RUZAIK FAROOK
COLOMBO– The Sri Lanka Malaysia Business Council 28th Annual
General Meeting was held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo
recently in the presence of Malaysian High Commissioner Dato Tan Yang Thai.
President of the Sri Lanka-Malaysia Council Khalid Farouk said in his opening speech :” COVID19 remained a continuing problem. The country began facing challenges with procuring necessities such as gas, fuel, medication, as a result of a festering foreign exchange crisis exasperated by certain fiscal policies adopted by the Government. Lack of fuel, and the daily power cuts began to take its toll on businesses as well as on the general public. This series of events eventually led to the change in political scenario.
It was against this backdrop that the Sri Lanka Malaysia Business Council had to attempt to carry forward its mandate.’
Thereby, Farouk said : “ Physical meetings, Conferences and Trade Shows were not possible nor practical. Though proposed and planned, a visit by a trade delegation to Malaysia could not take place. Neither could the SLMBC host our Malaysian counterparts in Sri Lanka.”
He recalled that the outgoing Committee has done its best, under what can only be described as a very unique and challenging period in the history of Sri Lanka.
With things easing slightly, it is my hope and fervent prayer that we should quickly embark on any possible activities as early as possible.
They say tough times don’t last, but tough people do. When times get challenging, businesses that are resilient will be able to weather the storm and stand tall later. As mentioned last year, now is as good a time as any to look for opportunities. We should all rise up together to face these challenges and identify ways of fostering bilateral trade and commerce between Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
The Following were elected office-bearers for the year 2022/2023
President – Khalid Farouk, Managing Partner of Ilham Inspirations, Vice Presidents – Mohamed Hameez, Managing Director of Spillburg Holdings Pvt Ltd and Hsin Haw Li Business, Development Manager of Public Bank Berhad, Immediate Past President – Keerthi Jayasuriya, Chief Executive Officer of International Scholar Educational Services Pvt Ltd, Secretary – Ms. Yashodha Gamage, Manager – Business Councils and Associations of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce
Committee Members — Marshad Barry, Manager – Orphan Care and Institutional Marketing Amana Bank PLC, Amrit CanagaRetna, Director FMJ Holdings Pvt Ltd, Mrs. Dhashma Karunaratne, Assistant Vice President – Business Development Aitken Spence Shipping Ltd, Sajith Amarasekera, Director Acorn Aviation Pvt Ltd, Shezan Mansoor, Director Mansoor Gems Pvt Ltd Hong Zhou Wong, Group Chief Financial Officer Dialog Axiata PLC, Gayan Maddumarachchi, Group Director MAC Holdings Pvt Ltd, Bosco Corera, Senior Manager – Sales and Operations of MAC Holdings Pvt Ltd is in the picture in place of Mr. Gayan
