The Hon. Dato’ Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah,
Second Minister of Finance, Malaysia
The Hon. Allen Bruford, Deputy Director, World Customs Organisation (WCO) Forum Chair;
Your Excellencies, Directors General and Commissioners of Customs;
Distinguished guests, speakers, delegates, ladies and gentlemen
1. Very good morning. As the host country for this year’s Technology & Innovation Forum I would like to extend our greetings of Selamat Datang or very warm welcome to Malaysia to all distinguished delegates and participants many of whom I believe have travelled half around the globe to be with us here this morning.
2. Please allow me also at the outset to express my profound gratitude to the Hon. Dato’ Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah, the Second Minister of Finance, Malaysia, for taking time out of his very busy schedule to grace today’s occasion and officiate the 3rd WCO Technology and Innovation Forum this morning. The Hon. Minister’s presence is a clear testimony of our government’s commitment in promoting innovation and use of modern technology.
3. Our appreciation and thanks also go to World Customs Organization for giving Malaysia the opportunity to host this year’s T&I forum. It is indeed a great honour for the Royal Malaysian Customs Department Malaysia to play host to this very prestigious event. For your information, our Rt. Hon. Prime Minister when presenting the 2012 Budget Speech in Parliament last October declared this year as the Year of Innovation Movement putting in place a number of strategic initiatives with an allocation of RM100 million. This policy hopes to internalise innovation as a way of life among Malaysians to enable our country to move to a higher level of the economic value chain. As such today’s event is not only very timely but supports and complements our national policy and programs of promoting innovation as a way of life, generating value in new products and services.
4. As a revenue and enforcement agency involved in border management, Customs officials are facing very tough and daunting challenges in this milenium. Both trade and industry sectors demand efficient customs clearance with minimal intervention to ensure seamless flow of goods and to stay competitive. On the other hand, the ever increasing volume and complexity of international trade coupled with the widening scope and spectrum of our functions put a serious strain on our limited resources. In such a scenario we can no longer work and function using traditional approaches but must adapt to changing environment by leveraging on technology and innovation to improve our service delivery system and to stay relevant.
5. Today’s T&I forum provide the best opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their latest state-of-the-art technology-based products that Director General and Commissioners of customs could evaluate first hand. Besides it provides the best platform for exchange of view and experiences on best practices, as well as expand existing networking for greater connectivity with other customs administrations and vendors worldwide. We all know that technology itself is not the end objective but enablers to help us enhance our effectiveness. As technology is fast evolving, I strongly believe that the latest products on display here will further enhance our capabilities for non-intrusive inspections of cargoes, effective detection of radio-active materials and drugs and other hazardous materials that threaten security and health of our society.
6. I hope all the Director Generals and Commissioners of Customs and participants have plenty to take home to further improve our respective administrations and border controls so that we will together through current and future to collaborative efforts and mutual assistance can effectively deal with transnational crime and terrorism.
7. As a final note, I hope that all delegates find this year’s T&I forum beneficial and that you all have a pleasant 4-day stay in Kuala Lumpur. For your information, our conference venue is located at the very heart of Kuala Lumpur where the happenings are and close to the iconic Petronas Twin Towers. During your brief stay here, I hope you will appreciate Malaysian hospitality and take time out to enjoy the sights and sounds of metropolitan Kuala Lumpur.
I wish you all fruitful deliberations. Thank You.
