SCCI, JCI members meet to foster relationships

KUCHING: Junior Chamber International (JCI) Senators from the seven members of Asean countries Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia convened their

annual Exco meeting in the city and took the opportunity by having a business dialogue with the Sarawak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) yesterday.

A JCI Senatorship carrying the title ‘JCI Senator’ is the highest honour accorded to JCI members who have achieved and contributed greatly as well as have been judged to fulfill the highest criteria in the areas of management, international relations, business and training and personal development.

The business dialogue which was chaired by deputy president and chairman of SCCI, Datuk Dr Phillip Ting mainly discussed the general business networking between members of JCI and SCCI and also with the intention of promoting tourism among the countries.

“Our meeting today is basically to share ideas and views that are beneficial to both parties as well to create new networks among us,” he said when asked what was the platform of their business dialogue.

Ting affirmed that through such arrangements, it could build bridges between the Asean countries and ultimately its members would be more comfortable dealing with each other in relation to business, culture, tourism, political and social affairs.

This was the first time a business dialogue such as this was organised by SCCI, initiated by the past president, JCI Senator Alex Ting.

On the same note, JCI Senator Hamdani Ip from Indonesia pointed out that Sarawak and Indonesia have so much to offer each other in terms of development for infrastructure due to the fact that both countries were only separated by borders.

Hamdani, who is also a senate member of the Indonesian Parliament in Jakarta said that Indonesia was looking forward towards having an infrastructure connection via railway between Kuching and West Kalimantan in the future to facilitate the ease of travelling for both nations.

“We are looking at the possibility of creating a link through railways to give more options to the people in travelling medium for efficient time saving and cheaper fares. Currently, the only connection between both countries is by air and road connectivity which are expensive and time consuming,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, JCI Senator Dominic Chuo, who is touted to become President of JCI Malaysia chapter for the year 2013, said that the business forum was also to showcase products and services that were available and had business potential in the Asean region.

“We hold JCI board meetings on a quarterly basis and in order to promote tourism, it is held in different countries in Asean region,” he noted adding that previous board meetings had been convened in Indonesia (Bali, Bandung, Jakarta), Sngapore, Philippines (Manila, Clark, Batangas, Tagatay), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh), Vietnam (Sien Riep) and Thailand (Bangkok, Phuket, Pataya).

It was a rare honour for Kuching to be able to host this Exco meeting which saw JCI Exco delegates flying in from Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and other states of Malaysia.

The culmination of the JCI Exco meeting will be the celebration of JCI Kuching Senate Night to be held at the Riverside Majestic hotel on July 28.

Sourced: theborneopost