Malaysia Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng's credentials as an accountant questioned

On Malaysia Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng's website, it is stated in his biodata that he graduated from Monash University, Australia, with a Bachelor of Economics degree and was a qualified professional accountant by 1983.PHOTO: ST FILE

 

PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng's qualification in accounting is the latest to come under scrutiny following a series of alleged false education credentials involving Pakatan Harapan leaders.

Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) president Wee Ka Siong, in questioning Mr Lim's credentials as an accountant, said according to Monash University's website, Mr Lim obtained his Bachelor of Economics in 1984.

(MCA) president Wee Ka Siong

"I have no doubt over his degree qualification. However, I wonder how he became a qualified professional accountant in 1983 before he even graduated (in economics)?" he asked in a Facebook posting on Sunday (Feb 10).

On Mr Lim's website: https://limguaneng.com/ , https://limguaneng.com/index.php/biodata/ , it is stated in his biodata that he graduated from Monash University, Australia, with a Bachelor of Economics degree and was a qualified professional accountant by 1983.

Datuk Seri Wee, who is the Ayer Hitam MP, also wanted to know how Mr Lim's qualification as a "qualified professional accountant" was accredited.

"Was it by a local or foreign institution? Which country accepts an economics graduate to pass as a 'qualified professional accountant'?

For a minister who always stresses on the concept of Competency, Accountability and Transparency, please explain and don't keep quiet," he added.

Dr Wee also described as "suspicious" Johor Mentri Besar Osman Sapian avoiding questions from the media on his supposed UPM Bachelor in Accounting obtained in 1985.

"UPM's official website stated that the course was introduced in 1985. How is it possible that there could be such a super-fast graduate produced in the same year!

"If Osman fails to prove the genuineness of his academic credentials, will he still have the dignity to lead the state? This is a question of integrity among leaders," he said.

Citing examples of several world leaders who resigned or were sacked for having fake academic credentials, Dr Wee questioned if the Pakatan Harapan leadership would remain quiet and behave as if nothing happened.

"Or will they respond with the standard Pakatan answer, that a person's academic qualifications have nothing to do with political position," he added.

In Teluk Intan, Bernama reports Perak DAP chairman Nga Kor Ming as backing Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong Choo Kiong who comes under public scrutiny for his dubious Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Akamai University, United States, claiming that he had obtained it "legitimately".

This is despite the fact that DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang had labelled the university as a degree mill in 2005.

Mr Yong, 48, was also questioned by Dr Wee as to how he could do his MBA without having a first degree.

The Perak executive councillor has in his biodata listed his primary and secondary school education followed by his MBA.

Responding to the controversy, Mr Yong claimed that his way to enhance his self worth has been blown out of proportion.

He, however, did not reveal how he obtained his MBA.

"What is the relationship between this and politics?" asked Mr Yong.

Sources: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-finance-minister-lim-guan-engs-credentials-as-an-accountant-questioned and
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/02/11/lims-credentials-as-an-accountant-questioned/

 
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Revolutionising accounting for a new era

The field of accounting is in need of a new breed of professionals who can contribute more than a quantifiable value to companies.

Increasingly, accountants in business are given the opportunity to be less involved in automated operations and focus more on bigpicture strategies, which gives a clear indication of the type of skills required in the near future. Bryan Chung, FCPA

WHEN talking about the Industrial Revolution, images that often come to mind include the extensive use of steam power, the birth of heavy machinery and ironworks, and bleak factories in England.

However, two more industrial revolutions have since passed and the 21st century is paving its way for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0), which is seeing the rise of autonomous decision making of cyber-physical systems and machine learning through cloud technology.

In simple words, IR 4.0 is the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet to transform age-old processes and operating procedures across all industries.

With such change taking place, what does this mean for the accounting industry and where do accountants find their relevance in an era that looks to automate everything?

Calculating assets

In an interview with international education provider Kaplan, Malaysian Institute of Accountants’ (MIA) chief executive officer Dr Nurmazilah Datuk Mahzan said, “Among the current trends that are creating waves in the accountancy profession are big data and analytics.

“Companies of all sizes create massive structured, unstructured and semi-structured data every day. Organisations harnessing big data would be able to find new insights and discover unique patterns of their customer behaviour or even create new businesses that were previously not possible.”

Echoing her sentiments is Bryan Chung, Fellow of CPA Australia (FCPA), divisional councillor at CPA Australia (Malaysia), who believes that even though AI is good at matching patterns and automating processes – making technology useful to many functions in companies in the process – accountants still play a vital role.

He says, “While there is a lot of hype surrounding blockchain and AI in accountancy with more firms taking steps to increase or experiment with their use, it is unlikely that accountants (or auditors) will be out of a job anytime soon.

“It is likely that most of the administration process will be the first to be introduced to AI. Increasingly, accountants in business are given the opportunity to be less involved in automated operations and focus more on big-picture strategies, which gives a clear indication of the type of skills required in the near future.”

The challenge, however, is turning the current workforce in the accounting field into professionals who truly understand the implications of IR 4.0, not just in terms of their personal skills but also movements within the industry.

Discovering market potential

Gone are the days when sales numbers, website traffic and KPIs were sufficient information to measure monthly net profits.

In the same Kaplan interview, the organisation’s global professional accountancy head Tanya Worsley said, “Businesses today depend on their accountants beyond purely checking financial figures and balancing books.

“Financial professionals are expected to be able to provide their clients with actionable insights that can add value to the organisation’s overarching strategic goals.”

The changing role of accountants in the digital economy is what prompted MIA to launch the Digital Technology Blueprint in July this year, a document that outlines the five driving principles to help guide Malaysian accountants to respond appropriately to digital technology.

These principles are related to digital technology trends, the identification of capabilities, harnessing of digital technology, funding and governance.

Accountants who fail to stay updated with the latest trends and knowledge will cause their employers to lose out in the long run, while competing firms take advantage of the evolving cloud system.

For these reasons, upskilling and obtaining professional qualifications from MIA or accountancy bodies such as CPA Australia, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales or Chartered Institute of Management Accountants should be considered a necessity instead of mere steps for higher management.

As most professional accountancy bodies require members to undergo regular training to maintain their memberships, these certified professionals are expected to be fully prepared for IR 4.0 and, by and large, artificial intelligence experts.

Chung adds, “IT knowledge is no longer an option. Lest we aim erroneously, it is not how extensive the IT knowledge is (as this is available in abundance and can be acquired easily), but the ability to understand the evolution of the profession and apply the knowledge appropriately.”

Explaining that accountants must use technology in their favour to elevate companies to new heights, he gives the example of successful tech businesses that used e-platforms to achieve massive scalability and visibility within a short time, despite having owners or founders who were not IT graduates.

“In the same way, accountants should be more strategic, make sense of the vast data available and deliver services based on the twin pillars of speed and quality,” he continues.

Eliminating liabilities

When combining this piece of information with the future route of total automation for jobs that are repetitive, rule-based and involve limited or well-defined physicality, the traditional job scope of accountants is coming to an end.

Employers are bemoaning the skill gaps currently present in the knowledge of digital technologies, forcing companies to spend resources retraining and reskilling their employees.

At the other end of the spectrum, constant news reports highlight the more pressing issue of employers having difficulty finding good graduates who can hit the ground running upon entering the workforce.

These situations highlight the dire need for a new breed of accountants who can provide more all-inclusive corporate reporting, which tells less about the numbers and more about the narrative of a company.

The Malaysian education system, for one, must move towards becoming an ecosystem for continuous upgrading of skills, working together with employers, be they officials from the Government, small business entrepreneurs or industry experts from professional organisations.

Colleges and universities need to continue reviewing their course offerings so that graduates have an accurate understanding of the evolving industry while being trained to adapt to new technologies and autonomous changes at the workplace.

However, it is not all doom and gloom. Chung points out, “There are now many initiatives being undertaken by various professional organisations and associations to provide education to accountants to increase awareness of the changes taking place.

“There are efforts now by professional bodies, corporates and academia to come together to address the disconnect between what’s being studied at universities and what’s relevant in the business world.”

Given how the financial technology space has demonstrated the willingness of companies to use innovative methods, Chung is optimistic about the future as the accounting profession can not only make positive inroads but ride on the back of this momentum to accelerate the learning and adoption of technologies as the nation moves into a new era of automation.

Credit: Bryan Chung, FCPA

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Fighting corruption must be serious !

We must separate the roles of the Attorney-General as legal advisor to the Government and Public Prosecutor who prosecutes cases in court.

IT has become fashionable for critics to express dissatisfaction every time the Auditor-General presents his report to Parliament. So when the second report this year was tabled on June 15, the reaction was generally expected.

But the reaction from Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed is particularly important. Nur Jazlan, who is also Ideas’ Council member this time, says that he is disappointed with the performance of many Government agencies because they have failed to improve.

He also said that not long ago he praised Government officials for showing improvements every time the Auditor-General’s report is published. But he felt compelled to retract that praise because this time it was particularly bad.

He went on to say that many of the problems originate from the attitude of civil servants. Apparently the quality of our civil servants has deteriorated, and they don’t even bother to read the rules.

When the PAC Chairman makes such a bold statement, you know that there is something really wrong in the way civil servants manage our money. It is ironic that the Prime Minister recently announced a bonus for our civil servants despite such abysmal indictment.

Under Nur Jazlan, the PAC has been doing a much better job in identifying weaknesses in Government machinery and in demanding accountability. In fact, thanks to the PAC, the public now knows about the risk posed by Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd, a Government-linked company that has one of the biggest liabilities among Malaysia’s GLCs. The company has been off the audit radar for almost 10 years, despite the large amount of debt that it has accumulated.

The work of bodies like the PAC is important in our push for better governance in the country. The issues the PAC looks into are not necessarily about corruption.

Their responsibility is wider, covering also problems such as leakages and failure to adhere to published policies and procedures.

Fighting corruption, on the other hand, is more commonly associated with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). I am still waiting to see if the MACC would act on a recent admission by Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that a Special Branch report found that around 80% of our border enforcement officers are involved in corruption.

Nevertheless, I am very aware that even if the MACC were to start an investigation, that is only half of the journey. The other half lies outside of the MACC’s jurisdiction, and that is the prosecution of corruption cases.

Our system is designed in such a way that the MACC, just like the police, can only investigate and not prosecute. Prosecution is the sole discretion of the Attorney-General, who doubles up as our Public Prosecutor.

I have no problem with the MACC not having the power to prosecute. In fact, I think it is right to keep prosecutorial powers away from the investigation agency. Back in 2012, we at Ideas looked into this issue and compared the experience of Indonesia and Hong Kong in fighting corruption.

We published the findings in July 2012 and concluded that it really does not matter whether or not the MACC has prosecution power. Instead, what is most important is the integrity of the judiciary and the Attorney-General’s office.

Any effort to improve the quality of MACC, therefore, will have to be accompanied by reform in both the judiciary and the Attorney-General’s Office. Focusing on the MACC alone is not sufficient.

If we want to see a more effective fight against corruption we must separate the roles of the Attorney-General as legal advisor to the Government and Public Prosecutor who prosecutes cases in court.

Let me justify that with a simple analogy using the case of the allegedly corrupt border enforcement officers.

Let’s say the MACC do investigate the allegation and find that the problem runs all the way up to Ministerial level.

The MACC then passes the files to the Attorney-General. How much confidence do we have that the Attorney-General will prosecute his friends in Cabinet?

It is obvious that as legal advisor to the Government, he is conflicted. How can he prosecute the very party he is supposed to advise?

There are actually many more proposals to improve the MACC that deserve public attention. If you are interested in this topic, I suggest you search for reports published by the Special Committee on Corruption now chaired by Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang. This bipartisan committee, whose membership consists of members of the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara, regularly comes up with some very good ideas.

One of those ideas is for the MACC to be given independence in recruiting their own officers. This suggestion has been mooted since 2010 and it makes a lot of sense. To be truly independent, MACC cannot continue to be dependent on seconded staff from the Public Service Commission, because this creates a conflict of loyalty.

But unfortunately, this idea has not received the attention that it deserves from the Government. There are times when I ask myself if our Ministers are really serious in the fight against corruption. For if they are really serious, why are they ignoring sensible ideas coming from a committee whose membership is from among their own colleagues?

Don’t they realise that the longer they choose to do nothing, the more people will feel that they have things to hide?


By Wan Saiful Wan Jan, thinking liberally The Star

Wan Saiful Wan Jan is chief executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (www.ideas.org.my). The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.

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Singapore's new hiring rules: citizens first, foreigner curbs target professionals

 
Singapore Makes Firms Consider Citizens Before Hiring Foreigners

Singapore will impose new rules prodding companies to consider locals before hiring foreigners for professional jobs, according to the Ministry of Manpower.

The city state will set up a job bank where companies are required to advertise positions before applying for so-called employment passes for foreign professionals, it said. The advertisements must be open to all Singaporeans.

“Even as we remain open to foreign manpower to complement our local workforce, all firms must make an effort to consider Singaporeans fairly,” Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said in a statement today. “‘Hiring-own-kind’ and other discriminatory practices that unfairly exclude Singaporeans run against our fundamental values of fairness and meritocracy.”

Singapore tightened restrictions on foreign workers for a fourth straight year in February, in part because of voter discontent over congestion, rising property prices and greater competition for jobs and education. The curbs have led to a labor crunch and rising wage costs for companies, which the government has said will probably hurt growth in Southeast Asia’s only advanced economy.

Local Talent

Responding to feedback from Singaporeans that some companies are hiring foreigners over citizens, Tan and Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam met with senior management in a number of financial companies to emphasize that they should make a concerted effort to develop a local talent pipeline, the manpower minister said in Parliament in March.

“We must set expectations about what is acceptable and what is not,” Tan said today. “It requires persuasion, explanation and leading by example. The worst employers must be taken to task.”

Singapore will also raise the minimum pay for employment-pass holders to S$3,300 ($2,600) a month in January, according to the statement. The job bank will be set up by mid-2014, it said. Companies with 25 or fewer employees will be exempt from the new rules, as well as jobs that pay a fixed monthly salary of S$12,000 or more, according to the statement.

The government will also identify firms “that have scope to improve,” such as those with a lower concentration of Singaporeans at the professional, managerial and executive levels, compared to their peers, or those that have faced nationality-based discriminatory complaints, the ministry said.

Foreign employment growth in Singapore slowed in the first half of 2013 from a year earlier and the labor market will remain tight for the rest of 2013, the ministry said this month.

Singapore Foreigner Curbs Target Professionals: Southeast Asia

Singapore's Tan on Foreign-Worker Curbs

Singapore will widen foreign-worker curbs to professional jobs as the government clamps down on companies that hire overseas talent at the expense of citizens, stepping up efforts to counter a backlash against immigration.

The Southeast Asian nation said yesterday it will set up a job bank where companies are required to advertise positions to Singaporeans before applying for so-called employment passes for foreign professionals. The unprecedented policy will target jobs that currently pay at least S$3,000 ($2,400) a month.

“There are concerns among Singaporeans, which I think is fair, and so it’s timely for us to introduce this,” Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday. “There are Singaporeans out there, well-skilled and capable, who are looking for jobs and I think this step would actually facilitate that process.”

The country is persisting with a four-year campaign to reduce its reliance on foreign workers, after years of open immigration policy led to voter discontent over increased competition for housing, jobs and education. The move has led to a labor shortage and pushed up wages, prompting some companies to seek cheaper locations.

“This is a step up from the government’s efforts to tighten the quality and the quantity of the foreign worker inflows,” said Chua Hak Bin, an economist at Bank of America Corp. in Singapore. “We’re moving to another phase now where they’re looking to ensure that opportunities for the middle-income Singaporeans are maintained.”

Better Matching

Singapore will also raise the minimum pay for employment-pass holders by 10 percent to S$3,300 a month in January, the Ministry of Manpower said in a statement yesterday. The job bank will be set up by mid-2014, it said. Companies with 25 or fewer employees will be exempt from the new rules, as well as jobs that pay a fixed monthly salary of S$12,000 or more, the ministry said.

“It makes a lot of sense to hire locally from the communities that we operate in,” said Audrey Tan, a Singapore-based spokeswoman for Pratt & Whitney, the jet-engine unit of United Technologies Corp., where Singaporeans make up 75 percent of its more than 2,000 workforce in the city.

The nation’s unemployment rate rose to 2.1 percent in the second quarter, with the resident jobless rate at about 3 percent.

That “translates to 50,000, 60,000 Singaporeans without jobs,” Tan, the minister, said. “What the regime allows is that there may be a better matching of demand and supply” between companies and job-seekers, he said.

Fewer Locals

The government will also identify firms “that have scope to improve,” such as those with a lower concentration of professional Singaporeans compared with industry peers, or those that have faced nationality-based discriminatory complaints, the ministry said.

Responding to feedback from Singaporeans that some companies are hiring foreigners over citizens, Tan and Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam met with senior management in a number of financial companies to emphasize that they should make a concerted effort to develop a local talent pipeline, the manpower minister said in Parliament in March.

Citigroup Inc., which has about 10,000 employees in Singapore, said citizens and permanent residents make up 82 percent of its workforce.

‘Right Balance’

“It is essential that we strike the right balance,” Adam Rahman, a Singapore-based spokesman at the bank, said in an e-mail. “It is important to have some foreign talent who have global perspectives, expertise and skills to complement the overall development of Singapore as an international financial hub.”

Standard Chartered Plc, which has 7,600 employees in the city, said it will study the impact of the framework, which it expects will create more opportunities for locals. “The new portal will provide greater transparency and continue to promote fairness in hiring processes,” Peter Hatt, head of human resources for Singapore and Southeast Asia, said in an e-mail.

Singapore was ranked the most-favored expat destination based on economic factors such as income and housing in a 2012 survey of more than 100 countries released by HSBC Holdings Plc. Including the criteria of lifestyle and well-being of children, Hong Kong topped the list.

Second Choice

“Hong Kong and Singapore vie for talent on an ongoing basis,” said Marc Burrage, regional director of Hays Plc in Hong Kong. “If these changes are going to make it harder for expats to find work in Singapore, then what that could mean is that people will start to consider Hong Kong whereas in the past it may have been their second choice in Asia.”

Singapore’s inflation rate quickened to 2 percent in August. Domestic cost pressures are expected to persist amid continuing tightness in the labor market, the central bank and the trade ministry said in a statement yesterday.

“Further tightening on foreign labor participation should place upward pressure on wages and therefore core inflation,” said Daniel Wilson, an economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Singapore.

The city’s population has jumped by more than 1.1 million since mid-2004 to 5.3 million, driven by immigration. A proposal to boost the population to 6.9 million by 2030 prompted thousands to protest in February.

The framework “is designed to placate the electorate,” said Lee Quane, Hong Kong-based regional director at ECA International, which provides research on employment, relocation and compensation. “The impact is going to be negligible. Singapore has almost full employment.”

The city studied employment policies in markets including Hong Kong, the U.S. and U.K. before developing its framework, the minister said.

“We’re very mindful that there’s no one silver bullet that solves everything and we’re also mindful that every country has their own slightly different circumstances,” Tan said.

Contributed by  By Sharon Chen Bloomberg