Malaysia must endeavour to become regional & global centre for dialogues, says Vijay Eswaran

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must endeavour to emerge as a regional and global centre for dialogue and in particular a centre for innovation and entrepreneurship, prominent Malaysian Entrepreneur Datuk Seri Vijay Eswaran, said today.
"Malaysia should take a leading and prominent role to initiate dialogues that can help explore how countries and people can build and cement togetherness," he told Bernama today.
Vijay, who is also the Executive Chairman of the QI Group of Companies, said this was in view of important global changes which were beginning to pose many challenges, particularly on the social and economic front.
Even though the world seems to have some popular venues for global discussions like the Davos Summit for the World Economic Forum and the United Nations gatherings in New York, he lamented that "strife continues round the world, some of which are closely connected with Malaysia like the Rohingya refugees, fluctuations in major currencies and scarcity of employment opportunities".
Malaysia, he said, should make the most of its global resources to emerge as a centre for dialogue in addressing pertinent regional and global issues affecting the people which are aplenty around the world, including unemployment and the deteriorating quality of life.
"We can see the world is becoming increasingly conflicted and the globe is more stressed, in part by the unending migration of people fleeing conflict zones, which ultimately creates greater pressure upon some countries including Malaysia," Vijay said.
He cited the recent Horasis Visionary Circle annual meeting in Seoul, South Korea, which he attended, saying it was an enriching experience.
The opening session focused on climate change and its implications to today's world.
Critical issues included extreme weather events such as the recent Hurricane Maria, environmental impact on water, and global initiatives on environmental protection – Kyoto Protocol and Paris Accord were points of discussion, as were their impact.
"As discussions moved to the topic of philanthropy, I shared insights into the efforts of our Rythm (Raise Yourself To Help Mankind) Foundation and the important role it plays in community development around the world.
He also shared his views on disruption, corporate culture and practices, the importance of the top-down and trickle effect of how culture is permeated through an organisation.
Besides this, he touched on the practice of "mouna or basically the silence or peace of mind to achieve a successful living, as well as, issues pertaining to innovation and accomplishment, talent management and the need for continuous self-improvement.
"The key takeaway from the session – "out of chaos comes disruption". Leaders often promise much yet fail to deliver, sometimes because of global events beyond their control. People often become disillusioned.
"How we can develop trust, faith and togetherness to enable progress that can absorb economic, political and spiritual surprises originating locally or globally," he said.
According to Vijay, the Horasis meeting participants shared insights and innovations on how to best navigate the future.
They also shared insights on the current state of the world which seems to become more fragile and fractious.
"Since the last Horasis Global Meeting the world has seen important global changes which are beginning to challenge all of us, some are unsettling, yet others are more like a continuation of an earlier world order," he added. — Bernama