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 A 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 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

Shirley Tay, newly elected MRCA President receives a bouquet from Immediate Past President Datuk Seri Garry Chua.

Datuk Seri Garry presenting a token of appreciation CEO of PNS Mohd Hilaluddin Abd Shukor.

Cheque donation to Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation Malaysia by MRCA “Kita 1 Keluarga” Charity Project.

Datuk Seri Garry Chua.

Datuk Ringo Low.

Ken Phua.

CEO of PNS Mohd Hilaluddin Abd Shukor.

want to change your business strategy for the long-term. Online is already 50-60% of the world economy, and as Jack Ma said, by 2030, it could be 80% digital and online. These are some very important facts to take note of.”

Datuk Seri Garry expressed his appreciation and thanked all the President Council members: Datuk Albert Chiang, Datuk Lee Hwa Cheng, Dato’ Tay Sim Kim, Datuk Seri Nelson Kwok and Dato’ Liaw Choon, the senior executive committee members, committee members, legal advisors, patrons, sponsors, members and secretariat for their hard work, dedication and commitment to MRCA throughout the years.

He also extended a special thank you to Datin Flora who was in charge of CSR projects, Raymond Woo and Datuk Liew Bin for their dedication in making MIRF exhibition a runaway success, Dato’ Alex for organising the Charity Golf tournaments, Datuk Bruce Lim for the MRCA Retail Conference and the late Ricky Thye for his effort in putting together the MRCA Charity Run.

“The hard work by the Council, Exco and everyone has enabled the past two terms of my Presidency to far exceed our 6-point Action Plan. Membership in the Northern region increased more than two and a half times, and today

Dato’ Dr Manjit Singh.

we can see that most of the big names are in MRCA. This is all due to the dedication and hard work of Shirley Tay, who was then in charge of the membership drive.”

Datuk Seri Garry Chua also referred to the V-shaped flight formation of wild geese where they will naturally switch and take turns to lead the formation. “MRCA practises rotational leadership. We give everyone a chance to lead the Association and take it to new levels with every tenure. This is truly reflective of MRCA’s past and present leadership, and it is also the way forward.”

Newly-elected President Shirley Tay took to the stage and thanked Datuk Seri Garry Chua for his leadership, commitment, dedication and hard work during his two terms serving as the President. “He has made many sacrifices in order to achieve great milestones.”

She also highlighted six key areas of focus she would like to achieve during her tenure. Among them are enhancing networking and liaison among members for business development and expansion and helping women entrepreneurs enhance business opportunities by having a platform for exchanging of ideas, providing more recognition for them and synergising growth.

“Over the past few months, we

L-R: Vice President Valerie Choo, MRCA President Shirley Tay and Treasurer General Dato’ Winnie Lim.

have been meeting a lot of outstanding and capable businesswomen. I feel they should be given some form of recognition and voice to be heard as well.” She added that this is in line with the government’s directive to have more women playing a significant and active role in all sectors, including the Cabinet. The newly formed Women’s Division, she stated, would be helmed by MRCA Treasurer General Dato’ Winnie Lim.

Her other main focus areas include building a cohesive alliance for members in the Food and Beverage industry for networking, cooperation and expansion; assisting companies, where possible, to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic by offering information and connectivity for better business integration; educating, sharing and enhancing retail and business know-how and technology; and setting up a pertinent information hub and efficient secretariat to provide members with up-to-date and relevant information pertaining to retailing and related businesses including government’s directives.

On networking and liaison, Shirley Tay told the audience that she had, on many instances, heard what MRCA founder Dato’ Eddie Choon said – “Polling of resources and achieve desired results”. “Simple yet Effective. I’d like to keep his direction as my

number one goal so that I stay aligned with why this Association was formed 23 years ago.”

Shirley Tay also thanked members of the President Council, advisors, legal advisors, honorary auditors for their support, PNS for hosting the event and all those who organised and ensured that the AGM ran smoothly.

“We need all your support to meet our objectives. I really hope that all the members can get connected with us without hesitation. We aspire to make it a reputable, professional and a friendly Association where we can come together to improve, interact and build relationships, both in business as well as personally. Give us suggestions and advice to help us to serve you better!”

During the AGM several resolutions and amendments to the constitution as well as reports by the Secretary General and Treasurer General for 2019 /2020 were passed and approved. Secretary General Ken Phua gave an overview of the activities held during 2019/2020 by the Association.

He said that a total of 162 activities were organised and these included activities involving various Ministries and organisations, key MRCA events/ Press Conferences, charitable activities, training, seminars and forums, membership visitations, business trips and monthly meets, among others.

Treasurer Datuk Alex Wong briefed the audience on MRCA’s audited accounts and expenditure. This included the Branding Education Charity Foundation report for 2019 and the Budget for 2020. networking and liaison among members for business development and expansion. Provide a viable platform for members to get connected for mutual benefits.

4Educate, share and enhance retail and business knowhow and technology

Assist members to align their businesses to conform to new digital and online development and transformation to increase productivity and market competitiveness.

Amendments to the Constitution were Clause 6 (Admission fees, Subscriptions and other dues), Clause 8 (Council), Clause 10 (Financial Provisions), deletion of Clause 13 (Interpretation), Clause 20 (Youth Division), insertion of Clause 20 (Women Division) and insertion of Clause 20A (Food and Beverage Division).

The AGM concluded with a cheque donation of RM10,000 to Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation Malaysia by MRCA “Kita 1 Keluarga” Charity Project.

2Elevate and uplift women entrepreneurs

Assist female entrepreneurs in enhancing their business opportunities by providing the platform for exchanging business ideas. Working together and synergising growth in addition to giving more recognition to women in their role in business and other communities. possible to recover from the scourge caused by the

Covid-19 pandemic by offering information and connectivity leading to better business integration.

Activities for 2019/2020

Activities involving various Ministries, Organisations

Charitable Activities

MRCA Networking Activities, Events & Visitations

Trainings, Seminars & Forums

MRCA Key Events/ Press Conferences

Meetings, Monthly Meetings

Exhibitions or Supporting Organiser

Business Trips/Membership 23

6

87

12

13

8

5

8

Total 162

MRCA President’s Objectives for 2020-2022

1Networking and Liaison

To facilitate and enhance

Visitations

3Build alliance for members who are in the Food and Beverage industry

Build a cohesive alliance for members in the food and beverage industry for networking,

5Assist in recoveries

Assisting companies where cooperation and expansion.

6Set up pertinent information hub and efficient secretariat

Provide members with up-todate and relevant information pertaining to retailing and related businesses including government’s directives. Provide efficient secretariat services to members.

MRCA Office Bearers 2020-2022

President Shirley Tay Bee Koo Immediate Past President Datuk Seri Garry Chua Deputy President Dato’ Liew Bin Vice President Datuk Seri Dr. Chai Kee Kan Vice President Valerie Choo Yoke Shiem Vice President Ken Phua Cheng Chuen Vice President Sharan Jethanand Valiram Secretary General Jit Singh A/L Santok Singh Deputy Secretary General Raymond Woo Hai Shiang Treasurer General Dato’ Winnie Lim Yoke Chin Deputy Treasurer General Dato’ Alex Wong Che Sing Council Member Dr. Affendi Dahlan Council Member Alex Chong Weng Wah Council Member Brian Tham Jee Ping Council Member Christine Tan Gaik Lin Council Member Jordan Ng Kim Leong Council Member Kevin Lee Guan Keong Council Member Liang Foo Kuan Council Member Michael Liew Fong Tzer Council Member Seak Thean Pow Council Member William Tang Chee Weng Council Member Datuk Henry Yip Choong Hung Honorary Auditor Dato’ Seri Raymond Liew Honorary Auditor Datin Yap Shin Siang Legal Advisor Dato’Dr Manjit Singh Legal Advisor Datuk Ringo Low

About Shirley Tay, MRCA’s President

A mother of three, Kuala Lumpurborn Shirley Tay shares some interesting insights into her personal life.

Describe yourself

I am a meticulous person. I always want things done fast and well. Can get impatient at times but over the years I have learnt to look at things from others’ perspectives and I have perhaps become more tolerant.

Do you have a motto in life?

Enjoy each day as it comes! Life is a journey, it is also like a cup of tea, it is as good as how you make it. You have different goals at different phases. When you are young, work hard to get a good qualification. Once you are in the business or corporate world, do your best to save enough, preferably with a business or career that can provide a residual and generating income so that even if you slow down when you grow older, you can still lead a comfortable life.

Have like-minded friends whom you can share good times with and most importantly love and care for your family. Believe in the divine power and follow His teachings always.

What’s your education background and your working experience?

I qualified as a certified chartered accountant and public accountant. Currently, I am the Regional Corporate Director (Southeast Asia) of Sunrider International, an international company which I first joined in 1990 as an accountant. I worked in various capacities at Sunrider prior to my current position.

I began my career in accounts in 1981 and held senior positions while working in established accounting firms. I was also the Honorary Secretary of the Direct Selling Association of Malaysia (DSAM) for several years besides having held the post of Vice President of DSAM. I have been in the network,

distribution and franchise industries for more than 20 years.

How many children do you have and are they working or studying?

I have three children, my eldest son is working in ExxonMobil. My only daughter is working in the UK as a banker and my youngest son is still studying in university.

How do you spend quality time with your family?

I always try to have dinner with my family for at least a few times a week. We are foodies who enjoy good food. We used to travel together fairly often but due to the Covid 19 Pandemic, we have not been able to do so. My eldest son likes to cook so it is always fun when our family get together for a good meal cooked by him. Sometimes we also play some board games which I feel is a good way to bond.

How do you spend your free time?

I enjoy watching movies and spending time with family and close friends.

What are your hobbies?

I used to play a lot of sports – badminton, table tennis and bowling. Nowadays, other than table tennis, which is less strenuous, I trek from time to time. I successfully trekked to the peak of Mount Kinabalu about 10 years ago. It was very tough but it was also an experience that I cherish.

Thanks to my husband, an avid climber who treks huge mountains yearly, I took his advice to trek with him!

What’s your favourite food?

Anything that tastes good but not the exotic types. I have a few groups of very close friends who enjoy eating good food. We always look for unique and special types of cuisines to please our palates. But I also believe in balancing our diet with natural whole foods. The philosophy of balancing is very important as you need to nourish your body, cleanse it so that it will become healthy. It is important to take such nutritious whole food manufactured by a reliable company such as mine, Sunrider International, who understands the art of herbal science and have very talented experts who are owners to formulate them. Not overeating is also very important. I like to go for quality rather than quantity.

What is/are your favourite colour(s)?

No specific colour, any combination that looks pleasing to the eyes.

To what do you attribute your success in life/or as a businesswoman?

I achieved what I have today due to my commitment, attitude and discipline. I am very blessed to have worked with great bosses who are visionaries, very intelligent and diligent. They are my role models. I leant to be humble and I try to keep check of myself from time to time.