SME Sabah elects its first council members
KOTA KINABALU: The Small and Medium Enterprise Association of Sabah (SME Sabah) convened its first general meeting on April 25 and elected its first council members, headed by President Foo Ngee Kee.
Co-founder and president of the Protem Committee (PC), Datuk Frankie Liew Chun Kim, was also appointed as the permanent honorary president in recognition of his contributions.
SME Sabah was initiated last year and founded by Liew, Foo, Michael Chin and Ngan Yoke Loo.
Since then, the PC headed by Liew has been actively working on the registration of the association, which obtained approval from the Registrar of Societies (ROS) in March; communicated with various parties; and recruited new members in preparation for SME Sabah’s first general meeting.
Meanwhile, Liew expressed gratitude to the PC for their support in electing him as their president, noting that the PC had been working very closely with him in its formation and leading to the successful registration of SME Sabah with ROS.
He also announced that he will not run for any post in the first council election but pledged to give his full cooperation and support to all the members and council members.
Liew went on to urge SME Sabah’s members to remain united and provide their full support and cooperation to the first council in order to enable the association to unleash its full potential in implementing its goals to seek various benefits and create various business opportunities that can bring growth to all SMEs in Sabah.
This will not only catalyse growth in the economy of Sabah, but also the economy of Malaysia as a whole, he added.
Liew further elaborated that since SMEs were one of the main pillars of the economy of Malaysia, the government placed great importance on its development by providing various grants, allowances, simplified loan application processes and training programmes to assist in transforming their businesses in accordance with Industry 4.0.
However, due to the geographical location and various other reasons, such incentives and information always reach Sabahans late, if not too late, he lamented.
“When the news reached us, many of the funds allocated to SMEs in the form of loans and incentives have already been fully granted to businesses in West Malaysia.
“Therefore, Sabahans are in great need to set up this SME association of Sabah so that we can directly contact and liaise with relevant government departments and agencies to obtain first-hand information and procedures on how to apply for such loans and incentives.
“In addition, SME Sabah can also help to justify to the government for bigger allocations to be reserved for SMEs in Sabah,” Liew said.
He also expressed hopes that the association would proactively initiate various activities and work towards establishing its position as the official channel and platform between the government and SMEs in Sabah.
To this end, Liew urged SME Sabah to continue recruiting suitable and dynamic members who share the same vision and team spirit; and are willing to serve the association selflessly by putting its overall interests first in order to strengthen and expand.
Liew, who is also the President of the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce Sabah branch (MCCCS), was of the view that the MCCCS and SME Sabah could complement each other and work together to help the local entrepreneurs to grow, start new businesses and develop new markets.
There were many opportunities for both associations to work together and such collaborated efforts would enhance the rights and benefits for SMEs in Sabah, he noted.
This first general meeting and council election was held on April 25, whereby Liew, Ng Young Wah (Sabah Hainan Association president) and Jeff Loo (winner of the “Rising Star” Platinum Business Award 2017) were invited to be the Election Committee members, with Liew as chairman.
According to SME Sabah’s constitution, 17 office bearers were to be elected directly to their various positions in the association. The election was successfully and harmoniously carried out with all the nominated candidates elected unopposed.
President-elect Foo Ngee Kee then took the chair and announced to the meeting that the association had already recruited more than 40 members in a short period of time since its registration in March, with members from various industry sectors throughout Sabah - from as far as Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Tawau and Keningau.
Aside from two elected committee members from Keningau and Tawau, three members from Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Kota Kinabalu were also appointed as committee members in accordance with the constitution, thereby ensuring that SMEs outside Kota Kinabalu will have representation in the SME Sabah council to represent their interests and keep them informed of the various activities and events concerning SMEs in Sabah.
Foo also clarified that the newly established SME Sabah was an independent organisation and not a branch of the SME Association of Malaysia. However, he explained that SME Sabah will join SME Malaysia as an organisation member to facilitate and collaborate with the latter on various activities and events that could benefit the growth and development of SMEs in Malaysia, particularly Sabah.
Foo also shared the definition of SMEs, their various categories and importance to the economy of Malaysia, as well as the six objectives and functions of SME Sabah. He then presented a short video clip to introduce the Platinum Business Award 2018, which was awarded annually by SME Malaysia through an independent panel of judges.
The following is the name list of the first SME Sabah council members:Permanent Honorary President: Datuk Frankie Liew Chun Kim (co-founder)
President: Foo Ngee Kee (cofounder)
Deputy President: Michael Chin Wee Yee (co-founder) Vice President: Tan Kai Teck Vice President: Wilfred Lim S.P. Secretary: Lawrence Wong Deputy Secretary: Alvin Choo Jia Hiung Treasurer: Liew Yih Sin Deputy Treasurer: Willie Lo Committee: Lau Jiin Woei Committee: Lie Chun Vui Committee: Ngan Yoke Loo (cofounder) Committee: Terrence Chong Committee: Callee Tan Kai Lee (f) Committee: Eric Ooi Xin Hau Committee: Tan Swee Eng @ Kelly Committee: Chou Qian Hua Committee: Ronny Hew Ah Choy (Keningau)
Committee: Lee Kok Kiang (Tawau)
Committee: Ivy Ting Soo Vi (Sandakan)
Committee: Chang Yeh Chun (Lahad Datu)
Hon. Auditor: Daniel Chin Men Fui