KUALA LUMPUR — The final stage of the evaluation for the Sin Chew Business Excellence Awards has come to a smooth conclusion and the winners have been picked by the panellists.

Among the members of the evaluation panel for the final stage evaluation are the Malaysian Institute for Corporate Governance (MICG) president Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas, Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia president Tan Sri Pheng Yin Huah, Sin Chew Media Corporation executive director cum Sin Chew Daily chief executive officer Koo Cheng, and CIMB commercial banking head Ahmad Shazli Kamarulzaman.

MICG president Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas said he hoped the award winners would go international and provide truly world-class services to their clients.

"Winners of the Sin Chew Business Excellence Awards should serve as role models for the young people.

"In our highly competitive and globalised world, businesses need to innovate to ensure sustained development."

Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia president Tan Sri Pheng Yin Huah said it was timely to launch the Sin Chew Business Excellence Awards so that successful SMEs had the opportunity to be appreciated for their efforts, allowing more businesses to recognise their products and success stories.

"Sin Chew has been working very hard all these years to promote culture, education and literature, and this is the first time it shows its appreciation for outstanding businesses."

Pheng pointed out that successful businesses would be able to showcase their achievements through the Awards, and hoped young entrepreneurs would emulate the good examples of these companies and contribute positively towards the society.

Meanwhile, Sin Chew Media Corporation executive director cum Sin Chew Daily chief executive officer Koo Cheng set his eyes on making Sin Chew Business Excellence Awards a truly authoritative and much coveted award presentation event in the country to inspire businesses to go from strength to strength.

"There are unique factors contributing to the success of each and every company, and there are things we can learn from them."

CIMB commercial banking head Ahmad Shazli Kamarulzaman told Sin Chew Daily he felt great his bank was given the opportunity to take part in this event, and hoped the bank could extend its assistance to more SMEs in the country.

He said the predisposing factors in a successful business were leadership and strategy, although he admitted these were the factors lacking in many SMEs. As such, he said the award recipients should serve as role models for many aspiring entrepreneurs.

Upon the completion of the final evaluation process, the organisers invited Grant Thornton Malaysia senior executive director Seah Siew Yun and CIMB Research chief economist Lee Heng Guie to deliver their speeches to the participants.

Seah was speaking on taxation and its impact on businesses while Lee touched on the current global economic environment as well as the challenges.

Sin Chew Business Excellence Awards is organised by Sin Chew Daily and MCIL Multimedia Sdn Bhd, subsidiaries of Sin Chew Media Corporation. CIMB is the exclusive sponsor of this event.

The supporting partners are the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong), the4 Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM), Small Medium Industry Association of Malaysia (SMIAM), Malaysian Retailer-Chains Association (MRCA), Persatuan Usahawan Maju Malaysia (PUMM), Branding Association of Malaysia, Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance (MICG) and Junior Chamber International Malaysia.

Grant Thornton is the event auditor and the other partners include Fine Paper Takeo, Royale Chulan Hotel, Kronenbourg1664 and Skynet.