8 July 2008 - Delivered a Lecture on Talent Management Towards Excellent Performance

Today I delivered a lecture on Talent Management (Human Capital Management) in a conference on performance management in Kuala Lumpur.

I deliberated on talent matrix and others.....the definitions and solutions.

Based on encouraging feedbacks from participants, this topic (talent management/human capital management) will be my regular lecture/training topic besides my usual passion....Islamic finance and financial planning.

I thought I could finish my lecture in 30 min. but it ended up in almost 2 hours.

28 June 2008 - Talk on Islamic Financial Planning in Slim River, Perak

Today I delivered a talk on Islamic financial planning in a function organised by a NGO (non-govermental organization) with the support of Perak State government at Dewan Tan Sri Ghazali Jawi in Slim River.

I touched on:

• the importance and need for Islamic financial planning particularly in facing the current inflationary situation due sharp increase in oil price
• What are characteristics of Islamic financial planning
• Islamic investment avenues
• Other related issues

I wish I can upload the video clip of my talk.

Note:

Slim River is one of few places in Malaysia that still maintain the colonial name.... However I could not find the river perhaps it is too slim. Others have been "Malaysianized".

Slim River was a military strategic mid-point from North to South of Malaya during World War II. It was the site of a major battle during World War II between the Japanese and British forces which consisted of troops from India, Australia and Great Britain. The British lost the Battle of Slim River to the Japanese forces, who were equipped with tanks. The Japanese also had total air superiority. In their defeat at Slim River, the British suffered heavy casualties and many units were cut off from their line of retreat. The battle effectively ended British hopes of defending Malaya

Glossary of Islamic Financial Terms: The A-Z Guide

This video was produced by me personally (my very first attempt on YouTube in June 2008).....certainly not the best in the world because I was just learning how to do it...more to come insyaAllah. Please check out my youtube channels: http://www.youtube.com/user/sanusitube and also http://www.youtube.com/user/islamicfinancevideos

20-23 May - Training on Islamic Trade Finance - Country Height Kajang

This week, my firm is conducting a 4-day in-house training program on Islamic Trade Finance for a development financial institution (DFI) at Country Height Kajang.... what a nice place.

6 May 2008- My Birthday

Today, 6 May 2008 is my birthday.

Guess how old am I?

31 March 2008 - Delivered a Lecture on Syariah-based Investment in Muar, Johor

Today I delivered a lecture on Syariah-based investment (Islamic unit trusts etc) in the historical town of Muar, located in the southern state of Johor. I was invited to speak on the topic by the country's top fund management company.

I noticed that about 50% of the crowd are non-Muslims. Some of the partipants drove from Kuala Lumpur (some 200 km away) to listen to my talk.

At the end of the talk, I got an invitation to speak at a university in Johor.

22 March 08 - Delivered a Lecture on Developing Excellent Talent for Islamic Finance Industry

Today I delivered a lecture entitled "Developing Excellent Talent for Islamic Finance Industry" at a Seminar organised by Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Shah Alam. I addressed the issue of lack of talent pool for Islamic finance industry and the steps to overcome this problem. What are competencies required to be an excellent Islamic banker etc.

Photo: Shah Alam Mosque...."The Blue Mosque of Malaysia", located near UiTM main campus.

Islamic Finance & Capital Market Conference 2008, 17-18 March 2008

Berjaya Times Square, KL

My firm, GlobalPro Training & Development successfully organised Islamic Finance & Capital Market Conference 2008 held at Berjaya Times Square Hotel & Convention Center, Kuala Lumpur on 17-18 March 2008.

I delivered opening speech and chaired the sessions. Delegates from Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Iran, Ghana and Nigeria attended the conference.

Join our future events on Islamic finance: "Seminar on Shariah & Legal Aspects of Islamic Banking & Finance" in April and "The 2nd Global Islamic Finance Conference (GIFC2008)" in June. The Minister of Finance, Malaysia will be invited to deliver the Keynote Address. GIFC will be our biggest conference of the year, InsyaAllah. Sponsorship for the event is very much welcomed.

Welcome to Kuala Lumpur...the centre of excellence.

5 March 2008 - Inter-state Lectures in KL and Johor Bahru

Inter-state lectures..... Delivered a lecture on Islamic finance in Kuala Lumpur during the day and drive down south to Johor Bahru "the Southern Gateway" on a 350km journey (3 hr 30 m drive)....then delivered another 2 hr-lecture on Islamic investment at night to a big crowd.

Since it is election time in Malaysia (8 March 2008)...some people asked me if I'm on an election campaign trail...going here and there....(No! not interested to be a politician at all).

Seen in the picture above is Johor-Singapore Causeway. The Johor-Singapore Causeway was completed in 1923 after four years of construction. The Johor-Singapore Causeway is the first land link between Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. The second, called the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link, was completed in 1998.

Southern joke:

Someone told me that Singaporean authority is searching for Mas Selamat, the escaped detainee all over Johor Bahru because they notice billboards everywhere with the words "Selamat Datang"....actually Selamat Datang means welcome in Malay and nothing to do with welcoming Mas Selamat.

Appointed as Member of Board of Studies (BOS) for BBA (Muamalat) - UNITAR (Feb 2008)

On 22 February 2008, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNITAR) has appointed me as member of Board of Studies (BOS) for BBA (Muamalat).

UNITAR is the nation's first e-learning, MSC-status and ISO 9001:2000-certified private university in Malaysia. UNITAR offers the best combination in its teaching and e-learning methods by combining face-to-face classes with the effective use of web-based courseware and online tutorials.

The university is named after the second Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. For his contributions in the area of national and rural development, Tun Abdul Razak is known as the Father of Development.