tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54083086620613590522024-03-14T01:28:33.057+08:00Hasyudeen.....thoughts and views on business and people.....Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.comBlogger413125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-63624271143141573092021-07-11T11:29:00.006+08:002021-07-12T10:34:25.176+08:00Governance and Leadership of public entities (Part 1)<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I was invited by the Faculty of Economics and Muamalah Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) to share my experience and thoughts on governance and leadership of public entities. This is an important topic given how much public entities influence our life as citizens. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Throughout my career I had fairly deep involvements with a number of public entities. I was a council member and later the President of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants. I was also a board member of the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board and later the Financial Reporting Foundation. I was the founding Executive Chairman of the Audit Oversight Board and later the Executive Director in-charge of Market and Corporate Supervision of the Securities Commission. My latest involvement in a public entity was when I was appointed the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Lembaga Tabung Haji.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TdYJEMq7w7g/YOpg8DCq4TI/AAAAAAAAFoA/OLpYSgLzuLYZ9rRAKHgTCI9OKA9g2E-RwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1017/69A97080-3F39-4E3C-8DE9-203852BCBD20.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="1017" height="238" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TdYJEMq7w7g/YOpg8DCq4TI/AAAAAAAAFoA/OLpYSgLzuLYZ9rRAKHgTCI9OKA9g2E-RwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h238/69A97080-3F39-4E3C-8DE9-203852BCBD20.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;">In setting the scene for the discussion, I provided the audience with the differences between private business ventures and public entities. Private business ventures, whether individually owned or publicly owned, are primarily driven by maximisation of shareholders value. Although lately the conversation on this topic has significantly shifted towards value creation of stakeholders, profits remain the focus of these entities.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Public entities on the other hand consist of organisations of different structures and shapes depending on how they were established. At the federal government level we have various ministries, government agencies and companies created and controlled by the government, directly or indirectly. In the states, we also have state agencies and state-owned companies which are the extension of the state government and agencies.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hence, we cannot expect corporate governance principles and structures which are being successfully applied in the private sector to be equally working with public entities. For example, in many public entity structures, the board or its equivalent does not exist. The entities are lead by a director general reporting to a minister. Hence, even if they have independent units such as internal audit, these units report to the director general instead of to an independent audit committee in the private sector.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The governance structure of public entities are dependent on the instrument which created them in the first place. Ministers receive their powers through the delegation of power as provided by our Federal Constitution and specific laws, many government agencies were established by federal laws or state enactments while limited liability companies under the Companies Act, are also used as part of government instruments.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some of these laws and enactments were enacted many years ago and their provisions could have been outdated due to the changes in our ecosystem and the continuously improving governance practises applied in the country.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The balance between prescriptions and principle-based provisions in these laws and legislations would also share their governance practises. Some principle-based provisions could provide flexibility of their applications. However, this requires people running them to be people of principles and able to determine the appropriate approaches as things are changing. Otherwise, principle-based provisions could be confusing when people are too dependent on their literal interpretations. The same challenge applies to prescriptive provisions.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Their establishing documents set the purpose and functions of public entities. This is very important in differentiating one entity to another. Governance and leadership of public entities should be based on their purpose of establishment and their intended functions as envisaged in their establishing documents.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Next we will explore keys issues in governing public entities.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-44967457548016932512021-01-31T21:03:00.002+08:002021-01-31T21:10:26.224+08:00GameStop: A Distance Observation<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When I was with the Securities Commission, one of my responsibilities was to oversee the capital market. This included ensuring all parties in the market such as the stock exchange, brokers and their sales representatives operate in accordance with applicable rules, regulation and expectations. The main objective is to ensure trading is done in a fair and orderly manner to maintain market confidence and to protect investors, especially the retailers.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Last week the investment fraternity was surprised when retail investors in the US ganged up and pushed the price of GameStop when they realised that hedge funds were shorting the counter. The price went up from around an average of USD 18 to somewhere beyond USD 500. Certainly such an upswing would not reflect the improvements of the fundamentals of the company within a short period of time.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q360ebS2Tdk/YBaqe98QkKI/AAAAAAAAFbA/pg31t8GWK8YbwAvrcjQEvaJNNFDyWOG3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s274/8B5CD12A-D135-417F-BBA8-283AD15C6BBA_4_5005_c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="274" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q360ebS2Tdk/YBaqe98QkKI/AAAAAAAAFbA/pg31t8GWK8YbwAvrcjQEvaJNNFDyWOG3ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/8B5CD12A-D135-417F-BBA8-283AD15C6BBA_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="400" id="id_d13d_8b1d_8262_95d0" style="width: 400px; height: auto;"></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Upon some quick research, I noted some interesting facts which behind the battle between the retail community against hedge funds which were considered representing capitalists who did not care about the consequences of their market conducts, as long as they were profitable.</p></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It all started when hedge funds started to short GameStop share due to its weak fundamentals. They borrowed shares mainly from broker dealers and sold them with the idea of buying them at lower prices when the share price drop as what they expected. At the same time, retail investors who were grouping on WallStreetBets, a group at Reddit, started a movement to surprise the hedge funds. They bought shares and options of GameStop to drove the price beyond the expectation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As the price was moving upwards, the hedge funds were incurring losses and had to buy shares at higher prices to cut loss or to fulfil their obligations with the lenders of the shares under the Securities Borrowing & Lending (SBL) contracts with them. This resulted in more demand for GameStop shares and the price went up further.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Many observers were describing what happened last week as a David vs Goliath episode where the hedge funds were at the losing end and the retailers were victorious. While this could be true in the short term, an unrealistic share price would have to eventually come down. When this happens, those retailers who went to buy the shares towards the peak would find their fingers (and other parts of their bodies and mind) burnt.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was reported that people who join WallStreetBets were encouraged to "invest" in unconventional manners. One idea which was promoted was to invest in a counter with whatever funds which they had. YOLO - "You Only Live Once", they said. While this could be true, what was not said was, "You may suffer for a long time before you die!"</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Malaysian Securities Commission issued a reminder to investors to be careful with suggestions to ramp up prices of shares as that could breach our securities law. While it was observed that the glove counters on Bursa Malaysia saw price increments, it would not be easy for the GameStop play to happen here.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">First, short selling is regulated and limited to specific counters only. Normally, the companies must have sound fundamentals, hence the down side risks is much smaller. Retail investors may have no access to options, which allow them to leverage and bet on share prices.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When there is a sudden surge in share price, Bursa Malaysia will issue a warning which is popularly known as UMA, the short name for Unusual Market Activity. The counter could also be suspended when it breached certain threshold to cool the market and allow investors to reconsider their trading position.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">While the number of retail participations on Bursa Malaysia had increased significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic, in similar trend with other markets due to various assistance by governments, the presence of institutional investors remain influential in maintaining market stability. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I certainly hope that our retail players would do their homework before deciding to be involved with adventures like what happened to GameStop shares. It could be a nice story and narrative but eventually many fingers will be burnt.</span></p>Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-18414072357311565212021-01-17T09:51:00.011+08:002021-01-17T10:00:29.009+08:00A Conversation With MyPAC Students And Alumni<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Malaysian Professional Accountancy Centre (<a href="https://mypac.org.my" target="_blank">MyPAC</a>) was established to encourage and facilitate students, especially Bumiputera, to pursue professional accountancy qualification. While we have more than thirty thousand accountants registered with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, the number of Bumiputera accountants in Malaysia is only around 2 two thousand only.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I was a director of MyPAC together with a number of senior partners of the Big-4 before I resigned due to work commitment. The whole idea of MyPAc is to enable students to be globally competitive and attain knowledge, skills and values through passing professional examinations of accountancy body of their choice. MyPAC supports professional programmes of ACCA, MICPA, CAANZ and CPA Australia, amongst others.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yesterday, I was invited to share my views and thoughts on professional accountancy and governance by a group of MyPAC students and alumni. I originally planned to participate from my orchard in Batang Kali. However, due to movement restriction, I joined the virtual meeting from my home.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><img id="id_c0ed_70fd_1779_555d" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/uEE8HvQyrHuZ9QNHMoZjVfsEt1E5rp-s-_NbNLZbej0jtF9KeRjIEUlteOn2mUg" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I shared my journey in becoming a professional accountant through CPA Australia. After graduating in 1986, I worked in accounting firms in Australia and Malaysia before opening my own accounting practice in mid-90's. The firm was then merged with few like minded friends to establish Khairuddin, Hasyudeen & Razi (KHR) which remains as one of a medium-sized accountancy practice until today. I left the firm in 2005 to establish a strategic advisory company before joining the Securities Commission as a founding Executive Chairman of the Audit Oversight Board.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Governance is a very important part of any company or institution. It is supposed to ensure the company or institution to be governed and managed towards its objectives such have having strategy which was properly crafted and effectively executed. Management is responsible to ensure all aspects of business and operation are in line with the strategy and attain the intended outcomes. Hence, governance is about doing the right thing the right way.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Accountants can be involved in strengthening governance is a number of ways. They can be in the board, lead management or in charge of roles and functions which contribute towards good governance and organisational effectiveness. I was the Chairman of Cagamas Holdings Berhad, the holding company of our national mortgage corporation. As mentioned before, I was in the leadership of the Securities Commission which is tasked to ensure the fairness and orderliness of our capital market. I was also a member of the Operational Review Panel of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. So I encourage all the young accountants and students to be a significant part of ensuring good governance in Malaysia.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Integrity is also one of the professional values of the accountancy profession. Based on this, professional accountants should a natural partner of any effort to enhance governance. However, one has to ensure that he or she is excellent at the workplace and never compromise on any conduct or behaviour which will taint governance or even breaking the law. With excellence track record as a professional and known for integrity and upholding professional values, one should be able to walk away if pressured to do the wrong thing and secure better position elsewhere. Excellence is important in upholding values and principles.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I was asked many questions including dealing with pressure from outside. My view is simple, just focus on doing the right thing for the organisation and stakeholders. If the organisation is not performing, it would be very difficult to influence others. So, we need to ensure we get the right outcomes for the organisation as part of the ways to deal with various ideas and views from outside which are hard to control. Focus on what we can control.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><img id="id_9b2f_d4fb_18aa_ac30" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/iMVq-ZvNwg_cJE9oyKsWFow8z5xMvwJc0ZG-625CuQLIHDcZbb3GWzO1fEdg8QI" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">More than 800 professional accountants had been born from the work of MyPAC. They have more than 200 students at various stages of professional programmes for a number of professional accountancy bodies. Even if MyPAC produces 1,000 Bumiputera accountants, they are already successful in doubling up the number.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The journey is ongoing and there are huge potentials for MyPAC to be an active player in nation building. MyPAC will always have my endorsement and support, InsyaAllah.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br></span></p>Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-77038102444877895892021-01-10T07:15:00.007+08:002021-01-10T07:26:31.040+08:00Climate Change In Action?<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">While climate change is quite a main stream issue in continents like Europe, it may not be the same in this part of the world. The common excuse which I heard before is that, "the Westerners had messed up their environment in the past and now they want us to take care of the planet on their behalf".</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I was brought up in Kota Bharu which is located at the Kelantan delta. Hence, flood was a common phenomenon since my childhood. We differentiated between flood caused by rain and the real flood which originated from the highlands at the southern part of the state. We could guess whether there would be flooding from the speed of the wind and the direction of the cloud.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, fast forward 50 years later, Malaysians could not claim that we are free from environmental issues especially from land clearing for various commercial reasons, legal or otherwise. Many popular highlands are no longer as cool as before. Flood is getting more devastating compared to before. However, are we taking climate change seriously?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Malaysian government is committed to reduce carbon emission by 45% by 2030, a very serious target. The question is whether this aspiration is shared by all of us, Malaysians, and what are our contribution towards achieving this target? Are we distracted by the Covid-19 pandemic or we are simply clueless?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The flood season this year appears to be more serious than before. From the news, there are reports about many houses destroyed, life lost and property damaged. While many of us are starting to talk about the root causes of these calamities, we have to wait whether we as a society will be following up on climate change matters when things get back to normal. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have a small plot of land in Batang Kali. The Batang Kali river flows along side this property. When it rains heavily upstream, the river will swell and sometimes can overflow. Just imagine if the volume gets larger due to heavier rainfall and the water level downstream is higher than usual? There could be flooding and the life of people along this river could be affected. What would be the situation 30 years from now?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xpEOS95vmv4/X_o4ArsfN2I/AAAAAAAAFZ0/0Bs_yW2tOF0KpqmYU9w-fQJ4cnyPW1e6gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/02828FA5-DE62-4829-8182-DED878291B8C.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xpEOS95vmv4/X_o4ArsfN2I/AAAAAAAAFZ0/0Bs_yW2tOF0KpqmYU9w-fQJ4cnyPW1e6gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/02828FA5-DE62-4829-8182-DED878291B8C.heic" title="Terusan Wattop @ Laman Pok Nik" width="400" id="id_d5ef_aa2e_329d_fc55" style="width: 400px; height: auto;"></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Perhaps, being exposed to the risk of climate change causes me to appreciate what possibly could go wrong if we do not do anything collectively as the occupier of this planet, our only planet. What about those who are chasing profits and share prices without being bothered whether their conducts and behaviours contribute towards expediting climate change impacts?</span></p></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">It is time for major investors in Malaysia to step up their game to bring climate change issues main stream and send a clear message to corporate Malaysia that they have to start making the difference. </span></p>Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-32906624712690610302021-01-03T14:43:00.011+08:002021-01-03T14:45:33.968+08:00Celebrating 35 Years of Togetherness<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I am thankful to Allah for allowing me and my wife to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary yesterday. On a Thursday evening 35 years ago, we were solemnised at her home in Kubur Kuda, Kota Bharu.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We met in Perth when we were both students. When I indicated to my friends that I was looking for a girl from Kelantan to be my future wife, I was introduced to her. After courting for a while, we decided to get married in Australia.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I got in touch with my father to convey my intention. He asked me to hang on and finish my study. I told him "if I don't get married, I can't study". Eventually my family conceded but they wanted us to get married in Kelantan. We agreed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-834m-LwCEuc/X_Fip-TBReI/AAAAAAAAFZY/XdHADLkSacAvEPj2w0I08-L7tLUs-8NsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/FCBDE35F-94EC-4381-A0CE-4276C94E67CC.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-834m-LwCEuc/X_Fip-TBReI/AAAAAAAAFZY/XdHADLkSacAvEPj2w0I08-L7tLUs-8NsgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/FCBDE35F-94EC-4381-A0CE-4276C94E67CC.jpeg" title="35th anniversary" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We went through a lot over the next 35 years as husband and wife. Our first son, Abdul Hadi, was born when we were studying at the Western Australian Institute of Technology (now known as Curtin University). Taking care of him when we both had to attend classed was tough. We were lucky that our friends took turn to take care of him.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When we came back to Malaysia in 1986, Malaysia was going through a tough recession. There was graduate unemployment and the government had to come up with a training scheme to employ them at various government agencies with a RM 400 monthly allowance. I started working as a finance person at a Proton dealership in Kota Bharu. Proton cars were selling like hot cakes at that time. Then I went to work in Kuantan with an accounting firm. That was when our second child, Nur Hafizah, was born in Kota Bharu.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We then moved to Kuala Lumpur when I got an offer with another accounting firm. We rented a house in Taman Greenwood. I could only afford to buy a stove and a refrigerator. When my mother in-law came to visit us, she thought that I belonged to a dakwah group and was not fond of worldly stuff. She did not realise our financial situation at that time. We went shopping around Jalan Tun Razak. I still remember of taking a bus where we have to carry our shopping bags while holding the hands of our kids at the same time.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My wife stayed at home and was taking care of our children while I was building my career in accountancy. I founded my own accounting practise in the 90's and went on to take a number of responsibilities at various organisations and institutions. Our family kept on growing with the arrivals of Nur Hanani, Muhammad Hazim, Nurul Aliah and Hanna Yasmin.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xsPZCztNMQU/X_FnXwh76vI/AAAAAAAAFZk/kAICbXlUWVAL8UpIx6QShExm6nw9-3aBwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/6B73F4EC-5096-482A-B23E-3107D7C235A1_1_201_a.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1486" data-original-width="2048" height="290" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xsPZCztNMQU/X_FnXwh76vI/AAAAAAAAFZk/kAICbXlUWVAL8UpIx6QShExm6nw9-3aBwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h290/6B73F4EC-5096-482A-B23E-3107D7C235A1_1_201_a.jpeg" title="Family photo Hanani wedding" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking back at what we had to go through, I am ever thankful that my wife understood my working demands and provided me with emotional support and encouragements while she herself have to deal with the daily demand at home.</p></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I pray to Allah that we would be together again in heaven.</span></p>Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-24673919799859129112020-12-06T20:25:00.016+08:002020-12-06T20:38:24.728+08:00Recognised By My Alma Mater<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I enrolled into the Bachelor of Business (Accounting) degree programme from the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT) in 1984. When I graduated in 1986 the institution was re-named as Curtin University of Technology. Presently, it is known as just Curtin University.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When I completed the Sijil Pengajian Malaysia examination in December 1982, I was told to prepare myself for a placement for the matriculation programme in Australia. I was then offered to go to Kelvin Groove Evening Class in Brisbane. At that time my auntie was studying in WAIT for her accounting degree. I was told by her father that the accounting programme is one of the most practical in Australia.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That started a last minute effort to transfer me from Brisbane to Perth. I was told that I was accepted by Canning College at Bently which was neighbouring WAIT. However, as my ticket was already issued by MARA, I had to pay for the ticket from Sydney to Perth. The Malaysian Consul from Perth, Hussein Ahmad, flew to Sydney to accompany me to Perth.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There were around 40 Malaysian students studying at Canning College. During Fridays we would be performing our Jumaat prayers at WAIT as there were quite a number of Muslim students, predominantly from Malaysia. Hence, I was acquainted very early with WAIT, the institution which I was aiming for to obtain my accounting degree.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We had to sit for the Western Australian Tertiary Examination to be eligible to continue our education at the tertiary level. Before our results we released, we applied to various universities in Western Australia and Eastern states to ensure we secure our preferred programmes. I did not even apply for the accounting programme at prestigious University of Western Australia as I was so convinced about WAIT.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When my results were out, I got a number of offers including from WAIT, the University of New South Wales and Monarch University. However, as I was determined to do the accounting programme at WAIT, WAIT was my choice.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I never regretted that choice as I was introduced to accountancy in a very pragmatic manner. During the first year, we were introduced to the practical part of accounting including preparing various financial reports. As we progressed to the second and third year, we were then introduced to the theoretical part of accounting. Perhaps during that stage we were matured enough to digest the concepts and principles which remain relevant until today.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There were around 10 Malaysian-sponsored students in my batch which did the same course. Only two of us, me and another colleague sponsored by TNB who managed to pass in 3 years. I was so thankful to Allah for his blessings.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Since I left Curtin in 1986, I have not been back to Perth and did not contact the university at all. When I was the Executive Chairman of the Audit Oversight Board, a representative from the university came to see me and we discussed possible ways for me to be involved with its alumni activities. Last year my name was shortlisted to be the Malaysian Alumni of the year. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vcbu7gNRYvU/X8zO5esTA3I/AAAAAAAAFYU/ZqwGMCKtngMCxWGBuTJLE29BdpTpvheUgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Screenshot%2B2020-12-06%2Bat%2B8.28.40%2BPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vcbu7gNRYvU/X8zO5esTA3I/AAAAAAAAFYU/ZqwGMCKtngMCxWGBuTJLE29BdpTpvheUgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h250/Screenshot%2B2020-12-06%2Bat%2B8.28.40%2BPM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Last week Curtin University published an article about my responsibilities at Tabung Haji. It was a well researched article about the role of the Pilgrim Fund in assisting Malaysian Muslims to fulfil their Firth Pillar of Islam, the Hajj. I shared how the education which I had at Curtin and my stay in Western Australia assisted me in building my character and career. I hope the article will inspire many more Malaysians to find their sweat spot in contributing towards nation building.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The article can be downloaded <a href="https://news.curtin.edu.au/stories/muslims-save-for-holy-pilgrimage-with-help-from-curtin-grad/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p>Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-40252776389812779032020-05-02T09:36:00.003+08:002020-05-02T09:38:03.052+08:00Family Covid-19 Strategy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many people look forward to the resumption of "normal" life come Monday. There are also people who are concern whether going back to normal would cause more infection of Covid-19.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The debate about "life vs livelihood" under the present circumstances is not limited to Malaysia only. It is a legitimate question, which one should take precedent or can we have both?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Realistically, the Covid-19 pandemic would be around for a while. While staying at home for the past 6 weeks had helped in breaking the chain of infection, many had also lost their income and livelihood shattered. We have no choice but to walk on the tightrope. We need to live with Covid-19 for a while.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hence, each of us has to take responsibility to take care of ourself, our family and the society. This is where each family has to agree of its own Covid-19 strategy. What to do at home, when using public transport, when shopping and when coming back home? Need to work on the stock of face mask and hand sanitiser as we can't assume they will be provided. What about family activities such as during festivities? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I trust by taking responsibility, we would be able to deal with both challenges, life and livelihood.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-6312102919840508482019-12-01T17:23:00.002+08:002019-12-01T17:23:59.296+08:00Back On The Governance Circuit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I was invited to be a panellist at a forum which touched on anti-corruption the week before last. This was the last session at the Governance Convention 2019 organised by Institutional Investors Council and the Securities Industry Development Centre. My co-panellist was Tan Sri Abu Kassim, the Director General of the Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre (GIACC) which is leading the fight against corruption in addition to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CvRFbctcxoI/XeOFucFjbZI/AAAAAAAAFL0/ozYm_NFzZxAm3doq0t6w0FsaBrA1c0JTQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/2b6944f4-dafc-4a86-bff0-26b1ff7f5bf5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1080" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CvRFbctcxoI/XeOFucFjbZI/AAAAAAAAFL0/ozYm_NFzZxAm3doq0t6w0FsaBrA1c0JTQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/2b6944f4-dafc-4a86-bff0-26b1ff7f5bf5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Tan Sri Abu Kassim shared key initiatives rolled out by the GIACC to combat corruption including asset declaration by our members of Parliament. He also alluded to the introduction of Political Financing Act, which according to him a very critical component of anti-corruption as politicians have influence and could override systems and processes of public institutions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I shared few key points with regard to the implementation of section 17A of the MACC Act which will be effective June next year. The new provision would introduce corporate liability to businesses which are involved in corruption unless they are able to demonstrate that they have implemented adequate procedures to prevent corruption.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Corporations and organisation which have high standards of corporate governance would have treated corruption as an evil which they would not be associated with and would be part of their risk management and internal control policies. The effectiveness of section 17A would only make these organisation more focus on the effectiveness of their anti-corruption systems.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">On the other hand, any system implemented in organisations would be effective if they are ran by people who have integrity and committed to the highest level of corporate governance. Hence, over reliance on systems and processes without continuous efforts to educate and develop the hearts and minds of people in organisations could also result in surprises.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The tone from the directors from the top must shape the tune in the middle and the tap of the feet on the ground. Management must ensure everybody is dancing to the same song. The the board fails to ensure management and the rest of the corporations to play ball, the risk of corruption and failure of governance would remain high even though there is a new law regarding corporate liability due to corruption.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A corporation operates in a wider ecosystem where external elements can also shape its behaviour especially when competition for business is intense. If there are elements which can misbehave and remain are out of reach from enforcement actions, other elements in the ecosystem would be under pressure to play to the tune. Hence, laws such as section 17A would only be effective if it is enforced without fear or favour and complemented by political financing law which is said would be enacted.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cTJd6YsryA8/XeOGg34xLhI/AAAAAAAAFME/NLjaCN5BO-QyMK-lsIdqi9ieYfqWyx2UQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/0dac151b-ace5-4197-a496-b4f436db56fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1080" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cTJd6YsryA8/XeOGg34xLhI/AAAAAAAAFME/NLjaCN5BO-QyMK-lsIdqi9ieYfqWyx2UQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/0dac151b-ace5-4197-a496-b4f436db56fb.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Being back on the governance circuit was something which made me happy. So many things had happened since my last posting on this blog. I pray that I would be able to walk my talk in carrying out the responsibilities which I am now carrying.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-40560740249078308372019-07-02T11:37:00.000+08:002019-07-02T11:37:40.838+08:00Governance And The Modern Society<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I was invited to share my views on governance and its importance in a modern society at Masjid Al Iman, Kemensah. This was my second appearance in a masjid to discuss about governance and integrity, topics which are rarely discussed from the societal perspectives in mosques.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Given the audience, I thought it was appropriate to simplify my thoughts into the following points:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A modern society relies heavily on the services provided by various agencies, organisations and institutions in the public and private sectors such as utilities, education, health and security;</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The quality of leadership, management and governance practices in these organisations would determine the policies and strategies they formulate, the service levels they offer and the prices charged or cost recovered from the public;</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The government is not an alien structure but a representative body elected by the Rakyat to govern and administer our funds, resources and affairs on our behalf;</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Government's funds consist of taxes which we pay, proceeds from our assets which they sold, royalties etc from resources extracted from our lands and borrowings made on our behalf. Hence, if development and operating expenditures are not made prudently, we may need to pay more taxes or government may need to borrow money to pay for these additional expenditures;</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Borrowings by the government involve cost, the interest or financing charges paid. For example, if government's borrowings are RM 100 billion, cost on these borrowings wound be approximately RM 4 billion, which is a huge sum of money and is deducted from the amount otherwise would be spent for the benefits of Rakyat;</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Governance in the public sector is equally important as in the private sector although the Code on Corporate Governance was conceived in 2000 for the application in the capital market;</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Management involves activities and processes to move organisations towards their missions and visions. This include strategy formulation, operations, marketing, financial management, talent management and development as well as compliance with rules and regulation;</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Governance on the other hand is the process to oversee management and the running of organisations and to ensure their objectives are met and risks managed. This involve stewardship, roles and functions of the board, risk management, internal control, assurance and culture;</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While governance and management could involve the application of various systems, processes and policies, their effectiveness is dependent upon the people who are given the trust and responsibilities;</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Corporate governance failures occur not due to the lack of people with knowledge, skills and values required to perform their duties but when they do not have the courage to do the right thing at the right time. Good people simply look the other way when transgressions happen; and</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Doing the right thing requires courage and the willingness to confront the adverse consequences which come with it.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I appealed to the audience to continue to demand good governance for the sake of their children and our future generations.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-40301180247600731782019-06-30T09:48:00.002+08:002019-06-30T09:48:59.454+08:00The AOB 2018 Inspection Findings and Insights<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Audit Oversight Board (AOB) issued its 2018 annual inspection findings and insights for the benefits of the stakeholders last week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As at 31 December 2018, there are 49 Malaysian audit firms with 338 individual auditors registered with the AOB auditing 1,164 public interest entities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was also noted that the capacity of audit firms had increased compared to when the AOB was set up in 2010. The shift in the size of audit forms, assessed by the number of partners are as follows:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Audit firms with2 partners or less has shrunk from 71% in 2010 to only 29% in 2018. With the new registration criteria imposed by the AOB, this category of firm will disappear completely by 2020. This is important as the minimum of partner required to ensure compliance with auditing standards is 3.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Other highlights from the AOB inspection findings for 2018 are:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For engagements which resulted in satisfactory findings, engagement partners do not audit more than 4 PIEs;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For audit engagements with satisfactory findings, the Engagement Quality Control Reviewers had at least 8 years audit experience as audit partners;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Average training attended by audit staff for engagement which resulted in satisfactory findings was more than 70 hours;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Collective time spent by engagement partners and managerial staff in engagements with satisfactory findings ranged from 11% to 37% of the total time spent; and</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Professional accountancy qualifications is one of the common denominators in audit engagements with satisfactory findings.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the overall quality control review, leadership responsibilities for quality in audit firms, compliance with relevant ethical requirements and outcomes engagement performance remained as key observations by the AOB.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another interesting observation is the percentage of income from audit for the major audit firms in Malaysia has shrunk to 66% compared to 71% in 2016. Are these audit firms moving away from audit?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The top 5 findings from AOB's engagement reviews are:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are audit areas where robust planning, effective supervision and professional judgments are required to be exercised by engagement partners, EQCR and the managers of audit engagements. The appearance of auditor's report for the first time in 3 years could be due to the implementation of the new auditor reporting standards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The full AOB inspection findings and insights report could be downloaded here:</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.sc.com.my/api/documentms/download.ashx?id=741a5db9-949f-4212-bc15-556e1f338b7a" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://www.sc.com.my/api/documentms/download.ashx?id=741a5db9-949f-4212-bc15-556e1f338b7a</span></a></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-24094298269072384132019-06-30T09:08:00.001+08:002019-06-30T09:08:54.518+08:00AOB Annual Report 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Audit Oversight Board issued its latest annual report last week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Amongst the highlights are:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The AOB was recognised by the Asian Corporate Governance Association as one of the most effective audit regulator and probably the best communicator.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Introduced new criteria for registration with the AOB where the minimum number of partner has been increased to 3 and attached to a single firm only</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">AOB considered the usage of data analytics in audit of public interest entities</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">14 enforcement actions were taken in 2018 focusing on the outcomes of these measures</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Various engagement with local and international stakeholders in enhancing audit quality</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The AOB 2018 annual report can be downloaded here:</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.sc.com.my/news/publications-and-research/audit-oversight-board-annual-report-2018" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">https://www.sc.com.my/news/publications-and-research/audit-oversight-board-annual-report-2018</span></a></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-72808458586729804912019-05-20T18:53:00.002+08:002019-05-20T19:06:44.393+08:00Modern Thieves Are More Potent <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One of the places where tourists should not miss when visiting Kota Bharu is what I refer to as the Historical Circuit. It is located around Istana Balai Besar, Istana Jahar, Padang Merdeka, Masjid Muhammadi and few another historical sites which define Kota Bharu in the past.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Istana Balai Besar is still being used for official ceremonies such as during the birthday of the Sultan or when new Sultans are proclaimed. It is surrounded by tall wooden walls which make the interior part to be hidden from the public. There are a number of historical structures around Istana Balai Besar such as old cannons and Bank Pitis. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Bank Pitis was the state treasury where the wealth of the state was kept. It is a small strong house built out of bricks and cement. Any thief who wanted to steal the wealth kept inside had to break its door, at least.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Stealing in the modern era has changed so much that sometimes the public could be confused by the act and consider it as something honourable. If we follow the reports on how corporations lost their money through corporate scandals, these scandals were structured carefully so that the crimes were hidden until such time where the stolen assets were already distributed around the world and to recover those assets required serious efforts with the cooperations of enforcement agencies from those jurisdictions which could be challenging.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Modern stealing requires brain power and real power. The brain power would device the schemes and the real power such as those held by directors would execute the schemes for themselves or on behalf of those outside the organisations who would eventually benefit from the crime. The schemes could be structured as investments into assets where their prices are highly inflated or as contracts where a huge sum would be contracted out to parties who are part of the schemes. No real goods or services will be provided to the victim organisations. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Due to the nature of modern thefts, the amount involved had reached into billions, in whatever currencies we talk about. Hence, the impact is much greater compared to, if Bank Pitis was broken into in the old days. It would be easier to track down the thieves of Bank Pitis and the stolen good could be easily identified compared to the lost zeroes in bank accounts of the victims of modern thefts. Worse, some organisations raised bonds before those monies were stolen. So, they ended up with liabilities which have to be repaid over a long period of time.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What could be stolen by modern thieves would make <br />breaking into Bank Pitis like stealing loose change only</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hence, it is critical for modern organisations to strengthen their internal control and governance processes so that they would not fall victims to these smart and resourceful thieves. Selection of senior management and board members must include integrity assessments, as those who are willing to compromise their integrity could cause huge damages if they decided to turn rouge. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We should also educate the public that white collar crimes are worse than stealing goats or cows or hard cash, notwithstanding these crooks become donors and give out money to charities and religious organisations. Stolen money should remain as such, stolen money. Don't glorify thieves.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-78954418748751686192019-04-30T22:24:00.000+08:002019-04-30T22:27:54.748+08:00The Mystical Bali<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While attending a conference on future competencies of accountants in Bali recently, I took the opportunity to explore Bali which it known for its beauty, culture and mystic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I stayed at Nusa Dua, a private property where most international hotels are located. The security is tight, which makes you feel safe while enjoying the beauty of its beaches and food. An early morning stroll at the beach will give you the opportunity to enjoy sunrise and the changes of the complexion of the beach as the sun become brighter.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gl75ly29Qag/XMhT9IsNSGI/AAAAAAAAE-M/cOjylHvdke8hs_WuDmIBZrQFnvl-8fMiwCLcBGAs/s1600/fullsizeoutput_a653.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gl75ly29Qag/XMhT9IsNSGI/AAAAAAAAE-M/cOjylHvdke8hs_WuDmIBZrQFnvl-8fMiwCLcBGAs/s400/fullsizeoutput_a653.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My first port of call was Bali Collection, a 5 minutes walk away from the hotel which I was staying. It gathers various cultural and local products in a very nice and cozy place, suitable for foreign tourists. You need to pay a bit more for the convenience and comfort.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I met Dr. Nur Mazilah, the CEO of MIA who was attending the same conference. We had an early seafood dinner while discussing about the development and issues of the accountancy profession in the region.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZpQVvZMP9U0/XMhU2ixfR_I/AAAAAAAAE-Y/x3B0vjuj0qsPGFE3NSQ6pgPyuYcCvXg-wCLcBGAs/s1600/%2525xKuGnphTUybSWHrVlv7Aw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZpQVvZMP9U0/XMhU2ixfR_I/AAAAAAAAE-Y/x3B0vjuj0qsPGFE3NSQ6pgPyuYcCvXg-wCLcBGAs/s400/%2525xKuGnphTUybSWHrVlv7Aw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After the first day of the conference I, together with few other Malaysian delegates, went to Pantai Kandonganan to have seafood dinner. This is one of the "must visit" places in Bali to enjoy its fresh and delicious seafood. Some of the food stalls offer cultural shows to their customers. On our way back to our hotels we stopped by a durian stall by the roadside and tried the taste of the King of Fruits, the Bali version.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-suXLHbiLOGY/XMhWVAu55iI/AAAAAAAAE-o/0uEH6uLhYVMynOYzb6KvvXK5YAS9AfoMQCLcBGAs/s1600/%252BCv43aSSS7KqXc4yIvx63g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-suXLHbiLOGY/XMhWVAu55iI/AAAAAAAAE-o/0uEH6uLhYVMynOYzb6KvvXK5YAS9AfoMQCLcBGAs/s400/%252BCv43aSSS7KqXc4yIvx63g.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I purposely took the evening flight out from Bali. That allowed me to spend some time around the mystical island. I hired a car and went to Bedugul, a highland where the famous Candi Kuning and Pura Ulun Danu are located. As our car climbed the hilly road toward Bedugul, I could see a beautiful scenary of the highland and padi fields which provide bountiful supply of food to the Balinese.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Although the weather was getting cloudier as we were arriving at Puri Ulun Danu, it somehow provided me with an interesting photo opportunity. The overcast sky made a very nice background of the temple.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ab5JAP_kcm0/XMhY8nAdD6I/AAAAAAAAE-0/RNXrvTDE6CIC8yYXtdm7gFkFkblJVpyOQCLcBGAs/s1600/SdtcsoHjQGGnQYzXhkaNlw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ab5JAP_kcm0/XMhY8nAdD6I/AAAAAAAAE-0/RNXrvTDE6CIC8yYXtdm7gFkFkblJVpyOQCLcBGAs/s400/SdtcsoHjQGGnQYzXhkaNlw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After a quick lunch at a Muslim eatery located at the front at temple and a short stop at the nearby mosque for prayers, we headed back to Denpasar, the capital of Bali where the airport is located. It rained cats and dogs on our way back which prevented me from taking more photos of the beautiful scenery.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Although this was my third time in Bali, there are more places to be discovered. Bali offers an opportunity for visitors to observe tolerence and understanding as people from various beliefs and backgrounds congregate to make their leaving or enjoy the beauty of this mystical and beautiful island. If we view things from the lenses of humanity, we would find less reasons for conflicts and hatred. That is what you will bring back from Bali.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-84334510011752945722019-04-27T04:48:00.002+08:002019-04-27T07:14:04.875+08:00Disrupting A Profession<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Where on earth could be a better place to learn about disruption other than Bali? The so called "Island of Gods" provided the right setting about the future which is highly volatile and exciting, full of the unknown unknowns. I was there to attend the IAI-AFA-IAESB International Conference 2019 with the theme "Professionalism of Accountants in the Disruption Era".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The conference was held in conjunction with the meeting of the International Accountants Education Standards Board's (IEASB) meeting held at this famous tourist destination.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was also a reunion of sort as I managed to meet colleagues and friends from the accountancy profession who were together with me in the leadership of regional accountancy bodies. The guest of honour was Dr In-Ki Joo, the President of the International Federation of Accountants. In-Ki was together with me when we served the Executive Committee of the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Accountants (CAPA). My Indonesian best friends, Pak Ahmadi Hadibroto and Pak Djoko Susanto, were there as well. They were my "partner in crime" when we led the Asean Federation of Accountants.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While we are fully aware of the rapid changes in the ways we live and work, particularly driven by technology and globalisation, the focus of the conference was how accounting education should evolve in meeting the demands arising from these changes. When industries are disrupted, accountants who are serving employers and clients within those industries must be able to create value using new competencies which are relevant, especially in using volumes of data and information which are captured through various means. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I was impressed with the thoughts of Prof. Ainun Naim who was representing the Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education of Indonesia. In facing the 4th industrial revolution, competitive graduates should be literate in data, technology and humanity instead of the old literation of reading, writing and arithmetics. Universities should develop the cognitive capacity of students such as critical and systematic thinking skills, nurture cultural agility and enhance their entrepreneurship abilities. Indonesia will liberalise their eduction systems and allow education institutions do deliver education through various means including social media.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The other key focus area was professional scepticism and judgment of accountants which are widely discussed and challenged worldwide. This is also my favourite topic as I was closely involved in dealings with auditors' judgments when I was the Executive Chairman of the Audit Oversight Board. While the panellists shared the latest updates of the area, I sensed some reluctance in acknowledging that profits as one key drivers which caused professionals not to ask pertinent questions when performing their work. I suppose the debate will continue especially with some latest developments in the United Kingdom in reforming the auditing industry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The topic of education reform and nurturing new key competencies were discussed in great details by experts from IAESB committee members and industry players. Telekom Indonesia is really serious in embarking on projects which not only change the ways their employees work but maximising their new competencies which are blended with technology in creating value for its customers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What was clear to me is the importance of lifelong learning. While accountants may complain about their Continuing Professional Education requirements, that is the only way for them to acquire new skills and competencies which are critical in a highly disruptive business environment. At the same time, the time tested professional values such as integrity and courage to do the right thing will remain relevant for accountants to be respected as trusted professionals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ibu Elly, the Executive Director of Ikatan Akuntan Indonesia (IAI), and her team from IAI were really great hosts, not only in ensuring the conference went smoothly but also in providing us with their Indonesian hospitality. As usual, food was great!</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-3399621336442163022019-03-31T12:39:00.000+08:002019-03-31T12:55:47.762+08:00Proposed MIA Competency Framework: Why industry should care<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) this month had issued a draft competency framework for public exposure and comments. Based on my recollection, this is the first time MIA attempts to develop a formal and structured competency framework to ensure accountants who are registered with MIA are able to perform and deliver professional services to their employers and clients.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In coming up with the proposed competency framework, MIA took into considerations the recommendations of the Committee to Strengthen the Accountancy Profession (CSAP) and the Report on Observation of Standards and Codes for Accounting and Audit which was conducted by the World Bank in 2012. It engaged the Accounting & Audit Research Consultants to draft the framework (MIA CFM).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">According to</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> MIA "<span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">The MIA CFM is a set of principles that defines the baseline competencies and skill sets required to become accountancy professionals who are able to demonstrate their proficiency at different levels namely </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">“</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Foundation</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">”</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">, </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">“</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Intermediate</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">, and </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">“</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Advanced</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">” as defined by the framework issued by </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">the International Accounting Education Standards Board (</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">“</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">IAESB</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">”</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">). The development of MIA CFM helps to assure the market that the title refers to accountancy professionals who have demonstrated the achievements of the baseline competencies required to excel in a specific role".</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">When MIA was established in 1967, it was empowered by the Accountant Act, 1967 to register accountants in Malaysia and to conduct examinations to assess their level of competencies. However, the examination power was never exercised, instead MIA recognised those who are members of professional accountancy bodies to be registered with MIA as Registered Accountants and Public Accountants. In early 70's, graduates from recognised institutions of higher learning started to be recognised for registration as well. The reasons for the inclusion of these graduates were never properly documented and remains as a contentious issue until today as this is not practiced in economies where the accountancy profession is considered matured.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">What makes this issue worse is when most of the graduates of the recognised university qualifications are given partial exemptions by various professional accountancy bodies, sending a signal to the market that they are not equal. These graduates would need to sit for additional professional papers before given full membership.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">In 2000, the Accountant Act was amended to abolish the examination power of MIA and those registered with MIA are known as Chartered Accountants. This created a perception which is different from the original intention of the law. Other than MIA, I am not aware of any other bodies which refers to their registrants as Chartered Accountants, without a proper professional assessment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">While the exposure draft on MIA CFM focuses on the competencies of the three levels of membership as proposed, we as the stakeholders in the industry, should also consider the whole membership framework to ensure it is robust enough to produce accountants as envisaged in the MIA CFM.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">Malaysia had been benefiting from the services of accountants trained by various professional accountancy bodies from Commonwealth countries which are recognised here. These bodies do not only train our accountants to achieve their baseline competencies but those competencies were regularly reviewed to ensure they meet the demands in the various markets they serve. This is very important as not only we get our accountants to be close to the curve but their perspectives and specialisations provided huge value to our companies and institutions which need to compete with global peers and competitors. It would be unfortunate if this arrangement is made more difficult due to pressure from interested groups within the accountancy profession.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">I really hope that market participants and industry players would take this opportunity to provide feedbacks and expectations for MIA to seriously consider. It is important to note that the reason MIA exists is to be the guardian of professional standards through registration. This is a statutory requirement which requires MIA to place public interests ahead of any sectoral interests within the accountancy profession. MIA should not abdicate this responsibility.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">The exposure period ends 10 May 2019.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-1736443268935734612019-03-30T19:08:00.004+08:002019-03-30T19:08:59.599+08:00Responding to Disruption in Banking, Finance and Accounting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was invited to a forum at the Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation in Bukit Jalil last week. The forum was held in conjunction with their Open Day where prospective students and their parents were invited to participate in the discussion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The topic was about Disruption in Banking, Finance and Accounting and apart from myself, other panellists were banker, auditor and company secretary. I was supposed to share my experience as an accountant who are now involved in the financial services industry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I started by sharing where things were when I was studying as an accounting student in Perth, Australia. I was using Multiplan for worksheet and Words for word processing when the present popular solutions were not there yet. When I worked in a Charted Accountants firm in Perth, I was asked to work out a cash flow projection for a client for the purpose of a loan application. We used broad paper sheets for that work. I asked by boss why don't we use electronic spread sheet? He agreed and I used the knowledge from university to complete the work. After that, all similar work ended up on my desk! That was a small innovation, so to speak.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fast forward, I am now the Chairman of BIMB Investment Berhad where one of our funds uses artificial intelligence and Big-data to make investment decisions. The assets of the fund are re-balanced on a daily basis, without any human intervention. It reads 50,000 news sites in 15 languages to find news on the counters we track and would decide to buy or sell based on their Environmental, Social and Governance practices. <a href="https://www.nst.com.my/business/2019/03/468830/bimb-invest-partnership-cimb-group-new-esg-fund" target="_blank">BIMB Investment had just collaborated with CIMB</a> to promote further the fund which is one of the largest Shariah-compliant ESG fund in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also shared my observation as a director of Bank Islam where we are preparing ourselves to compete with various fund-raising platforms enabled via technology and liberalisation of rules. While financial services companies are using technology to make their businesses more effective, technology companies are also coming into the industry and offer financial services. Which one would survive?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My advice to the audience was to continuously upscale ourselves with knowledge and skills which are required and relevant to the disruptive environment. No two-way about it. Otherwise, we would be irrelevant to the fast moving financial industry. I shared the recent request for proposal exercise by one of the companies which I am on the board. All audit firms which participated proposed auditing approaches which leverage on data analytics. Even a slow moving profession in terms of innovation is forced to innovate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the other hand, integrity and professional values would remain core to the accounting profession. One must be willing to do the right thing at the expense of losing a good position. That is what professionalism is all about. We mus walk the talk.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-1940973021128789282019-02-16T11:41:00.002+08:002019-02-16T11:43:22.506+08:00My Perspectives About Muslims in Cambodia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I visited Phnom Penh with my wife over the Chinese New Year break with a friend who had been in and out of that country for a very long time. We wanted to visit the Muslim communities in Cambodia and to see for ourselves their living environment and social development.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Our first stop was just across the Tonle Sap river which flows across Phnom Penh. We went to visit a community living by the riverside in the district of Chroy Changvar. This community consists of around 180 families and some of them joined this community when they were displaced by development projects elsewhere. Some live in small boats anchored by the riverside and some have their small shacks made of wood and plastics.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Their children go to the nearby schools and when they are free, they wonder around and play along the riverbank. It would be tough for them to break away from the hardship of their parents although we met a few who studied in Malaysia before.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While I passed a new and modern mosque not far from this community, I wonder whether they offer education and skill training which could empower this community to be able to live on their own feet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The next day we went to visit another Muslim community at Kampung Cham, around 3 hours drive from Phnom Penh. The community is located around another hour drive from the town centre.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The community which I visited live in a more organised way. They have a mosque and a simple school, better homes and water supply. They received aids from abroad including from Malaysia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I was invited to one of the community leaders' home and we were served with grilled river fish and vegetable soup. Very mouth watering considering the journey which we took to be there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Perhaps what they need to focus on moving forward is to find ways to equip themselves with knowledge and skills so that they could develop economically and intellectually. I am sure Muslims would be more respected if they can take care of themselves better and contribute more towards nation building.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The third community which we wanted to visit was in Kampot, which is closer to the Vietnamese border. It is also famous for its durian. I can assure you that it tastes amongst the best which I had ever tasted. The journey was very rough as we took an alternative route where a third of the road was heavily damaged and was in the process of re-construction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After a very nice seafood lunch, we visited a village where a nice mosque was re-built with the assistance of Malaysians. I had a peek at a school which offers the skills of reading Quran. A number of boys were reading in front of a teacher to ensure they got it right. The rest were happily rehearsing their reading and made a lot of noice. They were cool enough to pose for me when I snapped their photos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One bit which concerns me right across the trip was the level of integrity of people. I was told that when it comes to money, we must be very careful in ensuring the funds get spent according to the wishes of the donors. Better to give them money in front of others so that other people know that the money is meant for specific purposes, not for personal use of the recipient.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Given the whole country is going through a fast phase of modernisation especially with investments from China and South Korea, these communities could be trained to access knowledge using technology such as e-learning. Could sound far fetch but I view relevant knowledge and skills to be as critical as the traditional education which is made available to their young generation.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-31231873135762516302019-02-01T10:03:00.001+08:002019-02-01T10:03:25.359+08:00National Anti-Corruption Plan - What Are Our Roles?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Prime Minister recently launched the National Anti-Corruption Plan which intends to break the corruption chain and to get Malaysia to be known for its integrity, not otherwise. This should be seen as the continuation of anti-corruption journey which could be traced to the National Integrity Plan which was formulated in 2004.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The present state of corruption should not make Malaysians proud. 63.3% complaints against corruption involve the public sector and Malaysia's position in the Corruption Perception Index had always been on the lower side for the many years until now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The National Anti-Corruption Plan envisages a corrupt-free nation predicated on the improvements of government efficiency, transparency and accountability, based on good governance. This will create a clean business environment and efficient and responsive public service delivery. For this to happen, public procurement, legal and judicial systems and law enforcement have to be effective.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There would be 6 strategies which would be rolled in 22 initiatives over the next 4 years.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AajRZ6LwGWU/XFOmXQ-22jI/AAAAAAAAE20/-Bvs2dw42GAshdb-v1SGgjSJStnxlrpSACEwYBhgL/s1600/fullsizeoutput_8fa0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1242" height="395" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AajRZ6LwGWU/XFOmXQ-22jI/AAAAAAAAE20/-Bvs2dw42GAshdb-v1SGgjSJStnxlrpSACEwYBhgL/s400/fullsizeoutput_8fa0.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XrzXlDP3ctQ/XFOmd6CB5TI/AAAAAAAAE2s/6CDYJYB8ttoyrj4RiWE8e_zMD43y7DN8gCEwYBhgL/s1600/fullsizeoutput_8fa1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1233" data-original-width="1242" height="396" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XrzXlDP3ctQ/XFOmd6CB5TI/AAAAAAAAE2s/6CDYJYB8ttoyrj4RiWE8e_zMD43y7DN8gCEwYBhgL/s400/fullsizeoutput_8fa1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What would be our roles in ensuring the goals of the plan in addressing corruption in Malaysia to be achieved? I am convinced many would be playing the spectators role, doing nothing and will be commenting a lot from the side. Well, that is very much the fact of life in many countries anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I trust the would be Malaysians who would be doing their level best to contribute. Given the scope of the plan, there would be plenty of opportunities for us to be involved, both in the public and private sectors. Strengthening governance should not be seen as a private sector affairs. In fact, why we are where we are is very much due to the failures in public governance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One other aspect that is important is for the Malay/Muslim communities to view this as part of the objectives of Shariah. Corruption results in the abuse of public funds. One of the objectives of Shariah (maqasid) is the protection of assets/wealth. Hence, ensuring national wealth to be administered effectively and distributed justly falls within this Shariah objective.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the larger picture, all Malaysians have the responsibilities to build this country to one which benefits everyone. Opportunities should be shared predominantly on merit with government intervention with the sole objective to address inequality, if any sign appears. The rule of law should prevail, based on the constitution of this country. Then only, Malaysians will have the confidence to compete in fair and objective manners, for the benefit of the society at large.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-84562821229491284212019-01-21T12:12:00.001+08:002019-01-21T12:12:29.279+08:0041 Years of Friendship<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today marks the 41st anniversary of our friendship as the all males 6th batch of MRSM Kota Bharu. We called ourselves WATTOP. Long story but suffice to explain that it means attention seeking, sort of.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To commemorate the occasion, we had a thanks giving dinner in Shah Alam last night. It was organised in a very short notice but the participations were great. More than 20 of us were there. Food was excellent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As usual the conversation was around our friendship at the college. However, this time around, we spoke more about supporting each other into the future, the state of the country and life after retirement. A number of us consider themselves already retired although many more are still active, working or in business. Perhaps, this shows the stage of life we are in as we move slowly past the half-century mark. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While we have gone separate ways in living our lives, having different views and opinions, such a gathering would always bind us together. The common background enables us to appreciate differences, some thing which is seriously lacking in the society at large although we are all Malaysians, to say the least.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We launched a fund to help each other in needs. Hopefully this will grow into something which is meaningful. Not all of us are as lucky as the rest. I suppose this will be the opportunity to bind us closer.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4qrmLlxN_e8/XEVGB5BqMoI/AAAAAAAAE10/qW6AXgwe7pgWShY9gZJSVf7G7msSS-2aQCLcBGAs/s1600/fS2gL01pQFmpf64ljDvF6g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4qrmLlxN_e8/XEVGB5BqMoI/AAAAAAAAE10/qW6AXgwe7pgWShY9gZJSVf7G7msSS-2aQCLcBGAs/s400/fS2gL01pQFmpf64ljDvF6g.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Being the alumni of the MRSM system, our achievements will be assessed based on how much we had given back to the country. How much have we lived with this responsibility? The investment made in nurturing us as well-educated Malaysians should inspire us to pay forward for the future on Malaysia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I look forward to joining many more Wattop events.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-58845439188000140502019-01-12T23:08:00.001+08:002019-01-12T23:08:24.197+08:00Starting 2019 On Governance and Anti-Corruption Themes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So far I had been interviewed on television twice in 2019, both on the topics related to governance and anti-corruption.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The first interview was aired on 2 January on Astro Awani. I was invited to the programme "Let's Talk" hosted by Sharaad Kuttan. The other co-panellist was Dato' Sri Akhbar Satar, the chairman of Transparency International, Malaysia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As Malaysians have high expectations on various reforms instituted post the 13th general election, the topic of governance and anti-corruption would be amongst the key indicators whether the new administration would be fulfilling their promises for a better Malaysia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I stressed the points on the need for effective institutional reforms so that our key institutions such as police, anti-corruption commission and various other regulators remain independent and perform their duties without fear or favour. At the same time, the introduction of the political financing law, as promised, would require political parties to revamp their business models and be more transparent on how they are funded. I also suggested that financial reporting in public sector to be treated in similar manner with the private sector where senior public officials who cause financial statements of public institutions to be false or misleading to be fined and jailed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A day later I appeared again with Dato Akhbar as well on a talk show "Ruang Bicara" on Bernama News Channel on similar topics. This time the programme was hosted by Sherkawi Jirim, someone whom I knew since small since he started an investigative reporting programme "Panorama" on RTM. It was very popular until, according to Sharkawi, the then power that be wanted it to be shelved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Malay-speaking programme allowed callers from all over the country to call in and shared their views on corruption. It appeared that the desire of Malaysians for corruption to be tackled seriously remained high.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While Dato' Sri Akhbar shared his ideas on how corruption should be addressed, I repeated by views on the need for institutional reform and the introduction of the political party financing law. I also explained how corruption resulted in the society to be deprived of funds for development and direct assistance to the poor and needy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am very happy that I am able to contribute, in my small way, to enhance governance in Malaysia so that government would be more responsible when spending the Rakyat's money. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">May 2019 be a year where more structural reforms are introduced to combat the evil of corruption and elevated our governance practices to the level where we would be proud of as Malaysians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Link to my Let's Talk interview:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://english.astroawani.com/malaysia-videos/lets-talk-sharaad-kuttan-episode-86-333513" target="_blank">http://english.astroawani.com/malaysia-videos/lets-talk-sharaad-kuttan-episode-86-333513</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Link to my Ruang Bicara interview:</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BernamaNewsChannel/videos/226902408220544/UzpfSTYzMjM0NTQ0MDMwMTk4ODoxMDMzODE1OTcwMTU0OTMx/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">https://www.facebook.com/BernamaNewsChannel/videos/226902408220544/UzpfSTYzMjM0NTQ0MDMwMTk4ODoxMDMzODE1OTcwMTU0OTMx/</span></a></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-57773767098719418982019-01-11T11:31:00.002+08:002019-01-11T11:36:28.194+08:00Change Is Constant, How Do We Steer It To Our Favour?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">New year is always associated with new resolutions, aims and goals. Nothing wrong with that. The world will continue to change whether we like it or not. The question is what do we don so that it revolves to our favour and we achieve all the goals which we target.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The change drivers may not be changing, Society, Economy, Technology, Environment and Politics, but the elements within those drivers could be changing as well. This requires us to know what the those elements which are changing before we develop our response or figuring out how to benefits from those changes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The key word is we need to strategise and DO SOMETHING. While that sound very logical and many people do have ideas what to pursue, the challenge is whether we have the discipline to follow through and do what we plan to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To make it easier for us to act later, we should start by identifying the goals which we want to achieve. Then we should detail out the steps which are required.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If we back to the wisdom of Einstein "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results" then there should be new efforts in our "to-do list" for this year compared to the year before.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To accept the reality that what worked (or we thought worked) may not be working in the future is not easy. What more when those beliefs provide us with some advantages, for example false comfort. We may not realise that by holding to those beliefs we are left behind by people who are more open to review their thoughts and willing to take risks in doing things differently.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It would also be easier if we group these action plans into 4 categories:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What are the new things which we need to do?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What are the old things which we need to stop doing?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What are the old things which we need to do more?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What are the old things which we need to do less?</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With such clarity, if would be easier to allocate resources and exert efforts in pursuing all the goals which we set. Otherwise, after a while, all the old habits will drag us back to doing the old stuff and steering us backwards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The other part is about assessing progress. This is more difficult as we could be bias towards seeing things in a more favourable ways then accepting what our performance really is. Do we need someone external to judge us? Perhaps. If we are not honest ourselves, then we need someone honest to show whether we are progressing, not moving or even digressing!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is not too late for me to wish all of you happy new year (there is another new year coming soon - the blessings of being in Malaysia) and I pray that all our goals would be achieved and we are able to steer the changes around us to our favour.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-35224812211849804582018-12-31T09:17:00.001+08:002018-12-31T09:22:54.859+08:00Goodbye Goh Joon Hai, a True Friend in the Accountancy Profession<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As I was preparing to wrap another year, I received a message from a friend about the passing on of Goh Joon Hai, a senior accountant who I have a lot of respect. Although I had not been hearing from him for a long time, he was instrumental in providing me with the insights and guidance in discharging my responsibilities in the leadership of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When I was voted into the MIA Council in 2000, I was assigned the responsibility to chair the Public Practice Committee (PPC), a committee which was tasked to look into matters related to public accounting practitioners in Malaysia. As a young rookie, it was certainly a heavy task. Furthermore, some of the heavyweights from the previous committees were still there, including Goh Joon Hai.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While I was adapting to the dynamics of the committee, Goh Joon Hai provided me with counsel and explanations about the histories or principles behind the many policies and practices of MIA with respect to public practitioners. Sometimes, he would be disagreeing with my views, albeit in very professional and fatherly ways. That sort of interactions hastened my progress in chairing this committee, which had the reputation of being the toughest in MIA.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As the chairman of the PPC, I was also involved in trade negotiations which were ongoing at many levels those days. These negotiations were very important to accounting practitioners in Malaysia as they involved market openings and recognition of qualifications for market access in various markets of the trading partners of Malaysia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Goh Joon Hai helped me to understand the mechanics of trade negotiations and the various commitments made by Malaysia at the World Trade Organisation, Asean and a number of bilateral and multilateral negotiations which we were involved in. We travelled together to attend meetings of regional and global accounting bodies. During the free time at those meetings we became closer and I learned a lot from his past experiences which he shared.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">No many people realise that Goh Joon Hai was among the first set of lectures in University of Malaya who taught the pioneer students in the Advance Diploma in Accounting programme which later allowed them to be members of the MIA. Goh Joon Hai was sent to Canada to understand the concept of the professional programme offered by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, a body which he is a member of. This is a significant milestone in the history of the development of the accountancy profession in Malaysia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While we celebrate the progress of the accountancy profession in Malaysia as it is today, we should not forget the contributions of those many accountants in building the profession over the years. Goh Joon Hai is certainly one of those who had given his best contribution and for that we thank him from the bottom of our hearts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As far as I am concern, Goh Joon Hai was one of the accountants who held tight to his professional values and personal principles. We wouldn't mind to lose out to maintain what he believed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Goodbye Mr. Goh. I will always remember you as one of the friends who helped me to be who I am today.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-65935701353243626622018-12-23T12:08:00.001+08:002018-12-30T23:59:30.972+08:00Jakarta Car Free Day, A Showcase of Diversity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";">Every Sunday is a car free day in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Jalan Sudirman, which is one of the busiest street in the city is closed for traffic. Thousands of Jakartarians will be flocking to enjoy the morning either to jog, walk or just to watch others. An event where the diversity of the city is showcased. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;">Even the street vendors have their place along the long street. We can have choices of everything from food, cloth, books, toys and many other stuff which are offered to the city folks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;">There are also people doing performance for donation. Some appear in superhero suits, the defenders of Jakarta, I suppose. Perhaps, that is the reason by Jakarta folks came our in drove, together with their families to enjoy the weekend together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;">The Car Free Day is an event which I look forward to whenever I visit the city. It helps me to clock my steps, enjoy the crowd and snap photos for my social media postings. Sometimes I will try something for breakfast although I prefer a more orderly dining in the outlets nearby.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;">With such a diverse population it makes we wonder how people can’t appreciate diversity and the need to live in harmony with each other. I am sure there are many things which we may differ in terms of understandings and views but given such reality in cities like Jakarta, there is no way we can force our views on others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";">As we are crossing into another new year, let’s make understanding and accommodating our differences as one of our key strengths.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-47006395283330409132018-08-31T10:34:00.002+08:002018-08-31T10:34:56.720+08:00Time To Celebrate Or Reflect?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Any anniversary is associated with happiness. This can be true for birthdays, wedding anniversaries or even for friendship. Even the anniversary of death is celebrated by some people in our society.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why should we be happy for any anniversary as it is only the completion of the earth orbiting the sun. Whether what happen to our lives, marriages or friendships, the natural routine will continue. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To be happy or not over any anniversary should be about how far things had moved in the right direction. Have our life improved? What are the state of our marriages now compared to the past years? Have our friendships became better? These questions are not easily answered unless we reflect on them and have clear comparisons between the past and present. Have we achieved all targets set or some of them remained out of reach? What standards should be use to gauge success?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When it comes to a country, the measures to be used in such assessment would be more challenging to select. On quality of life, who should be the benchmark, those living in Bangsar and Sri Hartamas or those living at PPRT flats? On the state of Islam, do we use the Shariah Index conceptualised by JAKIM or we measure the losses incurred by public institutions governed by Muslims as our measure of progress or otherwise? In terms of culture, fairness and justice, do we use collective values based on logic or we stick to religious prescription?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perhaps this is the reason why celebration of independence in many countries come with public holidays. Citizens will have time to reflect whether there are reasons to be happy and celebrate or their nations had rolled backwards. However, many countries organise fireworks and entertainment at the eve of independence days. Certainly those who frequent these celebrations would go home late, have a long and deep sleep and have little time to reflect. For those who are not sleeping in the morning, there would be further events showcasing assets bought using public funds. These assets are like castles, nice to see but they are never our homes, deceiving.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hence, it would be much easier to assess out own contributions towards nation building and giving meaning to independence. How much of our efforts contributed to the well being of the society at large? It would be unfortunate if our individual wealths based on the transgressions occurring at public institutions. Do we belong to the group which are demanding and pressuring without much efforts beyond that?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would like to wish all Malaysians happy Merdeka and please use the long weekend to reflect on what we had achieved and what more to be done to make this country a better place for everyone.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408308662061359052.post-71362054830358219012018-05-28T08:41:00.000+08:002018-05-28T09:02:20.406+08:00Discourse on the Integrity of Public Institutions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Within a week I had the opportunity to share my views and thoughts on governance and integrity at 3 different events.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I was invited by the People and Family Development Board (LPPKN) to discuss about governance of public institutions. I shared the elements of corporate governance including board effectiveness, the check and balance mechanisms and effective communication. I related those elements to public sector situations where finance outcomes may not necessarily be the only focus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On of the key messages for LPPKN's board and management was that none of them are too small or insignificant to contribute towards governance excellence. Each of them have important roles to play to achieve their mission in making Malaysian families to enjoy the growth and prosperity of the nation and uphold values which will make Malaysia a great country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I was also invited to be a panellist at the first public event between the Menteri Besar of Kedah and the state civil service. During the event, Dato' Seri Mukhriz Mahathir admitted that as the head of government, his accountability is not only to the state by he would also be assessed by Allah during the Day of Judgment. His message was clear, everyone must be honest in discharging their responsibilities to the citizens of Kedah.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After his speech, a discourse on Public Sector Integrity took place. In addition to myself, Tan Sri Ambrin Buang, the former Auditor General and Tan Sri Zabidi, the former Director General of Public Service Department shared their thoughts and experience in how public service could be strengthened and efficiency enhanced. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Tan Sri Ambrin encouraged the civil servants to continue to explore opportunities for improvements and not to wait for the Auditor General department to point out where their weaknesses are before acting on those weaknesses. Tan Sri Zabidi, on the other hand, reminded civil servants regarding the oath they had made to serve the public without fear and favour. He also encouraged civil servants to be innovative in servicing the rakyat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The thrust of my discussion was the importance of placing the right persons at boards and senior management of public institutions. They would be setting the tone which would be reflected by the tune of the dance of middle management and the tap of the feet of others on the ground. Effective system of check and balance would be critical in ensuring people's mandate are upheld and civil service remained on track in performing their duties. I also reminded them that governance and integrity is part of the Islamic tradition and demonstrated by Abu Bakr and Omar, the first 2 caliphs after Prophet Muhammad who extended the concepts taught by the Prophet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Dato' Seri Mukhriz, his Exco members, senior civil servants and all other participents then took the oath of integrity to reinforce their commitments to serve citizens honestly and with integrity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The third event of a live interview on Astro Awani on governance and enhancing integrity of the public sector. I was interviewed together with Tian Chua, the Vice-President of People Justice Party (PKR). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One of the issues that was focused on was on debts, guarantees and obligations of the Federal government. This topic became hot after the new Prime Minister disclosed that the Federal government debts had breached the RM 1 trillion mark. My view was that no one disputed the existence of those liabilities but the debate at the moment is on their classification. The Federal government adopted a modified cash accounting system where assets and liabilities are not brought on balance sheet like the system used in the private sector. Hence, the health of the economy is appraised based on other data and information including the ratio of our debts to the GDP. Some people use international practices in defining the relevant debts while others use the ultimate obligor who will settle those debts and obligations to support their point of views.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I suggested that a portal is set up as a depository of all audited financial statement of public institutions at the federal, state and local government levels. This will allow the public to obtain official information regarding financial performance and positions of those institutions and able to have discourse with better information and understanding. This will also force public institutions to be more responsible for their financial management and ensure financial statements are well kept and prepared on time and are audited promptly as well. This platform is not expensive but the impact could be huge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Again, a shared about the need to place people with competency and who have conscience at the board and as leaders of public institutions. They must also be committed to do the right thing. Public institutions must also be independent and able to make decisions on their own to ensure the interests of citizens are protected. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In conclusion, I reminded citizens that their duties towards the country in a democratic system do not end only when the general election is over. They must continue to follow developments in the country and voice their views when necessary. This is a collective responsibility and should be shouldered by everyone. This is the reason by government must be transparent and allow the media to share important information. This could be used by the citizens to discharge their duty, as expected in a democracy.</span></div>
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Hasyudeenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13493182579688496858noreply@blogger.com0