1st Southeast Asia Women Entrepreneurs Conference 2012

I had an opportunity to attend the 1st Southeast Asia Women Entrepreneurs Conference 2012 for the past two day organized by Dewanita (the women's chapter of DUBS) at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK). I must say, this is one of the best conferences that I've ever attended. The speakers were amazing and inspiring and best of all, the event was superbly done and it's awe-inspiring to see entrepreneurs from Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the host country, Malaysia to come together for this program. Here are the photos:

Day 1. At this point I didn't know what to expect of this conference. But what I do know is that they have some amazing lineups like Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz (keynote address), our own Chief Minister Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud for the opening ceremony and impressive entrepreneurs from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan and Semenanjung Malaysia.

This slide was taken from the presentation of Mr. Mohamad Yusman Ammeran, sharing with us two amazing TM products that could be handy to SMEs.As a representative of a telecomunications company, I'd have to say that I love the way the speaker did his slides, but what I noticed most is he kept emphasizing that he's not promoting TM products. Well, you are a representative of TM and you should be proud that you're promoting TM. Seriously, why emphasize that you're not? But still, I love his session and how TM's product (it's akin to iCloud by Apple) is actually very suitable to SMEs.

The crowd. BCCK is definitely a great venue for conferences. 

Our conference kit was inside this cute laptop bag. Definitely the coolest conference kit I've ever seen. Kudos to the organizers. The female population definitely has better taste than the male when it comes to conference kits. 

Photo credit: Mohamad Syukrie

Later that night we had a welcoming gala dinner that night and it promised a fashion show from Sarawak's own designer, Edric Ong and Malaysia's Queen of RnB, Dayang Nurfaizah.

Photo credit: Awang Fardillah

Star of the night, definitely Miss Dayang. Great performance and definitely a joy to listen to. 

Photo credit: Awang Fardillah

And this was our crowd. There were some Indonesian entrepreneurs from Bandung, Indonesia joining our table that night. Fashion shows are not really my forte (though I do love fashion) but I find Edric's style to be a little bit eccentric to my taste but I can still see myself wear some of his designs. Very ethnic, I can see a lot of Sarawak as an inspiration to his designs and I do love how the fabric and cutting looks very effortless and light on the model's body.

Photo credit: Mohamad Syukrie

Miss Dayang in action. There were definitely a lot of Dayang's fans in attendance during the dinner. She could hardly sing as fans mobbed her from left and right.

Photo credit: Awang Fardillah

Among the VIPs in attendance at the Gala.

Photo credit: Mohamad Syukrie

It's good to be friends =).

Photo credit: Mohamad Syukrie

Post dinner and met Dayang out in the corridor. 

Photo credit: Mohamad Syukrie

Three is definitely not a crowd.

Photo credit: Mohamad Syukrie

It's just me and Louie =). Remember in my previous post I mentioned that I was going to Paris? Well, we made a short stop to Louis Vuitton and I managed to snag a bag from its Vernis collection. What do you think?

Photo credit: Mohamad Syukrie

Some of the lecturers in attendance. Definitely pensyarah ayu, right? =)

Day 2. An eye-opening session with Ms Mamika Ito from Japan. Her company is called abundant women. They focus on helping women ge the most from what they do (isn't that excellent?). After attending her talk, it seems that getting a 6-figure income seems more achievable than it was before. Will look forward to trying it out in the future =). I love her Kaching dance and I look forward to trying it out whenever I get more Kaching!

The crowd is definitely attentive. Mamiko adds a very positive vibe to the crowd and I love the fact that I can feel her positivity flowing and reaching out to each and every one of us.

One of the participants asking a question to Ms Mamika.

Ms Mamika listening attentively. She's definitely a great coach and mentor. Had an opportunity to speak to her personally and I must say that she's a very good mentor. Without me realizing it, in the span of 5 minutes, she managed to coach me into identifying the underlying reason for my business. Thank you Mamika!

Afternoon session with Harasha Bafana from Singapore. She has a new program called the Hawa network to help woman entrepreneurs. She's an emotional lady, but I don't mean that in a negative way. She very passionate at what she does and from looking at her I know that she's the kind that gives her all. Ladies, check out her Facebook for more details on the program. The Hawa Network is an excellent place to get support (especially emotional support and motivation and inspiration) in what you do and how to be better at what you do.

Branding. Definitely important. Not only in business, but even in your personal life. We are our most important advocator so who best to market ourself than ourself, right?

Me and Harasha. Will definitely be looking for her once I get full swing as an entrepreneur. I am inspired by what she shared with us, her experience in the F&B (food and beverage) industry in Singapore by establishing Samar (a restaurant she co-manage with her brother) and what she learnt from Samar and of course from her failures that made her grow into who she is today.

And this is Mariam, my assistant. She just graduated from her Bachelor in Accounting last week. Am proud of her =). 

Mamiko's Ka-Ching system. For those who are aspiring to be entrepreneurs, or even those who already are, you should join this conference (the next one, I mean). 

It was definitely a great conference. Well done and kudos to the organizers. Will look forward to future events by DUBS and Dewanita. Who knows, I might be a member in the future *wishful thinking*.

I am definitely sorry that I didn't get any photos of Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz. Her keynote address is definitely a very powerful address. I'll never forget her comments of leaving the comfort zone. And one thing for sure, I hope I can be as great and knowledgeable a lecturer as she is (she used to be an economics lecturer at UM). She is definitely my icon =).
To women and learning. We certainly strive to do better and be better.


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Adieu, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Song

A fellow friend and colleague will be leaving for UiTM Penang so in lieu of her leaving the campus we opted for a farewell dinner to celebrate her new academic journey in UiTM Penang. 

Booked dinner for 10 at The Eatery. Great buffet spread at only RM58++ per person. If you like fresh salmon, oyster and clams, or maybe you like a bit of pasta and pizza, or maybe some local dishes like nasi ayam, laksa and kolo mee, and topped with a great dessert spread (i.e. cheese cake, moist chocolate cake, ice cream and ice kacang); you can find it here at Four Points by Sheraton =). 

A mentor and her mentee. Erimalida is Dr. Song's master's student and she'll be graduating this May. Congratulations!

These three have been together in UiTM for more than 10 years. Time certainly flies fast. 

A lil' bit of something from us to Dr. Song. Thank you Madam KPP for being able to make it tonight. 

Dr. Song's few words on us and UiTM Sarawak. Am glad that she liked the company (us, I mean) and also the Sarawak food. Dr. Song is a native Penang, by the way. 

Another gift from the mentee. 

These two ladies are ecstatic that they've finally completed their master's degree. Carolin will also be joining Erimalida for the convocation in May. Congratulations Carol!

The crowd. Our faculty is a small one, there's only about 12 or 13 of us. Only two aren't in the picture, Dr. Chong who couldn't join us because she has a family affair to attend to and Madam Azilawati who's currently pursuing her PhD in New Zealand. 

The old timers (as they put it). They've been together in UiTM for many years, it's sad that we witnessed the passing of Madam Faridah earlier this year. She's also one of the gang. Al-Fatihah to her. 

To Dr. Song, you will be missed by us all. We hope that you'll achieve even greater success in Penang and hope to see you again in the future =).


xoxo Mrs Fashionista xoxo

VCSP: 5 Pillars Attributes

As I am writing this, I am currently on a plane back from KLIA to Kuching (terribly sorry that it took me a few days to finally upload this post, but I've been busy with other things at work). I have just attended a five-day program, more specifically the Vice Chancellor Special Project: 5 Pillar Attributes, aimed at enhancing the student's ability on Leadership, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Effective Communication, Entrepreneurship and Teamwork.

So you might be thinking, what on earth is VCSP and why do we need to do something like this? Well, VCSPs are projects that have been put forward by UiTM's Vice Chancellor and one of them involves increasing UiTM graduates' level of leadership, critical thinking, creativity, communication, entrepreneurship and teamwork. And why do we want to do this, you might ask? Ah... Well... There comes the tricky part. UiTM is a university for Bumiputeras. Bumi-putera literally translates into sons of the soil, thus Bumiputera in this sense refers to the natives of Malaysia. Natives being the Malays, Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Asli and other native races of Malaysia (thus excluding the Malaysian Chinese and Indians, as their ancestry originates from China and India respectively). So back to the VCSP thingy. Why do we need to do this? Simple. It's because our graduates themselves have rated themselves to be low on these attributes and this is one of the ways for us to help our graduates. But if you ask me, I would have to say that our graduates ain't that bad (as the 5-day program had showed us their skills and abilities are actually not that bad) but then it's the Malay (most of them are Malay) characteristic of being humble and the fact that our eastern culture makes us downplay our capabilities lest we be called vain or arrogant. So, instead of giving themselves the rating that they deserved, they kinda rated themselves to be quite low especially in the communication and entrepreneurship segment. Imagine our horror at finding out our students are underperforming in those areas (as I told you, the rating comes from our own graduates).

The students' presentation during campfire night. Superb work guys. What's even amazing is that the students only had about 3-days to plan and act. Wow!

So, more than 200 students participated in this program, for five days and four nights. The program is super-packed, which is good (in my opinion). A jam-packed itinerary brings out the best (or the worst) in people. In this case, we got to witness the students cooperate with each other, discuss and bring themselves to a higher level, as clear-headed rational young adults, able to adapt to pressing situations. Each day, the program starts at 8 am and ends at around 10.30 pm. Even then, most students would be awake until wee hours of the morning, preparing, planning, and completing the tasks given to them. And to me, they've performed admirably.

The students' presentation. One of the most wonderful presentations that I've ever seen.

So, what happened? The 200 plus students were grouped and then grouped into various different groups (according to the different activities that they were currently assigned in). The best part (for me) is that the students had to show off their different talents and all that they learnt (which included singing for those from the Music Faculty, acting for those from the Creative Arts Faculty, drawing for those from the Art and Design Faculty and try out the many different foreign languages according to the country that they were assigned in). Some students really stood out as leaders (they took charge from Day 1), most students displayed really good team spirit. Unfortunately there was one thing that I noticed throughout this program, the lack of command in English is really palpable (or it could be their lack of confidence in their ability to present in English). A number of students (who when presenting) asked upfront if they could present in Bahasa Malaysia (I kept trying to encourage them to at least try to speak in English, it didn't matter if they're English is spattered with grammatical error or the wrong pronunciation, but a number of them insisted on presenting in Bahasa).

My students and me with Dr. Z and Dr. Roy =)

I guess this might be the outcome of our education system; lavishing those who excel with praise and those who failed are punished, albeit it was supposedly done in the student's best interest at heart (students in some schools are sorted in classes based on the grades of the students). You might say that my opinion is baseless, but I am also the product of the same education system. Interestingly I have been called coconut brain by my teacher (empty brainless head, like a coconut) whenever I answered most of the mathematical questions wrongly in class. I guess it is up to us, as lecturers to show the students that it's okay to try (and fill your sentences with grammatical and pronunciation errors) but you'll be better at it as time goes by (if you keep on trying, that is).

Irma, Dr. Z and me. Dr. Z is one of the of the committee members that made this VCSP program a reality. Kudos to the committee on the success of the program.

But then, this is what I loved most about this VCSP program. It made learning fun. The students were able to explore and use whatever resources creatively and in the best manner that they think possible. No punishment were granted to those who didn't do well, instead, all groups were rewarded accordingly. All in all, the feedback from the students were, they had fun and they would love to attend another similar program (if they were given an opportunity to, that is).

This is me and my students. We are giving you the hand (five fingers representing the five pillars, duh)

Ah well, I love the spirit and charm of the youth. It makes me feel young, like when I thought everything is possible and that I could change the world once I graduate. Well, Insya-Allah, with the success of this program and more programs to follow at faculty and campus level, we can just change the students perception on their abilities.

'Til my next post. Cheerio!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Induksi 139/ 2010

I had to go to Perak. Not just Perak, but Kampung Gajah, Perak. And where might this be? Haha! I honestly do not know. But what I do know is that the road to Kampung Gajah is long and winded and it took us a good three-hour ride just to arrive there.

So in order to become a confirmed staff, a newbie or any other new staffs of the public sector has to undergo several steps to which once all those steps have been completed, will then be considered as a fully confirmed staff. One of those steps is induction and ours was called Induksi 139/ 2010.

There's a total of 152 participants who attended Induksi this time; unequally divided into two groups (simply because the hall is not big enough, so the bigger hall goes to bigger group).

And this is the bigger group. Can hardly recognize the tiny faces, can you? They're called Kumpulan Warisan

And this is my group, the smaller one. And ours is called Kumpulan Wawasan

I had my reservations prior to attending Induksi. There were so many horror stories whispered from one person to another that I really could not imagine what it would be like and how the place looked like. Among the horror stories shared was:

1. We came back from our lectures and found a huge reptile in our toilet.

I felt like screaming when I heard this one. I really, really wouldn't want to share the toilet with any reptile.

2. The place is so out of town that it takes about an hour's drive from Kampung Gajah to the nearest town.

Oh gosh, oh gosh *heart attack*

3. There's no reception for your mobile.

*gulp*

Anyway, to tell you the truth, I had fun. I met all sorts of people here and I made friends with people whom I would love to meet again. For any of you out there who will be attending Induksi for the first time, please don't listen any horror stories, they're not justified (in my opinion) and relax and just enjoy the process.

I loved my stay and certainly do not have any horror stories to share. Oh, except there was this one time we were walking at night and we heard this heard meowing sound. It didn't exactly sound like a cat and it didn't sound human either...

Cheerio!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo