Biz leaders impressed with Myanmar

THE ASEAN 100 Leadership Forum ended yesterday with the majority of participants acknowledging that it had been "one of the best" events to date.

Dato Timothy Ong, forum convener, said "very successful meetings" were hosted in Yangon, Myanmar, "mainly due to the support of the people of Myanmar".

He said that while Myanmar President Thein Sein could not attend this year's forum due to commitments in Brunei, his vice president, Dr Sai Mauk Kham, was present along with three other ministers.

He also said the presence of Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was the highlight of the event.

"(Yesterday) morning we had the leader of the National League for Democracy, but more than that she has become a global icon, and at all levels, we have been very warmly received," he said.

Dato Ong said Myanmar was currently "remaking its future", adding that the country realised it needed the world's support to do this.

"They have been trying for the last 50 years to do everything themselves, but they cannot do it because in this world, no one people has all the skills, all the knowledge, all the energy to build a successful society," he said.

"That is why you have to have trade, you have to have investment, and that's why we send our children to foreign countries. (Myanmar) has that desire for positive change," he said.

He said an important point raised during the forum was that businessmen should not be blindly optimistic.

"As Aung San Suu Kyi also warns us ... you need to go into a country if you want to invest with your eyes open. You have to look at things positively but you must also look at the challenges," he said.

Dato Ong said this year's ASEAN 100 had had "very good participation" from people from across the ASEAN region, including Jaime Agusto Zobel de Ayala II, chairman and chief executive officer of the Philippines-based conglomerate Ayala Corporation; Perak Crown Prince His Royal Highness Raja Nazrin Shah; and Manu Bhaskaran, chief executive officer of Centennial Asia Advisors in Singapore.

Dato Ong said the forum did not pass resolutions, because "the minute we start passing resolutions, that's when the discussions change. People will start feeling nervous and tense, so we don't do that kind of thing".

The forum convenor said the meeting aimed to "create a nice environment for the exchange of ideas", adding that he believed the desired outcome was reached this year.

He also stressed that "diversity" had helped to push through the objectives of the forum.

"I like the diversity in our meetings, that you don't just have people who are successful in business, there are also people in education," he said.

He added that his vision for ASEAN 100 was to build a good reputation, where delegates could learn something and make new friends.

"I want it to be like that, because we cannot do everything. There are many official meetings and they can do things we cannot do. Ours is not in that area," he said.

Dato Ong revealed that next year's ASEAN 100 could be in Indonesia, but that nothing had been finalised. "You can be sure that it will be interesting," he said. The Brunei Times