Feature
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MRCA Elects its First Woman President Shirley Tay, Sunrider International’s Regional Corporate Director, takes on the mantle as the 8th President of one of the most influential retail associations in the country, for the 2020-2022 term. With the tagline “Powered by You, We serve better” for her tenure, one of her six key areas of focus is elevating and uplifting women entrepreneurs. lso elected to the top leadership were Datuk Liew Bin, CEO of Brilliant Merchandising Sdn Bhd, as the Deputy President and, Datuk Seri Dr KK Chai, founder of KK Supermart & Superstore Sdn Bhd, Valerie Choo, Managing Director of Simply Awesome Sdn Bhd, Sharan Valiram, Executive Director of Valiram Holdings Sdn Bhd and Ken Phua Executive Director of Bentley Music Sdn Bhd as Vice Presidents. Jit Singh, founder of Ironhorse Asia Sdn Bhd was elected Secretary General, Raymond Woo, founder & CEO of Vendpays Sdn Bhd, as Deputy Secretary General, Dato’ Winnie Lim, Managing Director of Solution Risk Consultants Sdn Bhd as Treasurer General and Dato’ Alex Wong, GM, Finance & Administration of Hap Seng Star Sdn Bhd as Assistant Treasurer General. Members voted for the new office bearers during the association’s 23rd
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Malaysia Retailer Vol 8 No 3
Annual General Meeting held on August 11 at the Menara PNS, Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur. The event, attended by 114 members, was hosted by Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (PNS). Due to the limitation on the number of attendees in view of the RMCO, the AGM was conducted both physically and virtually. During the voting session, Ordinary members cast their votes digitally through a voting software while the Associate and Affiliate members joined via Zoom. The AGM began with the CEO of Perbadanan Nasional (PNS) Mohd Hilaluddin Abd Shukor, welcoming the members and thanking MRCA for using its premises for its AGM. “PNS and MRCA enjoy a close working relationship, one that is built on strength and mutual respect which facilitates dialogue and exchange of ideas,” he said and added that since 2015, PNS has been an active sponsor and contributor in franchise associated
MRCA activities and events such as MIRF and MRCA annual dinner. PNS, he said, will be organising the 2nd edition of the International Franchise & Entrepreneurship Conference in November and invited all MRCA members to participate in the event. Outgoing President Datuk Seri Garry Chua highlighted some of the activities the Association had done for its members, especially during the MCO and the current RMCO periods. “We have been most vocal on many issues such as government subsidies, bank moratorium and mall rent, among others. We have also made proposals to the government through Facebook, webinars and even recommendations to the Prime Minister. These, I believe, have been effective in that there were some beneficial results for the retailers and SMEs,” he stated. He also noted that there are lessons to be learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic. “Online is the talk of the town. You may
