7th Outsourcing Malaysia Excellence Awards 2017

Thursday, 2 November 2017
Le Meridien Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Bismillahirrahmannirrahim,

Assalamualaikum wa Rahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,

Salam Sejahtera dan Salam 1 Malaysia,

Mr Cheah Kok Hoong, Chairman, Outsourcing Malaysia,

YBhg Dato’ Lim Han Boon, Organising Chair, Outsourcing Malaysia Excellence Award 2017,

Friends and Colleagues in the Global Business Services (GBS) industry,

Media partners,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Alhamdulillah, let me express my utmost gratitude to Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala, for it is with His Bounty, and His Grace, that all of us are gathered here tonight for the 7th Annual Outsourcing Malaysia Excellence Awards 2017. I wish to express my appreciation to Outsourcing Malaysia, especially the Organising Committee for inviting me to this auspicious and exciting event.

2. I am pleased to note that the strategic partnership that we, in MDEC, have with PIKOM and Outsourcing Malaysia over the last 21 years has been great and the journey that we have ventured together have borne the fruit for the growth of Malaysia’s Global Business Services industry.

3. Many multinationals have set their footprints in Asia which have successfully attracted a good number of shared services practitioners, many of whom are working in Malaysia today. What started off as contact centres leveraging cost-effective resources and multiple languages have today evolved into sophisticated businesses and knowledge-based services that are able to support MNC’s strategic regional agenda.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

4. A large part of Malaysia’s advantage is contributed by strong support from the Government’s business-friendly, multi-pronged approach to ensure the country is attractively positioned amongst international players. This could be seen in 2018 Budget presented by our YAB Prime Minister last Friday where there is continuous strong focus and commitment to accelerate the growth of the Nation as well as enhance the welfare of the Rakyat through Digital Economy, in the era of The Fourth Industrial Revolution.

5. To date, Malaysia has well over 600 Global Business Services centres, with an average of 60 to 65 new centres added each year. This contributes, in part to the overall ICT industry which employs more than 800,000 people. GBS’ growth has helped boost Malaysia’s Digital Economy contribution to hit 18.2% in 2016, a target we had initially set for 2020.

6. With all the resources being made available to the Malaysian services delivery industry, we are very proud to see Malaysia consistently ranked top 3 in AT Kearney’s Global Services Location Index, just behind India and China. This continuous success is credited to Malaysia’s sound performance in terms of financial attractiveness, skills and talent availability, and business environment.

7. While we continue to enjoy these positive merits, we must not rest on our laurels. We must take advantage of the advancement in Robotics Process Automation, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to propel Malaysia to the next level.

8. Even MNCs like IBM’s GBS unit, which have been in Malaysia since 2011, will now shift from a Global Delivery Centre towards higher value investments in the area of Cognitive and Cloud Computing. The setting-up of IBM’s Centre of Digital Excellence for Artificial Intelligence (CODE) using IBM Watson will focus on artificial intelligence, design-thinking and blockchain technology amongst others, for vertical industries such as healthcare and financial services.

9. Apart from IBM’s catalytic investment, Dassault Systems, a world leader in 3D-design and digital mock-up company from France, has also chosen Malaysia to host their Global Development Centre for 3D Business Experience Platform.

10. These are encouraging developments and we must continue to ride the Digital Economy wave.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

11. We look forward to Outsourcing Malaysia’s continuous strategic partnership to attract cutting-edge catalytic digital technology and services companies to be based in Malaysia. I am pleased to share that MDEC will work closely with the relevant authorities and parties to ensure we remain agile and competitive in order to attract more strategic investments. The opportunities are in abundance for us to grab, hence I encourage all of you here to move fast in transforming our current GBS to move up the Services value chain. More so, there will be endless possibilities once Malaysia kicks off the Digital Free Trade Zone. It will ‘Go Live’ at KLIA Aeropolis tomorrow, celebrating a milestone achievement since its launch in May this year.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

12. The Outsourcing Malaysia Excellence Awards in its seventh year continues to attract active participation from industry players. I was told that this is the second year where the individual awards are running and this is testament that the GBS industry continues to recognise and reward excellent contributors in this sector. It is also good to note that Outsourcing Malaysia Excellence Awards’ standards and practices are based on the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals’ standards organisation. These awards are aimed at buyers, end-users and service providers, who have, individually and collectively, pursued global best practices to craft sustainable value by leveraging outsourcing models.

13. Lastly, I would also like to congratulate all the winners of the Outsourcing Malaysia Excellence Awards 2017, that covers a total of 8 corporate categories and 28 individual categories. l am sure tonight’s awards ceremony will serve to encourage all of you to raise the bar even higher. It is my sincere hope that you will also motivate and excite your peers in the industry, in the pursuit of greater excellence. Once again, to all award winners, Congratulations!

Thank you.