Keep on Roaring........Harimau Malaya!

As the last posting for 2010, it is again about an animal. This time it is about tigers, the Malayan Tiger which had just won the AFF Suzuki Cup Championship on Wednesday. Thanks to them, we in Malaysia are enjoying another public holiday today (forget the loss of productivity since most of us are already on the celebration mood) as some may have lost count of holidays that we have in a year.

Many of us, especially who had the opportunity to experience the golden days of Malaysian soccer in the 70's and 80's, has lost hope on Malaysian soccer. I personally feel that while players come and go, the leadership of FAM remains about the same. So, if we are looking at the common denominator that is correlated to the performance of our soccer team, it is quite obvious as far as I am concern. More reform needed in the leadership of the FAM to enhance the future of our soccer.

Let me first congratulate Harimau Malaya. I started to watch their second semifinal game with Vietnam. Defending their 2-0 lead, they displayed character and maturity, something that I have not seen for a long time. Finally, we got a team of thinking players with great football skills!

I did not plan my Jakarta trip to coincide with the first final match between Harimau Malaya and Garuda. A Malaysian friend suggested that we watch the match at a "Malaysian" restaurant.  I thought it was a great idea since we will have the opportunity to support the tigers with fellow Malaysians. Well, it turned out that the four of us were the only Malaysians at that restaurants. The rest were Indonesian fans in their red shirts. There are thousands more within the vicinity. It was certainly a very different experience especially when we had to restraint ourselves from being seen to be too excited when Malaysia scored 3 goals but had to also clap when Indonesia made some good moves, part of risk management. We left the restaurant 10 minutes before the game was over.

A part from the issue of laser, politicians were blamed for the failure of Garuda in Kuala Lumpur. Being controlled by Golkar, the Indonesian soccer association got the players to be involved with events, sometimes involving politicians. This, to a certain extend, affected their concentration, especially when they are not yet crowned as champions. Definitely we need to learn something from this, especially when thinking about sustaining the performance as champions.

Whether the team should continue to be called Harimau Malaya or re-brand as Harimau Malaysia or even Harimau 1Malaysia, I feel we need to honour tradition. Not only the team abandoned the traditional yellow-black outfit in favour of the red-blue-white outfit (hopefully this reflect the colour of our flag) there are groups called for the name of Harimau Malaya to be changed to Harimau Malaysia. This could be something for us to debate in 2011.

Harimau Malaya finally roared at the close of 2010. I suppose this will be a stepping stone for a better future. We have debunked the myth that we are only Jaguh Kampung or Village Champions. We are now top of South East Asia Soccer. Asia should be the next target. Again, many of us still remember how easy we defeated Japan, Korea and China in the 70's. 


Keep roaring Harimau Malaya!

Saving Our Elephants

Although it was a long time ago, I still remember Kamahl singing the Elephant Song on stage at Mara Junior Science College, Kota Bharu. He was brought in by the World Wildlife Fund to create awareness among the young minds regarding the importance of conserving the animal Kingdom. In my case, he was successful as the song still resonates with me until today.

There are few things around the Elephant Song.

First, it is about reminding us that we share this planet with others, who may not have high intelligence like us. If some of us believe that by being here first means they have special rights over others, the elephants and other creatures were here even before the first among us. Why are they not accorded similar special rights? I thought by having higher intelligence we carry higher responsibilities to behave better than the animals!

Second, Kamahl was a Malaysian. He migrated to Australia and made his name there. He represents many other Malaysians who discovered better life while being migrants on the land of others. Does this mean we are not good at spotting talents? Or simply, opportunities are not distributed based on merit and fairness but more on who is in control?


Perhaps by being concern about those whose future are at our mercy, we would make ourselves more human. Just wondering when one starts thinking about saving elephants, who is he or she is actually saving, the elephant or himself or herself?

The full lyric of the Elephant song:

Tell me said the elephant
Tell me brothers if you can
Why all the world is full of creatures
Yet we grow in fear of man
Tell me said the elephant
tell me why this has to be
we have to run from man and hunter
never safe and never free

refrain:

-people kill without regret
although they fly by jumbo-jet
let the word all may remember
let the children not forget.

Gentle is the elephant
Pulling loads and everything
we love to hear the children laughing
when we,re in the circus-ring
Happy was the elephant
Happy was his jungle life
and then they came, the cruel hunters
with their rifle and their knives

refrain:...

Listen, please listen, said the elephant
if we want the world we know, to stay alife
Then man and beast, we must work together
And together we will survive

Listen said the elephant
It is conservation time
So take the warning when we trumpet
For the future of mankind

refrain..

Hijrah - A Lay Man's Perspective

A part form being a public holiday in Malaysia, some may be wondering the significant of Hijrah to Muslims. This is my personal perspective of this occasion and should not be taken as an authoritative  explanation of Hijrah. Please be warned!

Hijrah means more or less migration, referring to the migration of Prophet Muhammad and Muslims from Mecca to Medina. Primarily guided by their faith, the Muslims left behind their wealth and whatever rights enjoyed in Mecca. Perhaps in this modern days of ours is akin to foregoing one's constitutional rights in whatever name.

Making bold moves to achieve greater good is perhaps another message. Success will not be achieve without sacrifice. The migrants from Mecca had to go through rough journey, avoiding those who were trying to prevent them from leaving their motherland.

The other part of the story was how the migrants from Mecca was received by fellow Muslims in Medina. They were whole heartedly accepted as brothers and sisters and were granted all the rights as citizen without any doubt. Again, this is akin to the granting of constitutional rights to the migrants.

The fusion of brotherhood based upon faith eventually created a strong community which in the later part of Prophet Muhammad's life was able to re-capture Mecca and turned this blessed city as the centre of the Muslim's faith until today. The Muslims later went to share their beliefs with many people from many continents and Muslims were pioneers in many scientific and technological fields, contributing significantly to the civilisation of this planet. 

I am sure, we as Malaysians, irrespective of race or religion, could learn from this major milestone in Islam and apply some of the principles in making Malaysia a great place for all of us. We have to move beyond performing rituals and externalise the principles of Hijrah to make this historical occasion a really meaningful celebration.

Will Members of ANSARA Prove Their Worth?

Ansara is the association of MARA Junior Science College (MRSM) alumni. It had its 2010 annual dinner last night where more than 300 former students attended.

MRSM is one of the social engineering projects in Malaysia which was designed to provide better education and opportunities, especially to poor Malay students. Started in 1972 with the opening of the first MRSM in Seremban, I have lost count of the exact number of MRSMs around the country today.

28 years later, the outcome of the MRSM project is quite obvious. There were 2 deputy ministers at the dinner last night, Mukhriz Mahathir who is the Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry and Razali Ibrahim, the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports. Among the corporate players today, names like Wahid Omar, the CEO of Maybank and Kamarudin Meranun of AirAsia represent the products of the MRSM system who are now making the difference to this country of ours.

Different from other alumni, the membership of Ansara is not limited from one school but from one schooling system. Naturally, this would create a huge talent pool which could create real different if properly orchestrated. The diversity of views and experience would certainly be a catalyst for more calibrated ideas and efforts which provide enough energy for us to transform ourselves into a better country.

The downside risk of the alumni is being caught in the comfort zone of the presence and refrain from continue to explore opportunities to make significant different to the society. Given the level of education received, it is not a surprise if most MRSM alumni ended up in the middle class section of the society. This sense of comfort may stifle innovation.

Billions of ringgit had been spent by the government is supporting the MRSM project. The alumni are now holding various positions across all sectors in Malaysia and quite a number of them are in the position of influence, to chart the next stage of development of Malaysia.

It is now time of MRSM alumni to prove their worth.

WCOA 2010 Golf Challenge

While the official opening of the World Congress of Accountants 2010 (WCOA 2010) will only be made tomorrow the excitement has gone into the next gear when the WCOA 2010 Golf Challenge was held at the Glenmarie Golf & Country Club this morning. More than 120 golfers including participants from overseas were involved.

A group photo was taken before the commencement of the game. Later in the afternoon, prize giving ceremony was held after a very filling lunch.

Group photo of the participants

Rahim Hamid, President of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants making his remarks as the prize giving ceremony

Overseas participants are among those who won prizes at the WCOA 2010 Golf Challenge

WCOA 2010 - CAPA Reception at Ascot

As the delegates to the World Congress of Accountants 2010 (WCOA 2010) start to arrive in Kuala Lumpur, a number of events are organised at the side of the congress.

The Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) had their Board meeting today and will be organising a members forum tomorrow.

The Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) organised a cocktail reception for the members of CAPA Board together with leaders and staff of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). This cocktail was held at the 22 Floor of the Ascot, which is located within the proximity of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, the venue of the WCOA 2010.

Welcoming the guests on behalf of MIA was Christina Foo, the Vice-President of MIA.

In Ki Joo, CAPA President, welcoming the guests observed by Christina Foo.

The Red Warriors

They come for a state which is known for many things. The cradle of Malay culture, passion for politics as such that state government could be booted out of office if they failed the people and great food. I am describing the state of Kelantan, the state where the newly crowned 2010 Malaysian Cup champions comes from.

Known fondly as the Red Warrior with the battle cry "Gome Kelate Gomo" or "Fight Kelantan Fight", the Kelantanese soccer team finally found its glory when it beat Negeri Sembilan 2-1 in the Malaysian Cup final last night. Ironically, it was Negeri Sembilan that denied Kelantan an early glory as champions last year when Kelantan lost 1-3 to that team in last year's final. 

What is intriguing is that for the second time a team whose state has just seen a new King been proclaimed won the Malaysian Cup in the last two years. Coincidence? Well, for the skeptics, the fact that Kelantan scored the equaliser when a key Negeri Sembilan defender was treated at the side line seems interesting enough! Notwithstanding that, I don't think it is fair to deny Kelantan the glory it deserves.

Kelantanese are very serious when they are serious. Judging from the behavior of the ever fanatic Red Warrior supporters, the state has a lot of potential, if properly coordinated and directed at the right course. Sometimes, their passion could lead into events which we would like to avoid such as damages to property (which happened especially when Kelantan lost). 

It would be great if this year's success could be maintained if not enhanced in future years. It would be interesting to observe the response from the state government towards this championship as the Kelantan Football Association is headed by the group from the opposing political side. After all, Wayang Kulit, or shadow play is well preserved in the Kelantanese culture.


See also http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=539718

10.10.10

Today, for some, is certainly a special day. Yes, today is the 10th day of October the year 2010 or 10.10.10. I am sure most of you could vouch this by the number of wedding invitations that you received. Even our only Angkasawan is getting married today.

The best that I could do to mark this date is by posting a Twit at exactly 10.10.10:10:10. I thought I got it right. But hang on, those in Melbourne and Sydney would have experienced it 2 hours earlier. I am sure those in London would have more time to think of how they would make their 10.10.10 meaningful. The further we go to the west, the later people would be embarking on something to mark 10.10.10.

Perhaps this is what Alvin Toffler meant by desynchronisation, where, even time is not really synchronised as what we thought. The same applies to knowledge and space, three important elements which chart the future. To be successful in managing our future, we need to master knowledge, deal with time and compete on a wider space. Not east and many people hate this reality. That is why some are starting to build false sense of comfort though slogans and claims which may excite some of us for a while but essentially delayed us from sorting our our real challenges.

The fact remains that there are people who are comfortable living in a centrally control environment where people are expected to heed instructions from one source. Enter the internet, where knowledge is shared across communities and countries at close to no cost and could spread even with the highest level of censorship. The future is about being comfortable with chaos and learn how to create higher value to mankind out of all the confusion around us.

Again, without knowledge, we could not build competency in taking up competition which could come from many angles at various speeds. For Muslims, they should remember that the first revelation to Prophet Mohammad is the directive to read or in the modern sense - to seek knowledge. I am sure various other religions and civilisations accord knowledge at a very high position as well.

So, we might want to think about KNOWLEDGE, TIME and SPACE on this special day of 10.10.10.

Real Champions

Spain is one of the countries which produces many world champions lately. Winning the World Cup certainly is the icing on the cake for this country with long history of success. Fernado Alonso from F1 and Rafeal Nadal from the world of tennis certainly remind us of how successful Spain is in sports.

Last but not least, among the long list of champions representing Spain is Real Madrid, the famous soccer club with the home in Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. I had the opportunity to visit the home ground of Real Madrid recently and the experience was certainly amazing, even without meeting with any of the stars of the club. While not a Read Madrid fan, I thought paying homage to this great club is worthy investment. 

One needs to pay 16 Euro to be able to wonder around the empty Santiago Bernabeu, indicating the ability of the club to capture the value of its success in being one of the champions in the world of soccer, not to mention 12 Euro for a photo with the European Cup and 70 Euro for a Real MAdrid jersey without name and number of players. Perhaps this is the meaning of success. People want to know about you and want to be associated with you. On the other hand, if you are not competitive enough, begging and shouting emotional slogans could be the only way to attract attention! 

The business model of a sporting club is not much different from any other business. However, I see emotional factor playing a greater role in making clubs like Read Madrid a successful one. Hence, investing millions of Euro in world class players is really a necessity. In soccer, minus match fixing, winning is about how you perform on the pitch, no two way about it. No quota, no special preference. How would you treat a soccer club playing in a league where all better teams are not allowed to play just to ensure a designated club to win? 

There is a price to be won with real success and judging from the trophies displayed at Santiago Bernebeu there is no doubt Real Madrid, at least in the hearts of its fans around the world, is the real champion. 

Time for WCOA2010 to Tweet

The World Congress of Accountants 2010 (WCOA2010) will be held in Kuala Lumpur from 8 untill 11 November 2010 (http://www.wcoa2010kualalumpur.com/). With less than 2 months to go, promoting this event worldwide is getting more critical.

The use of social networks as a mode of communication should not be discounted. Facebook and Twitter are fast becoming a way of life, even among senior accountants who are perceived to have square faces and boring personalities. Somehow, WCOA2010 seems not have embarked on these platform.





Let me make few suggestions:

•  WCOA2010 could open a Twitter account perhaps with the obvious name of wcoa2010
• Promote the tag of #wcoa2010 among Twitter users
• Use existing content from the WCOA2010 website to start twitting using the tag #wcoa2010
• Encourage sponsors of WCOA2010 to tweet about the event (All Gold sponsors - ACCA, CPA Australia, CIMA - are using Twitter) using the tag #wcoa2010
• Encourage speakers to start tweeting regarding their topics and use the tag #wcoa2010
• Encourage all accountants to discuss about WCOA2010 using the tag #wcoa2010
• Obtain IFAC assistance in encouraging its members to tweet regarding WCOA2010 using the tag #wcoa2010

The use of Twitter will not cost the organiser much (cost is always an issue among accountants) as the value created will be significantly higher! Just imagine if Twitter results in 10 new registration, it is an additional USD 10,000 to the organiser!

Looking forward to engaging WCOA2010 on Twitter. In fact I have started twitting #wcoa2010

Many Many Malaysians

A mayor of an Australian city (not a Caucasian) was asked what is the meaning of Australia Day to him. He answered "Its another holiday".

Some of us may have similar feeling while enjoying another public holiday in Malaysia, the Malaysia Day. This holiday was only introduced last year, around 46 years after the formulation of Malaysia, a federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, plus and then minus Singapore. As the saying goes, better late than never.

It is quite funny though that when we are asked about who we are when we are overseas, most without hesitation will proudly proclaim that we are Malaysians. Try the same question where we are in Malaysia, the answer starts to differ, Malays, Chinese, Indians and Others. Others?

At least for myself, I feel more Malaysian in Sabah and Sarawak, the land of "others" to those who originate from Malaya. So far I never feel any racial or religious concern when I visited Kota Kinabalu or Kuching. Perhaps my visits were too short to enable me to feel the real dynamics on the ground. Nevertheless, the simple people of Sabah and Sarawak reflects more Malaysian characters the what we do in Malaya. Yes, there is one exception, we need to bring our passport to enter Sabah and Sarawak although Mycard is also accepted now.

To me, Malaysia is at the crossroad in many dimensions.

Economically, we are transiting into a more developed, knowledge-based economy. Slowly, what you know and what you are capable of are becoming more important that who you know. I cannot deny that who knows what you and and capable of is also important. Interestingly, many argued that they have been involved in knowledge-based economy for many decades already. "I know this person and that person, that's how I got my contracts!".

Socially, we are struggling to define who we are. Isn't it ironic that after more than 50 years of independence, we are struggling to answer the simple question of "Who are you?" Some feel that the colour of the skin matters while others care more about the quality of the brain and how much the brain could create value to the society and mankind. 

So today is a great day to reflect the future of this country and consider what we could do as Malaysians to turn it into a greater country. We need to walk the talk and actions matter more than anything else.

One fact that I am sure that you will agree with me, there is only one Malaysia but there are many many Malaysians.

Connected without computer

The Hari Raya season this year is the first time where I did have my laptop with me when going back to Kota Bharu. Nevertheless I was still able to be connected to the Net, thanks to my iPhone and Blackberry.

Staying connected while on the move is very important, especially if one wishes to be updated with what is happenning worldwide. Those who are addicted to social networks, having no access to sites such as Facebook would make them fell restless. Furhermore, social networks is transforming from a platform to socialise into communication platform. Some breaking news are reported first on these sites.

As communication tools are becoming more advance, access to the Net is possible from other gadgets other than the traditional PC and laptops. Smartphones are becoming convenient access points. My iPhone is definitely useful as it provides interface which is not that much different from larger computers. My Blackberry ensures I receive my office mails and able to respond on timely manner. Have two tools enable me differentiate between what is work and what is personal.

So far so good, I was connected most of the time and sometimes were able to share breaking news with other family members before they were reported on tv. Looking forward to try other tools such as iPad next time.

We are not alone

Lost the whole of my contact details last week when I wanted to synchronise my iphone with the laptop at my workplace. Somebody told me about mobileme services from Apple in the past but I never bothered to check it out until the tragedy occurred last week. I signed up for a 2 months free trial service period and so far everything works well. My contacts are now synchronised through the cloud.

Hang on, if information that I keep could be transferred without my intervention, does this mean that it could be breached easily as well? If we consider the episode where some Middle East countries requiring Blackberry to allow their enforcement agencies to access information of users for "security" reasons, does it mean that our private data are not really private at all. The silence of the more sophisticated agencies such as the CIA and MI5 could mean that they have access to these data all the while!

I suppose living in the present world requires us to make trade-offs in many ways. Privacy against security and convenience could be some of the choices. Many people now have accounts on social network platforms such as Facebook. They share a number of stuff including their private data. Some may share their thoughts, views or give comments which may expose themselves to all sort of risk, immediately or very much later.

The more scary scenario is if technology which enables data security to be breached falls into the wrong hands. When intimate information could be transmitted around the globe between servers, some crooks somewhere could also be tapping information which they could use later. This is a possibility which we should not discount. Therefore, we must be mindful of what and where our data is kept and how we share them with people who we are dealing with.

As technology becomes more advance and more services such as mobileme are rolled out, we have to be more alert about the risk of the breach of our private data and need to decide how much risk we are ready to assume.

Can Traditional Food Survive Globalisation?

I had to choose between Nasi Dagang or Nasi Kerabu for breakfast this morning. Both are Kelantanese cuisine which could be obtained in many food outlets around Kuala Lumpur. Eventually I went for the Nasi Dagang.

As I was enjoying my breakfast, two thoughts came to my mind. First, the taste of the Nasi Dagang is not the kind that I was used to when I was a little boy living in the middle of Kota Bharu, the capital of Kelantan. I lived with my grandmother who was very particular about food. She would walk to all corner of Kota Bharu for the sole purpose of bringing back the best food for us. You could imagine the size of Kota Bharu those days, everything was within walking distance.

Being spoilt with carefully selected food in my younger years, I am having problem enjoying the present Kelantanese food. Very seldom I could find one with the taste that I was used to those days. Could it be that as the know how is passed from one generation to another the taste also changes? Or due to commercial pressure profitability is preferred over the pride of serving great food?

Second was the issue of expertise and supply. As business cost gets higher, only food with high demand would be viable to be sold. This will slowly phase out good traditional food which may not be popular due to lack of promotion. Eventually people would only prepare traditional food during special occasions such as festivities while the more commercialised ones would take up the space in modern outlets in shopping arcades.

If we observe how fast food from the West have been making their present felt in Malaysia, it appears that elements of globalisation include the competition for the survival of our traditional cuisine. It would be a great tragedy if some food that used to be enjoyed by our forefathers would not be around soon as the younger generation have different preference in their diet and appetite. Perhaps one way of saving traditional cuisine is to up scale how their are offered so that more could compete for limited spaces in modern shopping centres.

Who knows in the near future, traditional Malaysian food would be available across the globe.

World Cup: Its Paul the Octopus VS Mani the Parrot

As we get closer to the final match between Spain and Holland, the attention of the world shifted to two new unexpected star of the World Cup. Paul the octopus has a track record of 6-0, its predictions on the winners had been spot on so far. Not to be left behind, Mani the parrot suddenly made its appearance in Singapore, predicting Holland to be the next world champion.

Would Paul or Mani eventually prevail? 

Although at the early stages of the World Cup teams from South America were the hot favourites to advance to the final, the fight to be the world champion would be between two European teams, its present champion, Spain, and the team which played in World Cup finals before but never wins the championship, Holland.

Judging from earlier performance, the final should be explosive and exciting. while Holland has been scoring many goals, even against the mighty Brazil, the Spanish team had few scary experience in the earlier stage, especially when it lost to Switzerland. However, judging from how Spain was able the overwhelmed Germany in the semi-final would certainly set the expectation that Holland should not feel too confident of winning.

Coming back to Paul and Mani, the focus on their predictions could also reflect the disgust people have on the bookies, football gamblers who could be influencing the outcome of games from behind the scene. Although no serious allegation has been made against them so far, concern voices regarding the invisible hands of bookies tainting outcomes of sports matches is definitely not unheard off.

Perhaps greed has turned people into beings who are too focus on money and wealth and willing to do anything without bothering the consequences. Unfortunately, these sort of people do go around in suits and ties, pretending to be honourable people in the public eyes.

Disgusted with the behaviour of corrupt human beings, it is not a surprise that octopus and parrot like Paul and Mani are seen as more credible! At least they are not pretending that they really know the result. We are they ones who are making the claims!

Let the Show Begins

Depending on which part of the world you are at, the impact could be felt in one way or another. Yes, the FIFA World Cup 2010 has started in South Africa. In countries where some of the matches are shown live during early mornings, it would not be any surprise if some would turn up at their offices sleepy and tired.

24 teams representing the world's best are fighting for the ultimate glory, to be crowned as the Champion of this 19th edition. Given how globalised the world is now, this event is being watched by millions of people all over the world. Those with passion and financial ability are now in South Africa, providing teams which they support with whatever encouragement they could.

Is has been a gigantic task for South Africa, the host, to organise this kind of event. Although there were challenges and problems at certain stage, especially when the world was experiencing the worst financial crisis ever, the stage was open for competition as scheduled with a memorable opening ceremony. 

For statesman Nelson Mandela, this event would be the icing on the cake, the ultimate sign of his achievement in consolidating South Africa into a state belonging to all South Africans, whatever colour they are. It is unfortunate that Mandela is in mourning due to the demise of his grand daughter who died on the eve of the first kick off.

We are now at the early stage of the tournament. No doubt history will be created, future will be charted and many hearts will be broken. This greatest show on earth is more than just a sporting event. It means a lot the the poor most African countries, finally this great soccer event has reached their shores. Hopefully, more people would be enlightened and inspired, not just to play better soccer but to take up the challenges of their lives.

Let's see how this FIFA World Cup would progress further......

WCOA Early Birds Registration Ends This Month

The Malaysian Institute of Accountants will be hosting the World Congress of Accountants, the World Cup for global accountants in Kuala Lumpur in November this year. As usual, those who register early will be given preferred fee. This early bird rate will end this month.

Themed - Accountants: Sustaining Value Creation - The WCOA would bring global thought leaders and professionals to discuss and debate challenges and solutions to problems relating to the accounting profession and business. Given that sustainability is the ultimate aim of development, the roles of accountants in building business and sustaining the value created would be important. 


Being part of WCOA would certainly be a great opportunity to participate in a world class event in our own backyard. Furthermore, for Malaysian participants, the fee paid to participate in the WCOA is HRDF claimable.

Please visit http://www.wcoa2010kualalumpur.com/ for detailed information.

A Great Loss to the Malaysian Accountancy Profession

Although not unexpected, receiving the news of the passing away of Dato' Nordin Baharuddin was certainly a sad news indeed. Although I visited his home 2 weeks ago, he was too weak to accept visitors. For sure, he will be remembered as an honest gentleman with passion and principles, the fittest among all accountants in town.

Reproduced below is his biodata as copied from the website of the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants:

YBhg Dato' Nordin Baharuddin

YBhg Dato' Nordin Baharuddin is formerly the Chairman of KUB Malaysia Berhad. He was the Executive Chairman of Ernst & Young Malaysia from 1999-2004 and has over 35 years of work experience in both public accounting practice and in the commercial sector. Dato' Nordin was admitted as a member of the MICPA in 1982 and became a Council Member of the Institute in 2000. He is the Chairman of the Administrative & Financial Affairs Committee and a Member of the Executive Committee and the Public Affairs Committee of the Institute. After graduating from The London School of Economics and Political Science, Dato' Nordin joined Deloitte Haskins & Sells in London in 1973 to pursue Chartered Accountancy.

Upon qualifying, he joined Petronas in 1979 as Manager in the Production Sharing Audit & Accounts Department, which oversaw the implementation of production sharing contracts between Petronas and other oil companies.

Dato' Nordin joined Ernst & Young in 1980 as Manager and was soon promoted to Principal and Partner. In 1984, he was transferred to the Sarawak office of Ernst & Young to assist the Partner-in-Charge in developing the Ernst & Young offices in that State. In 1990, Dato' Nordin was appointed the Partner-in-charge of Sarawak with overall responsibility for the growth and development of the practice. He also had special responsibility for staff training, quality control and technical standards.

Dato' Nordin has participated in a number of public speaking engagements on a number of subjects relating to accounting, auditing and finance. He has many years of experience providing advisory, accounting and audit services and has also served as a member of the Working Group on Corporate Governance of the Islamic Financial Services Board.

Currently, Dato' Nordin is an Independent Non-Executive Director of Sarawak Enterprise Corporation Berhad, Scomi Engineering Berhad, Visdynamics Holdings Berhad and Senior Advisor to Citibank Berhad.

In recognition of his services to society and the nation, he was awarded the Darjah Setia Negeri Sembilan in 2000, which carries the title Dato'.

He is a Council Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a Member of the Financial Reporting Foundation.