Global Event

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION LAW:OPENING AND KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE HONORABLE SENATOR HENG SEAI KIE / Global Event

2009-10-26

Description:
OPENING AND KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE HONORABLE SENATOR HENG SEAI KIE

DEPUTY MINISTER II, MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE, MALAYSIA

AT THE OPENING OF NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION LAW

KUALA LUMPUR, 7 OCTOBER 2009

PROFESSOR DR. HAMDANI CAMPUS DIRECTOR,                                                                                                                                                                    UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA INTERNATIONAL CAMPUS

PROFESSOR DR. MAHBOB SALIM                                                                                                                EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR , INSTITUTE SULTAN ISKANDAR                                                                                     UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

PROF. DR. MOHAMED AMIN ALIAS                                                                                                                     HEAD OF BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION DIVISION,                                                                            INSTITUTE SULTAN ISKANDAR, UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

DISTINGUISHED PARTICIPANTS,

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

MAY I BEGIN BY WISHING YOU ALL A VERY GOOD MORNING.

IT IS A PLEASURE TO BE INVITED TO THIS NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION LAW THAT SEEKS TO DISCUSS MANY ANGLES OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON PERSONAL DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY IN THE LIGHT OF UPCOMING TABLING OF THE PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION (PDP) BILL IN MALAYSIAN PARLIAMENT IN NEAR FUTURE. I CONGRATULATE THE INSTITUTE OF SULTAN ISKANDAR (ISI) OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY MALAYSIA (UTM) AND GLOBALEVENT MALAYSIA FOR COMMISSIONING THIS INITIATIVE AS A PART OF NECESSARY EXPOSURE AND SOCIALISATION OF THE PDP LAW FOR THE PUBLIC AND ALL POTENTIAL STAKEHOLDERS.

AFTER YEARS OF WAITING, SOON THE PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION DRAFT LAW WILL SURFACE ON THE TABLE OF THE PARLIAMENT TO BE DISCUSSED, DEBATED AND FURTHER ACTED UPON. THIS DRAFT LAW IS SET TO BE ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR MALAYSIA AS THIS IS THE LAW THAT WILL REDEFINE MANY ASPECTS OF GOVERNANCE, TRADE, BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION.

(ON THE IMPORTANCE OF TRADE, BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT)

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

THE DRAFTING AND ENACTMENT OF LAW THAT REGULATES THE COLLECTION, PROCESSING, STORAGE AS WELL AS EXPLOITATION OF PEOPLE�??S PERSONAL DATA IS TRULY A WITNESS THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA CANNOT CARE LESS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF GLOBAL BUSINESS AND TRADE WHILE AT THE SAME TIME GIVING EMPHASIS ON THE PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS AND PUBLIC AT LARGE.

MALAYSIA HAS ALWAYS PLACED A GREAT IMPORTANCE ON THE NEED TO INVEST BOTH BY LOCAL AND FOREIGN INVESTORS. FOR THAT PURPOSE, IT IS NECESSARY TO PREPARE MALAYSIA AS A GOOD IF NOT A PERFECT PLATFORM TO LAND THOSE INVESTMENTS IN THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY. THIS PLATFORM SHOULD BE STRUCTURED ON AN INVESTMENT-FRIENDLY LEGAL FRAMEWORK WHICH IS WHAT THE PDP LAW AIMS TO BE, THAT IS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA FOR COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS AND MATTERS INCIDENTAL THERETO.

IN THE PAST DECADE WE HAVE BEEN READING HORRIFYING STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE LOOSING THEIR MONEY DUE TO CREDIT CARD ABUSES, OR COMPANIES LOOSING REPUTATION DUE TO THEIR CUSTOMERS�?? PRIVACY INFRINGEMENT, BUSINESSES RUINED BY DATA FRAUD, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES CONCERNED BY PERSONAL DATA LEAKAGES. ON SEPARATE INCIDENTS, SOME QUARTERS OF PUBLIC HAVE BEEN DENIED BANK LOAN BECAUSE OF INACCURACIES ABOUT THEIR FINANCIAL HISTORY; EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS HAD TO DEAL WITH TROUBLE DUE TO MISTAKENLY-SENT EMAILS; AND NATIONAL E-GOVERNMENT READINESS BEING UNDERMINED BY DATA PRIVACY CONCERNS. ALL THESE INCIDENTS ARE A SMALL TIP OF ICEBERG THAT THREATENS THE INTEGRITY OF MALAYSIA AS AN EMERGING KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY.

INDEED, THE SECURITY, INTEGRITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF PERSONAL DATA IS NOT BUT A FUNDAMENTAL FACTOR IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MALAYSIA�??S KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY WHICH IS ENABLED BY THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT). THE MASSIVE GROWTH OF E-COMMERCE WHICH IS GEARED BY THE ADVANCE OF THE ICT HAS TRANSFORMED THE VALUE OF PERSONAL DATA FROM A MERE ADMINISTRATIVE AND NON-COMMERCIAL FULFILLMENT TO A VALUABLE ASSET WORTHY OF BEING A COMMODITY ON ITS OWN. UPON PROPER MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC HANDLING, PERSONAL DATA CAN BE A SOURCE OF WEALTH BOTH FOR THE OWNERS AND THE DATA SUBJECTS. CONVERSELY, WHEN IT FALLS TO IRRESPONSIBLE HANDS, THE MISUSE OF PERSONAL DATA WILL CREATE A SERIES OF LOSSES, RANGING FROM FINANCIAL TO LEGAL LIABILITIES, FROM COMMERCIAL TO PUBLIC EMBARRASSMENT.

IF THIS IS NOT CONVINCING ENOUGH, THE CURRENT TREND OF GLOBAL TRADE WOULD GIVE MALAYSIA NO CHANCE TO BACK-TRACK AS PDP LAW IS NOW A TRADE PRE-REQUISITE RECOGNISED BY INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITIES. IN FACT, ADEQUATE REGULATION ON PERSONAL DATA IS NOW MADE A PREREQUISITE BY MANY COUNTRIES FOR INITIATING OR CONTINUING BILATERAL TRADE. THIS IS EVIDENT, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE EUROPEAN UNION�??S DATA PROTECTION DIRECTIVE 1995 (DIRECTIVE NO. 95/46/EC) IN WHICH, THE ARTICLE 25 CLEARLY MENTIONS AMONG OTHERS THAT, �??�?�THE TRANSFER TO A THIRD COUNTRY OF PERSONAL DATA WHICH ARE UNDERGOING PROCESSING OR ARE INTENDED FOR PROCESSING AFTER TRANSFER MAY TAKE PLACE ONLY IF �?�THE THIRD COUNTRY IN QUESTION ENSURES AN ADEQUATE LEVEL OF PROTECTION.�??

IT IS THIS ADEQUACY REQUIREMENT THAT HAS FORCED YEARS OF NEGOTIATION AND CONTENTION BETWEEN BRUSSELS AND WASHINGTON BEFORE SAFE HARBOUR PRINCIPLES WERE FINALLY AGREED. IT IS ONLY ABOUT TIME THAT THIS ADEQUACY REQUIREMENT WILL AFFECT THE TRADE IN THIS REGION AS THE COUNTRIES THAT CONSTITUTE ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION (APEC) HAVE ALSO RECOGNISED THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS LEGAL DEVELOPMENT.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

MALAYSIA IS MOVING EVER CLOSER TOWARDS THE REALISATION OF THE GOALS OF VISION 2020. OUR GOALS OF CREATING A DEVELOPED NATION IN OUR OWN MOULD EMBODIES THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ADVANCE LEGAL AND REGULATORY INFRASTRUCTURES. WE RECOGNISE THE NEED TO ENSURE THAT SYSTEMS OF REGULATION, GOVERNANCE AND BUSINESS ARE CAPABLE OF RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGES OF GLOBALISATION AND MOST IMPORTANLY THE OPPPORTUNITIES OF THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY.

THE INVENTION OF MANY ICT-FACILITATED AND WEB-BASED BUSINESS PROCESSES, TOGETHER WITH THE EVER-INCREASING VALUE EMBODIED IN DATA ASSETS SUCH AS TRADE SECRETS, CUSTOMERS INFORMATION AND OTHER STRATEGIC BUSINESS DATABASES, HAVE LED TO THE COMMODIFICATION AND COMMERCIALISATION OF PERSONAL DATA. THIS COULD BE THE REALISATION OF THE WORDS OF OUR FORMER PRIME MINISTER TUN MAHATHIR MOHAMAD WHEN HE SAID THAT, �??IN THE FUTURE, THE DETERMINING CHARACTER OF THE WEALTHINESS OF A COUNTRY MAY BE THE ACCESSIBILITY TO INFORMATION RESOURCES AND THE USE THEY ARE PUT TO. THEREFORE, INFORMATISATION RATHER THAN INDUSTRIALISATION MAY BE A BETTER REFLECTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATION.�??

IN ITS NINTH MALAYSIA PLAN 2005-2010, THE GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IN ORDER TO REALISE THE FULL POTENTIAL OF ICT, THE PRESERVATION OF E-SOVEREIGNTY AND TRUST WITHIN E-COMMERCE MUST BE INTENSIFIED. SECURE COMMUNICATIONS, TRUSTED IDENTITY, AND TRUSTED SYSTEMS, AMONG OTHERS, ARE MADE THE PRE-REQUISITE TO ENSURE CONFIDENTIALITY, INTEGRITY AND AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION. THROUGH A SERIES OF LEGISLATION AND POLICIES, THE GOVERNMENT SEEKS TO PROVIDE LEGAL FRAMEWORK THAT FITS FOR THIS PURPOSE.

AT THIS JUNCTURE, IT IS CRUCIAL TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT PDP LAW PLAYS A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE TO CREATE A TRUSTED E-COMMERCE SYSTEM AND ICT-ENABLED COMMUNICATIONS. WITHOUT CLEAR RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS ON THE COLLECTION, PROCESSING, STORING AND EXPLOITATION OF PERSONAL DATA, INDIVIDUALS WILL BE RELUCTANT IN CARRYING OUT WITH THEIR TRANSACTIONS, BOTH AUTOMATED AND MANUALLY-ENABLED. THEREFORE THE BIGGEST TAKS OF PDP LAW IS TO CLEAR THIS BARRIER, AS THE PDP LAW SEEKS TO ENUMERATE CERTAIN LEGAL PRINCIPLES CAPABLE OF SAFEGUAREDING THE PERSONAL DATA OF PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE BUSINESSES. AND IN ORDER TO ENFORCE SUCH PRINCIPLES, CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITIES ARE FRAMED SO THAT DATA SUBJECTS WILL BE REST ASSURED THAT THEIR RIGHTS ARE WELL PROTECTED.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

THIS TAKES ME TO ANOTHER MILESTONE THIS LAW SEEKS TO ACHIEVE. WITH PDP LAW, WE ARE STRONGLY INTENDING TO TRANSFORM OURSELVES INTO A BETTER AND MORE ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNMENT, A MORE OPEN AND CARING SOCIETY AND ALSO A MORE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BUSINESSES.

THE OBLIGATIONS TO PROTECT PERSONAL DATA WILL CREATE A MORE ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE BUSINESSES BECAUSE THE LAW TASKS US TO UNDERSTAND AND ADMIT THAT PERSONALLY-IDENTIFIED OR IDENTIFIABLE DATA CANNOT BE HANDLED THE SAME WAY LIKE OTHER TYPES OF COMMERCIAL DATA ASSETS. THEY DO NOT EXCLUSIVELY BELONG TO THE BUSINESSES AS THE LATTER ARE ONLY REGARDED AS �??DATA USERS�??. THE REAL OWNERS ARE STILL THE PEOPLE WHOSE DATA ARE BEING HELD OR USED, OR IN OTHER WORDS THE �??DATA SUBJECTS.�?? THE PDP LAW SEEKS TO CLEARLY HIGHLIGHT THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF EACH OF DATA USERS AND DATA SUBJECTS. THOSE OBLIGATIONS CAN BE FURTHER SEEN AS AN IMPLEMENTATION OF CORPORATE DUTIES TOWARDS INDIVIDUALS RANGING FROM THE SHAREHOLDERS TO THE EMPLOYEES, FROM BUSINESS PARTNERS TO OUTSOURCED PROVIDERS, AND FROM EXISTING CUSTOMERS TO THE POTENTIAL ONES. WITH THIS VIEW, PDP LAW WOULD THUS HELP PROMOTE THE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND THE SOCIAL CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITIES.

ON THE OTHER HAND, THE WAY GOVERNMENT MANAGES PERSONAL DATA OF ITS INDIVIDUALS IS NOW AN IMPORTANT PARAMETER FOR BENCHMARKING THE PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE, JUST AS PDP LAW INDICATES A BETTER LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION; AND A YARDSTICK FOR THE LEVEL OF E-GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE. CLEARLY WE DO NOT HAVE A LUXURY TO CHOOSE BETWEEN HAVING AND NOT HAVING THE PDP LAW. IN ORDER TO PROGRESS, WE NEED TO APPRECIATE THE NEED TO RESPECT INDIVIDUALS RIGHT TO THEIR DATA PRIVACY, THUS IT WILL CREATE A BETTER LEVEL OF TRUST AND CONFIDENCE TOWARDS OUR GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS.

FINALLY, WHEN MORE ACCOUNTABLE BUSINESS AND BETTER GOVERNANCE IS ACHIEVED, THE RIGHTS OF A LARGER MALAYSIAN PUBLIC BOTH AS INDIVIDUALS AND CONSUMERS WOULD ULTIMATELY BE MORE PROTECTED. AND THE NATIONAL COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS CAN BE RIGHTLY CONSTRUCTED TOWARDS TRANSFORMING MALAYSIA INTO THE NEW ERA OF GLOBALISATION AND INFORMATISATION. NOW I HARDLY NEED TO SUMMARISE THAT PDP LAW WOULD ULTIMATELY BENEFIT EVERYBODY.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

I HOPE ALL OF YOU HAVE A BENEFICIAL AND FRUITFUL DISCUSSION DURING THIS ONE-DAY CONFERENCE. I AM SURE IT WILL LEAD TO THE DEVELOPING AND STRENGTHENING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION, TAKEN FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES OF ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS. THE PUBLIC, TOO, WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS EXPOSURE SO THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PDP LAW FOR THEIR BENEFIT AS WELL AS FOR THE COUNTRY IN THE NEAR FUTURE TO COME. LET THIS MOMENT BE A STARTING POINT FOR ALL OF US TOWARDS A MORE CARING GOVERNMENT, MORE PROTECTED PUBLIC, MORE FRUITFUL COMMERCE AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST MORE FLOURISHING MALAYSIA. AND SO, IT IS WITH THOSE WORDS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THAT I TAKE PLEASURE IN DECLARING OPEN THIS NATIONAL CONFEFENCE OF PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION LAW.

THANK YOU.

Opening Remarks By Datuk Ng Seing Liong, President of REHDA / Global Event

2009-03-19

Description:
OPENING REMARKS BY DATUK NG SEING LIONG, PJN, JP

PRESIDENT OF REHDA

AT THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

LANDSLIDE RISK MITIGATION and HILLSLOPE RE-ENGINEERING PLANNING

19TH MARCH 2009 (PWTC, KL)

Yang Berbahagia Dato\' Ahmad bin Haji Kabit

Secretary General, Ministry of Housing and Local Government Malaysia

Yang Berbahagia Prof Dr Mahbob Salim

Executive Director, Institute Sultan Iskandar, University Technology Malaysia

Honoured Guests, Distinguished Speakers,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A Very Good Morning to all,

First of all I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Institute Sultan Iskandar (ISI), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia for inviting me to deliver a few words this morning. It is my privilege and honour to be invited to this National Seminar On Landslide Risk Mitigation And Hillslope Re-Engineering Planning.

YBhg Dato\'

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since the 1990\\\'s until December 2008 being the most recent, numerous series of landslides had occurred in our country resulting in fatalities and significant damages, even to the extent of taking the lives of our loved ones. Whilst we share the grief and sufferings caused by these tragic incidents, there is a need to determine and assess the cause of these unfortunate events and formulate action plans to address and mitigate the risk to avoid the re occurrence of these events.

I am very pleased that ISI has taken the initiative to organize this timely seminar as off late much has been said and debated about hillside development. This is indeed an opportune moment for the professionals and experts to discuss, debate and find possible solutions for sustainable hillside development. Safe hill site development is not the purview of one entity but instead, authorities and the nation, both public and private; including planners, engineers, developers, should make a concerted effort in coming out with a comprehensive and harmonized regulatory framework for a feasible solution to hill slope management and development.

YBhg Dato\'

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The knowledge in landslide controlled and management has advanced greatly over the last thirty years and Hong Kong is one such country where a relatively successful system of hillside development has been implemented. Although more than 60% of land in Hong Kong is on natural terrain, they have proven that hillside areas can be safely developed and sustained. With the availability of technology and our professional experts there is no reason why Malaysia is not able to do the same. We can adopt and emulate the successful model system practised in Hong Kong, for instance establishing a dedicated agency similar to the functions of the Hong Kong Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) to deal with and look into the various aspects of hillside development for the whole country. This agency should be allocated with sufficient resources to undertake research on hillside development and slope safety and also empowered to issue and enforce guidelines and standards, approve development on hillside and monitor slopes.

Another weakness related to hill slope development is the lack of master planning and transparency in the land development and building process. More often than not, hillside developments are approved and undertaken on a discreet basis without sufficient input on future projects that may take place in the same area. The lack of proper master planning for developments without taking into consideration the impact of developments in the surrounding areas could result in such mishap of landslides. Planners therefore should establish and take into consideration the over all Master Plan and coordinate the infrastructure facilities of the whole area so there will be integration and coordination with neighboring development. With proper coordination and access to information on hillside developments in surrounding areas, development of projects can be carried out more efficiently.

YBhg Dato\'

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Landslide investigation reports revealed that landslides were also due to design errors, inadequate safety factors and lack of maintenance. However, these issues could be well addressed with more stringent rules enforced along with regular and periodic maintenance of slopes diligently carried out by the relevant authorities. There are reputable professional bodies in Malaysia which can be appointed to study the design, monitor the construction and maintenance to make hillside development viable and more acceptable from the perspective of safety and environment. As for existing hillside developments, a pragmatic approach must be identified or enhanced to ensure the safety via systematic assessment, proper testing and maintenance programmes.

As I mentioned earlier, a holistic involvement of all relevant parties in adhering to sustainable hillside development must be adopted to ensure safety while any recurrence of future landslides should be minimized and mitigated. Local Authorities have a duty to enforce the required level of safety by way of regulations, Planners will have to come out with a proper master planning and Developers shall assure adequate safety for development on hillside and commission only competent Engineers to work on their projects due to the highly complex technical nature of hill site development. I wish to emphasize that hillside development can be safely carried out in Malaysia provided all the regulatory framework is in place as practiced in Hong Kong or Singapore. Having said that I would also like to urge that the freezing of approved developments on Class 3 land across the country be lifted immediately to enable developers carry on with their projects as such ban may cause more harm than good to the said land and its surrounding areas.

YBhg Dato\',

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As this seminar brings together professionals and experts in the subject of discussion, it is hoped that the seminar will provide an opportunity for us all to gather as much knowledge and enhance our understanding to facilitate future hillside development. Once again, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate ISI for organising this seminar and to all participants I wish you a fruitful and productive session, may all your queries in the pertinent area be well addressed. All the best!

Official Keynote Address by : Yang Berhormat Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin , Deputy Minister ,Ministry of Housing and Local Government at National Conference on Landslide Risk Mitigation & Hillislope Re-Engineering Planning 19 March 2009 PWTC Kuala Lumpur / Global Event

2009-03-19

Description:
Yang Berhormat Dato\' Hamzah Zainuddin

Deputy Minister II

Ministry of Housing and Local Government

Conference on Landslide Risk Mitigation and HILLSLOPE Re-Engineering Planning

Venue : Putra World Centre

Date : 19 March 2009

Time : 8.50 a.m

Bismillahirahmanirrahim,

Assalammualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabaratuh

Professor Dr. Mahbob Salim

Executive Director , Institute Sultan Iskandar

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Prof. Dr. Mohamed Amin Alias

Head of Business Technology & Innovation Division, Institute Sultan Iskandar

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Yang Berbahagia Datuk Ng Seing Liong, PJN, JP

President, Real Estate and Housing Developers\\\' Association Malaysia

Y.Bhg. Dato\' Sri Prof. Ir. Dr. Judin Bin Abdul Karim

Director General, Public Works Department, Malaysia

Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

and a very good morning to everyone

Ladies and Gentleman

1. Landslides have caused large numbers of casualties and huge economic losses in the hilly and mountainous areas of the world. In tropical countries, annual rainfall could peak as high as 4500 milimetre with high temperatures all-through-out the year. Collectively, these conditions stimulate intense weathering to the soil and rock profile. At certain ground location, these effects could extend 100 m in depth.

2. With these set of climate and geological conditions, combined with other causative factors, landslide is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the tropical region. From 1993 to 2008, there were 16 major landslides reported in Malaysia, involving both cut and natural slopes with a total lost of more than 100 lives. Of these the landslides within the Ampang/Hulu Kelang areas received the most publicity. Being located in highly populated areas, the impacts of these tragedies are tremendous to human and properties.

3. Social and economic losses due to landslides can be reduced by means of effective engineering, planning and management which involved landslide hazard assessment, slope assessment for landslide prediction, mitigation measures and warning systems. The recurrences of these incidences imply that actions being undertaken by the respective authorities were less effective. Studies conducted after the tragedies have indicated that landslides were caused mainly by failures of the retaining walls and other combination of factors like lack of maintenance and monitoring, less coordination during construction stage and design problems.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

4. It is pointless for the purpose of planning landslide mitigation measures to classify the work as a function of the phenomena or of more important phenomena, renouncing any attempt to prescribe all the causes, all the conditions which, at different times, contribute to the occurrence of landslides. Therefore, the methods of slope stabilization in rocks or in earth must be further examined.

5. In Malaysia, there are several government agencies with different disciplines involved that can provide inputs to reduce landslide hazard and their consequences, namely the Department of Mineral and Geosciences (DMG), Center of Remote Sensing (MACRES), Public Works Department (PWD) and the Department of Town and Country Planning which had provided certain guidelines to the planning and development on slopes.

6. Today, there are issues pertaining to the reliability or accuracy of the existing Slope Assessment in predicting the landslide occurrences in our country. Accuracy or reliability in predicting future landslide is a crucial part of any slope assessment. Inaccurate or wrong prediction will expose lives and economies to danger or hazard if a slope or an area that should be classified as a High Hazard Level is mispredicted as Low Hazard Level. On the other hand, if a slope or an area that should be regarded as a Low Hazard Level is mispredicted as High Hazard Level, it will be exposed to losses in terms of funds spent to \\\'stabilize\\\' the stable slope, or funds spent on any effort to reduce the risks of landslides that are unlikely to occur.

Ladies and Gentleman

7. The questions arise; will the new hillside development guideline be effective?, does Malaysia need to wait or learn from incidences after they have happened?, or to adapt guidelines to suit the local situation. In general, the following issues need to be deliberated. For instance:-

· Government\\\'s Enforcement on Regulation and Legislation. Based on the various landslide incidents, it is crucial for the respective authorities to implement periodic monitoring and immediate corrective action taken to prevent future incidents. The various landslide incidents should be taken as a serious wake up call and would require a positive and immediate response. A recent guideline issued by the Federal, Town and Country Planning Department which says that all development of slopes exceeding 25 degrees should be strictly prohibited. But these strictures are largely ignored because there aren\\\'t laws but mere guidelines.

· The Developer\\\'s Responsibility. The housing developer in this country has an important role and responsibility to ensure that developments are not only sustainable but in compliance with planning/engineering guidelines and operating procedures.

The major concern to the public is on developer\\\'s continuous property development in environmentally sensitive areas.

· The Issues of Safety Screening and Monitoring. Slope management and inventory should be established to monitor the risk of each slope in the area. This is to ensure a stringent and continuous slope monitoring by the respective authorities.

· New Compliance and Regulatory Requirements. The technical authority need to inspect the slopes and decide if it is dangerous. Once identified action should be taken immediately to rectify the situation.

· Public Education. The public especially owners of land in hillslope should be aware of the hazards posed by development on such areas. Effective remedial and corrective measures must be put in place before any attempts were made to develop the site. Local authorities on the other hand must be equipped with up to date data on land condition/suitability, ground movement and so on, and be transparent so as to educate the public on the safety aspects, and take precautionary measures to improve the hill-slope development which if unchecked can endanger their own lives.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Preventive measures for hillside development should not be limited to housing/residential development but also to road and highway development and other infrastructure works. These developments should also apply detailed and stringent soil investigation methods to meet the requirement of the authorities. The incidents at Bukit Antarabangsa and two other earlier incidents in the Klang Valley should be taken as signs that landslides near hill slope development do present a clear hazardous and dangerous signs that should be seriously and effectively addressed.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Our government has a huge responsibility to ensure the safety of its citizens because landslides are a threat to the society. A leading agency or department must be created to ensure that safety from landslides is maintained. To achieve this objective a comprehensive Slope Safety System has to be formulated, operated and managed by a team comprising specialist engineers and scientists to execute the task and to achieve effective reduction in risks caused by landslides.

The principal initiatives are:

· Slope Safety Standards to ensure more effective slope protection and stabilization measures. Here, geotechnical research and the study of natural terrain instability are fundamental in risk assessment and hazard mapping.

· The crucial need to continue examining the design and supervision of construction of new slopes. By doing so, the high standards of slope protection and stabilization methods are maintained.

· Good landuse planning is necessary to avoid landslide prone areas. Further, the possible man-made alternatives to the landscape, such as road cuttings and construction of heavy buildings should be minimized.

· Rectifying or upgrading high priority substandard slopes and the safety screening of old slopes and scheduled maintenance of man-made slopes are desirable good practices.

· As good citizenry, owner must also take responsibility for slope safety. This \\\'command and control\\\' method sets regulations on slope for public safety. Safety screening of private land slopes may be enforced to owners to investigate and carry out necessary upgrading works to slopes. Here, the enabling legislation need to be first, put in place.

· One of the important government interventions regarding slope safety is promoting public education, public information services and community advisory services. With these information and awareness, the dangers of landslides can be minimized effectively.

· The aesthetics of engineered slopes is also important, the objective is to make the slopes look as natural as possible and to blend them with the surroundings. There is a crucial need for planning and technical guidelines on good practices in landscape treatments and bioengineering for slope works. The greening of newly formed slopes is necessary for both functional and aesthetics and minimizing the use of hard surfacing in slope works.

I understand that a policy and institutional framework for landslide Mitigation and Risk Reduction has been initiated. Efforts toward instititutionalizing and legislating systems for Landslide Mitigation and Risk Management are time consuming process. We hope the current initiatives will go towards the transformation of the National Slope Master Plan that will be the blueprint in guiding the long term solution for Landslide Mitigation and Risk Reduction Management.

With this note, I have the pleasure to declare open the one-day conference on

Landslide Risk Mitigation and Hillslope Re-Engineering.

Thank you.

Intelligence Led CCTV Surveillance Operations / Global Event

2008-05-28

Description:

The intelligence led CCTV surveillance operations course is a one day course that
focuses on the integration of intelligence and surveillance skills to fully exploit an
organisations surveillance capacity. This one day course introduces those elements that
contribute to developing professional surveillance judgement. There are a multitude of
inputs which effect operator performance both internal to the individual and external.
This course focuses on those inputs which management may influence or control and
which when exploited effectively improve individual and organisational outputs.
Developed jointly by Dr Craig Donald and Jeff Corkill on the basis of needs identified in
CCTV operations internationally, the course has a number of features that will assist
managers to achieve optimal surveillance operator performance whilst more effectively
integrating the CCTV surveillance function into the wider security intelligence capability

23rd July 2008, Impiana KLCC & SPA Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Contact Mr. Saravana at 016-2420864 for more details.

The Art and Science of Forecasting, Scheduling and Meeting Service Goals / Global Event

2008-05-28

Description:

Workforce Management 1-2-3 Series ( BACK ON DEMAND )

The Art and Science of Forecasting, Scheduling and Meeting Service Goals

This seminar is designed around case study problems that cover typical forecasting and scheduling scenarios, and the complications of skill-based routing, emails and outbound calling.

Upon completion of the 2 day session, delegates are eligible to take the Mastery Assessment ( at no additional cost ) to earn certification. Delegates achieving an 80% or higher score on this assessment exam will receive certification from The Call Center School USA and Calldesign Australia.

20 & 21 August 2008, Impiana KLCC & SPA Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Contact Mr. Saravana at 0162420864 for more detail.

DETECTIVE AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES OF FINANCIAL FRAUD / Global Event

2008-05-14

Description:

Wednesday 14 May 2008

Financial fraud is an ever emergent problem and annual loss amounts are expanding at alarming rates. Every organization is at risk from fraud. The impact of fraud to an organization can be devastating. The workshop introduces some guidelines to help the organization on ways of responding to fraud through risk assessment, fraud preventive and detective plan. And this numbers are increasing exponentially despite having many international controls such as BASEL, Anti Money Laundering ACT etc.

23 & 24 June 2008 ,
Seminar Room 3,
UTM Citycampus Kuala Lumpur

ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT / Global Event

2008-01-07

Description:

ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT

The Objective

Understand the fundamental of Enterprise Risk Management, Corporate Governance and Internal Controls. Hence, able to identify, define and establish risk mitigating.

HOW WILL YOU BENEFIT

Participants will be able to understand and appreciate the spirit of implementing an Enterprise Risk Management in the organization. This will allow greater buy in and co-operations in ensuring the success of Enterprise Risk Management by all levels of employees.

TRAINER:

MS. ZANARIAH ZAHARI

Ms.Zanariah holds the position of Assistant Manager, Operations Audit for one Holdings Company listed in the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia. She has with her 10 years of Auditing and Investigative experience in various areas within Banking and Financial Institutions. With her background, she is awarded with the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, USA. Her area of expertise is on verification of signatures, handwriting, cheques, documents and etc.

She had led investigations which solved numerous fraud cases during her employment. Recent experience has comprised of a wide range of assignments within the financial institutions including major investigations on financial fraud, cheating, manipulations and criminal breach of trust. Besides doing audit and investigations, she also assists clients in the establishment of policy and procedures on audit, credit, risk management, corporate governance and fraud related matters. She had given advice in relation to Anti-Money-Laundering, Balance Scorecard, Fraud and IT Security Management to various Financial Institutions.

She has been exposed to multiple environments of businesses from Finance, Banking, Merchant Banking, Securities, Fund and Trust Management, Moneybroking, Discount Houses, Insurance and etc. This blend of expertise allows her to bring great values to many organisations.

In the years of auditing, she is proponent of the international best practices in the aspect of risk management such as BASEL II, Corporate Governance and COSO Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Integrated Framework. She had also adopted the Computer Assisted Audit Technique (CAAT) such as RACE and COBIT to produce quality audit reports for a Banking Institution.

Ms.Zanariah is acknowledged as a person with varied capabilities. She is competent and positive in her outlook as well as confident in meeting whatever goals and challenges that she faces. She has zeal to meet challenges and is enthusiastic in whatever tasks and responsibilities entrusted to her.

Ms. Zanariah graduated with BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance from Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom in 1995.

For more information, please call Mr. Saravana/Mr. Faiz at 03-2169 6347