Cover Story
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Datuk Seri Garry Chua: A Retrospective
He has been MRCA President from 2016 to 2020 and his passion and willingness to dedicate his time and effort to the association were quickly recognised. As he ends his tenure, we look back at his achievements as President.
aving been an industry stalwart for a few decades, Datuk Seri Garry Chua has been a part of MRCA for more than 20 years. His passion and willingness to dedicate his time and effort to the association was quickly recognised. Soon, he was elected vice-president, a position he held for more than 10 years. His vision for MRCA was evident, leading him to be elected president in April 2016. After accepting the role, he laid out plans to strengthen MRCA’s role in the Malaysian business community. The plan included: • Boosting membership • Strengthen governmental and stakeholder engagement • Enhancing media exposure for MRCA and members • Encouraging more training by the MRCA Academy • Bigger CSR events • MIRF, conferences, CEO Night • Talent development Being true to his words, Datuk Seri Garry has delivered his promises over and beyond. Now, MRCA has more than 500 member companies, many of which are industry pioneers and leaders in their own fields. The respective heads of these members companies also serve in the MRCA committee board and on the board of advisors. MRCA has also secured corporate patrons such as Maxis Berhad, Fusionex International and RHB Banking Group, and connecting with the nation’s largest associations such as MACEOS, PIKOM, Malaysia Shopping Mall Association, Malaysia Gift Premium Association and Kuala Lumpur Chinese Chamber of Commerce, among others. MRCA has also been in constant engagement with relevant ministries, governmental agencies, regional trade associations and business chambers.
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Malaysia Retailer Vol 8 No 2
This has led to many overseas mission and familiarisation trips to Vietnam, Taiwan, Cambodia and many more. With such trips, MRCA members are in a unique position to meet other governmental bodies and the business community in each country. This greatly helps members to navigate the business landscape as well as gain insights into other business opportunities in each country. This has resulted in several collaborations and joint ventures between Malaysian and oversea companies to expand their businesses in Malaysia and their home countries. “As a trade association of this size, MRCA has a lot of pull. After hearing feedback from our members, we can present their issues, concerns and suggestions to other industry stakeholders and government policymakers. “It also gives us leverage to secure meetings with trade associations in other countries. It is not something a
single company can pull off in a short timeframe,” said Datuk Seri Garry who also initiated three local MRCA chapters, in the states of Johor, Perak, and Penang. Representing MRCA, Datuk Seri Garry has sat in many meetings with policymakers to ensure the voice of the retail and franchise industry is taken into account. The level of engagement has not been affected despite the changes in the federal government. Apart from regular events and press releases, Datuk Seri Garry has pushed for a dedicated annual media engagement programme, inviting top editors of all media platforms – print and online – to an afternoon get-together. “We have more than 100 events every year. While some are held inhouse, we have many large-scale events that are of great benefit to the industry and public. Through this special media engagement programme, we are able to get the word out while helping to garner publicity for our members. “I hope that our members will continue this tradition as it has been proven to work very well,” said Datuk Seri Garry. Members are able to directly meet the press to exchange views on how to better secure media coverage and publicity. This also includes MRCA’s Malaysia Retailer magazine. Published every quarter, the magazine features interesting members on the cover, sharing their experiences and life stories. The magazine also shares the numerous events and training MRCA organises. Another great publication is the MRCA Who’s Who Directory, collating the association’s history, development, personalities and information on all members. It allows those who are interested in working with MRCA member companies to get to know every one of them. Speaking of training, Datuk Seri
