KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce (MICCI) Sabah Chapter led by Datuk Lee Swi Heng had recently organized a successful ‘CEO Masterclass Sabah’ event of which Ar. James Wong Kein Peng was the Organizing Chairman together with his young and capable group of Organizing Committee members.It was a full turnout of over 120 established young entrepreneurs and Sabah business owners who were specially invited to the event.
The event was also graced and strongly supported by YB Phoong Jin Zhe – State Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development of Sabah, and praised the organizing committee for an initiative as being ‘one of its kind’ in Sabah. YB Phoong reiterated that his Ministry fully supports initiatives like the CEO Masterclass as it is about building up the Business and Entrepreneurship community in Sabah.
James shared that this ‘CEO Masterclass – Up Close & Personal Sharing Series’ serves to build a powerful network of likeminded entrepreneurs who are hungry to learn, open hearted to share, and willing to support each other through the challenging journey of entrepreneurship in Sabah.
The event sharing consisted of titans of industry like Datuk Sia Teong Heng (Managing Director of SBC Corp Berhad), Datuk Lee Swi Heng (Chairman of MICCI Sabah Chapter), Datuk CK Tan (F&B & Real Estate), Joanne Chung (General Manager for Hap Seng Properties, Ahmad Rizal Dahli (Group CEO of Qhazanah Sabah Berhad) who shared very valuable learnings and stories of their leadership and business journey. There were many who attended the event who said that “it was one of the best learning events they have attended in a long time, and that the sharing’s were deep and something you couldn’t read from a book or get elsewhere!” The CEO Masterclass Organizing Team mentioned that they are excited to continue to create valuable learning and networking events like these for the Business Community in Sabah.
“As business owners we are often always giving out, motivating others, and outputting into our employees’ lives. “But like the recent challenges during the pandemic and rise in business costs, where employers faced great difficulty paying salaries and keeping businesses and the economy alive – there is very rarely any input into us, or support community available, and it can be a very lonely and challenging journey.”
James shared that this ‘CEO Masterclass – Up Close & Personal Sharing Series’ serves to build a powerful network of likeminded entrepreneurs who are hungry to learn, open hearted to share, and willing to support each other through the challenging journey of entrepreneurship in Sabah.
“It’s a night of learning where we can build a powerful network and pair young entrepreneurs with titans of industries to become mentors. “The young are passionate to learn business ideas and challenges we have been through. These are the values we want to instil in today’s culture. “Many (youths) are yet to understand the journey and struggles… the road could get long and lonely and this is the community for us to support each other during the tough times and celebrate success,” he said in his speech.
A 28-year-old participant, Syahrul Safwan Najwan Faisyal, who is an executive for Sabah Ports, said he was moved by Datuk CK Tan who shared about his lowest point in life as an entrepreneur to an extent of almost losing his entire family. Syahrul said the session gave him a fresh perspective of an ideal work-life balance, leading him on a solid career path.
Source: Daily Express
