Tag Archives: ASEAN

Forecasts Predict Pakatan Harapan Victory In GE15?!

Are many think tanks including the US government predicting a Pakatan Harapan victory in GE15 – the 15th General Election?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Forecasts Predict Pakatan Harapan Victory In GE15?!

On Tuesday, 15 November 2022, this message went viral on WhatsApp, claiming that many think tanks in Malaysia issued forecasts that Pakatan Harapan will win the most seats in GE15!

Electoral Barometer Forecast, (until 6 am, 15 Nov 22)

O2 = BN 42, PN 43, PH 91

Ilham = BN 39, PN 46, PH 87

Merdeka = BN 35, PN 56, PH 98

UMCEDEL = BN 38-40, PN 37-41, PH 88

Iman = BN 41, PN 60, PH 84

Invoke = BN 39, PN 54, PH 105

Penang Institute = BN 35, PN 43, PH 103

UUM = BN 42, PN 49, PH 89

MPN = BN 40, PN 50, PH 90

MIEO = BN 36-40, PN 45-53, PH 92-98

Kemas = BN 36, PN 54, PH 90

Bukit Aman = BN 38, PN 54, PH 92

Ipsos = BN 38, PN 51, PH 87

ISEAS = BN 35, PN 46, PH 96

Oxford Analytica = BN 39, PN 48, PH 92

Indonesia Intel = BN 37, PN 50, PH 94

US Embassy= BN 35, PN 48, PH 94

ASEAN = BN 32, PN 51, PH 108

 

Truth : Forecasts Do NOT Predict Pakatan Harapan Victory In GE15?!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Early Voting Only Started Today

First, I should point out that early voting for police and military personnel and their spouses only started today – Tuesday, 15 November, 2022.

Just over 265,000 were allowed to vote early, consisting of 146,737 military personnel and their spouses, and 118,794 police personnel and their spouses.

Fact #2 : Impossible To Use Polls Of Early Voters

As this early voting only occurs in police contingent and district headquarters, as well as military camps, it is impossible for any think tank to conduct exit polls.

Even if they did, this group only makes up 1.2% of Malaysia’s 21 million registered voters, and would not readily represent the voting patterns of the electorate.

Therefore, no think tank – even if they bothered to conduct an extensive exit poll of these early voters – would dare to issue any forecast of the GE15 results.

Fact #3 : No Think Tank Has Issued GE15 Forecasts

Let me just state this – the list of think tanks or research firms predicting a Pakatan Harapan victory in GE15 is false. No think tank has issued such GE15 forecasts.

It is really absurd that people would believe that anyone would issue a forecast before Election Day on 19 November 2022.

Think tanks and research firms like O2 Research Malaysia can conduct polls, but as this recent example shows – they do not predict winners or losers.

Their polls are also based on a relatively small sample that may give us a good idea of the Malaysian population’s voting preferences, but that may not translate into votes – the people polled may end up not voting, or may change their minds later.

Fact #4 : PDRM Is Apolitical

The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) is an apolitical organisation that is part of the Malaysian civil service.

Therefore, it is ridiculous to claim that it would conduct political research, and that its Bukit Aman headquarters would actually issue a forecast that Pakatan Harapan would win the most seats in GE15.

Fact #5 : Foreign Countries Do Not Forecast Malaysian Elections

I should also point out that it is ludicrous to claim that ASEAN, as well as the Indonesian and US governments issued their forecast that Pakatan Harapan will win the 15th General Election in Malaysia.

As a general rule, foreign governments do not issue public forecasts of another country’s politics or elections. That would be considered as foreign interference in a democratic process.

Needless to say – the Indonesian and US governments never issued such GE15 election forecasts.

As for ASEAN, it has a long-standing police of “non-interference in the internal affairs of member nations“. In any case, ASEAN is a pretty toothless and almost inconsequential association.

On top of that – Malaysia is a member of ASEAN. What makes you think the Malaysian government would agree to ASEAN conducting research into its electorate, and actually releasing a forecast that the opposition would win?

Please WATCH OUT about such FAKE NEWS on WhatsApp and social media. They are designed to suppress voter turnout in the 15th General Election.

Regardless of what you may read or see on social media, please take the time and effort to cast your vote. This is not only your right, it is your responsibility as a citizen of Malaysia.

Remember – democracy does not guarantee us a good government. Democracy only guarantees us the right to vote out a bad government!

Happy voting on 19 November 2022!

 

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Zoom Ramps Up APAC Team For Era Of Flexibility!

Zoom just announced that they ramped up their APAC team to meet demands for what they call the Era of Flexibility!

 

Zoom On The Era Of Flexibility In APAC!

On 26 April 2022, Zoom Video Communications, Inc (NASDAQ: ZM) announced that they just ramped up their senior leadership team for APAC, as well as key business momentum updates for the Asia Pacific region.

This announcement comes as APAC undergoes a critical transformation into a hybrid future, driving demand for secure, seamless, and connected experiences across virtual and physical channels. This is accompanied by an explosion of digital-native organisations born in the digital age and in the cloud, underpinned by the rise of a generation who has grown up in the presence of modern information technology.

Zoom believes that their capabilities across meetings, chat, phone, rooms, events and contact centre – all within a video-first paradigm – will help to address these evolving needs and provide a unified platform experience.

While customers desire hyper-personalisation and total convenience across virtual and physical touchpoints, the integration of video capabilities via the Zoom platform has allowed a range of organisations, spanning a variety of sectors including healthcare, education, and financial institutions, to reimagine the customer journey.

To meet employee demand for greater flexibility and freedom of choice, Zoom will also enable the ‘work-from-anywhere’ workforce, providing the technology required for enhanced collaboration, productivity, and inclusivity in hybrid teams.

 

Zoom Ramps Up APAC Team For Era Of Flexibility!

To keep up with demand of what they called the Era of Flexibility, Zoom announced several new additions to their senior leadership team in key APAC markets :

  • Lucas Lu, Head of Asia (ASEAN, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR, and Taiwan). Lu joins Sameer Raje, General Manager and Head, India and SAARC, and Michael Chetner, Head of ANZ to drive business traction in the respective territories within APAC. Lu is an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience, serving multiple leadership roles in global organisations across the technology, oil and gas and telecommunications sectors.
  • Cathy Yum, Head of Marketing, APAC, brings two decades of experience in building high-performing teams and delivering business goals and objectives for some of the world’s biggest technology giants. Yum plays a pivotal role in driving Zoom’s go-to-market strategies.
  • Gina Kuek, APAC Leader, People Experience Business Partner, comes with a wealth of experience in developing people and creating positive workplace cultures, and will champion Zoom’s culture of care as it expands across Asia.
  • Jacob Pereira, Head of Partners, APAC, is responsible for Zoom’s partner ecosystem and overall channel growth in the region. He has served in senior leadership positions in high performing technology companies.
  • Raj Natarajan, Head of Customer Success, APAC, comes with a proven track record of driving innovation and transforming business outcomes with some of the world’s most successful brands. In his current role, Natarajan oversees Zoom’s customer success initiatives in the region with a strong team of Customer Success Managers.

Zoom is also accelerating the region’s innovation and helping organisations create and grow their businesses on the Zoom platform. In APAC, these organisations include Australian retail platform Brauz; Vietnam’s business communication platform GapoWork; Singapore-headquartered ed-tech platform LingoAce; and Indonesia’s largest cellular operator Telkomsel.

Through the Zoom Developer Platform, developers, platform integrators, service providers, and customers are able to easily build apps and integrations, or integrate Zoom’s core technology into their products and services to deliver enriched video experiences to their end users.

Beyond its core video communications offering of Zoom Meetings and Zoom Webinars, Zoom has seen strong demand in the region for products like Zoom Rooms, Zoom Phone, and Zoom Events. In FY22Q4, Zoom closed its largest Zoom Rooms deal in APAC with a customer deploying more than 3,300 Zoom Rooms to drive hybrid work across their offices.

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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No More Dimsum : Why It Lasted Less Than 5 Years!

It’s the end for Dimsum, after Star Media Group management announced their decision to shut it down!

Find out what just happened, and why it lasted less than 5 years!

 

Dimsum Calls It Quits, After Less Than 5 years!

After less than 5 years, Star Media Group is calling it quits in the VOD (Video On Demand) subscription business.

On 6 April 2021, they announced that they would shut down Dimsum Entertainment by 30 September 2021.

This decision came after the media group appointed Alex Yeow Wai Saw as CEO on 1 March 2021, and Tan Sri Chor Chee Heung as independent and non-executive chairman on 15 March 2021.

 

Why Did Dimsum Fail?

Officially, a strategic review by its new key management team apparently identified new opportunities for the group to explore.

Chief marketing officer Lam Swee Kim said that while it was a difficult decision to end this chapter, “we are excited to explore promising new ventures in the near future”.

What’s left unsaid is that in the last 4+ years, Dimsum had very little mindshare, even though it offers free viewing, supported by ads.

It focused on Asian content, which is also the focus on iflix and iQIYI (both of which are more established) as well as Viu.

But people who wanted to watch Chinese shows would stick with iQIYI, while those who wanted Korean shows would use Viu. iflix had better luck with ASEAN content.

And with Disney+ coming to Malaysia very soon – the launch was slated for 31 March 2021, but got delayed at the last minute – the writing was on the wall.

Granted, Disney+ would be competing mainly with Netflix and Apple TV+, but most Malaysians can hardly afford multiple streaming services.

If given the option between paying for Disney+ and paying for Dimsum VIP, the choice seems obvious.

The new management team probably “understood” that they would see subscribers shifting to the free offering, and decided to cut losses.

Honestly, we doubt many people would notice them leaving… there are simply too many alternative options offering the same or similar Asian content.

 

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NTT Launches Fifth Data Center In Malaysia – Cyberjaya 5!

NTT Ltd just launched their fifth data centre in Malaysia – Cyberjaya 5 (CBJ5)!

Here is a quick look at what NTT Cyberjaya 5 offers!

 

NTT Launches Fifth Data Center In Malaysia – Cyberjaya 5

On 3 February 2021, NTT Ltd announced the launch of their fifth data center in Malaysia – Cyberjaya 5 (CBJ5).

Located within the NTT Cyberjaya Campus, this new 107,000 square feet data center is designed for hyperscalers and high-end enterprises in Malaysia’s growing digital economy.

CBJ5 supports 6.5 megawatts of flexible and scalable power, and boasts a Tier IV-ready, compact and modular design, with a cooling wall system that handles up to 15 kilowatts per rack.

NTT clients will have greater access to flexible, scalable and secure infrastructure in Malaysia – a regional data center hub.

“The demand for data storage and managed hosting services is expected to grow exponentially across Malaysia. This fifth data center will meet the expanding needs of organizations to reach their digital business objectives, in particular the FSI sector, as our data center complies with the Risk Management in Technology (RMiT) guideline set by Bank Negara Malaysia. We hope to play a key role in providing the vital data capacity at a high speed to keep Malaysia’s digital ecosystems and the digital economy ticking.” said Henrick Choo, CEO, NTT Ltd. in Malaysia.

 

NTT Cyberjaya 5 : Part Of Strategic ASEAN Hub

CBJ5 is connected to the existing Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE) and Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) cable system, and will eventually be linked to the upcoming MIST cable system.

The MIST cable system will be available by end 2022 and it is a strategic joint venture for international submarine cables in South East Asia, with Orient Link Pte. Ltd.. It will enable NTT Ltd. to expand its offerings into India and beyond, while the ASE and APG cable systems provide global connectivity from Asia to United States.

This new expansion in Malaysia is part of NTT Global Data Centres division’s growth strategy. Malaysia is a prime data centre market in the ASEAN region, due to the abundant availability of resources, and favourable government policies.

“NTT places Asia Pacific as a tactical key region, and Malaysia – a strategic hub for the submarine cables operated by NTT such as the new MIST cable system, as well as the existing Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE) and Asia Pacific Gateway (APG). Furthermore, CBJ5 will drive business opportunities in Asia through the upcoming MIST cable system which will link all our large-scale data centers in the region. Our continued commitment to Malaysia will help position NTT as a technologically innovative leader to address the industries of the future,” said Ryuichi Matsuo, Executive Vice President for NTT Ltd.’s Global Data Centers division.

“The pandemic also illustrated the importance of effective connectivity and reliable infrastructure to ensure business continuity. NTT’s global data center platform offers flexible, scalable and secure infrastructure along with a full-stack of customizable solutions that clients can utilize to support their digital transformation needs and maintain critical applications in a comprehensive, hybrid IT environment,” he concluded.

 

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ASEAN Keeps 5G Ecosystem Door Open For HUAWEI!

ASEAN plans to keep the 5G ecosystem open to HUAWEI, to ensure a level playing field as ASEAN countries build up their 5G infrastructure. Here are the details!

 

ASEAN Keeps 5G Ecosystem Door Open For HUAWEI

During a courtesy visit to the HUAWEI Cyber Security Transparency Center in Brussels, Belgium, the Deputy Secretary-General for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), Dr. Aladdin D. Rillo said that ASEAN has to ensure a level-playing field in developing their 5G ecosystem.

“We’re very much committed to ensuring that market players like Huawei are engaged, because these private sector players are very important in terms of the ability to build the right infrastructure and develop the ecosystem,” said the Deputy Secretary-General.

“The world is very inter-connected and integrated. We have to help each other and work together towards our common goals. Any distraction from that will not be beneficial to any player,” he added.

As the digital sector in ASEAN countries is booming, cybersecurity will play a critical role in digital transformation in ASEAN, particularly in accelerating the development of 5G, AI and IoT.

“We are impressed on how Huawei carried out cyber security approaches as explained during our visit to Huawei Cyber Security Transparency Center. This further convinced us why cyber security measures are needed to optimize security in the era of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 in ASEAN,” Dr. Rillo said.

“Therefore, we continue to encourage ASEAN’s countries to strengthen the cooperation, and we also need support from private players that have proven capable of delivering reliable and leading technologies, such as Huawei, especially in building innovation-friendly ecosystem, and to answer relevant issues related to big data, data privacy and cybersecurity,” he added.

 

ASEAN 5G Development

The ASEAN region is currently experiencing rapid growth of the Internet, digital, social media and mobile activities with 65% Internet penetration and over 400 million Internet users.

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) therefore expressed its commitment to encourage member countries to accelerate their digital transformation in various sectors, to realise a digital intelligent world by 2030.

“There has been a strong emphasis on the digitalization in ASEAN. To do that, we need to have the right infrastructure,” said Dr. Rillo. “This year, under the chairmanship of Vietnam, we’re looking specifically at 5G, which is an important foundation for us to support digital transformation and market integration.”

“With ASEAN’s digital economy has surged to USD100 billion for the first time in 2019 and is expected to grow beyond USD300 billion by 2025, for governments, business, and society, digital transformation is no longer just an option, but a necessity for economic and business empowerment,” he added.

 

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Operation Goldfish Alpha : INTERPOL Tackles Cryptojacking!

INTERPOL just announced that their Operation Goldfish Alpha has greatly reduced cryptojacking in Southeast Asia.

Find out how INTERPOL and their partner countries cracked down on cryptojacking through Operation Goldfish Alpha!

 

Cryptojacking : What Is It?

Cryptojacking is a new way for cybercriminals to hijack our computer’s processing power to mine cryptocurrency.

Cryptojackers snare their victims by getting them to unwittingly install a malware in their computers. This can happen by tricking the victim into clicking on malicious links, or visiting infected websites.

Once installed, the malware gives them access to the computer or other Internet-connected devices. They can then install programmes called “coin miners” to hijack the processing power of infected devices to mine cryptocurrency.

 

Operation Goldfish Alpha : How INTERPOL Tackled Cryptojacking

Earlier last year, INTERPOL identified a global cryptojacking operation based on a vulnerability in MikroTik routers. The intelligence was disseminated to the affected countries.

INTERPOL’s ASEAN Cyber Capability Desk took it one step further, launching Operation Goldfish Alpha in June 2019.

They identified more than 20,000 hacked routers in the ASEAN region, which accounted for 18% of the infected global total.

Over five months, cybercrime investigators and experts from Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) from across 10 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) worked together to :

  • locate the infected routers and alert the victims,
  • patch the infected devices, so they are no longer under the cryptojacker’s control

When Operation Goldfish Alpha concluded in late November 2019, they successfully reduced the number of infected devices by 78%. But while the operation has come to an end, efforts to clean the remaining infected devices continue.

Operation Goldfish Alpha also served to increase awareness of cryptojacking, how to identify it and how to mitigate the threat.

 

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2019 ASEANDSE | ASEAN Data Science Explorers Launched!

SAP and the ASEAN Foundation just announced that application for the 2019 ASEANDSE | ASEAN Data Science Explorers programme is now open! Here are the full details!

 

What Is ASEANDSE | ASEAN Data Science Explorers?

The ASEANDSE (ASEAN Data Science Explorers) programme is a joint collaboration between SAP and the ASEAN Foundation. It aims to promote and galvanise the use of data science amongst ASEAN tertiary students.

It aims to do this through two key activities – a series of enablement sessions, and a data analytics competition. Since its introduction in 2017, ASEANDSE has empowered over 5,000 youths from 287 higher education institutions in the ASEAN region.

 

The 2019 ASEANDSE Programme

The 2019 ASEANDSE programme will be carried out from February to October 2019. It starts with enablement sessions that are designed to improve the data analytics skills and knowledge of both students and lecturers at local institutions of higher learning across the ASEAN region.

These enablement sessions will be followed by a national, and then regional, data analytics competition. At these competitions, student teams of two will present their data-driven proposals using the SAP Analytics Cloud service.

Their ASEANDSE competition proposals must tackle issues affecting their country or ASEAN in general, according to these UN Sustainable Development Goals :

  • Good health and well-being
  • Quality education
  • Gender equality
  • Decent work and economic growth
  • Industry, innovation and infrastructure
  • Sustainable cities and communities

One team from each ASEAN member state will be crowned as the national finalist before advancing to the 2019 ASEANDSE regional finals, which will be held in Bangkok on 16 October 2019.

There, the 10 national finalists will be given the opportunity to present their winning ideas to a panel of judges made up of distinguished representatives from the ASEAN Foundation, SAP and various government officials and selected NGO organisations.

 

Where To Join The 2019 ASEANDSE Programme

The 2019 ASEANDSE programme is now open for registration, until 10 May 2019. Here are the eligibility requirements :

  1. Nationals of ASEAN member countries (ie. Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam)
  2. Full-time tertiary students currently pursuing their Diploma or Undergraduate studies in one of the tertiary institutions in Southeast Asia.
  3. Above the age of 16 as at the start of the Contest Period. Participants under the age of 18 must obtain parental consent. The consent form is available upon registration.

If you meet those requirements, you can register here!

 

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ASEAN Content Code for Video-On-Demand Revealed!

In a bid to self-regulate before their host countries start introducing a hodgepodge of different regulations, leading ASEAN video-on-demand services came together to introduce an ASEAN content code – the Subscription Video-on-Demand Industry Content Code. Let’s see what it’s all about!

 

The ASEAN Content Code for Video-On-Demand

Leading subscription video-on-demand services across ASEAN, including ASTRO, dimsum, Fox+, HOOQ, iflix, Netflix, tonton, TVB and The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) have come together to announce the creation of a self-regulatory Subscription Video-on-Demand Industry Content Code to safeguard consumer interests.

The new ASEAN Content Code sets out principles to ensure that content offered on these participating platforms is authentic, free from hate speech, hate crimes, pornography, and other forms of inappropriate content. They also pledge their best efforts to provide consumer control features or other measures to ensure that content delivered is age-appropriate for relevant family members of the users in ASEAN.

“We share a mutual objective of putting consumer well-being at the heart of our services. This Code demonstrates our commitment to making sure that the consumer is able to make content viewing choices that are right for them and their families.”

This idea was first discussed at the ASEAN Telecom Regulators Council dialogue, held in Bangkok in September 2017. This forum brought together both regulators as well as industry in dialogue, to create pan-ASEAN solutions. Companies affirmed the value of this type of open dialogue and collaborative efforts towards addressing challenges.

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The new ASEAN Content Code has been welcomed and supported by CASBAA, a regional industry association. The Companies look forward to working with other players in the SVOD space in ASEAN under the principles in the new ASEAN Content Code which will also serve to distinguish legitimate services from pirate sites.

“When a consumer goes to a pirate site for content, not only do they undermine legitimate businesses, but there are no checks on the content which means minors can very easily be exposed to pornography or graphic violence,” said Louis Boswell, CEO of CASBAA.

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The ASEAN Foundation And SAP Extend Collaboration To 2018

JAKARTA, Indonesia — November 29, 2017 — The ASEAN Foundation and SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced the continuation of their strategic collaboration into 2018, following a successful collaboration in its first year to bring about social impact in ASEAN.

 

The 2018 ASEAN Foundation And SAP MOU

Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ASEAN Foundation and SAP, both organisations will jointly roll out initiatives under two strategic pillars next year, namely Education and Entrepreneurship.

The initiatives are aimed at equipping ASEAN youths with the skills they need to tackle society’s problems and thrive in the digital economy; build the capacity of innovative social enterprises that put young people on the path to successful careers and build a skilled workforce for the IT sector with training and workforce development programmes.

From left to right are Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for Socio-Cultural Community His Excellency Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee, President and Managing Director of SAP Southeast Asia Claus Andresen, , ASEAN Foundation Executive Director Elaine Tan, and SAP Southeast Asia Head of Corporate Affairs Eugene Ho.

The inaugural year of this collaboration yielded positive outcomes under the following pillars:

Education

  • The ASEAN Data Science Explorers competition attracted 804 participants from 112 institutions across the 10 ASEAN member states. In the lead-up to the competition, students were trained in SAP’s Analytics Cloud software through a series of webinars and in-country seminars, with more than 600 students accessing the platform.
  • The competition solicited data-driven insights and ideas on the most pressing social issues in the region. Some highlights include the submission by Team “Omotesando” from Indonesia that aims to accelerate financial inclusion as a solution to poverty eradication through branchless banking, and the submission by Team “Tonkar Data” from Laos which proposes the adoption of smart and vertical farming in ASEAN to improve productivity in agriculture.

Volunteerism

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  • The Youth Volunteering Innovation Challenge (YVIC), under the theme “Impact ASEAN”, supported young volunteers throughout the ASEAN region in their journey to catalyze youth-led innovation for social impact and sustainable development by providing access to mentors and capital they need to start or scale up their projects.
  • 29 young volunteer innovators from ten teams across ASEAN participated in the YVIC 2017 as part of a collaborative effort by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the ASEAN Foundation, the ASEAN Secretariat, SAP and with the close support of the Government of Germany.

Entrepreneurship

  • Under the collaboration, SAP supported 9 of out the Top 50 ASEAN social enterprises through two programmes namely the SAP Social Sabbatical and NUS Crossing the Chasm Challenge. SAP employees provided mentorship and consulting to help the enterprises run better.

The MoU was first signed on May 9, 2017 at the ASEAN Foundation headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia. Since then, the ASEAN Foundation and SAP have been executing on all the programmes under the three pillars.

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ASEAN Enterprises Adopting Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform

KUALA LUMPUR, 17 MAY 2017 : Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT) today announced that enterprises in the ASEAN region have adopted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform to enable faster application delivery.

Ranging from the telecommunications and financial services industries, organizations in ASEAN are deploying Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform to enable their developers to more quickly develop, host, and scale applications in cloud environments.

 

ASEAN Adoption Of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform

The Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform is the first and only container-centric, hybrid cloud solution built from Linux containers, Kubernetes, Project Atomic and OpenShift Origin upstream projects based on the trusted backbone of the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform, Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform provides a more secure, stable platform for container-based deployments without sacrificing current IT investments, allowing for mission-critical, traditional applications to coexist alongside new, cloud-native and container-based applications.

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In the ASEAN region, Red Hat has seen a stronger momentum for its container application platform, highlighted by several recent Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform deployments in markets like Singapore and Indonesia, including: Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Negara (BTPN) (Indonesia); CrimsonLogic (Singapore); Federal International Finance (Indonesia); Rutledge Global (Singapore) and XL Axiata (Indonesia).

Affirming its innovation in container-based and cloud-native application development, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform received the 2017 Cloud Technical Breakthrough award in February 2017.

A 2016 IDC study on The Business Value of Red Hat OpenShift, sponsored by Red Hat, found that OpenShift enables customers to respond to market requirements faster by delivering business-critical, microservices-based applications with DevOps processes. These benefits include 66% faster application delivery times, $1.29 million (approx. RM5.6 million) average annual benefits per 100 application developers per year, and 531% average ROI over five years.

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SAP Powers The ASEAN Data Science Explorers Competition

The ASEAN Foundation

Since inception in 1967 between Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has expanded to include Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Together, ASEAN members aim to accelerate economic growth and development.

Turning 50 his year the ASEAN Foundation is working with strategic partners to establish several new initiatives centred around building a sense of ASEAN identity. The first of these is the ASEAN Data Science Explorers (ASEAN DSE).

 

ASEAN Data Science Explorers (ASEAN DSE)

The ASEAN Data Science Explorers is a regional competition jointly organised with SAP. It encourages ASEAN tertiary students from any discipline in all ten member states to harness the power of data, highlighting the key issues in ASEAN and derive meaningful insights that lead to innovative solutions.

Titled “Today’s Youth for Tomorrow’s World”, this competition will allow all ASEAN youths to play a key role in tackling today’s social issues facing the region and help create positive change for a better future.

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By using the SAP BusinessObjects Cloud tool, the initiative encourages participants to deliver data-driven insights which highlight issues in ASEAN across six United Nation Sustainable Development Goals, namely;

  1. Good health and well-being
  2. Quality education
  3. Gender equality
  4. Clean water and sanitation
  5. Decent work and economic growth
  6. Sustainable cities and communities

Competitors will be judged along the lines of four key criteria; Visualization, Data, a Compelling story, and User experience. Through visual analysis, compelling charts and graphs, competitors must depict the datasets and give viewers meaningful insights. Volume, variety and relevance of data used to support themes are important, along with the design and creative layout of storyboards. Competitors must also be able to “Wow” judges in total user experience.

Through this initiative, it is also hoped that a competitive effort will produce better quality results towards the realisation of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint 2025 vision of creating an ASEAN community that engages and benefits the people, and is inclusive, sustainable, resilient and dynamic.

The competition will be organised in all 10 ASEAN Member States in October, with winners of the respective in-country competitions going into a regional final that will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia in November this year.

Students can find out more about the competition and register online via the ASEAN DSE’s official website: www.aseandse.org. The registration portal is open until 16 June 2017.

 

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US-ASEAN Business Council Digital Economy Report Launched!

Kuala Lumpur, 18 January 2017 – The US-ASEAN Business Council and Deloitte today presented a new report, The Digital Economy and the Free Flow of Data: Advancing the ASEAN Economic Community, to the Malaysian government and business community. The report highlights how ASEAN Member States can advance their digital economies and the ASEAN Economic Community through pro-growth digital data management policies.

 

US-ASEAN Business Council: Digital Economy Report

“The digital economy plays a strategic role as a critical enabler for deepening ASEAN regional integration and as well as helping drive next generation domestic demand led growth for startups and SME’s,” said Ambassador Michael Michalak, Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director of the US-ASEAN Business Council. “We encourage Malaysia to lead in ASEAN by supporting policies on data management that allow member economies to benefit from greater efficiency, extended reach and lower costs.”

“Regional integration and the digital economy are both big opportunities in what is one of the world’s fastest growing regions. All manner of business, from the start-up to the regional champion as well as the multinational, will benefit if the AEC framework puts the digital economy front & center. Now is the time to do so,” Jeff Pirie, AEC Leader, Deloitte Southeast Asia, added.

In Malaysia and throughout ASEAN, these policies can support modern high-tech industries, enhance the development of e-commerce, help small and medium enterprises reach customers and optimize their businesses, enable financial inclusion, and encourage foreign investment. However, governments need to consider regulatory, legal and policy issues stemming from technology, platforms and providers.

Privacy, security, intellectual property and customer protection are some of the issues that need to be addressed if countries are to benefit from the digital economy. It is also essential to ensure that it is the risk, not the actor, that is regulated. Further, inter-agency cooperation is essential if ASEAN member states are to have effective digital laws and regulations as issues cut across many different sectors.

Amol Gupte, Citi Country Officer (CCO) for Singapore and Head of ASEAN said, “Digitization of financial services has a positive impact on ASEAN integration and the economies of Southeast Asia. To maximize the full potential of digitization across the region, there is need for a supportive policy framework. Particularly crucial is the ability to move data quickly and seamlessly across borders which will benefit trade, increase innovation and support financial inclusion. Citi is committed to helping our clients benefit from the opportunities digital networks bring such as in the area of payment innovation.”

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“In our increasingly interconnected world, the new trade routes are now digital and global businesses are increasingly relying on data flows to manage operations. With the recently announced Digital Free Trade Zone, Malaysia is well-positioned to harness the opportunities of the digital economy. As Microsoft works to empower every person and every organization to actively participate in the fourth industrial revolution, we recognize the importance of transparency, privacy, security and compliance in ensuring the smooth flow of data across borders, and are encouraged by our collective efforts to advance the ASEAN Digital Economy through inclusive people-centric enabling policies.” Jasmine Begum, Director, Corporate External & Legal Affairs (CELA) concurred.

The US- ASEAN Business Council and Deloitte forum was hosted at Microsoft’s office, and included a panel discussion on Malaysia’s digital economy and how the findings of the report can best be applied to support growth and innovation in Malaysia. The panelists included Claudia Chan, Regional Director, Government Affairs, Asia Pacific for Seagate; Jasmine Begum, Director, Legal, Corporate & Government Affairs, Microsoft Malaysia & New Markets; and Jeff Pirie, AEC Leader, Deloitte Southeast Asia. The panel was moderated by Ambassador Michael Michalak, Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director of the US-ASEAN Business Council.

The report was developed by the US-ASEAN Business Council and Deloitte, with support from Cisco, Citi, Google, MasterCard, Microsoft, and Seagate.

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Citrix Appoints Avnet As ASEAN Distributor

17 May, 2016 – MALAYSIA – Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) today announced that it has been selected as the ASEAN distributor for Citrix. Avnet’s appointment in ASEAN comes on the heels of Citrix’s revitalized business offering which is centred on uniting virtualization, mobility management, networking and file sharing solutions to enable new ways for businesses and individuals to realise their goals.

Under the agreement, Avnet will deliver end-to-end solutions to the ASEAN channel featuring Citrix Workspace Services (virtualization) and NetScaler (networking), as well as new, high growth technologies; enterprise mobility; and ShareFile (secure file sharing). The appointment is an expansion of Avnet’s existing Citrix distributorship in the region in Australia, India and Malaysia.

“Avnet brings a wealth of technical expertise and impressive market coverage, across ASEAN that will benefit and strengthen our partner network. Avnet’s strong investment plan with Citrix and regional footprint will help us reach into new markets, enabling our partners to better capitalise on new opportunities. Ultimately this allows Citrix technology to support more customers with their business needs,” said Mark Micallef, Regional Vice President, ASIA, Citrix.

Enterprise mobility is one of the fastest-growing markets across the Asia Pacific region. Beyond allowing individuals their choice of devices, the most critical element of enterprise mobility management today is mobile application management, which enables users to access corporate applications and data, and is supported by IT.

“The local market is ripe for more in-depth business workflow transformation initiated by mobility, and this attests to the IDC Enterprise Mobility MaturityScape findings released last year, where companies put greater emphasis in mobile deployment and the use of internal mobile applications. Ample opportunities ahead for businesses, as well as Avnet to innovate in the Malaysian market, and we are glad to be collaborating with pioneering mobility solutions provider like Citrix to grow the enterprise mobility trend in this country,’ said Chiew Yue Lam, country general manager, Avnet Technology Solutions, Malaysia.

Citrix technology caters to the needs of both cloud operators as well as large enterprises. As companies begin to fully realize the benefits and advantages the cloud offers, Avnet and Citrix anticipate accelerated adoption and will continue to offer both cloud, on-premise and hyperconverged options to cater to varying needs and preferences of customers.

“Today’s IT industry transformation is prompting ASEAN enterprises to revaluate their businesses to ensure their investments deliver rapid returns, support overall business strategy and meet expectations of all parts of the business,” said Bennett Wong, vice president and general manager, Avnet Technology Solutions, ASEAN. “Citrix technologies are tightly aligned with Avnet’s robust solutions portfolio and enable partners to use shifting market dynamics to their advantage as they engage with their customers on new opportunities for growth. We will closely work with our business partners to tap into the tremendous opportunity in virtualization, mobility, networking and file sharing, particularly in the midmarket segment, across the region.”

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Axiata : ASEAN Digital Revolution Could Add US$1 Trillion

23 February 2016 – The growth of the Digital Economy could add US$1 trillion to the GDP of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) bloc over the next 10 years, according to a report released by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney in conjunction with Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata), one of the largest Asian telecommunication companies, at the GSMA’s 2016 Mobile World Congress.

The report, titled ASEAN Digital Revolution, focuses on the growth opportunities, the hurdles that need to be overcome and policy initiatives that will help the sector fulfil its growth potential and contribute to the bloc’s overall economic expansion. The report highlights the following factors that could see ASEAN become one of the world’s top-five digital economies by 2025:

  • A robust economy with a combined GDP of US$2.5 trillion growing at 6% per annum
  • A literate population of more than 600 million, of which 50% are below 30 years of age
  • A well-developed ICT cluster with a track record of innovation and investment into new technology

When it comes to market size and growth opportunities, there are few economic regions that can match ASEAN’s potential, especially when it comes to the digital economy. More than half of the bloc’s population is aged 30 or below. This is the consumer group which is most likely to contribute to digital economy as they are most tech savvy.

[adrotate banner=”4″]The confluence of technology innovation, a youthful population and robust economies can help ASEAN leapfrog into the vanguard of the digital economy.

Through accelerated innovation, mobile network operators are ready to support and grow the ASEAN digital economies of cashless societies, smart cities, borderless digital services and financial inclusion. However, for mass adoption of the services to drive digital economies, policies and a strong digital agenda is required in the region with visionary government and industry collaboration.

The report adds that the impending implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which promises to promote free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labor and freer flow of capital, is also likely to provide a big boost to the sector.

However, it highlights issues that need to be addressed, and policy initiatives that need to be implemented, for the region to meet the growth potential. These include:

  • Developing a comprehensive digital strategy, not just at the country level but one for the entire region
  • Improving broadband and Internet access by releasing an additional 20MHz of spectrum per operator, per country
  • Ensuring there are no more than four telecoms operators per market
  • A comprehensive overhaul of in-country and cross-border regulations to ensure policies help boost growth of domestic firms
  • Accelerating innovation in mobile financial services like allowing creation of digital-only banks
  • Creating a single digital payment platform first in-country and then across ASEAN
  • Creating 35 ‘smart’ cities that harness the power of technology to empower businesses and consumers
  • Creating a national ID in each country for delivery of public services linked to the mobile phone and ensuring its interoperability across ASEAN
  • Enhancing trust and security in ASEAN’s digital economy by harmonizing cybersecurity, data security and privacy laws across the region
  • Fostering a culture of digital innovation by revamping the K-12 and higher education system

 

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