Tag: food security

Charting a career path

Teh Wee Chye : Technical skills open the door . Your character and leadership propels you to the top.

By Foong Pek Yee

foongpekyee@gmail.com

Aug 29, 2024

You can stay relevant and innovative in  this rapidly evolving world via life long learning

“And it is your leadership and character that defines your success,”  says Teh Wee Chye who is Malayan Flour Mills Bhd (MFM) deputy  executive chairman and managing director.

Addressing graduates at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) 39th convocation ceremony  session 4 at its campus in Kampar, Perak on Aug 18, 2024,  Teh says having the  integrity and resilience, and  being highly adaptable and visionary  will enable  a person to make a positive impact on the  rapidly changing world.

Congratulations:  UTAR Education Foundation Board of Trustees chairman Tan Sri Dr Sak Cheng Lum (right)  presenting a scroll to Lai Jen Weng who has a degree in Bachelor of Business Administration (Hon)  Entrepreneurship  at the UTAR 39th convocation on Aug 18, 2024.

“The rapidly evolving world is presenting many opportunities and challenges alike  ,”  Teh says, adding that success is also about being able to  bounce back from setbacks and keep going.

March of the guest of honour:  UTAR president Datuk Professor Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Dr Sak and guest of honour Teh Wee Chye entering Dewan Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik for the UTAR 39th convocation in the Kampur campus in Perak on Aug 18, 2024.

While food security and climate change are two rising concerns worldwide  and inter-connected , Teh says  they (concerns) also provide career and relevant business opportunities at the same time.

‘This is  one area  graduates could explore and venture in,  not only as a career,  but also  to help ensure enough of food supply for the people.”

With  between 4.7 billion and  4.8 billion of the world’s 8.05 billion population in Asia, the focus on ensuring enough food in the region offers vast opportunities for graduates from multi disciplines to apply their skills and make an impact.

A major milestone: Graduates arriving at Dewan Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik for the UTAR 39th convocation on Aug 18, 2024.

Describing this century as an Asian century, he says the region’s remarkable and continuous  economic growth are translated into good economic and career opportunities.

In 2024,  Asia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is between  $40 trillion and  $ 45 trillion.

This amount includes China’s GDP of between $19 trillion and  $20 trillion – the second largest economy after the United States which has a GDP of between $ 27 trillion and $28trillion.

And Asean alone has a GDP of  between  $3.5trillion and  $4 trillion.

Teh points out that the world is undergoing a lot of changes and urged graduates to acquire cross cultural  skills and a deep understanding of global connections to stay relevant.

“As you step into your career, consider how you can contribute in the vital sectors like food security.

“Consider change as a companion.  Continue life long learning to stay relevant,” says the 70-year-old Teh.

MFM which started off in 1966 as a flour milling company is now a staple food manufacturing company; majoring in flour milling, poultry integration and  aquaculture.

Teh who has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Ship Building and Shipping Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA  joined MFM as deputy mill manager in 1976  and promoted to plant manager two years later.

In 1979, he was made the project manager in charge of the MFM’s  entire expansion plans.

 

Looming food scarcity

Tan Tean Chee says food security for the people is important
By Foong Pek Yee
The supply of some 60,000 kilogram vegetables from Chemor daily risks disruption when the farmland is taken over for development, says Chemor Modern Farmers Association.
Its chairman Tan Tean Chee says Chemor in Perak is one of the major suppliers of vegetables daily, producing some 60,000 kilogram of a variety of greens like spinach, kangkung, choy sam, brinjals, chillies, turnips, spring onions and maize.
These are sold to wholesale markets in Ipoh, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and Selayang.
“Climatic change is already threatening food supply worldwide, ” notes Tan, adding that any other disruption like shrinking farmland should be avoided.
On that note, he expresses his concern as some of the farmers toiling on about 1,200 acres of farmland in Chemor had received eviction notice last December.
About half of the 293 members in the association were affected, he adds.
Tan, 60, who is a third generation farmer in his family says the soil and environment in Chemor is conducive for vegetable farming.
According to the elderly villagers, vegetable farming in the area is dated back to the 1920s.
Tan says vegetable farming is labour intensive, crediting the farmers in Chemor for their hard work and resilience in ensuring steady supply to the market.
He says all is well until 2005 when some of the farmers who do not have legal documents to use the land had to evict to make way for development.
Two years later, in 2007, the association was set up to help the farmers.
Tan says the farmers want to pay to lease the land so that they can continue to farm and contribute to the food supply in the country.
Meanwhile Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj who has been helping the farmers says the authorities concerned should look at farming as food security for the people in the long term.
He points out that climatic change and  food scarcity which  is already happening worldwide is set to escalate, and this is something that needs the authorities’ urgent attention.
Dr Jeyakumar suggests the existing farmland in Chemor  be preserved instead of making way for mega projects.
While mega projects are important for the economy, the  Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) chairman says the farmers who have been working hard for a living and contributing to the food supply for the people is also doing something important for the country.