Speakers

Born on 9th November 1955 at Tawau, Sabah and married to Mariam Hj Awang Mahmun with six children. Having had his secondary education at the Mallay College Kuala Kangsar, Perak, he proceeded for his higher education and graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Hons) from the University of Sussex and a Master of Science (Liberal Studies) from the University of Manchester, England. In 1982, he obtained his PhD in Sociology from the University of Salford, England.

Began his career as a part-time lecturer in Political Science at the MARA Institute of Technology and in 1983, he joined the Sabah State Civil Service as an Assistant Director (Research and Consultancy) in the Chief Minister’s Department. He was made the Principal Assistant Director (Management Development) in 1984. He joined the Institute of Development Studies, Sabah (IDS), the State’s official think tank as an Associate Director (Social Affairs) in 1985 and later moved up to Deputy Chief Executive / Senior Research Fellow in 1991-1994.
He served as the Executive Director/Chief Executive of the Institute for Development Studies (Sabah) for fifteen years from 1994-2009 prior to his appointment in 2009 as the Chief Executive of the Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA). While in IDS, he carried out applied research, consultancy studies as well as policy studies for the State and Federal Government. He had written and published extensively on economics and development related studies. He led the team preparing the Sabah Development Corridor Blueprint (2008-2025).
As the Chief Executive of SEDIA, he was tasked initially to oversee the establishment of SEDIA. In his current position, he is responsible for planning, coordination, monitoring and implementation of Sabah Development Corridor projects as well as investment promotion. He also sits in the board of corporate bodies, including Suria Capital Holdings Bhd, Warisan Harta Sabah Sdn Bhd, Institute for Development Studies (Sabah) and Kimanis Power Sdn Bhd.
He had served as the President of the Association of Development Research and Training Institutes for Asia Pacific (ADIPA); Board Member of the International Federation of Institutes of Advanced Studies (IFIAS), Toronto; and a Governing Council Member of the Commonwealth Association of Local Action and Economic Development, London.
He had also served as an adjunct Professor in Social Science at University Malaysia Sabah.
His other experience include serving as Deputy Chairman of Papar District Council (2000-2010); Chairman, National Wage Council for Security Guards Ministry of Human Resources (2006-2007), Deputy Chairman, Commission of Inquiry in Plantation Workers, Ministry of Human Resources (2003-2004), CEO Faculty of Jabatan Pendidikan Politeknik (2015-2017), Panelist of Perunding Tenaga Negeri Sabah (1 September 2015-31 August 2017) and Member of Majlis Pembangunan Kemahiran Kebangsaan (MPKK) (16 August 2016-15 August 2019) .

Jayendu leads the maritime advisory practice team in Singapore. He has more than 15 years’ research and advisory experience in shipping and ports.
Jayendu joined Drewry in 2006. He has led research and advisory assignments in shipping and port sectors. He has undertaken numerous consultancy assignments on due diligence, feasibility study for ports, freight procurement strategy, traffic potential and logistics cost estimation related to liquid bulk, dry bulk, LPG and LNG for potential investors, financial institutions, port promoters and other firms. He has done MA (Economics) and M. Phil from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Before joining Drewry, he was engaged in academics and research in multiple areas of economics including macroeconomic projects sponsored by multilateral organisations for over seven years. He has keen interest in developing econometric model for shipping markets and ports.

Capt. K. Subramaniam was appointed as the General Manager of Port Klang Authority, Malaysia in October 2016. His began his career in the Merchant Marine in 1981, obtaining his Captaincy in 1992 and later joined Port Klang Authority in 1994 as a Harbour Pilot and Marine Manager. In 2011, he was promoted to Asst. General Manager (Operations & Regulatory) and was appointed as the General Manager of Port Klang Authority in 2016.

Capt. Subra obtained his Master Mariner (Foreign-Going) in 1992 and holds an Unrestricted Pilot License for Port Klang since 1997. He also has a certificate in Maritime Safety Management from Gotenberg, Sweden in 2000.

In his years at Port Klang Authority, he was instrumental in implementing the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) in Port Klang in 2004 and in 2010 coordinated Port Klang's participation in Mega Ports Initiative jointly with Customs, AELB and the US government. Amongst his notable achievements in Port Klang are introduction of safe working practices in port operations and safety of navigation, enhancement in port security provisions, improvements in environmental preservation, trade facilitation, emergency response and coordination and port ancillary services.

Capt. Subra is also very prominently involved in the international maritime arena holding key positions in the International Association of Ports and Harbours (Vice President for Asia, South East & Oceania) and the World Organization of Dredging Associations besides frequently representing Malaysia at the International Maritime Organisation.

Vincent Wong Wai Sang is the founder and Chairman of the non-profit Malaysia Innovation Hub (MIH). The MIH is a global platform to integrate existing innovations into market-oriented systems and solutions, to market such innovations and to establish Malaysia as a new global innovation hub.

He actively promotes the commercialisation of innovations from Malaysian universities, international universities and institutes from ASEAN, UK, USA, HK, China, Taiwan, UAE, Iran and Germany. He is also an international speaker in forums on innovation, green technology, food security, electric vehicles, bio-mass and bio-technology, international collaboration for new innovations.

Mr Vincent graduated with a LLB in Wellington, New Zealand in 1981 and a LLM (Hons) in Auckland, New Zealand in 1982.

Dato Ts Abd Radzak Abd Malek had gone through a complete cycle of KTMB since 1972 – 2009. Working as a Railway Station Master from the early days to become an Officer of The Land & Property Division then in1987 held Railway Training Coordinator then to Project Manager for the Double Track in 1989. He then holds the Regional Manager Kuala Lumpur in 1993, the General Manager for Freight Strategic Business Unit in 1996 and finally in 2008 was taken into position of the Managing Director of KTMB till 2009. The phenomenal achievement in cross border rail operation by setting up ‘landbridge’ train services from Port Klang to Bangkok in 1999, started the era of international business corporation within the ASEAN Region.

During his tenure as Managing Director of KTMB from 2008-2009, he launched the transformation to turnaround the company from red to black. The target was RM1 profit and the progress were very positive where KTMB gained RM1 Million per week through revenue enhancement and cost cutting.

Dato Ts Abd Radzak Abd Malek is a person with full of experience in various positions in the past 37 years of his experience with KTMB. He also held several positions in various social organization. He was also an active member of the Malaysia Logistics Council for MITI, Council Member of Malaysia Board of Technologists (MBOT), Board Member of Malaysian Professional Centre (BIM), President of Malaysian Services Providers’ Confederation (MSPC) and all other several transports and logistics fraternity.

He is also the independence advisory panel members to the Honourable Minister of Transport Malaysia on safety, Board of Adviser to Malaysia Institute of Transport (MITRANS), Board of Advisory to Universiti Utara Malaysia on MSc and Bachelor in Transport and Logistics Management Programme, Industry Advisory Panel to University Kuala Lumpur (MITEC) Pasir Gudang, Johor, UniKL Industrial Advisory Board (UIAB), University Kuala Lumpur, Selection Panel of The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) for the Industry LPT Symposium 2017, Alternative Director to Department of Standards Malaysia. Recently he was appointed by Ministry of Transport (MOT) as Recommendation Review Panel (RRP) for the Genting Highlands accident.

Currently Dato Ts Abd Radzak Abd Malek is the CILT International President Elect and will resume the office of CILT International President in 2020, CILT International Vice President (IVP) for South East Asia and he is also the Immediate Past President of CILT Malaysia.

Mr Nair has more than 15 years of experience in the oil & gas and maritime sectors where he worked for major energy companies in various technical and commercial roles, which include trading and shipping businesses in global energy markets.

He represents KASI Group who are specialists in the execution of port and terminal projects including dry bulk, crude oil petroleum, LNG, containers, marinas, breakwaters, approach channels with an emphasis on validation of port design, risk management and maritime modelling and simulation.

Prior to KASI, Mr Nair was part of the Olefins Trading & Shipping desk for INEOS who are a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals and oil products. INEOS comprises 17 businesses each with a major chemical company heritage. Its production network spans 64 manufacturing facilities in 14 countries throughout the world making it the world’s third largest chemical company with sales today around US$47 billion. His role encompassed technical and commercial management of loading/unloading, transhipping and terminal operations of petro-chemical supply chains throughout Europe covering logistics of gas carriers, tankers, gas barges, and rail tank cars.

Mr Nair holds an honours degree in Maritime Business and Management and is a member of The Nautical Institute, UK as well as the Royal Institute of Navigation, UK. He has also successfully completed a Naval Architecture course with Lloyds Maritime Academy, UK.

Dato Captain Abdul Rahim Abd. Aziz has over 40 years of experience in the maritime industry. Trained in nautical studies, he began his career in various on-board positions in MISC. He was then attached in Port Klang Authority as a Pilot and later promoted as a Chief Marine Officer. He was appointed as the Assistant General Manager in 1992, a position which he held for 5 years.

Dato Captain Abdul Rahim has also served in several integral roles in leading corporations and government body in Malaysia. He was the General Manager/Chief Executive Officer for Penang Port Commission from 1998 to 2007 and then a Special Advisor to the Ministry of Transport Malaysia from 2008 to 2011. He joined Dialog Group Bhd as the Chief Executive Officer in 2012, overseeing the Pengerang Marine Operations. He is currently the Director of Port Affairs for Dialog Group Bhd since 2018. In the past, he was the President of CILTM and was the Chairman of APA Working Committee and IAPH Facilitation Committee.

Dato Captain Abdul Rahim was trained in Pakistan Marine Academy, Lal Bahadur Shastri Nautical College in India and later attended the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia in 1980. He holds a PgD in Ports and Shipping Administration from the International Maritime Transport Academy, Holland and MBA in Ohio University, USA.

Madam Ng Kiat Min is the Group Managing Director of Suria Capital Holdings Berhad (“Suria”), a listed entity on Bursa Malaysia with core business in ports and property development. She also holds the position of Managing Director of Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Suria. Prior to this appointment, she had been the Acting Group Chief Executive Officer after holding the post of the Group’s Chief Financial Officer.

Madam Ng joined Suria in 2001 as the Senior Manager (Corporate Development). During her tenure, she had been instrumental in securing the core business for Suria through the Sabah Ports Privatization exercise during the years of 2001-2004. Upon the success of the privatization, she took office as the General Manager (Corporate Services/Finance) of Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd. Later in June 2010, she was appointed as the Group’s Chief Financial Officer at Suria. As the Group’s Chief Financial Officer, she was responsible in overseeing the strategic planning of the Group and spearheaded various initiatives which included the Group’s diversification into property development. Ms Ng was subsequently appointed as the Group Chief Executive Officer in July 2015 before assuming her current role as the Group Managing Director in April 2016.

Madam Ng began her career as an auditor with a leading accounting firm in Malaysia. Thereafter, she had held various positions such as Senior Manager of Corporate Development, Financial Controller and Company Secretary with a few large companies in Sabah. She graduated from the University of Lancaster, United Kingdom with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance. She has been a fellow member of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (ACCA), United Kingdom since 1992. She is also registered as a Chartered Accountant with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) since 1988.

Sia Teong Heng, a Malaysian, aged 47, is the Managing Director of SBC Corporation Berhad (“SBC”). He was appointed as a Director of SBC on 5th February, 1991. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Loughborough University, United Kingdom (“UK”) and in 1986, earned a post graduate Masters degree in Management Science from Imperial College, University of London, UK.

Between 1986 and 1991, prior to his return to Malaysia, he worked in the investment banking industry based in London and Singapore. He joined SBC in 1991. Presently, he also sits on the boards of several subsidiaries of SBC

In February 2009, Dato’ Azizan began his entrepreneurship journey and founded Dasa Sentosa Sdn Bhd, a construction company. In April 2013, he ventured into property development, after acquiring a 10.8% stake in Tanah Makmur Kotasas Sdn Bhd (TMKS). TMKS is the developer of KotaSAS in Kuantan and is the mini Putrajaya of Pahang. It is the largest integrated township in the state, spanning over 1,500 acres. After emerging as a shareholder and director of TMKS, Dato’ Azizan recrafted the township’s master development plans which has resulted it to become the most liveable township in Pahang that caters to the lifestyle of its residents. The success following his rebranding exercise of KotaSAS is not only evidenced its financials, with net profit tripling to RM18m in FYE 2013, but also proven by the average 14% yearly appreciation of property prices within the township from 2013-18. To-date, more than 1,700 homes have been built within KotaSAS.

Dato’ Azizan was appointed Group CEO of Gabungan AQRS (GBG) in April 2016 and was tasked to initiate a transformation of the company as it was on the brink of collapse and with the potential to be classified as a PN17 company by Bursa Malaysia. The Group identified key areas that required major restructuring including: a) mounting debt levels, b) a dwindling construction order book and c) a high operating cost base against revenue, signalling inefficiencies. Post his appointment as Group CEO, Dato’ Azizan progressively increased his stake in GBG to 11.4%, from a mere 200,000 shares, and is currently the single-largest shareholder of the company.

GBG is headquartered in Kota Damansara with satellite offices in KotaSAS and Kota Kinabalu. It has vast experience in undertaking infrastructure and building construction, and is currently undertaking property developments in Puchong (Selangor), Johor Bahru City Centre and Kota Kinabalu. The Group has vast experience in undertaking business activities in Sabah: a) a 49% stake in Sabah’s largest precast concrete manufacturing plant in Tuaran together with the Sabah Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO), b) is a joint-venture partner of Suria Capital Holdings to develop One Jesselton Waterfront and c) owns a basecamp facility in Sipitang that is being leased to Petronas Chemicals.

Dato’ Azizan spearheaded the transformation of the company, and ever since then, the Group’s balance sheet, outstanding orderbook and efficiency has improved tremendously. As at FYE 2018, the Group’s net gearing stood at 0.16x (from a peak of 0.69x in FYE 2016), orderbook has increased by RM2.8b (from FYE 2016-17) and c) operating expenses to revenue, a measure of efficiency, improved to 8.9% (from a peak of 19.1% in FYE 2016). The transformation has created an organisation that is result-oriented with better teamwork coordination, which in turn created a strong and versatile Group that would be able to quickly adapt to changes in business climates and be more competitive.

Dato’ Azizan also led the restructuring of the Group’s property development arm which was reactivated on 26 April 2019 after a 3-year hiatus, and has eversince achieved over RM110m in property bookings. With the team, Dato’ Azizan had personally crafted a) the development of affordable homes in Puchong with a GDV of RM491m and b) the Group’s flagship mixed waterfront development in Kota Kinabalu called One Jesselton Waterfront, which would generate a GDV of more than RM1.8b. In addition, an enhancement of its Johor Bahru development, The Peak, worth over RM440m in GDV is set to be a huge cash-cow for the Group.

Nicholas focuses on assisting governments and public agencies to embrace the digital transformation in bringing forth unique value propositions to the organizations and the society. He works closely with the Huawei’s product and solution team to propose and develop leading ICT solutions for governments taking into consideration industry best practices.
Nicholas has more than 14 years experience in the Information Communication Technology industry. He has been actively involved in product management and solutions covering areas of IT Infrastructure and Networking, Communications, Public Safety, Smart Cities, Big Data, IOT and Artificial Intelligence.
He is passionate about technology, applying it to explore how it can be positioned to solve problems in organizations as well as providing innovative solutions and services for society that enable organizations to transform their businesses towards the digital landscape. He is a strong believer in creating unique value propositions whilst coupling it with a strong compelling outcomes to help organizations understand in order to embrace the digital transformation.

Prakash Thurairasasingam has been with PTP since December 1999 and was subsequently appointed as the Head of Commercial on 1st April 2016.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology from University Southern Queensland, Australia and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Nottingham Trent University, UK.
Prior to joining PTP, he was with Westports Malaysia as Information Technology Executive from March 1997 until December 1999. He was also with Johor Port, a multipurpose port, which is an associate company of PTP, developing new projects from bunker fuel to capitalize on growth of the group, and overseas expansion.
His knowledge and experience accumulated over the years are invaluable to PTP as he takes the function to the next level in securing new revenue stream and developing new business in this volatile and challenging period.

Andrew Hoad is CEO & Managing Director of DP World’s Asia Pacific Region, and has over 30 years of experience in the maritime industries based within Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Prior to this position, Andrew held the position of Executive Vice President of Asian Terminals Inc., DP World’s terminal portfolio within the Philippines, and has also led terminals in Peru and the Dominican Republic.

Andrew began his career with the P&O Group, where he undertook a variety of management roles including General Manager for Saudi Arabia & the Red Sea region, before transferring to CSX World Terminals as Commercial Director and General Manager for the Europe Region. Andrew joined DP World with the acquisition of CSX World Terminals in 2005 as Commercial Director for the Asia Pacific region.

Andrew is a graduate of Cambridge University, with logistics qualifications from the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, and has participated in executive programmes at IMD Business School, the National University of Singapore and Case Western Reserve University.

With more than 2 decades' industry and research experience, Dr Simon Su, an economist and a strategist by training, provides a broad range of advisory services to support multinationals, governments, investors, leading corporations and financial institutions with state-of-the-art strategic advice, innovative thinking and effective solutions, covering Transport & Infrastructure Planning, Economic & Financial Assessment and Tourism & Leisure Development.

Dr Su has managed many high-profile Development Studies throughout the countries in Asia Pacific. In particular, he has led multiple major strategic studies for the Asian governments, which cover long-term planning for transport (Seaport, Airport & Land), logistics activities and industrial development policies, including setting-up of free trade zones. His project experience has covered Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Lebanon, Mainland PRC, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Singapore, Taiwan, UAE, UK, USA, and Vietnam.

Dr Su has a PhD in Economics from University College London and a Doctor degree of Hotel and Tourism Management from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He also attained an MBA from Imperial College London and an MSc in Economics from Warwick University of the UK. He is also an EEP graduate from Harvard University, the USA. Dr Su has published in several international journals and magazines. He is a frequent guest speaker for transport, logistics, industrial park and economic development related conferences, in particular on the impact of China WTO and “One Belt One Road (OBOR)” initiatives. He was also a Tutorial Fellow at University of London and a part-time lecturer at HKU SPACE and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Anthonie Versluis has more than 30 years of professional experience, most of which he spent in strategy consulting. He focuses on clients and projects in the areas of transport infrastructure, maritime trade, regional economic and industrial development, logistics, ports, shipping and shipbuilding. In his career, he has led hundreds of port development projects around the world, covering all aspects or port development, including port policy, regulation, development, master planning, construction and engineering, operations and ports business development.

Prior to joining Roland Berger, Mr. Versluis worked with several other leading international consulting firms, with management responsibilities in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe at various stages in his career.

Mr. Versluis holds a MSc. in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Technical University Twente and a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Technology Delft in the Netherlands.

Radhi is a chartered accountant and a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants. He holds Masters in Business Administration (Strategic Management) - University of Ohio Twinning Module, Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours Second Class Upper) and professionally qualified by Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, United Kingdom.

Radhi is a chartered accountant with twenty eight (28) years working experience in strategic management, corporate finance and corporate planning within the financial sectors, logistics, oil & gas and manufacturing sectors.

He had extensive experience in business turnaround, corporate and financial restructuring, strategic planning, corporate finance and treasury as well as financial budgeting and control.

Radhi joined Penang Port Sdn Bhd in 2014 in conjunction with the privatisation of the port as the Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed the Chief Operating Officer in August 2018.

Mr Muhammad Razif Bin Ahmad was appointed as the General Manager of Johor Port Authority since April 2012. With over 30 years of working experience in this field, he is one of the leading maritime and port expert in Malaysia and the Asia Pacific region. Started his career as a Marine Officer, he has served for Marine Department Malaysia from 1984 to 2012 and throughout this period he has held a number of high profile positions which include Director of Seafarers and Ports, Director of Safety and Navigation, Director of Marine Department (Sarawak Region), Head of Enforcement Unit, Inspector of Marine Accident Investigation, and the Malaysian Relations Officer at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in 2005/06.

Under his helm, Mr Razif envisioned Johor to be the preferred port of choice. With this vision and his leadership, Johor Port Authority has established various key projects for the port industry in the southern peninsular of Malaysia most notably Port Centre of Excellence, Green Port Policy, Port Development Master Plan for Johor, Port Traffic Monitoring System, and enhancement to the port Vessel Traffic Management System. Mr Razif holds a BSc (Hons) in Nautical Studies from University of Southampton, UK. Besides his current position, he sits on the Board of Directors for Ipoh Cargo Terminal (ICT) and also the Industry Advisory for Netherlands Maritime Institute of Technology (NMIT). Outside his professional engagement, he is an avid treasure hunter and enjoys solving crossword puzzle.