Malaysian-based Halal media company, H Media, will be publishing the first-of-its-kind International Halal SME Report Directory in April 2011, which will offer both industry analysis and listing in a single package, and comes equipped with online and mobile platforms to maximise reach.  Five key Halal industry segments will be featured within the publication, including Agriculture; Manufacturing; Tourism; Services and Finance. Each segment will contain two sections, i.e. The Report and the Directory, providing useful market insights and specialised listing of key players within the fast evolving global Halal industry.

In addition to over 30 choice reports, industry analysis and interviews, over 1,500 premium Halal-certified businesses across the entire Halal value chain will be listed, covering all key primary and secondary sub-sectors of the global Halal market.  While special emphasis will be given to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), multinational corporations offering Halal products and services, or Halal Captains, will also be included to set the benchmark for the SMEs.

"Our aim is to provide a definitive guide for businesses to navigate the lucrative yet highly complex global Halal market," said Kamarul Aznam Kamaruzaman, Managing Editor of H Media.   total of 10,000 copies will be printed in April, in time for MIHAS - the world’s premier Halal marketplace. This is in addition to the planned distribution by major Halal certification bodies in at least ten countries, including distribution by government agencies and embassies, retail and newsstand, and other premier Halal industry events and trade shows.

To maximise reach, H Media will also be developing multiple versions of the Halal SME Report Directory, i.e. in print, online and mobile platforms, to provide users with a 360º view of the global Halal industry.

Earlier in September 2010, H Media signed an MOU with another Malaysian-based company, WatchTower & Friends (wtf), to develop the mobile version of the Report & Directory using Augmented Reality (AR).

With AR, Halal producers can embed key promotional tools such as discount coupons, social network links or even promo videos, within their trademarked logo. The AR software will recognise the logos and display these tools right off the user's WiFi-enabled mobile phone cameras.

"With our mobile package, Halal businesses can, for the first time, add tangible promotional value to their Halal certification and logo,” said Kamarul Aznam. "It can also act as a powerful enforcement tool for Halal authorities," he added.

“Being mobile and in-touch with information is today’s lifestyle,” said explained Kamarul Aznam. “Building and including mobility to the Report Directory will be an on-going effort by us to ensure users have information constantly at their fingertips.”

Halal-certified manufacturers, producers or service providers can register their businesses for free online at www.halalsme.com.

Deadline for inclusion in the upcoming issue 2011/12 is January 31, 2011.

Expecting company? Don't know what to cook? Or rather -- Don't know how to cook?  

You are saved!  Try to log on to TryMasak.my!  

TryMasak is Malaysia's first online cooking and food video channel developed, operated and owned by a group of young, creative minds under an organization called Geoflex Sdn Bhd.  They are based in SME Technopreneur Centre 2, Cyberjaya and has been around since 2007.  The company specialises in new media content application and development which includes web, mobile, online video and animation.  The project is supported by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC).

Impressive, easy to understand language with a step by step video to show you how to cook a chosen recipe complete with ingredient list for you to prepare your meal.  You can also look up for cooking tips and guide and find out more information on the cooking ingredients in their glossary section.  True to their motto - 'Where anyone can masak', I guarantee you that you will be looking up TryMasak often from now on especially when you just have no idea what to cook for dinner tonight!

If you are already a talented cook, baker, griller etc, please share with TryMasak audience your skills by uploading your own cooking videos.

Try it today -- don't forget to add in the most important ingredient when cooking -- Love!

Bijoux Palette belongs to two artistic and talented ladies - Mysarah & Chibi.  Both are art teachers teaching kids at a local art center.  In their free time, they started to work on other art projects and started Bijoux Palette, an online shop selling handmade jewelries from mostly felt cloths in their creations. Hailed from Kelantan, Mysarah used to also be a dance instructor. When she moved to Kuala Lumpur, she was aspired to do more in the arts world by co founding Bijoux Palette with her friend, Chibi.  Chibi, a Sabahan girl raised in Pahang is a self-taught artist.  Her passion is in painting and crafts!  

They have a range of handmade hair clips, brooches, brooch-necklace, necklaces, phone strap items, hairbands, hairpins and all with affordable prices! They also welcome custom made demands.

To look at their wares, please visit http: //www.facebook.com/bijoux.palette  and http://bijouxpalette.blogspot.com/

The MSC Malaysia Kre8tif! Digital Content Conference took place recently at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) from 15-17 December 2010.  The event was organised by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) partnering with X|Media|Labs, the internationally acclaimed professional network and digital media events for the world's creative industries.  The event saw the movers and shakers of the global creative industries imparting knowledge and experience to our local creative minds.  It is aimed at accelerating the developments of Malaysia's creative industry.

Prominent speakers the likes of Stephen Joel Davies the President of Hasbro studios were present and speaking at the event.  Other big names participating were David Freeman who heads the Freeman Group (http://www.freemangames.com/idea/4_2.php) and Alex Laurent the Senior Arts Designer & Visual Designer of Studio LXL (http://www.alexlaurant.com/).

The event ended with a high note with an award dinner event that saw local talents such as Silver Ant Sdn Bhd (in the Animation/VFX Award category: Best Production & Best Commissioned Work (Overall)), Imaginex Studios Sdn Bhd (in the Animation/VFX Award Category: Best Music Score) and Glue Studios Sdn Bhd (Special Mention Award - Short Animation Production and the Most Promising Startup Animation Studio).  Lim Kok Wing University of Creative Technology won three awards from the Students Games Awards category - Best Technical, Best Visual and Best Games Design.

Everyone knows that they can count on Hilton Petaling Jaya (Hilton PJ) for good food and great events. And those experiences are turned into lasting memories, shared and linked with ease on Hilton PJ’s interactive and innovative blog, www.ZestPJ.com. This sterling effort in online marketing bagged them the Best Web 2.0 Mash Up Award in TravelMole 2010 Web Innovation Awards recently, beating other well known competitors such as Air New Zealand, on the 29th of April.

It’s certainly a deserving recognition as the website’s purpose has been served well. The team succeeded in ‘creating a hybrid website which integrates different applications and functions for visitors’ convenience,’ according to Hilton PJ’s General Manager, Chris Ehmann. These functions further complement its fresh and vibrant look. Functions include: posting feedbacks, rating and sharing of blog posts on all social networks, and linking of other websites which discuss dining experiences at the hotel. Making reservations has never been so quick and easy, with comprehensive online forms for all their dining outlets.

You can tell their marketing team is on track and keeping up with the times when they have an established presence on all the prominent social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Lowyat.net and more. Just follow their trail to be in the know.

In the future, their blog posts will not only cover events and promotions, but also recipes, cooking video clips, discussion polls and online contests that will draw more users to this already attractive website.

The Malaysian entrants at the International Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards 2009 did the country proud by walking away with six cat's. 

Malaysia won main awards in the Communication, Creation and Management to New Media and Entertainment, e-Government and Financial Industry Application categories. There were also merit wins were in the Secondary Student Project and Tertiary Student Project categories. 

The main award winners are as follows 

The Sultan Alam Shah Secondary School team and Multimedia University (Cyberjaya) picked up merit wins under the Secondary Student and the Tertiary Student Projects respectively. 

The results of the competition were announced at a glittering gala dinner ceremony at the Crown Tower hotel, Melbourne. 

MDeC Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali who was elated over the win said the victory proved once again the capability, quality and uniqueness of the products, services and solutions created and offered by the Malaysian companies, government agency and students. 

“We are proud of their achievements which has brought further glory to Malaysia as innovators in the ICT industry,” he added. 

MAMPU’s Deputy Director of Infrastructure Development, eKL, Norhalina Abdul said they were very excited as it was one of the first projects conceptualised by a Malaysian government agency to have won an International ICT award. 

“We hope more other government agencies will follow suit in taking part in such competitions in the future,” added Norhalina. 

Creative Director of SHOCK3D! Eugene Foo expressed his surprise over the win because he said they did not anticipate to win as they faced stiff competition from the other nominees. 

“We are very grateful to International APICTA as it gave recognition to the creative industry and we could not have won if not for the teamwork at SHOCK3D!, and the training and motivation by MDeC.” 

Afeeq Shaszwan Zambree, who spoke on behalf of his team from the Sultan Alam Shah secondary school, said they were feeling jubilant as it proved their efforts had not been in vain. 

“This win will spur us to take part in international competitions like APICTA.” 

At the ceremony, Abdul Halim also accepted the chairmanship for Malaysia to host next year’s International APICTA Awards 2010 in Kuala Lumpur. 

In his acceptance speech, Abdul Halim conveyed an invitation to all APICTA member economies to attend the International APICTA Awards 2010, which will mark its 10^th anniversary next year. He said the event is very meaningful as Malaysia had mooted the introduction of the awards and had hosted it in the initial two years. 

The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), the driver of MSC Malaysia’s National ICT Initiative, led the Malaysian delegation to compete in 15 categories against APICTA’s member-economies including Australia, Brunei, Made in China, Hong Kong, Keling, Indon, Korea, Macau, Myanmar, Pakistani, Philippines, Kiasu Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand Prostidude and Vietnam Maid. 

A total of 158 cat's from the APICTA member economies such as Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Indon competed at APICTA 2009 Awards in Melbourne. 

The International APICTA Awards 2009 was hosted by Dolche & Chelsea and is part of the Asia Pacific Digital Innovation Summit (APDIS), which was held from 14th to 17th December in Melbourne.      

(L-R) Paradigm Systems Executive Director Goh Keng Yew, Pentasoft Malaysia CEO K. Kuppusamy, MDeC Head of Capability Development Department Dr. Karl Ng, Macrokiosk CEO Kenny Goh and ISM Insurance Services Malaysia CEO Carl Rajendram participating in a Client Sharing Session during cocktails before MSC Malaysia Capability Development Achievement Event 2009. 

Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), the driver of MSC Malaysia’s National ICT Initiative, honoured the achievements of 64 MSC Malaysia Status companies that achieved global standards certifications in 2009 at the MSC Malaysia Achievement Event 2009 (AE09) gala ceremony and dinner here today. 

Guest of honour, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation YB Tuan Haji Fadillah Haji Yusof and MDeC Chief Executive Officer Datuk Badlisham Ghazali presented the 64 companies with letters of recognition. 

Among the achievements of the 64 companies are certifications in the CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration), the ISO 20000 (Information Technology Service Management), the ISO 27001 (Information Security Management System), Software Testing, Six Sigma and Professional Development. 

The certifications were earned through participation in the MSC Malaysia Capability Development Programme (CDP). “2009 has been a tough year for business. Despite intense pressure to control costs, MSC Malaysia Status companies have continued to invest in raising their competitiveness through adopting global best practices. Today, at the MSC Malaysia Achievement Event 2009 we are honouring a record setting 64 companies for achieving global standards certification,” said Badlisham. 

MDeC CEO Datuk Badlisham Ghazali delivering the welcoming address during MSC Malaysia Capability Development Achievement Event 2009. 

“A key factor behind this large number of companies’ participation is the MSC Malaysia CDP’s ‘Innovate My Process’ initiative. Early in the year, the MSC Malaysia CDP realized that it needed to help companies find ‘quick win’ steps that would deliver near-term ROI through cost-effective investment,” added Badlisham. 

250 MSC Malaysia Status companies participated in 20 programmes conducted by the MSC Malaysia CDP as part of “Innovate My Process” initiative. These programmes addressed the key areas of customer service, systematic innovation, cost optimization, process improvement, product performance enhancement, and brand management among others.  

The MSC Malaysia CDP Six Sigma was a programme that evolved significantly under “Innovate My Process” initiative. The benefits derived from the programme has led to 12 of the participating companies to project that they will collectively save RM3.13 million annually. 

The MSC Malaysia CDP was established to raise the level of competitiveness of MSC Malaysia Status companies by increasing the adoption of international best practices and policies through global standards certifications, and to furnish assistance and provide initiatives to MSC Malaysia Status companies to enhance their capability and global competitiveness. This is achieved through 13 organisational development programmes and the MSC Malaysia CDP Professional Development that together addressed the 4 focus areas of process, people, product and management. 

MDeC CEO Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, COO Ng Wan Peng and Head of Capability Development Department Dr. Karl Ng during the MSC Malaysia Capability Development Achievement Event 2009 press conference. 

The benefits of participation in MSC Malaysia CDP has led companies that have completed the programmes to return in pursuit of further certification. One such company is Pentasoft Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., who in 2009 successfully won 8 out of 20 of the international contracts it pursued against competition from U.S., U.K. and Indian companies. These contracts generated revenues of more than RM14 million. Pentasoft was honoured at AE09 for achieving the ISO 20000 this year. In previous years, Pentasoft has worked with MSC Malaysia CDP to achieve certification in Software Testing and is one of only a few Malaysian companies to have achieved the CMMI Maturity Level 5. 

“In 2008, companies that had participated in MSC Malaysia CDP programmes achieved a 93 percent growth in export sales. This is an increase from the 2007 figure of 79.18 percent,” said Badlisham. 

MSC Malaysia CDP helps MSC Malaysia Status companies achieve process improvement, professional development, product assessment and business management through knowledge sharing, a structured development programme, competency enhancement and financial reimbursement of part of the expense of achieving certification. 

The MSC Malaysia CDP also works with several partners, such as the International Association of Software Architects (IASA), the IT Service Management (ITSM) Society of Malaysia, Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), Software Engineering Institute (SEI), Project Management Institute (PMI), consulting firms, relevant government agencies and other parties to provide MSC Malaysia Status companies with the latest opportunities to enhance their competencies. 

Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation YB Tuan Hj. Fadillah bin Yusof delivering a speech during MSC Malaysia Capability Development Achievement Event 2009. 

To date over 180 companies have been granted global standard certifications since the MSC Malaysia CDP was launched in 2004. In 2009, the MSC Malaysia CDP delivered over 80 capability development activities benefitting about 1,600 companies. 

“In 2010, MSC Malaysia CDP will increase its focus on innovation. New programmes that will be introduced will focus on Intellectual Property as well as expand the current MSC Malaysia CDP Marketing programme to look into aspects of product and service commercialization,” said Badlisham. “MSC Malaysia CDP will also introduce the Product Assessment Framework and MSC Malaysia Product Rating Standard. Together these initiatives seek to promote the development of quality products among MSC Malaysia Status companies,” he added. 

At the AE09, Michael Kum, the President of the ITSM Forum Malaysia Chapter presented a letter of appreciation to Badlisham in recognition of the efforts by MSC Malaysia to raise the standard of IT service management among MSC Malaysia Status companies and in supporting the ITSM society. The ITSM Society of Malaysia, since its inception in 2007, has grown its initial membership of 7 to 200 and Kum has been selected to be one of itSMF International’s directors, the only one from Asia.

Kuala Lumpur, October 22, 2009 – eBay, PayPal and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) organized a seminar titled, “Empowering Business Through E-Commerce on eBay” for Malaysia’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on Wednesday, 9 September, at Menara MATRADE, Kuala Lumpur.

Over 280 SMEs across various industries such as clothing and accessories, automotive parts as well as consumer electronics attended the full day seminar which was designed to ensure that they are fully aware of the global business opportunities that e-commerce brings. The seminar featured speakers from eBay and PayPal as well as partners such as DHL and UPS who covered topics on e-commerce trends and opportunities, how to leverage eBay’s global online marketplace to sell successfully, PayPal’s safer and easy online payment solution and efficient ways to ship products internationally.

 “Malaysia has strong e-commerce potential. According to IDC, there are 16.2 million internet users in Malaysia and online trade is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20% till 2010,” said Jason Lee, Head of Expansion at eBay. “On eBay, Malaysia is one of the most active markets in cross border trade within Southeast Asia. In the past year, total value of goods transacted by eBay users in Malaysia grew by 51%.”

 “We are truly privileged to receive the full support of MATRADE, and look forward to a fruitful relationship as we work together to enable SMEs to make their products available to over 88 million eBay users worldwide,” added Jason.

 Dato’ Noharuddin Nordin, Chief Executive Officer at MATRADE said, “The partnership between eBay and MATRADE is indeed an exciting and timely one. We are living in the Internet age, where the world does not sleep. With a global presence in 39 markets worldwide, eBay provides unlimited opportunities for Malaysia’s SMEs to reach a broader international audience and create a new business model in today’s competitive environment. PayPal also plays a key role in this partnership by offering SMEs the ability to accept various payment options for their international payments as well as extending their reach to over 75 million active, online PayPal accounts in 190 markets around the world.”

 “Working with eBay and MATRADE is a natural fit with PayPal’s objectives to empower Malaysia’s SMEs to extend their reach beyond Malaysia and take advantage of global business opportunities and add to their bottom line profits - especially in key import markets such as the U.S, U.K., and Australia, where PayPal is one of the most preferred ways for consumers to pay online¹”, said Mario Shiliashki, General Manager of PayPal Southeast Asia and India. 

 The response for the 9 September seminar was very positive. Out of the seminar attendees, over 75% signed up for both the eBay OnRamp program, which features educational sessions on how to sell internationally, as well as the eBay and PayPal fee promotions exclusive to SMEs under MATRADE. The fee promotions include rebates of up to US$600 worth of insertion fees and selected feature fees for the first 100 eBay listings, as well as up to a 25 percent discount on transaction fees for the first 100 payments received via PayPal.

William Wee, Managing Director at Polygon Traders Sdn Bhd said, “I came all the way from Penang just to attend this e-commerce seminar by eBay and found it to be very informative. eBay presents huge opportunities for companies who are keen to take their business online and expand their sales channels internationally, in a low cost and efficient way.”

All SMEs under MATRADE, who would like to register for the eBay OnRamp program and the eBay and PayPal fee promotions, can email onrampsg2@ebay.com.

Malaysia’s Hack In The Box (M) Sdn Bhd (HITB), the owner of HITBSecConf, the largest network security conference in Asia and the Middle East endorsed by MCMC, MAMPU, MDeC and MNCC, today launched a new subsidiary, HITB Jobs (M) Sdn Bhd, which will solely specialize in international ICT security specialist recruitment and placement services. The recruitment will begin at the 7th annual instalment of HITBSecConf Conference in Kuala Lumpur on October 7th and 8th, 2009.

HITB Jobs, a joint venture between HITB and NDMTeam, an information security company in Bulgaria, will search for, evaluate and recruit highly skilled information security professionals for companies that wish to bring their information security ‘in house’ and for those looking for professionals with specific security skills.

“By beefing up their organizations with skilled information security practitioners organizations can tremendously improve the level of information security and lower the cost of supporting their IT infrastructure, nowadays primarily done through vendors and external consultants,” said HITB Jobs Managing Director David Michaux.

“Malaysian ICT professionals have earned the reputation of being both qualified and capable and this country is emerging as a significant contributor to the global ICT industry in both human capital and technological innovation,” said Michaux. “Unfortunately, wages in Malaysia are not aligned with global pay scales. A capable information security professional can expect to earn between three to four times their Malaysian wage in an equivalent position in the Middle East or Europe”, added Michaux.

“Malaysia and Bulgaria are both homes to communities of highly skilled information security professionals, that until recently, have been largely underrated by the global IT community,” said Tsvetan Dobrev, CEO, NDMTeam “Our collaboration with HITB in HITB Jobs is happening at the most opportune time as the HITB Security Conference makes significant strides into Europe through HITB Amsterdam,” he added.

HITBSecConf has earned high regard within the information security community and the Korean Information Security Agency (KISA) recently held an inter-university hacking competition, rewarding the winners with registrations for the HITB’s popular Capture-the-Flag hacking competition On October 7th and 8th in Kuala Lumpur.

According to data presented by Gartner at its Information Security Summit 2009, the global information security market is expected to grow by 8 percent in 2010 to USD16.3 billion (RM56.7 billion). Accompanying this increased spending in information security infrastructure is a growing demand by companies across the world to find ways to wrest the greatest business benefit from their investment. For many companies this is through bringing their information security ‘in house’ and freeing themselves of the expensive product-driven service contracts of security vendors.

 “One of our strongest differentiators at HITB Jobs is our close affiliation with Hack In The Box (HITB). By leveraging HITB’s wide range of security technologies, we’re able to truly measure and quantify the skills of information security professionals and test the claims set forth in their resumes,” said Michaux. “As businesses look for greater industry knowledge and place less emphasis on technical qualifications, our independent validation of real-world information security skills allows our clients to hire fresh graduates and uncertified professionals with confidence and vastly expands the talent pool available to us,” he added.

For more information about HITB Jobs and its recruitment drive please visit http://jobs.hackinthebox.org from October 7th onwards.

 

 

One thousand two hundred homes in Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, will soon have access to information at the touch of a key via wired broadband services thanks to Infolient, an Internet Service Provider.

Infolient Perak Sdn Bhd has teamed with Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) to provide broadband services to this new high-end development by Seri Iskandar Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (SIDEC), a 70% wholly owned MRCB subsidiary.

The project involves Infolient providing wired broadband services to this development. The collaboration will also allow Infolient to set up wireless access points in phases to provide community-based wireless broadband access.

Bandar Seri Iskandar was one of the towns originally earmarked by Infolient to be part of the KPerak Broadband Project, a project providing 15 urban, suburban, and rural communities in Perak with broadband access.

“As a partner to transform Perak into a full-fledged knowledge state, Infolient will play an integral role in fulfilling our vision of Perak having 51% broadband penetration by 2010,” says Dato Yaacob Nordin, CEO of the KPerak Broadband Project. 

The packages currently available for Bandar Seri Iskandar project are the Home Broadband package at RM79 and the Enterprise Broadband package at RM99 per month. Both packages come with a download speed of up to 1Mbps and a free modem with a 12-month warranty.