The British Malaysian Society
Newsletter – Spring 2018
EVENTS Thursday 5 April Joint event with the Malayan Volunteers
Group, a talk on the history of the Malayan
Volunteer Forces.
Venue: Malaysian High Commission
Time: 12 noon to 2.30pm. Tuesday 24 April
UK and ASEAN lunchtime Panel Discussion,
a joint event with the University of
Nottingham, featuring a panel of
distinguished experts.
Venue: White & Case offices in London.
Time: 12 noon to 2.30pm.
Thursday 21 June
BMS AGM & President’s Reception
Venue: Oriental Club, London
Time: 6pm – 8pm
Late June Eid celebration dinner
Venue: Satay House
Early July
Presentation by Ashly Nandong, BMS
scholar, at the Prince’s School of
Traditional Arts, Shoreditch.
Subscriptions and membership cards
2018 subscriptions were due by 31
March. All those individuals who had
paid by this date should have received
their membership cards. If you believe
you have paid but have not received
your card(s) please let the Treasurer
know at: [email protected]
Although we had two fewer events in 2017 they were all well attended. Two of the highlights were the 60th Anniversary Merdeka Concert held in October in the City of London and the Christmas Reception and Celebration of Merdeka held in December at the House of Lords. The Society continues to enjoy excellent relations with both the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur and the Malaysian High Commission in London and this enhances our main mission of promoting bilateral friendships between our two countries. HE Vicki Treadell, British High Commissioner in Malaysia, gave a stimulating talk at the Inner Temple in September and HE Dato’ Ahmad Rasidi Hazizi again hosted events at the Malaysian High Commission.
The Society’s privacy policy As you may be aware new data protection regulations come into force in May this year. Accordingly, we need to formally advise members of our privacy policy. The only personal information we collect and hold about members is the information you provide to us when you apply to join the Society. This comprises your name, email address, postal address and telephone contact numbers. We will never provide our membership lists or any of your personal details to any third parties. We hold your contact details solely to be able to provide details of the Society’s events and other events which may be of interest to you. If we are approached to advertise a third party event this will be relayed to members by us only if it is considered relevant and of possible interest. If you have any questions about this policy please contact us at: [email protected]
A Commonwealth Big Lunch, as part of the
CHOGM 2018 events, was held at the Malaysian
High Commission on 23 March. It was a joint
event between the BMS, the Sarawak
Association and IoD City.
It was a celebration of the Commonwealth and
the great part that HM The Queen has played as
Head of the Commonwealth. This lunch was to
celebrate that connection.
Over 60 members and guests attended the
event including the Malaysian High Commissioner, HE Dato’ Ahmad Rasidi Hazizi.
HE Dato’ Ahmad Rasidi Hazizi addressing
guests
Talk by Rt Hon Mark Field MP
on UK-Malaysia Relations
From left: Neville Green, Anthony Cooper, BMS
Chairman, Mark Field MP and Mei Sim Lai, BMS
Deputy Chairman.
The Rt Hon Mark Field MP, Minister of State for Asia
and the Pacific, gave a wide ranging and interesting
talk on “UK-Malaysia relations” at Portcullis House,
Westmonster, on 15 March.
His talk included current Malaysian politics, trade,
bilateral issues and education. He also took questions
from the audience of over 60 guests.
He tweeted (about BMS) “A vital institution for
supporting relations over the last 35 years”.
The Rt Hon Mark Field has been the Member of
Parliament for the Cities of London & Westminster
since 2001. He has a special interest in economic
affairs, foreign trade and international aid.
Commonwealth Big Lunch at Malaysian High Commission
From left: Dato' Anthony Cooper (Chairman of BMS), Allen Lai (UKABC) Dato' Mohammad Faiz Azmi (Chairman of PwC Malaysia), Tony Collingridge OBE and Trevor Wicks (DTI)
Tony Collingridge said that Malaysia was not far from achieving its Vision 2020 goals, and the economic indicators showed the country to be in good shape. Consumer demand was the key factor in economic growth, but as a small country Malaysia relies heavily on trade. Trade between UK and Malaysia is expected to reach US$10.7bn by 2020. On the political front he noted that PM Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak presented a bold approach ahead of GE 14.
Continued on page 2, column 1 .
At our Annual Dinner in October, generously hosted again by the Inner Temple, we were fortunate to have Lord Powell, BMS Vice President, as our Guest Speaker. Lord Powell has close links with Malaysia. For 2018 the Executive Committee, with the full support of our President, Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, has planned another full programme of events. We started the year with a topical business talk by Tony Collingridge, and we had our Chinese New Year lunch on 27 February. This is my fourth and last review as I will be retiring as Chairman at our AGM on 21 June, when Mei Sim Lai will succeed me. I plan to continue a close relationship with Malaysia during my Presidency of the Sarawak Association.
Chairman’s Review
Chinese New Year Lunch
BMS held its annual Chinese New Year
Celebratory lunch at Maxmini Restaurant on 27
February.
About 30 members and friends attended the
function, on a cold and snowy day.
Talk by Tony Collingridge, OBE “Prospects for the Malaysian
economy, trade and investment in 2018”
ato
launch
line
AMEU hosts Financial Technology
(FinTech), DEFINETECH
The Association of Malaysian Economics
Undergraduates (AMEU) held their first
ever Financial Technology (FinTech)
event, DEFINETECH, at Malaysia Hall,
London, on 10 February.
The event was aimed at providing
students with a comprehensive picture of
the role of technology and its related
industries in the larger economy.
Participants had the privilege of hearing
from BMS member Simon Gilbert, the
Founder and Managing Director of
Elmore Insurance Brokers Limited, who
shed some light on the emerging threats
that the financial industry faces as it
continues to evolve digitally and the
growing importance of cyber insurance
for companies..
AMEU is a professional non-profit
student-run organisation for aspiring
Malaysian undergraduates studying
economics or economics-related pursuits
in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Manchester Intellectual
Debate 2018 The Manchester Intellectual Debate 2018
(MID) was held in Manchester on 3 – 4
March.
The MID competition had two
categories, Malay and English, both in
Asian Parliamentary style.
A total of 250 students and 10 guests
from various organisations attended the
closing ceremony of the event.
There were 5 teams for Malay Debate
Category, 6 teams for English Debate
Category and a total of 16 public speaking
contestants.
This year, MID not only received
participants from UK and Ireland but also
from India and France which reflects its
goal to become a hub for intellectual
discourse amongst Malaysian students in
the UK, beyond the horizon of Malaysia.
MID 2018 was supported by Biro
Pelajar Luar Negara and other agencies.
The British Malaysian Society was a
bronze sponsor of the event and BMS
Deputy Chairman Mei Sim Lai attended
the event on the final day.
_______________________________
Continued from Page 1
Prospects for the Malaysian economy, by
Tony Collingridge
In ASEAN, Malaysia plays a major role
and is also an important member of the
Commonwealth.
Tony was formerly UKTI’s Director of
Trade & Investment in Malaysia. He was
appointed as Director Malaysia for the
Commonwealth Enterprise and
Investment Council (CWEIC) in
November 2017.
The event was held at the offices of
Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP on Thursday 4
January.
UKEC-Graduan - The Malaysian Careers Fair 2018
Over 30 Malaysian corporates exhibited
at the UKEC Graduan Careers Fair, at
Royal Lancaster Hotel, on Sunday 25
March, including a number of corporate
members of BMS. An estimated 4,000
students attended the Fair.
The Malaysian Careers Fair 2018 is a
platform for Malaysian students in the
UK to network and potentially secure
internship, placements and job
opportunities with leading Malaysian
companies.
HE Dato’ Ahmad Rasidi Hazizi, Malaysian
High Commissioner, (third from left) with
BMS members at the BMS booth. He also
went to booths of other exhibitors after
launching the Fair.
The Graduan Careers Fair was organised
by United Kingdom & Eire Council of
Malaysian Students (UKEC).
BMS set up a booth at the fair to raise
awareness of the BMS amongst students.
JOIN US FOR THE PAWA
WALK 2018 Join the PAWA Walk team to raise funds
for teenage girls’ education in Asia at the
Super Heroes Run at Regents Park on
Sunday 13 May at 11am.
It is just £25 to register (under 8s are
free) and this includes a PAWA Walk
T-shirt. http://pawa-london.org
PAWA organised a Panel Discussion
“Women in Film: Challenges and
opportunities behind the camera”, for
Women’s International Day, at Nehru
Centre on 16 March.
(From left) Sangeeta Datta, writer/director,
Taiwanese director Jenny Lu, Kamalakshi
Mehta, PAWA management committee
member/writer and Bernard Chauly,
Malaysian film director
PAWA also had a booth at WOW
(Women of the World) at Southbank
Centre on 8 March.
BMS now has Facebook and Twitter. Now social media users can click on to BMS
Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/
thebritishmalaysiansociety1983 Twitter: @BritishMsianSoc
Produced and edited by The British Malaysian Society www.thebritishmalaysiansociety.org
Malaysian King receives Honorary
Fellowship from Oxford's St Cross College The Sun Daily March 1, 2018
The Yang di-
OXFORD: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia,
Sultan Muhammad V, has been awarded the Honorary Fellowship
of the St Cross College of Oxford, United Kingdom.
He received the fellowship during an induction ceremony in St
Cross College, cementing his place in an international network of
14 Honorary and Domus Fellows of the college.
St Cross College Master, Carole Souter, presented a medal and
certificate of fellowship to the King, witnessed by the college's
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Louise Richardson, and its academic
staff.
Sultan Muhammad V was educated at Oakham School in
Rutland until 1989 and pursued his education in Diplomatic
Studies at St Cross College in Oxford, as well as Islamic Studies
at the Oxford Centre until 1991. – Bernama
http://www.thesundaily.my
BMS Deputy Chairman Mei
Sim Lai OBE DL wins
Outstanding Contribution
Award at the Chinese Business
Leaders Awards
Many congratulations to our
Deputy Chairman Mei Sim Lai
OBE DL on winning the 2017
Outstanding Contribution Award
at the Chinese Business Leaders
Awards at the National Portrait
Gallery, organised by Sino Pro
and sponsored by PwC.
Mei Sim Lai (centre) with the Rt
Hon The Lord Mayor Alderman
Charles Bowman , PwC Partner (right) and Minister Counsellor
Jin Xu, Economic and Commercial Section, Chinese
Embassy in London
The award recognises Mei Sim‘s
work over many years on many
public, business, City and
voluntary/charitable
organisations. She has been
one of Her Majesty The Queen‘s
Representatives in London since
2006 and has responsibility for
the London Borough of Brent.
Join BMS
Whatever your connection to
Malaysia there is likely to be
something for you within the
society, especially for those who
have lived or worked in
Malaysia. If you have an
interesting item of news or
something else to contribute,
please send your contribution to: newsletter@
thebritishmalaysiansociety.org
Sarawak CM Abang
Johari receives courtesy
call from BMS chairman
Abang Johari (centre) together
with Anthony Cooper (left) and
Jason Brooke during the
courtesy call.
KUCHING, Malaysia, 27 Jan:
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi
Abang Johari Tun Openg
received a courtesy call from
BMS chairman Dato’ Anthony
Cooper, accompanied by Jason
Brooke, at his office in Wisma
Bapa Malaysia.
An Evening with Bruce
Parry ‘Voice from the
Forest’ The Sarawak Association
organised the event at St
Ethelburga's, Bishopsgate, on
Thursday 22 March.
Bruce Parry was in
conversation with Jason
Gathorne-Hardy about his latest
film documentary, Tawai,
interspersed with clips from the
documentary. Tawai, is the
word the Penans use to describe
an inner feeling of connection
to nature.
Bruce Parry has an affinity
towards understanding the heart
of our collective human
conscience.
In his latest work he travelled
through the jungles of Borneo
through to the tributaries of the
Amazon in search for answers
and adventure.
Many BMS members also
attended the event.
The Yang di-Pertuan
Agong (King), Sultan
Muhammad V
receives the
Honorary Fellowship
of the St Cross
College of Oxford,
from the Master of
the College, Carole
Souter, March 1,
2018 - Bernama