MRCA Members Meeting

MRCA Members Meetings February 2022

MRCA welcomed its members to the rst Members’ Meeting for 2022, conducted via online mode on 28 February 2022.

PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

In her welcome address, Shirley shared that as retailers and companies supporting the retail and franchise industry, all MRCA members saw a glimpse of hope when the government announced the opening of most of the economic sectors.

“It gave us the opportunity to very quickly work on our businesses, and to recoup what we had lost during the various phases of MCOs,” she said.

She reflected on the yearend festivities in 2021 that had certainly brought about better business performance for most of the business community, but unfortunately the increasing number of impacted cases has deterred businessowners from progressing at the desired speed. Despite the pandemic situation seeming to be a ‘never-ending’ story, Shirley highlighted that there are many businessowners who were able to rise above the circumstances, make adjustments, adapt and venture into new businesses. She expressed her heartiest congratulations to such entrepreneurs.

“The COVID-19 pandemic gave us a lot of time to re-evaluate everything that we ought to know about our businesses and ourselves,” she stressed, pointing out that the pandemic had really caused havoc for individuals, companies and the world alike. She continued that the sordid stories of the impact of the pandemic had indeed created a negative cloud, notwithstanding the circumstances, she encouraged the members to nd the silver lining in the challenges faced, and continue to adapt and move forward like victors instead of victims.

“To sustain and continue to survive, I think we ought to protect ourselves from things that can harm our mental health. To drown out the negativity, we have to keep ourselves occupied and busy so that we can remain positive,” she advised.

She pointed out that stimulating the mind and thoughts with positivity and wise words can help counter negativity.

Shirley added that in addition to adapting to new business models, making changes to operations, learning new skills, embarking on ventures and goals are good measures; however, she urged to constantly remain realistic and have an optimistic outlook in order to thrive during this di cult period.

“As council members, we will continue to do our part to help our members,” she said.

MRCA has been able to carry out 37 activities since the last Members’ Meeting in December 2021. On her part, Shirley is involved in delivering strategic projects and activities with the help of the council and secretariat.

“Our primary aim is to continue to touch base and get connected with government bodies, other industry associations, business chambers, media companies and members,” she stresses, adding that these are important steps in acting as a voice for the retail industry.

Shirley called out to members to reach out to o er more ideas and to highlight areas for improvement. She added that in the coming months MRCA will try to carry out more physical activities, which include the CEO Get-Together, the association’s 30th anniversary celebrations and the annual general meeting, among others. Several webinars have also been planned for the next quarter on topics such as grants, incentives, dialogues with government bodies, franchise and licensing, and 5G technology.

With her term as President coming to an end this April, Shirley said she is set to pass the baton to her successor. In her concluding remarks, Shirley conveyed her best wishes to all members.

GENERAL-SECRETARY’S REPORT

Stan Singh, Secretary General of MRCA, highlighted the activities carried out by MRCA since December 2021.

MRCA News

Four trade associations, namely, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of KL and Selangor (KLSCCCI), MRCA, Malaysia Steel & Metal Distributors’ Association (MSMDA) and Building Materials Distributors Association of Malaysia (BMDAM), came together for a networking session to explore future collaboration opportunities among the business community.

Shirley represented MRCA at the recent launch of TopzMall, a subsidiary of Redbox Karaoke Group e-Commerce marketplace.

Simon Wong from MRCA Secretariat attended the 2021 SME100 Fast Moving Companies Awards Ceremony and gala dinner.

The Malaysian Service Providers Confederation (MSPC) Awards Night, held at Asia Paci c University of Technology & Innovation, saw Stan Singh, receive the ICON Award.

Shirley, alongside Dato’ Liew Bin, Deputy President and Datuk Seri Dr KK Chai, Vice President, represented MRCA for a visit to the Cambodia Embassy to discuss several issues such as trade mission visits, business matching and securing of workers from Cambodia.

Seak Thean Pow, Council Member, represented MRCA at the Malaysia Furniture Council (MFC) Swearing-in ceremony to support a liate members and also to build a stronger relationship with MFC.

Shirley and council members represented MRCA at a meeting between the Ministry of Health Malaysia and business associations to discuss the current situation of COVID-19 and its impact on businesses.

On behalf of MRCA, Shirley also graced the opening ceremony of Dr Ko Pharmaceuticals’ 5th outlet to render support to MRCA’s new member. The event was o ciated by Datuk Seri Hasnol Zam Zam Ahmad, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Domestic Trade & Consumer A airs.

Simon Wong, MRCA Secretariat, represented the association to receive the ShangHai Business Awards in January this year.

MRCA’s MIRF organising team visited MATRADE to discuss collaboration in MIRF 2022. The team comprised Dato’ Liew Bin, Raymond Woo, Christine Tan, Simon Wong, and other MIRF committee members.

Council members, Dr A endi Dahlan and Simon Wong, attended the MEDAC MSME Strategic Planning Workshop, which is aimed at studying the development of the strategic plan for 2022-2026. The workshop discussed the current and anticipated challenges MSME would face in a post-pandemic environment. Feedback was also gathered on preliminary recommendations to address challenges moving forward.

The MRCA CEO Get-Together held in January and hosted by The Star at Menara Star, was attended by 75 participants comprising council members and guests.

The MRCA webinar on

Employment Law held in January this year was attended by 65 participants, and featured Ting Lee Ping from Ringo Low & Associates with Dr Afendi Dahlan as moderator. The session was aimed at preparing members on the latest updates to the Employment Act.

MRCA’s Charity Golf Tournament received overwhelming response with 124 golfers taking up 31 flights within the rst two weeks of its launch. The event successfully raised RM50,000 which was donated to ve children’s homes.

Shirley represented MRCA at the recent Industry Unite Press Conference, to discuss licenses and entertainment taxes. The entity also appealed to the government to address inflation as consumers were su ering the toll of rising prices.

The MIRF team visited the CEO of PERNAS, Mohd Hilaludin Abd Shukor, to discuss further the cooperation between PERNAS and MIRF 2022.

Stan Singh and Simon Wong, represented MRCA at the Caring Pharmacy 10,000 Days Celebration event, in support of the company’s 10,000 days anniversary.

The Export Excellence Gala Night organised by The Star was attended by Dr A endi Dahlan, who represented MRCA as one of the supporting associations for this event.

MRCA’s presence was felt at the launch of Pesta Jualan Malaysia by KPDNHEP with the attendance of Shirley and Simon Wong. The event was o ciated by Dato’ Sri Alexandar Nanta Linggi.

Stan Singh represented MRCA at the MCA Chinese New Year Open House held on the rst day of the lunar new year.

Dr Afendi represented MRCA at the National Action Council on Cost of Living (NACCOL) 2022 Meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, to discuss issues related to the food production industry.

MRCA was appointed Promotion & Publicity sub-committee of the Foreign Departments & Agencies, National Tourism Policy (DPN). Dr Afendi represented MRCA to an engagement session to discuss the focus, direction and strategic action plans of NUP 2020-2030 with the tourism industry to increase public-private cooperation, among other matters.

Other activities participated by MRCA included the 2022 First Meeting of Nexus Productivity for F&B and Retail, the 2022 Annual e-CommerceKaki CNY Lou Sang Get Together; the KLSCCCI Donation Presentation Ceremony in conjunction with CNY; engagement sessions between MIRF and Invest Selangor, and MRCA and Himpunan Peritel & Penyewa Pusat Perbelanjaan Indonesia; launch of the Beauty & Pot’s third outlet; and, the MITI CNY Reception.

MRCA F&B DIVISION

Valerie Choo, Deputy Chief of the F&B Division shared about the criteria for members to be part of this chapter. Currently, the division has 60 members and is expecting to increase its membership in the coming months.

MRCA WOMEN’S DIVISION

Dato’ Winnie Lim, Women’s Division Chief, updated on the division’s current membership of 43 pax and their exciting series of events. She also added that the division has a line-up of events for the months ahead.

MRCA SOUTHERN CHAPTER

Michael Liew, Southern Chapter Chief updated on the chapter’s latest events and its current membership of 29. Its activities include distribution of food baskets to the needy, among others.

MRCA YOUTH DIVISION

Alex Chong, MRCA Youth Chief, reported on the division’s most recent activities such as its Christmas Party.

MRCA ACADEMY

Ken Phua, Committee Member, shared on the upcoming activities that include a webinars.

MRCA CHARITY

Jordan Ng, Head of Charity Portfolio expounded on the association’s charitable activities that include visitation to children’s and disabled homes, donations to the needy, festive visitations and flood relief e orts.

MIRF 2022

Christine Tan, Organising Chairperson called out to members to participate in the upcoming event themed Retail & Franchise Reboot in July 2022.