An Overview of Activities

It is my pleasure to present to the Annual General Meeting, the Persatuan Ekonomi Malaysia (PEM) Annual Report for the year ended 31 December, 2010.

PEM had organised again the core activities for the year 2010. On Thursday, 25 March, 2010, PEM organised the Bank Negara Malaysia Governor’s Address at Dewan Berjaya, Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Resort, Jalan Bukit Kiara, off Jalan Damansara, 60000 Kuala Lumpur. The Keynote Address was delivered by Dr Sukhdave Singh, the Assistant Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia. This year the response to the event was overwhelming, and was attended by about 150 leading bankers and corporate leaders of the industry, and friends of PEM. PEM would also like to record a word of thanks to Y.Bhg Dato’ Ooi Sang Kuang who has kindly given complimentary copies of the 2009 BNM Annual Reports to PEM.

The second core event was the Seminar on the “New Economic Model: An Appraisal” at Dewan Berjaya, Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Resort, Jalan Bukit Kiara, off Jalan Damansara, 60000 Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday, 1 April, 2010. The Panel Speakers from NEAC were YBhg Dato’ Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin and YBhg Dato’ Dr Hamzah Kassim. Other Panel Speakers were YBhg Dato’ Dr R Thillainathan, Professor Adjunct, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya; Dr Veerinderjeet Singh, Managing Director, Taxand (M) Sdn Bhd and Ms Fui K Soong, Executive Director, American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce. It was chaired by YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim, President of PEM.

The third core event was the Dialogue on the 10th Malaysian Plan at Sime Darby Convention Centre, Jalan Bukit Kiara 1, Kuala Lumpur, on Friday, 11 June 2010. The Keynote Address was delivered by YBhg Dato’ Noriyah Binti Ahmad, Director-General, Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department. Three panelists, chaired by YBhg Dato’ Dr R. Thillainathan, Professor Adjunct, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, gave their comments. The Panel Speakers were YBhg Datuk Dr Mohamed Ariff, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, YB Tony Pua, Member of Parliament, Petaling Jaya Utara and Prof Dr Rajah Rasiah, Vice President of PEM.

The fourth core event was the 2011 Post-Budget Dialogue held at Auditorium INTAN, Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday, 19 October 2010. As in previous years, the Post-Budget Panel will pick up issues, strategy and approach tabled by the Minister of Finance. This year, the Keynote Address was delivered by YBhg. Tan Sri Dr Wan Abdul Aziz bin Wan Abdullah, Secretary-General to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance. Six panelists, chaired by YBhg Dato’ Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin, Deputy President of PEM, joined the discussion. The Panel Speakers were Mr Osman Morad, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad; Mr Dave

Williams, Economics Counselor, US Embassy; Mr Gerald Ambrose Johari Ali Abdullah, Managing Director, Aberdeen Asset Management Sdn Bhd; YBhg Datuk Dr Rahamat Bivi Yusuff, Director, Budget Division, MOF; YBhg Dato’ Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, Under Secretary, Economic and International Division, MOF and YBhg Dato’ Siti Halimah Ismail, Under Secretary, Tax Analysis Division, MOF. This event was jointly organised by PEM and the Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, and supported by the Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad.

The Persatuan also sent five(5) delegates, (two(2) delegates sponsored by the Indonesian Economists Association) to attend the 35th Annual Conference of the Federation of the ASEAN Economic Association (FAEA), held at Inna Grand Bali Beach Hotel, Sanur, Bali, Indonesia on 1-3 December, 2010. The theme for the Conference was “Towards Stronger ASEAN Economic Cooperation”. The Malaysian papers were presented by Professor Dr Saadiah Mohamad on “Firm Managerial Perceptions of AFTA, Business Strategies and Internationalization of Malaysian SMEs andDr Lau Wee Yeap on “Creating ASEAN Qualification Framework : One Step Further in Enhancing Skilled Manpower and Closer Economic Cooperation.

The Exco wishes to thank PEM members and friends for their continuing support and assistance.
A list of activities organised by the Persatuan is as listed in Annex I.
An activity of Yayasan MEA is given in Annex II.
A membership particular of the Persatuan is in Annex III.

Acknowledgements

The Persatuan wishes to express its gratitude and appreciation to the following:

• The Dean, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, for co-organising some activities of the Persatuan.
• The staff of the Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, for their cooperation and support.
• All representatives of the press and media.
• The Press for providing publicity on the activities of the Association.
• MJES Editorial Board and sub-committee members and all members and friends of the Persatuan for their continuing encouragement and support of the Persatuan’s activities.
• Bank Negara Malaysia
• Persatuan LSE Alumni, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
• Harvard Club of Malaysia
• ABM, The Association of Banks in Malaysia
• Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara (INTAN)
• Standard Chartered (M) Berhad