this point.
Q. What can EPUB 2.0 do?
The one very unique feature
of EPUB 2.0 eBook is that it
allows text to reflow to fit
any screen nicely. Thus when
the font size of the text is
resized, the entire content
of the eBook will “adjust”
automatically to fit optimally
to any particular screen.
Furthermore, you can
embed videos, audios,
and images into the EPUB
eBook to enhance the
reading experience. And the
EPUB format allows for an
additional layer for a DRM
(digital rights management)
system if required.
Q. What about EPUB 3.0?
EPUB 3.0 is the format that
will be the next major shift in
eBook publishing. EPUB 3.0
will have further enhanced
features like the embedding
of vidoes, audios, interactions
and java scripts. These new
enhancements will allow
optimum experience for
the publishing of textbook,
children book and magazine.
Kim & Kerrie has the
technological know-how to
provide conversion services
for local publishers.
Q. What can we expect in the next five years?
This is the decade of the
three Es. Environment, Energy
and Epublishing. I am sure
the growth of eBooks will
continue. Kim & Kerrie will
provide the impetus for Asia
to enter the global arena in
terms of the third “E”.
We have a major strategic
plan in progress which I will
reveal in due time. In Asia this
is an uncontested space. The
solutions in the marketplace
for this region thus far are
piecemeal solutions. We will
attempt to provide a better
solution. I don’t want to
reveal too much at this point.
Q. What is your advice to local publishers?
The technology is here,
the time is now; choose to
embrace the change and
not wait until you have not
choice but to change.
Initially it may be difficult
but after awhile it will be
okay. Digital publishing is
inevitable. Work with us and
we will help publishers to
bridge the digital divide and
move into the 21st century
of epublishing and place
Malaysia in the world map.
Let’s do it together. Kim &
Kerrie is here to empower
publishers, not replace them.
Q. Tell us about your MBA experience?
I have wanted to pursue
an MBA for many years,
perhaps since I was 18
years old. It was an idea for
me. I couldn’t afford it so
there was a long delay until
I enrolled for the Victoria
University MBA programme
at Sunway University. Before
that I did extensive research
on the MBA. Many people
who wanted to pursue an
MBA would ask my advice.
I chose Sunway University
for one reason alone that
Rodney Toh with MBA friends authored a series of book launched by the deputy minister of higher education, YB Dato’ Dr Hou Kok Chung.
ME BUSINESS SEGMENT: RODNEY TOH AND THE REDEFINATION OF THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
developed by the trade
and standard association,
IDPF (International Digital
Publishing Forum).
The AZM format can be read
off an Amazon Kindle device
only. AZM format eBooks
are only sold in Amazon’s
website. Obviously it is not
relevant to publishers in Asia.
And the Amazon Kindle is not
sold in this part of the world.
The international EPUB format
is the only free and open
eBook format that can be read
off the Windows platform,
the Apple’s IOS platform and
mbaedgeTM 67
Rodney Toh contributes back to Sunway University alumni by sharing and giving talks.
Rodney Toh graduates with an MBA from Victoria University, Melbourne at Sunway University in 2007. Left: Rodney’s mother, Madam Yip.
Being a family man, Rodney Toh named his company, Kim & Kerrie Sdn Bhd after his two daughters, Kimberley Toh (Left) and Kerrie-Ann Toh (Right).
BUSINESS SEGMENT: RODNEY TOH AND THE REDEFINATION OF THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY ME
was decisive for me. Sunway
University has a huge library!
I love books and spend
many hours in the library. I
completed the MBA in 18
months and all my classmates
were reluctant to leave the
university as we were really
enjoying our programme.
In fact my MBA classmates
are still my close friends and
business partners today. I
believe the Victoria University
MBA at Sunway University
is one of the very best in
Malaysia today. And you
will get to know they have
a fabulous lady helming the
university, Elizabeth Lee, the
executive director!
Q. You authored a few books, tell us about them?
These are pet projects I did in
my free time. I co-authored
three books with a few MBA
friends, Lenny Chiah, Benson
Wong, and Steven Shim. The
three books are MBA Diary, The MBA Edge, The MBA Edge Unlimited. We spent
so much time together we
decided to write about our
experience studying the MBA
to help people understand it
better. We wanted to make
the MBA the most prestigious
postgraduate business
programme in Malaysia by
telling prospective students
how great it is, what to
expect, why they should
pursue the programme, and
so on. Even today I continue
to write books and articles
with them.
Q. What do you do in your free time?
I spend time with my
family. I write and indulge
in photography. I read and
collect books. I like engaging
students and fresh graduates
about career, work and life.
They find it interesting that
when I was young I didn’t
know how to read and write.
As I am not from a well to
do family I had to learn
everything on my own. It
intrigues me that although I
find it really tough during the
earlier years of my life retelling
it to young people today
somehow inspire them.
Q. What is your advice to fresh graduates today?
You must develop an area
of specialty. You cannot
be a generalist when you
Never look down on others and don’t be arrogant because it is a small world out there, “What goes around comes around”.
are starting off. Your area
of specialty should ideally
be an area you are really
love doing. Nurture it, and
deepen your skills in that
area. If it is drawing, learn,
practice and be really good
at it. If it is electronics, then
be really good at it. It takes
time, efforts, and sacrifices.
Work hard at it and turn it
into a business if possible.
You will excel if you are
good. Remember, Jack of all
trades is master of none. But
remember also, when you
are successful, do not be
arrogant.
Do not be selfish. Put people
first and material gains
second. Be frugal and be
sincere when dealing with
others. Never look down on
others and don’t be arrogant
because it is a small world
out there, “What goes around
comes around”. ME
68 mbaedgeTM
ME Advertorial
Petaling Jaya, 21st May 2012, eBook
specialist startup, Kim & Kerrie
Sdn Bhd, is collaborating with
Lightning Source (UK) to
offer Malaysian publishers a
comprehensive global eBook
publishing and distribution
programme that will allow
them to achieve up to a 92%
margin.
Rodney Toh, the founder of
Kim & Kerrie, explains: “The
eBooks available in the market
today are almost entirely from
the West. There is a need to
facilitate Asian eBooks to the
global market. The “eBook
Jumpstart Programme for
Publishers” is an in-house
training programme designed
to help Malaysian publishers
produce eBooks readable in
all platforms including the
Android, IOS and Windows
platforms.” Toh plans to sign
up more 100 publishers by
the end of 2012 and expand
the service to other Asian
countries next year. Kim &
Kerrie Sdn Bhd provides full
service e-publishing, training,
outsourcing and consultancy
in the EPUB format eBook to
bring traditional publishers
up to speed with the latest
techniques and know-
how. For smaller publishers
which prefer to outsource
the e-publishing side, Kim
& Kerrie provide services
to produce internationally
validated EPUB eBooks at low
cost.
“Net eBook sales in the US for
January 2012 alone reached
US$69.9 million, which is
116% increase from last
January. In the UK, eBook sales
for 2011 reached £92 million,
which is an increase of 366%
compared to 2010. eBooks
are experiencing a triple digit
growth internationally and
we are already late entering
the market,” Toh stressed.
Penerbit Wawasan Nusa
(M) Sdn Bhd (PWN) is the
first Malaysian publisher to
sign up for the programme.
Benson Wong, the co-
founder of PWN says, “We are
elated! Although we are not
the first but with the right
technology and expertise
we will endeavour to take
the lead. PWN provides
services to authors who
prefer self-publishing; we
assist unpublished writers to
publish eBooks.” “Talk to us.
We offer our authors royalties
up to 42%”! Wong adds.
KIM & KERRIE SDN BHD TO JUMPSTART EPUBLISHING IN MALAYSIA WITH A PROGRAMME IN COLLABORATION WITH LIGHTNING SOURCE, UK
(Left) Benson Wong, co-founder of PWN, holds the MOU with Rodney Toh. PWN will offer self-published authors up to 42% eBook royalties
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CAN HAVE A
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mbaedgeTM 69
Eddie Tang is a trained accountant whose forte lies in the construction, property & hotel industry. From
2005 to 2010 Tang went on to become the Chief Operating Officer of a Hong Kong-listed company, Far East Consortium International Limited, in Malaysia and was later on appointed as the President of Dorsett International Sdn Bhd overseeing the management and financial aspects of hotels and serviced residences in Malaysia and Singapore.
He is currently the Chief Operating Officer of a major concern focusing on Property Investment, Property Management, Marketing Communication & Customer Service Management and Human Resource Division of a property conglomerate.
Q. Where there is a short supply of talented workforce in the country how does an organisation acquire key talent?
Talent is never enough.
With the shortage of
a talented workforce,
companies have to groom
and mould new talent for the
company. There are several
steps to plan this.
In the short term, an
organisation will have to buy
talent and perhaps look into
replacement planning if the
existing pool of talents is not
ready.
Under normal circumstances,
succession planning will set
TALENT
IS NEvER
ENOUGH
Postgraduate Studies MEB speaks to Mr Tang about the
challenges of finding and keeping the right talent for the
organisation.
in Proper t y Development
BUSINESS SEGMENT: EDDIE TANG, TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGH ME
70 mbaedgeTM
in to pave the right journey
for individuals to take on key
positions.
In the long term, the
organisation should look
into a Management Trainee
Programme by conducting
road shows at colleges and
universities that will not only
create job opportunities but
also career opportunities.
Through such awareness, we
will be able to attract a new
pool of talent to the company
and the industry.
Q. Besides acquiring talent, one of the key HR issues is retaining them. What are some strategies to retain talent?
In this challenging
economy, retaining talents
is the toughest thing
to do especially when
bottom line is the most
crucial measurement of an
organisation. Organisations
may lose focus on their
greatest asset, which is their
employees, to achieving
performance.
Surprisingly, surveys have
shown that employees
leave the company due to
horrible work environments
and their superiors, not so
much because of money. This
applies to especially Gen-Y
group.
There are a number of
factors that would retain
employees in the company,
such as work culture, and
environment, opportunity
for growth, caring company
and competitive salary and
benefits.
Q. How does an organisation build leadership capability?
Leaders are important to the
Company. We want them to
lead, not dictate.
They provide directions,
guidance and support to
their teams and ultimately
the success of the Company.
Leaders are not born but
made.
Acknowledging that each and
every one of us has strengths
and weaknesses, managers
have to be provided the
necessary tools to be an
effective leader. They need
to be able to manage their
”“
Employees leave the company due to horrible work
environments and their superiors,
not so much because of
money.
ME BUSINESS SEGMENT: EDDIE TANG, TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGH
mbaedgeTM 71
Eddie Tang COO, Investment PropertiesMah Sing Properties Sdn Bhd
72 mbaedgeTM
areas i.e., competency level
of the employees, work
behaviour, training needs,
succession planning and
more importantly, it elevates
the performance standards
though the implementation
of Key Performance Indicators
(KPI).
Even though PMS is
important, an organisation
should not neglect ensuring
that the employees have a
balanced life. We want them
to work hard as well as enjoy
life.
Q. How important is succession planning?
Asian countries have seen
the importance of succession
planning now as opposed to
the earlier days. I have always
emphasised succession
planning and replacement
planning. With the lack of
talent in the country, more
so within certain industries,
it is imperative that the
organisation take a serious
view in putting a mechanism
in place so that employees
have equal opportunities
for career growth within the
Company.
In this manner, it motivates
employees and save
considerable cost and time to
the company.
Q. Is it difficult to measure the contribution of human capital to business performance?
A well-designed PMS would
be able to measure both the
company and employees’
performance standards.
The Company’s business
performance is measured by
a Balance Scorecard which
is supported by divisional
team to out-turn results.
This can be assisted through
Leadership Programmes that
managers can undergo over a
series of modules.
I strongly believe that an
organisation should capitalise
on one’s strength instead
of trying to rectify one’s
weakness. This way we can
enhance the development
of an individual and prepare
the person to ascend the next
level faster.
Q. How do you increase workforce productivity?
Through the implementation
of a well-structured
Performance Management
System (PMS) – true to the
saying “what gets measured,
gets done”.
A well-structured PMS
addresses a number of key
”“
I strongly believe that an organisation should capitalise on one’s strength instead of trying to rectify one’s weakness.
ME BUSINESS SEGMENT: EDDIE TANG, TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGH
mbaedgeTM 73
targets through Key Result
Areas (KRA). From the KRAs,
individual KPIs will be
identified for the employees.
All of these will be aligned
to the company’s goals and
targets.
There are a lot of good
systems in the market that
an organisation can adopt
or tailor according to their
needs.
Q. In the current challenging times, how does an organisation reduce human capital costs and at the same time achieve business performance?
An organisation alignment
exercise is crucial to put
every level of employees
acknowledge and observe
the vision and directions
of an organisation. The
“buy-in” from employees
is very important to build
trust among each other and
collaborate to build a winning
team. It should be done
annually.
Coupled with a conducive
work environment, we expect
a very high retention rate and
this will indirectly reduce a lot
of downtime in training new
people and recruitment costs.
Retention is the way forward
and educating the employees
to be multi-skilled. By doing
so, it motivates employees
and gives them the
opportunity to grow in their
job by acquiring new skills
and knowledge. ME
BUSINESS SEGMENT: EDDIE TANG, TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGH ME
The “buy-in” from employees is very important to build trust among each other...
74 mbaedgeTM
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KLIUC: Unique CoursesUTAR: A Research UniversityFACON EDUCATION FAIR: Dec 10-11WINNING MAGNITUDE: Exclusive InterviewKASPERSKY: ‘No Worries Plan’INNOVATION: Incremental vs Radical
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PP17103/10/2011 (02804) 2011 Issue 5 Oct/Nov/Dec 2011 RM6.00
Lenny Chiah | Prof Dr Zulkifli Abdul Hamid | Prof Dr Faidz bin Abd Rahman | Kabilan Muniandy
The light bulb was a radical innovation by Thomas Edison that greatly influenced and shaped life around the world
Studies
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Dr Juhari Samidi | Dr Lin Mei-Hua | Dr Alia Azalea | Dr Hendry Ng
Prof. Dato’ Wira Dr Mohd Shukri Ab Yajid MSU President
Main Feature
16 David Ng UTAR, Head of Programme, Postgraduate Studies
38 Professor Dr Tengku Akbar KLIUC, Centre for Postgraduate Studies
50 Tunku Abidin Muhriz Youths in Pursuit of Liberty and Equal Opportunity
32 Soo Wincci on her PhD Studies
22 Goals of the Firm,
Profit Maximisation, Shareholders’ Wealth Maximisation and Corporate Wealth Maximisation
45 When is Cash Flow More Important Than Profit?
36 Factors Influencing Sourcing of
Family Funds by Young Malaysian
Entrepreneurs
PP17103/10/2011 (02804) 2011 Issue 6 Jan/Feb 2012 RM7.00
msumanagement & science university
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51 Puan Sri Dr
Susan CheahExclusive Interview, President
of MCWEA & EXCO Member of the Sunway Group
21 Susan Peters UTAR, MBA in
Building Management
28 Professor Datin Dr
Clara Chee First
Retail Cosmeceutical Grade
Skin Care, “Now Everyone Can Have Good Skin”
42 Prof. Dato’ Dr
Sabarudin Vice Chancellor, CITY
45 Dr Faris Gorashi
School of Engineering and
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PP17103/10/2011 (02804) 2012 Issue 7 March/April 2012 RM7.00
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TMP MBA EdgeostgraduateStudies
KLIUC: Unique CoursesUTAR: A Research UniversityFACON EDUCATION FAIR: Dec 10-11WINNING MAGNITUDE: Exclusive InterviewKASPERSKY: ‘No Worries Plan’INNOVATION: Incremental vs Radical
34
28
18
6454
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Special innovation issue
PP17103/10/2011 (02804) 2011 Issue 5 Oct/Nov/Dec 2011 RM6.00
Lenny Chiah | Prof Dr Zulkifli Abdul Hamid | Prof Dr Faidz bin Abd Rahman | Kabilan Muniandy
The light bulb was a radical innovation by Thomas Edison that greatly influenced and shaped life around the world
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