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2014. CACCI holds its conference in dif-
ferent countries each year; this time, it
will be held in Malaysia, so, we at MICCI
are co-hosting with NCCIM for this year’s
event that will be held at the Kuala Lumpur
Convention Center.
How is the CACCI conference important in
thegrander schemeof things?
We’ve put together a two-day business
conferencewith nearly 50 speakers, touch-
ing upon the topic of Asia Pacific as a
sustainable engine for growth. The reason
for this is that, if the numbers are anything
to go by, MICCI is confident that Malaysia
will be able to reach its target of becoming
a high-income economy by 2020.
The question to ask is: “What hap-
pens after we reach our target?” Also,
Asia-Pacific is the current global business
hub - Asia is where it’s all happening right
now. But after 2020, how are we going to
ensure that Asia is still the hub for global
business? That is where this year’s CACCI
Conference comes in – MICCI is hosting,
with NCCIM, CACCl’s two-day business
conference to discuss the challenges,
opportunities and future that lie ahead so
as to be able to ensure that the Asia-Pacific
region remains the dynamic global hub of
trade and business.
What doesM|CCl have in the future?
One new initiative that MICCI will under-
take will be our MICCI Corporate Ethics
Award that we announced in June this
year and will be making our first awards
by the middle of next year. MICCI and
its members have always been heavily
involved in promoting anti-corruption and
have been focussed on good governance
and anti-corruption in Malaysia.
We realise that the topic of corruption is
often viewed from the negative perspective
of punishment, inMICCI we believe there
is also room for positive reinforcement
in the form of rewarding good ethical
behaviour.
We want to be able to identify and
award companies who are focussed on
ethical business and good processes and
practices, such as educating their staff
about anti-corruption, undertaking anti-
corruption training compliance, and who
are able to exemplify good governance and
ethical business to the business commu-
nity at large; you can say we are heading
into the area of Ethical Business.
lt’s ultimately good for business, not
just in Malaysia, but globally as well.
as licensing, foreign worker issues, paper-
work issues, or anything specific in their
industry or sector. We provide a number
of services that facilitate certain business
needs. Some examples include Certificates
of Origins or ATA Carnet applications.
We are well versed in the many ways in
which to handle international trade or
business issues, thus taking a burden off
the shoulders of companies who need to
handle such documentation or processes.
Secondly, on a broader scale, we con-
stantly try to improve the business climate
for all of ourmembers. For example, we are
heavily engagedwith various government
ministries, such as theMinistry of Finance
as we consult with them on issues like
corporate taxation.
So it really is about improving the
bottom-line – providing services and
assistance so that they may do more
business.
l heard that membership is rather “exclu-
sive”. ls this true? How exactly does one
becomeamember ofMICCI then?
No, that is not true at all!Wewarmly invite
interested businesses to join us as long
as they possess some form of interest in
international trade or business. We have
a full spectrum of companies – MNCs,
Government-Linked Companies, SMEs
and PLCs. Anyone can join us, really, as
long there is some interest in international
trade or business. Most of our members
are Malaysian companies, and the rest
are international businesses who have
decided to do business inMalaysia. It goes
both ways.
You mentioned CACCI earlier. What’s
CACCI?
CACCI stands for the Confederation of
Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce
and Industry and is a non-governmental
organisation and a regional grouping of
APEXnational chambers of commerce and
industry, business associations and busi-
ness enterprises comprising 28 primary
members from 26 countries in Asia and
the Western Pacific. It serves as a forum
for promoting the vital role of businessmen
in the region, increasing regional business
interaction and enhancing regional busi-
ness growth.
lsn’t thereanupcomingconferencehosted
by them?How isMICCI involved?
Indeed, that would be the 28
th
annual
CACCI conference on 18 and 19 September
business in Malaysia) or outward (such
as Malaysian companies looking to do
business overseas).
Are there any major philosophical differ-
encesbetween theMICCI thenandnow?
Well, in the early days of commerce in
Penang, we were focused on attracting
investment into Malaysia, and we still
retain some of our members from 100
years ago, such as big banks like HSBC
and Standard Chartered, among others.
The Malaysian business environment has
matured now and while we continue to
encourage foreign investment inMalaysia,
we also work to provide support and
services for the wellbeing of all of the
business community here inMalaysia that
deals in international trade and business,
as well as helping to foster closer relations
and a clearer understanding between
businesses and theMalaysian government
through dialogue and engagement.
Whatkindof businessesdoesMICCI reach
out to? Aside from interest in international
business, are thereanyother restrictions?
When one says international, there is
this idea that it is mostly about helping
businesses come into Malaysia. However,
that is not the case; as we are a Malaysian
organisation with a focus on international
business, we assist and support Malay-
sian companies when they want to do
business outside of Malaysia. There are
no restrictions whatsoever as long as a
company has an interest in doing business
or trade internationally in any aspect. So
we see not just Multinational Corporations
(MNC), but Public Limited Companies
(PLC) as well as small and medium-sized
enterprises (SME) in our ranks.
HowcanMICCI benefit companies here?
Well, for one thing, we maintain very
strong links and relationships with other
similar organisations outside of Malaysia;
we are members of the International
Chamber of Commerce (ICC) based in
Paris, and regionally, we are a member of
the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Cham-
bers of Commerce and lndustry (CACCI).
Because we have established contacts
and networks globally, it is easier for
companies here to reach out internation-
ally and vice versa.
Additionally, we have a two tiered
approach to assistance. Firstly, we look
after companies and help them with
direct problems that they may face, such